Treasure Act 1996


The Treasure Act 1996 is a UK Act of Parliament, defining which objects are classified as treasure, legally obliging the finder to report their find.

Provisions

The Act is designed to deal with finds of treasure in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It legally obliges finders of objects which constitute treasure to report their find to their local coroner within 14 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 finder must offer the item for sale to a museum at a price set by an independent board of antiquities experts known as the Treasure Valuation Committee. Only if a museum expresses no interest in the item, or is unable to purchase it, can the finder retain it.
For the purposes of the Act, 'Treasure' is defined as being:
The Treasure Act allows for a reward up to the market value of the treasure to be shared among the finder and the tenants and/or owner of the land on which the treasure was found. The amount of the reward and how it is divided among the claimants is determined by the Treasure Valuation Committee.
Successful cases involving the Treasure Act include that of the Ringlemere gold cup. Non-treasure finds are the remit of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

UK legislation

The act does not apply in Scotland, where treasure finds are a matter of Scots Common Law.