Saddle Ridge Hoard: Buried gold coin stash 'worth $10m'

A California couple found a stash of gold coins buried on their property last year valued at as much as $10m (£6m), rare coin dealers have said.

The coins were in uncirculated, mint condition, adding to their worth to collectors

The 1,427 coins, which date from 1847-1894, were never circulated and are in mint condition, numismatist David Hall told the Associated Press.

The unnamed couple found them buried in rusting metal cans under a tree while on a walk last April.

It is seen as the largest haul of buried treasure in US history.

"We've seen shipwrecks in the past where thousands of gold coins were found in very high grade, but a buried treasure of this sort is unheard of," David McCarthy of currency firm Kagin's, who is advising the couple, told Reuters news agency.

"I've never seen this face value in North America and you never see coins in the condition we have here."

The coins were buried in rusted old metal cans

The couple live in a rural area of California known as Gold Country for the swarms of prospectors who descended on the region during the 19th Century gold rush.

They found the coins in an area of their land they called Saddle Ridge, and the coin dealers who have seen the haul have taken to calling it the Saddle Ridge Hoard.

It is a mystery who buried the coins - and why.

Mr Hall of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, California, which recently authenticated the coins, told the Associated Press the coins' face value adds up to about $27,000. But some of the coins are so rare they could sell for $1m each,

The couple plan to sell the coins on Amazon.

Winter Olympics- Then and Now

The Winter Olympics have changed so much since their first edition in 1924!

The Winter Olympic Games is a major international sporting event that occurs once every four years. The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, was held in Chamonix, France. The original 5 sports (broken into 9 disciplines) were bobsleigh, curling,ice hockey, Nordic skiing (consisting of the disciplines military patrol,cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping), and skating (consisting of the disciplines figure skating and speed skating). The Games were held every four years from 1924 until 1936, after which they were interrupted by World War II. The Olympics resumed in 1948 and was again held every four years. Until 1992, the Winter and Summer Olympic Games were held in the same years, but in accordance with a 1986 decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to place the Summer and Winter Games on separate four-year cycles in alternating even-numbered years, the next Winter Olympics after 1992 was in 1994.

The Winter Games has evolved since its inception. Sports and disciplines have been added and some of them, such as Alpine skiiing, luge, short track speed skating, freestyle skiing, skeleton, and snowboarding, have earned a permanent spot on the Olympic programme. Others (such as curling and bobsleigh) have been discontinued and later reintroduced, or have been permanently discontinued (such as military patrol, though the modern Winter Olympic sport of biathlon is descended from it). Still others, such as speed skiing, bandy and skijoring, were demonstration sports but never incorporated as Olympic sports. The rise of television as a global medium for communication enhanced the profile of the Games. It created an income stream, via the sale of broadcast rights and advertising, which has become lucrative for the IOC. This allowed outside interests, such as television companies and corporate sponsors, to exert influence. The IOC has had to address several criticisms, internal scandals, the use of performance enhancing drugs by Winter Olympians, as well as a political boycott of the Winter Olympics. Nations have used the Winter Games to showcase the claimed superiority of their political systems.

                                 

The Olympic flame at Sochi-2014- Olympic Winter Games

 

                  

Images from the press at the time of the first Olympic Games in Chamonix- Switzerland- 2014

Twelve countries – Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States – have sent athletes to every Winter Olympic Games. Six of those – Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States – have earned medals at every Winter Olympic Games, and only one – the United States – has earned gold at each Games. Germany and Japan have been banned at times from competing in the Games.

in Wikipedia

Meet Kama the surfing piglet

Meet the piglet who's making waves for his surfing skills in the US state of Hawaii!

So cute and funny!

Kama loves to get in the water and share a surfboard with his owner Kai Holt.

The little piggy first got a taste for the waves when he fell into his owner's pool and started to swim!

From BBC Newsround

The amphibious car helping flood-hit village

A car that can travel on BOTH road and water has been doing its bit to help a flood-hit village.

Much of Wraysbury in the Thames Valley has been left covered in water - but that's no problem for an amphibious car.

Peter Kavanagh owns the car for a bit of fun, but has found it's become really useful to get around and do things like picking up shopping and inspecting damage.

He's taken the BBC's David Shukman on a tour of the village to show him how the car works and how it can help.

World leaders will meet this week to work out how to stop the illegal wildlife trade.

Campaigners say hunting animals like elephants and rhino has reached an all-time high.

In the UK an agency called Border Force is in charge of stopping criminals from illegally transporting endangered plants and animals in and out of the country.

Newsround's Nel spent a day with them and found out how dogs help detect illegal items.

From CBBC Newsround

Homeless cats join book club

An animal shelter in America is hosting a book club for cats.

It's part of a scheme to improve local children's reading abilities developed by the Animal Rescue League of Berks County.

The Book Buddies Program began in August and invites readers aged six to 13 to read stories to some furry friends.

The rescue centre cares for 10,000 animals each year and all the cats are waiting to be adopted.

The cats look so calm that it seems they are really enjoying the atmosphere of the place!

A rescue worker came up with the idea for Book Buddies after her ten-year-old son was able to improve his skills by reading to cats at the centre.

According to research at Tufts University in Massachusetts pets are a source of support and human-animal interaction can make the learning process more comfortable and enjoyable for children.

Children who participate in the program not only get to interact with the adorable cats, but they can also earn prizes which encourages them to read more!

From CBBC Newsround

Will these cats become more educated? Of course not but these children will certainly improve their reading abilities and also they can learn to interact with these independent animals that like having their company since they were abandoned or just lived in the streets from the moment they were born.

Good work,guys!

Fly the world's smallest quadcopter

Technology is making toys smarter. BBC Click's LJ Rich takes a miniature quadcopter for a spin. It can fit in the palm of your hand, weighs the same as a pencil and its motors - based on the parts of your smartphone - make it vibrate.

But how long will it stay in the air on a full battery charge?
 Watch the video and you'll get to know

From BBC News- Technology