The cross was discovered by a man in Yanworth near Cirencester last June
Posted on 03/19/2010 8:04:49 AM PDT by NYer
A late-Medieval crucifix found in Gloucestershire has been declared treasure by a coroner.
The 500-year-old silver pendant was discovered by a man in Yanworth, near Cirencester, in June 2009.
It depicts Christ on the front flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist and on the reverse, St Christopher carrying the Christ Child.
Cirencester's Corinium museum hopes to buy the cross, which is now being valued by independent auctioneers.
Kurt Adams, finds liaison officer for Gloucestershire and Avon, said: "Finds such as this silver cross are a very rare finds, especially when considering this object is a truly exceptional example of the Medieval jewellers' art and would represent a very significant loss for the owner."
The 1996 Treasure Act legally obliges finders of historic metal objects to report their discovery to the local coroner who determines whether or not it constitutes treasure.
Finders and landowners are eligible for a reward.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Ping!
They will be for sale on eBay from China on Monday.
Attention any and all Brits that may come across a potential “treasure”:
Do NOT inform your local authorities. Renounce your citizenship, find a way to take your “treasure” out of the country with you, sell it and live happily ever after..
In other words, it has been confiscated by the state with the finder only receiving a token reward.
Eligible for a reward. I wonder if that reward comes anywhere close to its true market value?
There’s something to be said for keeping one’s mouth shut when lady luck deals you a high card.
exactly.
He should of just said he was putting a family treasure that had been passed down for generations up for sale.
The ‘reward’ for treasure trove in Britain is a result of valuation by multiple independent experts, who effectively add in value for provenance without cost to the finder.
People who declare treasure trove know what they’re doing. If you melted down a find for its precious metals, you wouldn’t do a tenth as well.
From what I can tell, the reward does match the market value.
Basically, its similar to a “right of first refusal.” As a historical treasure the UK government has the right to buy it before before any private collector. The main difference is the finder is compelled to sell his find to government if they want it.
If I am not mistaken, there is a similar rule for treasure found in the US, at least in Florida. If someone finds treasure and offers it for sale, the state has the right to buy it first. If they don’t want it, then anybody else who wants it can buy it. The difference is that the state can’t make you sell it to them and they don’t get set the price.
That is a really cool find. I wish I had a chance to find more than arrowheads around here.
Arrowheads are pretty cool too though. I hunt and collect them as well. Also love that Cash and Treasures show on the Travel Channel. Treasure hunting is fun and pretty soon, after Obama destroys our entire economy, those kind of skills might come in handy....lol.
...in this country there have been similar controversies over prehistoric items of antiquity....a while back a woman in Kentucky leased the archaeological rights to her farm to arrowhead hunters....they promptly went in with bull dozers...this really upsets archaeologists who like to measure soil depth of the finds...there’s always a fight between professionals and pot hunters who they regard as looters.
Bump
It’s beautiful.
OTOH, the mold detail is rather poor; aside from traditional Catholic interpretation, it beats me how they can claim to know who is represented by the side and reverse figures.
Nonetheless, If I were the finder, I would have a RTV or other mold made from it for lost wax casting, so I, at least, could have myself a replica cast -- even though I were forced to hand the original over to the government.
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Thanks NYer....has been declared treasure by a coroner.To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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BTW, Cirencester is in the Cotswolds and the whole area is one of the most beautiful in England. If you're going to get out of London, the Cotswolds should be very high on the list.
A couple of typical Cotswolds views:
The Inn at Fossebridge, very near where the piece was found.
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