Homeless man Finds Gold Coins Worth $70,000

[Waterstar]

Recently, a man who had no home found a bag with gold coins with a value of $70,000. Good for him.

Source: New York Daily News

Homeless man in Texas wins right to keep bag containing $70,000 in cash, gold

ERIK ORTIZ

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Down on his luck, Timothy Yost is finally getting his pay day.

Earlier this year, the 46-year-old homeless man said he found a bag containing cash and gold coins on the banks of the Colorado River in Bastrop, Texas, and now the City Council there is allowing him to claim ownership of the contents — worth at least $70,000.

“It is a great day for Bastrop; it is a great day for Mr. Yost,” the man’s attorney, Aleta Peacock, said Tuesday after the council unanimously agreed he can keep the loot, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

While Yost is benefitting from a case of “finders, keepers,” the incredible find didn’t guarantee easy money.

In fact, Yost had to wait until Thursday to get the goods because he remained jailed on a public intoxication charge from May 29.

“It means everything to him. He has a whole future ahead of him,” Yost told Fox affiliate KTBC in Austin. “He has the opportunity to make plans and have a real future.”

Yost’s fortunes changed on Jan. 18, when he said he went to Fisherman’s Park to wash his feet in the river.

He saw a bag, kicked it and heard jangling. After discovering the wet money inside, he took his find to a First National Bank branch to exchange it for dry currency, The Statesman reported.

That’s when police were called in.

They intercepted Yost and took possession of the bag to see if it was connected to any drug cases or other illicit activity.

The bag contained 70 $100 bills and 40 gold coins known as the Krugerrand, first minted in South Africa and worth about $1,600 each, according to reports.

Police then put a notice in the newspaper for someone to claim them.

Somebody did, said Bastrop Police Chief Michael Blake.

“We’ve actually had one person who said it was his money but has yet rescinded that and signed a statement saying he does not wish to pursue claim to those funds any longer,” Blake told KENS 5-TV in San Antonio.

With that man out of the picture, and a 90-day claim window having passed, the City Council got involved. Ultimately, members decided Yost — who first found the bag — could have it.

So what does he want to do with his sudden windfall? Yost told KTBC last month, before he was arrested, that he’s ready for a set of wheels.

“I’ve been walking for so long, first thing I want is a vehicle,” he said.