Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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Gold Finger Bar.
Source: Current Sedwick Auction (See link below)
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The finger bar shown above is one of the lots in the current Sedwick auction. Below is the lot description. The finger bar has an auction estimate of $35,000 to $70,000.
Long, cut gold "finger" bar #63, 669 grams, marked with fineness XX and three dots (20.75K), tax stamps and foundry/assayer SARGOSA / PECARTA, ex-Atocha (1622), ex-Christie's. 8-1/4" long, 1" wide and 1/4" thick. Veritably tattooed with markings on one side, including a full SARGOSA / PECARTA near the cut end, three bold incuse XX fineness marks, each next to an incuse three-dot mark (missed by the Christie's catalogers) to make it 20.75K, plus at least ten partial tax stamps of Philip III, also with cylindrical assayer's "bite" in lightly shaved part at rounded end, curious light scratch along the length of the marked side, traces of encrustation in crevices, stippled Fisher number on unmarked side, great provenance and impressive in length and markings. From the Atocha (1622), with photo-certificate #85A-1202A (TSI #GB063), and pedigreed to the Christie's (New York) auction of June 1988 (lot #95).
And here is another lot - a glass ring.
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Spanish Colonial Glass Ring.
Source: Current Sedwick Treasure Auction.
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Deagan's Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500 - 1800, shows that over 11,000 glass rings being shipped to the New World from1590 to 1692.
Detectorists haven't found any that I know of, which is not surprising, but archaeologists have. They might not survive in shipwreck environments.
The one shown above is listed in the current Sedwick auction. Here is the lot description.
Intact black-glass ring (size 1-3/4) with Maltese cross design, Spanish colonial (1500s-1600s), rare. 1.41 grams. Very thick black glass, rather light but not too delicate and small for modern fingers. Found in a Spanish colonial area of the southern Caribbean.
And here is the link to the online catalog.
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A woman found a Revolutionary War shipwreck in a New Jersey creek.
… "I decided to look at New Jersey shipwrecks for my graduate thesis, so I went to our state historic preservation office, looked through some files and found this one," said Urmey, who is also a social worker at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst when she's not in school.
"I thought of this as a challenge, because the documentation said there's only 10% or 15% of the vessel left. I thought, 'Sounds like something I'll just dive into.' "
There has been knowledge of Revolutionary War-era vessels at the bottom of Crosswicks Creek and elsewhere in the Delaware River for a long time, but even during low tide they are rarely visible, and not much of the ships remain...
Here is the link for more about that. Thanks to Douglas.
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Recently I mentioned my concern about the challenge of having a population stressed by the recent COVID pandemic while the hurricane season rapidly approaches and other risks could be on the horizon. I received an email from one person who contributes often to this blog. That person was a County Emergency Manager. (I've said before that you might be surprised to learn who metal detects and reads this blog. They are intelligent accomplished people.) Below is what he said in response.
This is a real concern and one I was very familiar with as my tenure as county Emergency Manager. My team worked very hard in trying to get the public to prepare for every hurricane season without much success. Some resistance was due to apathy and the “it won’t happen” mindset. A lot of it was due to “emergency fatigue”; where repeated warnings that do not result in an emergency just wears people out. People may just start to ignore the messages simply because they are tired of hearing about them.
And this is during a ‘normal' (non-pandemic) hurricane season.
As far as economics, each year we published a 12-week plan to assemble emergency supplies - supplies that would be consumed anyway in a year. We suggested using the BOGO sales and cleaning one gallon milk containers for use during an approaching storm event. Doing this meant one could prepare with zero or little cost.
One thing many may have learned the hard way due to COVID is it is foolish to trust a just-in-time or 3-day inventory system for critical food and other supplies. I hope this prompts more people to plan ahead.
So you are very correct in thinking this may be a challenge with simultaneous COVID and hurricane preparation.
While hurricane season is still over a month away, a strong hurricane hit the Florida panhandle in May of 1863.
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Bill Bryan, Under Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, reported some important findings. They found that sunlight, heat and humidity dramatically reduces the half-life of the Coronavirus. I love it when they get past the generalizations and starting talking real science with real numbers.
Weeks ago when I started using a facemask, whenever I was alone in the car I always left my facemasks on the dashboard of my car with the theory that the heat and sunlight would help. Seemed like a good idea.
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On the Lighter Side.
Eight out of ten dogs surveyed liked the company they've had since the stay-at-home order went into effect. Ten percent were not in favor because it cramped their style. And ten percent were concerned that their owners not going to work might affect their regular supply of food and treats.
Facial beauty is no longer seen as an asset by women who wear facemasks. Lipstick sales have dropped dramatically.
Online dating is now much preferred because that is the only way you can see the face of your hook-ups.
Safe sex now means wearing a mask.
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One thing you can do while waiting to get out to get some sun is browse the auction listings.
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net