Why is it impossible to hand over treasure in Russia within the framework of the current law???

At first I wanted to write “practically impossible” in the title, but, as it turned out during the research, in this topic there is not even the slightest option within the framework of that very “practically”

Dear readers of our blog, good mood to you.

The topic of this article was prompted by another note I saw in Zen on the topic: “What to do if a treasure is discovered?” As usual, such notes contain lengthy advice mixed with quotes from articles of law. And, at the same time, no specifics of real examples of treasures being handed over to the state. Why are there no examples? Yes, because there are no examples of treasures being handed over at all. The sensational case of a resident of Kursk is inappropriate here. It's a completely different story there. If only because the citizen did not hand over the treasure voluntarily.

Are there any real examples of voluntary surrender of treasures to the state?

Interesting question isn't it? It would be nice to clearly analyze a specific example in steps and stages. An Internet search for queries yielded nothing, so I turned to a respected archaeologist. We talked and I managed to learn about three funny stories. Why funny? I wrote about this in a note you can read here

So what do we understand? And the fact is that over the past 20 years in Russia only THREE treasures have been donated voluntarily. And then, later they were reclassified as local history material. More on this below, but for now let’s try to understand the topic from the point of view of the law.

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, how can you hand over treasure without breaking the law?

I’ll say NO straight away. Why? Having analyzed the legislation and specific examples, I will explain clearly.

Suppose you, while digging a hole for an apple tree in your garden, found a pot, and in it were 150 ruble coins minted during the reign of Peter the Great. This discovery was witnessed by a nasty and malicious neighbor with whom you are constantly at odds. At this point you understand that it will not be possible to hide the treasure, because, in this case, the law clearly states the confiscation of the treasure with the imposition of an administrative fine.

This means that, according to the law, you must report the treasure you found. You report to local authorities and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the area. At the same time, you should already have in your hands an inventory of the treasure you found with confirmation from an expert about the condition of each coin and its number according to the numismatic catalog.

Important: the police do not have the right to accept valuables from your treasure for safekeeping, so all responsibility for the safety and integrity of the treasure falls entirely on you.

For you, in this situation, the most important thing is to get the signature of the person in charge stating that you have declared the treasure found. And here, any sane official will refuse to put his signature on your application until you receive the conclusion of a government expert that these coins are indeed the same according to the number in the catalog and have a specific type of state of preservation. Simply put, both the police and the heads of local government send the treasure hunter to the museum.

The regional museum will undoubtedly be delighted with such a good and very expensive addition to the museum’s collection. Naturally, the museum will immediately declare the cultural and historical value of the treasure. They will accept your coins according to the inventory, sign the transfer certificates and accept your application for payment of the required compensation. And two days later you find out that an administrative case has been opened against you for illegal archaeological activities.

How is this so?

And like this. The museum sends a letter to the department or ministry of culture of the region stating that they accepted the treasure from the citizen and now the regional Ministry of Culture is obliged to calculate the cost of the required compensation and send a request to the treasury to pay the citizen the specified amount of money.

And here we get to the very essence of the issue under discussion. Payments to a citizen for handed over treasure.

The fact is that, despite the apparent simplicity and clarity of the law on treasures, there is not a single legislative or sub-legislative act that would explain how to calculate the value of treasure handed over to the state. You can hand over the treasure and even with the most favorable attitude toward you from officials, museum workers and other persons, they will not be able to pay you the money guaranteed by law. Simply because there is no legal system for calculating the value of surrendered valuables. And if, for example, the Ministry of Culture somehow calculates the cost of the treasure for you, then this request will be challenged and blocked by the regional treasury. There is no such law!!!

And, in this situation, there is only one way out for officials.

Accuse you of illegal archaeological activities. After which, an archaeologist from the same museum will come to your garden and find three or four shards of broken ceramics from the 19th century, and your garden will be recognized as an identified archaeological site. Then a trial, an administrative fine, confiscation of the treasure and a note in the local press that a black archaeologist was convicted today.

What if, when a treasure is discovered, you don’t seize it yourself, but call archaeologists?

Logically, in this case you will not be accused of illegal archaeological activity, but you will not receive money for the treasure either. Because, according to the law, all objects found during archaeological work are the property of the state, regardless of where and under what circumstances they were found.

Conclusion.

The example I gave is the worst possible development for a person who finds a treasure. In reality, the vast majority of cases with treasures stop in the plot at the level of a trip to the police. You can find out exactly how this happens by typing in the search engine “How Poryvaev handed over the treasure.”

I wish you all good luck and good mood