The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-09
TALE OF CHEST FULL OF GOLD
NtG tP IN THE CELLIR or Az
WD BRONN nor 81.
builder Meehan says There Is $3.50, 400
Worm Of Coins and Bank Notes Of An
Nations In the Iron Hon Ills Men
Found on the r. l.. Mac, Estate.

N"'ohs IN TIE Iron Hon Ills Wen
Found on The Y. l.. Macy Estate
tale OF buried treasure real money,
turned up IN The Bronx last night that was
calculated to make Bronx eyes pop. James
, Meehnn. contractor and builder. Il 1923
| he"ut pince, whose employees, ne says
Uncovered the treasure, told this blood
/ sNrrinS story Of the end
For several weeks have bad a gang OF
men at work on the old Macy estate at
prospect and Iongwood ayehIes. eXcavat-
ing for the cellar OF six story apartment
mouse am putting up there. Thomas
Cunningham II my foreman directing the
men don't just remember where be
hVes An old house was told it was
considerably more than a century old -
mad been torn down and my men were
grubbing about in the cellar clearing the
trush away.
-On Saturday afternoon about 3 O'Clock.
Cunningham had half dozen Italians
digging In what had been apparently the
wine cellar. The foreman was getting out
the heavy bricks and nazstones OF the
ce'lar floor. He was bossng away at the
JOB wnen one Of the picks struck some
thing that rang. and drove spark out of
It, Cunningham took hold OF the pick
himself In a minute be had uncovered
curious looking iron box. or chest rather,
and the men lifted it out of the hole
IL was about 2}5 feet long r., feet wide
and weighed. j est innate, when tried to lin
II, about 100 pounds perhaps more Ii
was so rus, covered that the iron was eaten
away on all sides of it. and it was caked
with mud that had turned one hard On
each end was handle
My foreman found that the ancient
ocS wouldn't work, and he took "A hammer
and smashed II. Thea he threw bnck the
lid and let out yell. The Italians crowded
around him. but Cunningham ordered them
back
THAT old iron chest. AZ saw it myself.
just short time afterward, was SO full
OF money that 1t ran over when the lid was
raised. wish | could give you an idea
of all the kinds Of money we found in the
box when we tried to count it. There was
gold and paper. coins and bills Of dozen
different nations Spanish, English and
American gold there was more OF than any
other kind
Perhaps thete was 500 600 worth Of !
gold. We could not get definite idea be-
tshnT VIZ NblI1H NPlF 30 warts anu We lllTl Y /
have table handy TO compute the value |
in American money OF all the foreign coins |
and notes. Besides the English. Spanish !
and American gold. there were German 10 !
mark pieces, Italian gold pieces and French I,
napoeons.
There we're 200 Spanish pieoas Of 100 /.
pesos each 100 German 10 marx pieces, j
more English sovereiRns than could reckon ,
on hand, al well a. coins OF other nations !
have mentioned. American eagles and (
double eagles and such Ike
when we got TO counting and trying o
figure the value Of the paper money in the |
chest we were up against i harder than
over. There were plenty OF good Ameri-
can notes. money that | know is all right
but at this minute ! couldn't tell YOU what
he denominations are or what the total
value of II would be. because, I was too
much excited, | suppose.
81 saw Spanish bank notes. English ea5
notes, as well a. Bank OF England certif-
Gates for e5 and so on, Italian bank notes
and national certificates German notes
and paper money of other lands beside.
We could not get an idea Of what its value
was lIt ! have an idea that it il worth
the paper money mean, fully $50 900
we did the counting and inspecting at
Mr. Cunningham house. where he had the
chest taken Immediately after he notified
me that he had discovered il. / told him
hat it was the best thing TO do, that he
had found the treasure and might be con
,idered the riRhtfuI owner OF IT,
But We mude up our minds that no dwell
ing house ever built was safe enough to keep
hat in over night and so we had it hustled
N "a soon as possible to a safe deposit
vault in Harlem where il is locked up now.
20 you can't see it tonight. No
Won say what vault would rather not
until MIR. Cunningham has seen the heirs
IF Theodore l.. Macy who once lived in the
rouse. and has made some arrangement .
With them
I'm tell you what think ] would rather
ave the stuf in that rusty old chest than ,
he value Of the six story apartment house
hat's going over the spot where the chest
vas found
According 10 old Bron1ios who took
deep interest IN the story Of the treasure
ound by the contractors man. Theodore =
d. Macy might well have buried pretty
otnd sum in his own wine cellar
He wGs IN the wholesale grocery business
I sixth avenue and Forfy-tnird street
ory wears ago and accumulated fortune. !
When be died he was supposed 10 be a mil
onairc. lie left tw sons and six daughters
rho live somewhere in The Bronx and Man
aitnn The old home never passed ont =
4 the hands OF the estate il is said
Mr. Mechan bought the land on which the .
ouse stood from The, dorc VI Macy .
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BFTTfNi GIRIRD is DEID y
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