A CNN report said that the bags of gold coins discovered by a husband and wife while walking their dog could have a connection to a theft report that happened in 1901. The news outlet points to a case in San Francisco, wherein Chief Clerk Walter Dimmick was convicted of stealing the gold coins then worth $30,000 from the US Mint. First picked up by The San Francisco Chronicle on Monday, it begs the question whether The so-called Saddle Ridge Hoard in 1901 was the same one found by the couple in February last year in Northern California.
Although there is a penalty for receiving purportedly stolen goods, it is highly unlikely that the couple will be charged with theft or any federal crime since the Saddle Ridge Hoard connection just arose recently.
Spokesperson Adam Stump for the US Mint told CNN, "We do not have any information linking the Saddle Ridge Hoard coins to any thefts at any United States Mint facility."
The couple who discovered the gold coin stash, who remained anonymous, would stand to be millionaires should there be no problems leading to profit from the haul, CNN said, The gold pile, which was over 1,400 gold coins packed in eight metal cans, are valued at today's market price of $10 million in excess. The restoration and cleaning of the coins had taken several months.
Don Kagin, of Kagin's, Inc, who is assisting the owners, denied to CNN that the gold coins were from the rumored Saddle Ridge Hoard. He insisted that the coins were minted years before the gold heist.
He told CNN about the real origin of the coins, "The best theory is that -- and this is collaborated somewhat with doing some research, title searches, etc. from back in 1800s -- that someone in the mining business, as he got his remuneration, his bonuses, whatever, he would take the gold from the banks and put it into the ground in these cans."
CNN said the anonymous couple is looking to sell some of the gold coins on Kagin's website and on Amazon in May.
