The big numismatic story this week was of course, the announced find of buried gold coins in California. I first saw an Associated Press story on Foxnews.com Tuesday afternoon:

To read the complete article, see:
California couple finds $10 million in rare coins while out walking dog(www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/25/california-couple-finds-10-million-in-rare-coins-while-out-walking-dog/)

About 60 seconds later I got a copy of the press release from Donn Pearlman, on behalf of PCGS and Kagin's. It had less information than the AP article, but more could be found on the Kagin's web site:

To read the complete articles, see:
The Saddle Ridge Treasure of U.S. Gold Coins(www.kaginsinc.com/coins/?p=672)
California Family Discovers Buried Treasure - Hidden Cache of 19th Century U.S. Gold Coins May Be Most Valuable Hoard Unearthed in North America(www.kaginsinc.com/coins/?p=680)

The articles were all dated Tuesday, February 25th. One was in the form of an interview with finders "John" and "Mary":

To read the complete article, see:
Hoard Interview(www.kaginsinc.com/coins/?p=678)

Bill Rosenblum in Colorado was the first to forward the story to me. Dick Hanscom in Alaska had gotten a mailing from Kagin's and forwarded a link to a London Daily Mail article:

To read the complete article, see:
California couple strikes gold after finding $10million of 19th century coins buried on their property(www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2567784/Calif-couple-strike-10-million-gold-coin-bonanza.html)

Choosing to remain anonymous, however noble the stated intention, is a form of deceit. And of course, "Oh what a tangled web we weaveWhen first we practice to deceive." (Sir Walter Scott).

Questions of all sorts came to my mind immediately. Does the story hold water? I've seen far too many of these "found" hoard stories that later turn out to be a crock, like the Renoir "found at a flea market" that had been stolen from a museum and the Massachusetts paper money hoard "dug up in the backyard" that had been stolen by roofers working on a barn. I get suspicious when key details are left out and papered over with a story. In this case, the names of the finders aren't even being released.

Is the condition of the coins consistent with having been underground for a hundred years? Do the canisters look authentic? I wondered if someone was trying to launder money or fence a stolen collection. I'm not questioning Kagin's, but the farther back you go in the chain of possession things get murkier and murkier. How did the hoard come to be?

And even if the find is legitimate, have the proper authorities been notified, legal procedures followed and taxes set to be paid? Journalists could file Freedom of Information Act requests to get certain information, even if identities have to be redacted due to privacy laws.

If the couple had found a stray puppy, they likely would have plastered posters all over their town seeking the owner. Find a wallet or bag of cash in a taxicab, you can and should report it and seek the owner. Are the laws different for items found on your own property? Of course, with the finders maintaining anonymity it can't be verified that they even OWN property, let alone found something there.

Here's where Britain's Treasure Trove laws are so great. As I understand it, find something anywhere and you have to report it. Archaeologists and scholars get to record, investigate and document the find, and the government gets an opportunity to purchase the material at market value for museums. Otherwise the finder is free to sell it, sharing half with the property owner; if you find it on your own property you keep it all, minus appropriate taxes. It's all above board and still a bonanza for the finder

Ralf W. Boepple of Germany saw the story in Der Spiegel. He writes:

To read the complete article, see:
Kalifornien: Paar findet millionenschweren Goldschatz im Garten(www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/usa-paar-findet-goldschatz-im-garten-in-kalifornien-in-millionenwert-a-955680.html)

The topic came up in the Yahoo Colonial Coins group. Jeff Rock wrote:

One of the best things about The E-Sylum is access to top experts in the numismatic field. One E-Sylum regular is Bob Evans, Chief Scientist of the SS Central America Project which salvaged what has been called the greatest treasure find of all time, from the wreck of the Central America ship which sunk in 1857. Bob writes:

Given a chance E-Sylum readers might have come up with the next clue, but "Jeff", commenting on a CoinUpdate article, noted a possible connection to a long-ago theft, He quoted text from the U.S. Mint site (without attribution):

To read the complete article, see:
PCGS Certifies "Saddle Ridge Hoard" of Buried Treasure Gold Coins : In Sheep's Clothing(news.coinupdate.com/pcgs-certifies-saddle-ridge-hoard-of-buried-treasure-gold-coins-3167/comment-page-1/#comment-43204)

To read the original article, see:
The United States Mint at San Francisco(www.usmint.gov/kids/coinnews/mintfacilities/sfo/)

Apparently independently, the site Mashable was doing its own research. Thanks to Larry Dziubek for forwarding it. They started by speaking with Kagin's and the ANA's Doug Mudd. Here's an excerpt from their article:

So Mashable arrived as the same possible suspect: Walter Dimmick. In a bit of a stretch, they headlined their story "The Crazy True History of the Saddle Ridge Gold Coins."

To read the complete article, see:
The Crazy True History of the Saddle Ridge Gold Coins(mashable.com/2014/02/26/saddle-ridge-gold-coins-stolen-1898/)

For more from the site Altered Dimensions, see:
Saddle Ridge Hoard - couple discovers $10 million in old gold coins buried in backyard(altereddimensions.net/2014/saddle-ridge-hoard-couple-discovers-10-million-old-1890-gold-coins-buried-backyard-mint-theft)

We'll wrap up with a short excerpt from the Daily Mail, which does a great job of tarting up their stories with photos. Be sure to check out the full version online.

To read the complete article, see:
EXCLUSIVE: Couple who found $10m hoard of gold coins while walking dog could have broken law by not telling the police(www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2570203/EXCLUSIVE-Couple-10m-hoard-gold-coins-walking-dog-broke-law.html)

We've heard of client-lawyer privilege, but never coin dealer-client privilege. Can the law force Kagin's or PCGS to out the finders? Time will tell. And was it truly Walter Dimmick who stole and hid the coins? Perhaps, but we may never know for sure.Stay tuned - this story is far from over!

Thanks to Nick Graver, Arthur Shippee, Andy Singer, David Gladfelter, Pablo Hoffman, and others who also forwarded links to articles.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
FLEA MARKET RENOIR STOLEN FROM BALTIMORE MUSEUM(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n41a32.html)
NEW CHARGES EXPECTED IN ROOFERS BANKNOTE HOARD CASE(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v09n13a24.html)