Heard about this find back on Monday. I love reading stories like this. Last I knew they were trying to figure out the owner of the coins. I guess they gave up on that and split it between finder who did the right thing and shared what he found vs sneaking off with it and the school. Its nice that the piano tuner got half of it.
Only drawback to this is that all sorts of so-called family members come out of nowhere wanting you to share with them your sudden wealth like lottery winners.
Back about 12 years ago there was a story about some guys that dug up a bush in their back yard and found tin cans full of old cash in them. They claimed they were digging up a bush when their shovel struck a can and then to their surprise all of this cash was there. But anyone who lives in New England, USA knows that the ground is so moist that tin cans might last 10 years tops under ground before pin holes start to form and these cans from the 1920s were in too good of shape to be unearthed from the ground. They brought the stacks of old money which is worth way more beyond that of the face value to a local dealer in Massachusetts and then the police catching wind of this find went to investigate and it was found that these guys were contractors doing some roof work on an old home or barn, and found these cans tucked in a hidden area of the upper wall or ceiling which was exposed when ripping out the old roof to put new wood down. They relocated the money found and then botched a story of how it was found in their back yard. The current owners of the property by which this was stolen from was unaware of any wealth stashed in the home or barn. FBI then got involved to try to figure out of the money was linked to any old bank robberies in the area as for it was an unusual amount of cash in all denominations from $1 bills to $100 bills silver and gold certificates. And it was worth something like $100,000 for around $5000 face value.
As to what happened with the cash after these guys were all sent to prison is unknown. My guess is that the current owners of the property that was being serviced by these contractors would be given it all back. No taxes would have to be paid on it unless sold i would think.
These guys drew way too much attention to themselves and there were pictures with them with cash stuffed in their jackets etc. They should have done the right thing and tried for a 50/50 deal with the owner of the residence and property found.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-04-29-nh-treasure-scam_x.htmhttp://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/04/30/police_call_methuen_treasure_story_a_tall_tale/My grandfather before he passed away told me about stories of finding money when he was doing work around peoples homes in New Jersey in the 1950s thru the 1970s before he retired. The 2 stories he shared was that he struck a glass jar full of change under a bush that the current resident wanted to have removed with a shovel. Not a lot of money just silver dimes and quarters that someone back during the depression buried back when banks were not trusted, paper money was about as trusted as toilet paper, and everyone wanted silver and gold coins to protect their money instead of paper. Then Gold was illegal to hold and you had to turn in gold coins or else face jail and $10,000 fine with the Gold Confiscation Act of 1933 so some people hid gold coins, but most turned them in for fear of jail and the heavy penalty. More info here on that:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102The 2nd story was similar to the first, but he found a glass jar in a compartment in the cement steps of this other home that he was busting up with a sledge hammer and to replace it with new mason work. The filler that was used for the steps had a glass jar in it towards the side, so that the knowingly original owner of the money would know later when wanting to retrieve it to beat out a certain area of the steps and the jar would then be accessed to get the money. It was all silver coins in a large pickle type of jar. The original owner of the coins likely pulled their money out of the bank in the form of silver and didnt trust it to be loose in their home which could be stolen and so they made their own bank by sealing their wealth in cement work of the steps. But the current owner was not the original owner, but that my grandfather was given a reward from that owner for finding it, but I wasnt told how much money or if he did say how much money, I forgot that detail. Maybe he got 50% of the coins for himself.
In Chicago about 8 years ago there was money found hidden in the form of cash from between 1935 and 1957 behind a mirror in the bathroom of a home. It was found when the current owner was updating the long out of date bathroom appearance.
I bought a cheap metal detector 10 years ago and went looking for coins. Found some common change from the 1950s to date, tons of pull tabs, nails, screws, a horse shoe, cap gun from 1950s or 60s about 2 feet down and a cast iron plate to a fireplace dated patented 1857 with the building to the foundation i was searching long gone in the woods. I ended up giving away this metal detector because it only gives a tone but doesnt tell you what metal type. Some day I might get a good one that will tell metal type and depth to avoid tons of wasteful digging for junk. I gave it to a friend who cuts firewood to test long sections of trees for nails and spikes before he takes his chain saw to them. He had a nasty accident happen before when a chain saw struck a nail in a tree and kicked back on him.
Lastly the Saddle Ridge Hoard was in the news not too long ago too... more info here on gold coins found in a tin can in California:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_Ridge_Hoard[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]