‘Just dumbfounded:’ Gold and silver coins discovered buried in Vermont park

By Jack Thurston

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    SAINT ALBANS CITY, Vermont (WPTZ) — The discovery of a buried treasure, which included valuable old coins and antiques, is the talk of downtown St. Albans.

“I was just dumbfounded, really,” said gardener Kelly Wakefield, who discovered the treasure while taking care of the plantings in Taylor Park in St. Albans.

Wakefield had been reading the book “Lady Liberty’s Treasure Hunt,” which makes learning about history fun. It provides clues about real treasure chests hidden throughout the Northeast. During her spring cleanup in the park, Wakefield found a rock with a skull and crossbones on it. The stone also had a code matching Wakefield’s book at home, so she knew to dig.

Under a shrub, Wakefield found a stash of valuable silver and gold coins, as well as antiques and collectibles. The treasure included a Civil War-era bullet, referencing the infamous 1864 raid of St. Albans by Confederate soldiers who snuck in through Canada.

“It’s really neat to have a Civil War bullet in your hand,” Wakefield said. “And old coins are just really neat and intriguing to me, just thinking you can find one with a metal detector, but I found a whole chest full. It’s amazing, really.”

The author of “Lady Liberty’s Treasure Hunt,” Michael Cloherty O’Connell, said in an interview with NBC5 News that there are other treasure chests in New England still waiting to be discovered. Even if people fail in trying to find the valuables, it’s the author’s hope that families see the true payoff is in taking road trips, rediscovering the outdoors, and learning about America’s past together.

“You’ll see things you’ve never seen before,” O’Connell said. “I’ve been getting all kinds of emails from people that haven’t found treasure, that they’re so glad that I wrote the books. They’ve been by these places a million times and never stopped to look at them. Now they’re actually stopping to look.”

The mayor of St. Albans, Tim Smith, said he appreciated the author including the city in his multistate treasure hunt. Smith said he hopes the added attention on the community and its downtown district will inspire families to visit this summer.

“People can come enjoy themselves and have it be like downtown New England, for sure,” Smith said. “This is small, but we hope the repercussions are huge for us that people will want to come and visit.”

Some of the attractions and events Smith encouraged people to check out include the St. Albans Museum and a Wednesday evening summer concert series in Taylor Park. That series starts in June.

As for the lucky gardener, Wakefield is still pinching herself about the loot that had been waiting to be found for months just barely under the surface of this well-traveled park.

“It’s in a safe-deposit box,” Wakefield said of the treasure. “[I] probably should get an appraisal. Maybe it’s a little bit of retirement funds. I’m not going to spend it on anything really big because I’m going to keep working.”

Wakefield went on to say the treasure discovery was a “fun thing” and it inspired her to keep exploring the Northeast and its history.

For more on “Lady Liberty’s Treasure Hunt,” visit the author’s website.

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