Release: JUNE 13, 2025
Summer has officially begun. That should be good news for millions of school children who have been aching for the end of school. The emotional downside for them is sure to be a traditional pattern in the retail sector. Those are stores that, even before the Fourth of July, begin putting “BACK TO SCHOOL” sale banners in their aisles. What a psychological taunt!
There are always countless wishes incorporated into summer fun. One of those is the eternal summertime craving to acquire wonderful and preferably valuable things. Childhood dreams of finding some sort of treasure are timeless.
In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom and Huck endeavored to uncover riches in Injun Joe’s cave. The story tells us it was to be found “under the cross.” Sure enough, the two boys searched the cave, found a cross on the wall and dug beneath it. There, they uncovered a treasure box filled with “several thousand dollars in gold coins.”
Back when Tom and Huck were searching, gold was barely $20 an ounce. Today, it’s over $3,300 per ounce. That means, if the boys found $2,000 in gold back then, it would have a value of over $330,000 today. Not bad for two youngsters on a summertime quest....
Naysayers contend such finds are only the thing of fiction. Well, Debbie Downers, let’s step into reality for a moment.
Just over a decade ago, a young California couple was out walking on their property. It was hilly and wooded – exactly the kind of place young kids would love to explore. They liked to call the area “Saddle Ridge” due to the terrain. On their walks they would often see part of a rusty can peeking out from the base of an old tree. It looked like trash. One day, the man went to look closer. He saw it was sealed on both ends. It was also heavy. He carried it back to the house, just as kids would surely be inclined do.
When the man opened it and peered inside he saw a glint on the edges of what he thought were coins – gold coins. Further examination revealed hundreds of gleaming $20 gold pieces stacked inside. A little dirt and rust had seeped in. That didn’t matter. Gold is impervious to the elements.
The lucky couple naturally wondered, “Could there be more?” They went back and spotted another can. As they dug it split open. More gold coins spilled out. They kept searching and digging. Soon, they had found four more cans. The next day they went back with a metal detector and found yet another. There were seven in all.
All totaled, the couple retrieved 1,427 beautiful US gold coins. Most were $20 Liberty “Double Eagle” coins. Fifty were $10 “Eagles.” All were dated between 1847 and 1894 – roughly around when Tom Sawyer had taken place. During those dates, gold coins circulated as regular currency and had appreciable wear. Yet, most of those the couple found were in fabulous condition, almost as if a collector had cherry-picked them straight from the Mint.
The carefully stashed and forgotten hoard raised many questions, chief among them who the original owner was. That’s critical considering the total face value of the coins was almost $28,000. In 1900 – when it’s assumed the coins were hidden – that was a small fortune. In today’s dollars the gold content alone would be well north of one million dollars. That’s nothing. The numismatic collector value is now over $10 million.
The discovery affected the entire hobby. For instance, one of the coins was struck in San Francisco in 1866. It’s rare. But, the one found in the can was in top condition, nicer even than a specimen in the Smithsonian. Current estimates have that one coin alone valued at one million dollars. All of the coins were eventually graded by PCGS and most were sold at auction.
This is surely the thing of which dreams are made for any child or adult. Of course, it could have gotten dicey when it was suggested the coins were from a robbery at the San Francisco Mint in 1900 where $30,000 was taken. Happily, it was judged they weren’t, so no insurance company is claiming ownership.
Not surprisingly, the finders, known only as John and Mary (I’d have gone with Tom and Huck), have kept secret their last name and where in California they live. One thing that’s probable. If their kids are headed back to school, it will be a pricey private school.
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