There is a dedication at the end of the episode which reads "In memory of our friend Edward F. Dolan". He was a member of this and other production crews involved in TV & Film production around New York City.
The guards brought in at least 9 cases of gold. If each case held 30 bars, that would be 270 bars. Each bar is worth $120,000 in September 2018, for a total value of $32.4 million.
The obituary written by Norman P. Horowitz gives Sherlock's date of birth as 6 January 1973. This is a bit of fan service:
In the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes is never given a date of birth. His age is mentioned once but the year of his birth can only be estimated, usually as 1854 (He is said to be "sixty years of age" in 1914, which would make his year of birth 1854, plus or minus one year depending on where in the calendar the story takes place).
However, long-time fans of the character of Sherlock Holmes have honed in on January 6th as his date of birth, and many fan conventions and gatherings occur annually on 6 January to celebrate Holmes. Their reasoning is this: Holmes quotes Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare twice, and Twelfth Night is January 6th.
In the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes is never given a date of birth. His age is mentioned once but the year of his birth can only be estimated, usually as 1854 (He is said to be "sixty years of age" in 1914, which would make his year of birth 1854, plus or minus one year depending on where in the calendar the story takes place).
However, long-time fans of the character of Sherlock Holmes have honed in on January 6th as his date of birth, and many fan conventions and gatherings occur annually on 6 January to celebrate Holmes. Their reasoning is this: Holmes quotes Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare twice, and Twelfth Night is January 6th.
The obituary for Sherlock Holmes reads as follows (punctuation errors intact):
Sherlock Holmes
January 6, 1973 - August 30, 2018
"A British-born detective Sherlock Holmes consulted for the NYPD in recent years. This tireless work led to the resolution of many notable cases. Mr. Holmes was the victim of a homicide, shot on the street near his home in Greenpoint. He leaves behind his business partner, Joan Watson, and his father, Morland Holmes."
Sherlock Holmes
January 6, 1973 - August 30, 2018
"A British-born detective Sherlock Holmes consulted for the NYPD in recent years. This tireless work led to the resolution of many notable cases. Mr. Holmes was the victim of a homicide, shot on the street near his home in Greenpoint. He leaves behind his business partner, Joan Watson, and his father, Morland Holmes."
At 32:20, while Joan is reassembling strips of shredded black paper, Sherlock appears to have built a replica of Stonehenge with his recently delivered gold bars.