Ancient Coins May Solve Age-old Murder Mystery
2021-04-05
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1A few coins found in rural areas of the United States, including the state of Rhode Island, may help solve one of the oldest murder mysteries.
2The murderer in this story is an English pirate who became the world's most-wanted criminal.
3His crime? He attacked and robbed a ship carrying Muslims traveling home to India from Mecca.
4The pirate then escaped capture by posing as a slave trader.
5It is "a new history of a nearly perfect crime," Jim Bailey told the Associated Press.
6He is an amateur historian who found an 17th-century Arabian coin in Middletown, Rhode Island.
7That ancient coin is one of the oldest ever found in North America.
8And it could explain how pirate Captain Henry Every disappeared from history.
9Here is the story...
10On September 7, 1695, a pirate ship named Fancy under Every's command captured the Ganj-i-Sawai.
11That ship belonged to Indian emperor Aurangzeb.
12At the time, the Indian emperor was one of the most powerful men in the world.
13Aboard the ship were Muslims returning from Mecca and tens of millions of dollars' worth of gold and silver.
14Historical records say Captain Every and his men tortured and killed the men and raped the women aboard the Indian ship.
15Then they escaped to the Bahamas, a safe place for pirates at that time.
16When word of the crimes reached English King William III, he set a large price for the capture of the pirates.
17Today Bailey said, "If you Google 'first worldwide manhunt,' it comes up as Every."
18Everyone, he added, was looking for the pirates at the time.
19Until now, historians only knew that Every eventually sailed to Ireland in 1696 and disappeared.
20But Bailey said the coins, he and others have found, prove that the pirate and his crew had first come to the American colonies.
21They used the coins for day-to-day expenses during their escape.
22While using his metal detector at Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, Rhode Island, Bailey got a signal.
23He dug down and found a darkened, dime-sized silver coin.
24At first, he thought it was either a Spanish coin or one made by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
25However, after a close look, he got very excited.
26He saw Arabic text on the coin. He said to himself, "Oh my God."
27Research confirmed that the coin was made in 1693 in Yemen.
28Since Bailey's discovery, others have found 15 more Arabian coins from the same time period.
29One coin was found in North Carolina, where records show some of Every's men first landed.
30Another coin was found in 2018 at a farm in Connecticut.
31Bailey said Every was able to hide by posing as a slave trader.
32On his way to the Bahamas, Bailey explained, the pirate even stopped at the French island of Reunion to get some Black captives so he would look the part.
33Other little-known records show the pirates left the Fancy and used a ship called the Sea Flower to sail along the Eastern coastline.
34It arrived with some slaves in 1696 in Newport, Rhode Island, then a center of the North American slave trade.
35Bailey, who has a degree in anthropology from the University of Rhode Island, published his findings in the research publication American Numismatic Society.
36"Jim's research is impeccable," said Kevin McBride, a professor of archaeology at the University of Connecticut.
37"It's really a pretty interesting story," he said.
38Hollywood thinks so, too. A movie about Captain Every will be released by Sony Pictures in early 2022.
39For Bailey, "It's always been about the thrill of the hunt, not about the money," he said.
40"The only thing better than finding these objects is the long-lost stories behind them."
41I'm Anna Matteo.
1A few coins found in rural areas of the United States, including the state of Rhode Island, may help solve one of the oldest murder mysteries. 2The murderer in this story is an English pirate who became the world's most-wanted criminal. His crime? He attacked and robbed a ship carrying Muslims traveling home to India from Mecca. The pirate then escaped capture by posing as a slave trader. 3It is "a new history of a nearly perfect crime," Jim Bailey told the Associated Press. 4He is an amateur historian who found an 17th-century Arabian coin in Middletown, Rhode Island. That ancient coin is one of the oldest ever found in North America. And it could explain how pirate Captain Henry Every disappeared from history. 5Here is the story... 6On September 7, 1695, a pirate ship named Fancy under Every's command captured the Ganj-i-Sawai. That ship belonged to Indian emperor Aurangzeb. At the time, the Indian emperor was one of the most powerful men in the world. Aboard the ship were Muslims returning from Mecca and tens of millions of dollars' worth of gold and silver. 7Historical records say Captain Every and his men tortured and killed the men and raped the women aboard the Indian ship. Then they escaped to the Bahamas, a safe place for pirates at that time. When word of the crimes reached English King William III, he set a large price for the capture of the pirates. 8Today Bailey said, "If you Google 'first worldwide manhunt,' it comes up as Every." Everyone, he added, was looking for the pirates at the time. 9Until now, historians only knew that Every eventually sailed to Ireland in 1696 and disappeared. 10But Bailey said the coins, he and others have found, prove that the pirate and his crew had first come to the American colonies. They used the coins for day-to-day expenses during their escape. 11While using his metal detector at Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, Rhode Island, Bailey got a signal. He dug down and found a darkened, dime-sized silver coin. At first, he thought it was either a Spanish coin or one made by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 12However, after a close look, he got very excited. He saw Arabic text on the coin. He said to himself, "Oh my God." 13Research confirmed that the coin was made in 1693 in Yemen. Since Bailey's discovery, others have found 15 more Arabian coins from the same time period. One coin was found in North Carolina, where records show some of Every's men first landed. Another coin was found in 2018 at a farm in Connecticut. 14Bailey said Every was able to hide by posing as a slave trader. On his way to the Bahamas, Bailey explained, the pirate even stopped at the French island of Reunion to get some Black captives so he would look the part. 15Other little-known records show the pirates left the Fancy and used a ship called the Sea Flower to sail along the Eastern coastline. It arrived with some slaves in 1696 in Newport, Rhode Island, then a center of the North American slave trade. 16Bailey, who has a degree in anthropology from the University of Rhode Island, published his findings in the research publication American Numismatic Society. 17"Jim's research is impeccable," said Kevin McBride, a professor of archaeology at the University of Connecticut. "It's really a pretty interesting story," he said. 18Hollywood thinks so, too. A movie about Captain Every will be released by Sony Pictures in early 2022. 19For Bailey, "It's always been about the thrill of the hunt, not about the money," he said. "The only thing better than finding these objects is the long-lost stories behind them." 20I'm Anna Matteo. 21William J. Kole reported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 22_________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24coin -n. a small, flat, and usually round piece of metal issued by a government as money 25pirate -n. someone who attacks and steals from a ship at sea 26pose -v. to pretend to be someone or something else 27amateur -n. a person who takes part in sports or occupations for pleasure and not for pay 28emperor -n. a man who rules an empire 29manhunt -n. an organized and usually intensive hunt for a person and especially for one charged with a crime 30metal detector -n. a device that detects the presence of hidden metal 31impeccable -adj. free from fault or error 32thrill of the hunt phrase the excitement that people feel when they are trying hard to get something