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Today, I have the privilege of showing one of the most amazing collections of metal detected shipwreck beach finds you will ever see. It is a collection accumulated over 21 years of beach metal detecting by Peter-Hughes, a long-time reader of this blog.
The above photo from a BBC article (link below) shows some of the approximately 870 gold and silver coins and other fine artifacts recovered from the Ann Francis, which sank in December of 1583.
Peter's first gold coin find from the wreck of the Ann Francis came in 1996. First thinking it was a token or something else, Peter eventually had the coin identified as a Portuguese gold São Vicente, struck in 1555-1557 during the reign of John III. Besides coins, Peter's finds also included personal belongings, ship’s equipment, and cooking, eating and drinking utensils, dating to the late15th to 16th century. The finds include many Spanish colonial coins from the Mexico mint and date back to 1536 and the reign of Charles & JoannaBelow is the email I received from Peter, which includes links to the BBC article as well as a couple other articles.
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Hello;
I am an avid reader of your Treasure Blog and have been for many years. I am humbled by its scope and insights across all subject areas. It is remarkable.
You'll find my metal detecting exploits intriguing !.
Detectorist's shipwreck treasure on display at Swansea museum - BBC News
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another from the Swansea waterfront museum website
Many of the coins were Spanish colonial coins of Charles & Joanna , the first coins minted in the Americas at Mexico City from 1536. The story of how they ended up on a remote beach in Wales is fascinating.
I hope you and your readers enjoy the story, "You just never know what's beneath the sands"
Best wishes
Peter H
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Below is a picture of Peter with his finds from at the Swansea Museum as published in the BBC article (link above).
This treasure of the Ann Francis was not accumulated in one big hit. It came as the result of 21 years of metal detecting and more than a thousand trips to the beach. He [Peter] said the vast majority of his visits to the beach had ended up with him finding nothing, adding that it was lucky he had a "high tolerance to disappointment" and the "thrill of searching just kept me going".
Below are some excerpts from blog posts you can find by using the Wales Museum links.
Where was the Ann Francis sailing before it wrecked?
Francis Shaxton, the owner, claimed that the Ann Francis had sailed to Hartlepool from King’s Lynn, but in truth, the Ann Francis had set sail for the Iberian Peninsula in October with a cargo of wheat. At the time, Spain relied on imports of grain as well as other goods. It paid for these shipments with gold and silver bullion, which had been shipped from Spain’s recent conquests in South and Central America. The Ann Francis was returning home to Kings Lynn from Spain with payment for the grain along with other tradeable goods when it was driven onto the shore by a storm and violently wrecked. A navigational error or strong southerly winds may have led its captain to enter the Bristol Channel instead of the English Channel....
Not all of the New World Spanish treasure ended up on the Treasure Coast or even in Spain. Some of it continued on to other destinations as payment for goods or services as illustrated by the story of the Ann Francis. Peter's finds helped to document that story.
Thanks for sharing your fantastic finds and story with us Peter. It is an education and inspiration for all of us. And thanks for following the blog for so many years.
I highly recommended using the links Peter provided in his email and reading more of the story. There are many great photos of coins and interesting artifacts.
Just to add some context, here is a Google Map with my crude arrow pointing towards the general area of Margam Beach.
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On the Treasure Coast things remained pretty much unchanged.
There will be a negative low tide early this afternoon, while the surf remains small.
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| Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com. |
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net