Four Centuries of Treasure

Above: Richmond Island, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

by Donna A. Trefry
Article reprinted with permission from Western & Eastern Treasures Magazine
Published January, 1996

Metal detecting along the coast of Maine can uncover a lot of history. My area of the coast is abundant in sandy beaches, ten of them within as many miles. All of our beaches are steeped in history. Three of them were once a part of the "King's Highway," an ancient land route between Massachusetts and what is now Maine. Since the early 1600s when this thoroughfare was the only highway other than the sea, it has been in continuous use by colonial travelers, tourists and local residents. Imagine it. Four centuries of lost treasures!

My detecting buddies and I each have our favorite beach. I refer to them by our names, e.g. Nadene's beach, Donna B's beach, Pat's beach and MY beach*.

"MY" beach is Bowery Beach, and is close to Richmond Island, which in 1627 received its first permanent resident, a Walter Bagnall, aka "Great Walt." Bagnall, whose reputation was already a bit shady, was in the business of trading with (and cheating) the local Indians who later killed him, burned his house and made off with his belongings. According to then Massachusetts Governor Winthrop "...this Bagnall...was a wicked fellow, and had much wronged the Indians."

Before Bagnall's demise it was thought he had accumulated a great sum of gold. Some historians think the Indians took what they wanted. Others assumed it was confiscated by the Massachusetts authorities. No one really knows what became of it, but two hundred years later, on the 11th of May, 1855, an earthen pot was plowed up on Richmond Island. In it were found 21 gold coins, 31 silver coins and a gold signet ring bearing the initials "G.V."

The cache included silver one-shilling pieces, sixpences, groats and half groats of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I. The gold coins were sovereigns and half-sovereigns from the reigns of James I, Charles I, and a Scottish sovereign dated 1602. An historian, William Willis, theorized that this cache was probably part of Great Walt's "ill-gotten assets."

Meanwhile, Maine's now bustling tourist industry was in its infancy as hotels and inns were being built all over the area to accommodate the ever increasing surge of vacationers. Only seven years prior to the pot hoard's discovery the Ocean House at Cape Elizabeth was erected on the mainland in direct view of Bagnall's Richmond Island. According to Edward Elwell's Portland and Vicinity, first published in 1876, the Ocean House, built in 1848, could accommodate from 130-150 boarders and was always full in the season. Elwell also tells us "it has long been a favorite resort of gentlemen from Canada, who came here with their families to enjoy the benefits of sea-bathing, in which they have great faith."

During December of 1992 a violent Northeaster struck our beaches eroding centuries of built-up sand dunes. Their long hidden wealth was now scattered in thin layers across the sand. Knowing that with each change of tide the treasure would become deeper, I hurried to "MY" beach with detector in hand. It was to be one of the most prolific weeks of my detecting life. The temperatures during that week were well below zero and the winds were bone-chilling. Most of the shoreline was frozen solid but the brine of the surf had thawed the top three inches of sand.

The first "must dig" signal promised to be a silver quarter. Much to my surprise after digging to five inches, using an ice-pick, I pulled out a Barber half. Suddenly, I was no longer cold! Inside my parka, I could feel my body temperature rise with each subsequent recovery of old silver. Other coins would have to wait to be identified when I returned home, but there was no doubt about the seated lady! Less than ten yards from the Barber half recovery, she poked her head out from the icy sand - an 1875 Seated Liberty half!

Silver continued to turn up in abundance thoughout the week. I must say most of the coins were not in the best of condition due to their decades in the salty earth. In fact some of the dimes and quarters came out looking like old-time Smith Brothers' Cough Drops. Each coin's hard, black shell could be cracked like a walnut to reveal its bright morsel of silver.

My favorite treasure from that week? Not silver, but a brass disk about the size of a silver dollar inscribed "Ocean House, Cape Elizabeth 51." Can it be a long-lost tag from an Ocean House room key? The Ocean House was destroyed by fire in December, 1892. One hundred years - to the month - before I recovered the tag! William Jordan says in his History of Cape Elizabeth: "Nothing now survives to indicate that the Ocean House was ever there, nothing that is, except the stone retaining wall that was built between the road and the beach." (And of course my key tag for Room Number 51!)

Think of it. There were more than one hundred million Seated Liberty Halves minted during the era of the Ocean House... but how many brass key tags for Room Number 51?

The Spoils

Among my better recoveries:
1 1875 Seated Liberty Half
1 1896 Barber Half
5 Standing Liberty quarters
6 Silver Washington quarters
1 1891 British (Victoria) 3 Pence
1 1920 Silver Canadian 5-cent piece
16 Barber Dimes
22 Mercury dimes
9 Silver Roosevelt dimes
3 Shield nickels
2 "V" nickels
6 Buffalo nickels
1 1816 Large Cent
1 Flying Eagle cent
9 Indian cents
51 Wheat cents
1 George V penny
1 Boy Scout Neckerchief slide
14 Square nails (maybe from Ocean House?)
1 Gold earring
1 Gold award pin (1936 spelling champ)
3 Sterling rings
3 Victorian spoons & forks
1 Sterling moneyclip
4 Ladies brooches
3 Dog tags
4 musketballs
1 Rolls Royce (toy)
1 "Tim's Lucky Coin" token
1 Dollar Bill (keep looking down!)

Surprisingly, very few clad coins, pop tops, and pull rings were dug.


Bibliography...
The two volumes cited are:
Jordan, William B. Jr., A History of Cape Elizabeth, Maine,
Portland, 1965
Elwell, Edward H., Portland and Vicinity, Portland, 1881

Other articles by Donna
"Four Centuries of Treasure"
"Truly a Golden Age"
"The Mystery of the Seven-stoned Ring"
"Ghosts of History Guide the Searchcoil"
"Cache or Bust"
"Treasure Hunting Through the Internet"
"Where Gold Coins Grow on Trees"