“There is a big spike in the hoarding of coins in the American Civil War,” Ryan McNutt, a conflict archeologist at Georgia Southern University, told Fox News Digital, while also mentioning the economic issues that occurred during that time. (NGC)
They were then listed for sale on govmint.com and were snapped up in a matter of days, Garrett said.
“It’s not uncommon to find coins, particularly ancient coins, buried in the ground. But to find U.S. rarities buried in the ground is extremely rare,” he added.
That’s because the United States is a much younger country, according to Salzburg.
This coin, which has been marked and packaged, is labeled an 1862 MS 61 in the “Great Kentucky Hoard.” (NGC)
“Going back 2,000-plus years, there was a lot of commerce and trade going on in other parts of the world, but not so much in the United States that we know today,” he said, adding that the coins’ burial in the ground actually helped preserve them.
“Over the course of 150 years, it really did a great job preserving the coins’ condition. Those 1863 20s were unbelievable to see,” Salzberg said.
The story behind who buried the coins, and why, is something Salzberg said he finds fascinating.
“Back in those days, you couldn’t always go to a bank or put them in a safe or store them in a vault,” he said.
The coins were listed for sale on govmint.com and were snapped up in a matter of days, according to Garrett. (NGC)
“Nothing was really available to somebody looking to hide their wealth, so the best way to do it was to bury it in the ground.”
Ryan McNutt, a conflict archeologist at Georgia Southern University, said he specializes in analyzing “all the stuff that’s left behind when people engage in trying to kill each other.”
“There is a big spike in the hoarding of coins in the American Civil War,” McNutt told Fox News Digital, while also mentioning the economic issues that occurred during that time.
McNutt said the coins may have been hidden due to Union business alliances, of “which Confederate supporters and soldiers were taking a pretty dim view.” (Ryan McNutt)
“The market starts to collapse and the response to all this kind of economic uncertainty and people not sure of essentially where their income is going to come from, means that they start hoarding coinage — to such an extent that coin money almost completely disappears during the American Civil War,” he added.
Kentucky, McNutt explained, was neutral territory during the war.
“There’s lots of guerrilla activity, there’s lots of both Union military activity and Confederate military activity — and particularly at the time it seems like the coins must have been deposited, because it’s got to be about 1863, maybe 1864,” he said.
For anyone inspired to begin excavating their own land for buried treasure, Salzberg said he wishes them good luck. (NGC)
McNutt said there were several big Confederate cavalry raids that came through Kentucky during 1863, which is the date of the coins.
The fact that it was federally issued currency implies that it may have been obtained through Union-aligned individuals, said McNutt.
“They may have been trading, buying, selling or had some kind of business interests that are aligned with the Union, which Confederate supporters and soldiers were taking a pretty dim view of,” he said, adding that may be why it was hidden.
Another possibility involves Nathan Bedford Forest, who also raided Kentucky in 1864, McNutt said, adding that the story behind the coins is purely speculative, especially since the exact location of the coin hoard is unknown.
Why the owner of the coins never came back to claim them is another chapter in the story, McNutt said. (NGC)
“It’s difficult to say exactly what war-related activity caused it, but it does seem that probably the motive behind hiding this money is civil unrest, conflict, raids coming through,” he said.
Why the owner of the coins never came back to claim them is another chapter in the story, McNutt said.
“Maybe [the person] died, maybe they were forced off their land,” he said.
“It’s a truly historic and rare find,” Salzberg told Fox News Digital. (NGC)
McNutt said he calculated the hoard to have been worth about $1,000 in 1864, which at the time would’ve been equivalent to several years’ worth of annual income.
“So, it is a chunk of money,” he said.
“That makes me speculate that whoever buried it probably died and wasn’t able to go back for it.”
The story behind who buried the coins, and why, is something Salzberg said he personally finds fascinating. (NGC)
For anyone inspired to excavate their own land for buried treasure, Salzberg said he wishes them good luck.
“The chances of finding something like this, I would say, are in line with winning the lottery,” Salzberg said.
“It’s a truly historic and rare find. I can’t disagree that, as far as coins being found in the ground, this is one of the most significant finds of the 21st century,” he added.
Gretchen Eichenberg is a contributing reporter for Fox News Digital.
Soucre and credit: foxnews.com