 | LaVere Redfield was a "hard money" fanatic who hated the government and refused to pay taxes. After moving to Reno, Nevada in the 1930s with money he made through astute oil and stock investments, he played the part a poor farmer while amassing a real estate empire. He was generally considered by all to be a cheapskate, as willing to hitchhike as buy gas for his decades old truck. |  |
 | Redfield was not a coin collector. He did have a unique interest in Morgan silver dollars. Friends at local banks would let him know when they had bags of silver dollars and Redfield would go to the bank, paper money in hand. When he brought the coins home, he dropped the bags down a coal chute sight unseen. The bags dropped for decades and remained safely hidden behind a concrete wall until his death. In total Redfield's estate was worth well over $100 million. |
 | Over 30 years Redfield amassed a fortune in silver dollars. After his death in 1974, a complete inventory of his estate was taken. Somewhere between 520,000 and 650,000 silver dollars were found. |  |
 | The hoard sold for $7.3 million at auction, with some supposing it might have been worth 3 times that if it could have been examined more closely before sale.  |  |
