{"id":77649,"date":"2023-08-31T00:06:09","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T00:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/08\/31\/centuries-old-coins-found-in-1828-west-point-time-capsule\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:23:08","slug":"centuries-old-coins-found-in-1828-west-point-time-capsule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2023\/08\/31\/centuries-old-coins-found-in-1828-west-point-time-capsule\/","title":{"rendered":"Centuries-old coins found in 1828 West Point time capsule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that appeared to yield little more than dust when it was opened during a disappointing livestream contained hidden treasure after all, the U.S. Military Academy said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was just more hidden than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lead box believed to have been placed by cadets in the base of a monument actually contained six silver American coins dating from 1795 to 1828 and a commemorative medal, West Point said in a news release. All were discovered in the sediment of the box, which at Monday\u2019s ceremonial opening at the New York academy appeared to be its only contents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This
This photo, provided by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Aug. 30, 2023, shows West Point archeologist Paul Hudson displaying coins found in the lead box believed to have been placed in the base of a monument by cadets almost two centuries ago, in West Point, NY. (U.S. Military Academy at West Point via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I first found these, I thought, man, you know, it would have been great to have found these on stage,\u201d said West Point archeologist Paul Hudson, who after the event, took the box back to his lab and began carefully sifting through the silt with a small wooden pick and brush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore long, lo and behold, there\u2019s the edge of a coin sticking out,\u201d he recounted by phone, \u201cand I thought, well that\u2019s OK. That\u2019s something, that\u2019s a start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he was as disappointed as anyone by the underwhelming results of the live opening, which brought comparisons to Geraldo Rivera\u2019s televised 1986 unsealing of a Chicago hotel vault purportedly belonging to gangster Al Capone, which infamously revealed nothing but dirt. A crowd that had gathered at the U.S. Military Academy had hoped to see military relics<\/a> or historical documents when experts pried open the top and pointed a camera inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was probably better to extract the coins and medal in a controlled setting anyway, said Hudson, who still plans to analyze the sediment for more clues about what else may have been inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appeared that moisture and perhaps sediment seeped in to the box from a damaged seam. The conditions also could have disintegrated any organic matter inside, like paper or wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\t