A man in Kentucky recently found a buried cache of gold coins from the Civil War period rumored to be worth millions of dollars.
Consisting of nearly seven hundred $1, $10, and $20 gold dollars issued by the US Mint between 1840 and 1863, the discovery is being called the “Great Kentucky Hoard.”
“This is the most insane thing ever: Those are all $1 gold coins, $20 gold coins, $10 gold coins,” said the finder in a camera phone video.
Many wealthy Kentuckians are rumored to have buried large quantities of gold and silver in advance of the Civil War, and Ryan McNutt, a knowledgeable archaeologist with a specialty in conflict areas, suggests that since these gold coins were federally issued, it meant that the original owner might have been wary of being identified as a collaborator with the feds during a time when Kentucky was still neutral.
“Given the time period and the location in Kentucky, which was neutral at the time, it is entirely possible this was buried in advance of Confederate John Hunt Morgan’s June to July 1863 raid,” McNutt told LiveScience.
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According to the Numismatic Guaranty Co. (NGC) which certified the hoard’s authenticity, the rarest items are the 1863-P $20 1-ounce gold liberty coins, which can go for 6-figures at auction. 18 were included in the hoard.
These were minted by the US Treasury after gold was discovered in California, and do not include the phrase “In God We Trust” which was added after the end of the Civil War.
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