Buried gold in Springfield, IL

droopyd

From the New York Times via the AP:

Note Found in Antique Chair Spurs Treasure Hunt

Patty Henken always thought she found great value in the rickety rocking chair when she plunked down $200 for it at an auction, figuring she could restore the century-old relic to its former charm.

Doing that turned out to rock her world, sending her on a treasure hunt straight out of a mystery novel.

Five months after hauling the chair home last November, Henken spent hours in May prying the seat off it in her garage in Mount Sterling, Ill. A small envelope fluttered from it as she tossed the seat aside -- ''Finders Keepers'' typewritten on it. Inside, a key was taped to a note.

''This DEXTER key (number sign) 50644T will unlock a lead chest,'' the note began, before spelling out a location in Springfield, Ill. -- 1028 N. Fifth St. -- where a chest containing more than $250 in U.S. gold coins supposedly was buried 12 feet below ground.

The stash, the note claimed, included eight $20 gold pieces, six $10 gold pieces, five $5 gold pieces, three $2 1/2 dollar gold pieces and two $1 gold pieces.

joebb21

see you there!

robkool

WOW !!!

ziggy29

Heh -- the article even draws a comparison to the hoax behind Geraldo's opening of Al Capone's "vaults"...

TCoins

Yes I heard about this on the radio. I don’t live very far from Springfield. The lady contacted the property owner and they agreed to split the bootie. They rented a backhoe and found nothing. Odd story, twelve feet is awful deep.

seatedcollector

would not require a very big "chest" to hold 250$ face value in gold. a mason jar would be plenty big enough

Coinosaurus

This lady was just interviewed a few minutes ago on WGN radio in Chicago. A few more facts came out:

* The full contents of the letter have not been turned over to the media.

* The letter describes a precise spot on the lot to dig.

* Ground crews marked the spot with an "X" on the ground after repeating the measurements several times.

* It turns out the "X" is right above an old well (which I think demonstrates the author of the letter had intimate knowledge of the property).

* They have not yet dug to the bottom of the well. The letter indicates the treasure is at twelve feet (they have gone that deep already and found nothing).

* They do not know how deep the well is but other wells in the area are known up to 28 feet.

* The letter author, in the letter, asked that the story be transmitted to the media.

* No one has found any biographical information on the purported author of the letter.

telephoto1

If the container had any weight to it, then it would have sunk a bit below that 12 feet over time, so it may be deeper now... assuming of course that a) someone didn't already find it long ago, and b) assuming this isn't some elaborate hoax.

droopyd

<< <i>assuming this isn't some elaborate hoax. >>



could be the guy just wanted someone to dig his well deeper!

northcoin

It might be worth having someone with expertise in typeface/printing take a look at the note and determine if it was "typed" on a typewritter that could be tied to an earliest date. If it turns out that the note was computer generated that would be of note. Obvioulsy there are still old typewritters around so it still could have been more recently introduced into the chair.

Coinosaurus

During the interview the woman guessed that the note dated to the 1960s but of course she is not a paper expert. The note was typed & I think she said there was some old scotch tape, involved somehow.

PipestonePete

Nobody buries treasure 12 feet deep. Well, maybe if you live on Oak Island.

Weiss

The location is about an hour and a half from here. I dismissed it as soon as I heard about it and pretty much ignored it. But I was bored and just read an article about it.

The note was apparently signed "Chauncey Wolcott".

Anagram generator, anyone?

Coinosaurus

<< <i>The location is about an hour and a half from here. I dismissed it as soon as I heard about it and pretty much ignored it. But I was bored and just read an article about it.

The note was apparently signed "Chauncey Wolcott".

Anagram generator, anyone? >>




Only two cut cache.

droopyd

<< <i>Only two cut cache. >>



I got a couple but I can't list them here.

CaptHenway

From AOL news:

linque

ARCO

<< <i>Nobody buries treasure 12 feet deep. Well, maybe if you live on Oak Island. >>



And nobody buries treasure so that a stranger finds it and goes through grief trying to uncover it while the original owner is long dead and isn't around to even see his joke be played out.

ricko

Now officially debunked. An old prankster did it. Cheers, RickO

leothelyon

Sounds like that pile of cash I about rolled my car over along some turnpike!


Leo

Coinosaurus

The lady was just interviewed again on WGN.

Someone came forward and said that their father used to pull pranks using the name "Chauncey Wolcott."

The landowners have now backed out from any further digging and are asking the lady to retill their dug up land, which she seemed agreeable to doing.

CaptHenway

An interesting followup:

linky

TwoSides2aCoin

This thread is better than television, for sure.

lordmarcovan

Interesting.

I never would have spotted "Chauncey Wolcott" as an anagram. Funny how most of the ones that anagram generator made for me contained the word "unwealthy".

I'll bet that long-dead prankster was a real character. I can hear him laughing from beyond the grave. Good one, fella.

northcoin

The story that just keeps telling.