5/6/24 Report - Metal Detecting Cobs Experiences. Enjoying Finds After the Hunt and Detecting the History Behind Them.

 

Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Yesterday I was talking about small denomination treasure coins, including maravedis and half reales.  As I was saying, it seems that half reales are much more common beach finds than maravedis.  The things you find are not always a perfect representation of the things that are there.  Some things are more difficult to find.  Some things may not be found as often for other reasons.  That is something I was reminded of yesterday as I wrote the post.

When people start metal detecting for treasure coins, they might have some unrealistic expectations.  Some might expect the shiny perfect eight-reales or eight-escudos like the examples you see in the media.  Before I found my first reale, I remember Dave, who had been working Jupiter beach many years before I ever stopped there, told me they sound like aluminum cans.  I don't know if he was trying to mislead me or not, but not all of them sound big.  Some are big and some are small.

Years later I was at John Brooks beach.  It was one of those days.  I was finding them and knew there would be more.  At Brooks there have been times when smaller reales could be found in the shells above the berm, at other times in the high tide line, and at other times on the slope at various distances from the water.  But while I was detecting the beach and finding cobs, a couple younger fellows showed up with Garrett metal detectors.  They asked me some questions, and said they wanted to find treasure coins.  They hadn't found any before, and it seemed to me like they hadn't done much metal detecting at all.

In those days it seemed that most people were using Garrett metal detectors.  I had used Garrett detectors, but I was using some really hot modified Nautilus detectors at the time, which I felt were much better than the off-the-shelf Garretts back then.  

Anyhow I was finding cobs, and I talked to those fellows and told them where to look.  In a short time they found their first.  It was small.  They stood there and held it in their hand looking at it. When I told them they found a treasure coin (I don't remember the exact conversation or what term I used), they looked very confused, if not doubtful.  It was clear that they were expecting to see something different.  I can understand that.  You mostly see nice big shiny reales in the media instead of little black lumps that might not be recognized the first time you see one.

At the top of this post is shown two half reales.  The one on the right shows very little evidence of what it is.  The markings are not clear and might not be recognized unless you have some experience and know what you are looking for.  The one on the left, however, shows clear markings that would not be mistaken by anyone with even a little knowledge.

Over the  past forty years or so detectorists have become much more informed due to all the online information.  Back then you might not get many tips unless you had an experienced friend to guide you or attended club meetings.  In general, people weren't as eager to share.  Not only were there fewer sources of information, but the metal detecting culture was different.  Even if you did find your first, it would be easy to fail to recognize a blacked encrusted lump as a treasure coin, esepcially if it was your first.

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I just received he following email from Mark G.

I think the best part of any treasure hunt is laying out the finds to look through the treasure. I don’t know about you but after a morning hunt there’s not much more I want to do like washing the car, so I procrastinate by laying out, sorting, photographing and cleaning if necessary all my junk. Not a bad morning, I dry sanded a beach I have been wanting to get to, no public access have to hike, and waited for low tide. Found a junk ring in the sand and a bunch of coins. The swash is so sanded in you only get a shot at dead low tide for a few minutes where you can actually reach the edge of where the sand is coming from and dig in the shell bead. I found this Hot Wheels body (photo attached) in just that area and nothing else. After looking at the photo I took of my finds, I take a photographic record of all my hunts good or bad, I noticed the car was Stamped on the roof  “20^th Hot Wheels Anniversary”.  Instead of washing the car I immediately took to the computer to try and find this exact car as it was new and what it would be worth today. Matching the body style with stamping (20^th Hot Wheels) I found this 1988 20th Anniversary Gold Funny Car - Hot Wheels – photos. They came in silver too in 1988 and it was a 2 piece car, the shell lifted up off the frame like a funny car which explains why I only found half of the car.

I got a little lost researching Hot Wheels and watching Hot Wheels Collectors U-tube videos and used almost the whole afternoon but I’ve procrastinated enough, that car is not going to wash itself.

 

Thank You

Mark G.

Hot Wheels Car Found by Mark G.

Thanks Mark.

I agree.   A lot of the fun of metal detecting comes after the find.

It turns out that I just had an experience that shows the same thing.

Wade England Beaver.

Above is a little find from a bottle hunt that has been sitting around for a while.  My wife discovered it and brought it to my attention just yesterday.   Often she asks if she can throw some little obejct away,  but she liked this little figure for some reason.  I had hardly noticed it, and didn't notice anything interesting about it before she brought it to my attention.  She pointed out that it was marked WADE ENGLAND.  The mark was small and I hadn't paid enough attention before to notice.

So, of course, I did my research and found out that Wade is an old pottery company that began in the 1800s, but sometime in the mid 1900s made a deal with Red Rose tea to produce animal figurines that were included in boxes of tea.

Here is a link to information about the Wade potteries and the figurines they produced.

Wade Family Potteries - Guide to Value, Marks, History | WorthPoint Dictionary

Red Rose Tea invented the tea bag.

Here is more about that.  Before that loose tea was kept in tea chests.

Red Rose is proud to have contributed a beneficial chapter in the story of tea. Amazingly enough, before Theodore Harding Estabrooks founded Red Rose Tea, local merchants were only able to sell loose leaf tea out of chests, and because of this, the quality of each cup of tea varied greatly. The ingenious Mr. Estabrooks saw the need to produce and pack a quality blended tea that was consistent from cup to cup, and thanks to his efforts the tea bag as we know it today was born. Mr. Estabrooks' innovation allowed tea lovers everywhere to enjoy the same quality of tea in every package - a Red Rose tradition that continues to this day.

Red Rose Tea was initially sold in the Atlantic provinces of Canada and a few cities in the United States near the Canadian border in the 1920's. The brand flourished in England through the 1930's under the representation of Brooke Bond and Company and PG Tips, which ultimately led to the global expansion of Red Rose Tea.

Metal detecting and treasure hunting more generally is a great way to get students interested in history.  It makes it personal as they personally handle objects that tell the stories of history.

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Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net