Article: Ancient mystery or a hoax? Archaeologists investigate rare find at Lake Powe

[MiddenMonster]

Interesting article. Not sure what to make of it, though. Also not sure if I would have given up the coins so easily...

Ancient mystery or a hoax? Archaeologists investigate rare find at Lake Powell

 

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[cudamark]

It shouldn't be all that hard to authenticate. There's bound to be plenty of examples out there. Seeing as they're just two coins found (so far anyway) it could have been dropped there at ANY time in the last few centuries. Even if they are genuine and old, that doesn't mean they were dropped right after they were minted or on any particular Spanish expedition. A kid could have raided their parents coin collection and lost them there a couple of years ago.

 

[huntsman53]

It is not hard to believe that Spanish Conquistadors traveled from Mexico to Southern Utah or even into the mountains of Northern Arizona in search of Gold and lost or relieved of the coins while being pursued by Native Americans. They could have been lost in the general location where found or higher in the mountains of Southern Utah or Northern Arizona and were washed down into streams and/or rivers flowing into Lake Powell.

 

[cyzak]

View attachment Distant-Treasures-in-the-Mist.pdf

 

[PetesPockets55]

Interesting.
There should be enough dirt encrusted on the two coins to get sample for testing and compare to the local soil.

 

[MiddenMonster]

I agree that there are still too many unknowns here to draw a definitive conclusion. I question if even the National Park Service and the whole weight of the federal government can ever determine what exactly is going on here. The guy that found them did your standard Internet search in researching and dating the two coins, but how much weight should we put in that? But, assuming his research is correct, the most recent of the two coins dates to the mid 17th century, and the older coin dates to the late 13th century so I think that we can dismiss the idea that either coin was left there pre-Columbus. And what is the likelihood that someone in the mid 17th century would be carrying around a coin that is 350 years old? I admit I have no idea if that would have been a thing back then. Cudamark makes a good point that some kid may have dropped them at any time, including the day they were found. In my head I'm thinking that the tendency would have been for them to be covered with more and more dirt and other material the longer they had been there. But in the end, what is the likelihood that the government is going to give the finder these coins, no matter when they were dropped? Unless a bigger cache of similar coins is found, chances are slim that there will ever be enough information to determine how they got there. And the finder is going to be out two coins, regardless. I wouldn't be surprised if the government interprets the law in such a way that picking up and keeping a brand new shiny quarter is breaking the law. Which is why I probably wouldn't have turned them over had I found them.

 

[Nitric]

It could be as simple as the "finder" made up a cool story and turned a couple coins in that he had in a box at home, claiming he found them. Maybe just for the attention.

On the other end...I believe it's very possible that it was some kind of route at some point, maybe even for hundreds of years, they could have been lost at two different times. Like huntsman said, then collected to that spot by water.

It's a cool story! And they may never find the answer unless more items are found. Isn't there supposed to be a ship in the desert somewhere? There is definitely pieces of history twisted, lost and maybe even hidden from the books for whatever reason.

Kind of makes you wonder though....If dropped? what are the chances they would be together after that many years? And is there a stash somewhere near by?

I guess anythings possible.

 

[PetesPockets55]

Interesting link Cyzak. It does mention the two priests and their expedition.

Is Kannah Creek in your link close to the area where the two coins were found?

 

[cyzak]

Interesting link Cyzak. It does mention the two priests and their expedition.

Is Kannah Creek in your link close to the area where the two coins were found?

I would just like to say for the record I am not affiliated with any type of museum or archaeologist this was an article they ran in the local news paper here. Kannah Creek location would be about 225 miles North of Halls Crossing it is at the foot of Grand Mesa east of Grand Junction Colorado.My dad ran the Colorado river thru Halls Crossing in the 50's with Mexican Hat Expeditions before they built Glen Canyon dam. He said there was a lot of interesting artifacts down there in that area they never could figure out why the bureau never recovered any of it, know it is all under water. View attachment Chasing-the-Dream (1).pdf

 

[huntsman53]

I still believe that the possibility exists that a Spanish Conquistador or two, lost or were relieved of the coins while on a conquest for Gold through the area. The Dates on the coins have never been truly established and I really question the 13th Century dating on the smaller coin. Also, it does not seem that the National Park Service or their parent agency, the Department of Interior are truly interested and working towards dating the coins and searching that area for more relics and coins which could definitely point towards the Spanish traveling through that area of the National Park. Having worked for Uncle Sam for almost 33 years, I have seen how the upper echelon (upper tier managers and supervisors) often sit on their' hands and do nothing because if it is going to cost the agency even a penny, they would not want to act on it for fear that their' jobs might be eliminated.

 

[Philvis]

Coins by themselves, unfortunately, only prove a site at that particular stratigraphy cannot be older than the mint date of the coin(s). Random found coins mean nothing contextually. Now if you found armor, a sword, or other dateable artifacts in conjunction with said coins, THEN you have something more to back up potential date ranges. As cudamark said above, It could have been kids who dropped theses from their dad's collection, or even Spanish soldiers carrying around some older coins that they dropped, or coins that were traded for by Natives from other areas where Spanish were. So many possibilities, but again, a couple coins without further items, means absolutely nothing.

 

[unclemac]

Coins by themselves, unfortunately, only prove a site at that particular stratigraphy cannot be older than the mint date of the coin(s). Random found coins mean nothing contextually. Now if you found armor, a sword, or other dateable artifacts in conjunction with said coins, THEN you have something more to back up potential date ranges. As cudamark said above, It could have been kids who dropped theses from their dad's collection, or even Spanish soldiers carrying around some older coins that they dropped, or coins that were traded for by Natives from other areas where Spanish were. So many possibilities, but again, a couple coins without further items, means absolutely nothing.

...for instance, Chinese cash coins at California gold mining sites and in the Arctic do not indicate pre-Columbian trade with China...

 

[A2coins]

Hoax