10/31/20 Report - Dance Lines and Coin Lines. 16th Century Florida Wrecks. Bigger Surf Coming.

  Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Radio City Rockettes.

Not all coin lines are perfect.  In fact none are.  They are more like a beginners dance class than the Rockettes.

Dance Class.

It isn't that all the coins are all doing their own thing, but they come in different sizes and shapes and it takes time to get them all in their proper places.  And on the beach you don't have a flat even floor.

Since the coins in a coin line come in different sizes, shapes and densities, some will end up farther from the surf than others.  In fact a coin line can be composed of multiple lines, like when you take a school class photo.  The big kids are in the back.  

In a coin line, the quarters can be in the front line or back line, depending upon a couple factors, but the zincs will usually tend to be opposite the quarters.  The dimes and nickels will be mostly in between.  Of course, we left out the odd balls such as half dollars and silver dollars and a bunch of other odd balls.

Just talking about quarters, pennies, dimes and nickels, which form the bulk of most coins lines, the quarters and pennies will usually roughly define the top and bottom of the coin line.  Whether it is the top or bottom depends upon the source of the coins.   Zinc pennies will most often define the top and ends of a coin line.  They tend to be at the top of a coin line when the line is closer to the water.  They are carried by the water more easily than quarters, for example, and so end up around the edges.  Quarters, on the other hand, will travel the least distance.  When the line is found near the water, quarters will usually be at the bottom - close to the water.  So a normal line like that would have more quarters near the water, then nickels and dimes, and pennies higher up on the slope.  Sometimes the line is not as completely formed and only pennies and other easily moved things will be in the line, with other coins and objects remaining in the water below the line.

If you know how coin lines develop, when you find part of the line, you will have a good idea where other parts of the line will be.  If you know where the zincs are, for example, you will have a good idea of where the other items will be.

Without getting into a lot more detail, if you know the general principles, you can figure out where things will most likely be.  Zinc pennies will normally be higher than copper pennies, for example.  And other objects such as gold or lead will tend to lag behind, either being near the bottom or remain in the water.

You can hunt more efficiently, if you know how things tend to line up.  In general terms, pennies will often define the top or bottom and the ends of a coin line.  Quarters will define opposite top or bottom.  Other good things, and also some junk, such as lead, will be closer to the quarters, but on a coin line on a slope near the water, below the quarters.  But like I said it will be more like a toddlers dance class than the Rockettes.  Things can be messy.

Also, when the coins are falling out of the dunes things can be reversed.  The pennies can be near the bottom of the line.  That was the case with the line that I described from last week.

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Recently I posted a 16th century coin from the Mexico mint that was found on the Treasure Coast.  As with all old coins, the age of the coin doesn't tell you when it was lost, but it does tell you something about the earliest it could have been lost.  As you know, old coins can be carried around or kept for a long time, so you don't know how long they existed before being lost.

The 1715 Fleet is a big deal on the Treasure Coast, but we shouldn't forget that there are other shipwrecks near shore.  For example, there is the Green Cabin Wreck that has not produced coins dated later than 1618.  It is often referred to as the San Martin and thought to be an early 17th century wreck.

There are a couple other older wrecks like that along the Treasure Coast that have been worked to some extent, but they don't get the attention that the 1715 Plate Fleet gets, and that is justified.

If you look through a book such as Robert Marx's Shipwrecks in the Americas, it seems there must be a lot of shipwrecks along the coast that have not yet been found or identified.

If you go to the Florida section of the Marx book, you will find many more wrecks listed than the few that we frequently read about.  In fact Marx has 27 listings for Florida shipwrecks before 1600, and many of those listing are for multiple wrecks, such as number 26, which talks about a convoy of no less than 29 ships being lost.  Those ships, however, were not known to be carrying registered treasure.  Still, some evidence of those wrecks could still be out there.

There are definitely some very old wrecks along the Treasure Coast that are not known or discussed.  Some are known and have been worked to some extent, but not to the extent that some of the 1715 wrecks have been worked.  There are various reasons for that.

All I am saying here is that there are a lot of wrecks out there besides the 1715 wrecks, and some of them are much older.

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There aren't any big storms to be concerned about right now, although there is one developing way to the south.

The surf is predicted to increase though.

Increasing Surf.
Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Monday, we are supposed to have 4 - 7 feet, but perhaps more significant is the longer period of increased surf that is predicted to begin on Wednesday.

This might be a good Fall for beach detecting.

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Warning: if you don't like political humor, stop here.

If you've enjoyed all the Trump comedy and are ready to get some balance, here is a funny YouTube skit satirizing the other side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3mpnMNKAZQ

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Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/30/20 Report - Happy Halloween. A Couple Interesting Artifacts. Bigger Surf Coming.

 Writtten by the Treausureguide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Happy Halloween.

Did you ever go out at night and look at the grass with a headlamp and notice little lights like stars all over the place?  I always figured the lights came from dew in the grass, but not long ago I discovered the grass was full of wolf spiders and the lights came from their reflective eyes.  It was a big surprise to learn that I could be walking through a sea of spiders in my bare feet.  I don't know how often that happens, but it seems to happen a lot now that I know about it.

Oh - Wolf spiders don't spin webs, they catch prey more like their namesake.    Check out your yard some night.  A headlight worn on your head seems to show them much better than a handheld flashlight.

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18mm Diameter Object Found.
Find and photo by Duane

Duane reported that the NC beaches have been "giving up very old items" from shipwrecks off shore.  He found this object.  The back is completely worn.  (18mm converts to about .7 inches.)  It looks like it would have been bigger before being worn down.

He wondered if you might have any ideas about it.

As you know, NC and the Outer Banks has a lot of good metal detecting.  

Louisiana and the Gulf Coast has been hit by so many storms this year, that if you can forget about all the damage done to homes and families, there must be some good metal detecting there too.

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Douglas sent me the following link.

https://mailchi.mp/a97aee2e4504/1715-fleet-8-escudo-coin-replicas?e=6c161d7c64

The site advertises a set of three 1715 Plate Fleet reproduction eight-escudo coins for $50.  The are advertised as 24K gold-plated pewter.  Those could cause some initial confusion.

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The current Sedwick auction presents an impressive variety of lots.  It seems the auction includes something from every category.  There are galanos, both gold and silver, tokens, world coins, maravedis, a good selection of Charles-Joana coins, but also fossils, amber, bottles, porcelain and various artifacts.

Auction catalogs provide great examples that can be difficult to find elsewhere.  One artifact that stuck out to me this morning was kind of surprising.  See if you can tell what it is.  Here is the photo.

Lot 1371 in Current Sedwick Treasure Auction.

See if you can guess what it is before reading on.

Here is the lot description.

Brass golf putter head, very rare, ex-Santo Christo de Castello (1667). 215 grams, 4" x 1-1/2" x 1-1/4". This very rare artifact is the second one we have offered, the other being from the Dutch wreck Lastdrager (1653) off the Shetland Isles north of Scotland. This is no mere coincidence: As famous as Scotland is for golf, the fact is that the sport was imported to there by the Dutch in the 15th century, and wreck specimens like these are evidence that the sport was still being carried to the four corners of the world in the 17th century. Reportedly less than 25 golf-club heads up to the 18th century are known, including three more from the Lastdrager and this one from a Genoese wreck off Cornwall, all the shipwreck examples being the only ones known in brass as opposed to lead or pewter. Prices for these artifacts have reached as much as 9,000 GBP (Sotheby's Glasgow, July 17, 1989)...

Who would have guessed that you would find a golf artifact on 17th century shipwreck?  Not me.  

It is lot 1371, I think.

The auction ends with session V, which starts off with a variety of half reales and other reales, many in not great condition - the type of thing that you might most likely find on a beach.  The session also includes a variety of interesting but inexpensive artifacts and other items, such as a fossil whale vertebra.  Also included is another one of those stoneware master ink bottles, this one found in the Keys.

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Also in the auction is a stoneware ink master bottle from the USS Republic from 1865.  I showed one in this blog just like it that was once found in the Indian River Lagoon.

See https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2011/12/122911-report-j-bourne-bottle-more.html

The original Treasure Beaches Report blog (treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com) still draws hundreds of readers everyday.  

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There is still a little tropical storm activity on the map.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

And the surf is supposed to get a little higher early next week.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy Halloween,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/2920 Report - Miscellaneous Recent Finds. More High Water Predicted.

 Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

A Few Miscellaneous Finds
From Last Thursday.

Last week wasn't a bad week for metal detecting.  Overall, despite a long summer, the year wasn't the worst for beach metal detecting.  We had a good spell back around April and then another last week.  

I showed some things that were found last week, but of course there were more.  Some I heard about but didn't see.

I showed a bunch of coins found last Wednesday, most, but not all, were modern.  I don't think I showed finds from Thursday.  I started to a few times, but had other things to post at the time.

I just tumbled a bunch of coins, some I wanted to get enough of the crust off to see if there was anything good.  I didn't get all of the encrusted coins done yet though.  So far, nothing good that I didn't already know about - just a few modern silver coins.

Besides coins there were other kinds of things found last week, including spikes and stuff.  At the top of this post are a few finds from the coin hole that I described a few days ago.

One was a heavily encrusted watch, which is barely visible.  What amazed me about that item is not the watch, but the encrustation.  I don't believe the item is very old, but the crust is like concrete.  It is a really hard stone that you would think would be very old.  I think stone forms much more quickly than you might think.  I've talked about that some back a few years ago.

Also was this round flat piece of lead that looked like a coin at first.  It definitely sounded different than a coin though.  It is very thin.  Can't say much of anything about that one.

Thin Flat Piece of Lead
About the Size of a Quarter.

Then there were the variety of coins.  I spent a lot of time on the history of the one very old one, but there were other silver coins and some that were absolutely unidentifiable.

Easily Identified Silver Coin
In Readable Condition.

Unidentifiable Silver Coin
Found Last Week.

Back on Oct 18, the first day of the recent high water, Wayne G. found the following spikes.  He said, I have watched your posts for the last five years and have enjoyed all.  I found these spikes on a Treasure Coast beach on Sunday, October 18th, 2020...  

Three Spikes Found by Kathi G.
Photo by Kathi G.

Thanks Wayne.  Not only did you find some nice spikes, but you are to be commended for including measurements with your photo.  Many people forget to do that.

Thanks for sharing and congratulations.

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And Nick A. sent me an email showing his finds from this Tuesday.  Here is what he said.

Just thought I'd share my finds from this morning [Tues.].  I found a consistent line on the beach just above the low water line, but the coins were pretty spread out. Then I tried another spot in a higher wooded area I know of and did a little better. Managed to get 47 coins all together, one of which 1952 dime. Not sure what the brass looking piece is?

Finds by Nick A.
Photo by Nick A.

I told Nick his brass looking piece might be part of a fishing lore.

To sum up the last week or so, the high water on the Treasure Coast produced some Spanish reales - at more than one location - and also some spikes and other things, along with many coins and other miscellaneous modern items.

There are more recent finds remaining to be cleaned and researched.

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I added the link for Robert Nesmith's Coinage of the First Mint of the Americas at Mexico City, 1536-1572 to the link list on this blog.  You'll find it on the right side of the first page along with a couple other good links.

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This country is suffering badly from the lack of an honest media and objective sources of good information.  The technology is there, but there is a lack of honest sources that will put good honest information out there.  I always loved university libraries.  Now it would seem that we can access information from our homes, which should be a huge advantage, but so little of it gets distributed objectively.  Most of it is filtered or twisted by politics or economics, which are intertwined.  The actual studies of the virus, for example, should be available to the public, but it is very hard to find, and more often what you get is one side or the other.  You don't get access to the studies.  You have to pay a lot for access to the scientific journals, and many of them have become politicized too.  The public only gets a bunch of twisted misunderstood trash from the media which has neither the ability or desire to understand and communicate the information honestly and effectively.  Our educational institutions are largely to blame for all of that.

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There is a little late activity on the NHC map.  

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Louisiana got hit again.  This time by Zeta.  They had a very difficult year.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

It looks like we might get some more high water in about a week or so.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10.28/20 Report - Finest 1715 Fleet Royal Eight-Escudo. More About Earliest Mexico Minted Coins.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beache Report.

Lot 21 In The Current Sedwick Treasure Auction.
1713 Eight-Escudo Royal With Auction Estimate of $300,000 - $600,000

The Sedwick World, U.S. Coin and Paper Money Auction, Number 28, is now online and available for bidding. Included as lot 21 is this 1713 Royal Escudo bearing an auction estimate of up to $600,000.  Although there are twenty days remaining in the auction, this royal already has a bid of $210,000, which I am sure will go much higher.

The long and detailed auction description begins as follows.

Mexico City, Mexico, cob 8 escudos Royal (galano), 1713J, extremely rare, NGC MS 66, finest and only example graded by NGC, ex-1715 Fleet (designated on special label). S-M30; Cal-2194; KM-R57.1. 27.03 grams. From the 1715 Fleet (Corrigan's site), pictured on the cover of the November-December 1998 issue of Treasure Quest, with Fisher photo-certificate #42933, ex-Rudman. NGC #5909759-001...

You will want to read the longest auction description I have ever seen.  It is full of treasure hunting history.

Here is the link.

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Treasure-World-U-S-Coin-Paper-Money-Auction-28_as65941

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The reason I went to the Sedwick treasure auction site catalog this morning was to look at some of the Charles-Joanna Mexico minted coins such as the ones I've been talking about recently.  As I've often said, auction catalogs provide some of the best resources for coin information.

Here is one of several Charles-Joanna two-reales that I found listed in the current auction.

Lot 460 In The Current Sedwick Treasure Auction.

And here is the lot listing.

Mexico City, Mexico, 2 reales, Charles-Joanna, "Late Series," assayer G to right, mintmark M to left, both with o's above and below (oMo-oGo), king's name as CHAROLVS, very rare. Nesmith-33 type; Cal 112; S-M5; KM-12. 5.91 grams. First of the "Late Series" varieties with a small circle above and below the mintmark and assayer (reminiscent of "Early Series" coinage), king's name as CHAROLVS, only three known including this one (two known to Nesmith), AVF with bold legends, somewhat oxidized surfaces but with nicely contrasting dark toning.

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Speaking of Nesmith, I found a great reference on the first coins produced by the Mexico mint: Coinage of the First Mint of the Americas at Mexico City, 1536-1572, by Robert Nesmith.  It was published in 1955, so is older but still very useful.  Undoubtedly additional information has been discovered since the this was published.  

A large number of images of the earliest coins are shown, but some of the images are no longer accessible.  Still there are many that are accessible and in many ways this publication is beyond the level of detail I've seen elsewhere.

Below are a few paragraphs I think you might find interesting.  

On February 28, 1538, Charles issued a decree prohibiting the coinage of gold and copper in the colonies.18 Since the Mexico mint had not begun to coin copper (and gold was not considered), the decree served only to delay any plans for the copper coinage which Mendoza had formed. The town council of Mexico City discussed the desirability of copper coinage at various times, and the minutes of July 30,1540, show that different opinions were current. On April 17, 1542, the Cabildo proposed that copper money should not be struck and circulated as long as silver money of small value was in production.19 In spite of this, the viceroy authorized the copper coinage some ten weeks later. It is safe to assume that no copper was struck at the Mexico City mint until after the viceroy's edict of authorization of June 28, 1542.20

The first copper coins were struck from dies made with the first series of punch designs with which the EARLY SERIES G, F, and P dies were cut. The square K of the obverse is distinctive. The four maravedíes (cuarto), is the only denomination known of this series. The pieces do not show an assayer's initial; it was not necessary to assay the metal since it contained no silver.

Before many of these coins could be struck, the third series of punch designs arrived from Spain. The details of the die design were changed, and were now similar to the dies of the LATE SERIES G coinage. The many varieties of obverse and reverse arrangement of punch details are shown on page 130. The coppers of this series are known in denominations of four and two maravedíes. It was testified in 1545 that the following copper coins had been struck: four maravedíes, two maravedíes, and that patterns of one maravedí had been made although none had been issued.21 No pieces of one maravedí are known.

As soon as the copper coins were issued the Indians refused to accept them. The viceroy issued strict orders enforcing their circulation, but even the strictest punishment could not prevent the Indians from throwing them into the gutters or into Lake Texcoco "that they might never more be seen."22 Now, some four hundred years later, the coppers are being excavated from the mud of the old lake bed during drainage operations. Most of the copper pieces examined came from this source, thickly caked with hard grey mud in which they had reposed since the sixteenth century.

The Audiencia at Mexico City, in a letter to the king dated March 17, 1545, agreed that copper money should still be made;23 and the town council minutes of August 16, 1546 mention "the copper money that is made in New Spain."24 However, at least by the meeting of March 6, 1550, the members of the Cabildo had agreed that copper money should be discontinued because of its misuse by the Indians, who apparently were still throwing the pieces to the four winds.25 The coining of copper was probably suspended about 1551 or 1552, and it was officially outlawed by the royal decree to that effect of 1565.26 Copper coinage was not again attempted in New Spain until 1814.

The history of copper coinage in Mexico was epitomized by Surez de Peralta, who wrote in the sixteenth century: For a long time, at least up to 1579 when I left New Spain,... the smallest and most ordinary coin given [as alms] to the Spaniards is the half real of silver because there have not been any [copper] cuartos, and the natives do not know what they would be like. Thus, when I arrived in Spain,... and saw cuartos and learned of their circulating value, I was amazed and could not help ask, 'Is it possible that this coin has a value and that one may purchase food with it?' I remember hearing it said that Viceroy Mendoza had a large quantity of cuartos coined, which he ordered accepted, and they circulated; and this coinage must have been the grossest stupidity of the land, since the Indians never wished to receive them, and had no remedy. Instead of accepting t

And here is the link for the rest of the article.

http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan128937#:~:text=The%20earliest%20silver%20and%20copper%20coins%20of%20Americawere,of%20this%20series%20exist%2C%20they%20have%20never%20been

About the author: Robert I. Nesmith (1891-1972) was a numismatist, photographer, and an authority on treasure hunting. He ran a photography firm, R. I. Nesmith & Associates, in New York City and was chief photographer for Copper Commando, a newspaper published during World War II that was devoted to demonstrating the importance of metal production to the war effort. He later owned and operated a bookstore in Rye, New York, called The Foul Anchor, which specialized in books on treasure hunting. He became an associate member of the American Numismatic Society in 1943 and a fellow in 1944.

See: http://numismatics.org/authority/nesmith

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I stuffed a lot of  numismatic information in this post and provided you with a lot of additional reading.  I think that is it for today.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net 

10/27/20 Report - More 16th Century Spanish Coins From the Treasure Coast. And More Finds From Last Week.

 Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

16th Century One Real Found by Weller
At The Winter Beach Site.
Submitted by JamminJack.

JamminJack sent me the above photo of a 16th century one-reale found by Bob Weller at the Winter Beach site.  It is very similar to the sixteenth-century two-reale found by Terry S. and the one found just last week.   So there are three 16th century reales that we know have been found on the Treasure Coast.  Of course, there may be others, but they seem to be rare.  The story of where they came from and how they they ended up where they were found has not been fully told yet.  I will add a little to that at some point.  Knowledge is pieced together gradually through fits and starts, dead-ends and corrections.  (Coincidentally, the "fits and starts" idiom is a 16th century expression.)

To add additional context, Jack also sent me the following photo showing a group Spanish  coins of about the same era that were found near the Disney resort.

Early Coins Found Near the Disney Resort
Photo submitted by JamminJack.

Although I can't see all the details, some, if not all, appear to be copper  maravedis.  Without studying them, I am pretty sure some are four-maravedis.  

Below are some examples of early maravedis from https://en.numista.com/.  

Strangely, it seems many of those shown above are upside down.  The easiest feature to match, is perhaps the big V shown on the last example below, which you can see on some of the coins shown above.

In the near future I plan to tell where the most recent two-reale find came from, including the wreck and how it became part of a coin line that was dug last Wednesday.

Thanks to Jack for sharing his research and the photos.

If I got any of that wrong, please let me know.

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There were a variety of finds made last week.  I already showed a bunch of modern coins that were found Wednesday, including a heavily corroded unidentifiable silver coin, but there were other kinds of objects found as well.  And the Thursday hunt was a continuation of the Wednesday hunt.  It  resulting in more coins and things being found in the same coin hole.

I don't think I showed the 40 coins found Thursday yet.  Here they are.

40 Coins Found on Treasure Coast Beach Thursday.

There were a few silver coins found in the group Thursday too.  Again, most were modern.  There were a few other types of items found with that group that I plan to show some other time.

Back a few days earlier -  I think it was Sunday or Monday a week ago - this was found.

Item Found South of The Turtle Trail Access Last Week.

Shown on the Face of  a US quarter for size comparison.

I found lots of these on different occasions very near the Turtle Trail access many years ago.  I think it is a small caliber bullet that was shot into the sand.  I was always curious about why there were so many there.  I'm sure that many others have found them too, but I was a little surprised to see one pop up a bit to the south last week. 

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Tropical Storm Zeta is now over the Yucatan, but that one doesn't mean much to us.

On the Treasure Coast, a surf of around two feet is expected until next weekend when there will be a little increase.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/26/20 Report - Analysis of One Metal Detecting Hunt. Calico Numismatic Book and Juana y Carlos Examples Relevant To Recent Finds.

 Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Here is an analysis of the recent hunt that I discussed in a previous post.

First a long cut in renouishment sand was discovered.  It started out in the renourishment sand a short distance in front of the dunes.  The cut rounded a bend and got closer and eventually merged with the old natural dunes.

I tried to show that in illustration above.  The cut ran out in front of the dunes for a long distance, but after it rounded the bend, got closer to the old dunes until it cut into the old dunes.

The first targer recovered was a heavily corroded silver coin found a good distance before the heavy coin line that was located around the bend near where the cut merged with the old dune cliff.

This coin line had a width that varied, being wider in the middle and narrowing at the ends.  It is difficult to decide whether it should be called a coin line or a coin hole, but at the beginning it was hunted like a coin line that ran along the face of the cut.  It wasn't until a follow-up hunt determined the shape and thickness of what was originally hunted as a coin line.  

The most dense concentration of coins was near the middle of the coin hole (area in red).  

Hole Showing A Couple Inches of
Light Renourishment Sand Over Beige Sand.

Renourishment sand covered the entire beach, both in front of the cut and the old dunes, however in some places it was deeper than in others.  The most coins were found where there was less renourishment sand covering the surface.  There was a definite relationship between the depth of renourishment sand and the number of coins found in the area.

Some people are not interested in modern coins and do not bother with coin lines that contain a lot of modern coins, however, older things and better items can be found in coin lines like that.  In this case, the area in question has produced many very old items before, including some very old items. Maybe I'll expand on that some time in the future.

I won't get into the various ways that can happen now.

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Here is a scan from the Calico et al book, Mondedas Espanolas desde Juana y Carlos a Isabel II 1504 a 1868, showing a coin that is very similar to the newly found coin.

Sorry for the quality of the scan.  It was difficult to capture a good image of the small illustration witht the scanner.  It was made more difficult because the illustration was close to the inside page edge.

 

The Calico book shows 99 illustrations of different Juana Y Carlos coins, and for each type he lists several variations.   That does not include those categorized as Carlos I coins, which date from 1516 - 1556. 

To give an idea of the many coins shown and variations listed in the Calico book, here is a scan of one of three pages of the Juana y Carlos (1500 - 1555) Mexico two-reales.  

Type 73 on this page is very much like type 74.  One difference between type 73 and type 74 is the assayer.  Another is what you might call a banner surrounding the Plus Ultra on type 74.

The recent find matches Terry Shannon's well.  I think I once said Terry's looked like type 74 in the Calico book, but I just noticed that Terry's does not have the banner and has a G assayer mark, which would make it more like the type 69 listed in the Calico book.

It is difficult to see the banner on the new find, and I'm not sure if it is there, and the assayer mark is not clear, if visible at all.  There is something in that area that might be interpreted as the rounded top of a letter, as a G would have. 

I know you can't see the amount of detail in these scans that you could if you were looking at the book, but that is the best I could make them.  And photos, of course, do not show everything you can see if you have the item in hand.  

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The high tides are fairly high still, but the surf is decreasing.  Today it is listed as 3 - 5 feet by MagicSeaWeed.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/25/20 Report - One 16th Century Two-Reale Found Wednesday Examined. Decreasing Surf.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Silver Coin Found Wednesday
On The Treasure Coast.

Yesterday I gave you the details of an actual hunt that took place Wednesday of last week.  Just to catch you up, Cob (a pseudonym for the detectorist) found a bunch of coins, one of which seemed particularly interesting.  Eager to know what it really was, Cob hurried home, tested the coin and found it was silver.  Although it had a cross, lions and castles on one side, it didn't look like a 1715 Plate Fleet coin, and he didn't know what it was.

That is where I left off yesterday, so if you didn't read that post, you might want to go back and read the entire story, which I'll continue today. 

When Cob got the coin lightly cleaned and put it under magnification, he saw the coin as shown above.

As Cob saw in the field, there seems to be a cross, lions and castles surrounded by what appears to be a box.

When the other side was inspected with magnification, the first thing that stuck out was the two prominent dots nearly in the middle of the coin.  

Other Side of Same Coin Shown Above.

You can see those two dots in the above photo.  

If you look carefully you might also be able to see parts of two pillars, and at the top of the pillars, some horizontal lines, which are part of the cap of the pillars.

And if you look really close, to the left of the very visible part of the left pillar is PLV.  SVL is between the pillars, and TR to the right of the right pillar.

But what type of coin is it?   Where was it made and when?

After referencing both Sewall Menzel's Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins, and Calico, Calico and Trigo's Mondedas Espanolas desde Juana y Carlos a Isabel II 1504 a 1868, this coin appears to be similar to type 74 shown in Calico et al.

It appears to be very much like one found by Terry S. and posted in this blog back in May.

See https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2020/05/5720-report-old-treasure-coast-coin.html

Here is Terry's after it was professionally cleaned and certified by West Bay Trading Co.

Mexico Two-Reale Circa 1500 - 1550
Find and Photo by Terry Shannon.

You can see much more detail on Terry's, but I believe it is the same type as the one found this week.

If that is correct, this cob would date to before 1555, like Terry's, which would make it at least 465 years old.  That is a long time between appearances.  

Unlike this coin, coins minted in Mexico after 1555, were minted under Bernardo de Onate, assayer of the Mexico mint showed a Hapsburg shield on the obverse and a cross on the reverse.  

So that is what old man Cob learned about the mysterious coin that showed up on the Treasure Coast last Wednesday.

---

There were other finds made last week.  I mentioned some of them.  I expect to be able to show others in the near future.

Since his batteries ran out on him Wednesday, old Cob went back to the same location to finish what he missed the day before.

I also plan to do a post-hunt analysis.

___

Detectorist Enjoying the Treasure Coast Weather
at John Brooks Beach Sunday Morning.

I wonder if he told his wife he was going to the beach to find her a diamond ring?

John Brooks didn't look very good this morning unless you were up for a good sleep.

I think we might be back to level 1 beach metal detecting conditions.

I did see some nice surfing waves early, but the beaches I saw were getting more sand.  I did see a beach in the distance that might have been a touch better, but I didn't get down to it.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

It looks like the surf will be decreasing through next week.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/24/20 Report - Good Week of Metal Detecting. Spanish Silver Found. The Story of Old Cob.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Surf Predictions for Fort Pierce Area
According to MagicSeaWeed.com

It didn't seem to me that the surf was running as high yesterday as was predicted by MagicSeaWeed.com.  Of course I was just eyeballing it, but it really didn't look like anything close to the predicted 6 - 9 feet.  

It seemed the wind had shifted and was coming more from the south.  And worst of all, a lot of the beaches I looked at were accumulating sand, which would make sense with the new wind direction.

Anyhow, it was disappointing.  I was hoping to get that nice high surf that was predicted and see more of the sand in front of the dunes removed.  Instead, at many places I was seeing more sand.

I took a look at Ventusky to see how they were showing the wind.  This is what I found.

Wind Direction For The Fort Pierce Area Early This Morning.
From Ventusky.com.

As you can see, it is basically an east wind, but maybe just the slightest touch from the south.

Reales were found this week.  Some were found in front of the Holiday Inn in Vero.

Stephen L., who was shown in one of my photos yesterday wrote in to share some news.  Here is his email.

Hi Treasureguide,

I went to John Brooks yesterday and today. I detected down past Frederick Douglas both days and today you caught me in your photo of FD. I know because the girl was sitting in the chair near the dune line, and I was wearing black shorts and a white T-shirt and hat. I was hoping to find that coin line you mentioned the other day, but only found some foil. I did talk to a detectorist who was coming as I was leaving John Brooks who said he found a couple reales in Vero near the holiday inn yesterday. He said he found them in the wave wash. He had a nice Excalibur II. Thanks sharing your knowledge and hunches with us.

I remember sometime back in the 1980s or 1990s watching the nice green manicured yard in front of that Holiday Inn disappear as a storm ate away at it.  Reales were found right along the walk in front of the hotel back then.  I think I've mentioned that before.

As you know, the Seagrape Trail access has been closed for months now.  In case you didn't walk up there to see what it is like, DJ sent us this photo of the area.  

Cut At Seagrape Trail Beach.
Photo by DJ.

Thanks much for sharing DJ and Stephen.

---

After all of that news, I have still more.  I wanted to focus in on the details of one hunt that occurred Wednesday of this week.  Everything is described exactly as it happened.  Only the name of the detectorist was changed. 

--- 

Creaky Old Buzzard, let's call him Cob for short, decided to try a different beach after hitting another beach Monday and Tuesday without much luck.  He got up early, had a beach clearly in mind, drove to the beach, parked, got his gear together, and not  knowing what he would see, trudged to the top of the dunes and stood with the wind in his face just like he had done so many times before.  

Because of the heavy grey clouds and early hour, the rising sun was only providing the slightest bit of light.  Cool air was coming off a rain storm a little to the north and sand and a light mist from the surf was hitting his face.  It was the kind of morning most people avoid, and the kind of morning Cob loves - no sounds other than the wind and surf.

Standing at the top of the dune, Cob surveyed the scene.  Rain clouds to the north, waves crashing on the sand bar and then washing up onto the beach.  Then he scanned left and right to see how the tides of the previous night had sculputed the beach.

There was a long cut above the steeply sloped beach in one direction.  It wasn't a high cut, but it ran a long distance and disappeared around the bend.

Cob walked up for a closer look.  Drat!  It was renourishment sand - a coarse shelly sand at that.  

He decided to check the area out with the metal detector anyhow.  Not expecting much, and not being surprised, the detector remained silent.

Like I said, it was a long cut.  Cob detected along the face of the cut and around the bend, and still the detector remained silent.   

It started to seem like there would be nothing found, but then a strong signal interjected.  After wiping off the sand, a small round object covered by a layer of black corrosion greated Cobs hopeful eyes.  It could be a silver quarter, but I'm not sure, Cob thought.

Black Dug Object.

The object told Cob that it had been there a while, and that it had been transformed by salt water.  Cob's mysterious new acquaintance provided some information, but presented more questions than facts.

It wasn't an unusual or strange looking object.  In fact it was the kind of thing old Cob had seen many times before.  It looked like hundreds of other salt water soaked silver coins.

The black coin was a like a green light that excited Cob's brain and refocused his senses.  Old Cob was recharged by this new acquaintance.  

Where there is one, there is a very good chance there are more, he thought.  It had been there a while, but how did it get there, and where did it come from, Cob wondered.

There was a positive signal and the probabilities of the hunt had changed.  One object had been found, which makes it more likely that there would be more.  Old Cob tightened up his scanning pattern, and moved more slowly and intently.   

It wasn't right away, but before long more signals were heard.  More coins were dug - a good number - 29 by one count.  They were mostly greenies that had some age, but not as much age as the black coin.

Some Of The Coins Found
During Cob's Wednesday Hunt.

There was a definite coin line, and Cob was getting into the middle of it now.  The old black coin was only the first sign of that line. 

Most of the coins were identifiable at first sight, but some were encrusted and remained anonymous like the black coin.  Most did not appear to be anything exceptional, so were dug and stowed as quickly as possible without much thought or analysis. 

Cob knew he was in a heavy coin line and wanted to get all the coins that were there.  There might be something good in between the pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters.  

It looked like a thunder storm could occur at any moment, but the hunt was prematurely ended when bF appeared on his detector screen.  The batteries were dead and the hunt was over.  He knew there were more coins to be dug, but the hunt was over for now.

Somewhere near the middle of the hunt another another heavily corroded coin appeared.  It was different.  It wasn't a common US coin.  It appeared to be silver and had a diameter larger than a US quarter.

After some of the sand was wiped away, and after some squinting and turning the coin to try to catch the light just right, Cob could faintly see something on the coin.  It looked like there was maybe a cross.  And after a little more squinting through his salt-spray coated glasses in what little light there was, it looked like maybe the cross was in a box, and maybe... lions and castles.

It didn't look like the 1715 Plate Fleet cobs.  It was different, which made him wonder if it was a lousy fake coin of some sort.  

Some people stop in the middle of the hunt to study an object like that, but Cob doesn't spend too much time looking at finds in the field.  He had a lot more objects to dig, and he wanted to dig up what he could while he was there and while the beach was cooperating.

Cob secured the mysterious coin in a container separate from the others and detected with even greater speed and urgency.

 A lot of coins were quickly dug, but none of the others appeared as interesting as that one with maybe a cross.  Then the metal detector battery ran down.  That was the end of the hunt.  Too bad!

The long walk back to the car seemed three times as long as the walk out.  And then there was the drive home, all of which seemed to take too long.  Cob was eager to get home and get a good look at the mystery coin, still hoping that it wasn't a fake.  

When he finally got home, he did a little light cleaning on the coin - just enough to get the surface crud off before testing the metal.  It tested out as silver.  But what kind of coin is it?  

When he got it under lighted mangifcation, the first thing that caught his attention was two dots - two very obvious dots very near the center of the coin.  They looked kind of out of place at first.  Then, two pillars showed up, and a little PLV to the left of the left pillar and SV between the pillars.

That looks familiar.

To be continued... 

---

I'll try to finish Cob's story tomorrow and show you what the coin was.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/23/20 Report - Predicted Higher Surf Fails To Show Up and Beach Metal Detecting Conditions Deteriorate.

 Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

John Brooks Beach Friday Morning.

Here's the bad news.  This morning it looked more like a three or four foot surf rather than the 6 - 9 foot surf predicted yesterday by MagicSeaWeed.  And secondly - more bad news - the beaches were filling in.

I had hoped that the predicted high surf would remove some of the remaining sand in front of the dunes, but that just didn't happen, and the beaches were getting more sand.    

I gave a 2 (transitional) rating yesterday.  The day before I mentioned that it looked like a 2.5 or 3 rating.  It seems like my downgrade was correct.

Of course it could go either way tonight.  MagicSeaWeed was still predicting a higher surf for Fort Pierce this morning.  I hope they are right, but at this point I'm skeptical.

I didn't see any beaches that looked good today.

 

John Brooks Beach Friday Morning.

As usual, John Brooks and Frederick Douglass beaches looked very similar.

Frederick Douglass Beach  Friday Morning.

The fellow in the above picture was metal detecting.  There were two other detectorists at Douglass this morning.

There was a lot of seaweed at Walton Rocks (photo below).  That is not a good sign. 

Seaweed at Walton Rocks Friday Morning.

Blind Creek didn't look good either.  There were a lot of sunbathers there.

Blind Creek Beach Friday Morning.

A few detectorist visited Turtle Trail early this moring.  Some left before detecting, including me.  

I could see a few more inches of sand at some spots, such as at the base of the steps at the access.  And you could only see the tops of the bags this morning.

Turtle Trail Early Friday Morning.

If you look just below the center of the above photo, you can see just the top of one of the bags.

Turtle Trail Friday Morning.

I was hoping that we'd get the predicted higher surf and it would wash the new cuts at Turtle Trail back to the old dunes, but it didn't quite get there.

The bags show you how much the beaches are built up again.  Sunday to Monday I saw improvment, and then again Monday to Tuesday, but now beach metal detecting conditions are deteriorating.  I was more hopeful earlier in the week and expected higher surf today.   

I know some of you were making plans for some weekend hunting, so you might want to take the current changes into account.

---

Today's Surf Predictions For the Fort Pierce Area From MagicSeaWeed.
Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

As I said, this morning it didn't look like anything close to the 6 -9 foot surf that was predicted. 

---

I'll post about some finds that were made this week another day.  Like I said before, some Spanish shipreck finds were made this week.  Unless beach conditions change for the better later today or tonight, it might be pretty much over for now, though. 

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net