California couple discover $10 million in rare coins buried by tree

A Northern California couple stumbled on a goldmine that would make a numismatist's mouth water. They discovered nearly $10 million worth of rare, mint condition gold coins buried near an old tree. The coins were discovered last year and will be hitting the auction block soon.

The couple, who have decided to remain anonymous, were walking their dog on their Gold Country property, notes SFGate.com. They spotted a cover of some container in the ground and dug it out. Initially, they thought the contents were discs, but they turned out to be gold coins.

It was a collection of 1,373 pristine, uncirculated $20 gold coins from 1847 to 1894. Numismatist Don Kagan told news3blog.blogspot.com that they will first show the coins at the American Numismatic Association's National Money Show in Atlanta this week before selling most of the coins.

The collection also includes 50 $10 pieces and four $5 coins. Some were minted in San Francisco.

This is believed to be the largest hoard of gold coins ever found in the U.S.

image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons