A man in Wildwood, New Jersey, revealed he found more than $1,000 in cash from 1934 buried in the yard of his house.
On Tuesday, Rich Gilson discussed his and wife Suzanne’s latest discovery during an interview with Fox 29. He said he thought he’d found “trash” by his porch while doing some home renovations when he came upon “wads of 10 and 20” dollar bills in his front yard.
Gilson had been digging a hole and “raking” through it when he spotted the cash “tightly rolled” up together with rubber bands. He also shared how he quickly called his spouse over to show her his findings.
“My wife was in there painting and I said, ‘you gotta come see this, you won’t believe what I just found,” he explained.
The bills were not only in perfect condition, but they were also minted in 1934. Gilson’s total amount of cash was worth over $1,000.
He went on to question what the money was doing within the dirt and even shared his own theories as to why it could have been hidden.
“Either somebody robbed a bank and buried it there, or somebody didn’t trust the banks in 1934 during the height of the depression,” he added.
Gilson and Suzanne also spoke to NJ Advance Media about their findings and detailed how they bought their cottage home four years ago. He told the publication that he initially thought the rolls of cash were weeds.
“I thought they were weeds. I picked them up and just threw them aside and they went into the pile I was using for fill,” he said before adding: “It looked like little mini-cigars all bound up together. As I broke it apart, I started to see what it was.”
He also shared that he and his wife have since discovered that their house used to be a brothel.
As to the bills having the 1934 date on them, Gilson says it feels “fishy” and emphasised to the outlet:
“Every bill is dated 1934, Series A, which I thought was strange,” he said. “If you go in your pocket right now and look at your bills … they’re not all the same year. It just doesn’t happen that way.”
He added that he doesn’t see himself “spending the money,” as the story behind it is “too good for what it’s worth”.
