The guy who left it there is going to be awfully mad.
Actually, why do the British have such crummy property rights?
Their property rights are quite straightforward.
Everything belongs to the Crown.
It’s not that bad. At least they get paid if they find archeologically valuable stuff. If you find Indian “antiquities” here, not only do you not get to keep it, you probably can’t do anything else with your property.
They might want to consider revolution... or not.
Well, consider the alternative. He might have invested in Bitcoin.
The Tresure laws have the effect of discouraging midnight plunder, which is a very good thing for the knowledge that would otherwise be lost forever. After the coroner has done his work, the find is appraised and any bidder must match it. The finder (who must have the land owner's permission to begin with), and the land owner are fairly compensated, IMO. Melt value would be far less than the appraised value of the treasure as historical artifacts.
Under Common Law treasure trove belonged to the Crown.