A story that describes a gold heist from the San Francisco Mint at the turn of the century could explain the source of the gold coins worth $10 million that were found last month in California’s Mother Lode country.

The published news item was discovered in the Haithi Trust Digital Library and was provided by Northern California fishing guide Jack Trout, who doubles as a historian and collector of rare coins.

In a story that went global last week, a couple in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills found six buried steel cans that contained 1,427 gold coins dated 1847 to 1894 and worth $10 million. They were walking their dog on their property when they sighted a piece of a rusty steel can that was slightly exposed from surface erosion around it. Inside the can they saw the first glimpse of gold coins.

The value of the coins was enhanced, according to a broker, because they are mostly uncirculated, mint condition. The face value of the coins adds up to $27,000. Those two facts are a match of the gold heist in 1900 from the San Francisco Mint.

In addition, the coins were largely in chronological order, which indicates they were unused. (There are some problems with this theory, though, according to The Chronicle’s Kevin Fagan in an article summarizing the various hypotheses). Kevin noted that one-third of them were unused, and the chronological order was that they spanned nearly 50 years in date.

New information, which adds credibility that the heist was an inside job at the Mint, became available late Monday afternoon from research by historian Jack Trout: An 1866 Liberty $20 gold piece — which did not include the words “In God We Trust” — was part of the haul, a coin that alone is worth more than $1 million.

“This was someone’s private coin, created by the mint manager or someone with access to the inner workings of the Old Granite Lady (San Francisco Mint),” Trout said. “It was likely created in revenge for the assassination of Lincoln the previous year (April 14, 1865). I don’t believe that coin ever left The Mint until the robbery. For it to show up as part of the treasure find links it directly to that inside job at the turn of the century at the San Francisco Mint.”

The largest previous find of gold coins in the U.S. was believed to be worth $1 million, found in 1985 by construction workers in Tennessee.









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Photo: Kagin's Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Image 2 of 13 Nineteenth century gold coins are viewed in this undated handout photo obtained February 26, 2014 courtesy of Kagin's, Inc. A California couple out walking their dog struck it rich by unearthing a horde of buried gold coins, worth more than $10 million according to experts. The so-called Saddle Ridge find is believed to be the most valuable treasure trove ever discovered in the United States, according to Kagin's Inc, which specializes in ancient gold coins. The couple, named only as John and Mary, spotted a partially buried can jutting out of the ground -- and after further digging found seven more, with more than 1,400 gold coins. "This family literally found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," said company boss Donald Kagin, adding that most of the coins date from the late 19th century. "What's really significant about this find... is that unlike other hoards and treasures, this one includes a great variety of dates, many of which are in pristine condition," he added. AFP PHOTO/KAGIN'S, INC. / HANDOUT == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE / MANDATORY CREDIT: "AFP PHOTO / KAGIN'S, INC." / NO MARKETING / NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS / DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ==HANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images less Nineteenth century gold coins are viewed in this undated handout photo obtained February 26, 2014 courtesy of Kagin's, Inc. A California couple out walking their dog struck it rich by unearthing a horde of ... more Photo: AFP/Getty Images Image 3 of 13 An 1890 double eagle photographed next to the can and stick used to discover the hoard Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will soon be for sale on Amazon and to serious collectors by the numismatics experts at Kagin's. less An 1890 double eagle photographed next to the can and stick used to discover the hoard Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California ... more Photo: The Chronicle Image 4 of 13 A view of the old San Francisco Mint is seen through a stereoscopic viewer next to a copy of "Wasp", a mid-19th Century satirical magazine on Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 in Lafayette, Calif. Robert Chandler, a foremost historian of the Old West believes that the recently found stash of gold coins worth $10 million is likely to be the accumulation of someone's life savings. less A view of the old San Francisco Mint is seen through a stereoscopic viewer next to a copy of "Wasp", a mid-19th Century satirical magazine on Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 in Lafayette, Calif. Robert Chandler, a ... more Photo: The Chronicle Image 5 of 13 Image 6 of 13 Some of the buried cans that contained the gold coins were displayed at Kagin's Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will soon be for sale on Amazon and to serious collectors by the numismatics experts at Kagin's. less Some of the buried cans that contained the gold coins were displayed at Kagin's Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will ... more Photo: The Chronicle Image 7 of 13 Photos show cans found in the ground and how they were filled with coins. A sampling of the fortune of 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California. Photos show cans found in the ground and how they were filled with coins. A sampling of the fortune of 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California. Photo: Kagin's Image 8 of 13 Kagin's specialists had the coins carefully cleaned and placed in acrylic cases for safe keeping Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will soon be for sale on Amazon and to serious collectors by the numismatics experts at Kagin's. less Kagin's specialists had the coins carefully cleaned and placed in acrylic cases for safe keeping Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of ... more Photo: The Chronicle Image 9 of 13 Members of the staff at Kagin's showed the buried cans that contained the coins and the stick used to dig them up Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will soon be for sale on Amazon and to serious collectors by the numismatics experts at Kagin's. less Members of the staff at Kagin's showed the buried cans that contained the coins and the stick used to dig them up Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the ... more Photo: The Chronicle Image 10 of 13 Image 11 of 13 A $20 gold piece minted in San Francisco in 1866, part of the found fortune, Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will soon be for sale on Amazon and to serious collectors by the numismatics experts at Kagin's. less A $20 gold piece minted in San Francisco in 1866, part of the found fortune, Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will soon ... more Photo: The Chronicle Image 12 of 13 An 1866 gold piece photographed next to the can where it was found Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will soon be for sale on Amazon and to serious collectors by the numismatics experts at Kagin's. less An 1866 gold piece photographed next to the can where it was found Thursday February 20, 2014 in Tiburon, Calif. A fortune in 19th century gold coins found in the Gold Country of California will soon be for ... more Photo: The Chronicle Image 13 of 13 SF heist at turn of century may explain buried gold 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoors writer. E-mail: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @StienstraTom