Farmer Ploughs Cornfield And Finds 700+ Rare Civil War Coins

Something In The Way

He had gone out just like any other day planning to make his living. He fitted the plow to his tractor and turned the ignition. The engine roared to life, as it did most days when he worked on the field.

He was ready to plow a cornfield for a mighty harvest, but there was something he was unaware of – something was in the way.

Hitting Something

He started plowing his field just like he always did. After going back and forth over his field, he was nearly done plowing, but he decided to toss the soil one more time.

He took the tractor over the field one last time, but that’s when disaster struck. He was nearly at the end of the field when he heard the horrible noise of scraping steel, and his tractor shook violently. What happened?

A Terrible Day

Rodney hopped off of his tractor and went to examine what had happened. When he saw that some of his plow’s teeth were mangled, he wanted to scream in frustration.

Farming equipment wasn’t cheap, and the government’s subsidies wouldn’t cover something like this. But that’s when he saw flecks of silver on the teeth; what did he hit?

Examining The Wreck

Rodney got closer to the wreck of the plow and looked closely at the teeth. He didn’t imagine it; the teeth of the plow were coated with different shiny metals. He saw flakes of gold and silver.

He had no idea what to make of it. Then he looked past the plow further down the field. He was about to find out what he had hit.

Buried

Rodney trudged through the freshly plowed soil towards something he hadn’t seen before. As he got closer, he was sure it was whatever he had hit with his tractor.

He bent down and saw that he had inadvertently unearthed something that had been buried for centuries. His life was about to change forever.

Rodney Tilton

Rodney Tilton knew, above all else, that family was the most important thing. His family had a lot of heritage surrounding their land. His great-grandfather was an immigrant and came to America very poor.

But his hard work paid off, and he managed to buy his land, with which he started a farm. One hundred years later, the farm still stood strong.

Passed Down

The farm had been passed down with every new member of the family. Currently, it was Rodney’s turn to carry the torch until he passed it on to his son one day.

But his son was only ten years old. One day, he’d be ready for the responsibility, but for now, Rodney made sure everything was maintained.

Troubles

Despite a strong resolve from the family, Rodney couldn’t help but admit they had their fair share of troubles. Things weren’t as good as they used to be.

With droughts becoming more and more common, their harvest each year got progressively smaller. Rodney remembered the abundance of crops on the land as a kid, but now it was different.

Trudging On

Rodney trudged on, making the best of their situation. He was still proud of the farm despite the profits every year shrinking.

He was teaching his son the ropes, but his interests lay elsewhere. While Rodney’s attention was always on the farm, his son’s was on another hobby, one he was obsessed with.

A Strange Hobby

Most normal people would think that it was a normal hobby, but around the farm, it was peculiar. Rodney’s son, Jason, was obsessed with coin collecting.

He justified it by saying he learned about history at the same time. Rodney couldn’t disparage him for having an interest, but he wished that he was more focused on the farm.

A Lot Of Work

Rodney couldn’t ever focus on his son for long because he worked long days. He did almost everything on the farm himself, which meant that he worked long hours – usually from eight in the morning until six at night.

He always had something to do, either laying seeds, plowing fields, or fixing fences. Rodney was always busy.

A Day Like Any Other

It was a day like any other. Rodney woke up at six in the morning and made a pot of coffee and some fresh farm-style eggs. He loved eating the produce he had helped produce on the farm.

He put on his overalls and told his wife that he was heading to the fields to plow them. He had to get them ready by the time summer rolled around.

Had To Do It Now

Rodney had to make sure to get the seeds planted just as summer started. If he was late or made any mistakes, then the entire harvest would suffer for it.

He couldn’t afford to have a year’s harvest wasted like that, so with diligence, he got to work just in time. But he had no idea what troubles were over the horizon.

Getting The Tractor

He had gone out just like any other day planning to make his living. He fitted the plow to his tractor and turned the ignition. The engine roared to life, as it did most days when he worked on the field.

He was ready to plow a cornfield for a mighty harvest, but there was something he was unaware of – something was in the way.

Wrecking The Plough

He started plowing his field just like he always did. After going back and forth over his field, he was nearly done plowing, but he decided to toss the soil one more time.

He took the tractor over the field one last time, but that’s when disaster struck. He was nearly at the end of the field when he heard the horrible noise of scraping steel, and his tractor shook violently. What happened?

Screaming In Frustration

Rod hopped off of his tractor and went to examine what had happened. When he saw that some of his plow’s teeth were mangled, he wanted to scream in frustration.

Farming equipment wasn’t cheap, and the government’s subsidies wouldn’t cover something like this. But that’s when he saw flecks of silver on the teeth; what did he hit?

Shiny Metal

Rod got closer to the wreck of the plow and looked closely at the teeth. He didn’t imagine it; the teeth of the plow were coated with different shiny metals. He saw flakes of gold and silver.

He had no idea what to make of it. Then he looked past the plow further down the field. He was about to find out what he had hit.

Unearthing Something

Rod trudged through the freshly plowed soil towards something he hadn’t seen before. As he got closer, he was sure it was whatever he had hit with his tractor.

He bent down and saw that he had inadvertently unearthed something that had been buried for centuries. His life was about to change forever.

Opening The Box

Rodney saw what looked like the remnants of what used to be a metal box. He slammed into it with his plow and smashed it.

Somehow, the latch still held while he could see huge tears on the surface of the box, spilling out metal objects. But Rodney had no idea what he was in for when he decided to open the box.

Calling One Person

Rodney carefully opened the latch and, with a bit of effort, pried the lid off the box with a terrible scraping sound. But once it was open, his jaw dropped at what he saw.

He knew exactly what he would do. He ran back to his tractor and took his phone. He knew exactly the right person to call.

Jason

Jason may have only been ten, but his coin fascination went a long way. He could tell his father all about a coin’s history just by looking at it.

In his spare time, he spent hours watching historical videos on coins. But would he be able to help him now that he was sitting in the field with a wrecked plow?

A Lot Of Trouble

Jason was busy cleaning the pig pen when he got the call from his dad. He agreed to walk over to the field and take a look at what his father had found.

In the meantime, Rodney was shaken to the core. He knew that if this didn’t pay off, then he would be in a lot of trouble with his wrecked plow.

An Expert Opinion

Jason trudged his way through the mud towards his father, who was kneeling by a scrap of mangled metal. He thought his father was crazy, but he hadn’t seen what he had yet.

Once he got there, he was the ruined plow further on ahead. He knew enough to know how bad that was, but then he looked down at his father, a cocktail of emotions swirling around inside of him.

Looking At The Box

That’s when Jason looked down at the open box. His father had hauled it out of the ditch and onto the soil. That’s when Jason nearly dropped the shovel he was asked to bring.

The glint of gold and silver made his eyes pop as his mouth hung open. Rodney might not have known what they were, but he did, and it was unbelievable.

A Rarity

Jason picked up some of the coins that weren’t mangled by the plow and examined them. He couldn’t believe what he was looking at. They were a rarity, and they were old.

He didn’t know much about the coin he held in his hands, but he knew enough to know that it was worth a lot. And judging by the amount in the box, they were onto a treasure trove.

Getting Them Appraised

Rodney and Jason took a sample of the coins to a historian who could tell them more about the coins. The historian had credentials in archaeology as well as anthropology.

He was the perfect person to look at them. Once in front of the bag of coins, they could see by the look on his face that it was something beyond their wildest dreams.

Civil War Coins

The historian told Rodney and Jason that the coins were Civil War Era minted gold and silver coins. They had been out of circulation for over a hundred years and must have been buried before Rodney’s great-grandfather bought the land.

While Rodney was wondering how much they were worth, Jason wanted to know how they ended up on the farm. The historian was happy to answer both of them.

Tucked Away

The historian told Jason that it wasn’t uncommon for some civil war soldiers to hide their life savings or even money that they had raided during the war.

With Jason’s curiosity sated, it was time for the historian to tell Rodney if they would be able to cover the damage to his plow. The answer nearly had him in tears.

A Fortune

Despite some of the coins being mangled, they were still worth their weight in silver and gold. As for the coins in perfect condition, they were worth much more.

After going back and counting them, the historian told Rodney that all 700 coins were worth a whopping two million dollars! Rodney couldn’t believe what had started as a bad day had a twist in his favor. Hitting that box was the best thing he could have done.

Keeping One

The historian worked for a museum and told him that they would purchase the coins from him for 1.6 million dollars on the spot. Rodney wasn’t a greedy man and was happy they’d go to a museum where lots of kids like Jason could see them. But then he saw the frown on Jason’s face.

Rodney tossed his hair and looked back at the historian. “I’ll sell you 699 of the coins, but I’m keeping one.” He said before winking at his son.

To protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.