12/12/18 Report - Another Favorite Coin Find: Ferdinand VII. Ancient Hounds and Jackals Game. Looking at Metal Detecting Views.

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

1809 Escudo Found by Jonah Martinez

Photo by Jonah.

As you can see, this is obviously not a coin from the 1715 Fleet.  It is from a very complicated time in history.

It is listed in many numismatic books as belonging to the reign of Ferdinand VII, however Ferdinand, whose reign began in 1808, was jailed in May of 1808 after Napolean took over and Jose Napolean ruled.  Ferdinand later got out of jail and returned to power.

Other Side of the Same Coin.

Photo by Jonah Martinez.

Yesterday I showed a bunch of Royals that are naturally among Jonah's favorite finds, but this one is another of his favorites.

Jonah said, 1809 8 escudo is also up there. The most expensive rare coins I’ve found are up there but 1670 or 1809 are my favorites - not worth the most but the oddest of finds where you lease expected to find them. Love the history of their journey, where they started from to the end resting place. Love the odd ones.

Thanks for sharing Jonah.   


The coins I showed yesterday and today aren't the kind of thing you can expect to find everyday, or even every year for that matter, but returning to my recent theme, there is always some place to hunt and something to find - even while you are still looking for the pot at the end of the rainbow.

You can make finds on a daily basis.  Some will be better than others.  You will want to make the best of your time.   But that depends upon what you want to do.  Some people just metal detect for the recreation.  Anything they find is a bonus.

You can be more consistently productive you are interested in a lot of different kinds of things and become more knowledgeable about each of them.  There will be times when it is easier to find one type of treasure rather than another.

One of the things I've been trying to show lately is that some of the things you might overlook can be both interesting and valuable.  That is the case with things like modern error coins or paper money.  It can also be true of fossils or sea glass.  Some people are surprised to learn that sea glass can sell for good money.   That is if you find some nice pieces.

Of course it isn't all about money all the time.  Sometimes it is just about what you like or what you are interested in.

I know that some of my favorite finds are worth beans.  I'm not set on maximizing the economic value of my finds all the time.  For me, that takes some of the fun out of it.

Back in the day, I had some time to detect a lot, and I tried to prove to myself that I could make a living at it if I wanted to.  I found out that I could, but for me, I didn't want to do that.

It is about what you like and what you want to do.  I like figuring things out and learning about things.  That is what makes it interesting.

There have been several things in my life that I worked at until I pretty much figured it out, and then I moved on to something else.  That is just how I am.  Once I learn what I can do and what it takes, I might or might not decide to continue with it.

It is all about you, and what you want to do.  If you really want to accomplish something difficult, you know it will take a lot of effort, so then you have to decide if it is going to be worth it to you.

For most of us, I would guess that metal detecting is not what we want to do with our lives.  It is just something that is interesting and fun.

---

A pattern of small holes cut into the floor of an ancient rock shelter in Azerbaijan shows that one of the world's most ancient board games was played there by nomadic herders around 4,000 years ago, according to an archaeologist who has investigated the find.

Walter Crist, a research associate with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, visited the rock shelter in a national park in Azerbaijan last year, searching for traces of the ancient game now known as "58 Holes."

The game is also sometimes called "Hounds and Jackals." British archaeologist Howard Carter found a game set with playing pieces fashioned like those animals in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Amenemhat IV, who lived in the 18th century B.C....

Here is the link.

https://www.livescience.com/64267-ancient-board-game-nomads-discovered.html

---

There was a cold northeast wind yesterday, but I won't get a chance to visit the beaches today.  Maybe someone else will give some reports.  I'd expect some small cuts.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/19/16 Report - 68 Karat Treasure Coast Emerald Find. More On The Recent 1809 8-Escudo. Tropical Storms.

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

The 68 Karat Emerald Found At Golden Sands Beach.
Photos submitted by Darrel S.

This emerald was found while the lady below was collecting shells at Golden Sands beach.  She took it to the McLarty Museum and showed it to Ed Perry, who took the photos.  Ed sent an email to Darrel S. who sent the photos and information to me.

Lady Who Found 68 Karat Emerald On Treasure Coast Beach.
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

Unlike the coin I showed the discussed the past couple of days, this emerald is not a new find.  It was found back around 2005.

People sometimes ask me where to detect. I've been posting a lot of finds lately and sometimes even telling you where they were found.  That should give you some ideas.

---

A few days ago I was talking about thumb rings and gimmel rings and showed some pictures from James Planche's book, An Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Costume, From the First Century B C. to c. 1760.   Larry had a book that was printed in 1940 in which the same illustrations and text appeared, so it looks like the information that I presented came from an earlier source than the one I referenced.   Thanks Larry.

---

The 1809 8-escudo that I showed yesterday shows FERDIN VII in the legend, which would undoubtedly refer to Fernando VII who took the throne in 1808 but who was not the king in 1809 when the coin was made.  Fernando VII was replaced by Napolean's brother, Jose Bonapart, from 1808 to 1814 before Fernando was returned to the throne.

That type of coin ( referrred to as type 15 in Monedas Espanolas desde Juana y Carlos a Isabel II ) was made in years 1808 through 1812.  Assayer H.J. is listed only for the years 1809 -1811.

There appears to be a long unbroken series of silver coins for each year leading up to 1810 in the Florida Collection.  I'd guess probably from wrecks affected by the 1810 hurricane.

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Fiona still is headed for Bermuda.  It appears that another storm is forming behind Fiona.

The tides are fairly large now, but the surf will remain small for at least a few more days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/3/15 Report - Shipwreck Finds From Dredged Renourishment Sand. Thousand-Year-Old Coins Found Worth Near $1.5 Million.

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



Copper Religious Medallion
Find and photo by William B.

Yesterday I wrote about dredging and renourishment projects.  I mentioned that sometimes old items end up on the beach in the new sand.  It wasn't long ago that I showed you one of those finds. 

William B. sent photos of these three very nice examples that he found in beach renourishment sand.

He said, I found these 3 artifacts on South Florida beaches either during or shortly after beach renourishment projects. The sand was being dredged from directly offshore of the beaches, not trucked in as they do on other beaches. All three artifacts were found on different beaches within a 3 mile stretch of coast.  



Napoleon’s 7th infantry Button
Find and photo by William B.

The copper religious medallion was found right in from a wreck that went down in the 1800’s. I believe it was Cuban. You can see an angel standing over a child. 

The button is from Napoleon’s 7th infantry. The brass key is about 3 inches long and was bent when I found it. You can see the marks on the shaft from the vice grips that I used to straighten it. 

It wasn’t until 4 years after finding it that it dawned on me that the key was probably in the lockbox when the ship went down, and the box slammed into something causing the bend in the key. It took a lot of force to straighten it.

Nice Old Key.
Find and photo by William B.

 

 

All of the artifacts were found after rough seas, but there was still plenty of new sand on the beach.

Of course this is all speculation, but finding 3 very old artifacts in front of an offshore dredging operation seems to be more than just coincidence, if you ask me.  

HH. William B.

Thanks much William.  Great finds! 

Yesterday I also mentioned the tons of junk that was in the Fort Pierce South Inlet renourishment sand.  Dan B. wrote and mentioned all of the aluminum junk in the renourishment up by the Sebastian Inlet, something that I'm sure many of you have noticed.

Near Amber Sands Beach access there was also a lot of aluminum in the renourisment sand, but also silver US coins.

It can help to know where the renourishment sand is coming from. 

--------

Detectorists participating in a group hunt found over 5000 ancient worth over $1.5 million in a farm field.  The coins were in near mint condition and dated back over a thousand years.

Here is the link.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/ancient-coins-worth-more-1million-4906211

-------------


I've received several different ideas about the round mystery object that I posted not long ago.  Some time soon I'll post the ideas that have been submitted.  Thanks to all who submitted their thoughts.  Its not too late to submit yours.

--------

 If you are an experienced diver who knows how to use a detector and will be available for treasure diving during the upcoming season, send me an email telling me what you have done.   I'm not promising ANYTHING, but might be able to forward your information where it MIGHT be considered.

--------

On the Treasure Coast we'll be having a couple of days of two-foot surf. Swells will be coming from the south.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

1/15/14 Report - Surprising Value of Engagement Ring Napolean Gave to Josephine, Confederate Shipwrecks & Coca Cola Bottles

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

Engagment Ring
ABC News Photo

What would you say this ring sold for?

It is a diamond and sapphire ring.  Does that help?

Take a guess.

It actually sold for nearly $1 million.

Why?

Because of its history.  It was given to Josephine by Napolean.

It isn't the most expensive looking ring in the world.  You may have found a few that look a lot more expensive.  The materials aren't the only thing that determines the value.  In this case that is especially true.

The auctioneers weren't expecting much more than $20,000 for this ring, but the final bid was $948,000.

Just goes to show once again, an item is worth what someone will pay for it.  If you want to get a good price for an item, you need to find the person who wants it the most and has the ability to pay.  The one thing I like about that, and something I like about selling items, is if you find someone who will pay a lot, they either appreciate the item or will likely find someone else that does.

Here is the link to the source story.

http://www.batangastoday.com/napoleon-engagement-ring-to-josephine-1796-gold-ring-fetches-close-to-1m-at-osenat-auction/28143/

Different people like different things.  I like a lot of different kinds of things myself.  In this blog I talk about fossils, artifacts and relics, treasure coins, soda bottles, etc. etc.  I'm less and less focused on the price of the items.  There are things that aren't worth much that I like more than some things that are worth a lot more.  I get a little tired of all the TV programs such as Storage Wars or even Antiques Roadshow where the climactic question is always, "What's it worth?"  I'm often more interested in the items history.   Who made it, who lost it, how was it made, how was it used, how did it end up where it was found, what does it mean and what does it tell you.   Delve into those questions when you find something and you'll have more fun detecting and probably more success too.


Yesterday I talked about Legacy, the newsletter of the SCIAA and pointed out a few articles from the 2013 issue.  The newsletter goes back years.

Here is one article about the discovery of the wreck of the Gold Spike.  The article was published in 2002.  It tells about Confederate forces scuttling supplies and sinking the CSS Chicora, CSS Palmettor State, CSS Charleston, and the CSS Indian Chief, in Charleston Harbor in order to avoid capture by the Union forces.

Congress appropriated $25,000 for removal of the CSS Charleston many years later.  A clamshell bucket was used along with dynamite, saving much money.

Here is the link to that interesting article.

http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/sciaa/mrd/documents/golden_spike.pdf


As you probably know, I've been trying to better identify a straight-side Fort Pierce Coca Cola bottle.  It seems it could be from between 1900 to 1919.  Before that Coke bottles were Hutchinson bottles with the stopper top, and after that came the contour bottles.  Bottles of that period had paper labels, which could explain why this one does not have embossing that says Coca Cola more prominently.  More research remains to be done.

Here is a good overall article on Coca Cola bottle collecting that you might want to read.

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/an-interview-with-coca-cola-bottle-collector-and-author-doug-mccoy/


On the Treasure Coast we're going to get some colder weather.  The wind is out of the West.

The surf is low, only about two feet and will be that way for a while.  That means no immediate improvement in detecting conditions.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net