Many wealthy Kentuckians are rumored to have buried huge sums of money to prevent it from being stolen by the Confederacy. Ryan McNutt, a conflict archaeologist at Georgia Southern University who has heard about but not seen the hoard, told Live Science in an email that 'given the time period and the location in Kentucky, which was neutral at the time, it is entirely possible this was buried in advance of Confederate John Hunt Morgan's June to July 1863 raid.' The $20 Liberty coins in the hoard are even rarer because they do not include 'In God We Trust,' which was added in 1866 after the end of the Civil War. NGC's website notes that the $20 Liberty coin, which circulated from 1850 to 1907, was minted by the Treasury Department after gold was discovered in California. Just one of these coins can go for six figures at auction, and the Great Kentucky Hoard boasts 18 of them. The rarest is the 1863-P $20 1-ounce gold Liberty coin. (NGC), which certified the coins' authenticity, and GovMint, where the coins were sold, 95% of the hoard is composed of gold dollars, along with 20 $10 Liberty coins and eight $20 Liberty coins. In a short video, the man who discovered the hoard - whose identity and specific location have not been revealed to the public - says, 'This is the most insane thing ever: Those are all $1 gold coins, $20 gold coins, $10 gold coins,' as he aims his camera at the artifacts tumbling out of the dirt.Īccording to the Numismatic Guaranty Co.

gold pieces dating to between 18, in addition to a handful of silver coins. The 'Great Kentucky Hoard' includes hundreds of U.S.

Old spanish silver coins