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Wednesday, April 29, 2026

4/29/26 Report - Amazing Gold Belt Treasure. Treasure Coast Beach Most Expensive in FL. Milk Glass Container. Clovis Crystal Points.

 

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


Sections of an Elaborate Gold Belt
(Lot 1595 in Current Sedwick Auction)

I talked about a similar intricate gold belt something like two or three days ago.  I also talked about some of the standouts of the current Sedwick auction.  This belt could well bring the highest price of all the auction lots.  The auction estimate is $75,000 - $150,000 and the current bid is already $60,000.

Here is more about the find.

Six-link section of an exceptionally ornate gold belt, 106.72 grams total, fineness 21K, ex-Maravillas (1656), ex-Barfield, Marx Plate, Weller Plate. 9½" long. This fabulous artifact consists of six diamond-shaped links in ornate scrollwork of marvelously fine craftsmanship in high-karat gold (XRF tested at 21K), no doubt rather valuable even in its own time, in as-found condition coated here and there with light white coral, a significant showpiece that surely once belonged to Spanish royalty.

These six links are part of a long belt that was found in sections, starting with five links recovered during Bob Marx's work on the Maravillas in the summer of 1974 by diver Dick Anderson, who wrote about it (among other things) in his article "More Treasure from the World's Richest Wreck" in Argosy Magazine's 1976 Treasure Hunting Annual, which opens with a picture of him holding the five links (big smile, of course), a photo that was reproduced in Marx's 1979 book Diving for Adventure. In 1976, Anderson thought it was a bracelet, but examination of portraits of 17th Spanish royalty revealed that the links were just a section of a long belt, which Marx acknowledged in 1979. Marx's 1982 book Quest for Treasure shows a picture of that chain of five links too, with a comment that they did not find the entire belt, just those five links. Eventually, though, twenty-eight more links were found on the wreck, thus completing a thirty-three-link belt, as pictured in Marx's 1998 book Deep, Deeper, Deepest, captioned as "recovered by Marx." Each link is connected to the next by means of two easily removable stud-links with matching design, so that anyone could modify the length as needed. This six-link segment originates from a larger group of sixteen acquired by Bob "Frogfoot" Weller and later incorporated into a private collection.

It speaks to the importance of this artifact that various forms of the whole belt are pictured in at least four of Bob Marx's books (and one of Weller's). We encourage potential bidders to consider the stature of this piece as a sort of "Queens Jewels" like what you see in Royal museums around the world; we are all extremely fortunate to have the chance to own such a thing today. From the Maravillas (1656), pedigreed to the Barfield Collection, plated on page 39 of Bob Marx's book Diving for Adventure (1979), page 236 of his book Quest for Treasure (1982), photo-plate opposite page 27 of his book Sunken Treasure: How to Find It, page 322 of his book Deep, Deeper, Deepest (1998), and page 160 of Bob "Frogfoot" Weller's book Galleon Alley (2001), with photo-certificates, accompanied by a copy of Argosy Magazine's 1976 Treasure Hunting Annual containing Dick Anderson's article.

Mother's Day is coming up if you haven't already picked out a present.

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2 Views of Found Milk Glass Container.

There is embossing on the bottom, but the white on white didn't show up in the photo.  On the bottom in big block letters it reads ROYAL LUNCHEON CHEESE.

Yesterday I showed another milk glass find and mentioned that milk glass was common but not limited to the 1920 - 1940 period.  While most of my milk glass finds have been cosmetics containers, this is one of the very few and perhaps only milk glass food container jar that I've found.  This jar dates to the early 1900s.

A little research revealed the following about the cheese, which was marketed by the Horton-Cato Mfg. Co. of Detroit.

Horton-Cato Manufacturing Company was a Detroit-based producer of condiments and dressings, best known for its “Royal” brand of salad dressings and sauces.  The company operated in the early 20th century, with evidence of production dating back to at least the 1880s, as indicated by a patent date of April 25, 1882 on a Royal Salad Dressing. The trademark for “Royal” was officially filed on August 26, 1914, suggesting the company was already established and marketing its products before that date.

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... The second hypothesis hinged on the translucency, triboluminescence (sparking when struck), crystalline shape, and rarity of the material, which may have had symbolic or ritual significance.

"There are a number of historical and ethnographic studies that indicate quartz crystals in different regions were considered to be imbued with special properties," explained Dr. Buchanan. "In these societies, quartz crystals have been used for curing, spreading illnesses, or were considered to be powerful living objects.

"For example, among Californian Yuman peoples, quartz crystals (wii'ipay) are one of the most powerful objects in the supernatural universe. Usually left to shamans to use or try to control for both good and bad purposes, including divining the future, reading minds, and providing luck in gambling; however, a crystal can also kill the shaman that possesses it."...

Here is the link for more about that.

Why did Clovis toolmakers choose difficult quartz crystal? New study offers clues

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Surf Chart from Surfguru.com.

No big changes in beach conditions expected soon.


More on the recently found 17th century cross ccoming soon.


Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net


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