Yes, thirty gleaming 1804 dollars discovered in the former home of Captain Mark Druce.  The coins, thirty of them, in an oilskin parcel had laid hidden in the roof soffit all these many years.  The discover of the hoard was Hildur Gaites, a landscape painter, who currently is leasing the property in  Ramapo Valley, NY.   There had been talk over the years that a treasure did exist in the home placed there by its original owner.  As the story goes Captain Mark Druce had found a little japanned box containing thirty 1804 dollars during his time as a privateer, though until now no one has known their whereabouts of this hoard.  It is rumored that the land owner has entered into an agreement to sell the entire group to Aaron Van Saun.

Well before those lucky 14 owners have a coronary knowing the values of their prized coins have just dropped I better fess up.  This is a fictitious story, but I am not its author.  The title of the book is Letters of Marque, by Albert Payson Terhune  originally published in 1934.  The author is best known for his stories about collies with Lad still being in print, but his earlier works includes mysteries which this is one of them.   I first started reading his books after a recommendation from my high school librarian.  I bought my first book by him from an antique store in the same plaza I worked while going to Phoenix Institute of Technology and now almost thirty years later I have almost fifty titles by him, the rarest being Colombia Stories.

Now as to what inspired him to write this story I could not readily find it.  I checked the Numismatist online, but could not find any specific references in 1934.  The closest I could find was a private sale in 1932 by B. Max Mehl to the witch of wall street.  With Terhune residing in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey it is quite possible something of that sale appeared in a local paper and struck inspiration.  Maybe someone reading this might be able to shed some light on it. 

Should you wish to own a copy of this book for an enjoyable read I find that it is available on Bookfinder.com from the low end of $30 - $1,700 the latter being the authors own copy.  Books like coins both condition and provenance matter when dollars are concerned.