1.Why did the container that the coins were burried in opened way so easy if it had been in the ground for over a 100 years?
2. With a nice cointainer with a lid that would shut so well, why is the container so packed full of dirt?
3. Why would you use your knife to dig coins out of a container wouldn't you worry about scratching them?
4. Why weren't there some coins in the cache with better detail?
5. If it was buried later than the civil war why aren't there any later dated coins?
6. Why is the latest dated coin, the 1860 quarter one of the most worn coins with only the date readable? (last quarter on the right side in the row of quarters)
7. Where are the copper or nickel coins of the day? Indian cents, Large Cents, two cent pieces and three cent nickel coins or shield nickels where much more common and widely used than the silver coins.
Here are my answers or opinions to these questions:
1. The container opened easily because it hadn't been buried very long.
2. The container was packed with dirt as the coins were put in to make it look as if they had been buried a long time, that is why some coins were on top of some layers of dirt. If they had been buried a long time the dirt would have been on top of all the coins and the coins would have all been on the very bottom of the container.
3. The person digging the coins out of the container with his knife either is a newbie who doesn't care about scratching coins or knew that the coins inside were not of much value being so worn and holed.
4. The coins were not pulled from circulation and buried or there would have been some with much better detail.
5. There are no later dated coins because it was intended to look like a civil war burial cache.
6. The 1860 quarter if pulled out of circulation during the civil war would not have that much wear on it, since the civil war ended in 1865 the coin would have been only five years old. Compare it to any 1960 quarter, in 1965 silver coins were discontinued and all silver coins began to be pulled out of circulation. Show me a 1960 silver quarter that is worn so much only the date is readable. I have collected coins for 35 years and have never seen a silver coin from 1960 with that much wear. The 1860 quarter had to have been in circulation for at least 35 to 50 years to get that much wear. With that being said the earliest it could have been buried would be around 1900.
7. The person who buried these coins intended for it to be an all silver cache.
In conclusion I believe it was not posible that these coins were buried during the civil war. The earliest around 1900. However because of the layering of the coins in the container and the lack of copper or nickel coins and the dates and conditions of the coins, my conclusion is that it was buried recently. Probably by the organizers of the Grand National Relic Shootout sponsored by The Treasure Depot. Makes a good advertisement doesn't it!
Someone probably went to a coin dealer and bought a bunch of low grade or cull silver coins no later than 1860 to be buried for the relic shootout.
But that is just my opinion and it is only worth what you paid for it!
