11/3/19 Report - 1715 Fleet Cobs Dated 1715 Bring High Prices. Half Reale and Famous Four Escudo. Erosion at Jupiter Beach.

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

Lot 379 In Sedwick Coins Treasure Auction No. 26.

You can learn a lot from auctions.  There are all the items to inspect, and you also find out what people are willing to pay for things.  The Sedwick auctions are among the most informative for those of us interested in treasure coins and related items, including those from the Treasure Coast and the 1715 Fleet wrecks.

The live bidding for all but one session of the current Sedwick Coins Auction No. 26 has concluded.  I'd have to say that the auction was a big success.  Extremely few items did not sell, and the bidding was enthusiastic.

Above is one item that caught my attention.  It is a half reale from the 1715 Fleet that brought a winning bid of $1,150, not including the buyers premium.  That is a lot of money for a half reale.  So what made it so special?

First of all, it, like many other half reales included in the second session, was dated.  You can see the date (1)715 in the photo above.  Most half reales do not show a date, snd this date is unusual as it is the same as the year of the wreck, being very recently minted before making it onto the ship and being lost off the coast of Florida shortly thereafter.

This reale, in my opinion, other than the fact that it does show a rare date and is pedigreed to Real Eight and the Pullin collection, is not very exceptional.  Below is the lot description.

Mexico City, Mexico, cob 1/2 real, (1)715(J), rare, ex-1715 Fleet, ex-Real Eight (Ullian). S-M22; KM-24; CT-1828. 1.37 grams. Bold full 15 of date above full but weak crown, nearly full cross despite flatness, minimal surface corrosion, toned all over, desirable as the date of the wreck. From the 1715 Fleet, with original Real Eight Co. certificate signed by Lou Ullian. Auction lot-tag personally signed by John Pullin. The John Pullin Collection of Dated Mexican Cobs.

The other dated half reales from the Pullin collection mostly sold for between $200 and $400.  Those are still high prices for half reales.

Take a look at the undated half reales in the one internet-only session (Session VI) of the same auction that will close Monday.  The half reales in that session could still increase in price but will probably sell mostly for well below $100.

If you take a look at those lots and the lot descriptions, including the photos, you can learn a lot.  Many of the reales and escudos are from the 1715 Fleet, so you'll get a good idea of the kinds of things that have been found and are still out there to be found on the Treasure Coast.

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Among the higher priced coins was lot 7, which is also from the 1715 Fleet and dated 1715.  The winning bid for this one was $24,000.

What is surprising is that it is a four-escudo - not an eight-escudo, as you might expect from such a high-priced escudo.  So what makes it so special?   Below is the photo and lot description.

Lot 7 In Current Sedwick Treasure Auction No. 26.

Mexico City, Mexico, cob 4 escudos, 1715J, NGC MS 62, ex-1715 Fleet (designated on label), Practical Book of Cobs Plate Coin (3rd edition), ex-John Pullin (stated on label). S-M30; KM-55.2; CT-235. 13.26 grams. It is hard to imagine a nicer example of this desirable final year of 1715-Fleet cobs (and in fact there may not be any nicer, as it is tied with two others for finest known in NGC census), for this coin shows a 100% full and bold date and oMJ while still bearing a full shield and cross, all with muted luster and no doubling or wear. Little wonder Frank Sedwick chose this piece for plating in his Practical Book of Cobs! From the The John Pullin Collection of Dated Mexican Gold Cobs from the 1715 Fleet, pedigreed to our Auction #8 (lot #6) and plated on page 106 of the 3rd edition (1995) of The Practical Book of Cobs. Auction lot-tag personally signed by John Pullin. NGC #5705323-001.

So it is also a late and rare date for a 1715 Fleet escudo, but it also has a lot of other things going for it, including being one of the finest of its type known, according to the NGC census.


There are other lots in the auction that brought even higher prices, including some of the ingots and bars.

Session VI, which is an internet-only session, will conclude tomorrow.  That session will include a wide variety of lots.  A number of less expensive half reales will be included - mostly undated.

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John B. sent the following photos of Jupiter Inlet beach.

Eroded Beach At Jupiter Inlet.

Photo by John B.

John said there weren't many targets.  As you can see it is very mushy sand.  You can tell that from the footprints and the coarseness of the sand and the shape of the beach.

Cut At Jupiter Inlet Beach

Photo by John B.

Despite all the big surf we've had the past few months, there have been few good finds.  Conditions just haven't been good, and I blame that on all of the renourishment sand.  Beaches like the one shown here are covered with renourishment sand, and even when you get erosion, it is just the renourishment sand moving around.   When it leaves the beach, it piles up in front of the beach covering anything old and protecting the beach against the force of the surf, and eventually gets washed back in again.

Unfortunately, I think it is going to take a lot to create good beach detecting conditions.  There is a lot of sand on the beaches.

Next week we'll have mostly two to four foot surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

The way they keep dumping sand



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