Talk about coins in a coffee can. Years ago I did a coroner's case on a retired road worker that had passed away. When there is no immediate next of kin present. We have to seal the house and seize any money for safe keeping until the next of kin or heir can be located to turn the funds over too.
While doing the inventory check of the home, I located 5-6 retirement checks that he had not cashed and 5 three pound coffee cans filled with quarters and silver dollars. The quarters and silver dollars were the older coins with a high silver content and this was when silver and gold had taken a high increase in value and the old silver dollars were selling for 18-19 dollars per coin due to silver content.
There was too much to count each coin, so we weighted them to the ounce and placed into evidence until his brother could recover them at our office since the deceased did not ever marry and had no kids and left everything to his brother in his will.
On another coroner's case involving a elderly man who went though the depression and did not trust banks. I found $40,000.00 in 100 dollars bills stuffed into a shoe box that I located on the upper shelf of his bed room closet. This was common with people that lost money in a bank when the depression hit in 1929.
RELH