Striking Gold While Taking Dog on Walk! By: Meera Dolasia, Feb. 27, 2014
A California couple who recently stumbled upon what is being described as the most valuable ancient gold
find in North America.
The couple who are only known to the world by their first names, John and Mary, say that the chain of events
leading to this amazing discovery began last year, while they were walking their dog along the same path in
their property located somewhere in Northern California's Gold Country, as they had done for years. However
this time around, John noticed a rusty can sticking out from the ground. Curious, Mary and he decided take a
closer look. Realizing that it was intact, they unearthed it with a stick and took it home.
The can was extremely heavy leading the couple to speculate that it was filled with lead paint. However, when
John opened it and saw the side of a shiny coin, he knew he had struck gold - literally!
They couple immediately returned to the area with a small shovel to see if there were any more cans to be
found. Sure enough, they found one more. This one had broke and scattered all its precious belongings into the
ground below. And that was not all - Over the next few days the couple unearthed six more in the vicinity, the
last one, using a metal detector.
The couple has since been working with coin experts to figure out the value of their extraordinary find. Called
'Saddle Ridge Hoard', it comprises of 1,400 $20 gold pieces, fifty $10 gold pieces and four $5 gold pieces - all
struck between 1847 and 1894.
Based on the dates of the coins and their condition, as well as, the condition of the metal cans they were
found in, experts believe that the gold was buried sometime in the late 19th century, right after the peak of
California's Gold Rush. John thinks that the can that was sticking out, was a marker for whoever buried the
treasure there - For reasons that nobody will ever know, he/she never returned to retrieve it.
Numismatic experts estimate the coins which have a total face value of $28,000 USD to be worth about $10
million USD. But given that just one of the coins, a rare 1866, $20 coin printed without the “In God We Trust”
motto, is expected to fetch $1 million USD, the treasure could be worth substantially more.
Striking Gold While Taking Dog on Walk! By: Meera Dolasia, Feb. 27, 2014
A California couple who recently stumbled upon what is being described as the most valuable ancient gold
find in North America.
The couple who are only known to the world by their first names, John and Mary, say that the chain of events
leading to this amazing discovery began last year, while they were walking their dog along the same path in
their property located somewhere in Northern California's Gold Country, as they had done for years. However
this time around, John noticed a rusty can sticking out from the ground. Curious, Mary and he decided take a
closer look. Realizing that it was intact, they unearthed it with a stick and took it home.
The can was extremely heavy leading the couple to speculate that it was filled with lead paint. However, when
John opened it and saw the side of a shiny coin, he knew he had struck gold - literally!
They couple immediately returned to the area with a small shovel to see if there were any more cans to be
found. Sure enough, they found one more. This one had broke and scattered all its precious belongings into the
ground below. And that was not all - Over the next few days the couple unearthed six more in the vicinity, the
last one, using a metal detector.
The couple has since been working with coin experts to figure out the value of their extraordinary find. Called
'Saddle Ridge Hoard', it comprises of 1,400 $20 gold pieces, fifty $10 gold pieces and four $5 gold pieces - all
struck between 1847 and 1894.
Based on the dates of the coins and their condition, as well as, the condition of the metal cans they were
found in, experts believe that the gold was buried sometime in the late 19th century, right after the peak of
California's Gold Rush. John thinks that the can that was sticking out, was a marker for whoever buried the
treasure there - For reasons that nobody will ever know, he/she never returned to retrieve it.
Numismatic experts estimate the coins which have a total face value of $28,000 USD to be worth about $10
million USD. But given that just one of the coins, a rare 1866, $20 coin printed without the “In God We Trust”
motto, is expected to fetch $1 million USD, the treasure could be worth substantially more.