Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Silver Spanish Colonial Thimble Find. Photo by Frank B. |
A couple days ago I was talking about thimble finds. Here is a super Spanish Colonial thimble found by Frank B. It is more special than you might think. Here is what Frank told me.
First, here is what Frank told me.
Another one of your recent posts piqued my interest- the one about thimbles. I found a silver thimble from a Spanish colonial site in Latin America a couple of years ago that I believe is one of my most compelling finds and I thought you might find it interesting as well. Unfortunately, the thimble was crushed when I found it but still interesting. I believe it is the type of thimble with no top on it (called a tailor's thimble).
When I originally dug the thimble, I didn't think much of it as it was caked in dirt and damaged like I mentioned above. I brought it home to clean it up with distilled water and the details came out. I was amazed to see that there was a complete name crudely etched on the thimble, "Catalina Peres," (please find attached 4 photos- the first photo is a series of 4 photos of the thimble slightly rotated to see the full name). That was cool enough for me but upon further analysis I also noticed a primitive etching of a map of North/Central America (see photo #2 where I outline the map in red, side to side with the original). The site I was searching (on private land with owner's permission) has been occupied on and off since the mid-1500s. During the same search I found the 2 cobs attached (photos #3 and #4) as well probably within 20 feet of the thimble (both are 1 real Potosi cobs- one minted in 1660 and the other I can't get a specific date but probably early 1600s).
I checked the online Spanish archives for any mention of a "Catalina Peres" and I did find one who emigrated to the area in 1608. Not sure if this is the woman who owned the thimble, though, as Catalina Peres (also sometimes spelled Perez) is a pretty common Spanish name. It's fun to wonder nonetheless...
Thanks again for touching on another interesting topic!
Frank B.
As I told Frank, that thimble is what I call a super find - better than gold because of all the unique personal touches.
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| Spanish Colonial Thimble Bearing Name and Map. Photos and Drawing by Frank B. |
Having the name and the map is truly amazing.
But that isn't all. Below are two reales found along with the thimble.
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| Reales Found With Spanish Colonial Thimble. By Frank B. |
The first reale seems to be a 1660 Potosi 1 reale - a nice dated example.
The reales are very nice finds on their own, but provide additional provenance for the thimble.
Thanks for sharing Frank.
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| Source: nhc.noaa.gov |
It is that time of year. The Atlantic is getting more active. Watch the daily maps.
The tides are moderate now, and the surf this week will be about two feet.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net