Boy Finds £2.5M Gold Locket With Metal Detector

Instead of bottle caps and ridicule from his peers, 3-year-old James Hyatt found a locket worth millions with his metal detector. James and his dad found the gold locket last May in Essex. Since then the 500-year-old treasure has been appraised at around £2.5million. From the article: "James’s father Jason, 34, said: ‘My son is one of the luckiest people ever. If we go to the doctors he’ll put his hand down the side of the sofa and pull out a tenner.’"

Comments

Lucky

[Squiddie]

I wish I had found stuff like this with my metal detector. Instead I was always that weird kid with the metal detector.

Treasure Act of 1996

[Sonny Yatsen]

Under the British Treasure Act of 1996, such a find like this belongs to the Crown. However, the boy may be compensated as a reward by the Secretary of State.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/24/section/10

Section 4 of the Treasure Act

(1)When treasure is found, it vests, subject to prior interests and rights—

(a)in the franchisee, if there is one;

(b)otherwise, in the Crown.

Re:Treasure Act of 1996

[Joe Snipe]

I like how you brits make your laws rhyme:

(1)When treasure is found it vests;
subject to prior rights and interests --

(a)if there is one in the franchisee,

(b)otherwise, to her Majesty!.

Re:Treasure Act of 1996

[Monkeedude1212]

Well if you're looking along the coast like they probably were in England, you have a chance of finding something of value. You may not find something 500 years old, but perhaps 300 or so from when the first settlers came across.

Canada got kind of lucky in that there are actual Viking remnants along our Eastern Coast. I think that's impressive. It also suggests something odd that they never made the return trip, otherwise you think the Western world might have known about the Americas if the Scandinavians already knew about it. (So Christopher Columbus might have known something was there). To put it in a historical perspective - L'Anse Aux Meadows (which is the only entirely confirmed Norse Settlement in Canada) - is expected to have been settled around 1003 AD. That's 63 years before the battle of Hastings - which is considered by many to be the most influential battle in the history of England. To think - one of the reasons the Anglo-Saxons lost the Battle of Hastings was because just weeks prior they were fighting the Vikings at the Battle of Fulford. Were they aware of the New World at that point? Would they have bothered trying to Conquer England if they had known they could have settled this entire continent? Seems like one of those focal hinging points in history to me.

I think I got a bit off track there - anyways, there should be plenty of shipwrecks along the coast to find things. You might be able to find some stuff from the WW2 era - I hear a bit of sea battles actually took place along the US Coast.

Re:For the rest of his life...

[spiffmastercow]

He's only going to live to be 6?