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ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY TIME CAPSULE COINSMax Hensley passed along this Atlas Obscura article about the opening of a 1915 time capsule in the Arlington National Cemetery Memorial. -Editor 
On October 13, 1915, when construction was beginning on the Memorial Amphitheater, a memorabilia box was sunk behind the cornerstone to fete the project. The copper box was stuffed with ephemera, including postage stamps and six coins; a U.S. flag; a Bible signed by the building's architect; copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; a photo autographed by then-President Woodrow Wilson, who was on hand to place the cornerstone; and a handful of local newspapers, including the Evening Star. The same day, that paper ran a series of stories about the construction. One headline read "CARE TAKEN TO PROTECT PAPERS IN MEMORIAL CORNERSTONE," and the accompanying article zeroed in on all the ways that the people who'd prepared the time capsule had armored it against the elements. The story described it as finicky, exacting workâthe task of an "anxious" crew committed to rethinking some of the procedures that had guided "all cornerstones heretofore laid in government buildings." When historians, archivists, and conservators opened it in April, they found that all of those earlier efforts had paid off. Far from floating in standing water, "everything inside was, as far as we could tell, dry," Smith says. "No signs of mold, most objects were wrapped or tied, everything appeared to be okay." The silk flag was swaddled in paper, and the Bible was wrapped in something resembling wax paper or oil cloth. Max writes: "Below is the picture of the six coins in what may be the earliest coin board. The donor became a General and is buried in the cemetery. "I could find no inventory of the coins on-line, and the toning is mottled, so it is hard to make them out. They appear to be dollar, half, quarter, dime, nickel and cent. No gold. "I wish there was more to report. We just have to revert to speculation due to casual work by National Archives. Very irritating." 
Max adds: "Since the capsule was emplaced in October, they all could be 1915, and probably would be Philadelphia in any case. Too bad things weren't delayed a year later. A 1916 standing liberty quarter might have made it in!" To read the complete article, see: Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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