California Couple Finds $10M in Gold Coins Buried in Yard

[Cebu_4_2]

California Couple Finds $10M in Gold Coins Buried in Yard

A Northern California couple out walking their dog on their Gold Country property stumbled across a modern-day bonanza: $10 million in rare, mint-condition gold coins buried in the shadow of an old tree.

Nearly all of the 1,427 coins, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, which recently authenticated them.

Although the face value of the gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, some of them are so rare that coin experts say they could fetch nearly $1 million apiece.

"I don't like to say once-in-a-lifetime for anything, but you don't get an opportunity to handle this kind of material, a treasure like this, ever," said veteran numismatist Don Kagin, who is representing the finders. "It's like they found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

Kagin, whose family has been in the rare-coin business for 81 years, would say little about the couple other than that they are husband and wife, are middle-aged and have lived for several years on the rural property where the coins were found.
They have no idea who put them there, he said.

The pair are choosing to remain anonymous, Kagin said, in part to avoid a renewed gold rush to their property by modern-day prospectors armed with metal detectors.

http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2014_09/209811/140225-backyard-gold-coins-hg-1449_0526d36b8d7416b0de1f2dc0bed06277.nbcnews-ux-640-520.jpg AP
This image provided by the Saddle Ridge Hoard discoverers via Kagin's, Inc., shows one of the six decaying metal canisters filled with 1800s-era U.S. gold coins unearthed in California by two people who want to remain anonymous.

— The Associated Press

First published February 25th 2014, 2:53 pm

[StreetsOfGold]

Imagine if it was paper? Those cans would contain dust

[Ponce]

Or a computer disk with inscriptions for bitcoins? hahahaahahahahhahahah.

V

[Norweger]

Probably once belonged to a hardcore prepper.

[chad]

why do these people always open their mouth about it? keep your trap shut and carry on.

[midnight rambler]

Probably once belonged to a hardcore prepper.

100+ years ago anyone living rurally was a prepper.

[midnight rambler]

why do these people always open their mouth about it? keep your trap shut and carry on.

Probably 'cause it's someone who 'respects authority'.

Gee, do ya think the Individuals Representing Satan took notice?

[mick silver]

1,427 coins face value of the gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, that some pure bullsh/t . most of those coin would be what and oz

[Sparky]

1,427 coins face value of the gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, that some pure bullsh/t . most of those coin would be what and oz

Face value, Mick, not spot value. Those are mostly double eagles, which have a face value of $20.

[mick silver]

never mind thanks 28540 00

[Silver Rocket Bitches!]

why do these people always open their mouth about it? keep your trap shut and carry on.

NS, now the gubmint is gonna come and demand those coins. Probably cite the 1933 gold act or something.

[Stop Making Cents]

NS, now the gubmint is gonna come and demand those coins. Probably cite the 1933 gold act or something.

Those coins most likely belong to the knights of the golden circle.

[EE_]

Imagine if it was paper? Those cans would contain dust

Imagine if they were Bitcoins? Those cans would be empty

[madfranks]

Imagine if they were Bitcoins? Those cans would be empty

If they were bitcoins, the guy wouldn't have had to bury them in a can for hiding, only to never see them again.

[Horn]

If they were bitcoins, the guy wouldn't have had to bury them in a can for hiding, only to never see them again.

Ximmy should've buried her Bitcoins in a can.

[mamboni]

I'm going to walk my property...again.

[Libertytree]

I'm going to walk my property...again.

You and a few million other folks too I'd imagine. I'd also be willing to say that metal detector sales will jump like crazy as well.

[mick silver]

wife just got me a metal detector cant wait till it warm up

[Cebu_4_2]

wife just got me a metal detector cant wait till it warm up

If you bring it in the house it should warm up sooner.

[mick silver]

i have done that i place coins and stuff under things just so i could learn the sounds that the metals make ;;;;;;;;;;;;;; am rich yahooooooooooooo there a few old cedar post around here i have heard thats were the old timer like to hide the cash in metals cans

[madfranks]

As a veteran metal detector with one gold coin under my belt, I'll offer you a few free tips.

1. Pay attention to water sources, where old timers would wash their clothes or people would take off their clothes to play or bathe. Coins and other things may fall out and get lost on the ground around the water.

2. If you are looking around an old abandoned home/shelter, pay attention to areas within easy view from the inside. Old timers who would bury their stash would want to be able to keep an easy eye on it from inside.

3. If you have a large property of wilderness, look for unique or one-of-a-kind features that would be easy to re-identify years later. For instance, my one gold coin find was in a little metal tin buried under a huge tree that was leaning really far low to the ground. I imagine generations ago this tree was damaged or pushed down, yet continued to grow. It was a tree that was easy to identify, and thus made a good monument for burying a cache. Some of Jesse James' stolen gold was found buried in the location where a heavy leaning tree met the ground.

[Hitch]

i have done that i place coins and stuff under things just so i could learn the sounds that the metals make ;;;;;;;;;;;;;; am rich yahooooooooooooo there a few old cedar post around here i have heard thats were the old timer like to hide the cash in metals cans

You are an old timer mick. You'll probably just find your own metal cans. :)

I think that's what happened back in the day. Old timers would bury their stash and forget where they buried them. Back then they didn't have metal detectors though to help them remember.

[mick silver]

dam dude i am only 55 next month at that . still young at heart , able to do more then the young pukes

[Hitch]

dam dude i am only 55 next month at that . still young at heart , able to do more then the young pukes

We are all old timers mick, most of us anyway. We believe in the old ways, honest money gold and silver, holding on to our freedoms. I like to hope I'll stay young at a heart until the day I die, but it seems it's getting harder and harder with .gov trying to stick a fork in our eyes.

Finding 10 million in gold coins, that's someone's life savings. I wonder who that guy was, what his story was. I wonder what he would say about our country today, if he could. I bet that old timer was way ahead of his time.

[monty]

i have done that i place coins and stuff under things just so i could learn the sounds that the metals make ;;;;;;;;;;;;;; am rich yahooooooooooooo there a few old cedar post around here i have heard thats were the old timer like to hide the cash in metals cans

There was a story told by the old timers on the ranch where I grew up about a lard bucket of buried gold coins. The legend goes it was Election Day in the late 1800's. The men had all gone to Belmont to vote. Mrs. Compton always paid the men in gold coins from this lard pail. While the men were gone to vote the barn had caught fire. Mrs. Compton apparently opened the barn doors to let the horses out. The horses trampled her to death. When the men had returned the bucket of gold coins was nowhere to be found. Some speculated that one of the Indian workers had set fire to the barn, then stole the gold.

Charlie Keough, the man who told this story bought a "new fangled" metal detector. My brother and my sisters followed him around the ranch with his new toy. He dug up every rusty nail and old horseshoe within a mile of the house. About 20 years maybe 30 years ago a young man from the neighboring ranch was digging a waterline trench with a backhoe about 20 miles north on another ranch. He dug up a lard can full of gold coins. We always speculated it was Mrs. Compton's missing gold. Needless to say, the neighbor did not get to keep the gold, the property owner did.

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[madfranks]

I have an old book, published in the 60's, about old ghost towns in Colorado. When most people think of ghost towns they think old abandoned houses and buildings, but actually the best towns to hunt are the ones where there's no trace of anything anymore. That's where this book came in handy, it had maps and towns that I couldn't find listed anywhere else, and many of them had no trace of habitation since that time. The problem was, the routes are now very different from how it was back when the book was written in the 60's. Most notably 99% of the roads are now private and inaccessible. My metal detecting buddy and I were seeking out an old ghost town north of Idaho Springs, and we got so close we could see it, it was in a valley a quarter of a mile below the road. But right at that point was a sign declaring private property so we couldn't move an inch forward. Of course we talked about risking trespassing so we could hunt around, but never seriously would consider it, especially because lots of the private property owners up in the mountains will shoot trespassers. Every time we found a mailbox or address, we'd mail a letter asking for permission, with an agreement to split any findings, but never once did we get a response. I remember once finding a old tarnished Morgan silver dollar a foot deep between some rocks outside of Gold Hill, it was black and beat to hell, buried in the acidic soils around the pine trees.

[Neuro]

If someone on my land by accident stumbled on a stash of gold. I would share that gold with him/her, unless it was my buried stash then I would shoot him/her!

[StreetsOfGold]

dam dude i am only 55 next month at that . still young at heart , able to do more then the young pukes

Just a couple months older than me. Welcome to the club

[monty]

Saddle Ridge Hoard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saddle Ridge Hoard

The gold coins shown as found.
Material Gold coins
Size 1,427 coins
Created 1847 to 1894
Period/culture Mid/Late 19th Century
Discovered Gold Country, Sierra Nevada, California in February 2013
Present location Tiburon, California
The Saddle Ridge Hoard is the name given to identify a treasure trove of 1,427 gold coins unearthed in Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada of California in 2013. The face value of the coins totaled $27,980, but was assessed to be worth $10 million. In total, the hoard contains $27,460 in twenty dollar coins, $500 in ten dollar coins, and $20 in five dollar coins, all dating from 1847 to 1894. The collection is the largest known hoard of gold coins ever found in the United States.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Discovery and excavation
2 Authentication and valuation
3 Disposition
4 References
5 External links
Discovery and excavation[edit]

The Saddle Ridge Hoard was discovered in February 2013 on private property located in the Sierra Nevada area of California. Due to privacy concerns, the exact location of the discovery has not been disclosed, other than to confirm that the land is located in a hillside area of Gold Country, near the site of the Gold Rush of 1849. As of 2014, the couple who discovered the hoard have chosen to remain anonymous. Known only as John and Mary, the middle-aged, married couple have lived on the rural property for several years and have no idea who buried the coins.[2] They wish to keep their identity, location, and ownership history of their home private, in order to avoid treasure seekers from trespassing on their property in an effort to find more gold.[3][4]
The owners of the property discovered the trove while they were walking their dog on a trail in an area of their property. Although they had reportedly hiked the trail numerous times previously, it wasn't until they spotted a rust-covered metal can poking out of the ground near the base of an old tree, that they chose to explore further.[4][5]


Rusted can of gold coins as found at discovery site in February 2013
Before finding the trove, the couple had noticed some unique features of the area. They recalled seeing an old empty can hanging from an old tree. The can had evidently been there so long that the tree had literally grown around it. At the time, the couple surmised that the hanging can had possibly been used to hold flowers and mark a grave. They also noticed an oddly shaped rock on the nearby hill, which they nicknamed "Saddle Ridge". After they found the gold, they realized that the geographical features and the hanging can were probably markers to the site, placed by the original owners. The center of the treasure trove was located exactly ten steps between the jagged rock and the direction of the North Star.[6]
After Mary noticed the can, John bent down to pick it up, but found that it was stuck in the dirt. He began to use a piece of wood to pry it from the ground. It was so heavy that they believed that the can likely held lead paint. On their walk back to their house, struggling to carry the weight of the find, the lid of the can cracked open, revealing the glint of gold.[6] They returned to the site with some hand tools to see if they could find anything else. They found another can about a foot away from where the first can was discovered. Although it was partially decomposed due to rust, it held several more coins. They continued to return to the site to look for more coins, primarily digging in the ground and eventually using a metal detector. Their work eventually resulted in the discovery of eight cans filled with over 1,400 coins.[6]
After their discovery, the couple protected their find by hiding them in an old ice chest, then burying it under a pile of wood and concealing the location. After some initial research, they contacted Donald Kagin and David McCarthy of the numismatics firm of Kagin's in Tiburon, California, who is representing the owners.[4][6]
Authentication and valuation[edit]



1886-S $10 PCGS slab
David McCarthy of Kagin's completed the initial evaluation of the coins and assessed the significance of the find.[5] Prior to the discovery of the hoard, the largest buried collection of gold found in the US was uncovered by city workers in Jackson, Tennessee in 1985. The Jackson hoard had a face value of $4,500 and sold for about $1 million.[7] The face value of the Saddle Ridge treasure is $27,980.
Following their initial assessment, Kagin's contacted the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) of Irvine, California for an independent authentication. David Hall, co-founder of PCGS reported that the majority of the coins were recovered in uncirculated, mint condition. He further stated that some of the pieces are so rare that they could be worth about $1 million each.[3] The coin grading and certification revealed that over a dozen of the coins are either the finest known or tied for the finest known specimens in the PCGS Population Report.[5] The collection includes:

6077



6078


1866-S $20 Double Eagle/no motto valued at around $1 million
1866-S $20 Double Eagle/with motto PCGS MS62+ (finest known)
1873 $20 Double Eagle (Closed 3) graded MS62 (tied finest known)
1877-S $20 Double Eagle PCGS MS65 (tied finest known)
1888-S $20 Double Eagle (four) PCGS MS64 (tied for finest known)
1889-S $20 Double Eagle (two) graded PCGS MS65 (tied for finest known)
1894-S $20 Double Eagle PCGS MS65 (tied for finest known)
Disposition[edit]

According to McCarthy, the couple who discovered the hoard have made an exclusive arrangement with Amazon.com to sell the coins through their collectibles store. This arrangement is the first major sale of coins made through Amazon. John and Mary have also chosen to use the funds to cover their personal debt and donate to several local charities. They have additionally chosen to retain about ten percent of the coins for family heirlooms and keepsakes.[3][4][8]

More at http://www.saddleridgehoard.com

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[monty]

Could this be the missing gold coins from the San Francisco Mint?


http://www.usmint.gov/kids/coinnews/mintfacilities/sfo/#stories



Thieves Among Us

Some people get strange ideas about stealing our nation's assets. Here are some examples.

In Sheep's Clothing
Could it be that Chief Clerk Walter Dimmick had betrayed the trust placed in him? It certainly seemed that way when the San Francisco Mint discovered that six bags of gold coins were missing from one of the vaults, together worth $30,000!

Only someone who could open the vault and had free access to the building could have removed that many heavy coins without being detected.

The Chief Clerk, Walter Dimmick, was able to get into the vault at the time the money was stolen. He was also the last one to count the bags of coins every night before the vaults were closed. Yet he denied knowing where the money might be.

Since he had already been caught learning to sign the Superintendent's name (forgery), taking money from the pay envelopes of other Mint employees (theft), and stealing other government funds in his care, a jury eventually found him guilty of stealing the $30,000 in gold double eagles and of two other charges.

At 46 years old, Walter Dimmick began to serve his time (almost seven years of hard labor) at the San Quentin prison in California. The 1,500 gold coins were never found.

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[EE_]

Could this be the missing gold coins from the San Francisco Mint?


http://www.usmint.gov/kids/coinnews/mintfacilities/sfo/#stories


Thieves Among Us

Some people get strange ideas about stealing our nation's assets. Here are some examples.

In Sheep's Clothing
Could it be that Chief Clerk Walter Dimmick had betrayed the trust placed in him? It certainly seemed that way when the San Francisco Mint discovered that six bags of gold coins were missing from one of the vaults, together worth $30,000!

Only someone who could open the vault and had free access to the building could have removed that many heavy coins without being detected.

The Chief Clerk, Walter Dimmick, was able to get into the vault at the time the money was stolen. He was also the last one to count the bags of coins every night before the vaults were closed. Yet he denied knowing where the money might be.

Since he had already been caught learning to sign the Superintendent's name (forgery), taking money from the pay envelopes of other Mint employees (theft), and stealing other government funds in his care, a jury eventually found him guilty of stealing the $30,000 in gold double eagles and of two other charges.

At 46 years old, Walter Dimmick began to serve his time (almost seven years of hard labor) at the San Quentin prison in California. The 1,500 gold coins were never found.

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Interesting...then there might still be a can buried with 73 coins? Or did the couple hold a few back from the story.
One of the coins in the post is a San Fran minted coin.
The San Fran mint should conficate the coins since they were stolen from them...after the finders pay the taxes.
That'll teach em'!

[midnight rambler]

One of the coins in the post is a San Fran minted coin.
The San Fran mint should conficate the coins since they were stolen from them...after the finders pay the taxes.
That'll teach em'!

Looks like that's what's going to happen. Stupid people...yeah, that'll teach 'em.

http://gma.yahoo.com/10m-gold-coin-hoard-found-yard-may-stolen-141317823--abc-news-personal-finance.html?vp=1

What would YOU have done with this find?

[Cebu_4_2]

What would YOU have done with this find?

Not opened my mouth!

[Horn]

...

[EE_]

Looks like that's what's going to happen. Stupid people...yeah, that'll teach 'em.

http://gma.yahoo.com/10m-gold-coin-hoard-found-yard-may-stolen-141317823--abc-news-personal-finance.html?vp=1

What would YOU have done with this find?

The US Mint seized the 10 double eagles from the deceased jeweler's family, why wouldn't they seize these?

Well, at least the California couple will still have a hell of a story to tell the grand kids, how they found and lost 10 million dollars of gold. The US mint can't take that away!

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view6/3553091/seppuku-o.gif

[midnight rambler]

Not opened my mouth!

That's the obvious part. What would you have done with them? How would you liquidate them?

Those coins would be worth a lot more to someone else than me, I prefer bullion with the lowest possible premium on it. If it were me I would have quietly researched what they were and such (which would indicate how 'hot' they were) and then try not to hold out for the top dollar (as in not get greedy so as to not draw attention to the deal, let someone else deal with the heat for a cut).

[zap]

I don't know why people are so stupid!

Shut your mouth stupid shut up, shut up, shut up!!!!!!

Stash them and keep quite or you might sell 1 or 2 at a time.

[Neuro]

I don't know why people are so stupid!

Shut your mouth stupid shut up, shut up, shut up!!!!!!

Stash them and keep quite or you might sell 1 or 2 at a time.
The difficulty arises when you have a coin worth a million dollars. Prospective buyers would like to have some authentication. I think the best avenue as suggested would be to find a coin dealer that would pay you 70-80% of the real value, and you stay anonymous!

[midnight rambler]

I think the best avenue as suggested would be to find a coin dealer that would pay you 70-80% of the real value, and you stay anonymous!

That's my thinking. Why be greedy?

My story would be, "I've got this one coin, what will you pay me for it?"

[madfranks]

The difficulty arises when you have a coin worth a million dollars. Prospective buyers would like to have some authentication. I think the best avenue as suggested would be to find a coin dealer that would pay you 70-80% of the real value, and you stay anonymous!

I don't see why you don't clean them up, put them in flips in a folder, take 'em to a rare coin dealer, make up a story that your grandpa gave these to you ten years ago when he passed away, you stashed them in a closet and forgot about them, and now you recently found them again. Of course, don't do the whole thing at once, do a dozen or so coins at a time, to different dealers across the country, anonymously.

[Neuro]

I don't see why you don't clean them up, put them in flips in a folder, take 'em to a rare coin dealer, make up a story that your grandpa gave these to you ten years ago when he passed away, you stashed them in a closet and forgot about them, and now you recently found them again. Of course, don't do the whole thing at once, do a dozen or so coins at a time, to different dealers across the country, anonymously.
Sure that is what I'm suggesting, you would probably get 70-80% of what you would get at a public auction.

[Libertytree]

Looks like that's what's going to happen. Stupid people...yeah, that'll teach 'em.

http://gma.yahoo.com/10m-gold-coin-hoard-found-yard-may-stolen-141317823--abc-news-personal-finance.html?vp=1

What would YOU have done with this find?

1. I would have separated all the coins by type, denomination, years and any oddities that were there.

2. I would have researched every single coin one by one to find out exactly what I had or didn't have before doing anything. There's NO excuse for not doing so in the internet age! IOW's, I would have become an expert on my coins.

The regular coins I'd sell one way or another without having to wonder if they were "hot" or not. Any coins in question would get melted down or stashed.