Four silver coins dating back more than 200 years are the first items to emerge from a newly-discovered time capsule in Boston. A team of experts worked carefully Thursday to remove the container from a granite cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House. Historians believe the stash of treasures were placed there in 1795 by Revolutionary War luminaries Samuel Adams and Paul Revere among others. Treasure trove: This silver coin dating back more than 200 years, was retrieved from a newly-discovered time capsule in Boston today . The capsule is believed to contain items such as old coins and newspapers, but the condition of the contents is not yet known. Secretary of State William Galvin speculates that some could have deteriorated over time. Originally made of cowhide, the time capsule was believed to have been embedded in the granite cornerstone of the building when construction on the state Capitol began. Unearthed: The container was discovered in a granite cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House . Slice of history: Historians believe the stash of treasures were placed there in 1795 by Revolutionary War luminaries Samuel Adams and Paul Revere among others . Adams was governor of Massachusetts at the time. The time capsule was  last unearthed during emergency repairs to the State House in 1855 and its contents transferred to a copper box, Galvin said. It is being removed now because of an ongoing water filtration project at the building. The time capsule will not be immediately opened but instead taken to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, where it will be X-rayed to determine its contents. Revolutionary War luminarie: Adams was governor of Massachusetts at the time . Capitol: The time capsule was last unearthed during emergency repairs to the State House (pictured) in 1855 and its contents transferred to a copper box, Galvin said . Pamela Hatchfield, a conservator at the museum, slowly chiseled away at the cornerstone on Thursday to reach the box, a process that was expected to take several hours to complete. Galvin said the plan is to return it to the site sometime next year. The excavation comes just months after another time capsule was uncovered from the Old State House, which served as the state's first seat of government. That long-forgotten time capsule, dating to 1901, turned up in a lion statue atop the building and when opened, was found to contain a potpourri of well-preserved items including newspaper clippings, a book on foreign policy and a letter from journalists of the period. Drawn out process: The time capsule will not be immediately opened but instead taken to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, where it will be X-rayed to determine its contents .
Four silver coins dating back more than 200 years are the first items to emerge from a newly-discovered time capsule in Boston .
A team of experts worked carefully Thursday to remove the container from a granite cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House .
Historians believe the stash of treasures were placed there in 1795 by Revolutionary War luminaries Samuel Adams and Paul Revere .
Four silver coins dating back more than 200 years are the first items to emerge from a newly-discovered time capsule in Boston. A team of experts worked carefully Thursday to remove the container from a granite cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House. Historians believe the stash of treasures were placed there in 1795 by Revolutionary War luminaries Samuel Adams and Paul Revere among others. Treasure trove: This silver coin dating back more than 200 years, was retrieved from a newly-discovered time capsule in Boston today . The capsule is believed to contain items such as old coins and newspapers, but the condition of the contents is not yet known. Secretary of State William Galvin speculates that some could have deteriorated over time. Originally made of cowhide, the time capsule was believed to have been embedded in the granite cornerstone of the building when construction on the state Capitol began. Unearthed: The container was discovered in a granite cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House . Slice of history: Historians believe the stash of treasures were placed there in 1795 by Revolutionary War luminaries Samuel Adams and Paul Revere among others . Adams was governor of Massachusetts at the time. The time capsule was  last unearthed during emergency repairs to the State House in 1855 and its contents transferred to a copper box, Galvin said. It is being removed now because of an ongoing water filtration project at the building. The time capsule will not be immediately opened but instead taken to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, where it will be X-rayed to determine its contents. Revolutionary War luminarie: Adams was governor of Massachusetts at the time . Capitol: The time capsule was last unearthed during emergency repairs to the State House (pictured) in 1855 and its contents transferred to a copper box, Galvin said . Pamela Hatchfield, a conservator at the museum, slowly chiseled away at the cornerstone on Thursday to reach the box, a process that was expected to take several hours to complete. Galvin said the plan is to return it to the site sometime next year. The excavation comes just months after another time capsule was uncovered from the Old State House, which served as the state's first seat of government. That long-forgotten time capsule, dating to 1901, turned up in a lion statue atop the building and when opened, was found to contain a potpourri of well-preserved items including newspaper clippings, a book on foreign policy and a letter from journalists of the period. Drawn out process: The time capsule will not be immediately opened but instead taken to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, where it will be X-rayed to determine its contents .
Four silver coins dating back more than 200 years are the first items to emerge from a newly-discovered time capsule in Boston. A team of experts worked carefully Thursday to remove the container from a granite cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House. Historians believe the stash of treasures were placed there in 1795 by Revolutionary War luminaries Samuel Adams and luminaries Samuel Adams and Paul Revere among