Wildwood man discovers $2000 in money buried under porch from Great Depression
A Wildwood man was doing some renovations to his house when he made a shocking discovery.
He found two neatly wrapped bundles of cash, totalling $2000.00. Even more amazing? The bills were dated 1934.
The fact that these bills lasted so long is miraculous. Even more so when you remember that Wildwood is very susceptible to the wrath of the ocean. Whoever hid that money back in the 1930’s knew what they were doing. Unlike today’s TikTok generation, which would have probably just tossed the bills in a biodegradable shopping bag and let them turn to dust out of some fear of “Global Warming.”
Renovating in Wildwood pays
There is speculation that maybe it was from a bank robbery, but the reality is likely more mundane. Some old depression era guy squirreled the money away because he was afraid of the bank failing. Then he either forgot about it or died before he could use it. Most likely died. People died all the time back then. They were good at hiding money, but bad at not dying young.
Adjusting for inflation, the $2000.00 would have been worth the equivalent of $43,000.00 in today’s money in 1934. At the rate we’re going it will be worth about another 11% less this time next year.
Hey, maybe he’ll be able to afford a game of ski ball if he hurries down to Gateway 26!
The man who found the money, Rich Gilson, is shockingly unimpressed by this discovery. He told NJ.com he had no interest in finding more money. “I just want to finish my house,” he’s quoted as saying when discussing the possibility of even more buried money.
Lucky for him, I’m volunteering to dig up the rest of his house and find out for certain. I can be in Wildwood by tomorrow morning. All Rich needs to provide is a shovel. I don’t own one of those.
Enough about me and my plans to dig up the rest of Rich Gilson’s yard whether he likes it or not. What does this mean for you? Maybe take a good look around the next AirBNB you stay at down the shore. Pry a few floorboards loose. You might get put on a list of banned renters, or you might find some cash.
Mandatory Credit: NJ.com/ Rich Gilson
