Is Gold Mining Illegal In New York State?

Is it illegal to go gold mining in New York? If you have ever dreamed of mining for gold, you may need to reconsider those dreams.

Believe it or not, in New York State there is a law that dates back to 1776 that makes it ILLEGAL:

The current law, which may be referred to as “The King's Law", prohibits keeping any gold and silver found either on public or private property within the state of New York. That’s right, if you find gold under your porch it belongs to the state under these laws.

This law dictates that any gold found in the state will remain the property of the State of New York. The effect of this law that is still on the books, and in turn, has discouraged many from even trying to go gold mining. Why make the state rich instead of yourself?

Even if you find gold on your own property, a cave under your basement, it's not your gold. This law applies whether the gold is discovered on public land or even if it is found on private property. You could find gold bricks in your backyard, and in theory, they are property of New York.

You can prospect for gold in New York, Central New York, or Upstate, you just can’t keep the gold. Gold mining isn't illegal, you just can't keep it.

Revise NYS King's Law on Gold & Silver

Currently on Change.org there is a petition were 73 people have signed out of agoal of 100 to revise the law.

At 100 signatures, this petition is more likely to be featured in recommendations!"

You can read more on that movement online here.