Couple’s gold-coin find called greatest in U.S. history
This image shows one of the 1800s-era U.S. gold coins unearthed in California. Photo/AP/Saddle Ridge Hoard discoverers via Kagin’s Inc.
By Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times
A cache of 19th century gold coins uncovered by a California couple on their daily walk could end up selling for more than $10 million, making it the greatest buried treasure ever unearthed in the United States, experts said.
Donald Kagin, president of Kagin’s Inc., a numismatic firm that specializes in U.S. gold coins, announced the discovery Tuesday. The company is representing the couple, who wish to remain anonymous.
Identified by the firm only as “John and Mary”, the couple told Kagin they couldn’t believe they had made such a big discovery and were grateful for it. They unearthed the coins after noticing an old can sticking out of the dirt on a section of their property, the firm said.
I’ll leave it to Kae to keep us informed, but this is a story that could easily blow up into a lawyer’s paradise.
Good for these folks; they’re staying as private as possible, and, so far, they seem to have pretty good advice, but it’s only a matter of time before someone crawls out of a cave somewhere and claims that, as an illegitimate spawn of some last century grandfather, they’re entitled to a large part of the proceeds.
Nonetheless, whom, amongst us, wouldn’t love to have the problems of the finders? I suspect that everyone here is asking themselves, “How would I have handled this?” And then we go to bed and dream.
Well said copper, as I did just that, dreamin’!