Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Four-Reale Found by Joe R. and Previously Posted on 12/19. |
I posted this find back in December after Joe R. sent in the photo. Joe is having it professionally cleaned by West Bay Trading Company. He wrote to tell me that and also said he'll send photos after he gets the coin back. It came out of the ground in great condition, as you can see above.
About that coin, Joe also said, The mint mark is OMO, Mexico mint Philip II minted between 1571 and 1579. It weighed in at 9. 81 grams. Steve said that the coin lost about 1/4 of its weight, which he attributed to being in salt water.
As I've said before, it can be difficult to evaluate coins from photos, and one reason I posted this photo again is to point that out. From the photo you see above, I would have taken the assayer mark to be G rather than O.
Up until now, most if not all of the 16th century Spanish coin finds that I've shown were of the Pillars and Waves type. This one, however, bears the Great Shield design.
The O assayer mark would be for Bernardo de Onate, whose assayer mark also appears on coins of the Pillars and Waves type.
Onate worked concurrently with Luis Rodriguez, who used the assayer mark L, so things are not always as orderly and clear as you'd like.
Onate kept the legend KAROLUS ET IOHANA (Charles and Joana) until about 1572, when new dies were introduced. At that time Phillip II had already been king for about 16 years. (See the Menzel book.) I can't read the legend on this coin from the photo.
Below are a couple other Phillip II four-reales that are among many more coins pictured in the Calico book that I talked about yesterday.
Take a look at the example shown above. You'll notice the mint mark is on the right. That is not uncommon if you look at a lot of examples. The mint mark can appear on either side. By the way the 30.000 is not a value.
On the left of the coin shown above, and it is difficult to make it out, but the denomination appears as a Roman numeral (IIII). It is to the left of the shield. The denomination on Joe's coin is in Arabic numerals. That is another element that can be found either to the right or left of the shield.
And below is another Phillip II four-reale. Notice once again the oM mint mark and the denomination IIII and the O assayer mark.
On Joe's find, one design feature that really sticks out to me is the curved bowl-like line under the crown. I haven't found an exact match for that feature in the books I searched so far, but I haven't spent a lot of time looking yet. I have seen that feature on coins from other mints and even a half-reale. There are so many types and varieties on Spanish Colonial coins, it seems like an endless variety.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Archaeologists in Norway said Tuesday that have found a runestone which they claim is the world’s oldest, saying the inscriptions are up to 2,000 years old and date back to the earliest days of the enigmatic history of runic writing...
Here is the link for more about that.Norway archaeologists find 'world's oldest runestone' (msn.com)
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The surf is now back down to around two or three feet, and we have a slightly offshore wind.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net