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Solomon
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« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2007, 12:11:26 AM »
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You're right, Trekker:
Gunsmith Unearths Buried Treasure Posted 2006-12-18
Wealth Of History Recovered Inside 1740s Musket
By Kelly Jasper
SINGERS GLEN � Finding the blackened, broken musket was at least, at first, Scott Musser�s buried treasure.
This summer, he found an antique gun � a 1740s-era musket that sold for $125, plus tax � in one of Philadelphia�s South Street shops.
"I knew I had already struck gold," said the 43-year-old family man from New Jersey.
It wasn�t until six months later � just a few weeks ago � that Musser visited a gunsmith in Singers Glen and discovered that someone had actually stowed gold inside the gun�s hollowed stock.
To be exact, Musser and Douglas Bates, the gunsmith, had discovered four gold, seven silver and six copper coins. Musser says the owner of the Belgian-made musket had also jammed a will and a $5 silk note inside a fragile leather pouch, hidden behind a metal plate on the butt of the stock centuries ago.
The coins date to 1743. The will is dated Jan. 20, 1848. It�s signed by a New Jersey man, the son of a patriot who died in the War of 1812. The family � the Hillmans � has a rich history with ties to the Revolutionary War, maybe even the French and Indian War, Musser says.
Now more than 250 years old, the gun isn�t in pristine condition. A musket ball is lodged in the barrel and Musser repaired the bayonet this fall, a decision that led to the gold�s discovery when the two men first disassembled the gun three weeks ago.
Still, early estimates appraise the gun and collection around $20,000, Musser says.
As far as he knows, no one has seen the artifacts for at least a century.
"No one would have ever thought to look for treasure here," Musser said. "I didn�t think things like this happened."
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