A remarkable discovery unfolded in Kentucky as a local resident stumbled upon a collection of more than 700 coins from the Civil War era on a farm.
Known as the “Great Kentucky Hoard,” this treasure trove of gold coins spans the years between 1840 and 1863, as reported by GovMint.com.
Among the coins, there are $1 Gold Indians, $10 Gold Libertys, and $20 Gold Libertys. Notably, the collection also boasts a few exceedingly rare 1863 Gold Liberty Double Eagles, a date that is considered “scarce in all grades,” according to the website.
Coinworld.com estimates that the collection is now valued in the millions, highlighting its immense worth.
Expressing his astonishment in a video shared by GovMint, the man who made this extraordinary find exclaimed, “This is the most unbelievable thing ever! Those are all $1 gold coins, $20 gold coins, $10 gold coins.”
“This feels unbelievably surreal,” he added.
Renowned US coins expert Jeff Garrett, speaking to GovMint.com, stated, “The opportunity to handle the ‘Great Kentucky Hoard’ is one of the highlights of my career. The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated.”
Garrett emphasized that these coins serve as a “virtual time capsule of Civil War era coinage,” with some originating from the “elusive” Dahlonega Mint. The Dahlonega Mint, situated in Georgia, was operational from 1838 to 1861 and exclusively minted gold coins, as confirmed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Garrett further remarked, “Discovering one mint condition 1863 double eagle would be an important numismatic event. Finding nearly a roll of superb examples is difficult to fathom.”
To ensure their authenticity and condition, the coins underwent authentication and grading by the Numismatic Guaranty Company, a trusted third-party coin grading service. Most of them were graded as extremely fine to mint state, as per GovMint.com.
Commenting on the potential origins of this buried treasure, Ryan McNutt, a conflict archaeologist at Georgia Southern University, shared with Live Science that “given the time period and the location in Kentucky, which remained neutral at the time, it is entirely plausible that these coins were buried in anticipation of Confederate John Hunt Morgan’s raid from June to July 1863.”
