Ancient Gold will end up in Collectors hands or Not?

Mark Hambleton and Joe Kania (StaffordshireCounty Council)

Now we see why artefact collectors think the British Treasure act is such a 'good thing' (for them). If the nation does not cough up the money for what is already theirs (heritage, innit?), then collectors can get their hands on them:

A council is campaigning to raise £325,000 to stop the "oldest" Iron Age gold found in Britain being sold to private bidders. The gold jewellery, believed to be about 2,500 years old, was discovered by friends Mark Hambleton and Joe Kania on Staffordshire Moorlands farmland. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been given three months to buy the three necklaces and bracelet by the Crown. If its bid is successful, the gold will go on public display. The council has until 5 December to meet the valuation price, set by the Treasure Valuation Committee. Council leader Dave Conway said: "It is going to take [a] big fundraising effort to ensure we can save these stunning finds." The council said that if it failed to meet the target, the artefacts could be split up and sold to private bidders. It hopes the gold can be displayed at the city's Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. The torcs were found separately, about one metre (3ft) apart, buried near the surface in Leekfrith last December. Experts believe they date back to 400BC. They are thought to be from the continent and would have been worn by important women in society.

Kania is a Polish name, it means a type of fungus.