The date on the latest coins of the hoard was 1863. In May 1861 the Kentucky Legislature passed a
Declaration of Neutrality which was violated many times soon after. Amongst such incursions, many wealthy residents at the time were rumored to bury their savings, to prevent it from being confiscated by the
Confederates. Such significant caches alleged to be hidden included $80,000 worth of gold by resident William Pettit of
Lexington (), along with James Langstaff, who wrote a letter mentioning a cache worth $20,000 in
Paducah (). Ryan McNutt, a
conflict archaeologist from
Georgia Southern University opined that, based on the dating of the hoard, the cache was buried in advance of
Morgan's Raid, a major offensive through Kentucky into the
Midwest by Confederate general
John Hunt Morgan in June–July 1863, concurrent to that of
Gettysburg and
Vicksburg. == Authentication and composition ==