A man unearthed 700 gold coins in a Kentucky cornfield. It could confirm a long-held theory about how Southerners protected their treasure during the Civil War.

• An unidentified man found a treasure trove of gold coins in a Kentucky cornfield.
• The coins, which were minted before or during the Civil War, could be worth more than $1 million.
• Urban legends have circulated for years about treasure buried before and during the Civil War.

An unidentified man recently found a treasure trove of more than 700 gold coins — believed to be worth more than $1 million — in a Kentucky cornfield.

According to The New York Times, the discovery apparently confirms a long-held belief by treasure hunters that Southerners buried valuables before and during the Civil War to protect it from invading armies. 

The finding, which is now being referred to as the Great Kentucky Hoard, includes genuine $1, $10, and $20 gold coins minted before and during the Civil War.

Urban legends have circulated for years about treasure buried before and during the Civil War

According to Live Science, Ryan McNutt, a conflict archaeologist at Georgia Southern University, said that the coins might have been buried before a Confederate raid carried out by General John Hunt Morgan in the summer of 1863.

At the time, Kentucky was declared a neutral state. Citizens were reportedly wary of their funds being stolen by the Confederacy, which led some to believe people may have buried their wealth in the ground for safekeeping.

Since the 19th century, treasure hunters have sought to unearth the gold they believe was hidden in the Civil War. The New York Times shared archival reports describing how people unearthed gold in Georgia in 1884, and in Alabama and Tennessee in 1926.

In 2018, a US treasure hunter accused the FBI of covering up a possible discovery of Civil War-era gold in Pennsylvania. According to The New York Times, the FBI was investigating the rural area of Dents Run, Pennsylvania, where "a trove of lost Civil War gold" was rumored to have been located. CBS reported that according to local lore, an 1863 shipment of Union gold disappeared on its way to the US Mint office in Philadelphia.

However, the FBI asserted that the 2018 dig came up empty, leading the rumors of buried Civil War gold to remain just that: rumors. According to CBS, a court-ordered release of government photos, videos, maps, and other documents appeared to confirm the FBI's claim. 

The Kentucky coins have already sold, and the entire collection could rake in more than $1 million

Surprisingly, despite reportedly being buried in the ground for 160 years, nearly all of the coins are in mint condition. A single gold dollar from the collection was valued at roughly $1,000.

One type of coin in the collection, a gold Liberty double-eagles coin minted in 1863, could be worth anywhere from a few thousand dollars to up to over $380,000 at auction, depending on their condition and when they were minted, according to The New York Times. 

The total confirmed value of the hoard is unknown, but the Times estimates it could be worth upwards of $1 million given the number of high-value coins found. 

The exact location where the coins were found, as well as who found them, has not been shared publicly. However, a video shows the moment when the unidentified man made the historic discovery.

 

In a short clip posted to YouTube by GovMint, the coin dealer charged with selling the coins, a man could be heard identifying how many coins he had dug up, calling it "the most insane thing ever."

"This is what every treasure hunter dreams about and this man lives it," one commenter wrote.