Ethical question

[mwaynebennett]

If I find a diamond ring or some similar valuable item, what are the rules about trying to find the owner? The silver ring I found last week was buried under about 3" of soil, so I assume it has been several years since it was lost. If I found a piece of jewelry on the surface, I would file a "found item report" with the local police station.

My question is: How far must it be buried until it is safe to assume that the person who lost it is not likely to be located? I understand that on the beach, an item can get buried in a matter or minutes.

What guild lines do you folks use? Please don't tell me "Finders keepers."

Mark
Elite 2200

 

[dave5710]

If you dig it, they will come........ looking for it.

Just depends on how honest you feel I guess.

If you found a simple man's gold wedding band in the local park and there was no engraving inside, nothing to identify it by. and no lost jewelry had been reported to the park supervisors and nothing listed in the local paper what CAN you do?

Now if it was very identifiable or engraved that would be different.

Okay, Mark. Let's say you are on the beach hunting around and some hot beautiful babe runs up to you and asks you to look for her $12,000.00 diamond bracelet for her that she just realized is missing. So for the next two hours you hunt up and down, back and forth, until finally you find it, exactly as she described it. You return it to her. She thanks you, hugs you, kisses you. A few minutes later her boyfriend comes over and hands you $100.00 bill and says "Thanks again". Would you take it???? Cause I sure the heck would.

 

[mwaynebennett]

About 25 years ago I went to a local Radio Shack store. Parked out front was a Harley hog and on part of the frame was a 1-1/2" dia roll of bills, with a $20 showing on the outside. I thought it strange that a biker would be storing his money there, so I went inside and looked around and soon spotted a person whose appearance lead me to believe was the owner of the bike. I asked him if that was his bike and he said it was. I asked him if he knew there was a huge wad of money resting on the frame. We both walked outside to look at the bike and he said: "Holy Shi*, you just earned yourself $20 man. I thought I had lost that." I declined his offer and told him that I was happy to have helped him get his money. Granted, I had virtually no time invested in my deed. If I had spent 2 hours swinging, I would have taken the $100.

Mark
Elite 2200

 

[jim tn]

The only gold rings I make an effort to return are class rings. With little to some effort, many owners can be tracked down and over the year's I have returned several. If someone comes up to me while I'm searching a place, which has happened, and states they lost a "gold ring, size 7, with 6 diamongs," and would I call them if I find it, I would. Beyond that, I don't advertise in any fashion nor contact lost and found sources. When called upon, I do try and have found rings that people have lost and do it at no charge. HH jim tn

 

[TABAGO]

Well you know the old saying FINDERS KEEPERS,,

Well that's fine if you are the finder,, but think If you are the Loser, It don't feel so good !! Me I will do my best to get it back to the owner,, if they can identify it,
wedding bands & rings, and class rings are taboo, try to get them to the proper owner if you can,,

I once lost my wallet with over $1200. in it, Makes you feel sick in side,, well by the time I got back to the house, a sweet looking little teen girl called an left a message that she had some thing of my,, my wallet, she returned an i gave her a $100.00 ,,she did not want to take it, but I pointed out that if it weren't for her I would most likely lost it all..
An to tell the truth It gave me a new out look on life And i will never forget that young lady!!

What you return you will get back 100 fold,, And they will never forget You :cheeks

 

[TABAGO]

n/t

 

[flash5153]

I gave the pastor of of a church ,not far from my house,a gold ring(band) wt 4 very small diamonds in it. I found this ring last year in the church yard, about 4" down. It had been there awhile.

I had it for a year in a box. I just gave it to him last week ,out of the blue. told him he will probally never find the owner but could try. And I did not want it back either way. He was happy at the least and I could tell he was amazed I did that.
I did not have to ,but I felt generouus for some reason. He told me I could detect his church any time I wanted (although already granted)and also his yard at home.Was trying to be nice and would not stop smiling.lol

That is the first time I ever done this type thing. This post is good timing for me. I feel good about doing it. He was on the phone with someone talking about it as I was there. Was a great feeling.
Got to say though.If not a church I wouldn't have done it. Am I getting soft?? LOL

Me and the people I detect with try hard to return rings with markings and have done it. Its like pulling teeth,most time cant find owners. But it is great when you can.

Rings without markings wheather on top of ground or deep are nearly impossible to return. Although I have never found a nice ring on top of ground. If happened ,would have to think about it ,depending where it was found , might want to involve police or a flyer of some type while still fresh in minds.Would have to be a very nice ring for that though. Thats my thoughts.. Great post
Good Luck

 

[mwaynebennett]

I believe most state have laws about found items. Simply losing something does not eliminate one's ownership in it. Simply finding someone else's property does not transfer ownership.

I found a nice 14k gold man's bracelet on the counter at a local post office. About a $350 item at the local jewelery stores. Just around the corner was the local cop shop, so I took it there and filed the paperwork. After 30 days, no body had claimed it so at that point, it became my legal property. That is how it works in Washington State. For the sterling silver ring I found last week, it was about a $50 item that had been in the ground for years. The likelihood of finding the owner was close to zero, so I did not file the paperwork.

Mark
Elite2200

 

[GoGoGopher]

[size=medium]I think common sense is again in order here, and your own conscious (what a terrible thing to have...j/k). if the item has any type of identifying marks, I am going to try my best to find it's rightful owner...If no markings, and burried in dirt, it is mine...if on the surface, it depends on where I find it...if at a park, I will file a report with the parks & recreation office...if on the beach, I would probably file a report with the beach offices, or local police...I believe it is the same here in NY that if a reported lost item goes unclaimed for 30 days or more, the finder gets to keep it, (be it coin, car, or castle).

HH,[/size]

 

[wasp]

Another thing to consider is that if the ring has a high monetary value the chances are that the owner has probably recieved an insurance payout and replaced the ring, either claiming it as stolen or lost. I have heard stories of MDers turning in a valuable ring only to find they have a lot of explaining to do as to how they have stolen property in their posession.

Class rings or school type jewelry which is identifyable is another story as are items that may have a genuine sentimental value to the owner such as items found on the private property of someone who has been kind enough to let you metal detect there. Otherwise if I find it in a park or other "public" ground I am keeping it as long as my conscience allows.

 

[drummerman]

This is a hard question to answer.

Honesty is a important, no dough in that. But honesty walks a thin line.
In my case, this is what I would do.

If I were to find a piece of jewelry that was expensive, I would check to see if there was anything engraved on it. If the item was worth over say $500.00, I would contact the police department to see if anything was reported lost.
I think other things to consider is how tarnished the object is and how deep it was.
Also like others here have said. The item may have been stolen or again, if you think it's been there awhile, and it is an expensive item, the person who lost it may have had it insured and received a settlement on the item. In that case, rather than return it to the person who lost it, you may have to check to see if an insurance claim was file and rewarded for the lost item. You may have to give it to the insurance company. I don't know legally if the insurance company could hold your responsible if a claim for the item was paid to the person who lost the item and found you had returned the item to the person instead of the insurance company. I am sure the person you returned it to wouldn't contacted the insurance company and tell them the item was found.

Anyone in this forum practice law? Would your be able to answer that question?

I figure. If you find the jewelry and it's less than $500.00, doesn't have anything engraved on it, looks like it's been in the ground awhile, it's yours! You did the work to find it, and retrieve it on your personal time. If your didn't find and retrieve the object, it would have stayed there. Maybe forever.
To bad, so sad.

Expensive stuff? Historic finds? Well, then report it to your local police department or historic socially.

I'm sorry if anyone thinks I am greedy. I am not. I am an honest man, but I believe that we dirt diggers deserve to keep some, or most of the stuff we find. We do all the work, remove trash, respect the earth and if it wasn't for us, most of the treasures would probably stay in the ground for many, many years.

I guess you have to DIG into your moral interpretation and do what you think is right.


Good hunting.