Gold Coins Can Save Your Life
Gold actually has many different medical uses, but this one is one that you won’t find in medical textbooks or education. There were a lot of legends created around times of war, relating to mysterious events and life saving occurrences, but very few of them were ever actually certified to be true. However, when Lt. George Dixon was given a gold coin from his sweetheart, he kept it in his pocket and it actually did end up saving his life by stopping the bullet shot at him.
Lt. Dixon commanded the Hunley on its final voyage, which ended up being an essential part of the history of the navy. Legend has it that Dixon was in love with Queenie Bennett, a lady from Mobile, Alabama. When he left to commandeer his mission, Queenie gave him a gold coin, as a good luck charm. He kept it in his pocket at all times, dreaming of the day that he would see his love again as he rubbed the coin from time to time, according to the legend. It came upon the Battle of Shiloh, when George Dixon ended up getting shot at point-blank range.
The bullet, however, ripped through his trousers and struck the gold coin first, which was supposed to have left the gold piece misshapen with the bullet embedded in the coin. There was more than 137 years of wondering whether this tale was true or not until there was a discovery that helped to prove the legend to be a factual occurrence.
The H.L. Hunley was excavated after those 137 years and it was during this excavation that a coin was discovered next to the remains of the Lieutenant. The coin was minted in 1860 and was a $20 gold piece bearing Lady Liberty on one side and a sanded and personally inscribed backside where the traditional shield and eagle symbol had been.
The coin was indented, and carried traces of lead from the bullet’s impact. The script on the coin writes ‘Shiloh, April 6, 1862, My life Preserver, G. E. D.’, neatly written in four separate lines. As it turns out, one of the many legends of wars past has actually been determined to be true. The archaeologist who discovered the coin was pleased with her find, but believes that perhaps fate had more to do with the discovery than the luck that others attribute to it.
While gold coins don’t generally save your life as the famous Dixon gold coin did, investing in gold may save your wealth in these immensely troubling financial times.