Cleetus
Full Member
- Oct 24, 2011
- 189
- 14
- Detector(s) used
- Fisher Gold Bug Pro
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
An interesting bit of history of a Robbery where the loot was never found. Right now a Mormon $10 piece in AU condition is well over $200,000........................................................................... The Great Salt Lake Valley area was heavily traveled by people en route to the Nevada and California gold mines. Wagon trains in great numbers passed through Salt Lake City where the miners and prospectors bought food and supplies and filled their water barrels for the long, dry trip across the burning desert to the west.
The Baldwin brothers, Reg and Dave, were traveling with one such caravan when it stopped overnight in Salt Lake City to rest and take on supplies. They listened with great interest as the Mormons boasted about their new mint. Regular tours of the mint were conducted at certain hours and the tourists were invited to see the entire operation, which was housed in a small adobe building. The Baldwin brothers anxiously took the tour.
The Mormons were a trusting people and had not seen any reason to post a guard at the mint during non-business hours at night or on the weekends. Reg and Dave Baldwin had a few encounters with the law back in St. Louis, and had been ordered to get out of town or go to jail, so they took the sheriffs advice and joined the next wagon train headed west.
The night before their wagon train was scheduled to depart from Salt Lake City, the Baldwin brothers broke into the unguarded mint facility. In the flickering candle light they could see many stacks of $10 gold pieces sitting on a wooden work bench in the center of the room. Starting at one end of the bench, they each scooped up several rows of coins and placed them in a canvas sack. They intentionally took only part of the stacks, hoping that the coins wouldnt be missed until long after they had left town.
The workers at the mint didnt discover the theft until a few days later when they were conducting an inventory of the coins. They were shocked to learn that more than 200 of the $10 gold pieces were missing. Several employees of the mint recalled the unusual interest that the Baldwin brothers had shown in the shiny new gold coins at the time they had toured the facility. A small posse of concerned citizens was organized to go after them. They knew that a wagon train could travel only about 15 to 20 miles per day, so the posse was sure that they could catch up with them on their fast horses.
Two days later when they caught up with the wagon train, they were informed that the Baldwin brothers had separated from the group and headed south on their own into the arid Sevier Desert. The posse backtracked but was unable to find any sign of the Baldwins wagon in the windswept sand. Disappointed, they reluctantly gave up the chase and returned to Salt Lake City. Additional coins were minted to replace those that were stolen and the mint returned to business as usual.
The Baldwin brothers were never seen or heard from again, nor did any of the $10 gold coins ever show up. The direction they had gone in would take them through the middle of an arid, salt-like desert where the highest natural air temperatures in the world have been recorded and rainfall and natural water are extremely scarce.
Traveling through a region such as this, a person would need at least a gallon of water per day to survive. They would also need water for the animals that were pulling their wagon. It is strongly believed, and with good reason, that the Baldwin brothers died in this arid, parched wasteland. Somewhere in the Utah desert south of the Great Salt Lake, lies the remains of a wagon, two human skeletons and the skeletons of their animals, and more than 200 extremely valuable Mormon Mint $10 gold pieces.
The Guidebook of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman lists the value of one of these coins at $75,000 in fine condition. Since the coins taken by the Baldwin brothers were uncirculated, they would be worth even more to collectors.
The beehive shown on the reverse of these coins was a favorite Mormon symbol. The clasped hands on the obverse was to signify strength and unity. The Mormons also frequently used the inscription Holiness to the Lord.
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The Baldwin brothers, Reg and Dave, were traveling with one such caravan when it stopped overnight in Salt Lake City to rest and take on supplies. They listened with great interest as the Mormons boasted about their new mint. Regular tours of the mint were conducted at certain hours and the tourists were invited to see the entire operation, which was housed in a small adobe building. The Baldwin brothers anxiously took the tour.
The Mormons were a trusting people and had not seen any reason to post a guard at the mint during non-business hours at night or on the weekends. Reg and Dave Baldwin had a few encounters with the law back in St. Louis, and had been ordered to get out of town or go to jail, so they took the sheriffs advice and joined the next wagon train headed west.
The night before their wagon train was scheduled to depart from Salt Lake City, the Baldwin brothers broke into the unguarded mint facility. In the flickering candle light they could see many stacks of $10 gold pieces sitting on a wooden work bench in the center of the room. Starting at one end of the bench, they each scooped up several rows of coins and placed them in a canvas sack. They intentionally took only part of the stacks, hoping that the coins wouldnt be missed until long after they had left town.
The workers at the mint didnt discover the theft until a few days later when they were conducting an inventory of the coins. They were shocked to learn that more than 200 of the $10 gold pieces were missing. Several employees of the mint recalled the unusual interest that the Baldwin brothers had shown in the shiny new gold coins at the time they had toured the facility. A small posse of concerned citizens was organized to go after them. They knew that a wagon train could travel only about 15 to 20 miles per day, so the posse was sure that they could catch up with them on their fast horses.
Two days later when they caught up with the wagon train, they were informed that the Baldwin brothers had separated from the group and headed south on their own into the arid Sevier Desert. The posse backtracked but was unable to find any sign of the Baldwins wagon in the windswept sand. Disappointed, they reluctantly gave up the chase and returned to Salt Lake City. Additional coins were minted to replace those that were stolen and the mint returned to business as usual.
The Baldwin brothers were never seen or heard from again, nor did any of the $10 gold coins ever show up. The direction they had gone in would take them through the middle of an arid, salt-like desert where the highest natural air temperatures in the world have been recorded and rainfall and natural water are extremely scarce.
Traveling through a region such as this, a person would need at least a gallon of water per day to survive. They would also need water for the animals that were pulling their wagon. It is strongly believed, and with good reason, that the Baldwin brothers died in this arid, parched wasteland. Somewhere in the Utah desert south of the Great Salt Lake, lies the remains of a wagon, two human skeletons and the skeletons of their animals, and more than 200 extremely valuable Mormon Mint $10 gold pieces.
The Guidebook of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman lists the value of one of these coins at $75,000 in fine condition. Since the coins taken by the Baldwin brothers were uncirculated, they would be worth even more to collectors.
The beehive shown on the reverse of these coins was a favorite Mormon symbol. The clasped hands on the obverse was to signify strength and unity. The Mormons also frequently used the inscription Holiness to the Lord.
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