Time to go dig up my backyard

[Amnorix]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/27/treasure.found.ap/index.html


Friends find treasure buried in backyard

METHUEN, Massachusetts (AP) -- It's the stuff of fantasies, and Tim Crebase found it buried under two feet of earth in his own backyard.

There, he and friend Barry Villcliff found a box stuffed with cash and gold and silver certificates, some more than a century old.

The buried treasure is worth more than $100,000, according to a coin shop owner.

"I was thinking, 'I've never seen anything like this in my life,"' Domenic Mangano, owner of Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, New Hampshire.

Crebase said the find came three weeks ago when he and Villcliff were trying to dig up a small tree.

Crebase, 23, heard a thud and saw that he'd hit a piece of wood. Another look, and he saw the wood was part of a two-foot-wide box.

He ripped the top off and found nine rusted cans that he and Villcliff, 27, cracked open to find about 1,800 bills, including more than 900 $1 bills, 200 $2 bills, and 300 $20 bills dated from 1899 to 1929.

There were also piles of gold and silver certificates and scores of notes from local banks in Methuen, Haverhill, Amesbury, Newburyport and beyond.

They took the stash to Mangano's shop later that day.

"I'm a pessimist; I was waiting until I got a professional review before I jumped to any conclusions," Villcliff said. "Tim, however, was singing and dancing. He was ranting like a rabid monkey."

[HemiEd]

He ripped the top off and found nine rusted cans that he and Villcliff, 27, cracked open to find about 1,800 bills, including more than 900 $1 bills, 200 $2 bills, and 300 $20 bills dated from 1899 to 1929.
There were also piles of gold and silver certificates and scores of notes from local banks in Methuen, Haverhill, Amesbury, Newburyport and beyond.

It kind of sounds like the spoils of a robbery to me. :hmmm:

[Rain Man]

That is way cool. Every time I do anything in our back yard, I think about something like this, but I haven't found more than a couple of old bottles and a bunch of coal.

[KCChiefsMan]

[QUOTE=Amnorix]http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/27/treasure.found.ap/index.html


There were also piles of gold and silver certificates and scores of notes from local banks in Methuen, Haverhill, Amesbury, Newburyport and beyond.

QUOTE]


I grew up in a small town right next to Newburyport and Haverhill...wow

[CosmicPal]

Every time I do anything in our back yard...but I haven't found more than a couple of old bottles and a bunch of coal.

Uhhhhh, I put those there for a reason.

[Skip Towne]

That is way cool. Every time I do anything in our back yard, I think about something like this, but I haven't found more than a couple of old bottles and a bunch of coal.
Man, you're sitting on a coal mine. Do you have the mineral rights?

[Abba-Dabba]

Man, what a find.

Reminds me of the time when a guy found a Honus Wagner card buried in his backyard.

[Rain Man]

Man, you're sitting on a coal mine. Do you have the mineral rights?

Oddly, the railroads own the mineral rights to my house. This is true of most of Denver. (Seriously.)

[KCWolfman]

I already know what is in mine. Unless you want a bunch of dead carcasses, you are wasting your time.

[Skip Towne]

Oddly, the railroads own the mineral rights to my house. This is true of most of Denver. (Seriously.)
Wow. Does that go back to when they were building the transcontinental railroad? It seems the competing railroads were granted property along every mile of track they built. Maybe they kept the mineral rights when they sold it off. The Osage Indians own the mineral rights to this part of Oklahoma. Treaties, I guess.

[Rain Man]

Apparently there was some sort of insane corrupt deal back in the railroad glory years where they got the mineral rights to all land within XX miles of their tracks. I think XX was a big number, too, though I don't remember it. When we bought our house, we had to sign an acknowledgement that they own the rights. We're about 3 miles from the nearest railroad tracks.

[KCWolfman]

Apparently there was some sort of insane corrupt deal back in the railroad glory years where they got the mineral rights to all land within XX miles of their tracks. I think XX was a big number, too, though I don't remember it. When we bought our house, we had to sign an acknowledgement that they own the rights. We're about 3 miles from the nearest railroad tracks.
Do they mow their own lawn?

If not, you should bill them.

[Rain Man]

Do they mow their own lawn?

If not, you should bill them.


They thought about this. They only control the underground mineral rights. If I ever strike gold, you can bet that I'll figure out a way to recontour my yard so that the gold is on the surface.

[KCWolfman]

They thought about this. They only control the underground mineral rights. If I ever strike gold, you can bet that I'll figure out a way to recontour my yard so that the gold is on the surface.
So they take care of mole removal and burst pipes, right?

[mcan]

That is way cool. Every time I do anything in our back yard, I think about something like this, but I haven't found more than a couple of old bottles and a bunch of coal.


Hey, get a bunch of fat guys to sit around your yard for a couple of years and drink beer and watch football. After awhile all that coal will become diamond. Then, mine away and reap the benifits. But, I get half for giving you the idea. Cool?...












WE'RE GONNA BE RICK... ERR... RICH! :D

[CosmicPal]

If you think that railroad thing in Denver is messed up, you don't know the half of it- what's really messed up is that there's no good BBQ in this town.

[whoman69]

It kind of sounds like the spoils of a robbery to me. :hmmm:
Possible, but 1929 was also the time period when banks were going under daily. Somebody might have buried the money knowing it was safer then taking it to the bank, then they forgot about it.

[Undertaker #59]

What assholes:

Arrested After Claiming Buried Treasure
By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer

LAWRENCE, Mass. - Two men who claimed in numerous national television interviews that they found buried treasure in the back yard of a home were arrested early Friday after being questioned by police, who said the money was stolen.

Investigators believe Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., found the old bank notes and bills while doing roofing work.

Both men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Lt. Kevin Martin said. They were to be arraigned Friday morning.

Crebase told investigators the men found the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair, police said.

"We got an anonymous tip two days ago," Capt. Kris McCarthy told the Eagle-Tribune newspaper of Lawrence. "These guys are roofers. They found the money on the job site. They story after that was all made up."

The men said they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928 while digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents.

The materials had a face value of about $7,000. Domenic Mangano, owner of the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H., examined the find and estimated its value between $50,000 and $75,000.

The men's stories, though, attracted suspicion because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.

The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in Crebase's yard. They told one reporter they were preparing to plant a tree. In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.

The men made several appearances on national television this week, but police noticed details of the story changed with each appearance.

Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon told ABC's "Good Morning America" that authorities might never have suspected anything had the men not sought publicity.

"Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people," Solomon said.

Billcliff insisted the discrepancies could be explained.

"It's like watching a car accident," he told the newspaper. "Sometimes someone will say something and someone else will say something slightly different, but mostly it's the same."

[Rain Man]

That's a really screwed-up story.

If you're going to be dishonest, you have to be able to keep your mouth shut.

[C-Mac]

Tis amazing what two guys and a sixpack can accomplish.
They've got my Darwinsism vote so far.

[ROYC75]

Oh well, "Stupid is as Stupid does" .

[patteeu]

If this was stolen property (and I'm not doubting that it was), who was it stolen from? The police captain says they got an anonymous tip, does that mean they don't even know who it belonged to in the first place? There must be more to this story. Don't make me find this stuff on my own. Someone post it.

[Rain Man]

I was kind of confused about this myself, but in reading the second article, my assumption was that the owner of the barn where they found it is the owner. I guess it's possible that someone could steal something from you even if you don't know you have it. Is that right?

[Skip Towne]

If the cops can't find out who it belongs to is it "stolen" or merely "found"?

[Rain Man]

That's what I'm curious about. Does the barn owner own the money since he didn't know it existed? Logically, I would think yes, but I don't know.

[shaneo69]

Was there a severed finger in one of the cans as well?

Or a finger-less corpse.

[Undertaker #59]

If this was stolen property (and I'm not doubting that it was), who was it stolen from? The police captain says they got an anonymous tip, does that mean they don't even know who it belonged to in the first place? There must be more to this story. Don't make me find this stuff on my own. Someone post it.


According to Solomon, Crebase confessed that the men found the money in the barn. No one has identified the barn's owners. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=383&e=1&u=/ibsys/20050429/lo_WCVB/2694532)

[Rain Man]

It's funny to see the thread title on the main page, with the last comment by "Undertaker #59".

[patteeu]

According to Solomon, Crebase confessed that the men found the money in the barn. No one has identified the barn's owners. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=383&e=1&u=/ibsys/20050429/lo_WCVB/2694532)

Thanks. I knew someone would come through for me. You deserve some rep for that.

It still seems odd that they aren't indicating that someone knew about the money. I wonder how long it was in that barn and who put it there? Answer either of those questions and there is more rep in it for you. :)

[Rain Man]

Yet, you decided to ruin it for the rest of us by replying.

I feel kind of bad about that.