Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Source: Smithsonian Magazine (See link below) |
On his second outing, a metal detectorist found a medieval gold and diamond wedding ring $47,000. five iniches deep. The inscription reads:
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Not all returns are happy returns.
When a ring is found and returned, it is usually a joyous occasion, but that isn't always the case. Find out what happened after one detectorist posted a Facebook message describing a found ring hallmarked 1989.
A few days after the post, the original owner contacted the detectorist and said she wanted the ring thrown back in the water where it was found. The ring was a reminder of a bad divorce.Here is that link.
Metal detectorist told to put found wedding ring back in the ocean (nypost.com)
I told before the story of the New York Yankees World Series ring found at Jensen Beach some years ago. When the phone call was made the wife of the player said, "I knew he went to St. Lucie to see his girlfriend."
On another occasion, the owner of a big NBA championship ring that was found in Miami was contacted, the detectorist was told in no uncertain terms to never call again. Evidently there were some circumstances behind that.
I wonder what would happen if an owner collected insurance money on a lost ring.
I can also imagine finding items of deceased persons being tossed in the water as a kind of memorial. It could be a ring or container with ashes or some other memorial item.
Cremation tags are not uncommonly found. I've found quite a few of those down in Haulover by Hollywood beach.
And there are the little containers that can contain ashes.
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| Early 1500s Four-Maravedi Found at DeSoto Winter Camp. |
I don't have a plan for the sequence of coins finds or hoards that I'll be discussing. Yesterday I talked about a Fort Pierce wreck. Today I'm jumping to the opposite side of the state and an entirely different kind of coin find.
This find came from Anhaica, an indigenous settlemnt in the area of present-day Tallahassee.
Three maravedis were found. One is shown above.
As you would expect, where there are coins, there are likely other artifacts. That was the case at DeSoto's winter camp, which was occupied 1539 - 1540. Although the coins are not dated, the oldest could date back as far as 1481, while the latest might be as late as 1557.
Here are a few of the other items found at the site with the coin.
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| Artifacts Found With Coin At DeSoto Winter Camp Site. See link below for source. |
The coins were excavated in 1987 after the discovery of the site by archaeologist B. Calvin Jones.
Here is a link for more about that.
Hernando de Soto 1539–1540 Winter Encampment at Anhaica Apalachee - Division of Historical Resources - Florida Department of State (myflorida.com)---
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| Source: nhc.noaa.gov |
The one distrubance on the NHC map won't help beach conditions. We'll continue to have west and south winds and very smooth surf.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net