In February 2013, a couple using the pseudonyms John and Mary, were taking their dog for a walk on their property when they spotted something sticking out of the ground. When they went to check it out, they discovered that it was the top of a coffee can. Further investigation led to a total of 8 coffee cans, all containing gold coins. The couple took the coins to Kagin’s Coin Company, where the coins were carefully examined by numismatist David McCarthy, who said he almost fell out of his chair. “There in my hands was part of the most amazing buried treasure I’d ever heard of,” said McCarthy. He estimated its worth at around $10 million. When word of the coin find got out, there was widespread speculation that they were from the 1901 theft of $30,000 from the San Francisco Mint by employee Walter Dimmick. However, Kagin’s and the U.S. Mint ruled out that theory because of the face value and condition of the coins. Other theories contended that the coins were a hidden stash of gold buried by Jesse James, but that theory was also shot down. In the end, John and Mary made a deal with Kagin’s to sell most of the coins via auction, while the couple chose to keep some to pay off personal debt, donate to charities, and retain some of the coins for family heirlooms and keepsakes. There's no information available today indicating just how much "John and Mary" ended up with when the coins were auctioned off.
