Advertisement Residents disturbed by rash of 'codnapping' By William J. Dowd/Wicked Local Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Since early August, nearly a dozen ornamental golden codfish have disappeared from Marblehead homes.As longtime residents likely know, the carved wooden cod are ubiquitous and generally found near mailboxes or entryways of local homes. Marblehead Police Chief Robert Picariello said 11 golden-cod thefts had been reported since Aug. 8, Wicked Local reported. “It’s a very quiet crime that has been going on here,” said Picariello, adding that the crimes have occurred mostly at night. “People do not tend to notice that they’re missing, because it’s not something they use every day, like a vehicle.”He added, “It could take days before someone notices it’s missing.”The chief speculated the same person or people are responsible for the thefts.He said, “I tend to think that’s the case. It’s too precise a crime, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have copycats.”Warren Hendriks drilled a screw into his golden cod hanging above his Washington Street home after reading about the thefts in police logs.Hendricks' home is in the downtown area, where Picariello said a majority of thefts have taken place.Hendricks said, “I think it is just bored teenagers who decided they wanted to have some fun.”Picariello said Hendriks' suspicions could be correct, due to a limited ability of a thief to resell the items.Depending on the size, the golden cods can cost between $50 and $200. Hendriks said his friend knew of six people who had already put in orders at Arnould Gallery to replace their stolen ones.Displaying the golden cod on the facade of one’s home is an ode to Massachusetts and Marblehead's historical connection with the fishing industry.“It is the symbol of Massachusetts,” Town Historian Bette Hunt explained. “They are symbolic of what made the Massachusetts Bay Colony prosper — it was the cod.”She went on to say the golden cods are also a Christian symbol.“First of all, there is one in the State House in Boston,” Hunt said. “Then there’s the one on top of Old North Church.”Hunt explained the “Sacred Cod,”as the one hanging in the chamber of the state’s House of Representative is called, and the copper one atop Old North Church inspired the golden ones people place on their homes today.The one on Old North Church is a weathervane, which formerly resided on the town’s “Second Meeting House,” erected in 1695. In 1824, the church acquired it and moved it to its current location.“Designed and constructed by an unknown artisan, the fully formed copper body of the cod is 52 inches long and is gilded,” explains “Under the Golden Cod,”a book the church published in honor of its 350th anniversary.Hunt said residents didn’t always adorn their homes with the golden cod, adding that the tradition began “not too long ago.” The tradition, however, follows a long line of people who “back in day” began placing pineapples as well as golden bald eagles outside their homes.“People put golden eagles outside their houses at the foundation of the country,” Hunt said. “In other words, in the federal period, the eagle became symbolic of the United States of America rather than the Thirteen Colonies.”The golden-pineapple-and-bald-eagles tradition continues today.As for the thefts, Picariello said that, while none of the stolen golden cods had resurfaced yet, residents could help find those responsible for the crimes.“If anyone hears, knows or sees anything about these thefts, let us know. Be vigilant,” he said. “If your outdoor motion-sensor light goes off in the middle of the night, don’t be afraid to call us. We’re happy to come by — it could be the person.”