Hi Walt,
BTW I find your posts of the activity up there VERY informative & valuable.
I work alone.
Here is an intersting article, NOTICE WSP does not qualify under ANY of these guidelines:
Anonymity and Treasure Hunting By W.C. Jameson
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At Ieast once a month I receive a telephone call from someone who has discovered a rich lode or placer, a treasure cache, or a lost mine. Invariably, the discoverer wants to know whether or not he should formally announce the find or keep the discovery a secret and remain relatively anonymous.
Many treasure hunters believe that a formal announcement more or less establishes some kind of priority relative to securing whatever riches may be extracted from the site and feel that contacting the print and electronic media is a logical step in the process. What may occur, however, is a series of serious problems the discoverer neither anticipated nor is equipped to deal with.
Announcing the discovery of wealth, whether in the form of a lost treasure, lost mine, or significant deposit of ore, accomplishes several things, most of them bad. If you, as a finder, cherish publicity and some modicum of fame, then by all means call the newspapers and television stations and inform them of your find. You may experience some temporary recognition, even notoriety, with your neighbors and friends, but you may also generate more problems than you are prepared to deal with.
Let me provide some examples:
--For one thing, the announcement of a discovery generally attracts droves of other TH'ers, curiosity seekers, conmen, reporters, and sometimes attorneys. About 25 years ago, a treasure hunter, somewhat inexperienced, announced that he had discovered the famous Lost Padre Mine on a southern slope of the Franklin Mountains overlooking El Paso, Texas (from my book, Buried Treasures of the American Southwest, August House Publishers, Little Rock, Arkansas).
He claimed he had located the original shaft excavated by the Spaniards well over a coulpe hundred years earlier and, with the use of some heavy equipment he was bringing in, would conduct an excavation in an attempt to find an allegedly rich vein of silver believed to parallel the shaft.
Several newspapers picked up the announcement and on the next day the area was filled with onlookers and media-hundreds of people had gathered at the site, making excavation nearly impossible. Traffic was backed up for hundreds of yards, and city and state police had to be called in to maintain order. As a result of the huge throngs of people and the complicated logistics of having to deal with them, the costly excavation process took much, much longer than anticipated.
--If your discovery is on private land (on which we presume you had permission to search in the first place) the landowner may not be very happy about the increased traffic on his property. He may, in fact, be unhappy enough to boot you off his property thereby foiling your chances of extracting whatever wealth you may have located.
It must be understood that in most cases the landowner is responsible for any accidents that may occur on his property and most are unwilling to assume that risk. One must also understand that most farmers and ranchers are not going to look kindly on a bunch of people wandering about their pastures.
Not only might you be jeopardizing your relationship with the landowner, you may ruin it for subsequent treasure hunters who may seek to explore the same property.
--If your discovery is on state or federal land, governmental authorities will undoubtedly find some law you have broken. The fines and penalties for unauthorized excavation and removal activities on state and federal property can be severe. Most
national parks and monuments strictly forbid the use of a metal detector and have clear rules forbidding treasure hunting.
--One of the biggest drawbacks to announcing a discovery too soon is the Internal Revenue Service. Mind you, these are folks not to be tampered with and it's important that you pay close attention to the law. However, bide your time, contact an attorney, and make a sophisticated assessment of your discovery prior to informing the feds.
Recent announcements of discoveries of sunken treasures off the Florida and South Carolina coasts-millions of dollars worth of gold and silver bars, jewelry, and artifacts--were responded to by IRS agents within only a few hours, the end result being that much of the treasure was seized! It's important that you abide by the law, but if you are clever you can maintain some control over the situation by refraining from premature announcements of discovery.
--Something else you risk with an announcement of a discovery is piracy. Following the release of information of some rich finds, unprotected locations are often entered by "treasure pirates" who carry away much of the wealth.
--Should you make an early announcement of a discovery of, say, a famous lost treasure, and it doesn't pan out, you stand a great chance of looking like a fool, and the fame you thought you would accrue may turn into the most embarrassing moment of your life.
--Professional treasure hunters of long standing seldom, if ever, announce discoveries of major finds. It is an unwritten code among professionals in this business. When the information is eventually released to the satisfaction of the Internal Revenue Service and/or local authorities, it is done in a quiet, professional manner without a great deal of bombast. Should you be compelled to generate a great deal of publicity relative to a recent discovery, you may very likely be shunned by more serious treasure hunters.
In summary, let three things guide your behavior relative to announcing any discovery you might make:
1) Use common sense. Continued anonymity will likely facilitate your work in the area, whereas an announcement of a discovery will likely inhibit it.
2) Maintain a high level of respect for the property of others. When you announce a discovery you may attract many more people to the site than a landowner originally bargained for. If he granted you permission to explore his property, you owe him the courtesy of protecting it to the best of your ability, and keeping quiet about your find is one of the best ways to accomplish that.
3) Maintain a complete and thorough commitment to adhering to all state and federal laws pertaining to the site and situation.
Copyright ©1992, 1999 Lost Treasure, Inc. |
