By Ian Brimble
A hoard is a collection of valuable items that has been purposefully gathered and, in many cases buried underground for safekeeping. Over centuries, archaeologists have discovered hoards of various types; most often these have been discovered in Europe and contain a variety of treasures, jewelry and coins. Many hoards are believed to have been accumulated during periods of upheaval or turmoil, either for the individual or for society in a specific location.
Unlike a collection, many hoards are the accumulation of items that often retain their value over time rather than an attempt to collect one of each item in a set as most collectors seek to accomplish. Given that hoards are often meant as a mechanism to protect wealth, precious and semiprecious metals are a natural choice. As a result, there have been many hoard discoveries that have been made over the years by archeologists, treasure hunters and metal detectorists as well as lucky individuals who happen upon newly unearthed items by being in the right place at the right time.
One of the most intriguing and fascinating hoards to be discovered in recent years is the Saddle Ridge hoard which was discovered in 2013 in northern California. The discovery of this hoard made headlines throughout the coin community and due to its size and eventual pedigree, it hit general news media as well. This particular hoard was discovered by a couple who, to this day, remain anonymous. The couple, known only as John and Mary, were out walking their dog on their rural property when they saw a tin can sticking out of the ground. The can was sealed when it was initially unearthed and it was only when they got back to their home that they opened it to make the discovery of their lives. The can contained over 100 gold coins dating back to 1847. Later that day John and Mary naturally returned to the site to find more cans and with the help of metal detecting equipment they eventually unearthed 8 cans containing a total of 1,427 U.S. gold coins, dating from 1847 to 1894.
At that time, their find contained over $10 million dollars’ worth of gold coins. However, the location of the burial in a dry environment and the fact that gold is very non-reactive meant that the fate suffered by the metal cans did not impact their gold contents. Many of the coins unearthed in the Saddle Ridge Hoard went on to be evaluated by professional numismatists (coin evaluators) and the results of these evaluations illustrated the ideal conditions for preservation. The hoard contained many coins that went on to become the finest known or most well-preserved examples of specific years. Some of the key items are pictured below:
Tied for Finest Known
Saddle Ridge Hoard
There are many theories about the origin of the hoard. As soon as they were discovered, many began to speculate that they could be the stash of famous outlaws like Black Bart or Jessie James or even that they were the stolen loot of a bank robbery that took place in 1901. These theories were all eventually debunked due to the dates of the coins within the hoard not aligning with the dates of those thefts.
The good news for John and Mary was that the coins could not be attributed to nefarious actors; the prevailing theory is that the Saddle Ridge hoard was the work of a wealthy individual who clearly had little trust in the banking system of the day. In hindsight, John and Mary remember seeing a can hanging from a tree where the hoard was discovered, indicating that the owner had marked the location to return to at some future date. Why this never happened and the conditions under which the hoard was buried will forever remain a mystery. As a result, John and Mary went on to have the entire find authenticated and large portions of it were put onto the market for coin collectors to enjoy for generations.
Bank of Canada Hoard
Another interesting hoard of a completely different type was the Bank of Canada Hoard. As the name suggests, this was a hoard of gold coins from Canada dating between 1912 and 1914. During this time, the newly opened Royal Canadian Mint began to produce $5 and $10 coins as shown below.
Most of the coins produced within this date range had a quite limited release and by 1914 the government of Canada had adopted wartime legislation to restrict the flow of gold. As a result, the vast majority of produced coins remained in the hoard held by the Bank of Canada.
For decades, collectors sought these coins from what remained in circulation through the first and second world wars. Unfortunately for them, there were very few in circulation as the $5 and $10 coins never did gain much popularity. It was only in 2014 that the treasury department released details of the hoard to the Canadian public. The bank announced that they would release 30,000 of the finest quality coins to the collecting public and that they would melt the approximately 215,000 remaining coins. It is estimated that the bank melted down 95,000 ounces of gold worth approximately $113,000,000, a figure that would be approximately double that today.
Today, the 1912-1914 gold coins of Canada remain an exceptional piece of our history with an intriguing past. If you should have any of these coins that you would like to have appraised, please do not hesitate to reach out for a professional opinion.