A Kentucky farmer working in his field has uncovered an extraordinary collection of Civil War-era coins. He found more than 800 gold and silver coins, which later sold for more than $3 million (£2.36 million) through private sales. The discovery, now known to coin experts as the "Great Kentucky Hoard", began when the farmer found a single 1856 Seated Liberty silver half dollar in the dirt. "I initially found the 1856 Seated Liberty Half Dollar probably 20 to 30 feet from where the hoard was located," the farmer later said in an interview with the public television programme Kentucky Life . "I would have never believed what came next. Things that only happen in dreams." As he continued walking across his property, he noticed something shiny in the soil. "When I continued walking and saw the glint of gold, a thick reeded edge," he told the broadcaster. "When I pulled the coin from the ground, I was astonished when I realized I was holding a $20 Double Eagle from the 1860s. After I flipped the first clump of dirt over the next 45 minutes to an hour, the coins kept coming. I knew it was hundreds." Within about an hour of digging, he had recovered more than 700 gold coins and several dozen silver pieces. The discovery revealed a collection that had been buried for more than 160 years.
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