4 ms·

At the risk of stating the obvious, it's worth noting that $27,000 was a lot of money in 1849. To give a rough estimate, we're talking about the inflation-adjus

At the risk of stating the obvious, it's worth noting that $27,000 was a lot of money in 1849. To give a rough estimate, we're talking about the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $750,000 (give or take). Who buries $750,000 in tin cans? Who has $750,000 in unbanked, walking-around money in the first place? The mid-19th century Walter White? Maybe someone cleaning out his bank account in anticipation of a financial apocalypse? This is the interesting part of this story, IMO. In any event, this might be one stash among several. If someone had that kind of coin lying around, my guess is that he didn't bury it all in one place.

moonka 13y ago
I'm not sure in 1849 there were a lot of banks that one would trust that kind of funds with in gold rush areas in CA. I'd imagine banks were much less robust than they are now, and even now I believe that 750k is > the FDIC insurance limits.
- jonnathanson 13y ago
  There was no FDIC in 1849, so fair enough point. No deposits were insured. :) But people generally didn't realize how problematic that was except in financial panics and runs on banks. To wit, there was a big panic in 1873, not long after these coins were ostensibly buried. But that was well after these coins were minted, which makes their near-mint, quasi-uncirculated condition a bit hard to reconcile. I suppose it's possible the burier had them in tin cans (or some other receptacle) for decades, and buried them in the 1870s. At any rate, banks were around and thriving during the Gold Rush, and San Francisco was in many ways the most progressive financial hub in the US, rivaling NYC. To whatever extent someone had $27,000 in those days, he probably would have banked it. Unless he'd come into it very recently, or under suspicious circumstances, or had just withdrawn it prior to burying it. It's certainly possible this person was a bank robber, though the more likely explanation is an unbanked or bank-panicked individual.
hcarvalhoalves 13y ago
I would start looking at the records for some bank robber who got shot and nobody ever found the money. Stashing your economies inside a house, in a safe, I can understand... but in cans, under a tree? This is the kind of thing someone on a getaway would do. The coins are fresh out of the mint too, so it's likely the entire stash came from one place.
- dools 13y ago
  In the article it says they're stashed in chronological order and almost all immediately that they were put into circulation, ruling out a "big heist".
- adventured 13y ago
  Yes, the fact that nobody ever successfully came back for this is fascinating. They either buried it such that the marker was soon lost and or buried it in a big hurry, never meant for it to be found (in their time) for whatever reason, or died before they could recover it.
prawn 13y ago
"Who buries $750,000 in tin cans?" Not quite the same amount, but my grandfather buried around $10k a few decades ago in his backyard. He'd migrated from Europe where he was well-off and lost a large amount of money entrusting money with a lawyer. I think he also had reason not to trust banks, but can't remember specifics. Fast forward to Australia where, now decidedly working class, he had saved up a new sum and wanted to store it. So he buried it. Years later, before moving house, he went looking and dug over the backyard but couldn't remember where he'd buried the jars of money. Somewhere in suburban Adelaide, there is likely to be a stash of money under dirt.
- dredmorbius 13y ago
  Reminds me somewhat of this old saw (other variants mention money): http://www.familyfriendjokes.com/joke/father-son-prison-joke http://www.familyfriendjokes.com/joke/father-son-prison-joke
- digitalengineer 13y ago
  Hard to believe now, but in 1933 the possession of gold by Americans was banned by Executive Order 6102. After the confiscation the price of gold jumped and people got duped. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102

moonka 13y ago

I'm not sure in 1849 there were a lot of banks that one would trust that kind of funds with in gold rush areas in CA. I'd imagine banks were much less robust than they are now, and even now I believe that 750k is > the FDIC insurance limits.

jonnathanson 13y ago
There was no FDIC in 1849, so fair enough point. No deposits were insured. :) But people generally didn't realize how problematic that was except in financial panics and runs on banks. To wit, there was a big panic in 1873, not long after these coins were ostensibly buried. But that was well after these coins were minted, which makes their near-mint, quasi-uncirculated condition a bit hard to reconcile. I suppose it's possible the burier had them in tin cans (or some other receptacle) for decades, and buried them in the 1870s. At any rate, banks were around and thriving during the Gold Rush, and San Francisco was in many ways the most progressive financial hub in the US, rivaling NYC. To whatever extent someone had $27,000 in those days, he probably would have banked it. Unless he'd come into it very recently, or under suspicious circumstances, or had just withdrawn it prior to burying it. It's certainly possible this person was a bank robber, though the more likely explanation is an unbanked or bank-panicked individual.

hcarvalhoalves 13y ago

I would start looking at the records for some bank robber who got shot and nobody ever found the money. Stashing your economies inside a house, in a safe, I can understand... but in cans, under a tree? This is the kind of thing someone on a getaway would do. The coins are fresh out of the mint too, so it's likely the entire stash came from one place.

dools 13y ago
In the article it says they're stashed in chronological order and almost all immediately that they were put into circulation, ruling out a "big heist".
adventured 13y ago
Yes, the fact that nobody ever successfully came back for this is fascinating. They either buried it such that the marker was soon lost and or buried it in a big hurry, never meant for it to be found (in their time) for whatever reason, or died before they could recover it.

prawn 13y ago

"Who buries $750,000 in tin cans?" Not quite the same amount, but my grandfather buried around $10k a few decades ago in his backyard. He'd migrated from Europe where he was well-off and lost a large amount of money entrusting money with a lawyer. I think he also had reason not to trust banks, but can't remember specifics. Fast forward to Australia where, now decidedly working class, he had saved up a new sum and wanted to store it. So he buried it. Years later, before moving house, he went looking and dug over the backyard but couldn't remember where he'd buried the jars of money. Somewhere in suburban Adelaide, there is likely to be a stash of money under dirt.

dredmorbius 13y ago
Reminds me somewhat of this old saw (other variants mention money): http://www.familyfriendjokes.com/joke/father-son-prison-joke http://www.familyfriendjokes.com/joke/father-son-prison-joke
digitalengineer 13y ago
Hard to believe now, but in 1933 the possession of gold by Americans was banned by Executive Order 6102. After the confiscation the price of gold jumped and people got duped. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102