Searching for LOST GOLD COIN BURIED TREASURE – Pine Spring Stagecoach Station Robbery
Searching for LOST GOLD COIN BURIED TREASURE – Pine Spring Stagecoach Station Robbery
Searching for LOST GOLD COIN BURIED TREASURE – Pine Spring Stagecoach Station Robbery
Pine Spring Station Location: https://goo.gl/maps/4rFvMSKc5QqvPGjP8
According to the story Gold in Iron Boxes by Maurice Kildare in the March 1968 Frontier Times Magazine:
Legend has it: In 1879 Mose Stacey pulled his stagecoach into the clearing at the Pine Spring Stage Station. Apparently the stagecoach only had one passenger who was riding the box next to Mose Stacey but the stagecoach was filled with mail headed to Prescott and hidden under the mail bags were 3 iron boxes each filled with $75,000 of newly minted gold coins for a total of $225,000 (or 3,750 $20 gold coins each which each box would be valued at over $7 Million at todays gold prices)
Now valuables were not normally shipped via the Santa Fe / Prescott Arizona line. However, this shipment was so secret that no one suspected outlaws would be aware of it.
Unfortunately this was not the case as 2 outlaws charged out of the station door with their pistols blasting and at the same time 2 outlaws came from the back of the log station building also firing their guns at Mose Stacey and his passenger. The passenger was shot dead but somehow Mose Stacey was able to escape into the nearby pine trees.
The outlaws stormed the stagecoach and tossed the mail bags out. They then proceeded to take the iron boxes into the log station building. Outlaws had never robbed the Star Stage Line before but it was clear the outlaws knew the treasure was aboard the stagecoach.
Mose Stacey was able to cut loose and mount one the stagecoach horses and headed for help. He eventually spotted 20 heavily armed riders and at first he thought they might be more outlaws but the turned out to be a posse in pursuit of 4 robbers that had fled Prescott a couple of days before.
Mose Stacey informed the posse the 4 outlaws were at the Pine Spring Station and they had shot up his stagecoach.
The posse raced to the station and found the 4 outlaws still in the log station building. The posse surrounded the log building and shots were fire by both parties as the siege settled into a stalemate. Eventually the posse set fire to the back wall of the log station building which forced the outlaws to flee out the front door and all 4 outlaws were gunned down.
After the fire was put out the posse searched the stage station building but the 3 iron boxes filled with gold were not found.
The hoard of gold coins remain buried somewhere in or near the old Pine Spring Station.
DRONE FOOTAGE via DJI Mini 3 Pro: https://amzn.to/3FYEQMV