[Veloce]

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0227-...z2ufNprCxd

Pretty cool story. A couple notices an old can sticking out of the ground on their property, open it up, lo and behold it's full of antique gold coins from the 1800s.

I've been all over this part of the Sierras as my dad lives there now and there are many abandoned mines and mills up there, very historic. In fact there's a river about an hour from his place where crazy old dudes still pan for gold.

The kicker though is almost half of it is going to the IRS. Why these people reported their find is beyond me, but maybe they were required to when they had the coins appraised. Still, finding $5 mil in your backyard aint so bad.

[Walderschmidt]

(02-28-2014 07:38 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

The kicker though is almost half of it is going to the IRS.

Sounds like BS to me.

Why does the IRS get half?

Wald

[Beyond Borders]

^Because we done fucked up and gave them too much power.

[Muk]

(02-28-2014 07:47 PM)Walderschmidt Wrote:  

(02-28-2014 07:38 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

The kicker though is almost half of it is going to the IRS.

Sounds like BS to me.

Why does the IRS get half?

Wald

Because they have guns and thugs.

[Veloce]

(02-28-2014 07:47 PM)Walderschmidt Wrote:  

(02-28-2014 07:38 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

The kicker though is almost half of it is going to the IRS.

Sounds like BS to me.

Why does the IRS get half?

Wald

From a separate article:

Quote:

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the find is a taxable event under a 1969 federal court ruling that held a "treasure trove" is taxable the year it was discovered.

"If you find and keep property that does not belong to you that has been lost or abandoned (treasure-trove), it is taxable to you at its fair market value in the first year it is your undisputed possession,” the report said, citing the IRS tax guide.

The report says after all is said and done, about 47 percent will go to state and federal tax, or the top tax rate.

[Stun]

Not only does the IRS get half, they get half whether the the couple sells the coins or not.

[Courage Reborn]

47%?

They should buy a yacht and sail to Monaco.

Middle finger pointed West

[Beyond Borders]

^ Too late now.

I guarantee there are some close eyes on them with this kind of money.

Not to mention it was probably all safely locked up before it ever hit the news.

[Snowplow]

(02-28-2014 07:53 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

^Because we done fucked up and gave them too much power.

[Agent 47]

That is such fucking horseshit. Fucking IRS once again proves they can't stop putting their dick up honest peoples asses and taking their shit through threat of foreclosure and seizures.

These people should have done ONE THING.
Keep their mouth shut. Nobody needs to know shit about what you do.

These poor fucks had HALF their shit taken due to some stupid fucking law.

Bunch of fucking cocksucking slack jaw faggots in Govt nowadays.

[scorpion]

It literally could not have been easier to get away with, either. Gold coins with no living owner, found on your own land.

Just take a few to a gold dealer to have them authenticated and quietly start selling them off.

[Apollo]

I thought that the girl who ruined her father's $80,000 settlement by breaking a confidentiality agreement was the dumbest thing I heard of any human doing for today.

But then when you consider these people are losing $5 mil when all is said and done because THEY had to announce it to the world, I just don't know. They're getting 5 mil, but still...

Lesson of the Day is know when to shut the fuck up.

[Walderschmidt]

(02-28-2014 11:03 PM)Apollo Wrote:  

Lesson of the Day is know when to shut the fuck up.

Discretion is the better part of valour.

Wald

[Big Nilla]

If possible, I would've found a way to get the coins to a private fault or safe deposit boxes in Singapore or Hong Kong. Then buy a Dominica citizenship. Renounce the American citizenship without the IRS knowing my new true net worth. Then keep the full $10 million in coins. Then from there I do a combo of an international trust with an LLC. Or something like that to protect it just in case. One thing is for sure, I'd research my ass off and do whatever possible to make sure the IRS doesn't get their hands on any of it.

[Quintus Curtius]

I read this news story the other day. Damn.

The way I read it, there was more than just one can. They saw the edge of one sticking out of the ground, dug that up, and found others around it. Here are some facts I learned:

1. There were about 1200 coins in total, some very rare with high numismatic values.

2. The couple actually reburied the coins in a cooler before they called a coin dealer. I would have brought them right into the house.

3. Even after all these years, the gold looked untarnished. Gold is gold...!

4. I think the total value of the find is over 10 million.

5. It's the biggest buried treasure find in recent history, maybe ever.

6. I'd like to know who buried it, and why...

[Muk]

I wonder how many people found treasure troves like that...
But DIDN'T tell anyone about it.

[DJ-Matt]

I'm not surprised taxes added up to that much considering they probably sold them in taxafornia. They should have sold them in another state. That would work right?

[Ziltoid]

I found a dollar on the ground the other day, where should I mail the IRS their two quarters?

[Daddy]

""One "miraculous coin," an 1866 $20 piece made in San Francisco and missing "In God We Trust," could bring $1 million on its own, Hall said. Had the couple attempted to clean the delicate surface of the piece, they could have reduced the value to $7,000 or $8,000 in under a minute."

Honey this is so, like, dirty! Let me clean it up for you.

[RawGod]

Wonder if the coins were stashed to keep from confiscation in 1933 under FDR.

[RexImperator]

The thing is, to realize their true value, you have to have them professionally cleaned, so it's hard to keep them a secret.

[CJ_W]

That is still a cool $5 mil though. They are pretty much set for life. They can
a)just let it sit in a bank and live off the interest (they really shouldnt do that but that's an option)
b)Buy a whole bunch of investment real estate properties (this is a great option as taxes on profit from this venture is extreemly low. . .like, close to 0 Low if you do it right, and if its done right, they pretty much are set for life and their childrens, grandchildrens, etc etc lives)
c)Invest in businesses that are profitting and will continue to profit
D) b&c

Basically, if they play thier cards right, that $5mil can turn into $50 mil, and further into $500 mil over a period of time etc etc. . .pretty much tax free (like I said, if they do it right) so yeah there's no reason to really get mad about it. Really Taxes are for the poor and uninformed, no amount of taxes will be enouhg to tax the truly wealthy out of money, as there's always tons of loopholes around it, the only tax rich folks pay is the salary of the tax lawyers to get them out of paying taxes, which probably doesn't even amount to 1% of a truly wealthy person's net worth.

[Lucario]

You know the IRS is too strong when eve the Joker does not want to take them on.

[christpuncher]

This part of taxation is the most egregious IMO. At least with income tax you can say that the government "helped" you achieve success, same with capital gains and dividends on financial instruments (not really). But when you have a personal/collectors item that you keep in your basement for 10 years or buried in your yard for 150 years, how the FUCK did the government have anything to do with helping you make that profit?

(03-01-2014 10:38 PM)CJ_W Wrote:  

Basically, if they play thier cards right, that $5mil can turn into $50 mil, and further into $500 mil over a period of time etc etc. . .pretty much tax free

1) Find gold
2) Play cards right
3) ???
4) Profit

[tarquin]

(03-01-2014 09:42 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  

The thing is, to realize their true value, you have to have them professionally cleaned, so it's hard to keep them a secret.

Just to clarify here. You don't clean coins, you conserve coins. I know it's a nitpicky difference, but the difference is in preserving the original surface of the coin. A tarnished coin with more detail is worth more than a cleaned coin with otherwise the same level of wear.

But yes, you need to take it to professionals. These coins will be graded and then sold at an auction house.

That being said, only the very high valued coins need to be graded and sold at auction. It's doubtful that this couple could tell the difference, though.

However, if there were more common coins in the mix with a few worth more money, they could have theoretically just claimed the higher-value ones and sold the common ones to dealers for cash. If they didn't know what they are doing, however, they could lose more than they would in taxes by selling at too low of a price. That's the rub. If you don't know what you are doing you find yourself being screwed one way or another.