The Bank of New York Hoard is the name given to identify a

treasure trove A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the he ...

of several thousand

Fugio Cent The Fugio cent, also known as the Franklin cent, is the first official circulation coin of the United States. Consisting of of copper and minted dated 1787, by some accounts it was designed by Benjamin Franklin. Its design is very similar to F ...

s that were discovered at the

Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

. Sometime in 1788, a keg of Fugio cents was acquired by the bank and stored in the basement. The coins were forgotten until they were rediscovered in 1856, this time at the bank's current location. At that time the coins were placed in cotton bags and put away until a final rediscovery of the coins was made in 1926. The coins were then given out as souvenirs and keepsakes to clients until 1948 when the

American Numismatic Society The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins, money, medals, tokens, and related objects. Founded in 1858, it is the only American museum devoted exclusively to their preservation ...

examined the remaining 1,641 coins. Several of the coins were donated to the Society; others were sold to collectors. All of the coins found were in

mint state Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

condition, most with brown toning. The find was important to collectors who wished to obtain a mint state example of the coin. The bank kept 819 of the remaining coins which range in grade from mint state to corroded due to past water damage while in storage. Despite the merger which led to the bank's closure in 2007, it was reported in 2013 that the coins still remain on the property. The bank has refused to distribute the remaining coins, and has kept them for historical value and appreciation.

References

{{Coin-stub 1787 works 1856 archaeological discoveries Numismatics Treasure troves in the United States Historical currencies of the United States BNY Mellon History of New York City

See also

References