Discover how much gold treasure there is, how it’s legally defined, and what you do once you find it with our comprehensive guide.
Before we talk about selling gold you find as treasure in the UK, we need to cover a few of the basics, starting with whether or not you can look for it in the first place.
We’ve all seen TV shows where a metal detector and a relaxed walk in a farmer’s field result in a massive hoard of gold coins, but can you actually do it? The truth is that if you’re going to start searching for treasure, you need to make sure you have full permission from the landlord.
If you’re searching on your own land then you can get started right away, but if you’re considering searching on private land, you’ll need written permission. If you’re in any doubt about who the landowner is, don’t proceed with your hunt because you’ll a) be breaking the law and b) have no legal rights to anything you unearth.
Public property can be a little more tricky because it may not be immediately obvious who owns it and has jurisdiction over it. The best place to start is a call to your local council who should be able to advise. Failing that, you’ll find that a significant amount of green land is actually looked after by the National Trust. In both cases, it is important to abide by the judgement that is made: if you’re told not to dig, you’ll lose any rights to treasure before you’ve even gotten it out of the ground.
A recent study commissioned by the British Museum lists a total of 1,378 reported treasure findings in the UK in 2022 alone. Much of the treasure found in Scotland was not included in this figure, meaning that the total amount found in the UK as a whole was likely substantially higher.
This means that if you have a passion for history and archeology and want to get outside to potentially find your fortune, treasure hunting is a viable option in the UK. But what happens if your detector suddenly goes off and you find a precious nugget or gold coin in the ground?
We need to turn to the letter of the law and see what it has to say. The Treasure Act of 1996 states that:
“All finds must be reported and, if confirmed, museums must be allowed to buy the items at their current market value.”
As the finder of the treasure, you are legally bound to offer the treasure you have unearthed for sale to a museum in the UK. You are not allowed to offer it to any business, organisation, or private individual whether in the UK or abroad. You are also not allowed to set the price that the treasure will be offered to the museum at.
In fact, a government office known as the Treasure Valuation Committee will set the price. They will use a combination of historical records, cultural impact, and the current market value of the gold to set the price. This means that an ounce of ancient gold coins can have a very different value to an ounce of gold jewellery that has only just been shaped and sold.
Not every piece of treasure will be wanted by a museum for their collection, or in some cases the scale of the find will make it unaffordable for them to purchase. In this case, provided you had prior permission to search for treasure on the land, you can retain all rights to the treasure and will be able to sell your gold for a profit at a time of your choosing.
To sell your gold you will need to assess the quality and quantity (more on that shortly) but first, we need to quickly define the difference between regular gold and treasure.
Watch a movie and you will see pirates digging up buried treasure that’s normally a giant chest full to the brim with valuable gold coins. Does that mean any item made from gold you dig up from the ground is treasure? No, and things get a little more complicated at this point.
In the UK, treasure is legally defined in one of two ways, depending on the precise nature of what you have just found:
While this may sound a little complex and wordy, it’s really there to stop someone claiming a ring or piece of jewellery that has recently been lost as being treasure, and then possibly trying to sell this jewellery. Pieces that are younger than 300 years old will typically be far more numerous and have much less historical and cultural value, and are therefore not classed as treasure. Provided you can prove the age and had prior permission to search the land, you can sell them without having to offer them to a museum at a set price.
Now that you’ve found your treasure and are free to sell it, we need to make sure you get the right the price.
If you’re excited to dive into the details of what you’ve found, you can weigh your gold treasure at home and then work out its volume by placing it into a glass of water. Divide the weight by the displaced volume of the water and you will have the density of your treasure. Compare this figure with the density of pure gold and you’ll have a simple estimate of the purity.
A more in-depth approach is to take your gold to a registered and insured jeweller or gold buyer who will perform an acid test. A tiny scratch is made in the surface of the treasure and acids of different strengths are then carefully applied. The way in which the gold treasure reacts with the acid will tell a skilled jeweller about the quality and purity of the find. Once you know the quality of your gold, you can sell it for a fair price.
Before we cover the best way to sell gold you find when treasure hunting, here’s a quick reminder of what you need to do before you get to this point:
While a quick search of ‘sell gold near me’ on your phone will show you dozens of buyers in the local area, it’s important you find someone who is experienced and trustworthy.
Here at Cheshire Gold Xchange, we take pride in doing the right thing and have been operating our family-run gold buying business for more than 15 years.
We’re proud of our prestigious 5 star rating, always offer high rates that are transparent and fair, and can arrange in-person appointments here at our Warrington store.
For those further away, we also work via our secure online selling page that is accessible with the click of a button.
Receive your prepaid, insured envelope to send your gold to us. Find out more visit Sell Gold Online
