In the UK, any hidden gold and silver more than 300 years old is generally assumed to be treasure and belongs to the Crown (although the finder is usually compensated). A lot of the ancient items in museums have been found by amateurs and claimed by the state in this way. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_trove" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_trove</a>
Summary: in the USA, the person who found it absent whoever put it there. If you can prove you put it there, you can have it back, but otherwise it seems to be the finder's. There doesn't seem to be any law about it, just case law.
I have an uncle that is one of those "gold guys" who thinks economic collapse is around the corner (shrug; who knows he may end up being right someday). He says he has buried $500K in gold on his 200 acre place and says he is the only one that knows where it is. I have told my Dad (it's his brother) we should go out there at night with a metal locator. I sent the link to both of them :)
> The Danielson brothers’ claim to possession of buried treasure was also echoed in a 2013 case, when a couple walking their dog found $10 million in gold coins buried on their property in rural Northern California.<p>Anyone know more about this case? Who brought the suit if they found the money on their own property? Was it the government so that they could get the tax money?
All I can say is that this article is making me wonder how many times I buried something as a kid and forgot about it.<p>I definitely remember burying a few things, but not all of them I can recall.