Our San Francisco Gold Coin Cache!

Judi and I were poking around a demo lot in San Francisco, when $20 dollar Gold pieces started to turn up all over the lot.  After two days of hunting, we had found 16 $20s and one $10. Please see the Updated full story of March 27, 2008 below.
Thanks for looking and reading.
HH,
MT and Judi

MT JM,

Welcome to T-Net !

Congrats on a stellar find!!
Keep hunting and keep posting.

Great digs!
Thom

MT JM,
   Welcome to the forum. What a great way to start the picture show.
   When it rains it pours. What a great find. Awesome......... Highwater

Great find.

 

Simply a dream find.  Congrats!

John

thats unreal!W>T>G>   congrats

What are the years of the coins? Could you provide closer shots?

Welcome MT i just drooled on my keyboard....aa

Holey Crapola... pass the smelling salts... I feel faint...   WOW

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm thinking "Banner"

congratulations on an awesome find.

     That is a Super Duper Find and a find of a Lifetime. A little history of the area would add to the find. I definitely would consider that a banner find. Welcome aboard, Glad to have you with us.

Oh my lands... I would lose my ever-lovin' MIND!!!!

Bran <><

YOWZA!! Very Nice. Welcome to Tnet. 

[HECK YES!!!]

I'm thinking "Banner"

HECK YES!!!

Thank you so much for all the nice responses.  The original picture, in my first post was scanned from W&E "Best Finds" for 1992 in the March 1993 issue..

The find was also featured in W&E in the January 1993 issue.  Needless to say we were very proud and happy.  What a thrill it was finding all those beauties.  Please see the long story of March 27, 2008 below.
Thanks again.
Tom
MT


Here's our 15 minutes of fame after the coins were cleaned

Incredible! 16 $20 pieces in one day? Hold on to them, they're getting more valuable by the day. Gold coins, especially $20 pcs, are a great hedge againt inflation and recesion.

WTG.....I'd be hitting that lot some more...Heck of a find

out of sheer curosity, what are they worth today?  so I can drool along with AA

WOW!! Holy cra[]!!
WTG!
Baggins

WOW!  That's an eyepopper for sure.   It's interesting that the last date is 1906 - same year as the earthquake.   I wonder if the original cache was stashed by somebody who perished in the earthquake and fire?   It sure would be fascinating to know which part of SF you found these, whether or not it was a part of the city that was hardest hit by the quake and fire.   There's got to be a sad and historic story behind this cache.   

Very Good observation !!

At first glance the coins looked burnt to me..

That is a find of a life time !!!   

BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!! BANNER !!!!

This is the most incredible and best find I've seen here on T-Net! Exactly, what I was thinking as soon as I read that the lastest date is 1906. The San Fran Quake struck in April '06. I believe those coins were in a building that was leveled during the quake. I really love seeing the age and rust patina on those coins! Is it possible to take some close-up pictures and a picture of the reverse side of the coins? Also, were they all San Francisco mint marks?

truly incredible!!  Congrats!!

Absolutely fantastic finds.  Those Double Eagles are each roughly an ounce of gold.  You can get the latest gold price off of Tnet's cover page.  But I'm sure you have checked out the value of these gorgeous coins already.  Have you thought about sending them to a conservation service?  They may be able to remove the rust without disturbing the surfaces of the coins.  Again, welcome and congratulations, big time. 
                                                                                                                       Bob

Here's another one of my uneducated opinions.   IF (and that's a big IF) these coins were in fact associated with the 1906 earthquake and fire of SF, they could possibly be worth MORE if left uncleaned - with the stains and fire marks intact.   But it would take some research to determine who lived there during April 18, 1906 and if they perished in the disaster.  If they didn't perish, then there still could be historical interest in the coins just by virtue of them being associated with that event.   I mean, the historical value alone could be worth more than the gold content.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it.   Provenance, that's what would be needed, provenance.   (That's a term I picked up by watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS) 

TT, I agree totally with the above.
What an awesome find!!! CONGRATS!!!!! And if that isn;t a banner find, then absolutely nothing is!!!!

Some people go their whole lives never finding a single gold coin, I can't imagine finding that many all at one time, I think my brain would have just overloaded and melted right there on the spot!

Incredible find!!!!!!

There are no words for this find. It's a once in a lifetime find for sure.

 That is the stuff dreams are made of   I remember reading about it in WandE treasure hunters a long time ago.

Wow.  Just amazing.

HH

- joe

I hate you! 

I hate you! 

+1 

I was lurking around last night,
and after reading this for what must have been the thirty fifth time, I got to wondering if there were any thefts of gold from collections that had been reported in this time span 1906 to date?

Just courious, after my gut got all settled ... it would be something I would have to check out.

Thom

      What you have found is a find of a life time........Caches like that are not common!  In most cases like yours there discovered by some accident and the results can be fantastic.  16 Twenty dollar gold coins is amazing.  Gold is over a thousand dollars an ounce right now and will be going up even more.  So congrats on a great find ............and welcome to the gold coin club!   

         Actually......I think at this time, your dominating the club!   

                                                                                                 John

That totally rocks!!!!  I agree... Find of a Lifetime!!!!!!!!  Congrats!!!

incredible

OOOO   MMMMMMM GGGGGGG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember reading a story when I was a kid about one of those $20 pieces being worth $40,000.  I'm sure it was a certain date.  But wow, you can hang up the MD (as if..) and never feel unsatisfied!!!!!!

thats the most amazing find i can think of ever on t-net!!! i dont know what else to say but wow!

Here's another one of my uneducated opinions.   IF (and that's a big IF) these coins were in fact associated with the 1906 earthquake and fire of SF, they could possibly be worth MORE if left uncleaned - with the stains and fire marks intact.   But it would take some research to determine who lived there during April 18, 1906 and if they perished in the disaster.  If they didn't perish, then there still could be historical interest in the coins just by virtue of them being associated with that event.   I mean, the historical value alone could be worth more than the gold content.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it.   Provenance, that's what would be needed, provenance.   (That's a term I picked up by watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS) 

My personal experience is the less said about the gold find the better. For the $20,000 value a lot of people will appear to claim them if too much detail is involved... no matter if they lost them, belonged to ancestors, buried it there themselves... ad nauseum

Remember a pig gets fat... a hog gets slaughtered.

Sanat

Outstanding find.  Most people never find even one, and you hit the jackpot.  WTG

How deep were they when you found them...thats extraordinary !!!!!!!!!!  WTG

HH to all

How deep were they when you found them...thats extraordinary !!!!!!!!!!  WTG

HH to all

Rocky...They weren't deep at all.  The second one I found was just sticking out of the sand and I eyeballed it.  The bulldozer had pushed them all over the sand lot.  I couldn't get much depth due to all the slag from an old foundry that had occupied the property in the 1800s.
Thanks again to everyone for all the nice replies.  If you'd like, I can write a longer story about the finds.
HH,
MT
Tom

Tom, Most of us dream of finding a (Just one gold coin) and you found How Many? WTG

Thanks John...In almost 30 years of hunting, I have luckly managed to trip over 23 and Judi's got 5.  It's a major thrill to find one as you can imagine.
HH,
MT
Tom

Thanks John...In almost 30 years of hunting, I have luckly managed to trip over 23 and Judi's got 5.  It's a major thrill to find one as you can imagine.
HH,
MT
Tom

You can't tease us like that.  We want the whole story about each and every one of them.   C'mon, inquiring minds want to know.    Who, What, When, Where, Why, How?

Hmmm...You do huh?  I have never written anything about them.  Let me see if I can figure out how to do that.
Thanks,
MT
Tom

Congratulations!!!  on an fabulous find.

Thanks John...In almost 30 years of hunting, I have luckly managed to trip over 23 and Judi's got 5.  It's a major thrill to find one as you can imagine.
HH,
MT
Tom

You can't tease us like that.  We want the whole story about each and every one of them.   C'mon, inquiring minds want to know.    Who, What, When, Where, Why, How?

Hmmm...You do huh?  I have never written anything about them.  Let me see if I can figure out how to do that.
Thanks,
MT
Tom

Yeah, for the coolest find ever IMHO, we need more

Awsome find !!!

MAN I WISH I WAS THAT LUCKY!!!!!!!

That is like the best super coin cache I have ever seen!  

[Wow! very happy for you MT!]

  Wow! very happy for you MT!

Quote from TreasureTales
Whoa partner, I thought in your original post you said the story appeared in an old issue of W&E Treasures.    So how about a recap of that article?   If you didn't write the story, who did?   If Judi wrote it, how about you get her on here to tell us the full story?   We want the details, and don't leave us hanging too much longer.   OK?   
End Quote

Whoa Mary, or is it Maxine...You're tough.  I didn't write the article that appeared in W&E in January 1993.  It was written by The honorable John Andreas (One of us treasure types).  I have a copy of the magazine and I will condense it to a readable format for all the TNeters.  I will give you all the details.
Thanks,
MT,
Tom

I am sure that all of the congratulatory words have been used.  I am speechless.  The one thing that i would like to say is.......looking "outside the box" and going for the "insane" thoughts that we all have will be where the greatest treasures will be found in the future......

Good for you! 

What can I say that hasn't already been said     

Banner BANNER banner La BANA bannar how else can I say it WOWEE.

OK, MT..JM, I get it now.  YOU'RE A TEASE!!!!     

Hold on just a minute...it's half done.  I'm woikin' on it.
Tom

Hey MT,,, I never seen that on the other forum, I'm gonna tell



Tim

Our Treasure Story
A Gold Coin Cache From San Francisco
Long,  But The Real Story


It was a Sunday morning in September, 1991, when Judi and I decided to go hunting somewhere in San Francisco. The place we wanted to hunt that day was under guard and fenced so we thought “Now what”? Judi suggested that we go to a fenced lot on an small alley in the south of Market where she had dug some bottles and had heard from an operator that a worker had found a $20 gold piece that dropped off his frontloader, and hit the sidewalk with a nice “cling” as he was loading the debris on to a truck. The lot had had a large reinforced concrete building until the 1989 earthquake, but had suffered so much damage, including sinking about 6 feet in the fill, that it wasn't salvagable and was demolished. In 1906, the same lot had a very small dwelling and a barn which also sank several feet during that devastating earthquake.


Now, imagine an urban lot, strewn with debris from the demolition of an industrial building, a casualty of the 1989 earthquake in downtown San Francisco: Iron and concrete still in piles being readied to take away to a landfill site somewhere. Junk everywhere, most of it thrown over the fence. This was the site, not very big, maybe 60’ by 200’ fenced and in a pretty bad part of town. I never wanted to go, although Judi had tried for four or five months to get me to, mainly because it was fenced and I felt uneasy about running around in that part of town. Judi finally convinced me to at least take a look since she had permission and it was Sunday, and after all a $20 gold had come from the site. I finally agreed.


We drove up to the lot and noticed that the fence was pulled away from the building a little on one end and there was an obvious foot trail across the dirt from all the traffic that had been crossing it to get into the old boarded up building at the far side.  She convinced me to at least take a look at it since we had driven over there. Things seemed quiet enough in the hood, so I agreed to walk around a bit. The surface was littered with all the usual old age indicators…bottle parts, china, pottery, shoe parts and horseshoes. Just right for finding old goodies in San Francisco.


As soon as we walked down the dirt ramp to the bottom, both of us saw a big man’s sterling silver ring lying right on top of the ground. It was massive, old and probably close to an ounce. After looking it over for a while, we decided to give this place a try.


We grabbed our detectors and moved in. I was an avid Teknetics 9000A user and Judi used a White’s 5900 something. The lot was so messed up with concrete and other garbage thrown in that it wasn’t easy to find much clean sand and dirt to hunt. The front half of the lot was more of a white sand, while the back half was more of a gray muddier dirt. Judi started hunting below the edge of the sidewalk, which by now was about six feet above the lot level. We were hunting in an excavated hole.


I started by leaning against the wall on the left side of the lot and began hunting straight out from there. After about 5 steps, I realized I couldn’t use the Teknetics with full sensitivity. There was far too much iron in the ground. It was full. My threshold was gone. I quickly reduced my sensitivity a bunch and started over. After a few steps, I found a big piece of brass. After a few more steps, I got a good signal, not very deep. My target ID was worthless, and I had to go strictly by how good the target sounded. I removed a little soil, an inch or two and there to my amazement was a $20 Liberty Double Eagle. My first $20 gold piece. While still down on my knees, which I’m sure were shaking below me, I called Judi over quietly to celebrate my new find (she had found an 1856S $20 about a year before that at the other site). While she was giving me a big congratulatory hug , I looked over her shoulder, and what I saw was another half buried $20, about three feet away...just sticking out of the sand. I grabbed it and stuck it in my pocket so fast that Judi didn’t even see it go by. At that moment I started to panic. I was afraid that someone was going to see what we were doing. There wasn't anyone on the street, but I just knew we were being watched.
It was then that I knew we had a cache on our hands, and I told Judi to go find a box. I visualized 100s of gold coins somewhere, and how do we get them out of this place without trouble? I decided that the best way to handle this was to go over the lot with no sensitivity, grab all the obvious signals first and get out of there. Then, come back and thoroughly work the area one square foot at a time and do what was necessary to get the rest of them.


About an hour and a half later, I got another good signal. I dug down about an inch and saw the reeded edge of another $20 gold piece. I called to Judi, and as she was walking over to see what it was, I saw it again. And it wasn’t one…it was four stuck together!  Now, I knew I was on to something. She came over, and now we weren't so excited any more. We just wanted to get them, and get out of there. I stood up, swept my loop over the ground and again, a beautiful signal. I dug down an inch or so and another stack of four. I stood up, tried it again, and there were two stuck together. I did it again, and there was another one! It seemed like the ground was just littered with $20 gold pieces! I thought there were thousands of them. So then, instead of using the detector, I just started using my hands and scooping the sand. (we didn't yet have probes in those days) Out came another one! It turned out that there were twelve in that one place. At this point in the day I had found 14 $20 gold pieces and I was pooped.
I put all the coins in the fingers of my cotton glove to keep from scratching them and so no one would see them and we took our stuff and headed for the car. After I put the coins in the car, started the engine and drove out of there we finally felt jubilation! It was great to be out of there.  While I was driving home, Judi started taking them out of the glove and I said “count them”. She said “fourteen” I thought it was far more. No dates were visible and the condition was unknown. They were very rusty and dirty from being buried in some kind of tin box. I could only really see the reeded edges clearly.


After stopping for a bottle of champagne to celebrate and get home, I put them in a Pyrex bowl and poured boiling hot water over them with a bit of dish soap. Eventually they started to come apart revealing their dates and condition, which was outstanding.


I was quite worried about the gold coins and stopped by the bank the next morning to put them in the safety deposit box, then off we went again to the lot. I decided to go with maximum sensitivity and work thoroughly. I started my search at the same place as before, but meticulously listening to every sound. I dug some lead, brass and copper and a nice old brass “US” padlock. After searching for about two hours, I found a $10 gold piece in about the same place that I had found the first $20. Later in the day, in about the same place I found another $20. Judi gave up on detecting and started to dig with her shovel right where I had found the 12 coins the day before. By this time she was a bit upset because I had found 16 of the things.  A while later, she called me over to where she was digging with a big grin on her face! She had dug another $20 gold piece about 1 foot deep.


About 6 months later, after the bulldozer moved the dirt a bit, I went back for the last time and found one more $20 gold piece.  Plenty more must either remain or were hauled to the dump in Brisbane.  Trying to locate them at the dump, we were kicked out in less than 15 minutes.


All of the coins were dated from 1877 to 1906 and were San Francisco minted. The newer dates appeared to be brand new coins. The one Judi found turned out to be the best one of all.


Happy Hunting and Thanks For Reading.

Got one word to say....

Tom !!!!
there you go again. now you have everyone on treasurenet drooling all over themselves. they sure are beauties!! Tell Judi she gets most the credit because she made you go with her. my best to you and yours.  Al

Hey Tom,

I always heard of your great gold coin finds, but never got to read the whole story behind it.  Thanks for posting it, my friend.
Simply amazing.    A metal detecting dream come true.   

You got me wondering how many you left behind.   

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

That is what dreams are made of.

Nice

I really want to thank all of you for your very nice, and inspiring comments.  TreasureTales, thanks for egging me on or I probably wouldn't have written the story.  It was fun reliving it all over again.  It's been a long time now.  BTW, it was my 50th Birthday present.  Not a bad one.
HH,
MT
Tom

Thanks for sharing that here Tom, now more folks out there know a REAL treasure find story!!  Keep swinging and keep digging!!

plain and simply awesome....

Thanks for sharing Tom! WOW!  I have to ask...Has that piece of land been built on since you detected it years ago?

I am still confussed how in your 1st post you mention 16 $20 and 1 $10 and in post #16 the pic shows 17 $20 and one $10 gold piece...

I wanted to post this observation earlier, but I didn't...Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words, though I have been know to be wrong on occasion. 

Ed T

P.s. Maybe you should use your fingers and your toes when you count.

I am still confussed how in your 1st post you mention 16 $20 and 1 $10 and in post #16 the pic shows 17 $20 and one $10 gold piece...

I wanted to post this observation earlier, but I didn't...Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words, though I have been know to be wrong on occasion. 

Ed T

P.s. Maybe you should use your fingers and your toes when you count.

Hi Ed...You're absolutely right!  The picture on the magazine cover was taken after I had found the other $20 about six months later.
Thanks,
MT
Tom

Thats.....  I dont know what to say...... wow

Pardon me for my overview...I did have to go back and read post #68 to find out that you had mentioned finding a total of 18 gold pieces in the last 3 paragraphs of that post... I had read it earlier, but for some strange reason I could not grasp your figures on my earlier post. I forgot to use my toes in my math...I am sorry for my rather rude remark...

You do have one heck of a find.

Ed T

Outstanding 
Amazing
Awesome
Bootylicious (?) 
Find of a life time.
Holy Moley.
OMG
Terrific
Spectacular 
Great
Nice digs
Unbelievable
Wow 
Gee 

Very well told. It is a shame not to be able to find out how many gold coins were lost.  Super find. Thanks for sharing the story. I will be drooling for a week. LOL

Well Done. 

Ray S

Thanks Ray...I want to compliment you on all the work you put into that post.  No drooling allowed
HH,
MT
Tom

For some strange reason something did not seem right to me, so I took a closer look at your post...And I came up with these numbers...

Here is my math on post #68...paragraph 6=2 $20 gold pieces...Paragraph 7=13 $20 gold pieces...Paragraph 9=2 $20 gold pieces and 1 $10 gold piece...And lastly paragraph 10=1 $20 gold pieces...Which gives me a grand total of 18 $20 gold pieces and 1 $10 gold piece...

Ed T

Ed, stop being so picky! Who cares!!! He found a bunch of extremely valuable gold coins, that's all that really matters 


I'd like to 2nd what Ray said  I'd also like to add that I'm very happy you didn't decide to clean these 

Thanks for sharing Tom! WOW!  I have to ask...Has that piece of land been built on since you detected it years ago?

Thanks for the question...Yes it was, and how!
HH,
Tom

GREAT FIND !!!!!

 Not that I think you would EVER sell them... But how much is all that worth??

PLL

GREAT FIND !!!!!

 Not that I think you would EVER sell them... But how much is all that worth??

PLL

That's a tough question to answer...Maybe enough to pay off the home loan
HH,
MT
Tom

Hey Tom,

I always heard of your great gold coin finds, but never got to read the whole story behind it.  Thanks for posting it, my friend.
Simply amazing.    A metal detecting dream come true.   

You got me wondering how many you left behind.   

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

Dan...I never stop wondering that myself.  Wish you coulda been there to help me clean it all out.  It's all gone now
HH,
MT
Tom

Truely remarkable. I cant imagine the feeling you must have had after finding those. Great big congrats on a once in a lifetime find.

Truely remarkable. I cant imagine the feeling you must have had after finding those. Great big congrats on a once in a lifetime find.

Thanks Clump...It was a feeling of Panic and Joy.  Hasn't happend again to that extent.  Lots of neat goodies, but no more gold coin caches
HH,
MT

Outstanding read! What was the total value? A true treasure hunters dream!!

that is nice congratulations maybe ill have something like that someday

All I can say is WOW!  A Big Congratulations on those coins!  Nice finds! 

Incredible find!

Hi Tom,

This is the second time I've read this story but wanted to commend you on your GREAT piece of writing (and it goes without saying your GREAT Detecting in finding the gold). 

Thinking of the coins you might have missed just intrigues the HECK out of me!

What I want to emphasize too is that land fill and dump sites really having amazing potential to the patient and persistent. No gold at my dump site (1/2 mile from home) but I did pull out a few handfuls of silver coins and silver jewelry in the five months of fun detecting.

HH, Joe

PS: This story is so GREAT we need to re-read it every once in a while! 

Thanks Joe...I'm no writer.  It took a lot of egging on from Treasure Tales to get me to write the story.  It also took 3 nights to do it.  One forgets some of the details and numbers over the years.  Hey, it was fun reliving all this again.
Again, Thanks,
MT
Tom

How in the world did I miss this post??  Dang, awesome find. WOW!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats a thousand times.....

DANGLANGLEY

No words could match how insane of a find that is.

Why didn't this get in the banner?
 

probably because the find actually happened some years ago.

Only new and very recent finds ...of an extrordinary nature ...get to see the banner.

LOL
Thom

Why didn't this get in the banner?
 

probably because the find actually happened some years ago.

Only new and very recent finds ...of an extrordinary nature ...get to see the banner.

LOL
Thom

LOL....Yeah....ask Thom.  He knows what's going on around here!   

 
Sorry Marc.
Couldn't resist. LOL

Good to see you posting
Thom

Lisa wrote,
"ask Thom.  He knows what's going on around here!"

Not as much as I used to,
Working too much to have time to read as many of the posts as I used to.

Used to read them all.
or try to.
LOL
Too busy doing spring time stuff
before it gets too hot.

Thom

speachless....

Wow , what a great adventure . Not many folks find a site like that !! Way to go !! Glad I got to read this story !!
H H ,
DD

speachless....

Thanks Cameraman and Dirt Doctor for your nice comments.
HH,
MT
Tom

 Oh LORDY...what a beautiful collection!!!!  I'm still hoping for my FIRST gold coin!  CONGRATULATIONS on a spectacular hunt, and those beautiful coins!   

    Larry G.

Thanks IH Jones...You'll find a gold coin when you least expect it.  Then, you'll find many more.  Funny how that works
HH,
MT
Tom

Well, Here again I read it for the THIRD time. (AND it gets better with each read  )

I'm sitting here thinking ... never found a gold coin for myself but how would I go about increasing the odds of finding one?

Well for sure DETECT, DETECT, DETECT.

Then find the right places: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

I'm thinking about the $20 Gold pieces. THAT was a TON of money back in late 1800's and would most likely NOT be a pocket drop.

The $5 or $2-1/2 Gold Pieces...hmm maybe but only where the wealthy played or congregated.

Darn...I'm thinking too much

HH Joe

Joe...Thanks for the post.  I have a clue for you...Location...Location...Location.
It's everything.  A demo is unhunted, compared to a park.  I just hit it at the right time, thanks to Judi
HH,
MT,
Tom

it dont get any better then that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it dont get any better then that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks WPA.
HH,
MT
Tom

Looks like a few may have been close to a fire. Dream find

Looks like a few may have been close to a fire. Dream find

No Fires CJH.  Just rust from an obvious tin can burial.
Thanks so much.
MT

Absolutely remarkable!I now know what it feels like to dig one.......I cant imagine that x 15!!!!!!!My hats off to you!

Absolutely remarkable!I now know what it feels like to dig one.......I cant imagine that x 15!!!!!!!My hats off to you!

Kuger, thanks so much for your nice comments and congratulations on your incredible $10 gold piece. I was thrilled to see it in the "Banner" so soon.  It's probably worth more than all mine put together
HH,
MT
Tom

  This is the stuff of dreams. Congrats on your gold finds and the article! 

Thanks Diggin'.  I still dream about it
HH,
MT,
Tom

You bet Tom!Hey I wonder what it takes to make "Best Of....."??

[KG6YLL]

I know this is a dream find for most treasure hunters, especially us guys in California!

KG6YLL

 great find !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dont think you will top that

very nice. well worthy of this site.

Thanks so much T.D.  It was a find to remember
Thanks for your reply.
HH,
MT
Tom

If that doesn't keep a person swingin nothing will!!

If that doesn't keep a person swingin nothing will!!

J.R.  I have a very sore shoulder, but I never stop. Today I use a Minelab E-Trac.  Even silver looks good to me these days I'll take it
Thanks for your post.
HH,
MT
Tom

Awesome find, I would say that was the find of the century.  Have you paid off your house note with the proceeds?  I know I would have.....Once again TOTALLY AWSOME!!!!! ........NGE

I was going through my " American Coin Treasures and Hoards" book. Read a story and thought man that sounds like the same one as T-net. Sure enough it was your story. I like your version better though because of the pics.

awesome finds!!!!!! man i dont even know what i would to do if i pulled 1 gold coin lol 

awesome finds!!!!!! man i dont even know what i would to do if i pulled 1 gold coin lol 

Thanks CD.  I think I would go back and look for more.  There's always a good possibility
HH,
MT
Tom

WOW! What a find of a life time. Congrats! 

Dave

Thanks L.H..  I haven't found anything, anywhere this nice in many years.  These days, one silver dime is great.
HH,
MT
Tom

Wow That is a great find.  Makes me want to go hunting!

Jimb...Go out and hunt.  Find a place where no one has ever gone.  Believe me, it's the place to go.
Thanks so much for your reply.
HH,
MT
Tom

MT, it just makes me sick to think how many urban demolition sites come and go monthly/yearly, and we can barely "scratch the surface".    I've seen some where you can watch them scrape off the concrete, while you're watching from the street, and then go down several feet before their 5pm cutoff-time.   Seems it's always "not deep enough", or "too deep", for demolition, eh?

One time I was getting tokens, coins, age-indicators, etc...... at the foot of this board-&-batton porch/commercial district building in Hollister, CA.   When I got to where I couldn't stick my coil any further under the un-demolished structure/porch/veranda thingy, I figured:  "when I get back tomorrow, they'll have the rest of this torn out, so why bother any further effort tonight?"    But when I got back the NEXT night, they'd not only ripped out the remaining structure, but also dug out several foot of prime soil too

Makes me sick to think of just how much old-town demolition site goodies get hauled away each year.  Glad you got a nice piece of action! 

Just a hint to you all, (know a bit of demo folks)...Go to the sites, go to the trucking demolition companies, find out the jobs, see if the foreman will let you on site at the end of the day, when it's cleanup, offer to share with him...private home builders too, lot's out there to find!

 I found coin from a simple water line dig, it is literally anywhere...Good hunting!

MT, it just makes me sick to think how many urban demolition sites come and go monthly/yearly, and we can barely "scratch the surface".    I've seen some where you can watch them scrape off the concrete, while you're watching from the street, and then go down several feet before their 5pm cutoff-time.   Seems it's always "not deep enough", or "too deep", for demolition, eh?

One time I was getting tokens, coins, age-indicators, etc...... at the foot of this board-&-batton porch/commercial district building in Hollister, CA.   When I got to where I couldn't stick my coil any further under the un-demolished structure/porch/veranda thingy, I figured:  "when I get back tomorrow, they'll have the rest of this torn out, so why bother any further effort tonight?"    But when I got back the NEXT night, they'd not only ripped out the remaining structure, but also dug out several foot of prime soil too

Makes me sick to think of just how much old-town demolition site goodies get hauled away each year.  Glad you got a nice piece of action!  

Thanks so much Tom...You're right, timing is everything... altho this lot sat for months.  Thanks to Judi for hauling me in there.  I'm not a fence jumper at all, but this time it really paid off.
HH,
MT

Just a hint to you all, (know a bit of demo folks)...Go to the sites, go to the trucking demolition companies, find out the jobs, see if the foreman will let you on site at the end of the day, when it's cleanup, offer to share with him...private home builders too, lot's out there to find!

 I found coin from a simple water line dig, it is literally anywhere...Good hunting!

Thank You Inform!

Awesome what a great hunt that made makes me wish one day I'll have a hunt even close to that but most probably wont takes alot of luck to find a spot with gold like that congrats WTG.

Thanks for the upper!  -Noodle

Tom,

Wow, this story doesn't get old.

What a great read (again and again)!

I've only touched one gold coin in my entire life ... a 1913 (I think) $5. And I remember how heavy it was. It sure felt good. Yeah, I was supposed to inherit that coin and broke my heart when there was a "change of plan".

I will just NEED to find my own now ... hmm or maybe turn all those zincs in and buy one?

Wow...Holy Smokes!! That got my attention...Congrats and HH

OMG....One can only pray for a find like this in his lifetime, all I can say is WOW !    

  it doesn't get much better than that for finding big american gold

Thanks Tony_ia and Tony 1663.  It was great fun, and a find of a lifetime.  Now days, a Mercury Dime looks good
HH,
MT

unreal......just unreal......
biggest congrats i can give you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Thanks so much Evan/Tn
HH,
MT

Hey MT, I was just wondering, don't you have to share half of what you found with the property owner?

WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY WTG Do you still have them?

I went by that lot many many times, started to detect and didn't.....then heard about the finds .... Moral of the story....go with your first instincts and do not hesitate

That is what its all about

WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY WTG Do you still have them?

Thanks Paul...yes, I still have them.  I would never sell them, at least I don't think so.

Thanks RJW...I know exactly what you mean.  It took me forever to go there.

Thanks Captndan...I never keep trying to do it again

HH,
MT

This is the most incredible and best find I've seen here on T-Net! Exactly, what I was thinking as soon as I read that the lastest date is 1906. The San Fran Quake struck in April '06. I believe those coins were in a building that was leveled during the quake. I really love seeing the age and rust patina on those coins! Is it possible to take some close-up pictures and a picture of the reverse side of the coins? Also, were they all San Francisco mint marks?

I was thinking the same thing about the quake and then the fires that came also. It looked to me, could some of the coins have burn marks on them?

skt

SKT...Thanks for the reply.  None of the coins appeared to be burned.  They did have rust stains on them.  I believe they were buried in a tin box at the time of the 1906 earthquake, hence the rust, not burns.
HH,
MT

Has anyone seen the lower half of my jaw that fell off?

Thanks bearbqd for that interesting comment.
HH,
MT

I'm new here(3 days)and have read a lot of posts.This had to have earned a "BANNER", why is it not on the Original Post, at the top of the page?

I'm new here(3 days)and have read a lot of posts.This had to have earned a "BANNER", why is it not on the Original Post, at the top of the page?

Every post in "THE BEST OF",was at one time a Banner.Check the date of the orig. post.I dont think they archive the banners a couple years old up there

Hmmmmm....... a sample of 17 gold coins with various dates; most of those being in the late 1800s.

Did anybody else notice the lone gold coin from the stash with the date of 1906?

Me thinks the person who buried this cache was buried under the rubble of the great quake.

MT I was just wondering, how do you handle the tax thing? I want to know what to do in case I find a pile of gold coins.

MT I was just wondering, how do you handle the tax thing? I want to know what to do in case I find a pile of gold coins.

Dont sell

MT I was just wondering, how do you handle the tax thing? I want to know what to do in case I find a pile of gold coins.

Dont sell

Exactly what I was gonna say...Thanks Kuger.
MT

Don't know your tax act, but if it's anything like ours downunder - the tax is only due when a capital gain is realised. i.e. when you sell (says he, having just been hit with a $7K capital tax gain bill, from farm land sold a few years back).

Yes the finding of coinage represents a capital gain but only when sold is said gain taxable.

Course - I'm not tax lawyer but I stayed in a holiday inn once! 

Cheers
 

Congratulations on a tremendous find!! Have you ever found anything close to this before? It gives us all inspiration!!

                                             

Prairieman