ST. LOUIS (October 5, 2009)--An Illinois woman's dream of digging up buried gold coins has evidently lost its glitter.

Patty Henken set out on her treasure hunt after she found a cryptic note in an antique rocking chair she'd bought at an auction, but it turns out she may have been the victim of a prolific prankster who died more than 30 years ago.

With the help of a donated backhoe, Henken recently tore up a vacant lot in Springfield, Ill., where a typewritten note signed by "Chauncey Wolcott" suggested she would find a chest containing more than $250 in gold coins.

The dig turned up nothing but bricks and old bottles and now, an Iowa woman who heard about the hunt said she knows Wolcott's true identity: John "Jay" Slaven, a notorious practical joker and coin collector who died in 1976.

Henken said she's disappointed but still is hopeful Slaven may have left something to unearth.