Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| One-Escudo Found on Douglass Beach. Source: Sedwick Auction # 28. |
It isn't often you find an escudo on the beach, but the one shown above is labeled as having been found on Douglass Beach in 2015. It appeared in the most recent Sedwick Auction as lot number 27.
Here is the lot description.
Mexico City, Mexico, cob 1 escudo, (171)4J, NGC MS 61, ex-1715 Fleet, 2015 Douglass Beach Find (designated on label). S-M30; Cal-1739; KM-51.2. 3.40 grams. Bold mintmark below 4 of date, well-detailed (and nearly full) shield, very off-center cross with about 30% of that side blank as outside the design, some encrustation and minor dark staining. From the 1715 Fleet (2015 Douglass Beach Find). NGC #4469167-001.
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One of the things I always try to emphasize is that there are treasures on the Treasure Coast that are not metal, and are not found with a metal detector, but can be found visually. Examples include items made of glass or pottery, fossils, and or stone.
Old bottles are fairly common and not too difficult to find. Like coins and shipwreck artifacts there are times that it is easier to find them. It hasn't been easy lately, but a few have appeared.
I can remember one time many years ago when there were tons of fossils on the beach. I can also remember one time that really stuck out, also many years ago, when tons of old bottles virtually paved the west side of the Indian River. Those were two really unusual events. When one of those once in a lifetime (or nearly so) events occurs, you might not appreciate how rare it is. That slowly sinks in as the years and decades go by and you never see anything like it again. Then you really regret that you didn't take full advantage of it. .
There are some when you will see non-metallic treasures while you aer detecting if you just keep your eyes open. When that happens you might decide to change your focus.
The first time I picked up an old bottle on the beach was after Hurricane Andrew. I was metal detecting and started to notice old bottles in the surf. I didn't know much about old bottles then, but I found a plastic bag and started to pick up the old bottles. Some of them I sold later.
Lately bottle hunting has not been good, however I recently went out to scout around a little. I didn't find much, but I did find a few interesting bottles, including this cobalt blue bottle shown here. It has a very unusual shape. I've never seen one like it before.
As you can see it reads: LAXOL, A. J. WHITE COMPANY LTD. NEW YORK - RIO DE JANIERO.
The embossed lettering is in a depressed panel on the back of the bottle. The other side, which is curved, also has a depressed panel that at one time held a paper label.
I haven't yet found out what LAXOL is yet, but the A. J. White Company began in 1880 and manufactured and sold pharmaceuticals.
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| Unusual Bottle Find Made Saturday. |
I also found a few other older bottles lately, but nothing great. Here is a brown stopper top bottle that only reads: SHAKE BETWEEN DOSES.
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| Another Older Bottle Find. |
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| Partial Fossil Gator Jaw. |
As you all know, beach metal detecting comes and goes. There are those rare events, when it gets really good, such as the Thanksgiving Storm of 1984, but sometimes only one or two beaches open up. That happens once in a while, and then those beaches close up again - maybe for a long time. Those openings can last a few days, but sometimes a beach will produce on and off for many years and then close up petty much again for many years. The same thing happens for things like bottles and fossils. Sometimes they show up and sometimes they are very hard to find.
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Despite the cold front coming through the surf is going to remain small for a few days
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| Source: MagicSeaWeed.com. |
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net