SAN FRANCISCO, March 5 (UPI) -- Gold coins found buried in metal cans recently were not part of a theft at San Francisco's U.S. Mint in the early 1900s, Mint officials said.
The coins, worth an estimated $10 million to collectors and which date to the mid-1800s, were found by a couple as they walked their dog on their northern California property, the Tiburon rare coin experts Kagin's Inc. said.
The mint issued the statement after speculation rose the coins, dubbed the Saddle Ridge Hoard, may have been part of a theft from the San Francisco Mint building at the turn of the 20th century, Bay City News reported Wednesday.
"We do not have any information linking the Saddle Ridge hoard coins to any thefts at any United States Mint facility," the statement said.
Among the 1,400 coins found is an 1866 Double Eagle valued at $1 million.
Most of the found coins will be made available for purchase at a later date, Kagin's Inc. staff said.
