Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.
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| Item Found By Todd G. |
I received an email from Todd G. Here is what he said.
I have been
following your blog for several years and was on my annual trip to Florida a
little over a week ago when I found this small metal bar where beach restoration
is going on near Pepper Park beach, just north of Turtle Trail. I took it to a
coin dealer who said he has seen them before, but he only handled US coins and
had no real knowledge of what it was. Is this just a random item someone may
have lost more recently, or could it have been from a shipwreck? It was laying
at the bottom of a 5 foot cut, near the wall of the cut, where a bulldozer had
gone though and moved sand to create the cut. It has not been cleaned other
than with a brush and clear water. It is heavy for its size and a magnet will
not stick to it. I found it with a new XP metal detector and am not familiar
with the meaning of the numbers on that machine, and will have to check it out
with my Minelab to see what kind of metal that unit believes it to be.
An acid test kit is a good idea for everyone, but you probably wouldn't have it along when you travel. You can always stop into a pawn shop. They'll usually test for gold and silver. If they use the old acid test method, you might not want them to do a rubbing, but most use test pens these days.
Concerning the letters, I'm not certain but it sure looks like INRI. That isn't a numismatic term or designation, it is religious. Many depictions of the Crucifix will have those letters on a plaque above the head of Jesus.
The Bible, John (19:19-20), says, "Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek."
Latin for "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" is "Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Iudaeorvm" and the acronym for this title is INRI. Latin uses the letter "I" instead of the English "J", and "V" instead of "U" (i.e., Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum). Translated to English that would stand for "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
That is a very appropriate find for the time of the year. Good Friday and Easter are not far away.
I'm not absolutely sure those are the letters, but it sure looks like it. And I can't say how old it might be. Did it
break off of a Crucifix? I don't know. It doesn't have the characteristic dark color of old silver.
What do you all think? Let me know.
I did a post a few weeks ago on a variety of old items that were found in renourishment sand.
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| 233 of Coins Found Here By Joe D. |
I received the following email from Joe D.
Started off the week with a bang! Had
another search "First" for me; most coin's found in one spot!!
This morning, I tried another one of my "drive-by's"! A large empty lot
near the city where old homes and buildings were torn down several years ago! I
gravitated toward the large trees first, as I usually do at empty lots and parks
due to the shade and potential finds they provide! Under the third tree I went
under, there was a small round clearing under a lower part of the canopy
about six foot across! It looked to me like a "camping" area for a homeless
person, but did not have a lot of trash nearby as is typical in my area! (See
pictures) When I swung my coil through the area, I got a lot of confusing
chatter like aluminum coleslaw and many other "good" sounds! Upon bending down,
I could see several coins on the surface! Using my pinpointer, I recovered these
and found others partially buried and continued to expand my search area!
Eventually the area spread to about 15 foot across! I had set my detector down
and was using just the pinpointer for about 40 minutes! I finally resumed
with my detector after the signals became more scattered and buried! And the
total; (Drum roll please!!) 233 COINS!! $15.11 total! cents thru quarters, dated
from 1943 to 2013! Most were newer ( only one wheat😢) but many were from 60's,
70's and 80's! Found from the surface, to about two inches deep! Very little
trash among coins other than a handful of foil gum wrappers and a few aluminum
can pieces!
Sorry if this was a little long-winded, but had a lot to explain! Also, it was interesting to note the difference in the corrosion amount among pennies of different decades! But I will leave that for another entry!
That is one big spill! Reminded me of a time when I found bunches of quarters on the surface the day after a carnival pulled out. It was where a ticket booth was and it looked like rolls of fresh quarters broke and were left.
This spill appears to have been made over a long period of time though. It could have been a gathering site for some type of penny pitch game or something, or maybe Voodoo or Santeria. I've found some of those. One time a circle of pennies was found around a dead bird.
What do you all think caused such a concentration of coins? Let me know.
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On the Treasure Coast it looks like we're stuck with a small surf and southerly winds for a while.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net
