$$$$ Would you return it?

Donneybrook said:

I got started in metal detecting 4 1/2 years ago when I was 11 because I wanted to find treasure. I still hold to that view (though now its the best hobby ever) and if I found a $30,000 diamond ring I would sell it, because that be a nice start to my life and someone who is able to lose a 30K ring, does not need it back.

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Donneybrook;2037689someone who is able to lose a 30K ring said:

That is not necessarily true, Maybe that ring was inherited from a lost parent as just 1 example. That don't make the recipient automatically able to afford to lose anything. I know of many people that struggle in life but have wealthy parents.
Now lets use your wording of someone who is able to lose a 30K ring, does not need it back without even going into the issue of is turning it in the morally right thing to do, But instead i will ask you just because they can afford to lose it does that make it right to keep it? Would you give it back to a poor person in the same situation? Just wondering about your theory here as it kind of reminds me of penalizing the wealthy for being successful.

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popatop said:

That is not necessarily true, Maybe that ring was inherited from a lost parent as just 1 example. That don't make the recipient automatically able to afford to lose anything. I know of many people that struggle in life but have wealthy parents.
Now lets use your wording of someone who is able to lose a 30K ring, does not need it back without even going into the issue of is turning it in the right thing to do, But instead i will ask you just because they can afford to lose it does that make it right to keep it? Would you give it back to a poor person in the same situation? Just wondering about your theory here as it kind of reminds me of penalizing the wealthy.

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Donneybrook said:

I'm going with your general scenario. Do you honestly believe a poor person is going to have a 30k diamond ring? And as Issac said, in most cases they would have been insured. I dont consider this to be an ethical issue. People realize we metal detectorists are in this to find treasure, so by golly that's what I'm gonna do!

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popatop said:

Yes there are many people that have inherited jewelry but that don't make them wealthy or as stated above it don't make them more able to afford to lose anything. As far as the insurance goes read my original post i asked to keep that out because we simply have no way of knowing whether it is insured or not which brings up another argument that i don't care to open up and that is then the item would be the property of the insurance company but lets don't even get that started.

You bring up the word ethical Do you know the true meaning?

eth·i·cal
adjective \ˈe-thi-kəl\

: involving questions of right and wrong behavior : relating to ethics

: following accepted rules of behavior : morally right and good

What you do with your finds is up to you but just remember how you feel when you lose something that means alot to you. If i remember correctly it wasn't long ago that somebody took a big part of a tree that obviously meant alot to you and you will never get it back from your FAMILY property and you were very shook up about it. Just food for thought.

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chemman said:

Here is another take on this:

Say you are some rich billionaire and you simply love to metal detect. You grab your MD and head down to the park in the ghetto cause you always find more stuff there. Bingo! You find this beautiful $30,000 ring.

What does rich dude do with it?

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Uptown603 said:

"I live from pay check to pay check and if I found a ring or whatever that's been under ground and I dig it up and it's worth a lot of money damn right I'm gonna get paid! It's a dog eat dog world and this dog is hungry!"





Minelab CTX Dirty30-Teknetics T2 Se

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DocWatson said:

I'd like to think I'd make a good faith effort to find the owner and return it. I'd LIKE to think that, but the truth is I don't know what I'd do. It's a hypothetical situation, and I've never been presented with a choice like that before, so I don't know what I'd do. I think if i decided to keep it and saw a CL ad describing exactly the ring I found I'd have a hard time not returning it.



Honestly, I don't know. It's never likely to happen anyway.

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coin whisperer said:

My boss buys all of my gear, I have never paid a dime for my stuff

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Steve77 said:

For me detecting is just for fun. I like the finds, but it isn't solely about the cash value. It is kinda like fishing. I have many thousands of dollars wrapped up in fly fishing and fly tying stuff. I spend a fair amount of time and money traveling to fish. I do lots of research on fly patterns, fish habits, rivers and fishing gear. I have caught some amazing fish. I am a catch and release fisherman. Why do I bother fishing? Because for that moment that the fish is mine to keep or put back, I am just happy to be there. I could have saved all that money and sat home watching fishing shows, and bought all the fish I could eat.

I will sell some finds, keep some, and have returned a gold class ring. If the owner can be easily tracked down, I choose to return it. I am not going to make it my life's work to find the owner, but I will give it my honest effort.

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Uptown603 said:

My boss buys all of my gear, I have never paid a dime for my stuff





Minelab CTX Dirty30-Teknetics T2 Se

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ISU Boomer said:

Damn, I need a boss like yours.

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