
In England, Coroners Decide What Is Treasure and What Is Not - pseudolus
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/coroners-england-treasure-rules
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chrisseaton
They say they think it's bizarre, but don't compare to how it's done anywhere
else! If it's so bizarre how are other countries like the United States doing
it?

The American Civil War wasn't very long ago, but I think if there are no known
owners then buried gold like the Confederate Gold would be considered treasure
in England even though it isn't old, so they must have similar issues.

~~~
arethuza
In Scotland the 'administrator of treasure trove' role appears to be taken by
the wonderfully named _Queen 's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer_:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen%27s_and_Lord_Treasurer%2...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen%27s_and_Lord_Treasurer%27s_Remembrancer)

Edit: We had some indirect dealings with the QLTR recently over some shares in
commonly owned land that didn't have clear ownership - the QLTR basically
responded with "nothing to do with us" which was good!

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kybernetikos
The fire never reached Pepys house. I thought the cheese was recovered without
problem.

~~~
mytailorisrich
Indeed, the article is not quite correct that the cheese was lost.

We know that Pepys buried this cheese, along with other items, because he
wrote about it in his diary [1].

It was not mentioned again (or was it?). So based on evidence we don't know
what happened to the cheese, but Pepys most likely dug it up along with the
other items he had buried (he had also buried wine and office papers).

[1]
[https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1666/09/04/](https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1666/09/04/)

~~~
Spooky23
We hope. 400 year old cheese would not exactly be a treasure!

~~~
poulsbohemian
"It depends."

We opened a 7 year old cheese for Thanksgiving that was _perfect_ as it is a
cheese deliberately packaged to age and allow tyrosine development (which
people seem to like for its bite). I've had a 30+ year version of the same
cheese which was very edible and enjoyable, though you had to like a cheese
with some bite. Pairs nicely with a white wine.

Would 400 year old or older cheese be good? Main thing I'd worry about is
brucellosis or other contaminants.

~~~
baud147258
what kind of cheese was it? And how is it kept for all this years?

~~~
poulsbohemian
Cougar Gold, from the Washington state university creamery.

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reagent_finder
That's fascinating!

I'd love to read more about these, even if they're mostly routine. 1200 a year
seems like quite a bit! You could call the show "Coroner's corner"

~~~
larrik
Given how interesting American Pickers or Antique Roadshow are, I think you're
right that this could be a good show.

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dsfyu404ed
Does anyone know what the other side of the issue is?

The fact that this article paints a totally rosy picture, does not mention
downsides to the system, only quotes government side sources (they couldn't
even find a metal dectectorist to say "yeah it's not perfect but it's good
enough"?) is setting off red flags for me.

~~~
Accujack
My questions would be what oversight is there of the coroners' decisions and
what ensures their qualifications?

A scientific discovery might have no gold or silver but be much more valuable
at sale than shiny metals. A coroner who decides entirely based on his/her
knowledge of the value of the find risks making incorrect decisions based on a
lack of specialist knowledge.

~~~
matthewheath
Coroners must be legally qualified solicitors or barristers, or a Fellow of
the Charted Institute of Legal Executives, and must have 5 years worth of
experience [1].

They are appointed by local authorities with the consent of the Chief Coroner
and the Lord Chancellor.

For oversight, you must submit a judicial review to the High Court. A senior
judge there will decide the lawfulness of the coroner's actions [2]. You used
to be able to appeal to the Chief Coroner instead of seeking judicial review,
but this mechanism was removed by the Public Bodies Act 2011 [3].

\---

[1]
[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/13/section/2](http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/13/section/2)

[2] [https://www.judiciary.uk/related-offices-and-
bodies/office-c...](https://www.judiciary.uk/related-offices-and-
bodies/office-chief-coroner/)

[3]
[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/25/section/40](http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/25/section/40)

