Baltimore gold hoard

The Baltimore gold hoard was a discovery of gold coins by two teenage boys in Baltimore, Maryland in 1934.

An 1856-O double eagle, similar to the one depicted here, was the most expensive coin in the hoard, selling at auction for $105.

On August 31, 1934, Theodore Jones, 16, and Henry Grob, 15, found 3,558 gold coins in two copper pots in Jones' house. The hoard consisted of $1, $2.50, $5, $10 and $20 gold coins from the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s.[1]

The boys were unable to keep the gold due to the Gold Reserve Act of 1933 which made private ownership of gold illegal. They therefore turned the gold over to the police.[1]

After numerous legal proceedings with several parties claiming the gold was theirs, in 1935, the coins were sold at auction for a total of $20,000. The two boys were awarded $6,000 (equivalent to $118,587 in 2021) to become available to them when they turned 21. Grob, however, died before then.[1]