In 1934, two teenagers in Baltimore dug into the dirt floor of their apartment house basement. About a foot down, they unearthed a $20 gold coin. Digging further, they discovered a literal pot of gold- a cache of pre-Civil War gold coins in a copper pot! The two boys, not fully understanding what they had found, were going to cash the coins in at the bank, but were stopped by a brother-in-law.
When the news got out, anyone and everyone who had a relative with a connection to the house stepped forward to claim the stash as their own, and the case was tied up in court for years. The value of their discovery changed greatly during the account of what happened afterward. First it rose due to the composition and rarity of the coins, further digging, and the fact that some coins had been re-stashed elsewhere, plus the inflation estimates. Then it went down due to court costs, lawyer's fees, and taxes. But the fight over the gold uncovered some interesting stories about the property going back almost a hundred years. Read the tale of this buried treasure at Strange Company.
Newest 1 Comment
I'm always amazed with people who find a cache of gold/silver coins and they announce it to the world. All that does is bring in the weezils wanting to claim them for their own. "Oh, these coins? They've been in my family for decades, maybe longer." Put them up for auction if need be. Historians would be interested, obviously. Although in some countries like the UK you need to declare your findings and the gov't wants to take a bit.
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)