8/19/26 Report - $800,000 Gold Treasure Unearthed in Back Yard. Ancient Hospital Remains Uncovered in Lima. Silver Cleaning Procedure.

 

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

Just because you’re not looking for buried treasure doesn’t mean you won’t find it. Case in point: In 2025, a man digging a pool outside of Lyon, France, unearthed a trove of gold—five gold bars and a host of coins—in his backyard, all stored in plastic bags...

 if the find was not deemed to have archaeological value, the claim goes to the discoverer. The civil code of France—which dates to the 19th century—defines a treasure as “any hidden or buried thing over which no one can prove their ownership, and which is discovered purely by chance.” Ownership of such a discovery is granted to the individual finding the treasure, if it was on their own property.

Since the five gold bars all had unique identification numbers etched on them, the researchers were quickly able to trace them to a refinery in the Lyon area that had melted down the gold and made the bars only about 15 to 20 years ago. The police also determined the bars were not stolen or otherwise involved in unscrupulous acts. The relative newness of the gold bars, coupled with the legal provenance, meant the man who wanted a swimming pool could keep the treasure...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

He was merely digging a backyard pool. Suddenly, he hit an $800,000 gold treasure.

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Traces of a sixteenth-century hospital and church have been found in Lima’s historic district, at the sanctuary of Santa Rosa de Lima, a Roman Catholic saint who lived next door to the structure when she died in 1617. “While performing maintenance on one of the exterior gardens of the sanctuary,

In 1573, the Greek merchant Miguel de Acosta founded the hospital to care for seafarers (mareantes) and their families. The institution began operating in 1581, and each room had a small altar. The sick could hear mass from their beds every Sunday and on holy days. There was also a chapel with an altar, as hospitals in the colonial era housed their own churches.

Here is the link for more about that.

Remains of colonial hospital and church discovered in Lima’s historic centre - The Art Newspaper - International art news and events

Interesting that a Greek merchant was doing business in Lima in the 16th century.  I never thought about the merchants of other nationalities working in the Spanish colonies that early.  Maybe I'll have to look into that more.

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In a couple recent posts, I used vinegar to remove curst and corrosion from coins that were difficult to identify.  I wanted to see how well the vinegar would work on the encrusted and corroded coins.  Mark G. sent an email about the procedure he uses to clean and brighten up silver that isn't in that bad shape.

Below is the email in which he describes a procedure the has proven.

I read your post today and I know you like to clean your cobs in vinegar. I learned something about cleaning silver when I was smelting down all my 925 silver earrings. After releasing it from the mold you drop into water to cool then drop it in a vinegar brine. They call it pickling the silver and in like 20 minutes it comes out shiny. Mix the vinegar with salt and bring up to about 150 degrees and drop it in for about 20 minutes. I was able to do it with a small sauce pan stove top just don't bring it to a boil. I was able to get a 29 gram round of 925 silver, the next step is 99.99 pure silver with nitric acid. Note I only tried this on my smelted 925 and also a corroded silver tennis bracelet, it worked better the hot water and baking soda in a foil bowl trick.

Heating makes this mix twice as effective.

Mix:

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons salt

Heat:

• 140–160°F

Time:

• 10–20 minutes

Best for:

• Light to medium oxidation
• Quick brightening
• When you want zero chemical risk

   

Thanks to Mark G. for the contribution.

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Source: nhc.noaao.gov

Nothing on the hurricane map and the surf remains very small.

Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com.

Happy Hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

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