# Chain of custody · Concept

> The record of who held a piece of evidence, and when, from its finding to now.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW073M56Z/chain-of-custody  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Concepts](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts)Chain of custody

Concept · evidence · in 4 mysteries

# Chain of custody

The record of who held a piece of evidence, and when, from its finding to now.

[San José galleon](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/san-jose-galleon)[Lost Dutchman's gold mine](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-dutchman-mine)[Cascajal block and Isthmian writing](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block)

Where an object has been and who has had it, documented without gaps. A film, a sample or a document whose custody is unbroken can be trusted to be what it was; one with a gap could have been altered or swapped. The Patterson-Gimlin film's original, the Shroud's samples and the Kensington Runestone's early history are all custody questions.

## Where it comes up

**[San José galleon](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/san-jose-galleon)**

Recoveries so far are a small scientific sample under a published protocol, with chain of custody, held by state institutions.

[Recoveries so far are a small scientific sample under a published protocol, with chain of custody, held by…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/san-jose-galleon/answers/ANS0D4VYP5Y3M36/recoveries-so-far-are-a-small-scientific-sample-under-a)

**[Lost Dutchman's gold mine](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-dutchman-mine)**

[No Waltz ore specimen with a chain of custody is known to exist.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-dutchman-mine/evidence/EVD0D0G0DZJ2KQT/no-waltz-ore-specimen-with-a-chain-of-custody-is-known-to)

**[Cascajal block and Isthmian writing](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block)**

The custody and display of the block were not established in this research.

**[Oak Island money pit](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island)**

Coconut fibre from the cove and the pit exists in several hands; a 1970 analysis reported three of four samples as coconut, and radiocarbon dates have been quoted for it, but the chain of custody from any original…

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Chain of custody [Concept CPT0DECW073M56Z]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DECW073M56Z
```

Key

**CPT** 0DECW073M56Z

Record

Concept

Field

Evidence

Related

[Eyewitness testimony](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW06XVBA5/eyewitness-testimony)

Version

2

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

[ Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1062982)

**How this page is made.** The definition is the site's, in its own words. “Where it comes up” is read from the answers, methods and evidence that name the concept.

Related concepts

[Eyewitness testimony](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW06XVBA5/eyewitness-testimony)

The record

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[JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/api/v1/records/CPT0DECW073M56Z)