7/8/26 Report - A Failed Spanish New World Colony Marked by Metal Detector Coin Find. Fun Show Tomorrow.

 

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

Sometimes, the finding of a single coin can be of more significance than that of a treasure ship. Such happened with the discovery of an undated real de a ocho of Philip II of Spain that features the Jerusalem cross on the obverse and the monarch’s coat of arms on the reverse.

At the time this article was written, the coin’s mint was identified as from Potosi, and the estimated year issued had not yet been determined. Potosí, the town whose mint struck the recently discovered coin, was at one time the richest city in South America. Between 1573 and 1773, the Potosi mint supported the local silver mines in what is today Bolivia. The minting facility was built on the site of the Casa de Jusicia in 1572...

The coin was recently discovered at an archaeological dig site meant to identify the location of a failed Spanish colonial American colony at what English navigator Thomas Cavendish named Puerto del Hambre or Port Famine. Cavendish made up the name following his rescue of the only survivor of the ill-fated colony in March 1584.

Port Famine goes by the name Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe today. The former settlement is on the north shore of the Strait of Magellan...

Despite Potosí being more than 2,700 miles north of the site at which the coin was found, it makes sense that the coin could have circulated that far away from the place of its origin. The mint at Lima, established in 1568, was closer....

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

Around the World: Coin Evidence of Port Famine Location - Numismatic News

In case you can't read it, the text under the illustration reads: "A real de ocho of Phillip II silver cob coin, similar to this example, tells the tale of the ill-fated Port Famine settlement. Image courtesy of the author.

They do that a lot, and I've complained about it before. Many internet articles use images of objects that are not the actual objects talked about in the article.  While some people may not know and may not care, it can be important to others who look for details and are misled by the incorrect details. 

Why isn't the actual coin shown? And when it isn't the actual coin discussed, they should make it clear in what ways it is and isn't accurate to the story.  More knowledgeable people who spot the inaccuracies or inconsistencies may not be able to read the very small and faint text, which in some cases seems intentionally difficult to read.  And this is from a site that I'd expect to care about minute details, but yet they go for an easy attention-grabbing image rather than being totally accurate.

If you go to an article on the same topic in the Smithsonian Magazine, you'll find the picture shown below.   That looks like a different coin.  But is the one actually found at Point \Famine?   It seems to be.

Beside the picture, the Smithsonian Magazine article provides additional information, including the following.

In order to preserve as much of the historical site in Chile as possible, the research team working at Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe relied on noninvasive technology. They used metal detectors and geolocation tools to identify the underground stone where the coin was eventually found, making sure they had as much information as possible before they started digging.

“We detected a strong signal, but we didn’t know what it was until we carried out targeted excavations,” Garrido says, per Heritage Daily.

Here is that link to the Smithsonian article.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-spanish-settlers-died-at-the-port-of-famine-this-newly-discovered-silver-coin-reveals-where-the-doomed-colony-was-founded-400-years-ago-180988519/

There is so much internet content these days that is stolen or copied, but there is also a lot that is produced directly by AI.  I looked at one internet site on metal detecting the other day that looked good.  It was pretty, well organized and basically correct, but I'm pretty sure it was all information picked up by AI from other sites and then nicely produced.  I doubt the "author" knew much of anything, but the site wasn't bad for the average beginner.

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Here is a chance to inspect a lot of treasure coins firsthand.  Of course, you can also buy or sell.  Sedwick and many others will be at the FUN Show in Orlando, beginning tomorrow.

From Sedwick...

Dear Friends and Colleagues, Sedwick & Associates, LLC is pleased to announce that we will be attending the 20th Annual Summer FUN Convention, hosted by Florida United Numismatists, from July 9 to 11, 2026, at the Orange County Convention Center, West Building, Hall WC, in Orlando, Florida. We invite you to visit us at Tables #431 and #433. Summer FUN is one of the key numismatic gatherings of the season, bringing together collectors, dealers, researchers, and friends from across the country to buy, sell, appraise, and discuss coins, paper currency, tokens, medals, and related collectibles. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet with our team, review upcoming opportunities, and discuss consignments for our November auction, which is already shaping up to be an outstanding sale. We look forward to seeing many of you in Orlando and to sharing the latest news, highlights, and auction updates from Sedwick & Associates.

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There is a big blast of Saharan dust coming.  Here is a link for more about that.

Massive Saharan dust plume heads toward US as hurricane season heats up

Nothing new with the surf or beach conditions, and no developments on the NHC hurricane map.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net