3/7/20 Report - Could This Recent Find Be The Oldest Coin Ever Found On The Treasure Coast? Very Possibly!

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

Possibly Oldest Coin Ever Found On The Treasure Coast

Find and photo by Terry S.

I've been reporting and documenting Treasure Coast treasure hunting history, especially beach metal detecting, for several years now.  That wasn't my plan when I started this blog, but that is one thing that I've done.  As such, it has been my privilege to report many interesting finds and the stories of those who search the beaches.  Today I present the story of what is a possibly a record-breaking find made by Terry S.

Terry S. just made the find shown above and has been trying to figure out exactly what it is.  Below is what he said. 

  

 

Well folks I finally found a coin that is better than anything I have ever hoped for. This coin was probably lost on the treasure coast beaches 200 years before the 1715 Spanish Plate fleet disaster. This coin was around when Leonardo da Vinci was painting and his work was later to become so famous. It is what most including me  would say is the find of a lifetime.

When I found this coin at first I didn’t know for sure what it was, I thought it might be a Spanish reale because I could just make out what appeared to be the Spanish shield on one side. I called Jerry and together we thought it may be a reale but again we both were not sure. That evening Jerry called me and asked what it weighed. It was 6.5 grams and Jerry has a 4 reale that weighs 13 grams... making it a two reale.

I sent several pictures of the coin to a friend that is a real expert and he emailed me back saying that it looks as though it is an Old World coin minted in Spain and asked me to bring the coin over. Now it’s getting interesting and more than a little exciting.

Jean and I took the coin over and my friend spent a lot of time studying the coin and had several reference books as well as an article about some Spanish history dating to the mid 1550’s  that he brought up on his computer and asked me to read. I asked him if this coin would date before the 1715 coins being recovered, and he said before that. I then asked if he thought it may date to the 1600’s and again he said before that. At that point I knew I really had something good. A couple days ago I received an email from him saying  the coin appears to be a Carlos & Juana 1504 – 1516 silver coin. But I can’t say more until it’s cleaned.

   

I have had the coin soaking in distilled water, but last night my curiosity got the better of me and used the method where you cover the coin with saliva and wrap it in tin foil holding it until it gets warm then rub it with baking soda. It started to clean up but then I realized that I was being foolish and quit, this coin needs to be taken to an expert for cleaning and I shouldn’t be messing with it. This would be the front of the coin and it’s much more incrusted than the reverse...

It is going to be interesting to see if any coins this age or older have ever been found on Treasure Coast beaches... To a senior citizen with a metal detector this is exciting.

At the top of the post is the coin after Terry removed a little of the dirt.  Below are two more views from before any dirt removal.

Two Views of Same Coin Found by Terry S.

 I looked through one of my books and found a coin that looks similar.  The similar ones I found are Carlos and Juana coins minted in Mexico prior to 1516.

Isn't interesting that just the other day I listed a number of 16th century Treasure Coast shipwrecks and then this early coin is found.   Of course even if the coin is 16th century, that doesn't mean it was lost that early.  We don't know if it was or not.

I sent Terry the a copy of a page (shown below) from the book, Monedas Espanolas Desde Juana y Carlos a Isabel II 1504 a 1868, by Faran Calico, Xavier Calico y Joaquin Trigo, 6th edition, Barcelona, 1985.  That page seems to show coins very similar to the one found by Terry.

On the right side (top to bottom) of Terry's coin I think I could see part of what would be "Charolus."  And on the left (bottom to top) a bit of "IOHANA."  

The other side, I presume, would have large pillars in the center as shown on the coins in the book.

Quite a find!

Congratulations Terry!

I do recall seeing one very old maravedi that was found on the Treasure Coast, but unfortunately at this time don't recall its age.

Is this the oldest coin ever found on the Treasure Coast?  Let me know if you know of any older.

I'll look into it too.

---

This has been a good winter for Treasure Coast treasure hunting.

The surf today will be 3 - 5 feet, increasing up to 7 - 11 feet Monday.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net