Roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow's idyllic pirate life capsized after his former first mate, the wily Captain Barbossa mutinied and commandeered Jack's ship, the Black Pearl. Barbossa marooned Jack on a deserted island, but Jack escaped. Some years later, Jack arrives in Port Royal to steal a ship. His plan is sidetracked when he saves the governor's daughter, Elizabeth from drowning. Because he's a pirate, he's promptly jailed and condemned to hang. Barbossa attacks Port Royal, searching for the last gold coin needed to end an ancient Aztec curse. Barbossa kidnaps Elizabeth, who has come into possession of the coin. He mistakenly believes she's the child of long-gone shipmate, Bootstrap Bill. Will Turner, the town blacksmith and a master swordsman, loves Elizabeth, and he enlists Jack's help to rescue her. Jack agrees, but neglects to mention the curse that has doomed Barbossa and the other pirates to an immortal life as ‘living dead.' (Jack escaped the curse.) After busting Jack out of jail, the two hijack a British naval ship, collect a motley crew, and chase the Black Pearl to Isla de la Muerta, the pirates' island hideout. Along the way, Jack tells an incredulous Will that Will's father is actually the pirate known as Bootstrap Bill Turner. Commodore Norrington, who also loves Elizabeth, is in hot pursuit of Jack and Will.
Chosen answer: Because they'd have to find it. The gold may "call to them", but it obviously doesn't function as a millimetre perfect homing beacon or they'd never have missed the medallion years earlier when they attacked the ship carrying the young Will. Elizabeth drops it into the sea and they're going to have to spend what could be months trying to locate it - currents could take it well away from the dropping point. They've found the final missing piece; they're potentially just hours away from finally being cured. The last thing they want is to see it thrown into the sea.
Tailkinker ★
Well, if the crew was anxious to get the medallion then why did they act like they weren't interested in it before Elizabeth pretended to drop it?
Reverse psychology.
Ssiscool ★
What do you mean by reverse psychology?
By showing they are not interested in the medallion they are hoping Elizabeth will just drop it on the floor or chuck it to them as it's of no real value. However when she releases a bit of chain and the medallion drops, and the pirates lurch forward revealing that they really want the medallion and as such Elizabeth now has the upper hand in negotiations.
Ssiscool ★
I'm guessing Elizabeth wasn't fooled when the pirates showed disinterest in the medallion.
That's not called reverse psychology, which is used to encourage someone to change his or her mind. Doesn't work with a threat. They are feigning indifference to hide the importance of the object.
lionhead
They didn't want to give her an advantage over them. Pretending to not care about the coin would make Elizabeth think that the coin is worthless and cannot use it to barter a deal.