If it was federal land they will lay claim to it.
What is really scary is the number of signals that sound like that I have passed by.
Yep the person who found it, is better off to keep the mouth zipped. I hope Uncle Sam doesn’t threaten the person to indulge where he found it. I am surprised to find that people are still using detectors to find “treasures”. I thought it is illegal since with all government grabland growing.
Mining law covers finding gold on federal land... its fair game... as long as it is unclaimed public land... that is how you make a claim, after you locate gold... unless he was claim jumping and found it, a lot of public lands have mineral rights privately claimed. It is hard to find unclaimed gold bearing land here in Arizona (in known gold areas) However I do believe he will have to pay federal tax on the sale of it now days... It’s state land (at least here in Arizona) your not supposed to be prospecting on.
Would it not have been smarter to have disposed of this nugget on the qt, bit by bit, even if it brought in less for it than as an intact nugget?
Whatever happened to the people in California who found the can full of gold coins? I suspect that gubmint at all levels will confiscate 80% of the proceeds.