Found Gold ring - Hand in to police?

[pasttarg]

375live in hatton garden pay the very best prices on scrap

old post below

HUGE quantities of antique silver and gold were scrapped last week as precious metal prices hit record highs.

Silver dealers in particular clamoured to take advantage of a two-fold hike in the bullion market, the like of which has not been seen for 30 years.

Driven by a weaker US dollar and continuing tensions in the Middle East and North Africa, the prices of gold and silver hit new record highs on Monday, April 25 (a bank holiday in the UK) and on the European markets the following day.

Gold rose as high as $1518.30 (£918.70) an ounce, while silver briefly reached an all-time high of $49.79 (£30.13) an ounce. In the following days prices fell back a little, but silver, at close to £25 an ounce, is comfortably at its highest since January 1980 and the peak of the Bunker Hunt bubble (see here). The precious white metal has gained more than 160 per cent in the past year alone.

These rises brought remarkable scenes as bullion dealers across the country were inundated with material for scrapping. Hatton Garden firm 375 Live Ltd traded close to a metric tonne of silver on Tuesday, April 26, when prices touched £30 an ounce.

With their value as a raw material far outstripping their value as antiques, proprietor Steve Conway saw some "stunning" objects emerging from the dealing community to be scrapped.

Good quality Victorian tea sets, Georgian salvers, trophies, cruet sets and flatware were melted onsite as more than £1.5m changed hands.

When ATG visited the following day (when the price was just over £23 an ounce), the plastic dustbins filling with silver included items of the calibre of a large George II armorial-engraved salver weighing 70oz (scrap value £1610) and a late 19th century Tiffany engraved tea and coffee service weighing in at 260oz (£5980) with its ornate tea kettle and stand. If they had not been 'saved' by a buyer wishing to own them as functional works of art by the close of trading, they were heading to the crucible.

Why have prices spiked? Silver is a key metal in the production of electrical components, but more generally investors are buying precious metals as a haven against a host of financial uncertainties (particularly inflation and a weak dollar) and the recent geopolitical turmoil.

Gold has been strong since the global financial crisis of 2008. However, the price of silver has been more volatile, having quintupled since 2008, and has grown 12-fold in the last decade.

By Roland Arkell

[jimbotrucker]

I have found 2 decent rings and handed both to the police. At the end of a set period both rings we're mine to collect. Staffordshire police must be an honest bunch

[Addicted to bleeps]

I have found 2 decent rings and handed both to the police. At the end of a set period both rings we're mine to collect. Staffordshire police must be an honest bunch

Yea, Sod it. Will take the chance and hand it in tomorrow.

Hope they have more luck in finding the owner

[sweepspeed5]

Found a few wallets over the years [not detecting finds],full of cash/cards always handed them in ;you have to it's the right thing to do.

The actions of other people after that [police etc] are down to their character!

[Addicted to bleeps]

Hi A.T.B's

You hand it in and declare it... If it is not claimed then it becomes your property...eventually. Some forces do have different policies on this and most of the reporting is now done online and you keep hold of the item whilst they are waiting for it to be claimed.

Regards

DF

Not according to the officer I spoke to today bud

[bleepybloopy]

I would definitely hand it in to the police. My Dad found £60 in cash on the street once and got it back 6 months later. "Imagine if it was some old ladies pension money" is what he told me.

Two other thoughts I had on your post:

Firstly I imagine that any policeman would be horrified to think that they are treated with such suspition within the general public. I have total faith in the law enforcement in this country, and can't imagine than dodgy cops boosting their Christmas fund would last too long in most forces. They are too proud, and what with how hard it is to get into the police force, I don't think that careers wouldn't be given up so easily.

Secondly the "random" person appearing to claim gold rings would only bad able to do it once per station as police by their nature are generally an observant bunch.

I'm sure honesty will pay you back.

Cheers

Bleepybloopy

[liamnolan]

Its a much debated topic and here is the last one, 4 pages of it, usually ends up with sinners Vs saints
http://www.metaldetectingforum.co.uk/vi ... +handed+in" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
My own view is to make every effort to return it to its rightful owner. We sometimes forget that found items do not necessarily belong to us. Its just lost and the owner still has every right to claim it back. Rings are very sentimental items and their loss is always tinged with sadness, so its good for the soul to be able to find the owner. Many items have been lost many years ago of course and now no realistic chance of reuniting with the owner but old rings get handed down through generations and what may appear to be a lost from the distant past may have a frantic owner looking everywhere, Liam

[GREGGOWREX]

I didn't know they done this
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/j ... ing.saving" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sussexjames]

The correct and easy answer here so you can ensure you can sleep at night knowing you haven done anything dishonest is to hand it in. Get the receipt they give you, wait your 28 days, and then go see if its been claimed. Chances are you'll be able to go collect it at a later date. You need to appreciate however that things DO get claimed and very often, I'm afraid to say, the person claiming isn't interested in thanking the person who handed it in OR the officer they end up seeing a number of weeks later at the central station on the other side of the county where all the forces lost property ends up tells the person claiming they a) haven't got or b) are not allowed to hand out your contact details due to data protection blah blah....

Also bare this in mind... far more people report losing things than hand things in. This is because when they lose their wedding ring / mobile phone / car keys / laptop etc they go to their insurance company and the first thing they are asked is "have you got a police report/crime reference number?" (This is in itself ridiculous as if someone's lost something a crime hasn't taken place and they've simply lost it...but that's another story).. SO it is quite possible someone who lost a £600 ring has reported it missing for that reason and the two get eventually married up

The question is are you likely to get in any trouble for not handing this particular item it in? The answer I think is unlikely.... if you hadn't posted here then nobody would know you ever found it and as you've already said its just a gold band and even the rightful owner would struggle to prove that that particular ring was the one they lost. Potentially you could be arrested for theft by finding but the realistic chances are slim to none and I'd struggle to imagine (in this particular case where you have broadcasted its finding on here its slightly easier however) a scenario that would lead to that happening.

As for someone pinching it at the police station? I'd hazard a guess that was more likely in the past as it would take a particularly stupid police employee these days to pinch £200 of scrap gold and risk losing their job. Id say there's far more chance of it getting mislaid in the lost property system, which if anything like the force I'm familiar with, is no more sophisticated than when it was invented many decades ago. In fact this topic is quite timely as the system at the Met is just being changed in that if you walked in to hand that ring in after Sept 2014 you'd likely be told to keep it and 'take reasonable steps to locate its owner yourself'....see here http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Lo ... 0026020816" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bottom line in your current circumstance? Hand it in if thats what your force policy is. Ensure any paperwork the police employee (officer but more likely station PCSO) is filled in completely and correctly. Get you receipt and ensure its got all the reference numbers you might need on it. Enquire exactly how and where you have to go to claim it. Try and obtain a direct phone number for the property store where it will go so you can phone ahead after 28 days so they can dig it out ready to save you a wasted journey. Ensure the paperwork is marked that you are happy to be contacted by the finder if its claimed. And be patient as accepting and restoring lost property will not be anyone's top of the pops at any station!

Last but not least...WELL DONE ON YOUR FIND <:-P your well on your way to funding a new machine in a year. If I lived closer the coast I'd do the same

James

[BritishBeef]

if you walked in to hand that ring in after Sept 2014 you'd likely be told to keep it and 'take reasonable steps to locate its owner yourself'....see here http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Lo ... 0026020816" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's only for none valuable items according to the Met's new guidelines:

For unidentifiable or low value property, such as empty handbags,
bags, cases, wallets, purses, used clothing, soiled clothing,
perishable goods, rubbish, umbrellas, spectacles, etc.
You should:

Make reasonable enquiries which could included asking
people nearby, consider enquiries in nearby premises or
leaving a note with your details.
If still unidentified then there is nothing more the Police
can do and you should dispose of the property.

Mobile telephones, jewellery, MP3 players, cash, keys,
computer or electrical equipment, firearms/shotguns or
ammunition, explosives, chemicals, toxins or poisons, drugs
or medicines or any other items not covered elsewhere
Please hand in to a police station, police officer/PCSO or contact
point so we can trace the owner or otherwise deal with them
safely.

[oldartefact]

if you walked in to hand that ring in after Sept 2014 you'd likely be told to keep it and 'take reasonable steps to locate its owner yourself'....see here http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Lo ... 0026020816" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's only for none valuable items according to the Met's new guidelines:

For unidentifiable or low value property, such as empty handbags,
bags, cases, wallets, purses, used clothing, soiled clothing,
perishable goods, rubbish, umbrellas, spectacles, etc.
You should:

Make reasonable enquiries which could included asking
people nearby, consider enquiries in nearby premises or
leaving a note with your details.
If still unidentified then there is nothing more the Police
can do and you should dispose of the property.

Mobile telephones, jewellery, MP3 players, cash, keys,
computer or electrical equipment, firearms/shotguns or
ammunition, explosives, chemicals, toxins or poisons, drugs
or medicines or any other items not covered elsewhere
Please hand in to a police station, police officer/PCSO or contact
point so we can trace the owner or otherwise deal with them
safely.

So the Met guidelines are that you should hand in E X P L O S I V E S in to the police station .... surely this cannot be the correct thing to do!!! For very obvious reasons!!!!

[liamnolan]

Quote "police station, police officer/PCSO or contact point ...." That requires us to use common sense judgement, you simply contact them and let them do their thing, Liam

[oldartefact]

Quote "police station, police officer/PCSO or contact point ...." That requires us to use common sense judgement, you simply contact them and let them do their thing, Liam

I will read it better next time ... lets just hope someone out there doesnt make the same mistake as me!!! Though in fairness instructions surrounding explosives should be explicit and unambiguous.

[sussexjames]

[/quote]

I dont think that it is correct to say that the person claiming the item isn't interested in thanking the person who found it. With respect that is a very sweeping statement, and even if its true 95% of the time could well be due to the process for reclaiming the item. ie. is the claimant expressly told that he/she can register a message of thanks to be given to the finder, is the claimant asked if they would like the name and address of the finder (assuming the finder has given consent under the DPA)?, Is the claimant asked if they would like to leave a reward for the finder or make a donation to charity, I suspect the answer is these questions is no, but I am hoping to be told I am wrong.

Also i do not think its a good policy to suggest not handing something on the basis you wont get caught. The morals unpinning such an action would in my book be questionable, but I do not dispute that you are unlikely to be caught. One scenario where you could be caught is if you try to sell the item on e-bay, or at jewlers close to the loss site.[/quote]

1) I can assure you there are some people out there so selfish that they have no interest in thanking the finder. A small number perhaps but I've witnessed this myself as have been the person handing it back to them. You'd think asking who was good enough to hand it in would be their first question? I've even been in positions where I've asked whether they'd like their contact details and been asked could I call them and thank them for them?! However the point I was trying to make (and my grammar may have let me down) was that often - EITHER the person isn't interested OR the system breaks down for one reason or another. I wasn't giving the former weight over the latter.

2) At no point have I suggested or condoned not handing something in on the basis your unlikely to get caught. My opinion of whether to hand it in, I thought, was quite clear. I merely stated, as you too rightly point out, the obvious in saying that in these circumstances its unlikely. I also didn't use the word 'caught' you did. I said 'be in trouble' . There is a difference but I'm not going in to it....

[Whitesv3]

Inform local police and leave your contact details. but do not show anybody, if someone contacts you ask them to describe it and the see if it fit them when they come to collect,