16 December 2012

"Wheelbarrows full of gold coins"

Found in an elderly man's house after his death.
When 69-year-old Walter Samasko Jr died in May he left behind just $200 in the bank and no friends or family to lay claim to the meager inheritance. He hadn't worked since 1968 and was living off stock accounts of $140,000 and $25,000.

But the real treasure was found at his Nevada home, along with his decaying body, one month later after neighbours complained of a foul smell. There officials discovered box upon box of gold coins and bars stowed away in Samasko's garage, valued at a staggering $7million or more...

The gold, including coins from Mexico, England, Austria and South Africa dating to 1872, was hauled from the garage using a wheelbarrow and truck, then deposited for safekeeping.

Carson City Clerk Recorder Alan Glover told MailOnline that only coins were found in Mr Samasko’s house. ‘There were no bars at all. There were all sorts of coins, though – Mexican, British sovereigns, Austrian ducats, (South African) krugerrands, most of it was U.S. $20 gold pieces.’The British sovereign coins, he said, had ‘both early and later Queen Victoria – from 1840s and the 1890s.’..

Mr Glover told MailOnline that the $7million appraisal was ‘just on what we think the gold weight of it,’ meaning that the actual value of the coinage could very well be worth much more...

Other things found in the 'anti-government' pensioner's home included a stash of conspiracy theory books and several guns, Mr Glover said...

6 comments:

  1. Hoarding gold, guns and anti-government conspiracy theories. Sounds like Glenn Beck.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The funny thing is if he truly, truly has no heirs and no will (not sure what degree of relation is needed to inherit under Nevada law) , the property will escheat the very government he opposed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. His cousin must be pinching his own butt every few minutes, just to make sure he isn't dreaming.

    Lurker111

    ReplyDelete
  4. And the seven rings inflamed their wearers' greed and lust for gold.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A story with a happy ending! Too bad it wasn't Walter Samasko's, who might have had a lot more fun than he apparently didn't.

    ReplyDelete