Treasure Troves Laws Vary Widely
The basic laws governing the recovery rights and ultimate ownership of treasure troves vary widely, both here in the United States and elsewhere in the world at large. Here in the U.S., the states themselves appear to have the most control over treasure trove laws but in every instance of treasure trove recovery, the Federal government is always close at hand, particularly the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS views all treasure recoveries as part of your gross income and therefore must be claimed as such.