Olompali State Park, California, Sir Francis Drake, Elizabeth Sixpence

WillieBoyd2

Some time ago I read a newspaper article about a new California state park, Olompali State Historical Park, located in Marin County, north of San Francisco. I was finally able to visit the park and walk around the area.

The area was a large gathering spot for Coast Miwok Indians, later in 1843 the Mexican governor issued a land grant to a Miwok Indian chief, Camillo Ynitia.

In 1846 Olompali was the site of a small battle in California's "Bear Flag Revolt" which pitted some Americans against Mexicans.

In 1853 Ynitia sold the land to a James Black who then gave it to his daughter and her husband, Dr. Burdell, a dentist. The Burdells built a dairy farm and a house, and Mrs. Burdell had a large garden constructed.


Olompali State Park - Burdell House (remains)

In 1942 the Burdells moved out and the land was sold and leased to various groups, Jesuits for a retreat, then in the late 1960s to a rock group "The Grateful Dead, then to a hippie commune called "The Chosen Family".

The hippies moved out in 1969 after a fire damaged the Burdell mansion.

In 1974 an archaelogist, Dr. Charles M. Slaymaker, lived on the land and had been digging there, when he discovered an English Sixpence of Elizabeth I dated 1567. The coin was under a dance house floor near a hearth which was carbon-dated to about AD 1600.

The coin below is not the sixpence that Dr. Slaymaker found but one that I acquired recently:


England Silver Sixpence 1561 Elizabeth I

Obverse: Crowned bust of Elizabeth facing left with a rose behind her head
ELIZABETH D G ANG FR ET HI REGINA followed by a downward arrow mintmark
(Elizabeth by the Grace of God, England, France and Ireland, Queen)
Reverse: Shield with arms (lions and fleurs-de-lis) and long cross behind
POSVI DEV ADIVTOREM MEV (I have made God my Helper)
Size: 27mm Weight: 2.75gm
Tower Mint, Downward Arrow (a "pheon") mintmark, above the Queen's head

Dr. Slaymaker's sixpence is dated 1567 and has a crown mintmark. It is now residing in the University of California's Bancroft Library in Berkeley.

The English pirate Sir Francis Drake supposedly landed on the coast of Northern California in 1579, not too far from Olompali, and the Olompali sixpence may have come from Drake via the Indians.

Drake supposedly left a brass plate with an inscription claiming the land for England and Queen Elizabeth, along with a Elizabeth sixpence.

In 1937 a hiker named Shinn found a brass plate and brought it to a Professor Bolton of the University of California at Berkeley. Bolton was convinced that the plate was left by Drake and convinced some friends to buy it from Shinn for $3,000, a large amount in 1936. He had the plate authenticated by metal experts and for years it was displayed as supposedly proof of Drake's landing. Copies were given to dignitaries, including England's current Queen Elizabeth.


The infamous Drake "Plate of Brasse", on display at the Bancroft Library

Some had doubts about the plate's authenticity from the start, and in the 1970's with better analysis techniques, it was conclusively determined to be a manufactured modern-made hoax.

A historian published an article in 2002 with the details, the plate was manufactured by three members of a historical club, E Clampus Vitus (ECV), who wanted to play a joke on Professor Bolton.

The ECV men then became afraid to reveal the truth and kept silent, partly because they might have had to make good on the money spent for the plate.

My father brought me to the Bancroft Library in the 1950's and I remember seeing the plate then in a display case in the lobby.

The plate is still there but now with an explanation of the hoax and a copy of an E Clampus Vitus magazine.


E Clampus Vitus magazine

I just had to have an Elizabeth sixpence, and now I do.

OriginalDan

That was a fun read!

I once ran into a Clamper initiation festival up in Downieville CA. Colorful and wild bunch they are.

lordmarcovan

Good writeup.

worldcoinguy

Excellent read.

OldEastside

Steve

SaorAlba

I grew up in California and remember learning about the plate back when they still thought it was real. I remember someone giving a talk at a coin club meeting there about the Drakes bay area and finding an Elizabethan coin in the 1980s. I still have my doubts though. I have known people that have found Roman coins in the street - doesn't mean the Romans found America.

LochNESS

Pirate? I thought Drake was a respected explorer, no different than Magellan or Columbus (well the latter may not have been respected in his day but he is in modern times).

SaorAlba

<< <i>Pirate? I thought Drake was a respected explorer, no different than Magellan or Columbus (well the latter may not have been respected in his day but he is in modern times). >>



He was given a lettre of marque authorising the raiding of Spanish shipping - essentially a state sponsored pirate. It was a practice that continued up until WWI.

LochNESS

Right, like the British and US during the American Revolution (raiding trade and supply ships along the GA-Carolina coast). I guess we are all pirates! Arrrrrg