The sale of the coins (pictured here) is now being handled by a Tiburon company that specializes in rare coin auctions. Credit: Kagin Inc./KPIX

SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) – The California couple that recently discovered gold coins valued at $10 million while walking their dog on their property may not be cashing in on their find anytime soon.

According to an article published Monday on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website, the coins may have been stolen during a heist back in 1900. Northern California fishing guide, Jack Trout, provided the newspaper them with an article published in The Bulletin of The American Iron and Steel Association, dated January 1, 1900, that describes the theft of $30,000 in gold coins from a cashier at the San Francisco Mint.

Trout told the newspaper he found the article in the Haithi Trust Digital Library. He also says new information supports the claim that the heist was carried out by insiders. Read more

Nearly all of the 1,427 coins, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, which recently authenticated them. Although the face value of the gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, some of them are so rare that coin experts say they could fetch nearly $1 million apiece.

The couple who discovered the coins are choosing to remain anonymous, in part, to avoid a renewed gold rush to their property by modern-day prospectors armed with metal detectors.

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