Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Sifter for Replenishment Project at Dollman Photographed and submitted by Mark G. |
The sifter sifts dredged materials to 0.24 inches.
October 20, 1957, at 4 a.m. was the incredible moment that the giant dredger dug out the last sand dune and cut the island in two...
Bill Rapp, a Port Mansfield resident, was there for that moment and was elated that he was. He wrote: “You often dream of things and they come to pass...
In the dredging that continued one bright sunny afternoon, the mud and clay being sucked from the channel and spewed onto the banks suddenly brightened as silver coins began sparkling in the sunlight... The dredge had crushed an old Spanish Galleon, the classic sailing ship, buried there for four centuries. Work was stopped for a while and the coins collected...
The ship that was discovered there was the Santa Maria de Yciar, one of four ill-fated ships carrying treasure that had set sail together from Vera Cruz, Mexico, in late April of 1544 on the way back to Spain... Estimates are that the ships carried the equivalent of about $80 million in today’s purchasing power.
The three wrecked ships... all sat undiscovered for four centuries. The Esteban and Espiritu Santo were both found years later a few miles north of the Mansfield cut. Treasure hunters descended on them and had collected quite a fortune when the State of Texas took action.
Here is the link for the entire article.
The Port Mansfield Cut and the treasure discovered there | Texas Standard
The coins dredged from that cut were of the Carlos and Joanna type shown below.
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| Texas National Park Service Photo. |
You might recall some very similar coins found on the Treasure Coast that I posted in this blog. Some of those came from a mid-1500s wreck site.
Treasure Coast hunters talk a lot about 1715 Fleet treasures, but there are other shipwrecks along the Treasure Coast, both older and newer. Not all shipwreck finds, not even Spanish shipwreck finds, are from the 1715 Fleet.
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Concerning the mystery item that I discussed yesterday, Warren D., who found an old diamond and gemstone ring himself, added the following comments.
I was told by Bob Marx that my ring was Oriental workmanship. Oriental techniques may/probably vary from European/Georgian techniques in the same time period. I think most information on the internet addresses the European techniques in that time period.
I researched theses done by Prof. Edward R. Slack of Eastern Washington University to try to understand the Asian influence on Spanish colonial culture. Asians migrated to colonial New Spain and established shops like the El Parian in Mexico City, opposite the Viceroy's home and Mexico City mint. Asians included India citizen, famous for precious stone cutting and polishing, think of the "maharajah" jewels...
Musk Labels OpenAI ‘Diabolical Devil’ as ChatGPT Faces Murder‑Suicide Allegations | Republic World
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| Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com. |
Notice the familiar pattern of switching wind direction as a front comes through.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net