Baltimore Gold Hoard

In 1934, a hoard of gold coins was discovered by two teenage boys (Theodore Jones, 16, and Henry Grob, 15) in Baltimore, Maryland. The two boys discovered copper pots containing 3,558 gold coins while digging in the dirt of a cellar. One year later the two boys discovered a second hoard in the same location. The total value of both hoards was US$30,000 (equivalent to $683,284 in 2023).

The boys were unable to keep the gold due to the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 which made private ownership of gold illegal. They subsequently turned the gold over to the police.^[1] After the discovery was revealed, a legal battle ensued with approximately one dozen claimants. In 1935 the boys were awarded the gold which would be held until they turned 21. The decision was appealed and in 1937 the boys were again awarded the money which came to $7,000 each, (equivalent to $159,433 in 2023) after court costs and attorney fees.

In 1935 while awaiting the ruling in their case they again dug in the cellar and this time they found another gold hoard worth $10,000 (equivalent to $227,761 in 2023). They divided the second hoard and turned it over to their mothers. The two boys kept the second gold discovery secret until a burglary of the Jones' home later that year. Newspapers reported that it was stolen from a locked trunk in the home.