2/1/20 Report - The After-Hunt. Monitoring the Cleaning of a Cob. Not a Heart Cob. Looking At a Mystery Item. Tobacco Comes To Europe.

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

Partially Cleaned Surface of Four-Reale Found on Treasure Coast Beach on 1/22/20

I'm going to focus on the after-hunt today.   The purpose of the "hunt" is to find objects, but after a successful hunt there is the "after-hunt," which has the purpose of learning more about the found objects.  The after-hunt often involves cleaning the object so that it can be better inspected.

The four-reale shown below was cleaned with a diluted solution of Muriatic acid.  I showed the pictures of that four-reale before, but you can see it as it was found compared to how it looked after a couple hours of cleaning.  One thing that was revealed by the initial cleaning is the Arabic numeral "4" to the right of the shield, which indicates the denomination of the cob.

Four Reale as Originally Found and After a Couple Hours in Muriatic Acid.

I cleaned it a little more in since then - maybe just an additional hour or so - and was thinking about how much more I wanted to clean it.  I don't usually clean reales to the point that they look shiny new.

I was thinking about how much more cleaning I would do when I decided to take a good look at the surface to see how much foreign material remained on the surface.  I looked at it under magnification, and saw there was still a good bit of foreign material on the surface (See picture at top of post.).  I didn't see that with the naked eye.  The picture shows quite a bit of encrustation remaining. I think you can see that very well in the photo.

I also noticed that when a small bright light made the cob sparkle when the light was shined parallel to the surface.  (I didn't see it sparkle when the light was shined down on the cob.)  I don't think it will sparkle like that when all of the remaining silica is removed.  That might be another way you can tell there if the surface is clean.

I'm glad I looked at this cob under magnification, and will use magnification to check the progress of any cob I'm cleaning in the future.

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Here is another photo of the same cob.  Does it look to you like the cross is debossed or embossed? 

Another View of the Same Coin showing Foreign Material To Be Removed.

For me it changes.  Sometimes it looks debossed and sometimes embossed.

The light is coming from the bottom of the photo, which is why the bottom edge of the cross is lighted and the top edge is in the shadow.

That is an interesting illustration of visual perception.

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Since one of my main topics today is the after-hunt, here is another example.  GC sent me this photo of an encrusted object and asked for thoughts about it.  I posted the object, but didn't get much input.  It is a tough one, but here it is again.

Encrusted Object Found and Photographed by GC.

Just to remind you, here is a little of GC's description.

Not at all magnetic. Checked again at home with stronger magnet. Nope. When I tried, perhaps too vigorously, to chip off some of the encrusted material it broke, pretty much in half. The inside material appeared to be carbon, maybe charcoal like substance, in all appearances. and properties.

If we stick with the "flask" idea that CG also mentioned in his email and combine that with the carbon or charcoal like substance inside, we might think of a powder flask.  Below are some examples.

Squares are one inch.

Those are in the approximate size range, might be expected to hold powder, but it seems they are not the right shape.

Treasure hunters think of pirates, galleons, swords and romantic swash-buckling types of thing, so weapons and weapon-related objects are among the first to be considered, but we must remember that there is a much wider range of possibilities for an unidentified object.  People must be involved in a wide range of activities, including the mundane.  They had to eat and drink and be involved in the mundane and ordinary activities of life as well as those more romantic things which we tend to think of first.

Containers would be used for a lot of different kinds of things, such as medicines or cures, habits, cosmetics, kitchen or food related, such as spice containers, etc.

Tobacco was first introduced to Europeans in 1492 when Columbus landed in the Americas. Columbus wrote in his diary, on October 15th, 1492, that he observed an Indian sailing in a canoe with water, food, and tobacco leaves.² Use of tobacco spread rapidly among the Spanish colonists and in 1531 its cultivation began in Santo Domingo. In 1526 Gonzalo Ferdandez de Oveido y Valdez noted that his fellow Spaniards were turned into drunks by tobacco. Bartolome de las Casas observed the following year that the colonists were developing a strong dependence on it and that it was hard to give up... 

The 17th century saw the organization of the tobacco trade and the implementation of new laws regulating the sale of tobacco. In 1614 Spain proclaimed Seville the tobacco capital of the world. All tobacco produced for sale in New Spain had to first go through Seville before moving on to the rest of Europe...

(See https://www.lib.umn.edu/bell/tradeproducts/tobacco)

Here are some examples of old tobacco boxes, which as you see are made of various metals, including brass, steel and silver.

This object presents a very daunting task.  There is little data, certainly nothing like definitive marks or engraving.  Our minds provide another important limitation.  We tend to only consider a very limited range of possibilities.  Yet, there are clues.  In this case, the small size of the object helps us narrow it down a lot but we are still left with just a few clues and a range of possibilities, some of which I'm sure haven't been mentioned yet.  One step that I would consider is an analysis of the substance.  Can it be determined to be tobacco, gun powder, or something else?

The after-hunt can be just as fun, challenging and rewarding as the hunt.

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The other day I posted a photo of a half reale that was found on the 22nd of January.  It had a nice little curly tail and a remarkably centered and perfectly oriented cross.  I considered the possibility that it could have been created as a "heart cob", but after having researched it and considered how commonly Mexico half reales have that type of little tail along with the fact that there are no recognized Mexico heart reales, have for all practical purposes abandoned the idea that it might be a Mexico "heart reale."

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I hope to discuss the mystery object I showed yesterday some more in the near future.

I also plan to discuss some other topics such as long-term and short-term changes in beach conditions.

Happy Super Bowl Day,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/6/19 Report - Battle Worn D-Day Flag Saved. Florida and France to Display La Trinite Artifacts. Cargo on Beaches.

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

THE BATTLE-WORN FLAG FROM THE USS CORRY (DD-463), LEAD DESTROYER AT UTAH BEACH ON D-DAY

This flag from D-Day is an item in a current Sotheby's auction.  The lot descriptions says, "RESCUED BY BRONZE-STAR RECIPIENT LT. PAUL GARAY AS SHE WAS SINKING, 6 JUNE 1944

Estimate

300,000 — 500,000

USD"

I can't think of a more moving piece of modern history.


The auction also includes a lot of other interesting and important items, including letters from David Crockett and Abraham Lincoln, old maps and atlases, etc.

Here is the link.

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/fine-manuscripts-printed-americana-n10002/lot.2188.html

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France and Florida have agreed to work together to preserve and exhibit artifacts from the recently discovered wreck off Cape Canaveral of the La Trinité, the 16th-century French flagship that tried to protect the ill-fated colony of Fort Caroline.

The agreement emphasizes that one of its goals is to give the public a chance to eventually see some of the ship’s ancient cargo, which has been buried in the Atlantic Ocean since a history-altering hurricane more than 450 years ago.

That cargo includes at least one granite monument bearing the symbol of France’s coat of arms, the fleur-de-lis. It’s a remarkable find that appears similar to the monument, never discovered, that French captain Jean Ribault left at the mouth of the St. Johns River in 1562 to stake a claim to New France, a vast area of the Southeast coast...

Here is the link for more.

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20181227/france-and-florida-agree-wreckage-of-doomed-16th-century-french-fleet-should-be-public-exhibit

Thanks to Brian B. for that link.

La Trinite was discovered by Global Marine Exploration in the shallow water off Cape Canaveral in 2016.

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The cargo ship MSC Zoe lost scores of shipping containers this week in the Wadden Sea off northern Europe during Storm Zeetje, which packed heavy winds and waves cresting over 30 feet high.

Photos from today (Jan. 3) and yesterday show containers from the Panamanian-registered ship floating at sea, while many others washed up on the shores of German and Dutch islands. Residents were spotted cleaning up debris including TV sets, furniture and clothing despite warnings that several missing containers were carrying powdered peroxide, which is flammable and can cause chemical burns...

And that link.

https://qz.com/1514692/msc-zoe-containers-wash-up-on-german-and-dutch-shores/

Thanks to Douglas for the link.

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There is a section where you can find academic studies on the 18th Century Material Resource Center web site.  I just found a picture of an item that may be something I have been trying to identify for a couple of years in one of the research papers.  You might want to really look around to see what you can find on that web site.  There is really a lot of good information there.

It is the first link on my Treasure Reference Link List

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It looks like the Treasure Coast will get a couple more days of very calm surf.  Take advantage.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/17/18 Report - Engolpion Cross, Coins and Other Medieval Artifacts Found. Digging Woodstock. Containers: Small, Interesting or Valuable.

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

Source: See link below.

An early Christian bishop’s residence from the 5th century AD and a bronze engolpion cross depicting the crucified Jesus Christ have been discovered, among numerous other finds, by the archaeologists excavating the ancient rock city of Perperikon in Bulgaria’s Eastern Rhodope Mountains.

A total of 130 artifacts have been found in the 2018 archaeological excavations in the southern parts of Perperikon, also known as Perperik or Perperek, which began on June 25, lead archaeologist Assoc. Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov has announced...

Here is the link for more of that article.

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2018/08/14/early-christian-bishops-residence-reliquary-cross-with-crucified-jesus-christ-found-in-bulgarias-rock-city-perperikon/

Earlier this year another article told of the discovery of a hidden hoard of engolpion crosses.

A previously unknown church from the 14th century containing a hidden hoard of bronze engolpion crosses and other Christian artifacts have been discovered during archaeological excavations in the Trapisitsa Hill Fortress, one of the citadels of medieval Tarnovgrad, today’s Veliko Tarnovo in Central North Bulgaria, which was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396/1422).

Engolpions (or encolpions) are religious artifacts, usually in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, worn upon the bosom with inside containers for keeping holy relics...

And here is the link to read more about that.
https://nypost.com/2018/06/21/what-archaeologists-digging-at-woodstock-hope-to-find/

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Always look for small compartments.  They can be in small things like jewelry or larger things like furniture.

Some containers are as interesting as the coins or relics that might be stored in them.  I once found a nice snuff box with a few old coins in it, for example.  Snuff boxes are very collectible these days and can bring a nice price.

Check out any place where things can be stuffed.  I used to occasionally find good things in cigarette packages discarded discarded on the beach.  You don't see those very often anymore.

Once I actually saw a fellow bury his keys and a few other things in the sand when he went for a swim.  Of course, he couldn't find them when he came back.

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WOODSTOCK!  Was it really fifty years ago?  Sure doesn't seem that long ago.  That was a big year for me.

They are searching the site, which has become as iconic as any 1960s site

...With Woodstock’s 50-year anniversary approaching next summer, researchers had hoped to find some sort of memento or remnants of the roughly 400,000 revelers who made it to the 800-acre farm. A guitar pick, a headband, something.

Their haul instead yielded a few beer can tabs and shards of glass. But the team didn’t give up....

Here is the link.

https://nypost.com/2018/06/21/what-archaeologists-digging-at-woodstock-hope-to-find/

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Tropical Storm Ernesto is now far east of Maine.

Expect more flat surf on the Treasure Coast this week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.netd

8/24/15 Report - Contraband Treasure and Signs To Look For. Shipping Containers for Treasure. Danny Disappeared.

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

Active Atlantic
Source: National Hurricane Center

As you can see Danny fell apart.  That is the end of him.  However, there are two more systems coming off of Africa.

The one behind Danny has an eighty percent chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.  It seems to be on a similar path.

Here are some more fresh escudos that were on display Thursday.

Three More Of The Escudos Displayed At Thursday Press Release.

I'm not absolutely sure, but from what I can see of the two shields, it looks like they might be from Bogota, Columbia.

Correct me if I'm wrong about that.  As you know, I'm not any kind of expert on numismatics.

We are fortunate to see so many fine examples.  It gives you an idea about what was on these wrecks and what could possibly be found.

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Yesterday I started talking about the recent finds and how they might have ended up where they were found.   In my opinion there would be very little chance of the cobs that descended to deep cracks or tight crevices would ever be washed up on the beach.

I think I mentioned yesterday that I didn't know of any evidence of any bags or boxes associated with those cobs.  The   treasure chests that held the cobs on the Atocha were simply plain boxes nailed shut.  They weren't ornate at all, and didn't have a lid that flips up.  While the dimensions varied, the tops and bottoms were around 57 by 22 cm., and the sides were 57 by 16 cm.  There were no hinges or hardware.  Below is a picture of one such unexcavated box as found on the site of the Atocha.

Source:  http://www.melfisher.org/pdf/The_Treasure_Chest_Defined_Atocha.pdf

One chest of silver reales held 2,225 cobs of various denominations, and weighed just over 130 pounds.

As you probably know, a lot of the treasure on these galleons was contraband.  I found a very good article about contraband treasure.  The title is Talegas and Hoards: The Archaeological Signature of Contraband on a 1725 Spanish Merchant Vessel, by John Foster, Matthew Maus and Anna Rogers. The authors attempted to identify common characteristics of contraband treasure.  The paper is base upon observations of contraband treasure found on the site of the Nuestra Senora de Begona.  I think you'll find the article interesting.

"Talegas" are bags.  While they did not discover intact bags, that article did show pictures of the clumped contents of such bags (Shown immediately below.)

The primary purpose of the Foster paper was to help identify contraband.  Here are their conclusions.

Contraband treasure tends to consist of coins of highly diverse origin.  They would be stored in containers of different sizes and shapes, mostly smaller, rather than being shipped in standard size containers such as the shipping boxes and bags like those I mentioned.  They tend to consist more of small denomination coins.  Contraband coins tend include a wide variety of dates and show a good amount of wear from circulation.  They also may include clipped coins.  Of course they are unregistered and may be unstamped.  They also may show evidence of having been concealed in barrel bottoms or other methods of concealment.

If you compare the finds recently made by the Capitana guys, you won't find much to make you think those escudos were contraband.  In fact the unusual group of 1711 Mexican royals were about the opposite of what you would expect of contraband.

Is it possible they were wedding gifts meant for the Isabel Farnese, the new wife of Philip V.  They were married in 1714.  I guess it is possible.

At one time the newly found escudos were probably in a shipping chest like those described above. What happened to the chest is unknown.  It could have been broken at any point.  If it remained in the sea, it probably disintegrated long ago.

I think you'll find the Foster paper to be very interesting reading.  Here is the link.

http://www.academia.edu/9270986/Talegas_and_Hoards_The_Archaeological_Signature_of_Contraband_on_a_1725_Spanish_Merchant_Vessel

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I heard the other day that a device that repels sharks is being sold for surf boards.  It emits some sort of signal.

Here is a link about that.

http://surfsafe.net.au/

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I'm not expecting any change in beach detecting conditions now that Danny has disappeared.  We'll get a storm some day for the Treasure Coast.  It is long over due.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net