James Kane and Barbie Agostini were magnet fishing in a pond in Queens on Friday when they caught a safe. The couple, who regularly document their finds on social media, told local media they were astonished when they opened the safe and found hundreds of waterlogged bills, estimated to be worth $100,000.
The duo also shared a video of the mud-covered safe and the bills damaged from being soaked in water. Kane stated that they had previously found many old safes, but had never found anything substantial inside until this occasion. Agostini, for her part, said she thought Kane was “joking” when he shared what was inside the safe.
“Once I saw the actual dollars and the security straps, I lost my composure,” Agostini commented. The couple then contacted the New York Police Department (NYPD) to verify if there were any legal implications. Fortunately for them, the owner of the safe—which was assumed to have been stolen—could not be identified, and authorities allowed the duo to keep the safe and its contents.
The only problem was that the bills were “soaked” and “practically destroyed,” Kane said. It is not immediately clear how they plan to salvage their newly found loot. The NYPD, in a statement, said the money did not need to be turned over to the police because its value could not be determined.
“As a general matter, found property with a value of ten dollars or more must be reported and deposited with the police,” the NYPD statement read. “In this case, the value and authenticity of the alleged currency could not be determined due to the severely deteriorated state of the property.”
Kane and Agostini began practicing magnet fishing as a hobby during the coronavirus pandemic to combat boredom, Kane recounted. The two, who document their finds on YouTube, have filmed themselves recovering a variety of interesting objects, including World War II grenades, 19th-century pistols, a motorcycle, and a wallet containing foreign coins, pearls, and gold jewelry.
