pit was stolen 115 years ago...there are statutes of limitations
Yes it was. So let the law play out.
Statute of Limitations, BTW, refers to criminal liability, not transfer of property rights. I believe that even if I hide my ill-gotten gains till after the SoL runs out, I still don’t have a legal right to the property I stole.
The relevant law here is probably that regarding “treasure trove,” which goes in the common law all the way back to pre-Norman times in England. Under common law the sovereign owned the rights to ALL treasure trove in the land.
Sovereign rights transferred to each state at independence, so in some states common law still applies. Most have, however, modified common law by statute. Various states assign property rights in treasure trove to the finder, the landowner, the state, the county, or the township. Or split it up among these various entities in different ways.
No idea how CA law applies specifically, or whether federal law trumps if the coins were originally federal property, which is likely.
Yes, on the crime. But stolen property is stolen and it belongs to the original owner.
Example: Art work stolen during WWII. Still being returned to the rightful owner after 70 years.
But I never would have told anyone I had it.
[ there are statutes of limitations ]
Only for crimes concerning the pitiful little sheep citizens, for FedGov, the only statue of limitations is the end of time itself...
Not with the new era of big brother. They take what they want.
Not with the new era of big brother. They take what they want.
I'll bet some insurance co. will end up with the whole thing...
Not for the federal goverment.
These people should have kept up on current events better. There are several instances where people have found uncirculated coins that the feds confiscated.
Let this be a lesson to people to shoot shovel and shut up. Melt it down if you find gold. If you see an endangered bird on your land kill it burn it and bury the shes.
The statute of limitations on recovering stolen property doesn't start to run until the owner knows who has them. So the statute of limitations won't apply here. But the Government will have the burden of proving that these are the same coins stolen from the Mint, which won't be easy.