55 gallon drum of silver dollars

[Bigdogdad]

I was involved with an expert dowser back in the late 80's and early 90's. On one of my trips with him we ended up in Pennsylvannia. I think the town was called Elipant or Olipant or something like that. He seemed to know of a story where someone had buried a 55 gallon drum filled with silver dollars. He led me to an industrial park on the edge of the town. It was on a weekend. He pointed to a spot that was behind a locked gate with a chainlink fence. There was no one around and we did not have much time to search for the owner.

I had planned to come back someday but I live in SW Florida and it has now been over 22 years since I was there. If I was in the area I think I could find my way back to this location but I don't know if or when this may happen. If anyone is interested in helping me with this and is qualified, I will work with you as best I can. I don't think I am ready to go there at this time but maybe we can figure out a way to see if this site still exists and perhaps the drum of silver coins is still there. This is definitely a longshot but you never know.

 

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[dougofpa]

Try to look on google earth....then go from there

 

[Bigdogdad]

I am pretty sure I could find my way there in person. Looking down from above on google earth is never the same. I am not going to pursue this unless a serious hunter with the time wants to get involved. I am not wanting to turn this into a hunt where many people are working against each other. I will work one on one.

 

[Rawhide]

BigDog some times you gotta let em go. I can probably take you to within 10' of 3 barrels buried by my ex's grandfather near a town called Little Hocking, Ohio. I suspect they still looking for those coins. Some things I'll take to my grave.

 

[Bigdogdad]

I am not interested in taking my potential treasure sites to my grave. I am willing to share. There are so many treasures waiting to be found it is incredible. I was born in Lancaster Ohio which is not very far from Little Hocking. Why do you choose not to dig them up if you know where they are? Just curious.

 

[Rawhide]

I lived in Lancaster for a few years, so know it well. Little Hocking is a river town, in the SE part of the state off Route 7, between Belpre and Coolville. Well there would be no sharing, they would cut me out of it. I also believed this information was shared with me for a reason. That reason was not to tell. Once the property has been sold, I will inform the new owners in a quiet way. I dont want a single cent of this blood money. The man who earned it was a coal miner, and worked hard for his money. The rest of the family did not know a days work and is trash.

 

[Bigdogdad]

Is the property for sale? Why do you call it blood money and why would you not want any of it? I have a similar situation for a spot with diamonds in New Jersey that I feel the same about. I may change my mind and go after them some day. Would you be interested in helping someone other than the present owners find the barrels on the Little Hocking property? If you are convinced they are there it is possible that someone other than the present owners could dig them up.

 

[Rawhide]

The old man who buried this was probably killed for not telling where it was. His brother and sister too I suspect. I know members of my family have been killed by this old mans family. There is a saying, the river holds no tales. Since I watched over the period of a few decades of this family killing Boy Friends, Husbands, even their own children, and nothing ever gets investigated. I have no wish to join them. Theres much of the story I am not sharing to keep this post simple. I can not start sharing names and openly telling you where its buried as the coins would disappear. There is more than one spot, as Coolville holds many mason jars buried by another family member. I know of another possible spot too. I know of spots in Jackson, and Pomeroy too.

 

[jeff of pa]

I wonder what the deal was with filling drums with silver dollars

were people afraid to spend them ? Or too heavy to carry around ?

Many years ago there was an auction listed in the local paper.
one of the items listed was a 55 Gallon drum of silver Dollars.
I unfortunately was not able to get there the see it

 

[Gold Maven]

how many would that be? a quick google gave answers at 2,500 to 18,000 / 5 gal bucket. either way the drum would have to be reinforced, or filled after it was in the ground.
I think someone with that kind of money, could find a better container than an old drum.
one gallon of silver=88 lbs. with no voids, figure 5% voids perhaps....about 85 lb x 55 gal = 5,000 lbs approx per drum. seems light, i could be wrong...

 

[doverturtle]

Bigdogdad,
If you want help, I could probably work on this next spring with you. Is this the same dowser referenced in the SEPaMan thread?

 

[ECS]

There are tales of buried 55gal drums in New Jersey's Pine Barrens-I don't believe thay contain silver dollars.

 

[basecaddy]

Rather than taking time to shoot holes in your offer, what would be the next step for someone who might want to work with you on this?

 

[vor]

BDD
Since you said industrial park, concrete paving and buildings come to mind. If the park is totally developed, it is likely it is buried under a parking lot or has been found when excavating a building foundation.
A parking lot with reinforced concrete would make it almost impossible to find using a MD or GPR. Even the high density of silver relative to soil would be masked by the density of the concrete.
And 5,000 lbs. of a fairly fluid mass such as coins would be hard to contain in a typical 55 gallon drum, unless it was put underground first and then filled with coins.
Not trying to be negative but realistic.

Do you have a story behind who put the silver in it and why?

I have been told that I am always skeptical.

v

 

[jeff of pa]

BDD
Since you said industrial park, concrete paving and buildings come to mind. If the park is totally developed, it is likely it is buried under a parking lot or has been found when excavating a building foundation.
A parking lot with reinforced concrete would make it almost impossible to find using a MD or GPR. Even the high density of silver relative to soil would be masked by the density of the concrete.
And 5,000 lbs. of a fairly fluid mass such as coins would be hard to contain in a typical 55 gallon drum, unless it was put underground first and then filled with coins.
Not trying to be negative but realistic.

Do you have a story behind who put the silver in it and why?

I have been told that I am always skeptical.

v

Sorry I have to disagree, if you are saying you cannot metal detect through Concrete.
Concrete is just hand made rock.
If your saying you cannot detect through Re-bar yes I agree

 

[vor]

Yes, reinforced concrete would mask for MD and dense concrete would mask for GPR.
V

 

[jeff of pa]

I can't say on GPR, I'm not up on that

 

[vor]

Hogwash. I don't believe any of the stories about barrels of silver dollars. No way. A 55 gallon drum will hold from 55,000 to 60,000 silver dollars as you can get about 900 per gallon. If a coalminer buried that much silver from wages well he could never earn the money. My dad was paid with silver dollars from a Union Coal Mine in the late 1950' he was paid one dolar and sixty cents an hour. As Bill Clinton would say the math does not add up? At this rate with no bills paid it would take over 20 years to fill each barrel.

BDD's story has nothing to do with the coal miner. We have yet to hear the source of the silver from him.

It was another poster that had the coal miner story. Maybe he got the silver dollars from a robbery

 

[jeff of pa]

Hogwash. I don't believe any of the stories about barrels of silver dollars. No way. A 55 gallon drum will hold from 55,000 to 60,000 silver dollars as you can get about 900 per gallon. If a coalminer buried that much silver from wages well he could never earn the money. My dad was paid with silver dollars from a Union Coal Mine in the late 1950' he was paid one dolar and sixty cents an hour. As Bill Clinton would say the math does not add up? At this rate with no bills paid it would take over 20 years to fill each barrel.

I burn my trash in what I think would be a 55 Gallon drum, I honestly have no idea how many would fit,
other then Allot

I do suppose "full" depends on the eye of the beholder, Yes I'm still kicking myself for not going to see
what an auctioneer called a 55 Gallon drum full. would also like to know if the drum sold for more then the whole farm

Only thing I can come up with, a person who supplied slot machines to the clubs in the 20's & 30's

 

[Bum Luck]

There are tales of buried 55gal drums in New Jersey's Pine Barrens-I don't believe thay contain silver dollars.

As a surveyor, I can easily imagine that. I worked on a site here that had hundreds of buried 55 gallon drums of paint thinner.

Yuk.