Written by the TreasureGude for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
 |
| Half Reale Found in 1989 (left) With Half Reale Found in 2013 (right). |
Back about a week ago I did a post on a memorable hunt from back in 1989 when I found several reales on a very cold day on the Treasure Coast. Yesterday I was looking through photos I had stored on a USB dr ive and noticed several reales found at the same beach in 2013. I don't remember the 2013 hunt very well, but I do have some vague recollection of a hunt about that long ago which resulted in several reales. For some reason that 2013 hunt was not as memorable as the 1989 hunt despite both hunts resulting in several cobs being found.
The 1989 hunt sticks out because it was the first time I found several reales and the weather, being so cold, was memorable too. It seems that the most memorable hunts and finds are often associated with something remarkable about the environment. In that one case it was the cold weather, but in another case I can think of, it was the blue sky, clear water, and sparkling of a diamond in the sunlight as it emerged from the sand. Besides the emotion of a remarkable find or finds, it seems that the most memorable experiences are often combined with a clear sensory impression.
Anyhow, amoung the reales found that day in 2013 (if my year in the photo label actually gives the year of the find, which I think is true) were some half reales and some other small denomination cobs. The half reale I showed in the post about the 1989 hunt showed the mint mark, assayers initial and a partial date. You are lucky to get all that information on a half reale.
As you can see at the top of this post, both half reales show part of a Phillip monogram. They are of different ages though. Can you tell which of the two is the oldest? You can still tell which is the oldest even though there is only a partial date on one and no date on the other.
Notice the mint mark on the 1989 find, and the mint mark on the 2013 mint mark. The 1989 find has a mint mark of J, while the 2013 example shows a mint mark of P.
The P mint mark was used 1634 - 1665. The J assayer mark was used from 1703 -1724. So the 1989 find is the older of the two.
There is other evidence about the age of the two half reales, but the assayer mark is the most obvious.
In between those two periods, Mexican half reales would show a monogram of Charles II rather than the a monogram of Phillip.
I always enjoyed looking at the mongrams found on half reales. There are so many varieties and little things to look for.
Here is one older post in which I looked at the Phillip monogram.
Below is a stylized image of a Phillip monogram.
I enjoy finding and studying the different variations. You usually get just a piece of the monogram on any given half reale.
Here is another one of the 2013 finds that shows a good bit of a Phillip monogram.
 |
| Half Reale Showing Good Bit of Phillip Monogram |
Notice the little V above and between the P and S in the monogram. That can also be seen in the other 2013 cob shown at the top of this post. Unfortunately this one does not show the assayer mark.
Once again, I wish I had documented these finds more completely. At least I have a year as part of the file names on the photos.
----
Don't be a follower. That is my recommendation. Some detectorists will do anything than can to find out what other people are doing rather than doing their own research and finding their own spots. That is one reason many people don't want to share a lot. They don't want to tell where they are finding things, because they don't want a lot of followers swarming their spots. So if they report a find being made in an area, they don't report it until they are done or conditions have changed, which can be quickly. But that is not what I want to address today.
Personally, I am not much of a follower. In fact, if I see a lot of people somewhere, I'll probably go somewhere else. I'd rather find my own spot than follow a lot of other detectorists. When one spot is really producing, there will usually be other productive spots at the same time, and even if the other spots may not be quite so good, you might not have to share them with so many people.
I am glad that I learned on my own. I read treasure magazines and books but did my own research and learned most of what I learned from experimenting and learning thorugh personal experience in the field. It took a lot of time, but I enjoyed learning. I like experimenting, observing and coming up with my own conclusions and developing my own strategies and techniques. That is a big part of why I like metal detecting and treasure hunting in general. It is about discovery.
I'd just encourage you to find your own spots. There is a lot of area to be explored, and things are constantly changing. I'll guarantee you that some good spots are being missed. You might be the first one to discover that a spot is producing and have it all to yourself. If you do your own research and put in your time exploring, you'll learn a lot and have a good chance to be the leader rather than a follower.
---
There is nothing of significance on the National Hurricane Center map and no big surf predicted for the Treasure Coast.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net