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Wednesday, 29th November 2006 (8114 views)

A man who sold a gold bar weighing four pounds and attempted to start a coin making syndicate has been jailed.

Lawrence Wach, a house painter from Orange County, stole the bar from the home of NBA agent Dwight Manley. It is valued at $500,000 (£256,471).

The bar has an interesting story and was initially crafted during the California gold rush before being shipped off on the SS Central America in the 1850s, along with three tonnes of gold and minted coins.

The vessel sank after a hurricane in 1857 but the bar was eventually recovered from the North Carolina coast, where Mr Manley bought it.

He kept the bar in his garage until Mr Wach broke in, stole it and sold it to a pawn broker. The police discovered the missing gold bar which wound up in a coin dealership.

Mr Wach has received a six month jail sentence plus three years on probation after pleading guilty to grand theft.

The California gold rush was the first major gold rush in the world and thousands of prospectors were lured to California by dreams of easy wealth and making a quick buck.

 

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