Treasure found in old Alabama shed

It wasn’t a pirate’s hoard, but 200 old Morgan silver dollars were found hidden away in an old Alabama shed that had a past.

Florida United Numismatists past president Tony Swicer received a very interesting communication from a collector who had left Florida and moved to Alabama.

Jim McAlister, a former member of Palm Beach Coin Club, moved to Piedmont Ala., a few years ago, and bought a piece of land to settle on.

Swicer said in December of 2016 he found a small treasure on his property. He calls the story “McAlister’s Treasure.”

“While clearing out an old shed on the property that was full of trash, I found an old wooden box half buried in the dirt. It had some old rusted tools and railroad spikes (many years ago, a railroad branch line ran through the property. Here the creek was very close and I’ve been told that there used to be a water tower and sand pit for steam locomotives).

“When I dug out the railroad spikes I found old saddlebags underneath. Something shiney caught my eye. There in the dirt were some silver dollars. When I picked up the bags, they were loaded with over 200 silver dollars. The ones on the outer edges of the bags were dirty but the ones in the middle were clean. The dates ranged from 1878 to 1903. The quality goes from very good to extremely fine or about uncirculated.”