Jakarta –
700 dollar gold coins in 1840-1863 found behind the soil of corn fields in Kentucky, United States. The coins were found by local residents while digging in their fields earlier this year.
“Absolutely absurd: the gold coins are denominations of 1, 20, 10 dollars,” said a resident whose name and location of the field were not disclosed to the public, quoted from Live Science, Saturday (15/7/2023).
Civil War Age Rare Gold Coin
The gold coins were then sold to Govmint asset marketing services. Quoted from the official website, one of the most interesting finds from the coin hoard was about 18 rare 1863s 1863 gold Liberty 20 dollar bills. These coins are often equivalent to a 6-digit price.
Numismatic Guaranty Co, which certifies the coin’s authenticity, explained that the rare gold coin was released to the public by the Treasury Department after a gold discovery in California. This coin is considered even rarer because it doesn’t say ‘In God We Trust’.
This sentence indicates that this coin is as old or older than the Civil War. Because these words were only added in 1866, after the Civil War ended.
Traces of Hoarding Treasures Due to Fear of War
The finding of hundreds of gold coins is thought to be a witness to how residents hoard treasures due to fear of the Civil War that lasted decades. Not surprisingly, the gold coin was later given the nickname the Great Kentucky Hoard or the Great Kentucky Hoard.
The American Civil War (1861-1865) was a war between the Union (North), and the Confederacy (South) which was formed from breakaway states. This war was primarily the result of a dispute over whether slavery could be extended again to the West so that more slave states could be formed as the Confederacy had hoped for, or abolished so that there would be no more slavery as the Union had hoped.
Conflict archaeologist Ryan McNutt of Georgia Southern University said the location of Kentucky, which was a neutral war territory at the time, is thought to have allowed the color to amass treasure there.
“Possibly the coins were buried before the Confederate raid of John Hunt Morgan, June-July 1863,” said McNutt.
Wealthy Kentucky citizens at the time reportedly buried vast sums of money so as not to be robbed by the Confederates. An example is James Langstaff, who in his will stated that he had buried a gold coin equivalent to 20 thousand dollars at his home in Paducah. William Pettit is even rumored to have buried a gold coin equivalent to 80 thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, a Confederate soldier who is in quarantine due to contracting rubeola (measles) reportedly stole paychecks in quarantine and hid them in a cave in the Cumberland Gap. However, both the rich citizen’s and warrior’s treasures have not been found at this time.
“Many Americans affected by the Civil War had experience hiding valuables and treasure,” McNutt said.
He explained that artifacts that would later be found on private land were generally sold or collected without being reported to archaeologists. According to him, this makes historical information less.
McNutt explained, a pile of objects from the past has extraordinary value about the person who collected them in the past. In doing so, the object opens a historical window for archaeologists.
In the United States, there is no law requiring historic finds to be reported to archaeologists. But for McNutt, who has a lot of contact with the landowners, he believes education and wider outreach are the keys to learning more about this rare coin.
“It’s entirely up to the landowner. But a piece of past history through this coin is lost forever,” he said.
Watch Video “420 People Killed One Week After the Civil War in Sudan”
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2023-07-17 00:00:02
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