California couple finds $10M stash of antique gold coins
Apparently the rainbow that leads to a pot of gold ends in one California couple’s backyard.
The pair was walking their dog on their property in February 2013 when they noticed the corner of a container sticking out from the ground. They uncovered it and hauled the heavy can back to their house — only to realize it held 1,427 gold coins from the mid-19th century.
The man, identified only as John, told Kagin’s Numismatic Firm, “The lid cracked off and exposed a rib of a single gold coin. I knew what I was looking at immediately. I looked around over my shoulder to see if someone was looking at me… I thought there was a zero percent chance of Mary believing me! When I told her, the look of bewilderment – her mouth was so wide open flies could have flown in and out several times.”
The couple took the treasure to The Professional Coin Grading Service, which valued the coins at $10 million.
“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,” numismatist Don Kagin told the Associated Press, USA Today reports.
The loot — which has been deemed the Saddle Ridge Hoard — will go up for sale on Amazon and Kagin’s website.
