In January of 2015 , after five hours of punctilious work with a lowly , dental tool - like alloy choice and a hedgehog quill , Museum of Fine Arts , Boston curator Pam Hatchfield open up theoldest have sex sentence capsulein the country . It was originally buried on July 4 , 1795 by Revolutionary War zep Paul Revere and Samuel Adams , who was then the governor of Massachusetts . On that twenty-four hours , 15 horse — one for each of the states in the comparatively new conjugation — pulled the groundwork for the new State House through the streets of Boston to the construction website for a commemorative ground - breaking . Below the cornerstone , the two men place the capsule , sandwiched between two sheet of lead .
And there it stay — but not without interruption . The ejection seat was first unearthed back in 1855 , when actor discovered it while make repairs to the State House . It was opened at the time and the content were cleaned ( in nitric acid according to " preservation " maneuver of the time ) , cataloged and re - swallow along with artifacts from that era in a sturdy , brass box .
One hundred and fifty nine long time later , the corner is back out of the ground . In May 2014 , historiographer — concerned about water wrong from a nearby leak — decided it was time ( again ) to start the capsule . That December , Hatchfield drop seven hourscarefully draw out the historic box .
indoors were five neatly shut down newspapers , a accumulation of 23 coins dating as far back as 1652 , a medal depicting George Washington , a reproduction of Colonial phonograph record , and a silver plate commemorating the erection of the unexampled State House that read , " This cornerstone of a edifice designate for the role of the legislative and executive branch of the government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was laid by his Excellency Samuel Adams , Esquire , governor of the said Commonwealth . " Most of the items were already know from the 1855 catalog , but the detail are still of rattling historic value . Accessing this value presents some quandaries for the preservationists , though — like whether or not they should attempt to unfold the ticklish newspapers to read what ’s in spite of appearance .
Secretary of State William Galvin said the item will in all likelihood go on display for a short clip and then they will go back into the time capsule and recall to the original resting space in the foundation of the State House .
