The minister has written to all museums with archaeological collections to express his pleasure at the increasing tendency for finders of treasure to waive their claim to a reward in order to help museums acquire finds for public display.

David Lammy said:

"In order to pay tribute to generosity of these finders who have sought no reward for their find, I will in future send a certificate, officially recognising the finder.  It is essential for the interest of the public that museums continue to benefit from such generosity."

Finders and landowners may state that they do not wish to claim a reward at any stage in the treasure process, either before or after inquest, in order to be eligible to receive the certificate.

It is estimated that there are 30 cases of finders not seeking a reward for their find per year.

Notes to editors:

1. The Treasure Act 1996 is a tremendously successful mechanism for enabling museums to acquire archaeological finds for public benefit and helping people around the country to gain a greater understanding of their local and national heritage

2. Under the Treasure Act there is a legal obligation for finders of potential Treasure to report them to the Coroner in the District in which they were found.

3. If a find is declared Treasure, a museum has the opportunity to acquire it from the Crown. The finder/landowner may then be compensated with a reward equal to the full market value of the find/s, as recommended to the Secretary of State by the Treasure Valuation Committee.

4. If a finder chooses not to claim his reward, the museum may acquire the find for a lower price and more quickly.

5. A PDF copy of the certificate is available for the press.