FRED HOLABIRD ON HIDDEN GOLD

There are virtually an unlimited amount of stories about buried gold – both coins and nuggets, as well as other valuable artifacts. I have been involved with at least ten of them.

In each case, they were purposefully buried to conceal their whereabouts. If the reader thinks about it a little, the easiest and first place to look for one of these treasures is the “corner stone.” A number of famous corner stones from history here in the US are missing, and create great stories.

Every year or two, a major story gets out about hidden gold. I wrote a piece on it recently for the Gray Sheet.

Here in the West, where mining was the source of money, men were often reluctant to use the banking system. There were many reasons for this – from the collapse of banks in the 1850’s to the collapse of the Bank of California in 1875. Another major reason is the development of the banking system itself within major cities and within the mining communities themselves. That system was very slow to develop during gold rush years, and some of the methods used then, such as Bills of Exchange, were a chancy method of transferring cash. The same held true for gold shipments. The miner/merchant had to find the right shipper, the right insurance company, and had to wait months to hear the result. Sound a little different than today’s computerized direct deposit system?

Swift was clearly one of these people who may or may not have ever held a bank account. Stories of the amounts of riches always multiply through time. Did he receive over $100,000 from Bidwell Bar near Oroville? If the articles are correct, gold was found at at least two of his properties – but in relatively small amounts, if you believe the stories.

Most miners never bragged about burying gold. The only time it got left behind was when they died unexpectedly. In Virginia City, at least two caches of gold coins were found in the 1960’s-70’s hidden inside stone walls. They were found by visual inspection, not a metal detector. Other caches, including nuggets, were found buried, such as the ceramic jar of gold coins found near Lovelock, found during highway construction.

Many caches contain valuables to the original owner. Cornerstones can contain a number of valuable relics – such as ore specimens and newspapers from the day of emplacement (Aurora, Nevada), or coins from people present at the emplacement, as was the case of a cornerstone found in Tonopah (Nevada) recently. Some folks tell the news media. Others simply sell the material, either all at once or over a decade or two, as was the case for one of the Virginia City finds.

Is there more gold related to Swift out there? If Huell Howser was still alive, I’d say “let’s go!”

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE $50 GOLD SLUGS OF GRANVILLE P. SWIFT (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n02a32.html)

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