Saddle Ridge Hoard

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Wouldn’t you love to find buried treasure in the wild, untamed wilderness of northern California? There, the romping Trinity River leaps between the foothills of the Trinity Alps, and dense pine forests cover the countryside like the fur cloak of some ancient monarch commanding the forces of nature. Mountains crowned with snow keep watch over serene lakes, and countless hikers marvel at the region’s gorgeous panorama of nature.

In 2013 a couple calling themselves John and Mary for anonymity were walking their dog on their property at the foothills of the mountains when they uncovered every metal detector’s wildest dream. Inside a rusty old can, they found a gigantic coin hoard worth a sturdy $27,980 dollars at face value! That’s equal to the face value of all gold coins minted from 1854 to 1894! The astounding haul would be equivalent to more than $10 million in today’s money. And to think all of it was nestled less than a foot beneath the surface, right under the noses of John and Mary and the previous property owners for more than 50 years! 

The Discovery

Eight cans were numbered, containing a total of 1,427 gold coins. According to Mary and John, they had been placed in a curious alignment with the North Star, 10 steps from an oddly shaped stone pointing toward Polaris. They revealed their thoughts on the stone in an interview with Don Kagin, owner of Kagin’s, Inc., who appraised the collection.

John said, “Years ago, on our first hike, we noticed an old tree growing into the hill. It had an empty rusty can hanging from it that the tree had grown around – that was right at the site where we found the coins …At the time we thought the can might be a place for someone to put flowers in for a gravesite – something which would have been typical at the time. There was also an unusual angular rock up the hill from where the coins were buried – we’d wondered what in the heck it was.”

Mary continued, “It wasn’t until we made the find that we realized it might have been a marker: starting at the rock, if you walk 10 paces towards the North Star, you wind up smack in the middle of the coins!”

The Hoard’s Origins

Many speculate that this careful alignment is the signature of a secret society—perhaps the hand of the Knights of the Golden Circle or a similar group, with famous members like the James brothers, Jefferson Davis, Albert Pike, and John Wilkes Booth. This theory purports that the hoard was buried as one among dozens, if not hundreds, across the country, someday to be unearthed and utilized to fund a second but more brutal Civil War, in which the Confederacy could build its own slave nation from the entirety of the Southern states, Central America, and a large portion of South America. Thankfully, this end was never achieved, if this was indeed an aim of the Confederacy. 

Others attribute the hoard to a previous landowner whose name remains unknown. Perhaps he buried these coins at the start of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive order intended to confiscate all precious metals at the start of the Great Depression. As many folks did exactly that and valuable coins are still being unearthed across the United States, many consider it to be a perfectly logical assumption. 

Still others believe the coins sprang from a robbery of the San Francisco Mint in 1901, but due to the variety of coin conditions among the stash, this theory has been put to rest. 

Despite all the speculation, the origins of the coins remain unknown. Someday, maybe that property will be searched and examined more thoroughly, but for now it remains private. I find Mary and John very wise in this decision, avoiding another Sutter’s Mills situation. I can only imagine the destruction of the property that would ensue. In fact, even the means to protect it, were the location known, would likely drain any and all funds still left from the sale of these coins. 

Enduring Mystery

Kagin, alongside numismatic expert David McCarthy, appraised the coins, which were later sold through Amazon and Kagin’s own numismatic platform. John and Mary have since paid off personal debt and donated to local charities. 

Similar hoards have been found across the country, so whether it’s evidence of a dangerous cult, a dastardly bandit, or a swindling pirate, there are still hoards to be found among the nooks and crannies of our world, anticipating revelation, just like the hoard on Saddle Ridge.