4/20/11 Report - Rio Mar and Auctions

Rio Mar is one of those shipwreck treasure beaches that I consider to be a secondary treasure beach. In my opinion it is not one of the top five or six, but still good. I like it because you can sometimes find older US coins and modern jewelry besides the rare cob. Unfortunately it was cut pretty nicely years ago but they fixed it up and it now has a lot of sand.

The treasure ship there is thought by some to be the Nuestra Senora del Carmen. The main part of the wreck site seems to be over 1000 feet south of the beach access in front of the golf course.


The ninth Sedwick Coins auction is only a week away. Here is a nice clip showing some of the interesting lots that will be included.

http://www.sedwickcoins.com/treasureauction9/catalog.htm#video

The auction is coming soon. Go to SedwickCoins.com for more details.


I found a web site that shows local auctions that are going on. I thought it was pretty neat. You might find it useful too. Whether you want to buy, sell or just browse, put in your zip code and see what auctions are going on in your area.

http://www.auctionzip.com/


Some beaches produce a quantity of things an other beaches produce high quality but not as many finds. Of course there are all the different combinations, quantity and quality beaches, neither, and middle of the range on both quantity and quality. I prefer the quality beaches. As I mentioned the other day, one good item can be worth more than thousands of pennies, dimes and quarters.

So far in the blog survey, it appears that a lot of the readers who responded considered their best find to be a piece of modern jewelry. Modern jewelry can be worth quite a bit, especially if you find some nice quality diamonds or a Rolex or something. It takes one heck of a lot of coins to match that kind of thing. Even a lot of the cobs that are found on the Treasure Coast are not in great condition and therefore sell for less than $100. That is the way it is.

The coins and cobs that are most valuable are rare. That means that you most likely won't find them very often. Strange things do happen once in a while. You might stumble onto a fantastic find, even more than once, but it often doesn't work that way.

Most people simply have a passion for one thing or another regardless of the monetary value, weather it is gold coins, cobs, gold nuggets, fossils or Indian artifacts. I really like some of the junk I find even though it isn't worth two beans. Sometimes I like some of those strange items more than some of the more valuable things that I've found. I just find a lot of things interesting.

You have to consider your personality too. If you go for the highest value finds, it isn't easy. You might have to hunt a long time to find a gold coin from a shipwreck on the beach. Most of us don't have the patience of a Mel Fisher. Most people don't want to invest their entire life in going for the big one. That is fine. The entire range is out there. One of the big keys is to match your goals with your abilities and personality. If you are only interested in finding the mother lode, you better be willing to invest a lot and make the gamble. If on the other hand, you want to find a little bit of something almost every time you go out, you better set your sights a little lower.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The wind is still out of the southeast. The tides are respectable. The surf is running around two feet. That isn't much and won't help us much.

I expect continued building of the beaches and perhaps a few shell piles developing in places. Cobs are very rare now, and artifacts are increasingly rare.

We are well into summer conditions already. I'm expecting a decent sand-moving storm before long. We need it, and it is long over due.

The weather is warm enough for people to be on the beaches. If you are somewhere near a swimming beach where you can get in the water, that might be a good idea.

Also remember the banks of the local waterways while the water levels are low.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net