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Chief Clerk Walter Dimmick was convicted of stealing six bags of gold coins -- worth $30,000
-- from the U.S. Mint in San Francisco in 1901.
More than 100 years later, a California couple unearthed a secret stash of coins, with a
combined face value of about $28,000. Most were minted in San Francisco.
Coincidence? Sure is, said Adam Stump, spokesman for the
U.S. Mint. "We do not have any information linking the
Saddle Ridge Hoard coins to any thefts at any United States Mint facility," he told
CNN. The spokesman was responding to the latest
wave of speculation that kicked off after The San Francisco Chronicle published a report
Monday, suggesting a turn-of-the-century heist could explain the possible provenance of the
coins. Separately, Stump told the newspaper: "We've
done quite a bit of research, and we've got a crack team of lawyers, and trust me, if
this was U.S. government property we'd be going after it."
The coins from the 1901 heist were never found. The so-called Saddle Ridge Hoard was discovered
by a husband and wife in February 2013 on their property in Northern California.
Though the coins have a face value of approximately $28,000, experts believe they could fetch
in excess of $10 million. The treasure is known as the Saddle Ridge
Hoard because it was discovered near a hill the couple called Saddle Ridge.