Wednesday, 28th May 2008 (333 views)

Finding lost gold jewellery is an emotional journey for Vinny Mariotti, the St Petersburg Times reports.

Its feature on the retired treasure hunter reveals a sense of ethics, or lack of it, among people who search the beaches around Port Richey and Florida for pricey finds.

Mr Mariotti says he tries to reunite lost gold jewellery and other items with their rightful owners after leaving a family heirloom in a washroom and discovering it had been taken without regard for his feelings; other treasure hunters are not so kindly, he suggests.

He puts faith in his instincts to find the jewellery with a metal detector, saying: "I get a feeling and then I hunt the hell out of it."

Recently he found an 1820 gold-plated Buddha in Florida; further digs in the area revealed the metal chapel-like structure that had formerly encased the item.

"It wanted to be found," Mariotti explained.

At Georgia's Tybee Island last year, amateur history expert Roy Evans found 23 separate gold pieces, including two crosses, 12 rings, medallions, brooches and one necklace, worth thousands of dollars, the Associated Press reports.

 

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