[greglepore]

It is interesting, but very complicated. Common law allowed the finder of of a "tresure trove" to keep it. However, this law has been extensively modified. There is a Federal Archeological Resources Protection Act, which gives the federal gov't ownership of pretty much any human related thing found on federal land that is more than 100 years old. This law does not likely apply as the Dent Run site was the property of the state of Pa.


The law in Pennsylvania is not so clear. The primary case is In Re Rodgers, which dates to 1948. Rodgers involved a find of cash hidden in a house. The lower court ruled prior to a trial that treasure trove did not apply and the property belonged to the state. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reversed and ruled that a) they were explicitly not determining the status of treasure trove in Pa., and that b) in any event, if the owner of property was "knowable" as opposed to unknown, the property remained the property of the owner subject to escheat under Pa. law.


Here, it appears that it is undisputed that the gold in question was Union gold in transit, and was either lost or stolen. In either event, the owner of the gold is the US government and the owner is "knowable" and thus under the current state of Pa law it belongs to the federal government. Escheat cannot be applied by a state against federal property, so that point is moot. Long story short, while the actions of the feds here might appear questionable, they were most likely legal and the gold is theirs.