The Saddle Ridge treasure: one of the most expensive findings in the US history
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Outdoor walking is good for health. Sometimes such walks are able to strengthen not only immunity, but also the financial standing of the family. A typical example of this is the story of a Californian couple who during dog walking ended up finding the most amazing treasure in the history of the United States.
Cans with coins and secret signs
Saddle Ridge Hoard remains one of the most expensive findings in the United States to date. It consists of 1,427 gold coins with a face value of $27,980. However, experts estimated it much higher — at 10 million dollars. A little later, this value was confirmed: most of the coins were sold at the Amazon auction, and the rarest of them ended up in museums and private collections.
The couple who found the treasure preferred to stay anonymous. But despite this, they told the story of how they found so many coins.
John and Mary bought a plot of land in California, and immediately got into the habit of walking their dog along the same route every evening. Once their attention was attracted by strange signs — a tin can on the tree that had grown around it, and a stone of an unusual shape. It was 10 steps away from them that the first can of gold coins was found.
Having decided to continue their search, John and Mary found 7 more rusted cans filled with gold coins on the site. Of particular surprise was the fact that the iron was almost completely destroyed, while the treasure itself was in excellent condition. Experts are sure that the lion’s share of the found coins was not even in circulation.
The Amazon auction and the fate of the funds found
The spouses disposed of the treasure rather unusually. The rarest and most expensive coin worth $1 million, namely the “Double Eagle” of 1866 without the motto “In God We Trust”, was provided for temporary use to the museum. It is noteworthy that it is located in the building of the mint, in which these coins were once minted.
Some of the items they kept for themselves as a memento. Yet most of the treasures were sold on Amazon. This amount was enough to cover all the debts of the couple and make donations to several charitable foundations.
Today, John and Mary live like an average family, but the house and land have long been their property and they don’t owe anything to the banks. At the same time, they no longer intend to dig up the site in search of new treasures — it is a farm now.
Golden hoard — a gift for future generations
The yellow metal has an amazing property: it does not lose its value over the years. On the contrary, if stored in the form of coins and jewelry, it can increase in price tenfold. And the history of the Saddle Ridge Hoard once again proves this: the nominal value of less than 30,000 dollars in a little over 100 years was converted into 10 million dollars.
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