Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Wabasso Beach Renourishement. Source: KnowWhereNews.com. |
Wabasso Beach Park is closed through April 30 for beach renourishment,
Here is the link.
https://knowherenews.com/event/AXjbIHIMgaWmPMqEVD97
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Real Eight Company 1715 Fleet Sold in 1977 Bowers and Ruddy Auction.
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| Source of photo and description: 1977 Bowers and Ruddy auction catalog. |
In 1977 Bowers and Ruddy presented an auction that included a large selection of items salvaged by the Real Eight Company. Included were 720 lots, which included gold and silver coins as well as artifacts. Of the 1715 Fleet items, the highest realized price was for this 82.25 ounce gold bar, which sold for $10,700. You might have noticed that comes to about $130 per ounce. At the close of the auction, the spot price of gold was about $137 per ounce. The bar was marked as 21.25 karats, so the buyer got a very good deal. The bar was valued for very close to the spot price of the gold.
The spot price of gold is now about $1785 per ounce, which is about 13 times what it was back in 1977. That would make the gold in the bar today worth around $146,000.
Since the dollar has in the mean time decreased in purchasing power by 4.4 times, to give the value of the gold in 1977 dollars, would result in a value of around $33,188. Still not a bad investment, but not nearly as good once you make the adjustment for the decrease in the value of the dollar.
I'm very rusty on my grade school math, so if anyone sees a need to correct me, please do so.
I would, however, guess that the 1715 Fleet bar salvaged by the Real Eight Company would sale today for much more than the price of the gold in the bar. I'm surprised that it originally sold for so close to the value of the gold. Several factors might have been included.
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During my search of the Indian River Ridge lot I found two stones that give off strong iron signals. They read minus 8 on the Equinox. |
| Two Rocks Found on Indian River Ridge Site That Give Iron Signal on Metal Detector. |
I've been leafing through a book entitled On the Two Cities once again. It is a book of selections from St. Augustine's The City of God, which Augustine wrote in the years just after Rome was sacked by the Goths in 410 AD, The fall of Rome was a shock to the world. Maybe we're going down a similar path today.
(By the way, you Italians might want to file for reparations from the Goths.)
In the City of God, St. Augustine traces the history of what he calls the earthly city and the Godly city back to their roots in Cain and Able (Cain of course being the envious murderer of Able, is the father of the earthly city, which is contrasted with the Godly or spiritual city.). On page 67 of the Two Cities book, you will find the following statement: "Cain was moved by that diabolical, envious hatred with which the evil [persons] regard the good just because the good are good while they themselves are evil." We see a lot of that kind of hatred today.
St. Augustine's statement immediately reminded me of a line in Disney's Cinderella movie. When Cinderella asks Lady Tremaine why she is so cruel, Lady Tremaine answers, "Because you are good and kind and innocent, and I ....." Lady Tremaine stops short of answering. The answer would sting too much. But she doesn't need to answer. The answer is clear. Hate directed at others has its roots in self-loathing, which is only inflamed by the sight of good and innocence. Hateful actions increases self-hate, which is recognized at some level but then denied and projected onto others.