And A Hefty Tax Bill

There is no question that the discovery of the coins is a taxable event. In a famous 1969 decision, a U.S. District Court in Ohio ruled that a "treasure trove" is taxable the year it is discovered. In that case, Cesarini vs. United States, a couple bought a used piano in 1957 for about $15. In 1964, they found $4,467 in old currency inside it.

The court ruled that the money constituted ordinary income in 1964, the year in which they had "undisputed possession" of the funds. It did not qualify for the lower capital gains tax rate because neither the piano nor the currency were sold or exchanged.

. . . then there's this . . . apparently there's a plausible link that the gold coins are a majority of a theft from the SF Mint. The face value of the coins found is $27,000. The reported theft, a few years after the date of the coins minting, was $30,000. Hmm . . .

If someone finds something of that nature, why admit it publicly?

The glory.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

X 2, just remember that when our olympic athletes win any medals (metals) they owe a tax without selling it or getting any actual funds.

Well, the US Hockey team and speed skaters dodged that bullet!

They had a good financial advisor.

x3

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

X4.....

I'd never say a thing. Keep, or slowly sell off.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Interesting story. So they pay half of it in taxes....five mil is still a nice find.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Gold coins are easy to slowly sell off as well.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Looks More & More Like It Was a Heist

Might not be finder's keepers.

The hills of Tiburon. Rugged country up there.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

It's hard to believe those people wouldn't just take those right to a safe deposit box and slowly auction them off. One at a time, they could have come from anywhere.
You want to get rich or you want complications? Somebody sues to halt the dispersal pending proof of provenance and it'll cost them years and half the value.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

Well, not necessarily, you remember when I found those (semi)valuables semi-buried on the BLM land? If you go back and read my posts about it, you can kind of get a feel for going through a similar, though less high-stakes situation.

MV