![]() ![]() Have any tips on relatively unknown, must-see destinations in Arizona? Reach the reporter at or at 60. No one expects that to happen, given the coins' approximate valuation. Based on Google searches, similar Spanish coins in much better condition are worth no more than $50 or so. It's an ongoing case, at least until someone steps forward with proof of ownership. He's not ready to completely rule out that the coins somehow came to the New World by the 17th or 18th centuries, perhaps eventually into the hands of Native Americans. MORE: Headed to Lake Powell? Don't miss Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe BendĪnd unless someone comes forward to claim ownership, the coins will continue to sit in a climate-controlled environment in Page, where Glen Canyon National Recreation Area staff are based.īut Harmon is not declaring the mystery solved. While it makes little sense for someone to have brought the two coins to Lake Powell, then lose them somehow, it's the most plausible explanation, and one the archaeologist is sticking to until evidence is found to the contrary. ![]() They most likely were dropped in the area anywhere from a few years to a few decades ago, Harmon said. Watch Video: 7 things to do at Lake Powell That steered Harmon toward his most disappointing, and now likely, theory - that the coins were part of a modern collection that somehow wound up near Halls Crossing. Harmon couldn’t bring himself to believe coins minted centuries apart could have wound up in the same hands, be they Spanish explorers or Native Americans. Then there was the coins' disparate dates. There were no clear points of origin, just bits of scattered trash, most likely from passing houseboats. The reports back from the site were disappointing. Without that context, it’s almost impossible.” “In archaeology, what the object is is just as important as where it is found,” Harmon said. Perhaps they emerged from an alcove, or some other natural deposit. Based on their ages, the coins should have been buried by layers of sediment. In the meantime, Harmon sent colleagues to the spot where the hiker reported finding the coins. He told them to look for spots from which the coins may have eroded. More: Why is Page, Arizona, so popular? Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon, that's why The smaller coin is a dinero from the reign of Alfonso X, dated between 12. Thanks to numismatists in Spain, Harmon learned that the larger coin is a 16 maravedis, dating to 1662-1664. Not long after Harmon finally got his hands on the coins in February, he reached out to experts to authenticate the find. These aren’t the kinds of things I come across in the normal course of my job.” “I really tried to keep my mind open,” Harmon said. Harmon’s second theory, which he found much more tantalizing, was that the coins somehow found their way to Native Americans, who used them in trade. However, the coins - one believed to be from the 13th century, the other from the mid-1600s - predated the first known Spanish presence in the area (the Dominguez and Escalante Expedition of 1776) by decades. Harmon’s initial thought was that they were brought by Spanish explorers. The noticeable "shearing" or "cutting" could be because the coin was too heavy after minting and needed to be clipped until the proper weight was achieved.The more he studied the detailed images of the coins, the more excited he became because there were only a handful of ways such coins could have found their way to his archaeological backyard. Bunch of old Spanish coins in a golden box isolated on white background. Unfortunately rather eroded, and apparently notably cut / sheared off around the outside.Įrosion is relatively normal for coins that age, with exceptions of course. The details on this coin correlate with the details of the coin you have found. You can notice the cross is surrounded by 4 shapes representing castles and lions similar to yours.Īlso the dots around the cross and the letters surrounding it appear on your coin.Īs you yourself have found based on this preliminary answer, is a minting much closer than the one I have found and will therefore incorporate into this answer. The Spanish Real has a very wide variety of designs but the one I could find closest to yours is one from 1588 on ebay. The most common denomination for the currency was the silver eight-real Spanish dollar (Real de a 8) or peso which was used throughout Europe, America and Asia during the height of the Spanish Empire. ![]() It underwent several changes in value relative to other units throughout its lifetime until it was replaced by the peseta in 1868. The real (meaning: "royal", plural: reales) was a unit of currency in Spain for several centuries after the mid-14th century. Value somewhat, but traces of cleaning much more so. ![]()
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