Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Jupiter Wreck Coin Beach Find. |
I've been posting about some of the hunts and finds that for me have been very memorable. The half reale shown above is one find that came from a memorable hunt
When I lived down south (which was nearly thirty years ago, I visited Jupiter beach frequently, but I haven't been there for quite some time. The last time I was there, was a good many years ago too, although I don't know exactly how many. Maybe I could figure it out if I went through some of my old posts.
Anyhow, I remember one day years ago after having not been there for quite a while, I gave into the impulse to drive to Jupiter from the Treasure Coast rather than detect the local beaches. I don't remember why I decided to do that, but I suspect that I thought the weather was right and thought for some reason that I had a better chance down there, or maybe it was just intuition. I don't remember that.
I had some good days detecting just south of the Jupiter inlet back before the 2004 hurricanes and all the park renovations and renourishments. There was a sandy road and people parked anywhere under the Australian pine behind the dunes. The pines are no longer there.
I often ran into Dave, who detected there a lot. He was usually the only detectorists I would see there. He had a jar full of treasure coins that were stolen from the trunk of his car. That was also before the wreck was discovered by the lifeguard, who looked down one morning on while on his morning swim and saw a cannon that had been uncovered the night before.
I had some good days there, including one when I dug old U.S. coins all morning. Dave showed up just after I finished. He promised that if the beach got ripped again, he was going to beat me there. Despite some good detecting, I still hadn't found a Spanish reale there yet.
As I said, one day I decided to drive down to Jupiter to hunt, and when I arrived, I saw the dunes eroding and the water banging off the face of the eroding dunes. The tide was still pretty high, and I was detecting in thigh-deep rushing water. It wasn't easy keeping from getting washed down the beach. It was rough detecting - the kind of thing I would probably not even attempt today.
My wife was with me, but she stayed higher up on the beach. After recovering one scoop full, I worked my way up the slope and held the scoop out to her to get whatever was inside. After a few seconds inspecting the encrusted blackened object, she said she thought I "got one." It was my first reale from Jupiter beach. I didn't know yet that it would be one of my favorite half-reale finds.
I posted photos of this cob before and discussed it. One side (the one shown above) was covered by a thick sand crust and was completely hidden when recovered. The cross could be seen on the other side when it came out of the scoop, and that is what my wife saw.
After going home and finally getting the sand crust safely removed, I was delighted to see a very sharp Phillip monogram, as shown above. The other side was not protected by the crust and the details weren't nearly as sharp.
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| Cross Side of Jupiter Wreck Half Reale. |
I don't know why I made the drive to Jupiter that particular day, but I was glad I did. It seems like one of those times when intuition paid off. I hadn't been to Jupiter for years, and haven't been back in recent years, but I still remember the day when I got the urge to go and ended up with this coin.
Like some of my other most-memorable hunts, there were some unusual conditions. The surf was very rough, and I struggled to work the rushing water on the beach. I can still remember struggling to stay in place and detecting in water bouncing off the dune face and threatening to wash me down the slope and into the ocean. The coin is my first reale from Jupiter beach, even though I hunted thee many times before, and it cleaned up exceptionally well.
I have not had much luck finding examples like this coin to study in my reference books. If anyone can see any features indicative of a specific date or date range, please let me know. Coins from the Jupiter wreck mostly date between 1649 and 1659, although it seems to best match an example from the 1500s, that I found in the Menzell book. I still need to study it further.
Here is a previous post from treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com describing the find and some of the other top posts of that year.
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| Two Sides of St. Christopher Medallion |
I posted the above St. Christopher medallion a few days ago and asked if anyone could provide information about it.
Laura Strolia wrote the following.
The back of the St. Christopher medal stands for the sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. In 1917, the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, appeared to three children near an oak tree, hence the oak tree branch on the shield's left side. The olive branch, on the shield's right, symbolizes peace. This corresponds to Mother Mary's powerful message that peace can be obtained in the world through prayer.
Thanks much Laura.
She also said that it is probably from the 50s or 60s.
I did think the center shield looked similar to the Portugal shield that can be found on some treasure coins, but not exactly.
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I have a couple cob finds that still need additional cleaning and research.
Nothing special in the predictions for the Treasure Coast right now.
Good hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net