A
lucky couple literally struck gold when they found a rare coin stash worth an
estimated $10million (£6million) in their back garden.
The pair, from California,
were out walking their dogs when they uncovered the Gold Rush-era coins
buried in the shadow of an old tree.
Nearly all of the 1,427 coins,
dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said David Hall,
co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana.
David Hall, co-founder of
Professional Coin Grading Service, poses with some of the gold coins (Picture:
AP /Reed Saxon)
Although the face value of the
gold pieces only adds up to more than $28,000 (£16,000), some of them are so
rare that coin experts say they could fetch nearly $1million (£600,000) apiece.
‘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.
He added: ‘It’s like they
found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.’
Experts have no idea who
stashed the coins at the back of the rural property where the anonymous couple
have lived for several years.
‘Their concern was this would change the way
everyone else would look at them, and they’re pretty happy with the lifestyle
they have today,’ said chief numismatist David McCarthy.
The couple are apparently planning
on selling most of the coins, found last year, on Amazon and will use the money
to pay off bills and donate some of it to charity.
As almost all of the coins are
in near-perfect condition, experts believe whoever put them into the ground
likely did so as soon as they were put into circulation.
The coins were found along a
path the couple had walked for years.
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