Tuesday, August 16, 2011

8/16/11 Report - Prize Winner of Treasure Hunt Victim of Spain



1855 S $3 Gold Coin.


This exemplary coin brought a price of $13M at auction.

You will find the link to that story below.


If you are one of those who travel out of the country and metal detect, beware! All around the world there is a growing cultural heritage frenzy. Customs agents and other government officials act on unsupported suspicions to seize from private citizens any items that are deemed by any definition to be historic or part of some "cultural heritage."

The Ancient Coin Collectors Guild, a non-profit group that promotes the coin collecting hobby, bought 23 ancient coins of unknown provenance from a London dealer. On return to the U.S., the coins were seized by Customs and the Guild filed suit. but, of course, the courts upheld Customs.

The point is. if you travel, you better be able to prove to any one's satisfaction that anything you carry isn't some one's cultural heritage. The risk of having items seized is very real.

Here is the link to the article about the Guild's suit against Customs.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/08/15/court-rules-u-s-customs-rightfully-seized-ancient-coins/

You might have to prove your innocence instead of having to be proved guilty.

Be cautious. Obey the laws.


The winner of a treasure chest filled with $10,000 in gold doubloons and the key to a new Volvo which was placed at a secret location in the sea has not received the prize because of Spain's dispute with Odyssey Marine over the $500 million treasure of the Black Swan. The treasure contest was part of a promotion for Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.' which involved puzzles and clues and an online treasure hunt.

Odyssey Marine hid the chest in the Western Mediterranean near Gibralter and was to take the winner to retrieve the prize when the puzzle was solved. However problems arising from Spain's dispute with Odyssey Marine over the treasure of the Black Swan has made it impossible for Odyssey to take the winner out to the site to retrieve her treasure.

Here is the link to that story.

http://adage.com/article/news/volvo-stages-treasure-hunt-promote-disney-pirates-movie/109469/

And here is more of the same story.

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2007/06/22/052738.html

There were other similar promotions for other Pirates of the Caribbean releases, and those winners were not so unlucky.


You know, the last three years have seen some amazing treasure discoveries.

In 2009 the Anglo-Saxon hoard including 1500 pieces of gold and silver was discovered in England.

In 2010 a bricklayer in Brazil found 8,352 historic coins in his backyard.

And in 2011,there was the treasure that dwarf's Indiana Jones' wildest dreams - the temple treasure of India.

That is quite a treasure lineup.


Here is the link to the story about the $1.3M gold coin.



Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The wind is from the west and the swell from the south. Seas are down around one foot. The water is nice and calm, which makes for easy water hunting.

Gert is heading out to the North Atlantic, but there is one other tropical waves down by South America to watch. I don't think it will affect us.

Seas will increase to about two feet by Thursday. That isn't enough to change conditions. Conditions remain poor for hunting treasure coins along the Treasure Coast.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net