Inside Appalachia's Most Remote Border

[Ninurta]

Then of course, there's this chap with his horde of hidden gold from around those parts!
Moishe Edelman.

Lots of tales of buried treasure around here. Probably the mot famous id the "Beale's treasure" in Bedford county, but there are innumerable tales of other folks burying gold and then dying without leaving directions to find it.



My first wife's great-great grand dad is alleged to have buried what was, at the time, $30,000 worth of gold somewhere in River Mountain, Russell County VA. The story goes that he mistrusted banks, as many old timers here did and still do, and he kept his own money closer to hand. Over time he converted it all into gold coins for easier storage.



When the government outlawed the private possession of gold coins and bullion, he took the attitude that "the bastards ain't takin' what's mine" and buried all $30,000 dollars worth up a holler in River Mountain to prevent "them damned revenoors" from seizing it. Many people have looked for it, but so far as I know it has never been found. I have no idea what it would be worth today with the changes in the price of gold, but I think it would be safe to say that if I found it, I wouldn't broadcast the news. I'd just quietly convert it to useful stuff over time in dribs and drabs. No point in making myself a target by telling folks I had it - there just ain't no percentages in that!



I know the approximate location where it is supposed to have been buried - within about a 500 yard radius I'd guess - but have never searched for it. Gold just doesn't mean that much to me.  Too much of a headache worrying over whose going to try to take it, and that leads to sleepless nights. I like my sleep.



My guess, if I was a guessing man, would be that he probably broke it up into 4 or 5 parcels and buried them separately, so that if one were found, he wouldn't be robbed of all of it. At least one of those parcels was buried "near the outhouse", to keep it close to hand and in a place that could be constantly observed... but that old outhouse is long gone now.



It is supposedly buried in sealed glass Mason jars rather than chests of any kind. Not sure what time will have done to the lids of those jars, but the glass and gold ought to still be pretty intact.



Crazy old mountaineers - ya just gotta love 'em, and their unconventional ways!

ETA: I got curious and checked the prices of gold then and now, and $30,000 of gold buried in 1933 - when the government outlawed the private possession of gold coins and bullion by executive order - would be worth $3.76 million dollars now. Glad that is someone else's headache. I'd never get any sleep if I had to worry over who was targeting my 3.76 million dollars of gold!







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