A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that appeared to produce little more than dust when it was opened during a disappointing live broadcast contained hidden treasure, the US Military Academy said Wednesday.
It’s just more hidden than expected.
A key box believed to have been placed by cadets at the base of a monument actually contained six American silver coins dated 1795 to 1828 and a commemorative medal, West Point said in a news release.
All were found in the sediment of the box, which at Monday’s unveiling at the New York Academy appeared to be its only contents.
“When I first found this, I thought, man, you know, it would be great to find this on stage,” said West Point archaeologist Paul Hudson, who after the event, took the box back to his lab and started carefully sift the silt with a small wooden pick and brush.
A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that appeared to produce little more than dust when it was opened during a live broadcast contained hidden treasures, the US Military Academy said.AP
“Not long after, look, there’s an edge of the coin sticking out,” he recounted by phone, “and I thought, that’s okay. That’s something, that’s a start.”
He said he was as disappointed as anyone else by the disappointing results of the live opening, which drew comparisons to Geraldo Rivera’s 1986 broadcast of the opening of a Chicago hotel safe allegedly belonging to gangster Al Capone, which revealed nothing but filth.
Crowds gathered at the US Military Academy hoped to catch a glimpse of a military relic or historical document when experts opened the top and pointed a camera inside.
The box was opened at an opening ceremony Monday at the New York Academy.AP
It might be better to remove the coins and medals under controlled conditions, said Hudson, who still plans to analyze the sediment for more clues about what else might be inside.
It appears that moisture and possibly sediment seeped into the box from the damaged seams.
This condition can also destroy organic material inside, such as paper or wood.
What survives are a 1795 5 cent coin, an 1800 Liberty dollar, an 1818 25 cent coin, a 10 cent and 1 cent coin from 1827, and an 1828 50 cent coin.
There is also an Erie Canal commemorative medal dated 1826.
Various specialist websites indicate the potential value of most coins, depending on condition, to range from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000.
The discovery seems to confirm academy officials’ theory that the box was left by a cadet in 1828 or 1829, when the original monument, honoring Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko, was completed.
A committee of five cadets that included 1829 graduate Robert E. Lee, a future Confederate general, was involved with the dedication of the monument.
Kosciuszko had designed a war fort for the Continental Army at West Point.
The main box, believed to have been placed by the cadets at the base of a monument, actually contained six American silver coins dated 1795 to 1828 and a commemorative medal. AP
Various specialist websites show the potential value of most coins, depending on condition, to range from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000.AP
West Point archaeologist Paul Hudson plans to analyze the sediment to get more clues about what else might be in it.AP
He died in 1817.
A statue of Kosciuszko was added to the monument in 1913.
Historical preservation and time capsule analysis will continue.
“I think there’s a lot we can learn from this,” Hudson said, “to learn about the history of the academy and about the history of the country.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
