METHUEN, Massachusetts (AP) -- It's the stuff of fantasies, and Tim Crebase found it buried under two feet of earth in his own backyard.

 

There, he and friend Barry Villcliff found a box stuffed with cash and gold and silver certificates, some more than a century old.

 

The buried treasure is worth more than $100,000, according to a coin shop owner.

 

"I was thinking, 'I've never seen anything like this in my life,"' Domenic Mangano, owner of Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, New Hampshire.

 

Crebase said the find came three weeks ago when he and Villcliff were trying to dig up a small tree.

 

Crebase, 23, heard a thud and saw that he'd hit a piece of wood. Another look, and he saw the wood was part of a two-foot-wide box.

 

He ripped the top off and found nine rusted cans that he and Villcliff, 27, cracked open to find about 1,800 bills, including more than 900 $1 bills, 200 $2 bills, and 300 $20 bills dated from 1899 to 1929.

 

There were also piles of gold and silver certificates and scores of notes from local banks in Methuen, Haverhill, Amesbury, Newburyport and beyond.

 

They took the stash to Mangano's shop later that day.

 

"I'm a pessimist; I was waiting until I got a professional review before I jumped to any conclusions," Villcliff said. "Tim, however, was singing and dancing. He was ranting like a rabid monkey."

 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/27/treasure....d.ap/index.html

That doesn't suck. Do they have to track down the heirs to the money though?

Finders keepers .

That doesn't suck.

$100,000? thats a lot of moola to find in ur backyard. how lucky that guy is, huh?

That doesn't suck. Do they have to track down the heirs to the money though?

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Great property law situation here. The law generally distinguishes between types of found items. In this case, the property is either lost, abandoned, mislaid, or a treasure trove. Its key to characterizing the type of property to determine who has rights over it. Abandoned and lost property deals with property that the true owner either doesnt want or has lost involuntarily. Mislaid property is property that the owner INTENTIONALLY put there so as to dig up later. Treasure trove is currency that was placed anywhere but is so old that the true owner is likely dead.

 

Now if the property is lost, abandoned, or a treasure trove, whoever finds it, gets it. If the propery was mislaid, then the true owner or the owner of the land still has rights over it.

 

Now its likely this is treasure trove since someone would have come back by now. Even if someone claims they hid it there, they would have to prove it and that would be tough.

 

As a treasure trove, the finder gets ownership..these guys.

 

If however these guys arent the owners and are the renters of the house, there might be an issue if they were not allowed to dig the place up. I doubt that would affect them though.

 

 

And that is today's lesson in property law.

I'm going for a dig, be back later guys.

2 Arrested After Claiming Buried Treasure By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer

1 hour, 21 minutes ago

 

LAWRENCE, Mass. - Two men who claimed in numerous national television interviews that they found buried treasure in the back yard of a home were arrested early Friday after being questioned by police, who said the money was stolen.

 

 

Investigators believe Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., found the old bank notes and bills while doing roofing work.

 

Both men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Lt. Kevin Martin said. They were to be arraigned Friday morning.

 

Crebase told investigators the men found the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair, police said.

 

"We got an anonymous tip two days ago," Capt. Kris McCarthy told the Eagle-Tribune newspaper of Lawrence. "These guys are roofers. They found the money on the job site. They story after that was all made up."

 

The men said they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928 while digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents.

 

The materials had a face value of about $7,000. Domenic Mangano, owner of the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H., examined the find and estimated its value between $50,000 and $75,000.

 

The men's stories, though, attracted suspicion because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.

 

The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in Crebase's yard. They told one reporter they were preparing to plant a tree. In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.

 

The men made several appearances on national television this week, but police noticed details of the story changed with each appearance.

 

Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon told ABC's "Good Morning America" that authorities might never have suspected anything had the men not sought publicity.

 

"Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people," Solomon said.

 

Billcliff insisted the discrepancies could be explained.

 

"It's like watching a car accident," he told the newspaper. "Sometimes someone will say something and someone else will say something slightly different, but mostly it's the same."

 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...buried_treasure

2 Arrested After Claiming Buried Treasure By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer

1 hour, 21 minutes ago

 

LAWRENCE, Mass. - Two men who claimed in numerous national television interviews that they found buried treasure in the back yard of a home were arrested early Friday after being questioned by police, who said the money was stolen.

 

 

Investigators believe Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., found the old bank notes and bills while doing roofing work.

 

Both men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Lt. Kevin Martin said. They were to be arraigned Friday morning.

 

Crebase told investigators the men found the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair, police said.

 

"We got an anonymous tip two days ago," Capt. Kris McCarthy told the Eagle-Tribune newspaper of Lawrence. "These guys are roofers. They found the money on the job site. They story after that was all made up."

 

The men said they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928 while digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents.

 

The materials had a face value of about $7,000. Domenic Mangano, owner of the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H., examined the find and estimated its value between $50,000 and $75,000.

 

The men's stories, though, attracted suspicion because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.

 

The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in Crebase's yard. They told one reporter they were preparing to plant a tree. In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.

 

The men made several appearances on national television this week, but police noticed details of the story changed with each appearance.

 

Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon told ABC's "Good Morning America" that authorities might never have suspected anything had the men not sought publicity.

 

"Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people," Solomon said.

 

Billcliff insisted the discrepancies could be explained.

 

"It's like watching a car accident," he told the newspaper. "Sometimes someone will say something and someone else will say something slightly different, but mostly it's the same."

 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...buried_treasure

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Ouch.

2 Arrested After Claiming Buried Treasure By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer

1 hour, 21 minutes ago

 

LAWRENCE, Mass. - Two men who claimed in numerous national television interviews that they found buried treasure in the back yard of a home were arrested early Friday after being questioned by police, who said the money was stolen.

 

 

Investigators believe Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., found the old bank notes and bills while doing roofing work.

 

Both men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Lt. Kevin Martin said. They were to be arraigned Friday morning.

 

Crebase told investigators the men found the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair, police said.

 

"We got an anonymous tip two days ago," Capt. Kris McCarthy told the Eagle-Tribune newspaper of Lawrence. "These guys are roofers. They found the money on the job site. They story after that was all made up."

 

The men said they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928 while digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents.

 

The materials had a face value of about $7,000. Domenic Mangano, owner of the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H., examined the find and estimated its value between $50,000 and $75,000.

 

The men's stories, though, attracted suspicion because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.

 

The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in Crebase's yard. They told one reporter they were preparing to plant a tree. In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.

 

The men made several appearances on national television this week, but police noticed details of the story changed with each appearance.

 

Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon told ABC's "Good Morning America" that authorities might never have suspected anything had the men not sought publicity.

 

"Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people," Solomon said.

 

Billcliff insisted the discrepancies could be explained.

 

"It's like watching a car accident," he told the newspaper. "Sometimes someone will say something and someone else will say something slightly different, but mostly it's the same."

 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...buried_treasure

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Pwned?

:lol

WTF? Talk about a Twist

OWNED

If anybody watches Jimmy Kimmel, he was going to interview the guys but then the cops wouldnt let him, I thought it was all a joke but I guess this makes it even funnier.