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A hoard of Civil War-era gold coins found in Kentucky cornfield
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( Kitco News) - One Kentucky man is basking in his good fortune after discovering a trove of Civil War-era gold bullion coins.
 | | Photo fromGovMint.com |
According to GovMint.com, the company selling the historic bullion, more than 700 gold coins dated between 1840 and 1863 were discovered buried in a cornfield earlier this year. The location of the "Great Kentucky Hoard" and the man who found the cache have not been revealed.The value of the cache has also not been disclosed, but one type of coin, an extremely rare 1863 $20 Gold Liberty Double Eagle coin, has in the past sold at auction for more than $100,000. Eighteen of these coins were part of the treasure trove.
The gold hoard also includes about 600 $1 gold coins and $10 and $20 Gold Liberty coins dating between 1854 and 1862.
"Each of the coins that are part of the Great Kentucky Hoard are struck in 90% gold at the Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans or Carson City Mints," GovMint said on its website.
Not only is the number of coins in the collection memorable, but the quality of the coins was also remarkable, according to Numismatic Guaranty Company, which was hired to evaluate the coins.
NGC gave most of the coins gradings of Extremely Fine to Mint State (XF–MS) condition; it is believed that some coins came straight from a bank and were never circulated.
"The opportunity to handle the Great Kentucky Hoard is one of the highlights of my career," said Jeff Garrett, a rare coin dealer and leading expert in American coinage, who evaluated the trove for the NGC. "The importance of this discovery cannot be overstated, as the stunning number of over 700 gold dollars represents a virtual time capsule of Civil War-era coinage, including coins from the elusive Dahlonega Mint. Finding one Mint condition 1863 Double Eagle would be an important numismatic event. Finding nearly a roll of superb examples is hard to comprehend."
Kentucky was a neutral state during the Civil War, but according to one archeologist, the original owner probably buried the hoard to hide their dealings from Confederate soldiers.
In a comment to Live Science, Ryan McNutt, a conflict archaeologist at Georgia Southern University who has heard about the hoard but not seen it, said it has some historical significance.
“Given the time period and the location in Kentucky, which was neutral at the time, it is entirely possible this was buried in advance of Confederate John Hunt Morgan's June to July 1863 raid,” McNutt said.
However, not much is known about the coins. McNutt noted that most historical artifacts found on private land go to market or are collected without archaeological consultation.
“As a conflict archaeologist, I find this loss of information particularly frustrating," he said. “It's a snapshot of the past, lost forever."
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