Providing a Descriptive Report for the Coroner

Each find needs to have a descriptive report written about it for the Coroner and for the historic record. This report is written by a suitably experienced authority in that type of material; it could be the FLO or a local colleague, or it could be the appropriate curator at the British Museum or Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales.

The report should provide an opinion for the Coroner as to whether or not the find is likely to constitute Treasure. It may be that a find was reported to the Coroner as potential Treasure but upon further analysis, the expert feels that it is not.

For many artefacts, it would seem 'obvious' that a find is Treasure, but it can still take a little while for the report to be completed, as it should accurately describe the object and briefly explain what it is. Some finds require more extensive research than others. If the item does not end up in a public collection, this may be the only chance for an accurate record of it to be made.

If the FLO writes a report on the find, it will normally be checked by the national museum curator before being endorsed for the Coroner. If it is felt desirable for a national museum curator to write the report on the find, it will be brought to the museum at the first opportunity. This can take some time, as travel budgets are very limited and it is not usually justifiable to make a trip for a single case. In some instances, it will be necessary to carry out non-destructive scientific analysis on the find (see the page 'Conservation and analysis' for more information).

For finds of coins, it is usually felt desirable to catalogue the coins for the record, but in the case of large hoards and those that will be acquired by museums, a summary catalogue may be produced for the Treasure process. Large hoards from England are often brought to the British Museum for cataloguing.

The finder and landowner will receive a copy of this report.