A couple from South Carolina discovered a forgotten collection of gold and silver coins worth thousands of dollars whilst settling into their new home.
James Munford was looking at the built-in drawers in his wardrobe in October, when he discovered two cases containing 46 gold Liberty $5 coins and 18 Morgan silver dollars that originate from the 1800s.
“They looked real old, like they were really worth a lot of money,” Munford commented.
Mr Munford and his wife, Clarrisa, are both Army retirees and closed on the Columbia home in mid-October. He sent pictures of the coins to the home’s former owner via text message in order to arrange for the coins to be returned to them.
“I was just thinking, you know, they’re not mine. They’re probably a family heirloom, so I’m gonna go ahead and make sure he gets them back,” Munford commented.
“We really didn’t know anything about the value of the coins. We really didn’t care, to be honest with you, we knew they were his,” commented Clarrisa Munford, who runs a catering business.
The home’s previous owner, who requested to not be named, estimated that the coins were worth roughly $25,000.
He said he’d placed the containers in the back of his sock drawer a few months ago for safe keeping and during the rush to pack up his belongings and move out mistakenly left the containers in the house. The rest of his coin collection was in his safe.
The previous owner did not realise the coins were missing until he was contacted by Mr and Mrs Munford.
“He just thanked me because he said there’s not too many honest people out there who would have done that,” commented James Munford.
Mr and Mrs Munford are still unpacking at the moment. Their furniture just arrived last week, so they are yet to discover if there are any other surprises.
“When he came to collect it up and we were talking, he said there’s ‘no telling what else you might find in the house,'” James Munford commented.
