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A similar mystery is this coin from Calcutta, India found buried in Southern Utah https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qf93c3 https://collections.lib.u

A similar mystery is this coin from Calcutta, India found buried in Southern Utah https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qf93c3 https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qf93c3 Evidently, according to a book I read about lost treasures in Utah, Spanish missionaries in New Mexico/Arizona would run a side business of secretly accumulating gold from the natives. They would then stash them underground in safe locations. This coin was found in one such stash. How a coin from Calcutta ended up in Utah - nobody knows.

juskrey 6y ago
My wild guess is someone brought it by sea
- rootsudo 6y ago
  You, sir, just unlocked the case!
- doodlebugging 6y ago
  Possibly in their pocket! (Did pants have pockets back then?)
  - InTheirAssS 6y ago
    Read up on your Pulp Fiction. It was obviously hid in their ass.
- okareaman 6y ago
  Could have been planted by the person who found the cache. People do weird things like that.
  - markdown 6y ago
    I wouldn't call fraud for personal gain weird. It's quite common, actually.
doodlebugging 6y ago
That coin was minted in 1831 according to the document you linked. That only leaves about 16 years for the coin to make it from India to Utah before the territory was won by or ceded to the United States during the Mexican War around 1847. If it was indeed related to Spanish missionaries it probably would be older than 1831 since those missionaries would've been Mexican. Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821-1822 though the Spanish only officially recognized it in 1836 I think. It probably found its way there in the pocket of a Mormon who came to California to serve against the Mexicans during that short-lived part of the Mexican War. Or maybe a friar, or miner who got it as payment during some transaction with a Mexican or Spanish sailor in a California port city before the state came under control of the United States. Its placement could be dated more accurately if it were placed in context with the mint marks or dates from coins that it was found with. There are lots of reasons why people would bury valuables back then and never return to recover them.

juskrey 6y ago

My wild guess is someone brought it by sea

rootsudo 6y ago
You, sir, just unlocked the case!
doodlebugging 6y ago
Possibly in their pocket! (Did pants have pockets back then?)
- InTheirAssS 6y ago
  Read up on your Pulp Fiction. It was obviously hid in their ass.
okareaman 6y ago
Could have been planted by the person who found the cache. People do weird things like that.
- markdown 6y ago
  I wouldn't call fraud for personal gain weird. It's quite common, actually.

doodlebugging 6y ago

That coin was minted in 1831 according to the document you linked. That only leaves about 16 years for the coin to make it from India to Utah before the territory was won by or ceded to the United States during the Mexican War around 1847. If it was indeed related to Spanish missionaries it probably would be older than 1831 since those missionaries would've been Mexican. Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821-1822 though the Spanish only officially recognized it in 1836 I think. It probably found its way there in the pocket of a Mormon who came to California to serve against the Mexicans during that short-lived part of the Mexican War. Or maybe a friar, or miner who got it as payment during some transaction with a Mexican or Spanish sailor in a California port city before the state came under control of the United States. Its placement could be dated more accurately if it were placed in context with the mint marks or dates from coins that it was found with. There are lots of reasons why people would bury valuables back then and never return to recover them.