A woman in Ludlow, UK discovered a piedfort, a rare 14th century coin-like object, in her garden and failed to report it to authorities under the Treasure Act. She became the first person in the country to actually be prosecuted for this crime and was ordered to turn over the piedfort, given a conditional discharge, and ordered to pay £25 in court costs.

Read The Full Story -> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7326151/Woman-becomes-first-prosecuted-for-failing-to-report-treasure.html

Christmas is the season of giving and lately, throughout the world, people have been more generous than ever. We have all passed the humble volunteers ringing a bell with a kettle in front of a department store and perhaps you were in the giving spirit and generously donated a few dollars. Some people, who remain anonymous, have been giving more — in the form of gold.

According to the Calgary Herald, a gold coin valued at $1200 was found in their Salvation Army kettle during processing of the day’s donations. Spokeswoman, Pam Goodyear, added that it, “is a wonderful surprise and a great donation”.

In Torrington, Connecticut an 1881 $5 Gold Eagle was anonymously dropped into a Salvation Army bucket and was discovered later when the automatic change counting machine routinely rejected it.

According to WGAL8 News in York, Pennsylvania, another good Samaritan dropped a gold South African Krugerrand wrapped in a $1 bill into the red kettle. The coin is valued at over $1200.

This series of gold coin donations is happening all over the country and there is almost too many instances to list. Is this an act of good faith by the world’s patrons or is this a publicity stunt created by the Salvation Army to encourage more donations? The folks over at MuseumOfHoaxes.com seem to think it may be a stunt, but even if it is I think everyone agrees that it is for a good cause and brings in more donations.

I wanted  to show you all one of my favorite finds. This one came from when I was stationed in Norfolk, VA and would take frequent trips to Virginia Beach coinshooting and finding the odd bits of dropped jewelry.

It is a 14K solid gold necklace pendant with 3 diamonds in it. I was ecstatic when I saw it glimmer in my hand as I sifted through the white sand but knew that I had to keep my game face on because a little excitement is all you need to get a handful of people surrounding you wanting to see what you found. At that point, it can become a hassle so it is better to keep a straight face and play it cool.

I took it to a jeweler who tested the authenticity of the diamonds and he estimated it to be around 1/2 KT total between the three. He offered me $500 on the spot but I declined because I am a little weird and like to keep my treasures.