LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Millions of dollars worth of 19th century gold coins were recently unearthed in the rarest of places - a Kentucky cornfield.
Experts say 700 rare U.S. gold coins were found in what they've called "The Great Kentucky Hoard." The coins are dated from 1840 to 1862 and are in remarkably good condition.
“Underneath were just these phenomenally beautiful, preserved coins,” Certified Collectibles Group executive vice president Andrew Salzberg told WAVE-TV in Louisville. “And I think they were preserved so well because they weren’t exposed to air, and they were buried in the ground.”
The estimated value of the coins totals more than $2 million.
It's still a mystery as to how the coins came to be buried in the field, though one likely scenario is that a wealthy Kentucky man buried his wealth to hide it from an advancing Confederate Army.
”If you had a lot of money, historically, you buried it,” president of the Louisville Numismatic Exchange Byrd Saylor said. “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.”
Why the owner never returned to dig up his loot adds another layer of mystery to the find, along with questions about the man who found the stash 160 years later. That man's name, along with how he found the coins and the location of the cornfield have not been disclosed.