Finding Rings etc on the beach the correct process

[Cooper natural]

Hello people,

I have not yet been fortunate to fnd anything of great value on the beaches or anywhere for that matter, but if you do find a ring on a beach or in a field and its not old but it has value whats the process? is there a law in place? are you suppossed to hand ever item into the police and if nobody claims it then its yours?

please advise there are many thing I am still learning about this great hobby.

Thanks

Lee

[fabio961]

dress rings no...but rings of any value (albeit monetary or sentimental) take to local police. they hold them for 3 months, if nobody claims them the item is returned to you.

that isnt just for rings obviously..

[Cooper natural]

Will the police contact you once the three months is up? and would you take it to your local police station or the one local to the area you found it?

I travel 40 miles to get to my nearest beach.

Isnt it a bit of a concern that the police may get annoyed if your constantly taking things into them?

[ossie]

I do all mine on line here in Cornwall,lot easier if they do it in your area.
They confirm details with an email.
Everything is computerised now so a person can report a loss wherever they like.

[hihosilver]

It depends on how the item was lost as to which law it falls under. There are slightly different rules for lost, mislaid or abandoned items. Items don't have to have a high monetary value either. As something that is worth nothing to one person may may be priceless to others.

I handed in a ring i found on a beach a while ago and was told it doesn't matter which station you hand it in to. You just have to tell them where you found it. I didn't get any emails but then they didnt require that info when I handed it in. I also wasn't contacted by the police about it after that but just returned there around 6 weeks later and was given it back as no one had claimed it. I think it's only a minimum of around 6 weeks if no one attempts to claim it, or if its not already reported as lost or stolen, etc. I'd assume it's a longer period if it is claimed as that person whould have to find the time to get back to that police station to pick it up, and if they don't get there in a set time I guess it defaults to the finder.

[Cooper natural]

So am i right in thinking that in theory every single item we find, should be handed in?
Just trying to build a picture of the various proccess I will need to follow for certain items.
relaising there are quite a few processes involved, it not just a matter of digging it up sticking it a pot or a collection container and thats it.
I will get there im sure.

[hihosilver]

Technically pretty much everything you find should be handed in, even trash falls into the 'abandoned' category, as daft as that sounds. And even the coins people find. Another daft one. Who's going to be able to prove it's their coin!

Of course a bit of common sense on the items you take in will be required. I doubt they'd look kindly on someone walking into their station and dumping a load of rubbish on their front desk.
Obviously valuables would be something that should be handed over for sure. You will more than likely get them all back anyways.

[oldartefact]

assume that if its blatently obvious the ring is old ie all mangled and bashed to bits, there is no need to hand in to the police station..???

[Anubis]

In Norfolk found property is held for 30 days then you can claim it

[zxadi]

so with all the rings found on here by members are all logged and in a station somewhere then.

[oldartefact]

The other week the mrs found a fiver on the pavement, she took it down to the local police station, they said she could keep it or put it into the charity box... so the charity was a winner!!! wouldn't have minded but she did this the day after I lost a tenner!!! hey ho...

[fabio961]

so with all the rings found on here by members are all logged and in a station somewhere then.

I was waiting for someone to say that. Nah..as with all things, it's common sense.

[MidasTouch]

it does pose an interesting question though, i wounder how many of us DO hand it in and how many take it to the back of numero uno

Since i have never found any bling i can answer very simply "never had too" B-)

[mrix]

Its very refreshing to see so many members doing the right thing and not just thinking of a monetary gain
At the end of the day if you do hand it in after a short period you are likely to receive the rings / items back just after around six weeks and on the odd occasion you don't then someone has possibly reported something of very high sentimental value ie a wedding ring so that in itself is priceless to get that returned to its owner B-)
How would you feel if you had lost all hope of finding something like a lost wedding ring or something of very high sentimental value and then got contacted it that it had been found Priceless!

Cheers all
mrix

[Broadsword]

out of the 400+ rings handed in to the Police in the past 10 years I have received about 60% of them whilst the others have been returned to the owner. Goes to show that they are researched and matched to the owner by the Police when they can. It's good to do good! (and you often get a reward for the safe return anyway! and in some cases for me (an like MRIX said) if it's sentimental then value has no meaning and the reward is often higher than the gold weight value.