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Binion Hoard: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:58, 2 September 2023

The Binion Hoard was Ted Binion's collection of silver and silver dollars. Binion had a safe installed in the ground at his Pahrump, Nevada, United States, ranch where he stored his silver, including 100,000 silver dollars. In 1998, Binion died of an overdose; authorities determined that he had been murdered. Two people were arrested and convicted of his murder. In all, a total of six people were arrested for going into Binion's safe and taking silver from his property. All six people were subsequently convicted of grand larceny and burglary.

After Binion's death, his girlfriend Sandy Murphy and her purported lover Richard Tabish were arrested and convicted for his murder and the theft of his silver. Four other people were arrested for grand larceny and burglary for helping Tabish enter the safe and take the silver from Binion's property. The murder convictions of Murphy and Tabish were overturned by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2003, and a new trial in 2004 resulted in the acquittals of Murphy and Tabish on the murder charge.

Spectrum Numismatic International purchased the entire collection of silver dollars for US$3.3m (equivalent to $6,168,804 in 2023). The coins were certified and sealed in coin slabs by the Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC). Spectrum Numismatic International priced individual coins from the hoard between US$50 and US$10,000.

Background

Ted Binion ran a casino called Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel, where he kept a hoard of silver in a vault. Binion lost his gaming license and sold his share of the casino to his sister Becky Behnen. Binion had to move his silver out of the casino, so he arranged to have the silver moved to a vault, which was buried on his ranch in Pahrump, Nevada. The hoard was said to weigh 46,000 pounds (21,000 kg) and have a value of US$4M (equivalent to $7,000,000 in 2023).^[1] The investigative journalist Cathy Scott wrote a book titled, Death in the Desert: The Ted Binion Homicide Case. In an interview, she attempted to explain why Binion hoarded silver dollars: "I think he didn’t trust banks or he was filing money from the IRS and so he put it in mattresses, buried it in the backyard, as did his father."^[2]

History

Ted Binion was found dead lying on the floor face up in his home in Pahrump on September 17, 1998.^[3] Authorities determined that he had died from a lethal cocktail of drugs, including Xanax, heroin, and a tranquilizer. His brother Jack Binion offered a reward of US$100,000 (equivalent to $187,000 in 2023) to find Ted Binion's killer.^[4]

Binion's girlfriend, a former topless dancer named Sandy Murphy, was later arrested for stealing Binion's buried treasure. She had been romantically linked to Richard Tabish, who was also arrested.^[4] Tabish, a convicted felon, became a suspect when he was seen by a sheriff's deputy removing the treasure from an in-ground safe on Binion's ranch two days after his death.^[2]

Murphy and Tabish were convicted of Binion's murder and sentenced to life in prison in May 2000. In October 2000, four other men were convicted of grand larceny for helping Tabish dig up the treasure. In all, six people were convicted for the theft of the Binion hoard.^[5]

In 2003, the Nevada Supreme Court overturned the murder convictions of Murphy and Tabish and granted them a new trial.^[6] In the first trial, the evidence presented by the prosecution's medical expert Michael Baden helped convict Murphy and Tabish. In the retrial, the defense called what the Associated Press referred to as "an army of forensic pathologists, toxicologists and dermatologists to contradict Baden's theory".^[6] In 2004 Murphy and Tabish were acquitted of Binion's murder—but their convictions for larceny and burglary were not overturned. Murphy was released shortly after her acquittal on the murder charge, but Tabish remained in prison.^[7] Tabish was released from prison in 2010, after which he began working in the field of cryptocurrency mining as the president of FX Solutions in Montana.^[8] As of 2018 Murphy and her husband were owners of an art gallery in Laguna Beach, California.^[3]

Sale of the hoard

Spectrum Numismatic International purchased the entire hoard for US$3.3M (equivalent to $6,200,000 in 2023). They claimed that 50,000 of the coins were uncirculated and they were marketed by the company for between US$50 and US$10,000. The coins were certified in coin slabs by the Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC).^[9] According to NGC there were 100,000 high quality US silver dollars in the collection and coin retailer Goldline International was selected to market the coins.^[10]

Legacy

In 2002 Spectrum Numismatics International offered the coins for sale and they reported brisk sales. The coins were sold for a premium beyond their value because of the sensational story of the Binion hoard.^[11] In 2019 three men were caught on camera digging holes on a property in Pahrump, Nevada, once owned by Binion. Many people including investigative journalist Cathy Scott believe that there is more buried treasure on Binion's property.^[2] In 2022, a local Las Vegas news station reported that Binion's land had sold for $1.9 million. They stated that although the land had been repeatedly searched and no treasure was found, many people nonetheless believed there is more silver to be found.^[7] In 2022 Dateline NBC aired an episode about the Ted Binion case titled: "What Happened in Vegas".^[12]

References

Further reading

• German, Jeff (2001). Murder in Sin City: The Death of a Las Vegas Casino Boss. New York: Avon Books. ISBN 9780380818730.
• King, Gary C. (2011). An Early Grave: Love, Deceit, and Suspicious Death in the American Desert. New York: St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 9781429996846.
• Scott, Cathy (2001). Death in the Desert: The Ted Binion Homicide Case (1st ed.). Bloomington, Indiana: 1st Book Library. ISBN 978-1588205322.
• Smith, John L. (2001). Quicksilver: The Ted Binion's Murder Case. Las Vegas: Huntington Press. ISBN 9780929712284.