5/16/18 Report - How To Bring Out Unreadable Dates On Some Coins. High Prices and Notable Sedwick Auction Results From First Day.

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

Source: Sedwick Auction Listing.

The Sedwick treasure auction went live yesterday and the action was hot and heavy.  Most items sold within the range of the auction estimates, with some higher and a few lower.

It is always interesting to see the fine examples that bring high prices.  It tells you what people most value and what treasure hunters can dream of finding.  (See photo above and partial lot description below.)

USA, regulated $15, Joseph Edwards plug and countermark (Boston, ca. 1780) on a Lima, Peru, cob 8 escudos, 1741V, extremely rare, NGC XF 40, ex-Brown (Chapman, 1911). 26.46 grams. (see separate writeup) Pedigreed to the Julius L. Brown collection (S.H. Chapman auction of 1911, plated as lot 343). 

Unique Lima 8 Escudos Cob Regulated by Joseph Edwards, Jr. to $15 U.S. Standard This coin bears several distinctions: So far, it is the earliest known genuine host for a regulated doubloon (see accompanying article, “The Regulated Gold Coinage of North America and the West Indies in the Late 1700s”); it is the only known regulated coin with the mark of Joseph Edwards, Jr.; and it is the only known non-imitation cob to be regulated to the $15 standard. Its weight is 26.46 grams = 408.34 grains = 17 pennyweight (dwt), which matches a value of $15 as established by the Bank of New York in 1784. Since a mint-fresh Lima cob 8 escudos typically weighs 27 grams (418 grains), it is evident the present coin was lightly shaved (visible in two places on the edge) and then plugged to bring the weight back up to meet the $15 standard. s can dream of finding.

The winning bid with buyers premium was over $152,000.  That was the highest price of the day  It was the highest priced coin by far for the day.

---

Source: Sedwick Auction Listing.

Another big winner was this 88 pound Atocha silver bar from Potosi.  The bid plus premium was just a couple dollars short of $57,000.

Here is the description for that one.

Large silver bar #902 from Potosi, 88 lb 3.84 oz troy, Class Factor 1.0, with markings of mine/date Po1621, manifest IUDCCCCIII (1903) and fineness IIUCCCL (2350/2400) followed by cartouche of assayer Mexia, one big owner/shipper mark and several tax stamps, from the Atocha (1622). 13-7/8" x 5" x 3-3/8". Very bold markings grace the top of this thick, somewhat compact ingot, particularly the manifest and owner/shipper monogram (J. Delgado and C. de Saravia), the fineness also bold and followed by a very clear assayer cartouche, the multiple tax stamps of two different designs also very clear, as are also the silvermaster V and diagonal slash in one corner with bold C inside, the typical assayer's "bite" prominent in the center; but best of all is the full and clear mine/date marking to the left of the manifest, qualifying this piece for the top grade of 1.0, with minimal surface corrosion and nice toning all over. From the Atocha (1622), with Fisher photo-certificate #85A-S902.

That silver bar brought in the second highest bid of the day, while two more large silver bars brought the third and forth highest bids.

---

The next highest bids were achieved by a gold finger bar that cost $31,725 ( bid plus premium) and a silver pina ingot that cost $30,550.

For the bargain hunter was one lot of 100 one-reales and half-reales that sold for just over $3000 total including bid and premium  (around $30 per cob) while two other lots of 100 one and half reales sold for just over $2500.  That is one way to start a nice collection quickly and inexpensively.

As I've said before, auctions like this provide a lot of data for anyone interested in treasure coins and artifacts.  There aren't many places where you can see more historical items.

----

Yesterday I showed a small group of Buffalo nickels without dates.  RinkRat sent me an email about a product that some people use to bring out otherwise unreadable dates on such coins.  Here is what he said.

... you can often bring up old buffalo nickel dates with this product, which is basically a weak nitric acid solution (actually link below says its a ferric chloride solution):

https://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/product/nic-a-date.html  

 https://www.mintproducts.com/nic-a-date-nickel-date-restorer.html  (not endorsing these sites- it just came up on the search)

the enhanced date will eventually fade and subsequent use of nicadate will help less and less. but if its unreadable anyway, why not?

https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18781

Thanks RinkRat!

I didn't know about that and looked into it a little and found that a ferro-chloride product is sold as Nic-A-Date.  You put a drop on the area where you'd like to see more detail, wait about 60 seconds, and then wash it off with water.   In many cases you will then be able to see the date or other details. Some coin shops sell it for about $8. It eats the metal a little so of course you don't want to use it on coins that may have some value, but according to what I've read, people do use it with satisfactory results.

---

Expect a two to three foot surf for a few days and then a slight increase up to about three or four feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/24/16 Report - Found On Treasure Coast: Gold Finger Bar? Ivanka Trump's Earring Found and Returned. Creative Problem Solving For Treasure Hunting.

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

Unidentified Treasure Coast Find.
Submitted by Bernie C.

Bernie says it looks like it could possibly be gold, and he is going to have it tested to determine the metal content.

Gold usually does not have a crust like that, but I have found tumbaga items that did have some very similar darkening on parts of the surface.

Tumbaga is an alloy of copper and gold, and sometimes with significant amounts of other metals. The amount of gold can be fairly small in tumbaga. If I correctly recall, the Inca had a method that drew more pure gold to the surface of alloyed items.

Many of the gold items found by the early conquistadors in South America was tumbaga.

---

College Student Returned Ivanka Trump's  Earring.

The earring shown above was found at the convention center after the convention.  The college student used twitter to arrange for the earring's return.

Here is the link.

http://www.people.com/article/ivanka-trump-lost-earring-college-student-twitter-found

---

I often try to encourage creative thinking and creative solutions for treasure hunting.

While enjoyable, the purpose of metal detecting is to find things  The goal for most people is not metal detecting.

There are some characteristics of metal detecting that make it addicting.  I believe the rhythmic repetitive action, active awareness, curiosity and element of mystery or surprise of every dug target all adds to the addictive nature.


Did you ever hear of the nine dots puzzle?   The puzzle involves nine dots arranged in the shape of a box.  You are supposed to connect the nine dots with the smallest number of lines.

Here is what the puzzle looks like before it is solved.

How many lines does it take to connect the dots?

Probably fewer than you might have thought at first.

Here is one solution.

That required four lines.  Did you think of that?

Most people do not come up with that solution.  Why?

They work inside the area defined by the dots.   That is not necessary.

To say it very uncreatively, they did not think outside the box.

There is actually a much more simple solution.  You can connect all of the dots with one line.  Who said the lines have to be straight? You can connect the dots with one curved line.

That is just one way of showing how people accept unnecessary limitations, and work inside the box.

One of the biggest obstacles to finding really creative solutions is being overly influenced by what everybody else is doing.

Minimize your starting assumptions.  For example, you might think you need a better metal detector. But is metal detecting the goal?  Finding items is the goal for most of you, not metal detecting.

Once you back up and define the problem better - finding stuff rather than metal detecting - you open up a lot of additional possibilities.

There are times when dredging might be a better approach.  And there are times when sifting might be a better approach.

I've used a Merkitch sifter on a beach and found it to be very effective.  In some situations sifting is more effective than metal detecting.

Pulling a sifter is a lot of work, and somehow not as addictive as metal detecting.  It is also not very good for the deep targets and can be impossible in wet packed sand.  You will find thin chains and non-metallic items that you could very easily miss with a detector.   Here is the fun part.  It can be done on beaches where detecting is not allowed

Is the goal to make a better mouse trap, or to get rid of mice?  How you define the problem has a lot to do with how creative you can be with solutions.

Again, is the goal to metal detect, or is the goal to find stuff?   Is the goal to scoop, or is the goal to recover targets?

Have you ever thought about training an otter or seal to dive and retrieve odd items, especially shiny things?  I have.

The Navy has trained porpoises to assist lost swimmers and locate submerged mines.

It is always easier to fall in line and do what other people are doing.  There is certainly a time for that, but making a creative break-through of your own can be a lot of fun and very profitable.

I enjoy thinking about other ways of doing things. You won't come up with a great idea everyday. Really creative solutions are rare treasures, but don't be afraid to consider wild ideas. Despite the rarity of great new ideas, there are always better ways to do things.  If you don't always follow the pack, you just might be the one to come up with the next great idea.


---

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net