Couple dug up a half-buried old cans they noticed while walking their dog — it revealed treasure worth $10M

A little curiosity often leads to surprising discoveries in some situations. A couple experienced that when they decided to do a little digging, literally, about an eroding can that had been poking out from a spot in their backyard. They had walked across that spot quite a few times during their daily walks. However, they never paid much attention to that part of their property, which they had nicknamed Saddle Ridge, per the Los Angeles Times. One day, when they were walking their dog, John and Mary noticed an old can sticking out of the ground. Curiosity got the best of them, and they decided to dig it up with a stick and carry it home.

However, they never thought they would end up finding a can full of 19th-century US gold coins. The couple from California's gold country found the biggest treasure in the US, according to the experts. Later, they went out to search the spot, and after a little more digging, they found 8 such cans from their backyard with over 1,400 rare gold coins. The numismatic firm Kagin's Inc., which was representing the couple, revealed in a statement that the coins dated back to 1847 to 1894 and were in near-perfect condition. The company, presided over by Donald Kagin at that time, worked on behalf of the couple as they wanted to remain anonymous.

Kagin shared that the coins had a face value of $28,000 and could be sold for as much as $10 million. The largest treasure found before this discovery in 2013 was unearthed in 1985 by a group of construction workers. They found coins with a face value of $4,500 in Jackson, Tennessee, and sold them for $1 million. The treasure found by the couple also consisted of an 1866-S No Motto Double Eagle worth $1 million. John and Mary were in disbelief at what they had discovered. "I thought any second an old miner with a mule was going to appear," John remarked. "I never would have thought we would have found something like this; however, weirdly, I feel like I have been preparing my whole life for it," Mary went on.

The gold coins were authenticated, graded and certified by the Professional Coin Grading Service in Irvine. A sample from the collection was displayed at Kagin's booth during the American Numismatic Association's (ANA) National Money Show in Atlanta. The couple wanted to keep some gold coins and sell the others on Amazon.com. They also planned to donate part of the proceeds to charity. The duo expressed that the money would help them hold onto their home. "Whatever answers you seek, they might be right at home. The answer to our difficulties was right there under our feet for years," Mary pointed out. "Don't be above bending over to check on a rusty can."

The treasure had 1,373 $20 coins, 50 $10 coins and 4 $5 coins, per the San Francisco Gate. The couple had decided to keep their identities and location a secret for several reasons; the main one was to keep treasure hunters away from their property, as they might rip it apart to find more. Kagin's senior, David McCarthy, revealed, "The first thing the family did after finding all the cans was rebury them in a cooler under their woodpile. They were terrified and had to think about what to do." Kagin added, "The family and the attorneys researched who might have put them there, and they came up with nothing. The nearest we can guess is that whoever left the coins might have been involved in the mining industry."