No, these were stashed as obtained, I believe the stasher obtained at least the early ones from “free coinage” and was a miner or mine owner/shareholder.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3127146/posts?page=47#47
Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....**I wonder if they were buried in the 1930s when the U.S. government required it citizens to stop hording gold and turn in everything but the family jewels?
The coins may have been minted in the 1800s, but that might have been a nest egg that was hidden to protect it from the gold hungry government. So, if this was illegally held gold, meant to keep it from confiscation when the government called it in during the 30s, then technically it was stolen from the government and must be returned with penalties, fines, fees and possible jail time for the ones who found the gold.**