R v Hancock [1990] 2 WLR 640 (CA) Facts: The appellant was charged with theft from the Crown of 16 ancient coins found in an area which appeared to have been the site of a Romano-Celtic temple. If the coins were a treasure trove, they belonged to the Crown.

Rose LJ: The further submission was made that the specimens were not in the lawful possession of the college at the time they were taken, and therefore could not have been stolen. It was, however, accepted that the college was physically in possession of the specimens, but the submission was made at that time that that possession was governed by the provisions of the Anatomy Act 1832 and, in consequence, the college’s possession was unlawful because the specimens had been retained beyond the period of 2 years, referred to in that Act by way of amendment, before burial. The learned judge rejected that submission on the basis that possession and control in the accepted terms of those words for the purposes of the Theft Act, was not in issue. He found that there was certainly no evidence before the court to support the suggestion that the college’s possession and control was unlawful. To those submissions, which have been repeated in this court, we shall in a moment return in a little more detail ...