4/4/19 Report - Thoughts and Theories On The Gold Mystery Object. Beach Reports. More Beach Renourishment.

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

Gold Spoon
Picture submitted by Joe D.

I received several emails concerning Terry's recent gold find.  All were excellent, and the nearly unanimous consensus is that it is a Native American decorative item (one person used the specific word gorget) made from shipwreck or Spanish gold.  Coins were mentioned most.

The bowl of the spoon in the picture above bears a remarkable resemblance to Terry's holed gold item.  There is the possibility that the gold mystery item was not made from a coin, but maybe something else, like a bar, spoon, religious item, nuggets or whatever. 

It wouldn't take much to convert the bowl of the spoon.  Even if you don't accept the idea that the item was made from a similar spoon, the spoon does suggest the idea of other possible sources.

Dan B. suggested weighing the object to see if it's weight corresponded to that of an escudo.  Terry's object weighs 4.1 grams, which is less than the weight of a 2-escudo.  A piece of the item is missing, but I don't think that is enough, but maybe it is.   Investigating the weight was great idea, but it turned out to be inconclusive in this case.

Joe D. also mentioned that the shape of the holed item looked very much like a fishing spoon and the possibility that it might have had a more practical use.

A couple people were interested in the smaller item that looked something like a roofing nail in the photo. 

I appreciate all of the ideas submitted, and found each and every one worthwhile.  It is important to be open to alternative explanations.  Some will be eliminated, but you can benefit from getting all the ideas you can and thinking it through. 

What we know now is that the gold item was found on the same stretch of beach as an old sounding lead, lead sheathing, and another small piece.  As found, the items might be taken to suggest the presence of a nearby wreck.  If I generalize from what I've read from people, the consensus seems to be that a piece of gold (possibly a coin) was discovered by a native (quite possibly Ais, as was the opinion of one archeologist), which was hammered into an pendant, and then subsequently lost in the same area.

Now we can start to think it through.  How likely does that seem, and are there other reasonable scenarios?  For example, would it seem more likely that found or salvaged gold would be carried away before being reworked and lost?  

Alternatively, if an item reworked by the local natives was indeed lost at the same site where the gold was found, how might that happen?  I'm sure you can imagine some reasonable scenarios?

Maybe the natives returned to the wreck site on multiple occasions to see what they could find..  Maybe they even had a camp there.  That idea provides a possible direction for future research.  If they returned to the site often or if they had a camp at the site, then you might expect to find more evidence of their presence - perhaps shards in the nearby dunes.

Of course there are a variety of other possibilities.  Maybe the item was manufactured by someone other than local natives, even though that seems to be the favorite theory.  Maybe it came from South America or wherever the hypothesized ship came from. Or maybe the native was on the wrecked ship.  Just a little brainstorming.  Or maybe the gold in the item was given as payment for salvage work.  That might seem like too much unless it was given to a leader for providing a crew of salvage divers.  

Terry and others mentioned that we may never be able to say much more about the item, but if you think it through, develop some theories and hypotheses, you might eventually be able to answer some of the remaining questions.  And in if you are like me, you will enjoy the problem-solving process and learn a lot as you work through it..

The find is great, but it is the story that makes it meaningful, and the process that makes it fun. 

Before closing, I want to report one more thing people said to me in the emails about the mystery item.  They said Terry is a very fine fellow.

---

Joe D. reported that both Jupiter and Hobe Sound beaches are being renourished, as shown below.

Hobe Sound
Photo by Joe D.

Jupiter Inlet
Photo submitted by Joe D.

Another frequent contributor sent in the following report last night.

Riomar, Turtle Trail and Seagrape today looked to me like a lot of the sand that left recently is back. Some old broken posts that were 8 inches out of the sand are now covered...

Riomar had a lot of seaweed and the old cuts were knocked down, there were  few short cuts at the bend but were smooth and mushy in front. Targets were few and mainly just can slaw.

Turtle trail, lots of new seaweed and no cuts, scallops or other features. Aluminum high on the beach and a few iron chips low on the beach.

Seagrape was the same to the north but did not go south of the crossover.

Did not take pictures today as it was just sand and seaweed.

Thanks to everybody for the ideas and reports submitted.  Much appreciated.

---

Thanks also to those who expressed appreciation for this blog.   It is encouraging to me.

The Treasure Coast surf will be only about two to three feet for a few days.

Happy hunting
TreasureGuide@comcast.net