Man Discovers Rare Coins in El Reno

With metal detector in hand and his granddaughter by his side, 52-year-old Ron Crew spent another day in El Reno looking for treasure.

Friday, January 23rd 2009, 11:10 pm

By: News 9


By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

EL RENO, Oklahoma --With metal detector in hand and his granddaughter by his side, 52-year-old Ron Crew spent another day in El Reno looking for treasure.

He's looking for valuable, old coins.

It's not quite enough to retire on, but a few weeks ago Crew did come across something much more significant.

While running his detector over the broken up pieces of sidewalk, he found eight coins buried deep into the dirt, all dating back to the late 1800s.

Crew's discovery could be worth as much as several hundred dollars, according to coin collecting books.

"My heart, it started jumping," Crew said. "It's the oldest coin, the rarest coin I found."

Rod Powers is an expert coin collector and trader. He agreed Crew's discovery could be worth big bucks, but only if Crew leaves the coins in the condition they were found.

"You should never clean it because you devalue the coin," Powers said. "The dealer wants the original look."

Crew said he's not treasure hunting for the money. It's a hobby that keeps the past connected to the future.

"When you start thinking about it, you start thinking who lost this," Crew said. "It could have been a little kid or someone walking."

In the past 15 years, Crew said he's found thousands of dollars worth of coins and jewelry. He's keeping it all safe in a lockbox that will one day be given to his grandchildren.

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