Two medieval Spanish coins were recently discovered in the Glen Canyon National Park in Utah (USA).
One of them was released in 1660, and the second around the 1200s. Moreover, the first Spaniards arrived in Mexico only in the 16th century, several decades after the discovery of America by Columbus.
The find of the coins is also mysterious in that no other artifacts were found next to the coins, and the coins were not buried in the ground, they just lay in the upper layer of soil among the moss and rotten leaves.
Both coins were examined by local archaeologist Glen Harmon and he is confident that the coins are genuine.
People say it is a real mystery how such ancient Spanish coins ended up in Utah, which the Spaniards had not visited until 1776.
Archaeologists are now working on 4 main versions: the coins were left by the first Spanish settlers, the coins were lost by Spanish sailors, someone traded with the Indians and gave them coins, and, finally, the version that some of the later settlers carried ancient coins with them then lost.
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Another version was suggested by Dr. Rory Smith, professor of medieval British history at King's College London. He thinks that the coins could have simply been lost in the park by an unlucky modern collector.
The earliest Spanish settlement in Utah dates from 1776, but it is very far from the park where the coins were found. However, there is always the possibility that there were other Spanish settlers who did not indicate their arrival in any way.
