19th century gold coins estimated at a value of more than $10 million were discovered last year buried on private property in California.
These same coins were recently authenticated by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) with a portion of the treasure to make a public debut at the upcoming ANA National Money Show in Atlanta.
1,427 gold coins were found in February 2013 by a couple as they were walking on their property near a hill they had named Saddle Ridge. They contacted David McCarthy, senior numismatist at Kagin’s Inc of Tiburon, California, who did an initial evaluation and inventory.
The "Saddle Ridge Hoard" was found to contain well over a thousand coins dated from 1847 to 1894, the majority of which were $20 Liberty Double Eagles struck at the San Francisco Mint.
"This is the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," stated Don Kagin, President of Kagin’s. "What’s really significant about this find is that this treasure combines a great quantity of pristine coins along with a great human interest story."
The find, touted as "one of the greatest buried treasures ever unearthed in the United States," has been authenticated, graded and certified by PCGS.
Of the graded coins, more than a dozen have been classified as either the finest known or tied as the finest known examples in the PCGS Population Report.
"What is really special about this discovery is the incredible quality of many of these coins," commented David Hall, PCGS Co-Founder and Collectors Universe, Inc.
"I’ve always called rare coins ‘history in your hands’ and the Saddle Ridge Hoard is a historical time capsule of immense numismatic importance."
Some of the gold coins will appear at the American Numismatic Association National Money Show to be held in Atlanta from February 27 – March 1, 2014. The certified coins will feature a special gold-colored foil "Saddle Ridge Hoard" PCGS certification insert label.
The complete collection has a combined face value of $27,980 but has been estimated with a current market value of over $10 million.
The couple who found the treasure has asked to remain anonymous and have chosen not to disclose the location of the original find.
