Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Illustration from Sunken Treasure on Florida Reefs. |
I had some of my treasure books out a few days ago and talked about a few of them in recent posts. The Frank Hudson books give the general location of various sunken and buried treasures. If you are more interested in the details of 1715 Fleet wreck sites, you might be interested in books such as Robert Weller's Sunken Treasure of Florida Reefs. In addition to giving the location of the wrecks, he also shows details of the wreck sites and scatter patterns and a good number of photos of the more outstanding finds.
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Kang-hsi porcelain was carried on the 1715 Fleet, and can be very valuable. I've talked about Kang-hsi porcelain in several posts and posted pictures of shards, and even provided information on how to identify Kang-hsi. See my 3/29/13 post, for example.
Obviously not all blue on white shards are Kang-hsi. Blue and white pottery is very common and has been for a long time.
There was other pottery shipped in the Manila galleons that was not as fine as the Kang-hsi porcelain. Lower quality pots were used for storage.
Here is a part of a cup I found.
Kang-hsi porcelain was carried on the 1715 Fleet, and can be very valuable. I've talked about Kang-hsi porcelain in several posts and posted pictures of shards, and even provided information on how to identify Kang-hsi. See my 3/29/13 post, for example.
Obviously not all blue on white shards are Kang-hsi. Blue and white pottery is very common and has been for a long time.
There was other pottery shipped in the Manila galleons that was not as fine as the Kang-hsi porcelain. Lower quality pots were used for storage.
Here is a part of a cup I found.
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| Broken Cup. |
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| Another View of the Same Cup.. |
Notice the thickness and quality of the paste. It does not appear to be of the quality of Kang-hsi. Beside the thickness and the coarse paste, the color sits on top of the surface.
In the past I've also posted photos of pieces of Kang-hsi porcelain that were found on the Treasure Coast.
Here is a link to a Sothebys auction of Kang Hsi porcelain.
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2014/kangxi-porcelain-n09110/kangxi-porcelain/2014/02/kangxi-porcelain-a-.html
That will give you a good idea of possible values.
And here is a Kang-hsi teapot that was found on a shipwreck, although the web site doesn't say which wreck.
https://orientalceramics.com/index.php/product/a-yongzheng-porcelain-teapot-from-the-ca-mau-cargo/
They are not always marked, but if you are lucky enough to find a mark, this site might help you.
https://antique-marks.com/kangxi-chinese-porclain.html
Both complete pieces and broken bits have been found on the Treasure Coast.
I always remember the story of one detectorist who saw a stack of plates exposed by erosion and thought nothing much of it. He just figured they were plain old plates, but after he learned they could be valuable, he went back to find them again, but couldn't. It could have been a fortune.
That is why I talk so much about various types of treasure. You can walk right past a fortune and not realize it.
Here is a link to a brief but good overview of the archeology of the Manila galleons
http://www.themua.org/collections/files/original/61b274c68e00272c5e50f0af53f5b140.pdf
Introduced to Europe in the fourteenth century, Chinese porcelains were regarded as objects of great rarity and luxury.
The examples that appeared in Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were often mounted in gilt silver, which emphasized their preciousness and transformed them into entirely different objects.
That is part of an essay on Chinese export porcelain. Here is the link for the rest of the essay.
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ewpor/hd_ewpor.htm
Introduced to Europe in the fourteenth century, Chinese porcelains were regarded as objects of great rarity and luxury.
The examples that appeared in Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were often mounted in gilt silver, which emphasized their preciousness and transformed them into entirely different objects.
By the early sixteenth century—after Portugal established trade routes to the Far East and began commercial trade with Asia—Chinese potters began to produce objects specifically for export to the West, and porcelains began to arrive in some quantity. An unusually early example of export porcelain is a ewer decorated with the royal arms of Portugal; the arms are painted upside down, however—a reflection of the unfamiliarity of the Chinese with the symbols and customs of their new trading partner...
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ewpor/hd_ewpor.htm
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I found the following corroded copper disc. It is about the size of a penny, but has no obvious details.
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| Two Sides of a Penny-Size Copper Disc. |
I have pennies that are one third the thickness of this disc that still show enough remaining design to make it identifiable.
The second photo shows a side has something that if you really use your imagination could be construed as a profile of Lincoln. I couldn't really see that at all until I took this photo. I'm not certain, but it must be a corroded penny. That is my best guess anyhow.
I also found this die. I thought it was wood until I magnified it. Now I think it is bakelite.
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One person from Miami recently thanked me for the beach conditions reports. When I don't post any on a given day it is usually because the conditions aren't much good and haven't changed much since the last time I gave a conditions report.
I used to post conditions reports more often, but it became to repetitive. During the summer months there is usually not much change unless we have a storm or something.
Today the surf is supposed to be only two or three feet and the wind from the south.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
The second photo shows a side has something that if you really use your imagination could be construed as a profile of Lincoln. I couldn't really see that at all until I took this photo. I'm not certain, but it must be a corroded penny. That is my best guess anyhow.
I also found this die. I thought it was wood until I magnified it. Now I think it is bakelite.
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One person from Miami recently thanked me for the beach conditions reports. When I don't post any on a given day it is usually because the conditions aren't much good and haven't changed much since the last time I gave a conditions report.
I used to post conditions reports more often, but it became to repetitive. During the summer months there is usually not much change unless we have a storm or something.
Today the surf is supposed to be only two or three feet and the wind from the south.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
