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Californian couple digs up $10 million


thedutchiedutch

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A Northern California couple out walking their dog on their property stumbled across a modern-day bonanza: $10 million in rare, mint-condition gold coins buried in the shadow of an old tree.

Nearly all of the 1,427 coins, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, which recently authenticated them.

Although the face value of the gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, some of them are so rare that coin experts say they could fetch nearly $1 million apiece.

Read full article here : http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/02/25/california-couple-digs-up-10-million-in-gold-coins/

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If you ever find something like this tell no one. Sell the coins individually at different places. The reason is if, for example these coins turn out to be the result of some wild west payroll robbery, which were usually insured, then they are still owned by either the insureer or a bank like Wells Fargo, and they can claim them.

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Yeah....I would have taken one and had it validated...then a month or two later, take another to another place.

I would not have went public with the entire find...seems kinda dumb to me. Not only do they run the risk of someone claiming their find and having to fight for it...now someone has put the crosshairs on them for a robbery...

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Yeah....I would have taken one and had it validated...then a month or two later, take another to another place.

I would not have went public with the entire find...seems kinda dumb to me. Not only do they run the risk of someone claiming their find and having to fight for it...now someone has put the crosshairs on them for a robbery...

The pair are choosing to remain anonymous.

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If you ever find something like this tell no one. Sell the coins individually at different places. The reason is if, for example these coins turn out to be the result of some wild west payroll robbery, which were usually insured, then they are still owned by either the insureer or a bank like Wells Fargo, and they can claim them.

I'm not sure that would work. Sure, if you find a few grand in cash, that's one thing. But if anyone starts trying to cash in antique mint condition gold coins worth upwards of $1 million each, someone is going to notice. I would also imagine there is IRS paperwork that has to be filed when you sold one of them.

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No-ones trying to get the coins off them, the article does say

They plan to put most of the coins up for sale through Amazon while holding onto a few keepsakes. They’ll use the money to pay off bills and quietly donate to local charities, Kagin said.

Before they sell them, they are loaning some to the American Numismatic Association for its National Money Show, which opens Thursday in Atlanta.

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I was thinking more along the premise of the last paragraph. When you purchase property don't you purchase everything that comes with it? They should've never told the news. If this happens to any of you the story is that it came from your old dead grandfather and you're sticking to it. Ok?

Treasure trove tax :/? Greedy ass government would find a way to tax your daily shlt if they wanted to.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/28/couple-that-found-10-million-in-gold-coins-will-have-to-hand-over-how-much-in-taxes/

Couple That Found $10 Million in Gold Coins Will Have to Hand Over HOW MUCH in Taxes?

A California couple that discovered $10 million worth of gold coins last year will have to pay nearly half that amount in federal and state income tax, regardless of whether they sell the coins.

Interestingly enough, the couple’s newfound tax burden is not exactly unprecedented.

The San Francisco Chronicle noted that a U.S. District Court in Ohio ruled in 1969 that a “treasure trove” is a taxable event and can be applied to the year the so-called treasure is discovered.

Further, in its 2013 tax guide, the Internal Revenue Service states, “If you find and keep property that does not belong to you that has been lost or abandoned (treasure-trove), it is taxable to you at its fair market value in the first year it is your undisputed possession.”

The not-yet-identified California couple found 1,427 rare, mint-condition gold coins buried in their backyard last February. This means they will have to pay a tax on the estimated value of the coins by April or else suffer a penalty and additional interest charges, Leo Martinez, a law professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law told the Chronicle.

Additionally, he said, most of the couple’s cash will be “subject to the top federal tax rate of 39.6 percent, which starts at $450,000 in joint taxable income.”

The top taxable rate on joint income of $1 million or more in the state of California is 13.3 percent.

Now, it’s worth noting that taxpayers are normally granted a federal deduction for state income tax paid, reducing their effective federal rate.

Still, even with the deduction, the taxable amount the California couple is looking at for both state and federal clocks in at about 47 percent.

The couple isn’t without recourse, Arthur Dellinger, a CPA with Cooper, Moss, Resnick, Klein & Co., told the Chronicle. He said they could argue that the coins are a capital gain because “when they bought the property, it was part of the property and part of the acquisition price,” but said it was unlikely that argument would succeed.

The couple has until April 15 to pay the taxes owed on their discovery.

Lastly, how are they supposed to pay up in less than two months if they don't sell them? They ought to just drive to the IRS and give them half the coins. Or if they want to be really awesome take all the coins to the ocean and invite the news to televise them telling the IRS to kiss their ass as they throw the whole pile into the sea

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Even though the couple wants to remain anonymous, the article is giving clues to who they are.

Mums the word on a cash like that if I ever get that lucky. :innocent:

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Even though the couple wants to remain anonymous, the article is giving clues to who they are.

Mums the word on a cash like that if I ever get that lucky. :innocent:

Yes, I was thinking that too. Too much information :yes:

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The IRS makes you pay taxes on this? Surely the tax could only apply if you made a profit aka: actually sold the coins? How does the IRS know how much is the correct tax on something that has not yet been sold .... unless, of course, being "legal tender" as I imagine they still actually are - the tax is based on the face value of $27000.00. If that's the case, I'd be settling that tax bill pretty quickly if I were them, it also consolidates the ownership of the coins, if the government request the "owner" to pay tax and the couple have that receipt in hand.

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The IRS makes you pay taxes on this? Surely the tax could only apply if you made a profit aka: actually sold the coins? How does the IRS know how much is the correct tax on something that has not yet been sold .... unless, of course, being "legal tender" as I imagine they still actually are - the tax is based on the face value of $27000.00. If that's the case, I'd be settling that tax bill pretty quickly if I were them, it also consolidates the ownership of the coins, if the government request the "owner" to pay tax and the couple have that receipt in hand.

There's no way they wouldn't adjust for 100+ years of inflation first of all. But you're right. The $10M is a guess and a headline. There can be no real taxable value other than face value until someone buys them because I doubt there's a large enough market to assume an average value. Maybe I'm wrong but I recall reading they might be worth up to $10M.

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