NEVADA RECLUSE'S GOLD COIN HOARD SOLD

The last chunk of a reclusive hoarder’s multimillion-dollar coin collection sold for nearly $3.2 million on Tuesday at an auction in Carson City, Nevada.

Walter Samaszko Jr., 69, died alone inside his modest, three-bedroom house in May 2012. His wealth was a well-kept secret until a cleaning crew discovered a stash of neatly packaged coins and gold bullion in the garage.

An early auction netted $3.5 million in February. On Tuesday, auctioneers sold the second half of the collection — more than 2,600 coins, mostly gold heirlooms — in six lots, Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover told the Daily News.

The sole heir is Samaszko’s first cousin Arlene Magdanz, a substitute teacher living in San Rafael, Calif. Carson City officials tracked her down using a funeral program found in Samaszko’s home, dating back to his father’s death in the 1960s in Chicago. Samaszko didn’t leave a will.

Samaszko lived the quiet life of a hoarder, rarely leaving his nondescript house in a nondescript subdivision.

"It looked like every other house on that block, except it had a dead lawn," Glover said.

Inside, there were boxes everywhere, the majority of them crowded around a 1968 Ford Mustang Samaszko bought new and kept in the garage. Most boxes were marked "Books," but the real contents were coins of all kinds. The realtor and Glover found gold coins inside an aging washing machine, rolls of coins tucked between silverware settings and ammunition boxes overloaded with coins. They thought they had them all until workers discovered more in a crawl space.

The house itself seemed untouched since the 1970s, Glover said — "Orange shag carpet, green tiles. That sort of thing."

To read the complete article, see: Nevada hoarder’s coins sell for $3.2 million at auction (www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dead-hoarder-coins-sell-3-2-million-article-1.1419899)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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