Over $2 million in gold coins have been discovered in a Kentucky cornfield.
More than 700 rare U.S. gold coins dating from 1840 to 1863 were recently unearthed. Officials are not saying where the cornfield is located, nor are they releasing the name of the man who found them.
The find has been tabbed “The Great Kentucky Hoard,” and includes $1 Gold Indians, $10 Gold Libertys and $20 Gold Liberty and 1863 Gold Liberty Double Eagles, “a super-rare date that is scarce in all grades,” according to govmint.com.
“Underneath were just these phenomenally beautiful, preserved coins,” Certified Collectibles Group Executive Vice President Andrew Salzberg told WAVE.com. “And I think they were preserved so well because they weren’t exposed to air, and they were buried in the ground.”
How the coins came to be buried in Kentucky is open to conjecture, but one scenario “has a wealthy Kentuckian burying his wealth to hide it from an advancing Confederate Army,” according to WAVE.
”If you had a lot of money, historically, you buried it,” President of the Louisville Numismatic Exchange Byrd Saylor told the Louisville television station. “Banks were good. They robbed the banks. You had to find a place that was secure. In most times throughout history, people bury money. What happens if you bury money and get killed? It stays in the ground.”
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
