Tampa Bay Times
By Paul Guzzo
October 25, 2023
TAMPA — For years, a man pawned a carved metallic object at Capital Pawn Gold & Jewelry Buyers, each time describing it only as an artifact.
“He pawned it 15 times,” said Capital Pawn owner Joe Cacciatore. “He always came back for it, until he didn’t.”
Cacciatore figured it was a dull knife or letter opener with a handle depicting a person from an ancient culture. But then he showed it to an archaeologist.
“‘That’s not a knife. It’s a key,’ he told me,’” Cacciatore claims. “I asked to what. ‘Pandora’s box,’ he said. ‘It’s alien.’”