Thanks for posting.
In my post, I called the discovery of the coins the “Saddleback” hoard.....LOL. The Saddleback Valley is in Orange County, Calif. The Saddle Ridge find was in the California Gold Rush Country hours east from the San Francisco area. As a former Californian, I should have known this. That’s what I get for posting late at night!
Anyway, I never believed those coins were from the 1901 theft of $30,000 face value coins from the San Francisco Mint. The guy who stole the coins went to prison....I think at Alcatraz....and if the Saddle Ridge coins were the ones stolen from the Mint, it stand to reason that the thief would have made a bee-line to his hiding place and recovered the coins when he was released from prison.
Also, the Saddle Ridge hoard had several coins minted in the 1830’s at the mint in Dahlonega, Georgia. (Gold was discovered in that area in 1828). It seems unlikely that coins from the San Francisco Mint would have included coins minted at Dahlonega.
Also, I believe the coins stolen from the San Francisco Mint in 1901 were all twenty dollar gold pieces. The Saddle Ridge hoard included gold eagles....$10 coins....as well as $5 gold coins, in addition to the many double eagles....$20 gold coins.
Quite an amazing find overall, with a numismatic value of $10 million.
I remember when discovery of the find was first announced here on FR. Lots of folks were worried that the owners of the property would not be able to enjoy their find. They reasoned, and the quote I posted supports, that the government would look for a way to get it, if they could.
If the couple can get $10MM for their coins, I’m sure the government will still get a share of it somehow.