Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report
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| "Star of Bethlehem" Coin. |
Ancient coin shows Star of Bethlehem
The biblical Star of Bethlehem most likely was Jupiter’s occultation (eclipse) of Aries in 6 B.C., according to collector and astronomer Michael Molnar.
Molnar believes a bronze coin of Roman Syria, issued by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Silanus, who was governor of Syria from A.D. 13 to A.D. 17, depicts the celestial event described as the Star of Bethlehem.
Molnar presents his case in a book titled The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi, which has been acclaimed by other astronomers and translated into several languages.
Molnar explains that Aries (a ram) was the sign of the Jews, and that ancient stargazers would have watched for the Star of Bethlehem in Syria...
12 Days of Christmas: Ancient coin shows Star of Bethlehem (coinworld.com)
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Among the cobs you might have found are the rare and desirable "Star of Lima" coins produced in 1659 and 1660, a good number of which were on the San Miguel wreck discovered off Jupiter Beach. The star on those cobs is sometimes referred to as the Star of Bethlehem. Other sources say the star represents Lima, the City of Kings. Both could be correct.
The closest I ever came to getting a "Star of Lima" cob is the following half reale from Jupiter Beach.
If it was as Star of Lima coin, the star would be shown to the right of the "S" in the monogram.
For an undated cob, it is a nice example. Too bad it doesn't have the date or a star.
But is especially crisp and clear for a beach cob. That is what I really like about it.
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My favorite memories are stored away like a snow globe collection sitting on a closet shelf. I'll explain.
I love to quietly absorb the pitch-black silence in the middle of the night. It is so peaceful - like a darkened theater before the show, until an electrical storm of firing synapses lights center stage. You never know what act will appear. There is no advance program.
Each snow globe has a switch or trigger. The trigger can be a sound, smell or sight, but sometimes globes are activated randomly to surprise and amaze.
As I lay awake in bed one recent night, one of the globes suddenly lit up and I was back in time some seventy years, walking through the shin-deep crunching snow on a clear starlit night on Christmas Eve with my mom, dad, grandpa, grandma and little sister, down the hill from the little red cracker box shack my dad built, to my grandma's house, which was a couple hundred yards away. It was my dad's birthday and we had just finished his traditional T-bone birthday dinner and were on the way to grandma's to open Christmas presents. It is hard to imagine that with my grandma along it was so silent, but the only thing I heard was the crunching snowy footprints. It was one of those beautifully black and silent nights decorated only by the many scattered twinkling stars.
A distant whispering sound drew my attention up between the stars and froze that moment forever. It was the distant sound of a airliner, probably at some thirty-thousand feet, but as I looked up towards the sound, I expected to see Santa making his magical rounds.
I've heard the same distant echoing sound many times over the years, and it still takes me back to that beautiful Christmas Eve scene with my family many years ago, but sometimes when I wake in the night, as I did a few nights ago, it turns on all by itself., and I am walking through the crunchy snow with my family once again.
Merry Christmas to all.
May your memories be sweet and your future bright.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
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The high tides are good and high today, and the surf is supposed to be moderate - something like three feet. I might get a chance to check it out later,