horton's november arrival in new york city was covered by "the new york times" primarily in regard to his transport for the american archaeological society of thirty gold coins found at sardis. they were believed to be minted for croesus, and to represent the earliest coinage of gold anywhere. the story introduced him as "dr. george horton, united states consul general at smyrna, where he witnessed the burning and sacking of the ancient seaport and the evacuation of 40,000 refugees in five days  ..." and closed with two paragraphs on smyrna service, including recent personal loss of property and upcoming consultation in washington concerning missing americans.