Yesterday I thought it was a good time to celebrate and remember the amazing 300th Anniversary find of 300 gold coins made in 2015 by Captain Jonah Martinez and the crew of the Capitana. In just a few days it will be the 5th anniversary of that find.
Yesterday I posted a flashback to the first post I made after the news became public.
There were a few beach detectorists nearby when the finds were being made. Fred B. caught the historic photo of the celebration (shown below), which shows Jonah and the Capitana crew as well as Brent and a few others.
Captain Jonah called Brent to come down and see what they were finding.
Here is how I posted it in 2015 after the find had been made public.
Friday, August 21, 2015
8/21/15 - More On The Capitana's 4.5 Million Dollar Treasure Coast Finds...
Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
 |
| Capitana Celebration Photo taken and submitted by Fred B. |
I'll have a series of posts on these recent finds. This is the third already, so there will be a few more. Maybe I'll spread them over a few days. I didn't plan to do so many posts on the finds, but it is the 300th Anniversary of the sinking of the 1715 Fleet, and the finds on that anniversary makes it a very auspicious occasion. On top of that, I couldn't tell about the finds as soon as they were made, so I accumulated pictures and information. Now I can tell more about it.
I heard Brent say it wasn't just coincidence. He said the wreck wanted more of the story to be told on the 300th Anniversary.
---
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be down there with your metal detector and you find a pile of gold cobs. You're about to get some idea.
Captain Jonah sent me the following video clip. It is a lot of fun.
 |
| One Frame From Following Video Clip. |
Be sure your sound is on and click this link to see the video.
https://www.floridatoday.com/videos/news/local/2015/08/19/31979083/
I love the sound of the detector and of the guys hooting and hollering under water.
---
 |
| Lima 8-escudos Found By The Capitana Guys Photo by Fred B. |
Come to think of it, these guys remind me a little of the late and great Art McKee. He was a friendly guy too. He would give you a personal tour of his museum if you happened to come by when the was there. He was even known to take people out to dive on a wreck site.
Back to the coin. As you can see, it is an 8-escudo minted in Lima in 1711. The mint mark is M. That is a common date I've been seeing in a lot of the pictures. You might remember that 9 or 11 of the royals were of that date.
M is the mint mark of Felix Cristobal Cano Melgarejo, who was the assayer for gold coins in Lima from 1709 - 1729.
As is typical of cobs of this period in Lima, the legend is incomplete. It would read ET YNDIARVM REX ANO 1711 if you could see it all.
----
That is the way it was back in 2015.
JamminJack said he was just talking about that find with friends the other day and how that it brings to mind the "carpet of gold" and Mel, Mo and Real 8.
Jack also said, I was at Bass Pro looking for some shoes for fishing, metal detecting, etc. Bought a pair on sale. As I was looking around, I was surprised to see all the detectors, gear, etc. What really caught my eye at the bottom of the rack was the famous Garrett AT Pro. It was only 2 dollars more then KellyCo. I am hoping they will put it on sale soon. I can get 5% off as a veteran, but not enough to buy one. I think they are overpriced, but considered one of the better pinpointer.
Correction offered by Jack: I meant to say Garrett All Terrain Pinpointer. The metal detector has the same name AT Pro, which is shown on top shelf...
 |
| Metal Detectors at Bass Pro Photo by JamminJack. |
So if you don't want to buy mail order, there is an option. You might want to check the latest prices.
---
 |
Source: nhc.noaa.gov |
As you can see, now there are two. Gonzalo disappeared.
Hurricane Hanna hit Texas and weakened to a tropical storm.
And, the system out in the Atlantic is organizing and has a 60% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.
Too soon to tell where it will go.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net