Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
People often wonder how much their finds are worth. When it comes to Spanish Colonial cobs, it depends upon a lot of factors. Sometimes it comes down to peraonal appeal. Sometimes somebody just likes the look of a particular cob, or it might be the one special type they need to complete their collection. Despite all the difficulties, here are a few generalities offered on the Coin Quest web site.
Price estimates for Spanish Colonial silver cob (1570 - 1780) prices.
Cobs With Date.
1/2 reale $80 - $2501 reale $100 - $300.
2 reales $140 - $400.
4 REALES $220 - $650
8 REALES $200 - $650
Cobs Without Date.
1/2 real: $60
1 real: $40
2 reales: $100
4 reales: $160
8 reales: $120
The low number on the price ranges is for cobs described as crude, and the high price is for cobs described as well preserved.
Other things being equal, cobs showing a date are more valuable, as are cobs showing the mint mark and assayer mark, as well as other details of the design.
You might find it odd that half reales are often more highly valued that one reals and four reales more highly valued than eight reales.. According to Coin Quest that is because of relative rarity.
Being so small, not too many half reales show a date.
Of course there are many factors involved in valuing a cob, and rarities such as galanos or heart shaped cobs.
Here is the source link.
Coin Value: Spain Spanish Colonial Silver Cob Coin 1570 to 1780 (coinquest.com)
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Here is a mystery item from my Indian River Ridge site.
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| One Side of Arched Retangular Item. |
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| Other Side of Same Item. |
The second side seems to have 14 heavy studs or rivets, which look like they were maybe bent over to connect something.
What do you think?
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Metal detecting a beach is very much like metal detecting an inland site, but there are some big and important differences. Perhaps the biggest differences is the amount a beach changes. That is related to another difference - the amount of sifting and sorting, or classifying, that happens on a beach as result of the waves.
Since there is so much area on a beach, it is impossible to cover it all. That means that reading the beach and spending your time on the right spots is a very important skill.
An inland site is not entirely different in that regard. You can read an inland site too. There high places and depressions, maybe caused by a tree being uprooted or human activity, and there may be other visible signs of human activity such as walls, paths etc. You might see structures and surface artifacts for example.
When an inland site is confined to an area that you can thoroughly cover, there is little reason to sample and absolutely no reason to wander around in an unplanned or random pattern. Cover every inch systematically and thoroughly. Over a few years time I would expect EVERYTHING within metal detector range on a small area (a small island for example) to be removed, including nuts, bolts, nails, and rust, if you think there is something big to be discovered. No reason to not cover every inch and recover every bit of metal.
The trouble with being a detectorist is the emphasis being on a tool - the metal detector. Have you ever heard of a hammerist. No, because the hammer is just a tool, and using the hammer is not the goal. For most, the goal is not simply to use a metal detector, although some people act that way. The goal is usually to discover treasure - however you define that.
Metal detecting is an enjoyable activity, but you can diminish what you discover by limiting yourself to one kind of tool.
That is a good place to stop today even though I didn't even get started on the main topic I wanted to address today. I'll get into sampling more some other day.
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We are now having some good high tides and some negative low tides. That is good, but unfortunately the surf is now down again.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net