Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
First a quiz.
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| Double Struck Escudo From SedwickCoins Internet-Only Summer Auction. |
What do you think is more valuable, a miniature replica cannon or a Bogota Charles II double-struck 1-gold escudo?
You might be surprised by the answers.
The miniature cannon brought $885 including buyers premium, while the escudo brought in $767 in the recently concluded SedwickCoins Internet-only Summer Acution.
The encrusted shipwreck spike brought in $708, while the 17th Century 8-reales brought in only $157.
OK. I cheated a little maybe. The price for cobs and treasure coins varies widely depending upon a variety of factors including rarity and condition. A cob in great condition can be worth hundreds of times what the same cob in poor condition is worth, but that doesn't change my point.
Actually there are a couple of points that I want to make today. First, many detectorists target coins and maybe rings or other precious metals. That is what they want to find and that is how they hunt. They might not realize the value of many other types of items, and they pass up things that can be worth more than what they were hunting.
As I often say, knowing something about a lot of different types of treasures can dramatically improve your success rate. Read broadly, and study a variety of types of things.
My second point is, if you are passing up things that appear from your discrimination settings or target ID to be junk, they could actually be valuable items. There is no way in the world that either discrimination or target ID can tell you everything you need to know.
Artifacts can be more interesting and more valuable than coins, but there is no way that a metal detector can recognize all the different types of artifacts. There is no substitute for digging up, holding, and looking at an object, and even then you might not know exactly what you have until you put in a couple of years of study and research.
Target ID and discrimination can be useful under some circumstances, but they can turn around and bite you if you aren't careful. If you use those features at the wrong time, you'll undoubtedly pass up some very good targets. And you'll never know that you did.
Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast.
No change in detecting conditions today or in the immediate future expected.
The seas will be calm today - one to two feet. Calmer in the afternoon than in the morning.
Mostly west winds in the morning and south winds in the afternoon.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
