Guest at Inn Finds a Gold Coin

Longfellow's Wayside Inn, a place that has earned the distinction of being America's oldest inn that is still in operation, likes to provide guests with an little "extra" that goes beyond a mint on their pillow.

A writer who was staying there found a gold Andrew Jackson coin (face value: $1) in an envelope under a wooden slat in her room.  She found this unplanned treasure hunt to be delightful and wrote about it.

The purpose of allowing guests to find such a treasure is not so they can sell gold or rake in cash for gold, but rather to give them a little thrill. There was a note along with the gold coin, instructing the finder to leave it so another guest could have the fun on finding this unexpected gold surprise.

Gold coins can turn up in the most unexpected places. Late last year, a volunteer found a cache f gold coins that were hidden from view in a collapsed building. It was one of Jerusalem's largest finds when it comes to gold coins. It is thought that those gold coins had also been originally hidden in a niche in the building.

This cache of gold coins were called "Hanukkah money" because they were found on the first day of the Jewish holiday. The gold coins, 264 in all, have an image of Heraclius, a Byzantine emperor from the 7th century.

In both of these instances, the people who found gold really could not keep it. Instead, they had to either leave the gold they found where it was or they had to hand it over to authorities. Either way, they left the experience with a story to tell and the thrill of finding hidden gold.

You, on the other hand, have the option of benefiting from any gold that you may find when you do a little digging in your own house. As we said, you really do not know where you may find gold coins or gold jewelry. Why not look around your own house for gold you may have forgotten that you had? Then, unlike the writer or volunteer we’ve mentioned, you can sell that gold to a gold buyer.