A Guatemala 8 Reales That Sold for Over $35,000.Photo from web site linked below.
A lot of Mexican coins did very well in the Stacks-Bowers numismatic auction held in January of 2011. The 4200 lots brought in a total of 7.86 million.
A Mexican 1823 MoJM "Hookneck Eagle" 8 Escudos in NGC AU-55 — the first gold coin of the Mexican Republic sold for $35,400.
A Guatemala 1854 A.E. 8 Reales certified AU-55 by NGC,said to be the only 8 Reales produced by Guatemala, sold for $70,800.
Other Mexican coins that did very well included a Proof 65 Pattern 50 Centavos that sold for $28,320, an extremely fine 1784 8 Escudos that sold for $35,400, and a
1860 Au-55 4 Escudos that sold for $30,680.
Here is the link for more of that story.
http://www.coinnews.net/2011/01/24/7-86-million-realized-at-stacks-bowers-numismatics-auction-in-2011-nyinc/
The bad thing about most shipwreck coins, especially silver, is that they usually aren't in very good condition.
The other day I started talking about non-metallic treasure that you can find on Treasure Coast beaches. You might not know about some of the things that are interesting and also can have some economic value.
Crystallized Shells.Old shells can crystallize. You might know about the famous clam shells that are found at Ruck's Pit, which is up by Fort Drum. It is nationally know for the calcite fossil clam shells that are found there.
I think you can still visit the pit, pay a price and hunt for your own shells.
If you don't know about the calcite clam shells, you can search for them on eBay and learn more about them there, or you can find Ruck's Pit on the internet.
All types of old shells can cystalize and you can find nice examples on some of the Treasure Coast beaches where fossils are found.
Fossil Bone with Crystals Inside.I've found a fair share of crystallized shells before, but here is something that I never saw before. It is a fossillized mammal bone with crystals inside.
I don't really know if it is really that unusual or if I am the only one that never seen it before. But in any case, I think it is interesting.
Same Fossil Bone.As you can see there are a lot of things to look for on the beaches. I might show some more of this kind of thing in the future.
Forecast and Conditions.
There isn't much new to say here. Conditions haven't change for a while.
The wind is still out of the south/southeast and the seas are calm, and it looks like they will remain calm for several more days.
The low tides are really nice and low. That is one of the few positives I can mentinon.
I know from my email that some of you have been hitting the low tides and digging up some stuff.
Just added Friday evening: Tilin F. says there is a big cut down at Juno Beach
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
