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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;CaptHenway, post: 362405, member: 13813&quot;]I was fascinated by the addition to the myth surrounding the Yoachum dollars of the fanciful story that the silver used in them had been mined by Spanish conquistadors in 1541, only to be left behind and re-discovered by native Americans circa 1820.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As a professional authenticator I examined, in 1982, two of the eight pieces allegedly discovered in a cave in the early 1980s. At that time the story that accompanied them was that they had been made in 1822 by a trader named Yoachum from native silver ore mined by Indians in the Ozarks.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>We did x-ray tests on the pieces and discovered that they were nearly perfect sterling silver, 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% pure copper with virtually no trace elements. It is what you would expect if somebody melted down a few sterling silver spoons or forks. It is impossible from raw ore crudely smelted, by either Indians or conquistadors.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>We returned the coins as &quot;No Decision,&quot; with the comment that we would like to see one from a different source. About six months later we received one from a party in Indiana who claimed that it was an old family heirloom. A check of our photographic and weight records proved that it was merely one of the original two pieces, now heavily artificially toned.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In my personal opinion the pieces I examined in 1982 and 1983 are modern fantasies. I also understand that imitations of them are being sold in the gift shop at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. Whether or not the 1982 pieces had any connection to Silver Dollar City would be sheer speculation, unless someone other than I has any knowledge of this and would care to add to this discussion.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Tom DeLorey[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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