5/10/16 Report - Dug Treasure Coast Objects Cleaned and Uncleaned: Coin, Pendant and Ring.

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

Piece of Dug Silver With No Identifying Features.

This is one item I decided to see if I could tell what it is. It looks like it could be a cob.

My first step was to use Muriatic acid to see if I could get it any cleaner.  That didn't help much.

My next step was to use a baking soda paste to see if I could bring out any features.

Below is what I found.

Same Piece Now Showing Features.

From the features that I could see on this side of the item, I can now identify it as a silver Roosevelt dime.

Above is another silver item I'll be cleaning.  I'll try to get this one close to original condition.

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Old World cobs are rare on 1715 Fleet wrecks.  A few Seville escudos were found during the 2015 salvage season.

There are almost fifty Seville minted escudos in the current Sedwick coins auction.  The 1-escudos have low estimates of around $500.  The larger denomination of Seville minted escudos generally have proportionally higher starting bids.  Of course condition and rarity is always an issue.

Old World minted cobs generally have a lower value than New World cobs.  And cobs that can be documented to a shipwreck bring a premium.

I'm sure the Seville escudos found during the last salvage season will have a higher value than similar cobs not documented to a shipwreck.

I mentioned yesterday gold artifacts shipped back to Spain were melted and made into cobs.  Those found last year could have been made of melted South American gold artifacts and made their way back to the New World before sinking on the way back to Spain.

I've read that it is possible to analyze metals in order to determine their source.  It would be interesting to know where the gold in those Seville escudos originated.

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And here is a old ring, that appeared to be silver or silver plated before it was cleaned.

Old Dug Encrusted Treasure Coast Ring

Below is the same ring after cleaning with Muriatic acid.

Sane Ring Cleaned.

After the ring was cleaned, no marks were found inside.  Most of the gilt or plating was gone.  It is clearly cuprous.

You have to be especially careful when cleaning gilt objects if you don't want the plating to come off.

Also, you might be able to see a crack or two.  There are at least three.  The ring is in danger or breaking.

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The surf is still small, but we have some good high and low tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net