Rare gold coins worth millions found in Kentucky field

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Finding some lost money almost always makes your day.

But what happens when that money is lost from the 1800s and you find it in a Kentucky cornfield?

There are more than 700 rare U.S. gold coins dating dating from 1840 to 1862, and they have become one of the greatest coin collecting finds of the 21st century.

Unearthed recently in a field, the coins are estimated at a value exceeding $2 million.

It’s rarer still to find them in such good condition.

The mystery of how they landed in that Kentucky cornfield promotes speculation.

One likely scenario was a wealthy Kentuckian burying his wealth to hide it from an advancing Confederate army.

Why the owner failed to return is unknown.

And 160 years later, new questions arise.

All of the coins are now on the market, and the money they make is expected to be just as interesting as the story behind them.