A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that appeared to yield little more than dust when it was opened during a disappointing live broadcast contained hidden treasure after all, the U.S. Military Academy said Wednesday.
It was just more hidden than expected.
The lead box believed to have been placed by cadets at the base of a monument actually contained six US silver coins dating from 1795 to 1828 and a commemorative medal, West Point said in a news release.
It was all discovered in the sediment of the box, which at Monday’s opening ceremony at the New York Academy appeared to be its only contents.
“When I first found this, I thought, man, you know, it would have been cool to have found this on stage,” said West Point archaeologist Paul Hudson, who after the event took the box to his lab and began carefully examining it. . him sifting the slime with a small wooden pick and brush.
A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that appeared to spew little more than dust when opened during a live broadcast contained hidden treasure, the US Military Academy has said.
“Pretty soon, lo and behold, the edge of a coin was sticking out,” he recounted by phone, “and I thought, well, okay. “That’s something, it’s a start.”
He said he was as disappointed as anyone by the disappointing results of the live opening, which drew comparisons to Geraldo Rivera’s 1986 televised opening of a Chicago hotel vault supposedly belonging to gangster Al Capone, who infamously did not revealed nothing but dirt.
A crowd that had gathered at the United States Military Academy was hoping to see military relics or historical documents when experts opened the top and pointed a camera inside.
The box was opened during Monday’s dedication ceremony at the Academy in New York.AP
It was probably best to remove the coins and medal in a controlled environment anyway, said Hudson, who still plans to analyze the sediment for more clues as to what else might have been inside.
It appeared that moisture and perhaps sediment seeped into the case from a damaged seam.
The conditions could also have broken down any organic matter inside, such as paper or wood.
What did survive were a 1795 nickel, an 1800 Liberty dollar, an 1818 quarter, 1827 dimes and 1s, and an 1828 fifty.
There was also an Erie Canal commemorative medal dating to 1826.
Various expert websites indicate that the potential value of most coins, depending on their condition, ranges from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000.
The finds seem to confirm the theory of academy officials that the box was abandoned by cadets in 1828 or 1829, when the original monument, which honors Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko, was completed.
A committee of five cadets that included 1829 graduate Robert E. Lee, the future Confederate general, participated in the dedication of the monument.
Kosciuszko had designed wartime fortifications for the Continental Army at West Point.
The lead box, believed to have been placed by cadets at the base of a monument, actually contained six silver US coins dating from 1795 to 1828 and a commemorative medal. PA
Various expert websites indicate that the potential value of most coins, depending on their condition, ranges from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000.AP
West Point archaeologist Paul Hudson plans to analyze the sediment for more clues as to what else might have been inside.
He died in 1817.
In 1913 a statue of Kosciuszko was added to the monument.
Historic preservation and time capsule analysis will continue.
“I think we can learn more from this,” Hudson said, “to learn about the history of the academy and the history of the country.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn