The Big Sky: a bank treasure of uncirculated coins

The Big Sky treasure consisted of 223,000 uncirculated Eisenhower dollars when the American numismatic company, Littleton Coin company, acquired it in 2011. A Montana family had purchased all of these coins from the Denver mint and stored them directly at the Federal Reserve Bank of Helena, Montana. They were kept, for over 30 years, in a vault in the basement. The “Ike” dollars were still in bags sewn by the Central Bank, spared from the wear and tear of circulation.

The coins were certified and graded by UCS, which named the treasure Big Sky Hoard. It weighed 5.6 tons and was valued at over $1 million. 223 bags were delivered to the numismatic society. Stacked one on top of the other, the Big Sky Hoard coins would measure 637 meters high, twice the height of the Eiffel Tower!