Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
MeAARHUS, DENMARK—The enigmatic Nuragic civilization that flourished on the island of Sardinia during the Bronze Age is most recognized for building monumental stone towers known as nuraghi. However, they are also well-known for their small bronzetti figurines, which often depict warriors, gods, or animals. Scholars have long speculated about where the metal—mainly, the copper and tin—to create these tiny sculptures came from. According to a statement released by Aarhaus University, researchers recently used cutting-edge isotope analysis to examine 48 bronzetti fragments from three prominent Nuragic sites dating to the early first millennium b.c....
Here is the link for more about that.
News - Metal in Sardinian Figurines Underscores Bronze Age Trade Networks - Archaeology Magazine
I just can't pass up on metal figures like that. That is the kind of thing I really like. It reminds me of the metal soldiers and other characters I had as a child. I also a heater and pot for melting lead and casting my own metal soldiers. They'd never let kids have something like that today. You can, however, get something very similar for melting lead and making your own sinkers, lead shot, ingots or whatever.
Below is an example.
You can melt all you scrap lead finds and make something useful or fun.
It would take more expensive furnace to melt silver and gold.
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The following title just showed up on my computer; Got any old Spanish pesetas? They may be worth more than you think!
It made me think of the 1966 100 peseta coin (shown above) that I found some years ago along the side of the Indian River Lagoon. It was a surprise when I found it. I caught a glimpse of the reverse (shown above) and my first thought was that it was a fake reale, and I quickly stuck it in my pocket without giving it much attention.
I didn't expect it to be worth lot because, as I often say, rarities are rare. But now curious enough to check it out. I thought I should at least check it out, and knew that it contained enough silver that with current prices, it would be worth a bit.
The article continued as follows: Although they ceased to circulate more than two decades ago, old pesetas still hold value. Many of these coins and banknotes have transformed from mere souvenirs into sought-after collector’s items. The key is knowing whether the ones you have are worth more than you realize.
Here is the link for the rest of that article. Got any old Spanish pesetas? They may be worth more than you think!)
So I looked my coin on the Numista site. |
| Other side of the same peseta shown above. |
Here is the table of values I found.
As is usually the case in numismatics, not only does the value depend upon condition, which you'd expect, but there are other details to check. In this case, inside those impossibly small stars on the coin are the numbers 66, 67 68,69 0r 70. They can make a big difference in price, but are so small they are almost impossible to see.
Using my photos I could barely make out the small numbers, but it looks like a straight "9". I'll have to get the coin out and put it under my microscope to see if I can see it any better. While the coin is a nice condition, it certainly isn't uncirculated, so I'm not expecting much.
But again, the price of silver is now around $42 per oz. and there is almost a half an oz. of silver in the coin, so doing a little arithmetic, the coin would be worth around $20 just in melt value.
So, after all of that, I still am not sure of the numismatic value, but I'm still ok with the melt value.
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The price of gold, as you probably know, recently hit new record highs. That brings a lot of talk and articles about investing in gold. They start trying to get buyers when the prices are high and they can make a killing. I'd rather buy when things are near their lows rather than being so high, but it is natural to get excited about an investment when it is soaring and feel like selling after prices have already fallen.
Here is an article I noticed that addressed the pros and cons of investing in gold. Most of the tips were common sense, but here is one of the tips I'll discuss a little.
5. Let someone you trust know about hidden gold.
Hiding gold around your house is generally not a good idea. But if you go this route, let someone you trust know about the investment and hiding place. That way, if you pass away suddenly, your loved ones don’t lose the gold hidden inside a sofa or under a floorboard.
That is how a lot of caches are created. Something is buried or hid and then someone passes away or for some other reason is unable to retrieve it. As the years go by, you can simply forget things like that. Therefore, while you might think you'd remember, it is a good idea to keep a record in multiple places that you will access more than the secret hiding place. The record should not by itself be clear to anyone who has not been otherwise somewhat informed about the item and location. And the records should be kept in more than one location. Something can happen to one set of records, so you'll want more than one, just in case.
I won't address the topic of things buried outside right now, but there are several precautions you should take if you want to bury things outside too.
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| Source: nhc.noaa.gov. |
Still looks like this one has a good chance to develop, but it might stay out in the Atlantic like some of the others this year. Keep watching.
For more detail, check out the site Tim M. recommended. Here is the link.
Live Florida Hurricane Tracker and Model Mixer | jacksonville.com
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| Source: SurfGuru.com. |
Looks like the Treasure Coast surf will remain around two or three feet.
The high tides are still nice and high.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net