"The Treasure of South Eden Street" - Numismatist, May, 2008

[cpm9ball]

I found this story very interesting.

 

It was about to young boys living in Baltimore during the Great Depression in 1934. They decided to dig up the cellar floor of the rowhouse where one of them lived to build a secret hiding place for their club. In the process, they unearthed a hoard of 3,556 gold coins, all minted before the Civil War. It seems that a sea captain and his two sisters used to live in the house, but it had been vacant for 40 years. The current owner of the property claimed ownership, but after all of the legal hassles, the court finally awarded the hoard to the boys. They were minors so the court appointed a trustee to auction the coins and administer the trust. The coins had a face value of $11,424 and the auction realized more than $19,500.

 

But, that's not all. In August, 1935, the boys returned to the cellar and unearthed $8,000 to $10,000 more in gold. This time it seems that the parents chose not to disclose the second find, and it was divided equally between the families. However, news soon got out and another round of legal posturing ensued. In the end, the boys prevailed, but one of them never got to enjoy the fruits of his labors. At the age of 18, while still a minor, he died of pneumonia.

 

I've left out most of the details intentionally so as not to spoil it for anyone who wants to read the article. There are some things that are quite surprising.

 

Chris

[Dwaine]

I would love to find something like that today. That was a lot of money back then but imagine what it would bring with today's gold value.

[RWB]

The Numismatist article is nice, but it's only a short article. Len Augsburger’s book about this is a tremendous, carefully researched essay on this fantastic hoard of gold. Just the archive photos will be worth the cover price! The book is being published by the Maryland Historical Society.

 

Keep you shorts on until the ANA and you can buy a copy, and have the author autograph it during the convention.

 

(Note: Other authors will also be there signing books at the ANA-sponsored book signing table. There'll be a schedule out soon.)

 

[DaveG]

If you're interested in reading more, Len Augsberger's book about the find is being published by the Maryland Historical Society and should be available at the ANA in Baltimore.

 

If you're at the ANA, you can get your copy signed.

[TomB]

The history of this find is a strong reason to keep quiet if you find something of value.

[EZ_E]

Keep us updated, please! I find this story fascinating and would like to obtain a copy of the book w/o attending the ANA show.