A couple discovered $10 million in gold coins buried in their backyard, but there’s an unexpected twist.
The unidentified Northern California couple was out walking their dog when they came upon a rotting canister peeking out of an old tree and decided to bring it home.
What the husband and wife thought was antique junk turned out to be one of the largest gold coin hoards ever discovered in the United States.
There were 1,427 gold coins dated from 1847 to 1894, totaling $27,000, but some of them are so rare that they may pay $1 million each.
“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. It’s like they found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” said Don Kagin, an antique coin collector who represented the finders.
He said the middle-aged couple, who wish to stay nameless in order to avert a fresh gold rush on their land, had no idea who had placed them there.
The couple discovered the astounding treasure using a stick on their Gold Country property.
They initially suspected it was dirt-covered discs from holes corroded through the container.
Rather, these were well maintained $20 gold coins with front-facing liberty head motifs.
The pair returned to the site and dug up seven more cans.
The majority of the $20 coins, 50 $10 coins, and four $5 coins were produced in San Francisco. The Saddle Ridge Hoard was named from the location on the couple’s property where it was discovered.
Following the discovery, the family decided to rebury the cans in a cooler behind their woodpile while they considered their options.
About 90% of the coins were listed on Amazon.com’s Collectibles site, with the balance being shared with a select group of collectors.
There was an 1866 $20 coin that didn’t have the words “In God We Trust” on the back, and those phrases weren’t added until later that year.
