A Tampa family recently made an interesting, if not disturbing find in the attic of their grandparents' home.
Mike Lopez's sister was cleaning out her grandparents' attic and came across a box with strange contents.
Neatly organized with copper wire, the box contains coins, a map, a photograph and oddly, what appears to be a skeletonized hand.
The hand is also secured to the box with copper wire and has a ring on one finger.
Lopez says he believes the photo is of his great grandparents.
"It seems as though this belonged to my great grand parents because there is a picture of them in there," said Lopez.
He also believes the box may have something to do with the mythical pirate Jose Gaspar.
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Lopez isn't sure when the photo or the box were made. The map holds some intriguing clues.
It's a map of downtown Tampa and shows the Hillsborough River and two bridges.
NBC 6's sister station in Tampa, WFLA, took the box to the Tampa Bay History Center and curator Rodney Kite Powell.
Kite-Powell noticed the photo is from the studio of the Burgert Brothers.
He believes it is of the couple on their wedding day.
The coins however, do not appear to be authentic Spanish treasure.
"They're a little thin to be Spanish Coins or old coins in general. Generally older coins were thicker," said Kite-Powell.
After a close examination of the map, Kite-Powell believes it's likely from the 1920's or 1930's.
"It's fascinating, but I just don't know what to make of it aside from the fact that it's probably not Jose Gaspar's hand, these probably aren't Spanish coins," said Kite-Powell.
But the hand in the display is now drawing more questions. Is it human or something else?
Mike Lopez still believes the hand in the box is real.
"I think it still looks real and the weirdest thing is the hand," said Lopez.
Several experts have taken a look at photos of the hand to try and determine if it is human and the jury is still out.
