Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 5/12/16 Report - Pareidolia: The Constant Danger for Detectorists an Scientists Alike. List of Sites Where You Can Sell Coins Online.

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

A hiker recently found a 1500-year-old richly decorated fitting for a sword scabbard (shown below). It was discovered in what is now a popular hiking area...

Recently Found 1500-year-old Scabbard.

... the fitting features filigree ornamentation – goldsmith work made from thin metal threads bent or twisted into patterns...

"This places the object among the finest works from the period, created by highly skilled goldsmiths," ...

But what does the intricate motif on the fitting represent?

According to Kristoffersen, it is meant to depict animals.

"When trying to identify these strange creatures, it's always helpful to look for the eye first. Then a nose and facial profile quickly emerge," she writes.

She explains that the motif is symmetrically composed of two animal heads in profile facing each other – one positioned along the upper edge and the other inverted along the lower edge.

Gold sword-scabbard fittings usually show little evidence of wear. This example, however, is clearly worn and heavily used. This suggests the chieftain actually used it frequently. It emphasised his position and power, says Reiersen....

Here is the link for the entire article.

A hiker discovered a 1,500-year-old gold treasure in Norway

I often talk about the challenges of identifying objects. If you look at the drawing of the motif at the top of this post, it seems to me that the interpretation is a real stretch.

Pareidolia is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus usually visual, so that one detects an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none. Pareidolia is a specific but common type of apophenia (the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things or ideas).

Common examples include perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations; seeing faces in inanimate objects; or lunar pareidolia like the Man in the Moon ... (Wikipedia)

That is a danger to anyone trying to interpret the world, including scientists. It is something that detectorists encounter in trying to identify finds.

A newborn's visual system is still developing, but they are already drawn to certain stimuli. Within the first hours and days after birth, a baby’s eyes are most focused on the mother’s face, especially her eyes. It would seem there is a survival value in that and it might have a genetic component.

We don't really see the world as it is. To begin with, we only see parts of the world (the parts our eyes respond to) and the sensory data is quickly processed to be something other than taw data provided by the light energy that caused the chemical response in the retina.

It is easy to see what you want to see when the object or design is ambiguous to some extent. Objectivity doesn't come easily and requires constant checking.

The brain is always interpreting and reacting to stimuli. The world we react to, is to a larger degree than we typically acknowledge, a world of our own making. People have difficulties when "their" world does not effectively coordinate with that of others.

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Global silver supply is in severe deficit for its 6th consecutive year with cumulative shortage expected to reach 866 million oz. by end of 2026, driven by explosive demand from AI data centers, EVs, solar panels, and emerging technologies, compounded by China’s control of 70% of global silver bullion supply and recent US designation of silver as a critical mineral.

Here is that link.

Gold and Silver Deliveries Escalate - A Warning for Currencies? - 24/7 Wall St.

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Here is an article that gives seven of the best places to see coins online. Some of them are obvious, like eBay, but there are other you might not know so much about.

The article discusses the pros and cons of each site. There are a couple that I'll look into more for myself.

Here is a little of what the article says.