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Cache of old coins found buried in Texas
Michigan
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Jack Suneson bought a downtown property on Commerce Street thinking it was a good spot for tourists to part with their money.
But someone had already parted with a stockpile of coins at the site — nearly 130 years ago.
'I'm holding history in my hand here,' Jack Suneson said of the coins that were discovered on his property on Commerce Street.
Suneson is a businessman from Nuevo Laredo who owns Marti's, a Mexican arts and crafts store. On Monday, a construction crew was digging up dirt to lay a foundation for Suneson's new store at 310 W. Commerce St.
A backhoe uncovered about 200 U.S. quarters, half dollars and silver dollars dating between 1852 and 1880. The crew also found a gold coin from that era.
The value of the coins largely depends on their condition, and many are green with corrosion. Suneson said he doesn't expect to make a fortune selling the hoard. He's more interested in the mystery of how the coins wound up underground, forgotten.
"We theorize these were buried under some sort of floorboard or something," Suneson said.
The hoarder might have lived around 1880 because the most recent coin was a Morgan Silver Dollar dated that year.
"Usually, people hide coins like that because it's an illegal stash, or they're afraid of putting their money in the bank," said Ron Guth, president of Professional Coin Grading Service in Newport Beach, Calif.
The stash included about 100 Morgan Silver Dollars, which are named after the coins' designer.
Butch Muennink, owner of Alamo Heights Coin Shop in San Antonio, said a well-preserved Morgan Silver Dollar could probably fetch between $12 and $18 today. It might be worth more depending on other factors, such as where it was minted.
If corrosion "pitted" the coins — or ate away at the metal — the value would be drastically reduced, Muennink added.
Harry Shafer, a retired archaeology professor from Texas A&M University who was hired by Suneson as a consultant, said finding buried money at a construction site is unusual.
"Listen, I've been in archaeology for 45 years," Shafer said. "I've done lots of projects. But I've never come across anything quite like this."
Suneson imagines that someone tucked away coin after coin over the years, making sacrifices to save for the future. "It's really tragic that they might have passed away and never told anybody," he said. "And the family never got to use it."
Suneson said he plans to clean the coins that can be saved and display them in his new store.
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But someone had already parted with a stockpile of coins at the site — nearly 130 years ago.
'I'm holding history in my hand here,' Jack Suneson said of the coins that were discovered on his property on Commerce Street.
Suneson is a businessman from Nuevo Laredo who owns Marti's, a Mexican arts and crafts store. On Monday, a construction crew was digging up dirt to lay a foundation for Suneson's new store at 310 W. Commerce St.
A backhoe uncovered about 200 U.S. quarters, half dollars and silver dollars dating between 1852 and 1880. The crew also found a gold coin from that era.
The value of the coins largely depends on their condition, and many are green with corrosion. Suneson said he doesn't expect to make a fortune selling the hoard. He's more interested in the mystery of how the coins wound up underground, forgotten.
"We theorize these were buried under some sort of floorboard or something," Suneson said.
The hoarder might have lived around 1880 because the most recent coin was a Morgan Silver Dollar dated that year.
"Usually, people hide coins like that because it's an illegal stash, or they're afraid of putting their money in the bank," said Ron Guth, president of Professional Coin Grading Service in Newport Beach, Calif.
The stash included about 100 Morgan Silver Dollars, which are named after the coins' designer.
Butch Muennink, owner of Alamo Heights Coin Shop in San Antonio, said a well-preserved Morgan Silver Dollar could probably fetch between $12 and $18 today. It might be worth more depending on other factors, such as where it was minted.
If corrosion "pitted" the coins — or ate away at the metal — the value would be drastically reduced, Muennink added.
Harry Shafer, a retired archaeology professor from Texas A&M University who was hired by Suneson as a consultant, said finding buried money at a construction site is unusual.
"Listen, I've been in archaeology for 45 years," Shafer said. "I've done lots of projects. But I've never come across anything quite like this."
Suneson imagines that someone tucked away coin after coin over the years, making sacrifices to save for the future. "It's really tragic that they might have passed away and never told anybody," he said. "And the family never got to use it."
Suneson said he plans to clean the coins that can be saved and display them in his new store.
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Comments
<< <i>
Suneson said he plans to clean the coins that can be saved and display them in his new store.
>>
Ugh!
love to see some pics.
<< <i>
<< <i>
Suneson said he plans to clean the coins that can be saved and display them in his new store.
>>
Ugh! >>
My thoughts exactly. All of this, and nobody has instructed him NOT to clean them?
Da da da daaaaa.....NCS to the rescue?......right.
Too many positive BST transactions with too many members to list.
NSDR - Life Member
SSDC - Life Member
ANA - Pay As I Go Member
<< <i>love to see some pics. >>
A picture can be found in this article.
<< <i>Suneson said he plans to clean the coins that can be saved and display them in his new store.
Ugh! >>
<< <i>My thoughts exactly. All of this, and nobody has instructed him NOT to clean them?
Da da da daaaaa.....NCS to the rescue?......right. >>
Hopefully, the "Butch Muennink, owner of Alamo Heights Coin Shop in San Antonio" is in direct contact with Suneson, and can give adequate council regarding this. I don't know how knowledgeable archaeologists, like the Harry Shafer he's hired as consultant, are in this area. Cool story, thanks for sharing!
Edited to clean up the multi-quotes in originial post.
Joe G.
Great BST purchases completed with commoncents123, p8nt, blu62vette and Stuart. Great coin swaps completed with rah1959, eyoung429 and Zug. Top-notch consignment experience with Russ.
<< <i>
<< <i>love to see some pics. >>
A picture can be found in this article. >>
Link to Image
Joe G.
Great BST purchases completed with commoncents123, p8nt, blu62vette and Stuart. Great coin swaps completed with rah1959, eyoung429 and Zug. Top-notch consignment experience with Russ.
<< <i>
<< <i>love to see some pics. >>
A picture can be found in this article. >>
Oh. It's an article. Wonder why michigan didn't mention that. Or provide the attribution.
Apropos of the coin posse/aka caca: "The longer he spoke of his honor, the tighter I held to my purse."
<< <i>I hope there's some better date CC's in the hoard.
Based on its location, I'd imagine most of the branch mint stuff will be New Orleans coins. It doesn't seem too likely that many CC-minted coins would have been in Texas by 1880.
You might wanna check under your house. Provided, of course, that you can keep the scorpions, black widows and brown recluse's at bay!
The name is LEE!
The guy who left the Texas coins probably didn't trust banks or was worried about bandits.
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Edited to add: I just looked it up on Mapquest, and the address listed in the article for the location of the find, is 1/2 mile from Royalty Coins.
Steve
–John Adams, 1826
<< <i>No word from Barndog...he must be out there with his sand bucket and shovel.
San Antonio's Royalty Coins is right near the location of the "find" so I'm sure they will help the lucky owner decide what's suitable for display and what's suitable for preservation and sale.