So you believe the government doesn’t have a strong financial interest, given that confiscation makes them the owner of the property?
Buried in the ground? Property sold? Abandoned.
Lying on the ground? Now, we would have a point for discussion.
Why should the government decide?
I didn’t say “the government,” I said “a court.”
You remember, the entity set up in the first place primarily to settle questions about the ownership of property.
There are quite ancient laws and principles of common law about the ownership of this type of property, which is called “treasure trove,” going back a thousand years or more.
This is not exactly a new issue.