A pair of magnet fishing enthusiasts have reeled in the catch of a lifetime from a New York City lake — a muddy safe with an estimated $US80,000 ($A119,000) in it.
“I looked, and it was just pure hundred dollar bills,” said 40-year-old James Kane of the haul he made while ‘magnet fishing’ with his partner, 39-year-old Barbi Agostini.
“Humungous stacks of them. I said, ‘I think life is about to change as we know it’.”
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The couple was fishing, using a rope and powerful magnet, at a lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on May 31.
They started magnet fishing during the COVID pandemic to stave off boredom.
Kane’s excitement began rising when he realised he had snagged yet another locked security box.
As he began pulling out the contents from the deposit box, he could hardly grasp the good fortune that had struck him and Agostini.
At first, Agostini said she didn’t believe Kane had actually scored big.
“There were no words. I was in disbelief,” she said.
“This kind of stuff doesn’t happen to me. I rarely win like raffles or games … much less hitting the jackpot like this.”
After finding the safe, the couple notified New York City police.
Authorities ultimately decided they could keep the money — because there was no way to determine its owner.
Police said that found property valued at $10 or more is required to be reported and deposited with police.
“In this instance, the value and authenticity of the alleged currency could not be determined due to the severely disintegrated condition of the property,” police said.
Kane said he had been in touch with personnel from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC, and the couple would take the money there to try to have it restored.
Refurbishing the cash could take years, Kane said.
He estimated there was between $US40,000 and $80,000 in the lockbox — the couple is hoping to salvage about $60,000.
The pair, from Queens, have been dating since 2016.
They film and post their magnet fishing adventures on social media platforms including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
In addition to Queens, Kane and Agostini have also gone magnet fishing in bodies of water in Manhattan, including Central Park and Harlem, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Long Island.
“Every single body of water, the five boroughs, I’m going to hit all of it,” Kane said.
‘Swing for the fences’
The couple have reeled in more than a dozen handguns, some shotguns, an AK-47, cannonballs, World War II grenades and a racing motorcycle.
They turned in the motorcycle and useable weapons to police but had been able to keep some items, Kane said.
As the magnet fishing videos rack up views on YouTube, sceptics grumble on Reddit that some of the finds must be fake.
Kane and Agostini said that was not the case.
Kane, who uses a magnet capable of lifting up to 1720kg, says the trick is to “swing for the fences”.
This means casting the magnet as far as possible — because people don’t typically toss items at the edges of bodies of water.
The couple has already considered what they will do with the money once it officially hits their bank accounts.
“A piece of property with grass and trees, somewhere to call your own place where you can have animals, chickens, goats, lots of dogs,” Agostini said.
“That’s definitely our little dream.”