A couple from Northern California was out walking their dog on their property in Gold Country when they came found a modern-day treasure trove: ten million dollars’ worth of rare gold coins in pristine condition that had been buried in the shade of an ancient tree.
According to David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, which just authenticated the coins, nearly all of the 1,427 pieces, which date from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition. The coins were recently authenticated.
Even while the total face value of the gold pieces is only about $27,000, coin experts estimate that some of them are so rare that each one could fetch close to $1 million if they were sold individually.
“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. “You don’t get an opportunity to handle this kind of material, a treasure like this, ever,” he added. It is as though they have discovered the golden chalice that awaits them at the end of the rainbow.
Kagin, whose family has been in the business of rare coins for 81 years, would not disclose much about the pair other than the facts that they are husband and wife, are of middle age, and had resided on the rural property where the coins were found for several years.
He explained that they have no idea who placed them in that position.
According to Kagin, the two individuals have made the decision to conceal their identities in order to forestall a fresh influx of modern-day prospectors carrying metal detectors to their land in the hopes of finding gold.