A TREASURE hunter is set to receive his reward five years after he unearthed a hoard of Viking coins. Andy Whewell discovered 464 silver Viking coins, 26 silver ingots and an armlet in a field in Glenfaba in March 2003.

After being declared treasure trove, part of the Glenfaba hoard went on display in the Viking Galley at the Manx Museum. Mr Whewell and Manx National Heritage were locked in a lengthy battle over the value of the discovery.

In May, MNH vice-chairman Alex Downie MLC called for Tynwald to approve a payment of £275,000 for the find but the matter was adjourned after Peel MHK Tim Crookall revealed five valuations had been commissioned ranging from £166,000 to £490,000.

Last week Tynwald agreed to award Mr Whewell £300,000 for the find. It followed a meeting between the parties at which it was resolved that one of the valuations, which was 12 months old, would be revised to £298,261 taking into account market changes, Mr Downie explained.

After a five year wait Mr Whewell said he was glad it had come to an end but will continue looking for treasures with his trusty metal detector.

Chief Minister Tony Brown admitted: ‘This has been a real long struggle to get this matter sorted out.’ He said all parties were frustrated as they had had to use legislation dating back to the 1500s.

TAMPA – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a Palm Harbor scholar who is suing the U.S. Treasury secretary for neglecting to circulate coins with the images of the 10 men he says were presidents before George Washington.

Stanley Klos, 54, a scholar of rare historical documents, sued Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in May citing the Presidential Coin Act, which directs the Treasury secretary to issue $1 coins depicting the presidents of the United States and to mint the coins until each president has been honored.

Klos claimed that failing to recognize these men harms his children and all students in America by misleading them about “the existence and identity of the earliest founders and the presidents of the United States.”

U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday ruled that because the Presidential Coin Act only issues coins commemorating presidents beginning with George Washington, who took office in 1789. It does not recognize the presidents under the 1777 Articles of Confederation as holding the same post as Washington or presidents that followed. The Articles of Confederation served as a constitution for the original colonies until it was replaced by the U.S. Constitution in 1788.

Most historians also dismiss Klos’ arguments, saying these 10 men did not have the same powers and authority as the presidents from Washington forward. The title of their office may have been similar, but the post was not the same, the historians say. They weren’t commander in chief, did not have decision-making powers and couldn’t veto legislation. (more…)

By David Yates for the Southeast Texas Record

Lawyer Bill Voss has seen two of his colleagues dismissed from the possibility of professional sanctions, but the Houston attorney is still waiting to see if the same will be true for him.

On July 10, Judge Floyd, 172nd District Court, held a hearing to consider a Motion to Enforce Judgment and Sanctions against Voss for allegations he violated a court order in connection with litigation against a Beaumont company that deals in rare coins.

Attorneys for Universal Coin & Bullion and its president Mike Fuljenz filed the motion Nov. 1, 2007, alleging Voss and his colleagues Jason Gibson and Jake Posey defied a restraining order issued by Judge Floyd in March 2007.

The restraining order was engineered to stop Voss from using an alleged list of clients stolen from UCB as a way to drum up clients.

Voss, Posey and Gibson represent dozens of UCB customers who allege the coin company ripped them off. UCB has counter sued.

UCB sought sanctions against all three of the attorneys, but after a lengthy hearing March 7, 2008, Floyd dismissed Posey and Gibson from the motion.

After being rescheduled several times, a hearing focusing solely on Voss was finally held last week.

“This all started when (an UCB) employee left (the company) and talked to Voss,” said Gibson, who represented Voss at the hearing. “Everything flows from (a former UCB) employee talking with Voss.”

UCB alleged that former employee John Rollins obtained a list of company customers and handed it over to Voss, who then tried to engage the customers as plaintiffs in lawsuits against the coin company. (more…)