Release: MONDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2019
The Christmas holidays come with endless traditions. Baking is one. Roasting a turkey another. So too for actually showing up at church; communing with relatives (including the annoying ones); curling up with a book or just dreaming of what the New Year will bring To those last two options, one of the best selections for reading and dreaming over the holidays and throughout the year is an updated version of, Lost and Found: Coin Hoards and Treasures.
If anyone claims to not be interested in lost or hidden treasure they are surely being less than honest. After all, what kid, boy or girl, hasn’t been consumed with the lore of buried pirate treasure or hidden gold out west? And, what adult hasn’t fantasized about uncovering long lost or forgotten riches? I’d wager, none....
Written and compiled by renowned numismatic author Q. David Bowers and produced by Whitman Publishing, Lost and Found: Coin Hoards and Treasures is arguably one of the best compendiums of both the actual finds and dreams. Best of all, it’s written in an easy-to-read, conversational style.
In over 450 pages filled with color photos, Bowers chronicles losses, stashes and finds dating back well before the US became a country to just a few years ago. It details story after story about coins found everywhere from under floorboards, in forgotten jars, old desks, hidden compartments, buried chests, building cornerstones, barrels, caves, estates, basements, and on and on.
One example recounts how a merchant in Exeter, NH wanted to expand his store in the late 1800s. To do so, fill dirt from his property needed to be hauled away. A laborer was dumping the dirt into a cart when he spied an old silver coin. Then, another and another. In all, he pulled upwards of 40 coins from 1652 America including rare Pine Tree, Oak Tree and Willow Tree shillings. Remnants of an old wooden box indicated they had been buried 100 or so years earlier. Today, some of those coins have values of well over $100,000 each.
More contemporarily, what of the ill-fated 1846 Donner party that perished in the High Sierra Mountains after resorting to cannibalism? Only a handful survived but had few possessions when found. It was known that a great deal of money had been with the party. Some years later, treasure seeker Edward Reynolds went to the site where the party had been snowed in. After some searching, he dug up dozens of US and foreign silver coins. It was long before metal detectors. It’s believed substantially more coins wait to be found in that same area.
But, that’s all old history, right? Not entirely. There are plenty of modern examples of hoards found in just the past decade or two. A major one was found on the property of an old couple in East Orange, Vermont. It wasn’t believed they had many assets. After their death, executors went to their farm. A treasure trove of antiques was found. Then, under the floorboards of an old schoolhouse and outbuildings they found over $80,000 in silver coins, $100,000 in gold coins and $900,000 in gold ingots.
There are dozens more accounts of treasures large and small – both coins and paper currency – being found enriching those who bothered to look a little closer. “So what?” you say. That’s fine for those who found what was out there? Not so fast.
A large chapter in the book lists potential treasures waiting to be found state-by-state. Naturally, there’s much lore revolving around outlaws such as Jesse James and Billy The Kid. Also, many a prospector stashed his riches with all intentions of coming back to retrieve them. Should that prospector die in the meantime, the treasure still awaits. Remember too that, in the old days, most banks had no insurance. If they were robbed, you lost your money. So, many people opted to bury cash on their land.
Bowers’ research and facts is beyond impressive. The ultimate fact is that plenty of treasure has been found and plenty more surely waits. Even for armchair treasure hunters that’s some exciting reading and dreaming for the New Year.
The hardbound version of Lost and Found: Coin Hoards and Treasures retails for $39.95 and is currently available at many major booksellers or online at www.Whitman.com/store.