Cool Story

[edjs]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

Very cool story.

Pete - Why can't the couple keep it?

Because these coins were possibly stolen from the US mint in San Francisco, so they still belong to the Government.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by edjs

Because these coins were possibly stolen from the US mint in San Francisco, so they still belong to the Government.

Gov will make plenty more than face value on taxes after sale

[barrysloate]

If I made a find like that, I wouldn't tell anyone and just sell a few at a time, making sure I stayed under the radar. Why did these people go public with it?

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

If I made a find like that, I wouldn't tell anyone and just sell a few at a time, making sure I stayed under the radar. Why did these people go public with it?

+1

[birdman42]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

If I made a find like that, I wouldn't tell anyone and just sell a few at a time, making sure I stayed under the radar. Why did these people go public with it?

A couple of the coins might go for more than a million each at auction. Kind of hard to stay under the radar with items like that.

Originally Posted by edjs

Because these coins were possibly stolen from the US mint in San Francisco, so they still belong to the Government.

Hooray for social media! A spokesperson for the Mint says they have no records of such a theft. (It's possible those records were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.) And, as the article says, the items in the hoard don't match up with what was supposedly stolen. A "mint-sealed bag" would have contained all newly-minted coins. I've owned both mint-sealed bags of coins and coins in a bag that came from the mint. Not the same thing.

Bill

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by birdman42

A couple of the coins might go for more than a million each at auction. Kind of hard to stay under the radar with items like that.


Hooray for social media! A spokesperson for the Mint says they have no records of such a theft. (It's possible those records were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.) And, as the article says, the items in the hoard don't match up with what was supposedly stolen. A "mint-sealed bag" would have contained all newly-minted coins. I've owned both mint-sealed bags of coins and coins in a bag that came from the mint. Not the same thing.

Bill

I wouldn't sell the million dollar ones ( I wasn't aware there were rarities in the collection) for a very long time. I would start from the bottom up.

Regarding why nobody ever came back to claim them, there could be a simple answer: he died before he had a chance to return.

[frankbmd]

Regarding why nobody ever came back to claim them, there could be a simple answer: he died before he had a chance to return.

Maybe it was Charley, Barry. He could have used one of those coins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg33Q1aV1wQ

[jhs5120]

Even if the couple was able to spread out the sale of these coins over a span of 30 years, it would be hard to account for an extra $10 million in earnings without raising any questions (especially if your regular income is <$100k).

It's much safer to legally earn $6 million than illegally earn $10 million. When you become a millionaire overnight, it's petty to nickel and dime the IRS.

[barrysloate]

Frank- since I went to Boston University, I am actually well aware of that song. You have to pay the MTA fare as you exit the train, which is unusual.

Jason- not suggesting one should avoid paying taxes, but simply sell a little at a time not to raise eyebrows. Imagine if you bought an original shoebox of T206's and there were six Wagners in it. You wouldn't sell all six on the first day. You would devise a better strategy, and sell them off over time. That's all. And you wouldn't run to the media and ask them to do a story about your find. You would recognize it's better to keep it private. No big deal either way, but that's how I would do it.

[2dueces]

Originally Posted by edjs

Because these coins were possibly stolen from the US mint in San Francisco, so they still belong to the Government.

His theory is way off. He had his 15 minutes of fame now he should go away again. The dates of the coins are too far apart to have been left at the mint that long. Plus not all the coins were pristine, some showed a lot of wear. This was a stash from some one back in the day. No telling why he didn't come back to recover it.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by 2dueces

His theory is way off. He had his 15 minutes of fame now he should go away again. The dates of the coins are too far apart to have been left at the mint that long. Plus not all the coins were pristine, some showed a lot of wear. This was a stash from some one back in the day. No telling why he didn't come back to recover it.

That's what I read too.