Amazing squirreled away stash found in Arizona

kiyote

I have almost no details on this. I’m following the story now and will share more when I get some

MsMorrisine

Invite them here

skier07

Wow. If I found an old stash like that my lips would be sealed.

Namvet69

Looking forward to the details. Peace Roy

CharlotteDude

Please share details as they come forward.

ricko

Wow... That is what treasure hunters dream of..... Would love to hear the details....Cheers, RickO

1630Boston

Besides the beautiful old gun and great coins, notice the $500 bills. Adjusting for the change in purchasing power each one of those would be the equivalent of about $13,000 in today's money. That is a valuable cache, and the kind of thing many detectorists hope to find. This shows that it still happens.
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https://tbr2020.blogspot.com/2021/04/42521-report-super-cache-found-by-gold.html

element159

Those $500 notes do not look real, which for me puts the whole truth of this find in doubt.
They would be some version of Friedberg 185, which is extremely rare, and would surely be worth far more than the coins. But it does not look right.

Bayard1908

I would be suspicious about this too. The revolver is rusty, yet the Colt No. 3 derringer does not have rust on the barrel. Why did the revolver rust in a dry desert environment? The type of moisture that would cause rust would have damaged the paper money; however, the paper money looks to be in excellent condition.

I also think that worn Morgans, a Capped Bust half, and large cents do not really go together as period spending money.

The Colt derringer has a brass frame that would have originally been nickel plated. It takes decades of wear for the nickel plating to wear away completely. Even if the derringer was manufactured in 1870 and the cache were supposedly hidden in 1900, I'd still be suspicious.

No Headlights

Was this found near a movie set?

MsMorrisine

I wondered about the combo of older dated coins with Morgans

Perhaps the few were saved as collectors items, but that large cent doesn’t have much wear.

Then there’s what appears to be rifle cartridges in there

johnny9434

id love to hear about that as well. to ba d word is out on it

SaorAlba

@element159 said:
Those $500 notes do not look real, which for me puts the whole truth of this find in doubt.
They would be some version of Friedberg 185, which is extremely rare, and would surely be worth far more than the coins. But it does not look right.

They are that fake parchment paper. I agree with you, I smell a skunk.

doubleeagle07

@No Headlights said:
Was this found near a movie set?

Yeah for a movie called Rust with Alec Baldwin. He was looking for that gun.

kiyote

So from what I understand it’s from a book cover! Anyone who didn’t think this past the smell test is probably right

kiyote

Now I feel bad for bringing it up 🙈

element159

@kiyote said:
Now I feel bad for bringing it up 🙈

No, don't feel bad! It was a good test, if the contents really made sense.

Namvet69

Well, maybe Forrest Fenn buried 2 treasure chests and he forgot about this one. Just maybe? Peace Roy

ricko

Shucks.... You guys are right... I was all too ready to believe it was real.... Dreamer that I am... Cheers, RickO

Steven59

Unfortunately now a days, people will do anything to get "Hits" on their social media pages. Great sleuthing from the forum members!

ricko

Great sleuthing indeed, however, to those of us with the 'treasure fever', disappointing. Cheers, RickO

Jimnight

There is a slight odor.

JBK

That's alright - it was a good exercise and people here sussed it out pretty quickly.

rte592

OK so That one doesn't check all the boxes
On to the next one
I was out in the Arizona desert this morning mining (some of that was detecting)
I didn't find any strong boxes.
Did see some squirrels...fed them some freetos.

streeter

Dte
Looks like paradise. The snakes are underground this time of year.

I do gunshows in AZ and there is a friend who sits next to me that completely stunned me at the last show. I knew he detected but that's a world I'm unfamiliar with. He showed me a large pill bottle with nuggets up to 8 or 9 gram size. He and friends use pretty expensive equipment. Strictly recreation. I asked him how far down he goes. " Sometimes several feet".
He has his favorite spots. They go in groups of 2-4 guys with their dogs(great alarms if snakes are present) and usually boondocks overnight. I hate Mojave Green otherwise I'd be tempted.

Bayard1908

@streeter said:
I hate Mojave Green otherwise I'd be tempted.

When I was young, I killed about a dozen rattlesnakes while out on various hunting trips in Southern California. These rattlesnakes ranged from eight feet in length down to about two feet long. The smaller the snake, the more aggressive it proved to be. The most aggressive of all was a small Mojave Green that went out of it's way to pursue me. I shot the thing practically between my ankles.

ricko

I lived in AZ for eight years.... Never had a problem with rattlers... saw quite a few since I spent a lot of time in the desert. Cheers, RickO

streeter

Bayard
I've had a few encounters. None pleasant. Since I bought the joint in Prescott, my neighbors have regailed me with snake stories. I'm not there all the time but I'm darn glad I carry outside and have a dog to warm me.
BTW, I was informed that greens carry a big penalty now for dispatching them. Protected specie. Protected my rats bizzou. I guess, Better to take them alive and collect the $1,000 live bounty in Phoenix. Going to a show in Wickenburg next weekend and bringing lots of 22 and 9mm snake shot. Still warm there. Snow level currently about 7,000 ft and dropping.

rte592

I fell into a snake den when I was an early teenager up to my waist.

Hit the bottom and shot up like a cartoon character with my feet in motion (according to my brother and the friend I was walking in between)

I don't care for snakes.

ricko

Knowledge of snakes (habitat etc.) and caution are necessary when in snake country. I always preferred the desert to the mountains here in the east when in the wild. Much harder to see them during summer and fall with the heavy growth and then the leaves. Cheers, RickO

metalmeister

I like Arizona, but don't like snakes. We have plenty of rattlers in California. Nuggets too up north.
Would be sweet if story was true. There is still buried loot out there!