Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Gold Christ Figure Find. |
You will like some finds more than others. Some people like old things, some like valuable things, some like coins more than other objects, and some finds might just appeal to you. The find shown above is one of my favorites for a variety of reasons.
I found it years ago at John Brooks beach. I didn't appreciate it back then as much as I do today. In fact when the sand fell away and it first revealed itself to me, I didn't even know for sure that it was old. If you don't know much about something you can miss what is special about it. Research helps, and over the years I developed a greater appreciation for the item.
The figure is larger than it looks - probably too large to be worn as a pendent. Although I don't have exact measurements on hand, it must be about two or three inches high. It was undoubtedly once attached to a cross at three points - the hands and feet.
One of the things I especially like about it, in addition to the heavily worn nose, probably worn flat by rubbing during prayers or times of stress, is the facial features that I've long thought resembled indigenous more than European features. I thought that maybe a native or mixed-race worker formed the figure. I do not have strong evidence to prove any of that, but that is what it looks like to me and how I feel about it.
After much research, I've decided that the figure looks like many older South American examples that I've seen, and shares many of the same features. The older Spanish colonial examples I've seen were often attached to a cross by pins at the hands and feet. The general form and lanky features seem to match those of the same period. They were usually attached to what we might consider an over-sized cross. A modern crucifix is usually very little larger than the Christ figure, but on older ones the cross is often much bigger than the Christ figure.
It is unfortunate when you make a find that you are not prepared for. You can make big mistakes. You might not know what it is, you might not know how to clean or preserve it, and you might fail to appreciate it like you should. That is why it is necessary to preserve and keep items that you do not know much about until you can thoroughly research them.
This item also has a lot of copper alloy like many items of the Spanish colonial period. I should get it out and measure and document it better, including good photos.
You might also enjoy this post on tumbaga and Spanish colonial metallurgical techniques.
https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2016/02/21416-report-tumbaga-why-citizens.html
I had been thinking of some of my favorite finds recently anyhow and ran across the following article that made me show this particular find today.
Here is the beginning of that article.
When Spanish invaders arrived in the Americas, they were generally able to subjugate the local peoples thanks, in part, to their superior weaponry and technology. But archeological evidence indicates that, in at least one crucial respect, the Spaniards were quite dependent on an older indigenous technology in parts of Mesoamerica (today’s Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras).
The invaders needed copper for their artillery, as well as for coins, kettles, and pans, but they lacked the knowledge and skills to produce the metal. Even Spain at that time had not produced the metal domestically for centuries, relying on imports from central Europe. In Mesoamerica they had to depend on local smelters, furnace builders, and miners to produce the essential material. Those skilled workers, in turn, were able to bargain for exemption from the taxes levied on the other indigenous people.
This dependence continued for at least a century, and perhaps as long as two centuries or more, according to new findings published in the journal Latin American Antiquity, in a paper by Dorothy Hosler, professor of archeology and ancient technology at MIT, and Johan Garcia Zaidua, a researcher at the University of Porto, in Portugal...
Here is the link for the rest of that article.
http://news.mit.edu/2020/mesoamerican-copper-smelting-colonial-weaponry-0331
Very interesting article that is also relevant to coins and the mints.
It also lends credence, though nothing in the way of hard evidence, to my feeling that the Christ might have been made by an indigenous worker.
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… A married couple during a hike to the Choč mountain near Likavka made a great discovery of silver and two golden coins from the turn of 15th and 16th century, My Liptov wrote.
The husband saw the coins in terrain that was dug out by boars. They did not touch it, but immediately contacted archaeologists. They waited for three hours at the spot....
For not disturbing the find before the authorities arrived, the couple was entitled to a reward of 100% the value of the hoard.
Here is the link for the rest of the article.
Very interesting article that is also relevant to coins and the mints.
It also lends credence, though nothing in the way of hard evidence, to my feeling that the Christ might have been made by an indigenous worker.
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Hoard Unearthed by Boar Found by Couple.
Source: See Spectator.sme.sk link below
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… A married couple during a hike to the Choč mountain near Likavka made a great discovery of silver and two golden coins from the turn of 15th and 16th century, My Liptov wrote.
The husband saw the coins in terrain that was dug out by boars. They did not touch it, but immediately contacted archaeologists. They waited for three hours at the spot....
For not disturbing the find before the authorities arrived, the couple was entitled to a reward of 100% the value of the hoard.
Here is the link for the rest of the article.
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A paddleboarder was arrested for flouting the California stay-at-home-order.
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| Source: See KTLA.com link below. |
Here is the link for more about that.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/officials-paddleboarder-arrested-at-malibu-pier-for-flouting-state-stay-at-home-order/
When authorities exercise their power inappropriately or abuse their power, that can hurt voluntary compliance because people will rebel against what they perceive as inappropriate or unjust.
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Prayer warriors praying at an abortion clinic were arrested. Originally the charge was for having a group of over ten people, but when it was pointed out there were not ten, the charge was changed to something else.
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Some will use this crisis for their own purposes, political or otherwise. Remain vigilant.
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The Treasure Coast surf is supposed to increase to 3 - 5 feet Sunday and 5 - 7 feet Monday.
Stay vigilant,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
