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A box of rare gold coins discovered by two Californians while strolling their canine is auctioned off with a $15,000 coin. For $11 million, coins with dates spanning from 1847 to 1894 were sold.
Several coins were auctioned at the Old San Francisco Mint, and one of them, a $20 double eagle from 1874 with a normal value of $4,250, sold for $15,000.
Northern California couple find gold coins worth $10 million – Orange County Register
After the auction, the majority of the remaining 1,400 coins were listed for sale on Amazon.com and Kagins.com, according to Don Kagin, whose company is managing the sale.
The couple, whose identities Kagin refused to reveal, discovered them concealed under a tree on their rural property in Northern California last year.
A California Couple Unearths $10 Million in Gold Coins
Why are they so Priceless?Prior to the 1870s, paper currency was prohibited in California, so it is extremely uncommon to locate coins from before that time.
In addition, the majority of the coins are in mint condition, having been presumably stored promptly after minting. The coins were appraised by Don Kagin, a numismatist responsible for their sale and marketing.
Who Obtained them?Middle-aged husband and wife, according to Kagin, do not wish to be identified in part to avoid a modern gold rush on their rural Northern California property.
They uncovered the coins concealed in eight cans beneath an ancient tree on the property.
They intend to retain a portion of the coins and use the remainder to pay off debts and donate to local charities. The proceeds from Tuesday’s auction will support the Old Mint’s transformation into a museum.
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Where did currencies originate?According to Kagin, most of the coins were struck at the San Francisco Mint. However, it is unknown who buried them or how they were obtained, although there have been speculations.
People have linked the coins to stagecoach robber Black Bart, fugitive Jesse James, and larceny at the San Francisco Mint, according to Kagin, but none of these hypotheses have been proven.
What is contained in the Collection?Four $5 gold pieces, fifty $10 gold pieces, and 1,373 $20 double eagles make up the treasure. Among the coins that will be displayed in the collection’s crown tiara is an 1866-S No Motto $20 gold piece with a value of over $1 million.
A California Couple Unearths $10 Million in Gold Coins
How Does This Coin Find Compare to Other Coin Discoveries?Kagin considers this coin to be the largest discovery of its kind in U.S. history. In 1985, construction laborers in Jackson, Tennessee, uncovered one of the largest gold coin discoveries in history, valued at $1 million.
More than 400 thousand silver dollars were discovered in the residence of a Reno, Nevada, individual who passed away in 1974 and were subsequently sold for $7,300,000 each.
In the 1980s, gold coinage and ingots estimated to be worth up to $130 million were recovered from the SS Central America.
However, historians knew roughly where the gold was because the ship sank off the coast of North Carolina in 1857 during a hurricane.
