Dead Recluse's Gold Coins Fetch $3.5 Million At Carson City Auction - Gold Prices

March 1, 2013 - PRLog -- "I have a million. Who wants a million one? Now a million two. Anybody bid a million two?"
While six armed sheriff's deputies and bailiffs watched each move Tuesday, auctioneer John Selcer in a matter of minutes sold 2,186 ounces of gold coins for $3,540,500 that had been discovered in the garage of nearby recluse Walter Samaszko Jr. How high will silver go? Learn more >>  http://www.gold-and-silver-market.com/KITCO-SILVER/

Samaszko, 69, died in May or June, but police didn't discover his body till neighbors called concerning the stench. Then on Aug. 1, Realtor Jeri Vine, hired by Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover to clean up the house for sale, discovered gold and gold bullion in boxes marked "books."

The Samaszko collection drew seven bidders, two District Court judges and appraiser Howard Herz, with Vine, Glover, a horde of press and a minimum of 3 police officers decked out in riot gear.

Bidders paid $13,000 more for the coins than the present marketplace worth of $1,615 an ounce.

"It's a story," stated Allen Rowe, the owner of Northern Nevada Coin, a coin shop straight across the old Carson City Mint, and shops in Reno and Minden. "These coins are part of a story that produced national interest. Somebody who lived so modestly stored these coins in his garage." Rare Coins, Silver Coins, Gold Coins, Learn more >> http://www.gold-and-silver-market.com

Some of the bids he made were on behalf of a coin dealer in Illinois. Because of the story, Rowe expects to create a profit on his purchases. But other bidders stated the Samaszko story isn't that usual. One stated many individuals distrust banks, and hordes of gold have been discovered in septic tanks.

Rowe stated he would make some of the coins accessible at his companies, and accessible on-line for other Nevada residents. He added it would likely be a number of months before he sells them off.

What were sold Tuesday had been investor-grade coins, Canadian Maple Leafs, South African Krugerrands and Mexican pesos, not coins sought by collectors.

Glover in coming months will auction off the rest of Samaszko's coins. He and Herz stated Samaszko was not a coin collector but kept the gold for investment purposes.

Herz, a coin dealer and author of books on gaming tokens, stated none of the coins Samaszko owned carried the Carson City mint mark or had numismatic worth. The Carson City mint was open from 1870-93 and now is the Nevada State Museum. A one-of-a-kind Carson City 1873 dime sold last year for $1.8 million.

Glover stated Monday he decided to sell the coins in big lots because it was the quickest method to get rid of a sizable amount of coins. The Samaszko estate owes $800,000 in estate taxes to the Internal Revenue Service next month.

Following taxes and sale costs are paid, the cash will go to Arlene Magdanz, a substitute teacher in San Rafael, Calif. She is Samaszko's only surviving cousin. Magdanz has by no means spoken to the media, apparently on the guidance of her lawyers. It isn't even recognized whether or not she ever visited her cousin in Carson City.

A few of Samaszko's neighbors and his mail carrier had never noticed him. One stated he used to watch football games on Television with an elderly neighbor who died a number of years ago. Samaszko's modest ranch house, a mile north of the Governor's Mansion, sold for $112,000, his 1968 Mustang for $12,000, saw for $10 along with a bike for $2.

Vine stated she does not regret her choice to report her discovery to Glover, instead of running away with the gold. "I can live with myself. Obviously I'd be living a different way of life now. But I believe God approves my choice." How high will silver go? Learn more >>  http://gold-and-silver-market.com/KITCO-SILVER/