Kentucky man finds a fortune in Civil War-era gold coins beneath his corn field: 'Unf***ing real'



A Kentucky farmer digging in his corn field struck gold earlier this year.
Had he found a solitary mid-19th century coin, he might be looking at a discovery worth $100,000 at auction. Instead, he found over 700 gold coins from the Civil War era.

The farmer, whose name and location have not yet been disclosed, can be seen in a short video posted to YouTube last month breathlessly surveying the find, saying, "This is the most insane thing ever."

Panning his camera quickly across the muddy discovery, he notes, "Those are all $1 gold coins. $20 gold coins. $10 gold coins. And look: I'm still digging them out."

The prospective multi-millionaire adds, "This is unf***ing real."

The National Post reported that the treasure, which has been dubbed "the Great Kentucky Hoard," contains 18 $20 Gold Liberty coins minted in 1863, one of which previously fetched nearly $100,000 at auction.

According to Professional Coin Grading Services, the 1863 $20 Gold Liberty coin weighs 33.4 grams, was designed by James Barton Longacre, and comprises 90% gold and 10% copper.

The Kentucky treasure also included over 600 gold dollar coins dating from 1850 to 1862, along with several silver coins.

Since the horde consists of Union currency, it is suspected that the former owners in the originally neutral state may have had dealings with the North or, at the very least, cause to hide their bullion from Confederate raiders.

The Numismatic Guaranty Company, the world's largest third-party coin grading service, indicated that this "cache of rare Civil War-era coins unearthed in the Bluegrass State includes finest-known 1863 Double Eagles as well as several interesting varieties and errors."

Jeff Garrett, a rare coin dealer and lead expert in American coinage, told the NGC, "While I’m always excited when someone calls asking for advice about a rare coin discovery, the opportunity to handle the Great Kentucky Hoard is one of the highlights of my career."

"The importance of this discovery cannot be overstated, as the stunning number of over 700 gold dollars represents a virtual time capsule of Civil War-era coinage, including coins from the elusive Dahlonega Mint," added Garrett. "Finding one Mint condition 1863 Double Eagle would be an important numismatic event. Finding nearly a roll of superb examples is hard to comprehend."

GovMint, a rare coin retailer, has been selected to auction the hoard to collectors.

Bill Gale, the president of GovMint, said, "This extraordinary opportunity allows us to share these historic coins with collectors and enthusiasts, ensuring their preservation and appreciation for generations to come."

The Great Kentucky Hoard Unearthing! youtu.be

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Thieves stole 2 million dimes from a tractor-trailer in a Walmart parking lot, police say

Thieves stole 2 million dimes from a tractor-trailer in a Walmart parking lot, police say



Police are looking for a group of thieves they say stole two million dimes from a tractor-trailer in Philadelphia early Thursday morning, KOAT reported.

"Overnight, a carrier parked his tractor-trailer [with $750,000 worth of dimes inside]," Philadelphia Police Department Captain John Ryan told reporters.

"Common practice with drivers to pick up loads. He was going to Florida ... They park the truck overnight to get on the road in the morning."

In this case, the tractor trailer was stuffed with dimes from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. It was parked in the Walmart parking lot of Philadelphia Mills, a shopping center in the northeastern part of the city.

The driver, who lives nearby, parked the coin-filled trailer in the lot and went home to get some sleep before a long drive to a mint in Miami, CBS News reported.

At some point while the tractor-trailer was unattended, thieves broke into it with a bolt cutter and got away with about $200,000 in dimes, scattering many coins across the parking lot as they did so.

It remains unclear if the driver will be charged, the outlet also said.

The weight of such a haul is substantial. A single dime weighs about 2.268 grams or about .08 ounces. Two million dimes weigh about 10,000 pounds. That's roughly the weight equivalent of an African elephant.

Police say the thieves, ten or so men in black clothing and grey hoodies, made off with the mammoth haul in two vehicles. One was a white, Chrysler 300. The other was described as a "dark pickup truck," according to the New York Times.

An initial estimate of the haul's value was "up to $100,000," as WGAL reported. Once the counting was complete, authorities revised the estimate. They now say the total stolen is closer to 2 million ten-cent coins worth $200,000.

News helicopters captured the scene from overhead. The parking lot was strewn with twinkling coins. Officials used shovels to scoop the dimes off the parking lot and into buckets.

"I’ve never seen anything like this," officer Miguel Torres, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department told the New York Times.

"That’s the weird part about this," Torres also said. "How do they expect to use it?"

Torres also offered some possibly tongue-in-cheek advice, "If for some reason you have a lot of dimes at home, this is probably not the time to cash them in."

Watch WPVI's coverage of the curious heist below.



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