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State treasures waiting to be found

 

 

This section is taken from chapter 22 of American Coin Treasures and Hoards by Q David Bowers. There are hundreds of pages of fascinating information to be found in this book, and you can order it online at the Coin World Marketplace.

States beginning with the letter:
A - G  |  I - M  |  N - P  |  R - W

Alabama treasures waiting to be found

dot.gif (73 bytes) The Nuñez family treasure is said to be buried near an old river ferry site at Seminole, Baldwin County.
dot.gif (73 bytes) Along the Alabama seacoast pirate treasures may be buried, including some caches by Jean Lafitte at Bayou Batre and elsewhere.
dot.gif (73 bytes) On the shore of Bay Minette in Baldwin County some Spanish-American gold may have been cached. Nearby and not far from Fort Morgan pirates may have buried some treasure.
dot.gif (73 bytes) C.E. Sharps, a wealthy mill owner in Alabama, liked to keep his money in gold coins, and hidden, according to one account. In June 1899 he drowned, taking the secret of his "huge cache of gold" to the grave.

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Alaska treasures waiting to be found

dot.gif (73 bytes) There are scattered reports of missing gold in the Yukon. Doubtless, nuggets were cached here and there, but probably few minted coins were involved.
dot.gif (73 bytes) A safe deposit box in Juneau is said to contain a number of rare national currency $10 notes from that city, put away long ago by a mine owner in the district.
dot.gif (73 bytes) In Stevens Passage between Admiralty and Douglas Islands in the southern reaches of the state's Pacific coast the steamer Islander went down on August 15, 1901, with a reported $3,000,000 in gold and $400,000 in currency aboard. Forty people lost their lives.

Arizona treasures waiting to be found

dot.gif (73 bytes) Bars of gold remain hidden in the San Francisco Mountains in Coconino County. If stamped with the markings of territorial assayers they would have significant numismatic value.
dot.gif (73 bytes) Bandits' loot from a train robbery secreted near Bisbee Junction has never been found.
dot.gif (73 bytes) Treasure from a holdup at Canyon Station. Will C. Barnes commented:4 "A large natural cave on Posta Quemada Canyon, eight miles off the Tucson-Douglas highway and 19 miles east of Tucson. On south slope of Wrong Mountain in the Rincon range. Owned by the state. First discovered by a man named Rolls, 1879. A Southern Pacific Railroad train was robbed in 1884, and the robbers trailed to this cave. One man was found dead. The others escaped. On Christmas, 1902, some Tucson people found some old Wells-Fargo sacks which proved to be part of the 1884 holdup upon identification in San Francisco."
Hashknife Charley's missing 38 gold bars, near Sononita, Santa Cruz County may have assayers' stamps on them, but no one will know until they are found.
A safe and its contents proved to be missing after a flash flood in Fools Gulch northeast of Wickenburg. Possibly, the treasure remains today underground in some dry stream bed.
Treasure taken by pirates from the steamer Gila near Crescent Spring, Mohave County. (This sounds like a very interesting story!)
A thousand pounds of silver dollars taken in a train robbery in the Dos Cabezas Mountains near Willcox remains unaccounted for. At 56 pounds per $1,000 face value, this would amount to close to 20,000 coins.
In addition to coin accounts, stories abound of lost silver (mostly) and gold mines in Arizona. The legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine at Superstition Mountain is a staple item in the folklore of the state.

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Arkansas treasures waiting to be found

The fortune of a mill owner (assuming that mill owners have fortunes; they recur in treasure accounts) is said to have been buried near Huntsville, Madison County, and partially recovered at a later date.
John Murrel (also spelled as Murrell), notorious bandit, buried treasures on Stuart Island near Lake Village in Chicot County. Murrel made many depredations in the Mississippi River watershed area and is said to have had "HT," for "Horse Thief," branded on a thumb as part of his conviction for that crime. Loot from his various robberies is said to have been buried in different places in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and elsewhere. Murrell also engaged in nefarious activities along the Natchez Trace.
Many Spanish-American gold coins brought overland from Texas and Mexico are said to have been hidden here and there around the state not much to go on with information as vague as this!
On or near the land once owned by John Avants along the Cosatot River is a vast fortune transported overland from Mexico in several wagons.

California treasures waiting to be found

$200,000 in gold coins may be hidden near Scotty's Castle in Death Valley, today a tourist attraction. Scotty is mentioned in many stories published over the years. He may have had lots of money or he may have had none, depending upon what you read. Scotty was certainly a fascinating character.
The fortune of a French saddle maker (as we asked about mill owners, did saddle makers accumulate fortunes?) is concealed on the Rancho Santa Teresa near San Jose.
In the Trinity Mountains near Cecilville in Siskiyou County $80,000 in stolen money was hidden by "Rattlesnake Dick."
Loot from the Bentz Company robbery hidden near Biggs in Colusa County has never come to light.
Treasure from the holdup of the Bodie stage north of Bodie in Mono County and also a strongbox from the Bodie stage at Freeman Junction about 60 miles east of Bakersfield remain who knows where.
Famous bandit Joaquin Murietta hid some loot in Arroyo Cantoova and Hornitos, among many other places.
In Mokelumne Hill in along Route 49 in the Mother Lode country, a cache of $50 gold coins is said to be in an old foundation wall.
$30,000 in hijackers' loot was once stashed at Camp Oak Grove, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, and may still be there.
A bandits' underground hiding place near Avila, San Luis Obispo County, is said to have been the depository for much loot, but how can one locate the cave?
In Los Angeles a pirate treasure is said to have been buried where Elysian Park is now. If so, this might be a tough one to spirit away without notice, for the Los Angeles Police Department has a training site there.
Treasure taken from a Death Valley wagon train that was burned is, perhaps, somewhere in that vast desert area.
Treasure from the Fallbrook stage coach on the Butterfield line between Temecula and Pala in San Diego County is among the missing.
Gold bars from the Freemont (or FrŽmont) Mine near Amador City are said to have been hidden in the area. One cannot help but wonder if they have anything to do with Felix Grundy Hoard (see Chapter 12).
Gold coins were lost in Horse Canyon near Tehachapi.
Treasure belonging to an innkeeper at the old Warner Ranch at Aguana in San Diego County awaits discovery.
Coins hidden in the hills near Isabella, Kern County, have never been found.
Dr. John Marsh's cache of $40,000 in gold coins, Marsh Creek, east side of Mount Diablo, near Brentwood, Contra Costa County, would be worth many multiples of that figure if it were found today.
Lieutenant Jonas Wilson's poker winnings - no description at hand - are said to be hidden somewhere in Hoaglin Valley at the foot of Haman Ridge, Trinity County.
Coins lost near Ventucopa, Santa Barbara County are still lost.
Gold "slugs" and coins, the treasure of the Mariposa tax collector, remain undiscovered on Deadman's Creek near Agua Fria, Mariposa County.
Loot from the Needles bank robbery, near Oro Grande, San Bernardino County, is supposedly still missing.
The S.S. Mollie Stevens laden with gold bullion, was lost on Owens Lake in the Owens Valley in May 1882, according to one account.1 Another account is more mundane and noted that after the Mollie Stevens had served well on the lake from about 1874, she was beached alongside the Bessie Brady so that parts from her including the steam engine could be used in the latter vessel.2 During the process, the Mollie Stevens caught fire and was destroyed.
Gold "slugs" hidden at the old Forty Mile House near Shingle Springs near El Dorado County have never come to light.
A lost cache of "octagonal gold coins" in the Panamint Mountains remains unaccounted for. Alert readers will realize the numismatic implications of this. The only trouble is that one could spend a lifetime poking around this particular mountain group and still not cover every outcrop and gully. By the way, the name is from a good wish expressed to gold miners: "I hope you pan a mint."
The "Rifle Barrel payroll" hidden near French Gulch, Shasta County, has been missing for many years.
Treasure taken by the Ruggles brothers (who were subsequently hanged) from the Redding stage and buried near Middle Creek about six miles from Redding, Shasta County, is nowhere to be found.
Assets of a saloonkeeper hidden at the junction of Greenhorn Gulch and Freeman Gulch, Kern county, await the lucky finder.
"Treasure of the San Francisco Mint" at Shelter Cove near Point Delgado, Humboldt County, no doubt would prove interesting if found.
Loot from the Sonora stage was hidden near Snelling, Merced County.
A tub filled with gold coins was hidden at Yankee Hill (old mining town) near Sonora, Tuolumne County. A washtub? Bathtub?
In addition, just about all of the old Spanish missions along the coast have treasure tales connected with them. Stories of lost mines in the Sierras and Mother Lode country also abound.

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Colorado treasures waiting to be found

$100,000 stolen by bandits was hidden east of Clifford, Lincoln County.
The site of Bent's Fort on the old Santa Fe Trail is supposed to be where much treasure is buried.
"Treasure of the Denver Mint," apparently including silver dimes, was concealed in a chasm on the Gunnison River between Crawford and Montrose.
At Robbers' Roost near Fort Collins a lot of stagecoach holdup loot is said to have been hidden.
Treasure of the paymaster of Fort Garland was stashed on Trinchera Creek, Costilla County.
Two barrels of coins belonging to Henry Sefton were lost at the Gomez Ranch, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Huerfano County. Sounds interesting!
Some of Jesse James' treasure is said to have been cached in Half Moon Gulch, southwest of Leadville. (Accounts of his hidden loot abound and are ascribed to many different western states.)
$100,000 in gold hidden by outlaws near Manitou Springs at the foot of Pikes Peak has never been found. "Near Manitou Springs" covers many square miles of territory.
The "Bloody Espinosas," obviously an unsavory group, buried treasure near the present-day town of Cascade in Ute Pass in the late 1860s; this is on the slopes of Pikes Peak not far from Colorado Springs or, for that matter, Manitou Springs, or for that matter, where A.J. Mitula built his "nickel house" (see Chapter 19).
A chest filled with gold was hidden on Ralston Creek Road between Central City and Denver.
Coins hidden by the Reynolds gang near Hand Cart Gulch, Park County, have never turned up.
Train robbery loot hidden near Grand Valley, Garfield County, remains undiscovered.
Near Monument, between Colorado Springs and Denver, the Butch Cassidy gang is said to have stashed $100,000 from bank robberies. Monument, which a few years ago was nothing but a small roadside stop along the Interstate is now a teeming community, probably making it difficult to seriously prospect for hidden gold and silver.
Treasure from a wagon train, hidden near La Junta, Otero County, has never been found.

Connecticut treasures waiting to be found

Tuxis Island off Milford is said to have yielded "a great quantity of eighteenth-century coins" for a group of campers in 1903. Perhaps more remain.
The beach at Penfield Reef near Fairfield may be worthwhile, as in 1888 George Hawley found a cache of gold and silver coins all dated 1795. If, perchance, these were United States coins, this has to be one of the most interesting finds around. Too bad we don't have more details.

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Delaware treasures waiting to be found

The Atlantic coastal areas of Delaware have yielded many coins over the years, numerous examples of which have washed up on the shore. The salvage of the DeBraak and an account of the Faithful Steward are given in Chapter 10. Many other ships have been wrecked off Delaware and in her inlets and bays, and doubtless there is treasure waiting to be found. Most such coins are probably Spanish-American or British.

Florida treasures waiting to be found

Stories of Florida treasures are dominated by accounts of buried pirate treasure and sunken Spanish galleons, both of which largely antedate indigenous American coinage. Chapter 10 discusses several important finds made from the 1960s to date, but undoubtedly there are more to be located. Nearly all finds have been associated with Spanish treasure fleet wrecks and not with pirates. The treasure-hunting community is particularly active along the Florida coast, and numerous shops offer Scuba equipment, electronic treasure detectors, guidebooks, and other useful items.
Fowler's Bluff on the Gulf Coast may be a productive site for the seeker of pirate treasure.
At the headwaters of Carter's Mill Creek in the northern part of the state, Indians may have cached a fortune in gold coins received from the British as payment for their depredations on settlers.
At Amelia Island there may be much buried pirate treasure.
F.L. Coffman reported that "an old treasure hunter, Bill Sneed," found $625,000 in gold bullion and coins at the mouth of the Suwanee River, a part of a treasure of gold coins valued at $5,000,000. The present writer knew Bill Sneed, who in the 1950s operated the Wilmary Motel in Lakeland, Florida, and recalls that he enjoyed regaling his acquaintances with tall tales, but had relatively few rare coins as evidence to verify his finds.
Jose Gaspar, better known as Gasparilla the pirate, is said to have buried many treasures along the Gulf Coast. In modern times his name has been given to an annual festival in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
Near Fort Walton on Choctawhatchee Bay on the Gulf Coast, pirate Billy Bowlegs may have cached many gold and silver coins.
On the bottom beneath the sparkling waters of Silver Springs, near Ocala, are coins tossed by tourists including, perhaps, some dating from the 1920s and 1930s or even earlier.
In his History Under the Sea, 1965, Mendel Peterson gave advice concerning potentially profitable sites for undersea treasure exploration, noting: "The reefs of the Florida Keys and coast of Florida north to Cape Kennedy [Cape Canaveral], which is one of the richest spots." Further: "Almost any bar lying near harbor approaches on the Atlantic coast will yield sites. On the eastern side of the Florida Passage to the Bahamas formed a dangerous barrier for ships, and these reefs and keys are littered with sites."

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Georgia treasures waiting to be found

A certain Mr. Duncan, a prosperous businessman who lived in Griffin, Georgia, did not trust banks, but kept coins and bills stored here and there around the house. His wife feared for his and her safety, as his wealth was well known, and someone might break in. At her insistence, he consolidated all of this money, said to amount to at least $100,000, and said he would take it to a bank. However, he had second thoughts and buried it in a peach orchard instead. Some months later, Duncan was disabled by a heart attack. While bedridden he attempted to gesture as to where the trove was hidden, but could not make himself understood. He died shortly thereafter, taking the secret of the location with him.
The old Lions House on Third Street, Columbus, is supposed to contain hidden treasure.
At Blackbeard's Island the treasure of you-know-who is said to have been buried. More of his chests (or whatever he used for storage) may be on Ossabaw Island.
Various citizens of the state buried coins and other treasures to prevent capture by William Tecumseh Sherman during his famous (or infamous) march through the countryside, in which his troops pillaged and burned everything in sight. A psychologist might find that he did this because he had failed in banking, lawyering, and a few other endeavors before the military provided him with the proper emotional outlet.
Near LaGrange a wealthy plantation owner named Lipscomb accumulated about $100,000 in silver and gold coins and buried the treasure in two places near his house just before the Civil War. He enlisted the aid of a faithful servant whenever he dug up the ground to make a "deposit" or simply to review what he had stored. One day he wanted to visit his coins, but his servant was not around, and Lipscomb could not locate the sites. Forewarned, he later recorded directions to the spots. Lipscomb died, and his widow was not able to locate the directions. Today the treasure is still missing.
At Milledgeville, Baldwin County, a treasure of remarkable proportions is said to be hidden under a house.
In Savannah the pirate treasure of John Flint may be concealed in or near a house he once occupied on Broad Street.
Many gold and silver coins that were once a part of the Confederate States of America Treasury may be hidden on the south bank of the Savannah River (or near Washington, Georgia; or Abbeville, Georgia; or near Richmond, Virginia; or in the false bottom of a horse-drawn coach; or divvied up among trusted officers, who each did their own hiding; or in a railroad car, etc.), while other narratives relate that military payrolls from both sides were hidden on various occasions when their security became endangered.

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