A French climber stumbles across a box of precious jewels

How would you like to be the person who finds the hidden treasure while on a dangerous journey? hey climbing a mountain isn't easy.

What a great guy, instead of keeping all of the bootie for himself he decided to turn it in for moral reasons.

I wish I could shake your hand.

The hoard of sapphires, emeralds and rubies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars was found high on one of the glaciers on Mont Blanc.

www.bbc.co.uk...

reply to post by hknudzkknexnt


So there are still some honest people left? Woohoo! Yea! And just when I had almost given up hope.

This is a great way to start my day. I hope things work out for him and he gets amply rewarded. Keep us posted if things develop?

aboutface
reply to post by hknudzkknexnt

 

So there are still some honest people left? Woohoo! Yea! And just when I had almost given up hope.

This is a great way to start my day. I hope things work out for him and he gets amply rewarded. Keep us posted if things develop?

I thinking of that too..powerful heart..

So you find a box of jewels halfway up a mountain where no-one ever goes and hand them over to the local authorities?

My guess is that they weren't reported missing and that the owner has probably been dead for a few hundred years. So are they lost?

This guy then hands them over and gets a pat on the back. Meanwhile, some bent civil servant is a few million quid richer.

Am i missing something here?

Scorchio
So you find a box of jewels halfway up a mountain where no-one ever goes and hand them over to the local authorities?

My guess is that they weren't reported missing and that the owner has probably been dead for a few hundred years. So are they lost?

This guy then hands them over and gets a pat on the back. Meanwhile, some bent civil servant is a few million quid richer.

Am i missing something here?

Well, I am with you on this at first glance. As much as I am proud of the homeless guy returning the fungible stack of cash (much more impressive if you ask me), I wonder what mitigating circumstances prompted this decision.

It is possible that, like many other elite activities, there is a code of honor and he may have assumed that it belonged to an erstwhile climber whose family might be in need of or missing them (not likely).

Perhaps he has plenty of money and treated them like a hello kitty wallet with a few arcade tokens inside preferring the fame to be had by publicizing the return (possible, not a sport of the poor generally).

He may have rightly assumed that they were ill-gotten gains and decided to return them for investigative purposes realizing that being apprehended attempting to exchange them would draw unwanted attention.

Or, hopefully, it is exactly as it appears, he has an honest heart and did the right thing. However, in this case, you are quite right that the booty will most likely be consumed by the local bureaucracy nary to be seen again.

That was Just a frozen "Blanc" account

reply to post by Scorchio


Yep, you are missing something.

By French law, when you find treasure or valuables you have to declare it to the authorities, as if you decide to keep it and then selll you can be accused of theft.

In the case that you have found treasure or valuables of an exeptional value on your own land you still have to declare it and half goes to you whilst the other half goes to the state.

In the case of finding treasure or valuables on someone elses land the same applies apart from that you have to split your half with the land owner.

Declaring this to the authorities over here means that the treasure or valuables are cataloged so that it is identifiable when being sold to collectors or jewellers and gets you the best / highest purchase price, non declaration means that you have to sell it "under the table" so to speak and get the lowest price.

Hope that helps?

Warmest respects

Rodinus

reply to post by Scorchio


Sadly i'm sure thats not to far off

If you like nice story's about genuine people doing the right thing take a look at this link which was posted on ATS a few dfays ago you might have missed.

L ink

reply to post by Rodinus


Thanks for the reply.

So what you're actually saying is that there is nothing remarkable or honest about handing the jewels in to the authorities and that he's done it because it's his best chance of getting something out of it. Unless of course the jewels are mysteriously recorded as stolen, in which case some bent civil servant will be a few million quid richer and the finder will receive a pat on the head.

I still fail to see anything honourable in the gesture.

Rodinus
reply to post by Scorchio

 

Yep, you are missing something.

By French law, when you find treasure or valuables you have to declare it to the authorities, as if you decide to keep it and then selll you can be accused of theft.

In the case that you have found treasure or valuables of an exeptional value on your own land you still have to declare it and half goes to you whilst the other half goes to the state.

In the case of finding treasure or valuables on someone elses land the same applies apart from that you have to split your half with the land owner.

Declaring this to the authorities over here means that the treasure or valuables are cataloged so that it is identifiable when being sold to collectors or jewellers and gets you the best / highest purchase price, non declaration means that you have to sell it "under the table" so to speak and get the lowest price.

Hope that helps?

Warmest respects

Rodinus

Yup this redefines the thief to me thanks.

Scorchio
reply to post by Rodinus

 

Thanks for the reply.

So what you're actually saying is that there is nothing remarkable or honest about handing the jewels in to the authorities and that he's done it because it's his best chance of getting something out of it. Unless of course the jewels are mysteriously recorded as stolen, in which case some bent civil servant will be a few million quid richer and the finder will receive a pat on the head.

I still fail to see anything honourable in the gesture.

Personally i think he is a remarkable and honest person for doing so as would any other honest person.

I was just making things a little clearer so that everyone understands how things work over here in France when something such as treasure or property of high value has been found.

Edited to add : Whoops, forgot to mention, although the guy has been honest enough report his find, i am sure he knew very well that he would be well rewarded (even if he only gets half!).

Hat goes off to him anyway because i am certain that other people may not have had the same honesty.

Kindest respects

Rodinus

Why do articles like this never come with a picture of the THE AMAZING JEWELS? I mean it's 2013, they couldn't even get a snapshot to release with all the news stories?! I would love to have seen them, even if the photo were a bit underwhelming.

reply to post by RedCairo


Probably waiting to see if the original owner or heretier can prove ownership before publishing pics in case any Tom, Dick or Harry says that they are theirs especially with an estimation at roughly 246,000 euros!

Extra information here :

www.france24.com...

Kindest respects

Rodinus

Thanks for sharing, he is a very honest man. What are the odds of finding something like that?
He does give his own reasoning for turning them over in the article,

"He could have kept them but he chose to turn them in because he knew they belonged to someone who probably perished," local police officer Sylvain Merly said.

Authorities believe they were from a plane crash, the metal case marked "Made in India" is believed to have come from one of two Air India crashes in 1950 and 1966.

I'm not sure what I would do under those circumstances, I would probably pull an Indiana Jones and be like, "Those belong in a museum..." followed by me slipping a few into my back pocket.

I still would have liked to see a photo of the jewels.

You never know what you will come across when you head out that front door, especially when you head up a mountain.

I must not live by the same moral code as everyone else.

If I find something that "certainly" belongs to someone else, they get it back,
no question--even if it is millions of untraceable dollars.

But if I find something and can't reasonably establish ownership, then that
something is mine. Screw the law--it doesn't belong to the state, that's for damn
sure.

I don't see this guy as being honest, but rather a somewhat mis-guided
do-goodnick without cause. If you can find the owner--give them every bit
of what you've found and be happy that the rightful owner received his
property back.

But consider that we only live a short time on this plane and "true" ownership
is but a brief and transient thing. Nobody really owns anything except the body
that they are wearing. So if you find something that no one else can rightfully
claim---use it, keep it, it is yours...Finders Keepers...see you in the next life...
and fix that hole in your pocket

If they weren't insured, tough luck for the original owner. So somebody made a law that says basically, "If you find any treasure come here and put it on our desk" ? Screw them. If I found a box of jewels on the side of a mountain from a fifty year old plane crash they would be mine and sold one at a time as family heirlooms.

Scorchio
So you find a box of jewels halfway up a mountain where no-one ever goes and hand them over to the local authorities?

My guess is that they weren't reported missing and that the owner has probably been dead for a few hundred years. So are they lost?

This guy then hands them over and gets a pat on the back. Meanwhile, some bent civil servant is a few million quid richer.

Am i missing something here?

not much
just another day on the farm

reply to post by Metaphysique


O well.. I just don't like doom porn so.. yeah.

reply to post by Metaphysique


Do the sheep go MOOOOO?