@Stephen: A friend told me a story of some treasure hunters that got permission from a landowner to do metal-detecting on his property. They found a can of silver dollars - - kept them for themselves rather than sharing them. Evil. Point, though, is you can metal detect on old house sites if you get the owner's permission. Might have better luck in Florida than other places, given Florida's longer history and numerous changes in flags.
@Old NFO: I might think it was a miner if the gold was in the form of ore or dust. The huge number of coins involved, all of them uncirculated, makes me think it was a wealthy individual who simply didn't trust banks, which prior to the FDIC Act could close without warning, depriving investors/account holders of their funds.
My question is why in the world would you ever tell anyone that you found that many gold coins, given that they were on your own property? Put them in a safe place and perhaps sell a few as needed over time. Otherwise hang on to them and keep your mouth shut!
@Jon: If the people involved were living a comfortable life already, I could see doing as you suggested. But, by declaring the entire horde at once, they get the tax issues out of the way, just as if they had won the lottery. And, of course, we only have their word that they've revealed the entire hoard.
@Bob - Saw on Fox today that they'll probably owe half the value in taxes. Seems like if one dribbled it out over time, the taxable amount would fall into a "normal" tax bracket, like 15%. But, they probably got all excited about their windfall and just had to tell someone.
@Jon: I think they handled it the correct way, and here's why: in this intrusive period we're living in, it's likely that selling vintage gold coins a few at a time would eventually be noticed by the IRS, and they'd do an audit: "Where did you get these coins? When did you acquire them? You found them 5 years ago? Oh, in that case you owe back taxes on the full value of the hoard for the last five years. Oh, you can't pay it? We'll have to bring charges of tax evasion."
Don't use my blog to sell your products, whether it be goods, services, or Islam. Don't insult me or other commenters. Other than that I'm pretty tolerant.
I read this story late this afternoon and darn near had a fit....why, oh why, can't I be this lucky. What a mouthwatering find.
ReplyDelete@Stephen: A friend told me a story of some treasure hunters that got permission from a landowner to do metal-detecting on his property. They found a can of silver dollars - - kept them for themselves rather than sharing them. Evil. Point, though, is you can metal detect on old house sites if you get the owner's permission. Might have better luck in Florida than other places, given Florida's longer history and numerous changes in flags.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, any bets it was a former miner???
ReplyDelete@Old NFO: I might think it was a miner if the gold was in the form of ore or dust. The huge number of coins involved, all of them uncirculated, makes me think it was a wealthy individual who simply didn't trust banks, which prior to the FDIC Act could close without warning, depriving investors/account holders of their funds.
ReplyDeleteThat would certainly brighten my day.
ReplyDeleteMy question is why in the world would you ever tell anyone that you found that many gold coins, given that they were on your own property? Put them in a safe place and perhaps sell a few as needed over time. Otherwise hang on to them and keep your mouth shut!
ReplyDelete@Jon: If the people involved were living a comfortable life already, I could see doing as you suggested. But, by declaring the entire horde at once, they get the tax issues out of the way, just as if they had won the lottery. And, of course, we only have their word that they've revealed the entire hoard.
ReplyDelete@Bob - Saw on Fox today that they'll probably owe half the value in taxes. Seems like if one dribbled it out over time, the taxable amount would fall into a "normal" tax bracket, like 15%. But, they probably got all excited about their windfall and just had to tell someone.
ReplyDelete@Jon: I think they handled it the correct way, and here's why: in this intrusive period we're living in, it's likely that selling vintage gold coins a few at a time would eventually be noticed by the IRS, and they'd do an audit: "Where did you get these coins? When did you acquire them? You found them 5 years ago? Oh, in that case you owe back taxes on the full value of the hoard for the last five years. Oh, you can't pay it? We'll have to bring charges of tax evasion."
ReplyDelete