|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
  
| Feature | Vol. 34 - Dec. 2000 |
The Milwaukee Milk Can Treasure
By Scott Warner
In 1965, not everyone thought that silver coins would eventually be worth more than their face value. But in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tom (not his real name) had a vision. A note found later would reveal his plan to save silver coins for the financial security of his wife and two daughters. Tom bought bags of coins from the bank, and with the help of his children, systematically separated silver from clad.
It was late June 2000 when I received a call from my friend Mike Scott at Outdoor Outfitters. He asked me if I'd be interested in helping find a treasure. Sketchy details were spoken over the phone, but evidently there were a lot f coins buried in a milk can in a backyard in Milwaukee. Mike was quite excited about the prospect of digging treasure, but I've heard many hidden-money stories over the years, and I was a little skeptical. However, I never pass one off until I get all the details.
 Wayne Otto (left), author Scott Warner (center), and Mike Scott display a portion of the massive "Milwaukee Milk Can Treasure"! |
I agreed to bring an array of metal detectors the next day. In fact, my van was already half packed with equipment in preparation of attending Treasure Week in Ohio the following Sunday. I felt the Fisher Gemini-3 two-box and Fisher FX-3 Ferro Probe magnetometer would be the detectors to take on this adventure. The two-box would provide deep detection on large objects, and the magnetometer would help determine if the object was magnetic.
As I finished packing my van, the phone rang again. Tom's daughter Mary (not her real name) was on the line. I knew I needed more information about the treasure, but Mary, too, was hesitant about giving too much information over the phone. Still, she conveyed to me that there was a lot of silver buried in milk cans. When I heard the word cans, plural, I could feel my adrenaline start to pump, and the thought of driving immediately to Milwaukee crossed my mind. This treasure story was starting to sound almost too good to be true. The meeting time was set for Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
 Riddled by rust, the long-buried cans were literally spilling silver as they emerged. |
Saturday morning, I called Fred Brust, who was flying into Chicago. Our plan was to drive together to Treasure Week that following Sunday. I asked him, "Do you want to go treasure hunting?" knowing good and well I'd be going regardless. After hearing what few details I had, he eagerly replied, "Of course!" and suggested we also bring a Fisher Gold Bug.
I arrived at the airport early, and of course Fred's flight was late. The 100-mile drive to Milwaukee seemed to take days. Chicago traffic is always at its worst when you're in a hurry. Precisely at 3:00 p.m. I parked my van in front of the address, and minutes later, Teri and Wayne Otto, owners of Outdoor Outfitters, drove up. Tom's family was having a garage sale, and it became clear to us that the house was soon to be sold. Mary and her sister Jane (again, not her real name) introduced themselves and proceeded to tell us the rest of the story. We talked for about an hour before making the first pass with any of our metal detectors.
Mary and Jane remembered sifting through bags of coins and separating the clad from the silver. The silver was then put back in the bags and set inside milk cans. A typical milk can holds 10 gallons. Some are much smaller- cream cans, for example- but we were assured that these were the big ones. I envisioned two young girls sitting at the kitchen table, their fingers black from handling coins, and complaining about their father making them do this boring task. The daughters further explained that their father was still alive, but had become ill and could not remember the details about burying his own treasures.
Several small caches of coins had already been found inside the home. Both daughters swore that they remembered at least three milk cans being buried. Again, I had a mental picture of Tom digging a hole about 2' deep and then sliding a milk can into the hole. However, as we talked more, we were told of how Tom really buried his treasure. This was going to be no easy task! Tom was a contractor and owned his own backhoe. Mary and Jane went on to tell us that a huge hole had been dug, and quoted their father a saying, after the hole was filled, "No one will ever dig this up with a shovel!"
 Brimming with silver, this is one of four money-filled milk cans recovered. |
Wayne, having been in the construction industry for some years, thought an 8' hole would not be out of the question. As we unloaded our equipment, Wayne, Fred, and I discussed the impossibility of digging up this trove by hand, even if we were able to get a signal. However, the consensus was, "Let's get a signal first." We grabbed the detectors, and walked into the backyard.
As we rounded the corner of the house, we were amazed at the destruction of the yard. Mary and Jane had mentioned their futile attempts to find the treasure, but little did we know of the extent. They had already hired a backhoe operator to dig where they thought they recalled the cache to be. The ground was piled with loose dirt and other scattered debris. Huge holes had been dug and refilled around the house and the well.
Grabbing the two-box unit, I tuned it to its normal sensitivity range and made a pass through the yard. As I came close to the side of the house, the audio increased. It only took a second to realize that the aluminum siding on their home was creating the signal. Moving back about 3', I continued to cross the yard. Soon I was able to get a very weak signal. I turned up the sensitivity, and now it was a little more pronounced.
Next, I got the magnetometer and passed over the target again to verify that it was iron. This time the signal was more substantial, and typically the FX-3 will get a stronger signal on iron than the Gemini-3. I called Fred over with the Gold Bug, and again we heard a strong, repeatable signal. After comparing all three types of signals, we expected the target to be a smaller piece of iron, less than a foot deep. We buried a shovel to a depth of about a foot, and sure enough, out popped a chunk of iron, about 6" across.
Undaunted, I continued scanning the area. As I turned up the sensitivity, any attempt to detect within 15' of the well casing proved fruitless. The FX-3 can detect a magnetic field a long distance when it's set on maximum sensitivity. I was sure that running any less sensitivity would miss a milk can. The second signal I got was with the two-box. The audio was very weak, but seemed to cover a larger area, and it was soft enough to let me know it wasn't anything near the surface.
 In the trenches! Scott's waist-deep in Wisconsin clay as he goes after yet another can of coins. |
Again, the magnetometer was used to cross-reference the signal, and a solid iron response was heard. I knew the FX-3 would produce different signals on a can, depending on its orientation. That is, whether it was standing upright or lying down. I also knew that in the excitement of the hunt, good signals can be passed over, and bad signals can sound good. So, I slowed my pace and called Fred over with the Gold Bug. He cranked up the sensitivity to maximum but was only able to get a faint signal. Knowing this could indicate something large and deep, Wayne, Fred, and I decided this would be our first dig. Wayne suggested that we rent a backhoe immediately, but by now we were looking into the evening sun.
All three of us had to leave for the Treasure Hunt the following Monday, and after an agonizing discussion on how to proceed, we agreed to return a week from the following Tuesday. Coincidentally, the date was set for 7-11. Mary and Jane said they knew a local contractor, Joe, (not his real name) who was an old friend of their father's and "owed them a favor." They would have him on the site with his backhoe on the appointed date and time. Other options were discussed, including skimming the first 12" of dirt off the top and looking for a different soil pattern that would have indicated a previously dug hole, or possibly digging narrow trenches and scanning inside each with a metal detector. Reluctantly, we had to leave, and the four of us decided to take out our frustrations on some golf balls.
We arrived at Treasure Week, but our conversation continued to analyze the Milwaukee Milk Can Treasure. I asked Wayne, "If you were operating a backhoe, where would you park and start to dig?"
Wayne thought for a minute, then said, "That's a pretty small yard. You'd almost have to come in at an angle and go corner to corner. But there's still those overhead wires." I had noticed them too, and concluded they were cable TV wires. I was positive those would not have been there in the '60s.
We also discussed the blind area that we were not able to detect near the well. I didn't think that he'd have dug that close to the well or the house. Fred felt pretty confident that the signal he got from his detector was something large and very deep.
"I know the Gold Bug inside and out, and I'm sure it will detect a milk can at five feet, but I'm not so sure about eight feet," he said, then added, "I know that signal is at least four feet deep." All in all, no matter how we sliced and diced it, our confidence continued to build.
Tuesday morning, I arrived at the site just as Teri, Wayne, and Mike Scott showed up. Grinning from ear to ear, and positive this was "Our Day," we checked our cameras for film. We walked over to where we had agreed to make our first dig. The backhoe was already sitting in the driveway, and Wayne surveyed the location. Sure enough, Tom could only have set up his backhoe corner to corner. We all double-checked the location where we thought we had gotten a good signal with our detectors. The signal was still there, and still sounding good. I had replaced the 10" coil on the Gold Bug with a 14" coil, and that, too, produced a nice, even signal. Joe brought out a can of bright florescent paint, and Wayne placed a large "X" on the spot.
 Bucket after bucket filled up fast with the recovered cash... in all, an estimated 35 gallons! |
All of a sudden, Joe realized we hadn't checked for underground cables. Even though the electric lines came into the house above ground, Joe said, "I'm not going to be responsible for any damage, and I'm surely not going to get electrocuted." So, Teri and I took the Gemini-3, and by taking the two boxes off the handle, we were able to perform a wide-scan search for any pipelines or cables.
Confident the area was clear, Joe fired up his machine- first one huge scoop of dirt, then another. We instructed him to put the dirt in an area where we felt we wouldn't have to detect again, just in case this hole turned up empty. A third scoop came out, and we motioned to Joe to shut it down. Fearful of hitting a milk can and spilling coins, I jumped into the 3' trench and turned on my FX-3. It literally screamed at me. My hands were shaking, as I yelled, "There can't be iron trash down this deep!"
The Gold Bug was next in the hole. It, too, sounded off with a loud tone that beckoned "Heeeere! Heeeere!" Using a probe to push down about 2', we heard a distinctive clunk. Adrenaline was oozing from every pore while Joe fired up the backhoe and said, "I can peel an orange with this thing. Get outta the way!"
A precise 2' scoop came out, and back into the hole we went. There, right below our feet, was a large rusted semicircle of iron- a milk can for use, lying on its side. For the sake of posterity, I took a depth measurement. Five feet deep! We took turns with a hand shovel, slowly exposing more and more of the milk can. The hard-packed, wet clay made each shovelful look like a teaspoonful and feel like a ton.
What seemed like hours later, a handle was finally exposed. But try as we might, there was no way to lift the can out. We hooked a chain through the handle, and slowly the backhoe raised the can out of the muck. Through the small rusted holes in the can, the glint of silver shone through! It was full of coins!
Gently, the milk can was lowered onto the ground, just as coins started spilling out of the sides. Mary ran to get some plastic buckets from next door, just as a number of neighbors had started to gather around. Most were adding comments of what they had heard about Tom and his buried treasure, but one remarked, "You know, if the house is sold, that belongs to the new owners!" We were quickly reassured by Mary that, yes, the house had been sold, but the girls were smart enough to put a clause into the contract that gave them a certain amount of time to search the property.
As soon as the first can was lifted off the bottom of the hole, we all had noticed the side of a second milk can directly below where the first one had been. While Mary dumped coins from the first milk can into the plastic buckets, we went after can #2.
We had to follow the same procedure as with the first, exposing enough of it so that a chain could be attached to the handle. This time, the sides were rusted through even more, and coins were spilling out as the can was slowly hoisted out of the hole and onto the ground. Our shoes were caked with mud, and silver coins were literally dripping from the soles! It appeared to be all silver dimes and quarters, and a trained eye could spot a Mercury dime and Standing Liberty quarter here and there. Could there be even more? I jumped back into the trench, and got yet another strong signal!
 Too big to budge by hand, the cans had to be hoisted out of the ground with the aid of heavy equipment. |
Uncovering about six more inches of wet clay and muck, we saw another milk can. As we "high-fived" back and forth, the third can emerged, rusted through and spilling more silver onto the ground. Joe took another scoop of loose dirt out of the trench to make sure every coin had been recovered. We'd have to scan that pile of dirt later.
Back into the hole I went, checking to see if all the loose coins had been removed. Now a different signal appeared. At first I thought that it might just be residue from the rusted cans. Mike hollered, "There's more!" I tipped the coil on the Gold Bug, and now the signal was stronger to the side of the trench. I had been picking up a signal off the side of the coil. We buried a shovel into the side but felt nothing. Two more jabs, and another clunk. At least another foot off to the side was a fourth milk can. Joe wasn't able to maneuver the backhoe to dig at this unusual angle. But to dig straight down presented yet another problem. A 6" diameter tree had grown directly over the top. With a lot less precision than he had used previously, Joe had the tree uprooted in seconds.
The fourth can proved to be entirely intact. It was just slightly smaller than the other three. Perhaps eight gallons, this one was full of quarters. Parts of the canvas coin bags were still inside, and the name of the bank was clearly visible. A note had been placed inside that stated "...These were buried and should be given to my wife. If she is no longer alive, then it is to be given to my daughters... and curse the person that does not follow these instructions." It was dated 1968.
We scanned the hole again, and when we were confident that a fifth can wasn't present, Joe backfilled the hole. Wayne left a detector for the family to use to try to get that last silver dime out of the yard. Mary was still in shock, and while we collected our thoughts, we tried to calculate the total. We estimated over 35 gallons of silver, weighing between 800 and 1,000 lbs.!
How many coins is that? And how much would it have been worth if Tom himself had cashed it in during the silver peak in 1980? Mary and her husband bought a car to transport the loot back to their home in California. Tom resides in a nursing home near his daughter Mary. The new owners of the home of the Milwaukee Milk Can Treasure can only speculate what they came close to owning. Teri, Wayne, Mike, Fred, and I returned to our respective businesses. As we were leaving, Mary mentioned one part of the story...
Something about some gold bars that were taken from a safe that Tom's mother owned.
| Copyright © 1995 - 2003 People's Publishing. All rights reserved on entire contents; nothing may be reprinted, or displayed on another web page, without the prior written consent of the publisher. |
