8m freshly minted dimes spill from overturned truck, closing Texas highway for almost 14 hours

An avalanche of 8m dimes from a burst coin compartment closed a Texas highway for almost 14 hours after an 18-wheeler carrying a payload of cash crashed.

Officials in Alvord, Texas, said the truck, which was owned by Colorado-based Western Distributing Transportation Corporation, overturned on Tuesday morning on US Route 287, spilling nearly $800,000 in dimes.

Clean-up crews used powerful vacuums, more commonly employed to unclog sewers and drains, in an attempt to siphon up the coins, while others were collected with shovels, buckets and sifters by uniformed employees of USAC, the Western Distributing subsidiary that provides armored car services.

The bulk of the money was recovered using heavy machinery, according to Alvord’s mayor, Caleb Caviness.

“The funniest part to me was that they picked up the dimes using the vacuum trucks that are used to suck out sewage and water and stuff like that,” Caviness told the New York Times.

“We were joking around that the city of Alvord would be metal detecting.”

Two southbound lanes of US 287 were closed after the accident shortly before 5.30am, and remained inaccessible until the evening, causing miles-long lines of traffic, the Wise County Messenger reported.

Texas department of safety troopers kept some curious spectators from the scene, although the Times reported than an expected horde of speculators, who were duped by rumors circulating in Alvord that the coin spillage was $8m, “never showed up”.

The two occupants of the truck, who were identified by public safety officials in Wise county as the driver and an armed guard from USAC, were being treated for minor injuries. No other vehicle was involved.

Officials said the truck, which was part of an 18-wheeler combination, was an installment in a fleet of armored vehicles that ferry currency and other valuable cargo for clients including the US government.

The origin of the cash discharged in Tuesday morning’s rollover is not known. The US treasury department and Western Distributing did not return calls for comment.

According to Western Distribution’s website, USAC has more than 40 armored units equipped to safeguard cargo in transit.

“We move cargo for all divisions of the government and were awarded [contracts] to move several of the government’s banks over the years,” wording on its website states.

“If it must be secure in transit, any amount, anywhere, USAC can make it happen! We would tell you more about what we can do, but it’s confidential!”