Earlier this month, one very lucky man was told he would be allowed to keep half of a treasure trove of diamonds, emeralds and sapphires he'd found back in 2013 while hiking on Mont Blanc in France.

It's an incredible true story of buried treasure, but finding valuables on the street, beach or even within your own home is more common than you might think, so how do you know if you're allowed to keep them? And what happens if you're the one who lost the precious items in the first place?

The Quicky speaks to two legal and policing experts to find out if it really is a case of 'finders, keepers' when you discover valuables by chance, or if pocketing them instead of reporting it to the authorities could land you in some legally hot water.

CREDITS 

Host: Claire Murphy

With thanks to: 

Wayne Morgan - Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Education) in the Australian National University's College of Law

Peter Price - Chairman of Crime Stoppers Australia

Producer: Claire Murphy

Executive Producer: Siobhán Moran-McFarlane

Audio Producer: Ian Camilleri

Subscribe to The Quicky at... https://mamamia.com.au/the-quicky/

CONTACT US

Got a topic you'd like us to cover? Send us an email at [email protected]

GET IN TOUCH:

Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Just by reading or listening to our content, you’re helping to fund girls in schools in some of the most disadvantaged countries in the world - through our partnership with Room to Read. We’re currently funding 300 girls in school every day and our aim is to get to 1,000. Find out more about Mamamia at mamamia.com.au 

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.