Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
BERLIN (AP) — Investigators looking into the theft of hundreds of ancient gold coins from a German museum have found lumps of gold that appear to have resulted from part of the treasure being melted down, but still hold out hope of finding the rest intact, officials said Thursday.
Four suspects were arrested on Tuesday over the Nov. 22 break-in at the Celtic and Roman Museum in the Bavarian town of Manching in which 483 Celtic coins discovered during an archaeological dig in 1999 were stolen. The coins date to around 100 B.C...
The deputy head of Bavaria’s state criminal police office, Guido Limmer, told reporters in Munich that authorities have examined 18 lumps of gold that were recovered this week. Each is believed to be the result of four coins being melted down, and Limmer said that the non-standard alloy largely matches that of the treasure, though a further analysis is ongoing.
“We know that about 70 gold coins have apparently been lost irretrievably in their cultural and historical significance,” said Bavaria’s state culture minister, Markus Blume. “But that means that of course there is still hope of perhaps being able to find the rest of the gold coins, and so the majority of the gold treasure.”...
Here is the link for more about that.
German police find melted-down gold after theft of Celtic coins, seek rest of treasure | AP News
Thanks to Norbert B. for that one.
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Continuing to comment on various Florida treasure sites listed in some of my old notes, I'll now mention a few sites located in the Florida Keys. I won't discuss the Atocha and Margarita, about which so much has already been said, but I will discuss some that have resulted in coins or treasure being found on land by detectorists. The first of those is from the 1733 Fleet. It is the Capitana El Rubi Segundo, which was found well offshore at the location indicated on the following map.
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| Locaton of Capitana El Rubi Segundo. |
I haven't detected any of the sites in the Keys extensively but have visited some of them a few times. Years ago when I visited some of those sites, I simply drove down route 1 and pulled off the road and detected the shoreline. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble remembering those sites well today. While I remember what they looked like and what I found, in some cases I don't remember for sure exactly where the finds occurred.
Of course, the scatter of the wrecks can cover a relatively large area. Also, some of the treasure was additionally spread by indigenous tribes and wreckers who salvaged and secreted the treasure along the Keys. Treasure chests have been recovered in the Keys in the past and are described in various books and articles.
If you go to the Keys there are also places where modern treasure can be found along the roadside beaches. I had a few favorites, some of which I've described in the past.
In recent years more has been published online than I had scribbled in my notes about these wrecks, so I'm able to provide some good links. I liked hunting the Keys a lot, and if it wasn't for the distance of the drive, would have done it more often than I did.
Fast forward to 1938, when Reggie Roberts, a commercial fisherman spotted a cannon protruding from a pile of stones off Plantation Key. He notified Art McKee who began to explore the area and in doing so, McKee uncovered Spanish silver coins and one gold escudo which was dated 1721...
Over the next 10 years, Art McKee and his associates continued wreck diving on this site, along with numerous others shipwrecks from the same era.
Their efforts from the Capitana alone produced all sorts of Spanish treasure including silver coins, statues, daggers, swords, pistols, jewelry, navigational instruments, ship's gear, pewter, galley items, cannon, cannon balls, ballast, timber, rope, religious artifacts and pillar dollars...
By 1949 Art McKee had amassed considerable Spanish treasure, but he also wanted to share his findings with the world. Towards that end, he sought out different means to raise funds, and three years later he was successful in his efforts...
Source: Capitana El Rubi Segundo, Harboring Spanish Treasure? (florida-keys-vacation.com)
Despite being salvaged and heavily worked over the decades, there is a lot to be found in the Keys and I seldom came away disappointed. I know that things have changed since then. Like everywhere else, there are areas I hunted where you can no longer metal detect. One of those is the park on Plantation Key.
I've mentioned before that I ran into Art McKee on one trip to the Keys. Art was a true pioneer and innovator who freely shared his experiences and knowledge. Below are a couple of previous posts in which I talked about Art and his museum in the Keys.
You will definitely want to read this article on Art McKee.
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| Source: nhc.noaa.gov |
We now have a little more activity on the National Hurricane Center map. I'll keep an eye on that.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net