Lost treasure found

[Scott P]

I guess all of the stories about buried treasure aren't fiction:

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/california-couple-finds-10m-buried-treasure-back-yard-212612549--abc-news-topstories.html

A California couple spotted the edge of an old can on a path they had hiked many times before. Poking at the can was the first step in uncovering a buried treasure of rare coins estimated to be worth $10 million.
"It was like finding a hot potato," the couple told coin expert Dr. Don Kagan from Kagin's, Inc. The couple hired the president of Kagin's, Inc. and Holabird-Kagin Americana, a western Americana dealer and auctioneer, to represent them.
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Georgia]"Since 1981, people have been coming to us with one or two coins they find worth a few thousand dollars, but this is the first time we get someone with a whole cache of buried coins

[DiscGo]

That is awesome. What luck!

[accadacca]

Thanks for posting this Scott P. I heard about it and was going to post it.

Amazing luck!!!

[accadacca]

$10M Gold Coin Hoard Found in Yard May Have Been Stolen From Mint


A California couple who found a stash of buried gold coins valued at $10 million may not be so lucky after all. The coins may have been stolen from the US Mint in 1900 and thus be the property of the government, according to a published report.

The San Francisco Chronicle's website (http://blog.sfgate.com/stienstra/2014/03/03/sf-heist-in-1900-may-explain-buried-gold-treasure/#21188101=0) reported that a search of the Haithi Trust Digital Library provided by Northern California fishing guide Jack Trout, who is also a historian and collector of rare coins, turned up the news of the theft.

The California couple, who have not been identified, spotted the edge of an old can on a path they had hiked many times before several months ago. Poking at the can was the first step in uncovering a buried treasure of rare coins estimated to be worth $10 million.

"It was like finding a hot potato," the couple told coin expert Don Kagin from Kagin's, Inc. The couple hired the president of Kagin's, Inc. and Holabird-Kagin Americana, a western Americana dealer and auctioneer, to represent them.

The coins are mostly uncirculated and in mint condition, and they add up in face value to $27,000. "Those two facts are a match of the gold heist in 1900 from the San Francisco Mint," the newspaper reported.

Jack Trout told the paper that an 1866 Liberty $20 gold piece without the words “In God We Trust” was part of the buried stash, and the coin may fetch over $1 million at auction because it's so rare.

“This was someone’s private coin, created by the mint manager or someone with access to the inner workings of the Old Granite Lady (San Francisco Mint),” Trout told the newspaper. “It was likely created in revenge for the assassination of Lincoln the previous year (April 14, 1865). I don’t believe that coin ever left The Mint until the robbery. For it to show up as part of the treasure find links it directly to that inside job at the turn of the century at the San Francisco Mint.”

Mint spokesman Adam Stump issued this statement when contacted today by ABC News: "We do not have any information linking the Saddle Ridge Hoard coins to any thefts at any United States Mint facility.

Surviving agency records from the San Francisco Mint have been retired to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), under Record Group 104. Access to the records is under NARA’s jurisdiction: http://www.archives.gov/."

Last week, when news of the stash first broke, coin dealer Kagin spoke about the rarity of such a find.

"Since 1981, people have been coming to us with one or two coins they find worth a few thousand dollars, but this is the first time we get someone with a whole cache of buried coins... It is a million to one chance, even harder than winning the lottery," Kagin told ABCNews.com.

The couple is trying to remain anonymous after finding the five cans of coins last spring on their Tiburon property in northern California and conducted an interview with Kagin.

"I never would have thought we would have found something like this. However, in a weird way I feel like I have been preparing my whole life for it," the couple said.

"I saw an old can sticking out of the ground on a trail that we had walked almost every day for many, many years. I was looking down in the right spot and saw the side of the can. I bent over to scrape some moss off and noticed that it had both ends on it," they said.

It was the first of five cans to be unearthed, each packed with gold coins.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/10m-calif-gold-coin-hoard-found-yard-stolen/story?id=22764360

[rockgremlin]

F'in U.S. government -- "Congratulations on making the find of a lifetime....now hand it over"


I heard in a separate report that if the U.S. gov't doesn't claim the entire hoard then they'll tax the couple up to 50% of the value under what's called a "treasure trove tax."

Sickening...

[txoutdoorx4]

Definitely interesting to see how this winds up. Good luck to the couple who found it…pretty awesome!

[ratagonia]

F'in U.S. government -- "Congratulations on making the find of a lifetime....now hand it over"


I heard in a separate report that if the U.S. gov't doesn't claim the entire hoard then they'll tax the couple up to 50% of the value under what's called a "treasure trove tax."

Sickening...

Yeah let's get all IRATE about...

1. the gosh darn guv'mint wants to tax income! The nerve of them guys! (Yes, the couple will have to pay income tax on their income! Too bad they are not a corporation and can move the money off-shore so they don't have to pay taxes on it).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesarini_v._United_States

Lucky for them that income taxes are at an (almost) all-time low.

2. gosh darn it! If the guv'mint can prove the coins are stolen property, then they could take them all back! Don't you hate it when stolen property is returned to the original owner.

Makes a great ire-inducing headline. But as this story shows, there is compelling evidence that this is not from the aforementioned theft at the mint. Of course, they mention that in the last couple of lines, where nobody else will pick it up. Because after all, why waste a good opportunity to get pissed off at the gosh darn guv'mint!@!!

:moses:


http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/03/could_us_government_claim_10_million_in_gold_coins _discovered_in_california_coup.html



A California couple seemingly hit the jackpot last year when they stumbled acrosscanisters containing 19th century gold coins (http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/california_couple_finds_10_million_in_gold_coins_b uried_in_back_yard.html) while walking their dog in their back yard.
After a year of evaluation and authentication, the 1,427 gold coins, mostly $20 liberty head pieces minted in San Francisco, were estimated to be worth about $10 million. Dubbed "The Saddle Ridge Hoard," it is the largest stash of gold coins to ever be discovered in the United States.


But a new twist on the story could mean the couple is not so lucky after all.


Jack Trout, a Northern California historian and coin collector doing research on the hoard in the Haithi Trust Digital Library, came across a news item suggesting that the coins may have been stolen from the San Francisco Mint during a gold Heist. He submitted his findings to The San Francisco Chronicle (http://blog.sfgate.com/stienstra/2014/03/03/sf-heist-in-1900-may-explain-buried-gold-treasure/).
The story, published in The Bulletin of the American Iron and Steel Association on January 1, 1900, describes the heist:
"The sum of $30,000 in gold coin has recently been stolen from the vault of the cashier of the San Francisco Mint. No trace has been found of the missing gold."
The face value of the Saddle Ridge Hoard was $27,980.
Additionally, Trout discovered that one of the gold pieces, an 1866 $20 gold piece, did not contain the words "In God We Trust."


"This was someone's private coin, created by the mint manager or someone with access to the inner workings of the Old Granite Lady (San Francisco Mint)," Trout told The Chronicle. "It was likely created in revenge for the assassination of Lincoln the previous year (April 14, 1865). I don't believe that coin ever left The Mint until the robbery. For it to show up as part of the treasure find links it directly to that inside job at the turn of the century at the San Francisco Mint."
That coin alone is worth $1 million.


So what does this mean for the anonymous couple? According to ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/US/10m-calif-gold-coin-hoard-found-yard-stolen/story?id=22764360), if the Saddle Ridge Hoard does match the gold stolen from the San Francisco Mint, it would be the property of the U.S. Government, which could complicate the couple's plans to sell the coins on Amazon.com.


However, a statement from Mint spokesman Adam Stump suggests that the couple may not have to worry:
"We do not have any information linking the Saddle Ridge Hoard coins to any thefts at any United States Mint facility. Surviving agency records from the San Francisco Mint have been retired to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), under Record Group 104. Access to the records is under NARA's jurisdiction."
David McCarthy, a rare coin expert helping the couple sell the coins, told NBC News (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bunch-bullion-dealer-says-gold-coin-hoard-not-heist-n44256)that there are several reasons why the coins likely weren't from that heist, including:



The mint would have held bags containing coins from a single year, but the Saddle Ridge Hoard is a more diverse collection.
Many of the coins were heavily circulated, but the mint would have melted them down and reissued them instead of storing them.
There are 50 $10 coins in the hoard, which are not mentioned in records of the 1900 heist.

[rockgremlin]

^^^ what a drama queen.

I'm disagreeing with you to express enmity...

[ratagonia]

F'in U.S. government -- "Congratulations on making the find of a lifetime....now hand it over"


I heard in a separate report that if the U.S. gov't doesn't claim the entire hoard then they'll tax the couple up to 50% of the value under what's called a "treasure trove tax."

Sickening...


Good summary Rock Gremlin: "What a Drama Queen!"

T

[rockgremlin]

Good summary Rock Gremlin: "What a Drama Queen!"

T


[enmity hat on] Not quite yet. I still need to pull out three different internet sources, use all caps in at least one part of a sentence, and use at least one emoticon.....then you may label me the queen of drama. [enmity hat off]