Posted on 02/26/2014 5:33:17 AM PST by Daffynition
LOS ANGELES— A California couple on their daily walk with their dog, a walk they've taken for years, discovered what may be the greatest buried treasures ever found in the U.S.
The cache of rare Gold Rush-era coins is worth more than $10 million, a currency firm representing the pair said on Tuesday.
The 1,400 gold pieces, dating to the mid- to late 1800s and still in nearly mint condition, were discovered buried in eight decaying metal cans on the couple's land in April, said coin expert David McCarthy of currency firm Kagin's.
(Excerpt) Read more at courant.com ...
Serious mistake on their part. Should have moved out of California to somewhere like Wyoming. Then “find” the coins there. . .
I agree but the practical difficulties in selling $10 million in coins would be a problem.
How do you explain where they came from? The coin dealer will want to know.
How do you explain the sudden increase in your bank account? The IRS, bank, DEA, DHS will all want to know. They track that kind of stuff.
Sources indicate that Amazon will be the sale point for much of the find.
About 90 percent of the coins will post on Amazon.com’s Collectibles
site, probably in May, Kagin said. The rest he will sell privately,
“to well-heeled collectors who desire the finest and the rarest.”
Why are they announcing this???
Finders Keepers — Blabberers Weepers
Amazon in May? That makes me suspicious. Why all the publicity if they are not going to auction soon?
10 Million / $1300 per once (bullion value) = 7692.3 one once coins
I doubt they found 7000 coins. So, I am thinking the 10m figure is the expected numismatic value of the find.
Anyhow, to get the full numismatic value of the coins they had to go public and declare it to put it up for auction. Otherwise, they would have only gotten a much smaller amount. Even after taxes, they would probably still be ahead.
The couple found these coins last April while walking their dog on their property in the California Gold Country.
They had the coins graded by PCGS (Pacific Coast Grading Service) in Orange County. Each coin is then sealed by them in a plastic holder. Coin grading is subjective, but PCGS are the “gold standard” of grading services.
A coin dealer in Tiburon, California (whose family has been in the coin business for 81 years) is representing the couple. The couple, or should I say the coin dealer acting on behalf of the couple, plan to sell these coins on Amazon.
They’re going to keep a few of the coins as “keepsakes”.
Once the coins are sold, I’m sure the couple expects to pay income tax to the federal government and the state of California. After the coins are sold, they are “income.”
There were 1,427 of these coins found in rusting metal cannisters, mostly in uncirculated condition, dated from 1847 to 1894. All were minted in San Francisco, with the exception of one $5 gold coin which was minted in Georgia. Face value of the coins: $27,000.
The couple plans to pay off bills and donate some money to local charities.
This story was on the FOX website yesterday.
damn they have good karma. Even after the pulic employees union gets their cut there should beenough left over to see them through the year.
You could move them yes, can you get the full value?
They are probably worth more when sold properly even after taxes.
They should have shoveled and shut up.
&&&
If they wanted to make some money from the gold, how could they keep quiet about it?
I doubt they will regret they found it, as even a 50% tax and 20% for legal help would leave them a substantial amount.
But offshore finds were upheld as belonging to the owner by te Supreme Court, leading to the 2001 adoption of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, protecting of "all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character", which have been under water for over 100 years.
As of February 2014, 45 states are party to the convention.
Various questions on Treasure trove taxes answered: http://www.wisdomadd.com/related/related-2533.html
Wouldn't the scarcity of the items increase the value? It seems to me that knowledge of the find reveals them to be less scarce, and limits the value somewhat. Selling them as rare items a few at a time should result in a higher total, shouldn't it?
Probably so, but to think you would put $10 million dollars of these coins on to the market without verification does not seem realistic. And to get that much verified would be very difficult to keep secret while generating enough interest to get the best bids.
If I found these, going through a gold coin “broker” while keeping my name out of it, and public to generate the interest seems like the way to go.
I’m not going to be capable of adding $10 million in wealth and think I’m going to hide it from the government/taxes.
If I was a buyer, and understood the seller needed to keep my purchase secret so as not draw attention for the other coins and associated taxes, I’m an not paying top dollar. And personally, I would walk away because I don’t trust at that point I’m buying a real coin.
How do we know they didn’t find twice that many and just not reporting it?
He showed me a number of "Sailor's Pots" (sailors often hollowed out an opening in some rock, placed their gold savings in it and covered it up with limestone cement.) Often they never lived to reclaim their savings. Unfortunately, he never found one while I was with him and would not say whether or not he ever found one. In addition, I saw a rectangular hole in the limestone on one key which had probably held a chest of treasure at some point.
There was a Black fisherman on one key that my Grandfather worked with who sent all 7 of his children to college though he personally continued to live a very simple life himself. My relatives were all convinced that he had hit it big and had the good sense to sell off items over a number of years while KEEPING HIS MOUTH SHUT! A wise man!!!
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