NEW YORK: Two modern day treasure hunters in the United States appeared to strike gold when they uncovered a safe stuffed with $100,000 in cash but there was a catch. The notes were ruined.

Barbara Agostini and James Kane, both in their 40s, have been propelled to celebrity status beyond their magnet fishing community after making the discovery in a New York pond over the weekend.

`It`s surreal, I thought it was a joke until I saw it with my eyes,` said Barbara Agostini.

Though not the pair`s first time discovering a safe, it was their first one containing more than random odds and ends, although because the safe was not air-tight many of the notes were wet or mud smeared.

Fearing the money could be linked to crime, the couple went to the New York police, saying they `didn`t want to have a problem on our hands`.

But police washed their hands of the cash.

`As a general matter, found property valued at ten dollars or more is required to be reported to, and deposited with, the police,` a police spokesman said.

`In this instance, the value and authenticity of the alleged currency could not be determined due to the severely disintegrated condition of the property.`AFP