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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
Nebraska treasures waiting to be found
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Jesse James is said to have hidden loot here and there, such as at Devil's Nest near
Crafton, Knox County. |
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$40,000 stolen from a bank in Kearney is believed to be hidden near
Sargent, Custer
County. |
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Gold miners returning from California were robbed near Lexington, Dawson County, and
their treasure buried in the area. |
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Robbers' Cave near Macy, Thurston County, may contain much treasure. |
Nevada treasures waiting to be found
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Loot of highwaymen: Stagecoach robbery loot hidden near Columbus, Esmeralda County;
Wells Fargo treasure from the Empire Stage, near Carson City; stagecoach coins hidden
north of the ghost town of Jarbridge, Elko county; tens of thousands of dollars in takings
known as the stagecoach treasure of Williams Station on Harrison Creek near Hill Beacher
Road, Elko County; and another stagecoach treasure hidden near Genoa, Douglas County,
remains to be found. |
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The payroll intended for workers at the Candaleria Mines was stolen and is said to be
hidden near Mina, Mineral County. |
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Lost gold from the Mormon caravan, between Cave Valley and Ash Meadows near Carp,
Lincoln County, has never been located. |
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Money left behind in the winter of 1846-1847 by the ill-fated Donner expedition in the
High Sierras may still be hidden somewhere, perhaps in the region of Shafter, Elko County
(also see account in Chapter 2 of a find from the Donner Party). |
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A miser's fortune was hidden near the old Pogue Station southeast of Eureka, White
Pine County. |
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A bank robber's treasure was hidden near Six Mile Canyon near the road from Carson
City to the ghost town of Ramsey. |
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As is the case with many western states, most treasure stories concerning Nevada have
to do with lost silver (mostly) or gold mines, not coins. |
New Hampshire treasures waiting to be found
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Near Colebrook in Coos County, far in the northern regions of the state and quite
distant from the sea, some of Captain Kidd's treasure is said to have been buried, and
"old coins have been found." If so, there is a remote possibility that such a
cache could have or still does include Massachusetts silver coins. However, it is
difficult to imagine that Captain Kidd would have spent a week or more journeying to this
remote inland location after he anchored his ship on the New Hampshire coast. |
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In Dublin a treasure buried in the 1940s has never been found. |
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Governor John Wentworth is said by some to have buried $25,000 in coins and silverware
near Portsmouth, presumably before fleeing to the north during the parlous times of the
Revolutionary War. It is known that Wentworth was a man of considerable wealth.
Separately, the site of his summer home on the shore of the body of water that today bears
his name, Lake Wentworth, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, has been a prime archaeological
focal point for many years, various small British coins and numerous artifacts have been
located there, and today a small local association supports its heritage. Despite reading
several accounts, the author has never located any reliable reports of his having hidden
any treasure, but anything is possible. |
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The Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire and just about every landing along
the state's short (about 17 miles) seacoast have been long regarded as prime sources for
hunting pirate treasure, although little has actually been found there. This offshore
group includes Smuttynose Island, said to be a particularly rich possibility, for many
pirates, including in particular Jack Quelch, thought this was a great location to bury
silver and gold (if after a search there, a treasure seeker is in need of a libation, some
Old Brown Dog Ale made by the Smuttynose Brewing Co. in nearby Portsmouth can offer
succor). Ned Low and William Fly were two other pirates who liked the area. Cotton
Mather, the Massachusetts diarist and prominent justice, recorded that Fly's career was
especially bloodthirsty, but lasted only 35 days before he was tried and hanged in Boston,
where Fly helped the hangman tie the knot for his neck. Appledore Island, not far away, is
said to be laden with treasure just waiting to be found, although a lot of people have
tried. Ditto for Star Island. Londoner Island, later called Lunging Island, is where
Blackbeard is said to have buried treasure, on the side of the island facing the Star
Island Hotel across the water; Blackbeard is said to have had 14 wives and a bevy of
concubines, apparently a treasure of another sort. |
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The lower reaches of the Piscataqua River, which empties into the Atlantic at
Portsmouth, are said to be where Samuel Bellamy cached some supplies and possibly coins. |
New Jersey treasures waiting to be found
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With all of its shoreline, New Jersey was an enticing place for pirates to bury
treasure, and some of them did. However, very few American coins would have been included.
It is not unusual for old coins to wash up on beaches, particularly after storms and high
tides or, especially, after a combination of both of these events. Asbury Park, Stone
Harbor, Beach Haven, and other coastal sites have been mentioned in this regard. Pirate
gold is said to be secreted at several places including Perth Amboy and Cape May. |
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Near Colt's Neck and near Farmingdale, both in Monmouth County, robbers who terrorized
the pine barrens are said to have buried their loot. |
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Near Caldwell a German naval officer is said to have secreted a treasure before he was
killed. |
New Mexico treasures waiting to be found
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Money from the Cooney stagecoach, hidden near Cooney, Grant County, has never been
found. |
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Stagecoach treasure hidden in Doubtful Canyon near Steins Peak, Hidalgo County, is
unlocated. |
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Lost treasure of Fort Bayard, Grant County, remains unfound. |
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At Devoy's Peak near Mount Dora much outlaw loot is hidden. |
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$100,000 in missing cash from train
robbery(ies) believed hidden near the Lava Beds
southeast of Grants, Valencia County, is still hidden. |
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A Texas outlaw's stash may still be concealed at Pump Canyon, San Juan County. |
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Seventeen to 20 tons of gold ingots believed by some to be hidden near
Shiprock, San
Juan County, and believed by others to be imaginary, makes an interesting story. |
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Gold bars have been missing for many decades at Tres Piedras in the San Juan
Mountains, Taos County. |
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$40,000 in gold coins from a wagon train, hidden about 25 miles east of Springer,
Colfax County, may still exist. |
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In addition to coin stories, there are many tales of lost silver and gold mines in
this state, with one particularly interesting account telling of a hill near Pinos Altos
being made of nearly pure gold. |
New York treasures waiting to be found
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At the old Jeffery Amherst Fort site at Crown Point, Essex County, treasure may have
been buried. |
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In the Montezuma Swamp near Seneca Falls the Loomis gang is said to have buried much
loot. |
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At Grand Island in Lake Erie, not far from Niagara Falls, a fortune is said to have
been hidden by an early resident. |
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Near Hell's Gate in the East River a ship carrying a vast fortune was lost many years
ago, and although the area is not large, the hulk of the ship in question has never been
found. |
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The west shore of Lake Champlain is said to offer possibilities for electronic metal
detector use, and quite a few old coppers have turned up. |
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The notorious Captain Kidd is said to have buried much treasure in coastal areas,
especially at Gardiners Island. Most probably, if such still exists it includes few
American coins. There are numerous accounts of lost chests, sunken ships, etc., near
Manhattan in the East River, Hudson River, and New York harbor areas. Long Island, with
its extensive sandy beaches, is said to offer many possibilities. |
North Carolina treasures waiting to be found
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A stranger is said to have buried a bag filled with gold near the old Brummels Inn at
High Point. |
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In the early twentieth century some old Spanish-American coins—including some
dated 1788—were found on the James Robert Thomas property in Waynesville. |
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On the bottom of the Pamlico River an old brick vault is said to have been found by
fishermen, and within were several kettles and over 200 Spanish-American gold coins. For
reasons hard to figure out, the fisher folk are said to have reburied the treasure on a
nearby shore, where it was lost track of, as flooding changed the profile of the river
bank. |
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Near Chimney Rock, Round Top mountain, which forms one side of Hickory Nut Gap, is
said to be the burial site for a pot of gold put there by a group of six Englishmen over
250 years ago. A copy of a map indicating the site is in the Library of Congress. Several
explorations have been made, but no success has been reported. |
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Off Cape Hatteras, the "Graveyard of the Atlantic," countless ship hulls
litter the sea bottomÑso many, in fact, that they are beyond counting. Presumably, many
contain at least a few United States coins. Shoreline areasÑsuch as near Okracoke
InletÑare said to have been an especially popular place for Blackbeard (who seems to have
frequented the place) and other pirates to bury chests of treasure. |
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Near Wrightsville Beach there is a place aptly named Money Island. |
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Plum Point in Beaufort County was a burial spot for pirate booty, and to prove the
contention, some has already been recovered (so they say). |
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The Great Dismal Swamp may be where Frenchmen, fleeing a British warship, hid gold
during the early days of colonization. |
North Dakota treasures waiting to be found
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Along the Missouri River near Bismarck, Forty Niners laden with gold from California
are said to have buried treasure worth $90,000 to prevent its capture by Indians. |
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At Rolla in Rolette County, bank robbers hid loot in the foothills of Turtle Mountain. |
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The paymaster for Hudson's Bay Company buried $40,000 in the area of Lignite, Burke
County, just before an attack by robbers. |
Ohio treasures waiting to be found
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The Bridge family pot of gold was buried near Eaton, Preble County, in the early
nineteenth century and has never been recovered. |
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At Rockford, Mercer County, loot of bank robbers has been found, but more is believed
to be in the area. |
Oklahoma treasures waiting to be found
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Gold belonging to an Atoka cattleman is believed to be lost. |
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Half a bushel of silver coins hidden by bandits on Holsum Valley road, Le Flore
County, has never been found. |
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At Roman Nose State Park, near Watonga, Blaine County, the loot of several old-time
outlaw gangs is said to be buried. |
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Robber's Cave State Park, near Wilburton, Latimer County, offers obvious
possibilities. |
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An outlaw's treasure on Boggy Creek near Boswell, Choctaw County, awaits a lucky
searcher. |
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Treasure formerly the property of California emigrants, is supposedly hidden on Fish
Creek near the old Edwards Post south of Holdenville, Hughes County. One cannot help but
wonder how much "treasure" the average person going from the East to seek wealth
in the West actually carried. Probably not much. |
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Charles ("Pretty Boy") Floyd's loot hidden near Sallisaw, Sequoyah County,
may still be there. |
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Treasure from Captain Golden's wagon train was hidden at Big Caney Creek south of
Artillery Mound near Boulanger, Osage County. |
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Loot of the Dalton gang was hidden in various locations around the state including in
caves at Sand Springs. Dozens of rumors exist, but little in the way of facts. |
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Dick Estes' outlaw gold treasure on Panther Creek about 10 miles north of Cache,
Comanche County, has not been found. |
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The lost gold of Fort Arbuckle, on or near the old Fort Sill Military Reservation, is
still missing. |
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Glass jars containing $58,000 or more in coins was secreted near Sulphur Canyon Bridge
near Clayton, Pushmataha County. (Anyone writing a history of glass jars may well want to
include a chapter on coin caches, for such tales recur!) |
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Robber Henry Starr's ill-gotten gains may be cached near Rose and Pryor, Mayes County. |
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Treasure in the ghost town of Ingalls east of Stillwater, Payne County, awaits the
discoverer. |
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The Dillon gang is said to have buried treasure in and around Mannford, Creek County. |
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Joe Vann's treasure on the site of his old mansion, Webbers Falls, Muskogee County,
has been talked about, but not found. |
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Kenton, Cimarron County, was once a center for banditry, and stolen treasure is still
hidden in the area. |
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$50,000 in gold coins is said to be hidden near Rattan at Seven Devil Mountain, this
being from the loot of a bank robbery. The bandit was hanged, but not before giving
directions to where the coins were cached. However, later attempts to locate the coins
proved futile. |
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The safe taken from the Kosoma train on Buck Creek near Antlers, Pushmataha County;
has been missing for a long time. |
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Silver dollars were lost near Summerfield, Le Flore County. |
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An Army paymaster's cache may be hidden at Twin Mounds near Jennings, Pawnee County.
Similarly, an Army payroll was hidden at Cache, Comanche County, to prevent capture by
Indians. |
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In addition, there are many stories of Jesse James' loot being hidden in the state. |
Oregon treasures waiting to be found
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A buried fortune may or may not be on the Baker Ranch on Birch Creek south of Pilot
Rock, Umatilla County. |
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At Mount Hood in the area of Government Camp, Clackamas County, stolen treasure was
buried. |
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Pirate treasure is said to be buried near Cascade Head, Lincoln County. |
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In Baker City, some of the two-ounce gold "buttons" made in 1907 may be in
safe deposit boxes or elsewhere. Only three or four are known today from an original
production of many dozens. |
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Many ships in the coastwise trade have been wrecked off the coast, and it is said that
some contain money from passengers' purses and from safes, although factual accounts of
coins are scarce. |
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At Horse Thief Meadows near Parkdale, Hood River County, $25,000 from a stagecoach
robbery is believed to be hidden. |
Pennsylvania treasures waiting to be found
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Many Indian peace medals were given out by early settlers, but only a few of these are
known to numismatists today. Medals were given out in many other eastern and midwestern
areas as well. |
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At a place called Asylum on the upper reaches of the Susquehanna River, escapees from
the French Revolution (and some displaced Frenchmen from the West Indies as well) are said
to have concealed their wealth during the mid-1790s. |
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Near Mount Carmel $250,000 is missing from the site of a 1948 airliner crash. |
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Pithole City on Pithole Creek where it joins the Allegheny River, was a boom town
beginning with the discovery of oil there in 1865. Within a year or two there was so much
business going on there that the incoming and outgoing mail at the Post Office was third
in volume only to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the state. "Fortune seekers from all
parts of America and Europe were attracted. On every train they came rushing to the land
of derricks." The population grew to 12,000 to 15,000 inhabitants. Alas, it was
not to last. Most oil claims petered out. The Oil City & Pithole Branch Railroad
banked the fires in its locomotives, and the Reno, Oil Creek & Pithole Railroad was
never completed beyond the grading and tie-laying process. No one checked in anymore at
the four-story hotel in the center of town. By 1870 Pithole City was no more, and it was
not even mentioned in the federal census of that year. Today the site may furnish
interesting opportunities for electronic treasure detection. |
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The Doone Gang of Tories stashed $100,000 in loot near Wernersville, Bucks County. |
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For such a big state with such a long history, there are not many treasure tales to
relate. Not enough pirates or stagecoach robbers in this area, I suppose. |
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In a home on the south side of a country road near
Carverton, Luzerne County, a cigar
box filled with old Indian cents is believed to exist. |
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Money gathered by settlers at the communal settlement of Ephrata Cloisters is said to
be concealed somewhere in that area. |
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