Gold coin collection found by couple may have been stolen

Hey remember that lucky couple from California who literally struck gold when they found a stash of buried gold coins valued at $10 million? Well, it turns out they might not be so lucky, after all.

Reports are now surfacing that the coins may have been stolen from the US mint in 1900 and are therefore the property of the government and must be returned.

Historian and rare coin collector, Jack Trout, was apparently the first to uncover the news. He believes the collection was created by someone who had access to the inner workings of the San Francisco Mint, such as a manager. He believes the collection never left the mint until the robbery and, upon seeing that a ‘mysterious’ coin collection resurfaced last April, he believes it may be the same one.

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According to consumerist.com, if the collection is indeed the same collection stolen in 1900, the couple may be entitled to a finder's fee, but it is unlikely they would be able to keep the whole haul.

"Since 1981, people have been coming to us with one or two coins they find worth a few thousand dollars, but this is the first time we get someone with a whole cache of buried coins.... It is a million-to-one chance, even harder than winning the lottery," the coin expert representing the couple, Don Kagin told ABC News.

The couple who found the coins are trying to remain anonymous as they fear their new-found fortune will be taken away from them. They maintain that with the help of Kagin, they have researched who might have hidden the coins and have come up with nothing.

The couple plans to sell most of the coins but before they do, they are lending a few of them to put on display at the American Numismatic Association for its National Money Show Thursday in Atlanta.

“Some of the rarest coins could fetch as much as $1 million apiece,” Kagan said.

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If that’s the case, this California couple is going to be sitting pretty for the rest of their days!

They would like to do some good with the money, though. They plan to donate to the arts and overlooked causes as they would see it as a pity not to share the magnitude of their find.

"We'd like to help other people with some of this money. There are people in our community who are hungry and don't have enough to eat,” the couple said.

But they might want to hold off on signing those cheques just yet, as it is still unclear whether or not the couple will be able to keep the money.

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