Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treaurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
A few days ago I showed this picture of an eight-real and asked if you noticed any differences between this one and a similar Santa Fe cob that I showed a few days earlier.
One difference is the assayer mark. This one, to the left of the left column, might be described as "PORS." The assayer mark on the other Santa Fe cob was simply "R." Even though they are different both indicate assayer Pedro Ramos (1651-1676) who, according to Sewall Menzel, used eighteen different assayer marks.On this cob you can more clearly see what is often referred to as a crosslet to the right of the shield. Five dots form a cross. Small details and variations like that can provide good clues to the identify of a cob.
Also notice the different type of crown on the columns.
Other New World mints that are not as well known by most Treasure Coast hunters, include the Cartagena mint (1622-1635 & 1655), Cuzco Mint (1698), Guatemala mint (1733-1754), Cuba mint (1741), and the Panama mint (1580-1583).
Here is a very extensive list of Florida shipwrecks from the International Registry of Shipwrecks. The oldest wreck on the list that I noticed was from the 1520s and the most recent 1919, I think it was. Anyhow, there is a lot to look at here. A lot of 1500s wrecks are listed.
http://www.shipwreckregistry.com/sample4.txt
That is a very useful list.
Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.
Beach conditions remain poor. There is a south wind. The swells are from the east. Seas are running about two feet.
Often before the sun gets a little higher in the sky the wind is less and the seas are calmer.
The seas will be down around two feet all week according to the current predictions. And it is listed as "flat" next Monday. That makes water hunting really easy. Also usually makes good visibility for snorkeling, diving, or just eye-balling in the water. And easy to dig near the water's edge. Too bad it is so sandy.
We had a good rain along some of the Treasure Coast yesterday. Remember to check for rain erosion on the banks of the dunes or other places.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
