9/10/15 Report - Ex Voto Offerings. Cobs From The Panama Mint. Jewelry Hoard. Tropical Storm Henri.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Ex Voto Offereings.
Source: wide.com link.

I few days ago I talked about the heart cobs that will be offered in the October Sedwick Coins auction.  It appears they were made for a special purpose, but there is less than complete agreement on what that purpose was.

One possibility is that they were made as ex voto offerings. That might include not only the sacred heart cobs but also other odd-shaped cobs such as those that are shaped like animals.

This picture shows a variety of ex voto objects from Italy.  I suppose that might give us some clue about similar offerings from colonial Mexico even if traditions were somewhat different in Mexico.

Ex voto means "according to the promise I made."  The objects were often left at a sanctuary or by a statue representation of a saint to give thanks for a blessing.  I've also read that sometimes they were left to seal a vow.

It can be difficult to guess how old items were used.  Part of the fun is doing the research and trying to figure it out.  We still don't know for certain the purpose and use of the heart cobs and other odd shaped cobs.

The above picture of ex votos came from the following web site.  You might want to check it out.

http://www.swide.com/art-culture/italian-traditions/the-history-of-ex-voto-jewellery-and-paintings-in-italy/2013/09/02

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Cobs from the Panama mint are rare.  They have a mint mark of "AP." The following linked web site says there are only 43 examples known to exist. 

Here is a link to cobs from the Panama mint.

http://www.coins-of-panama.com/cobs.html

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Hoard Being Excavated.
Source: See link below.

...As he excavated what started as a discreet group of metallic objects, he was soon to reveal a collection of fine gold and silver Roman jewellery that related to a hidden cache from the Boudican destruction of the town.

The jewellery had seemingly been buried for safekeeping in a small pit dug in the floor of a house during the early stages of theBoudican Revolt in AD 61...

Here is the link for the rest of that story.

http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2014/colchesters-hidden-roman-treasure

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Another major monument has been discovered about a mile from Stonehenge.

Here is the link.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/europe/huge-ritual-monument-found-near-britains-stonehenge-n422791

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Tropical Storm Henri.

We now have tropical storm Henri.  He won't come our way though.  On the Treasure Coast we just continue to see a small surf and poor beach detecting conditions.  It is hard to believe how long it has been since I've posted anything but a 1 on my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Scale.

Expect something like a two foot surf through the weekend.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net