More than 700 gold coins dating from the US Civil War and found buried in a cornfield in Kentucky, in the southeastern United States, have been put up for sale and could fetch several million dollars.
The precious treasure was unearthed on a farm in Kentucky earlier this year, according to the organization that evaluated the coins and the company that put them up for sale. The exact location of the treasure and the identity of the man who discovered it have not been revealed at this time.
However, in a video posted on the coin selling site, we can see a man filming himself digging up dirt, in which coins appear.
“It’s the craziest thing in the world,” he exclaims.
extremely rare pieces
According to auction site GovMint.com, the coins date from between 1840 and 1863 and the loot includes so-called “Indian” $1 gold coins, as well as US $10 and $20 gold coins.
Among these, 18 extremely rare American $20 gold coins have even been found, minted in 1863 in Philadelphia. According to collectors, these could sell for sums reaching six figures.
“The importance of this discovery cannot be overstated,” rare coin dealer Jeff Garrett said in a statement, calling the hoard a “time capsule.”
During the Civil War (1861-1865) that pitted the slave states of the South against the abolitionist states of the North, Kentucky had taken a neutral stance, but had nonetheless been involved in this deadly conflict.
“The Kentucky Gold Cache may be the result of this conflict, with coins lost for more than 150 years,” said NGC, which pledged the coins.
Source: BFM TV
