Here is more info:
“Under English law a landowner has sole title to any archaeological artifacts found on his or her property. Legitimate metal detectorists come to an agreement with the owners of the land they detect on to share any proceeds from treasure sales.
“The Treasure Act of 1996 is an Act of Parliament designed to deal with finds of treasure in the United Kingdom. It legally obliges finders of objects which constitute a legally defined term of treasure to report their find to their local coroner within fourteen days. An inquest led by the coroner then determines whether the find constitutes treasure or not. If it is declared to be treasure then the owner must offer the item for sale to a museum at a price set by an independent board of antiquities experts. Only if a museum expresses no interest in the item, or is unable to purchase it, the owner can retain it.
Many thanks to all of you that replied.
While on the surface the law seems OK, I still do not like it.
I fully understand the need of a country to preserve its heritage but a fairer law would have been to let the proceeds go to auction and have the goverment match the winning price.
This process is already in place in the UK when it comes to paintings. Whenever a Lord or Lady wants to sell a work of a Master (you see this headline all the time) the National Board (or whatever it is called) always tries to buy it at market price.
The point is that the market price is fairly determined by the MARKET and not some “independent” board
Capitalism at work! :)
Cheers to my UK friends who posted.