Newbie 1 1

[GoldFinger1969]

Modwriter, where did you get that information on the Wells Fargo Hoard ?  I've never seen some of those details before. 

A few thoughts/comments:

• I never read that a collector got the coins in 1917.  I always assumed it was some South or Central American dictator or military guy or bank official or whatnot.  But not an individual coin collector.
• 50 years being undisturbed does jibe with the Gillio story that they were re-bagged in the 1960's.  Close enough to your 1970's date.
• There's talk that the Wells Fargo coins could have been part of a much larger hoard of up to 150,000 coins.
• I think that even with a lower gold price that the purchase of the El Salvador MTB Hoard in 1983 (47,000 coins) might have been a larger purchase.

More information in this thread which has recent comments:

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by GoldFinger1969

[Modwriter]

20 minutes ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

Modwriter, where did you get that information on the Wells Fargo Hoard ?  I've never seen some of those details before. 

A few thoughts/comments:

• I never read that a collector got the coins in 1917.  I always assumed it was some South or Central American dictator or military guy or bank official or whatnot.  But not an individual coin collector.
• 50 years being undisturbed does jibe with the Gillio story that they were re-bagged in the 1960's.  Close enough to your 1970's date.
• There's talk that the Wells Fargo coins could have been part of a much larger hoard of up to 150,000 coins.
• I think that even with a lower gold price that the purchase of the El Salvador MTB Hoard in 1983 (47,000 coins) might have been a larger purchase.

More information in this thread which has recent comments:

 

Hello Goldfinger1969. Found the information over at APMEX. https://www.apmex.com/product/23061/1908-20-saint-gaudens-gold-no-motto-ms-65-ngc-wells-fargo

[Henri Charriere]

7 hours ago, Modwriter said:

Hello Goldfinger1969. Found the information over at APMEX. https://www.apmex.com/product/23061/1908-20-saint-gaudens-gold-no-motto-ms-65-ngc-wells-fargo

Modwriter, you never cease to amaze. Is there an app for this or would you settle for one of Alex's hero-worshipping emojis?  Superb detective work; I am mightily impressed.

[J P M]

On 3/31/2021 at 8:11 AM, Marilyn Golden said:

Hello! I am a newbie. 

Welcome Marilyn Golden I am also new here. Enjoy your time here it is very informative and everyone is pleasant to talk with.

[Marilyn Golden]

Thank you 😊 

[RWB]

12 hours ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

Modwriter, where did you get that information on the Wells Fargo Hoard ?  I've never seen some of those details before. 

The Apmex link was posted in the bologna section thread ATS. The "details" are new because they are of recent invention. However, with the originator of the "hoard finding" being mute on the subject, we'll never know "the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

[GoldFinger1969]

35 minutes ago, RWB said:

The Apmex link was posted in the bologna section thread ATS. The "details" are new because they are of recent invention. However, with the originator of the "hoard finding" being mute on the subject, we'll never know "the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

It looked like a "stich" job involving the original story from Bowers plus stuff in message forums.  Not sure if any of it is definitively false, but as you said, not proven.

But I am still glad Modwriter linked to it so we could be aware of it.  Not sure APMEX is a place for historical information on coins, though.

[Henri Charriere]

I like the story and I am sticking with it.  However, out of respect for the membership, I will not repeat it. I especially love the part of disintegrating original old bags being replaced by new.  Frankly, I didn't think Modwriter had it in him to come up with something so plausible, alarm bells rang in the abodes of experts across the country. On the positive side, let this serve as a lesson to newbies to Question Everything.  There was a debate recently, off-line somewhere, with collegiate types (or perhaps book publishers) suggesting footnotes ought to be dispensed with entirely, whether at the bottom of a printed page or following a chapter, or in a section of its own at the back of a book. Without references to the original sources, what is the researcher left with? Bupkis!  Consequently, Question Everything as our RWB and Goldfinger1969 have done. And kudos to Modwriter for brightening up each of our April Fool's Days!

[Modwriter]

15 minutes ago, Quintus Arrius said:

I like the story and I am sticking with it.  However, out of respect for the membership, I will not repeat it. I especially love the part of disintegrating original old bags being replaced by new.  Frankly, I didn't think Modwriter had it in him to come up with something so plausible, alarm bells rang in the abodes of experts across the country. On the positive side, let this serve as a lesson to newbies to Question Everything.  There was a debate recently, off-line somewhere, with collegiate types (or perhaps book publishers) suggesting footnotes ought to be dispensed with entirely, whether at the bottom of a printed page or following a chapter, or in a section of its own at the back of a book. Without references to the original sources, what is the researcher left with? Bupkis!  Consequently, Question Everything as our RWB and Goldfinger1969 have done. And kudos to Modwriter for brightening up each of our April Fool's Days!

Thanks for the kudos Quintus, it was a simple google search for Wells Fargo gold coins. I did not know anything about the hoard history and it piqued my interest when I saw the @Marilyn Goldenpic of her older PCGS holder, that I found fascinating. Also a big thanks to @GoldFinger1969posts too. This has been a huge learning experience for me. The latest issue of Littleton's catalog has a non-Wells Fargo hoard St. Gauden's graded by our host on the back cover for $3,125 that had caught my eye before this thread.

[GoldFinger1969]

I originally posted a lengthy piece on The Wells Fargo Hoard but moved it to The Wells Fargo Hoard Thread so as not to detour Marilyn's Newbie Thread:

Carry on......

Edited April 1, 2021 by GoldFinger1969