Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Coin Found on Beach in Plastic Container. |
Yesterday I posted a printed shipwreck chart listing numerous Florida shipwrecks from three sections of the United States, which included the Treasure Coast and mostly the Florida Keys. The chart left out many areas of Florida and for the Treasure Coast listed some of the 1715 Fleet, didn't include the many other shipwrecks of the area. If you were interested in some of the other shipwrecks you would have to consult other sources. Today I'll show you one online source that provides some information on 63 old Spanish shipwrecks of Florida as well as the Spanish shipwrecks of the United States and the Bahamas. The listing of Spanish shipwrecks is extensive, but the information on eac wreck is basic.
Here is the link to the site.
Perhaps you noticed on the sections of the chart I showed yesterday the El Populo. Using the above site, you could use the above link to some find information on the Nuestra Senoro de Populo. Below is the link to that information.
Nuestra Señora de Pópulo, sunk in Florida (Atlantic Coast) in 1733 | Journey without return
And here is what you'd learn about that wreck.
Date
1733Period
18th centuryShip type
Merchant shipCause
A hurricaneLocated
✓Key figure
Rodrigo de TorresCommand
Rodrigo TorresShipwreck zone
Elliot Key, FloridaPort of departure
Havana (CUB)Cargo
Hides and skins, tobacco, dyes, citrus fruits , and indigoIf that information makes you want to learn more, you'd have to do more research. Still, the web site can be useful. It includes some other information as well, such as information on each of the 15 ports in the area, from Acapulco to Vera Cruz.
The site provides basic information but is exceptionally well organized and easy to use.
The El Populo is now one of many ships protected in the Biscayne National Park. It was salvaged by the El Africa, one of the luckier of the 1733 ships and by treasure hunters in the 1960s.
Perhaps the most comprehensive list is Marx's book, Shipwrecks in the Americas, which catalogs 4000 wrecks.
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As you know there is a relationship between coin values and the price of precious metal, but it is not a perfect relationship and it hold more of some types and grades of coins than others.
The performance of gold, and of course gold coins, has been spectacular in recent times. Gold is now settling back into a slightly more modest post-crisis trading range; however, the demand for collectible and rare gold coins continues to hold its own. Heritage Auctions recently pointed out that 10 coins in their late March auction combined to realize $1.3 million (The auction realized about $11.5 million total!). Eight of those 10 coins were U.S. gold coins. The combined value of the 10 coins was helped by a coveted 1895 Morgan silver dollar that, in PCGS Proof 63, realized $91,500, this being significantly higher than had been its suggested trade value.
What all this shows is that there is continuing strength in the rare coin market. Bullion and intrinsic value-impacted coins took a recent hit based on good news regarding the potential end of the U.S. war with Iran, but gold as well as silver have once more stabilized. This has created a modestly lower trading range for coins not being appreciated due to their potential scarcity...
Here is the link for more about that.
Gold Cools, Rare Coins Don’t - Numismatic News
I've written before about how higher metals prices overcame the numismatic value of coins that weren't particularly scarce. Coins can be scarce in very high grades while lower graded coins aren't nearly as valuable. One of the most unfortunate things about coin shooting on the beach is that older coins are seldom in good condition. In fact, they are often in very bad condition, making them valuable as nothing more than the metals in them. It is rare when you find a beach coin in really great shape. You have more hope with gold coins, but silver deteriorates quickly on our beaches.
There have been a few times when I've found nice coins in fine condition. I found a couple encased in a protective plastic holder. One of those is shown at the top of this post. That was a nice surprise. A few more were in great condition and undoubtedly were very recent drops.
Here is one that must have been newly dropped. It is a .925 silver non-circulating One Crown Isle of Man Commemorative. I don't know why it was on the beach, but there it was!
A similar thing happened with the used book market. There was a time when almost any old book could be easily sold for a premium. Then the internet made old books so common on the market, that they lost most of their value unless there was something about them that really made them stand out. Now only books in great condition maintain their value and only if they are by a collected author, publishing house, have an author's signature, a fancy binding or some other feature that makes them stand out.
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| Tons of New Sand on Fort Pierce South Beach |
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| Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com. |
Not much new here.