11/3/18 Report - $100,000 Gold Coin and $70,000 Silver Cob. Old Auto Frame on Vero Beach Used by Detectorists in Years Past. Man Saves Whale.

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

Source: Sedwick Coins Treasure Auction # 24.

You might be surprised to learn that the coin that received the highest bid in the first session of the current Sedwick Coins Treasure Auction wasn't from the Atocha, Margarita, 1715 Fleet or any famous shipwreck: it was a 20th century 50-peso coin from Cuba.

Here is part of the auction description.

Cuba (struck at the Philadelphia mint), specimen 20 pesos, 1915, unique, NGC SP 63, finest and only known in NGC and PCGS censuses. KM-21; Fr-1. Struck on a special planchet with higher rims and smoother fields, the resulting (prooflike) luster a treat to behold, perhaps missing a higher NGC grade for a couple tiny rim-nicks on the reverse but at least recognized for its specimen status. NGC #4499455-006. 

The winning bid was $110,000, not counting the buyer's premium.

Other Cuba coins of the same period also did extremely well.

In the second session (silver cobs) there was one coin that stood out head and shoulders above all others.  The winning bid of that lot was $70,000.  The cob, shown below, is an experimental three reale in the Early Series.

Source: Sedwick Coins Auction # 24.

Here is the lot description.

Mexico City, Mexico, 3 reales, Charles-Joanna, "Early Series," assayer R (Rincon) at bottom between pillars, with waves, three-dots denomination, all-Gothic lettering except O, NGC VF 30, finest and only example in NGC and PCGS censuses, ex-Rudman. Nesmith-5b/5; CT-unl; S-M1. 9.74 grams. A classic and highly important issue, this is the first of the experimental 3-reales denomination (see article below), and it is arguably the finest in style, making for a very attractive and artistic design. It is also among the earliest coinage of this mint and the entire New World. The presence of water lines (“waves”) below the pillars is a feature that does not return until the “Late Series” a few years later. Exceptionally broad flan with full details, lovely toning and choice strike, one of only two problem-free examples known of this extremely rare and mysterious "with-waves" variety (the other impounded in the Banco de Mexico collection), worthy of inclusion in the finest of collections.

Some Boliva reales, a heart-shaped cob and some Panama cobs also did well in the same session, but nothing close to the above cob.

Some people aren't much interested in auction results, but I think it is good to browse the auctions so you know something about the various types of treasures that are out there in the world and what makes some more valuable than others.  You can learn a lot by looking through the auction catalogs and listings.

The final live sessions of the auction will conclude today.  You can watch the bidding online.

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Mitch King wrote concerning the picture at the top of yesterday's post.

I know right where that picture was taken. For years we used that car as 
a gauge for how much sand was on the beach. That car sank down several
feet thru the years. Then the car was visible the chance of finding
silver coinage was very good. The car remained there till sometime after
the 2004 hurricanes when I believe it was removed. The location is just
south of Humiston park in Vero beach. If you look in the back ground you
can see the street drain pipe that is extending into the ocean. The
reddish building at the top is where the old "Crab Shack" was. There is
a whole new building there now constructed after the 2004 hurricane season.

Thanks Mitch. I remember seeing the frames there myself. ---- I just saw a rerun of the Oak Island Curse TV show. I noticed once again that the spike given to Lori, the art historian, was clearly not the same one that she showed when she returned with her verdict.  If you want to compare them for yourself, take a good look at the head of the spike(s).

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Fisherman saves humpback whale.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Fishermans-Rescue-of-Entangled-Whale-Caught-on-Camera-499221291.html

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Another Fall front came through yesterday.  In my opinion, the nice cool weather is excellent for walking the beaches.  

We are going to have some nice high tides.  We have northeast winds now, and even though the surf is not supposed to be very big, I'm betting there are a few small cuts around the Treasure Coast.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/31/15 Report - $100,000 Eight-Reale. Ancient Shipwreck Cemetary. Sword Found. Ghosts of Treaures Past.

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

Lot 720 as shown in the Sedwick Coins
Online Auction Catalog.

This heart-shaped eight reale brought a winning bid of $100,000 in the Sedwick Coins treasure auction that concluded this week.  It is the best example known.

I held this reale myself and inspected it carefully.  It is beautiful.  Unlike many heart-shaped cobs, this one is not holed.

Potosi was the only mint to make cobs in this shape.  Heart-shaped cobs from other mints do exist, but they were shaped into hearts later instead of being struck on a heart-shaped flan.

The purpose of these special cobs is not known for certain.  There is an article about that on the Sedwick  Coins web site.





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Underwater archaeologists have discovered 22 shipwrecks around a small Greek archipelago, revealing what may be the ancient shipwreck capital of the world...

"Surpassing all expectations, over only 13 days we added 12 percent to the total of known ancient shipwrecks in Greek territorial waters," Peter Campbell, of the University of Southampton and co-director from US based RPM Nautical Foundation, told Discovery News...

Here is the link to that article.

http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/22-shipwrecks-found-in-single-greek-location-in-greece-151028.htm

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A hiker travelling the ancient route between western and eastern Norway found a 1,200-year-old Viking sword after sitting down to rest after a short fishing trip. Further studies of the area will take place next spring...


That sword was in really amazing condition too.

Here is that link for that article.

http://www.thelocal.no/20151021/hiker-finds-1300-yr-old-viking-sword

One more example of how amazing objects can be found without a metal detector.

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A lonely beach can be as busy as Times Square on New Years Eve if you really listen to your finds and use your imagination a little.  Fossils tell of giant sloths, mammoths, tapirs and Megalodons. Treasure coins conjure up ghosts of pirates, missionaries, conquistadors, sailors, and half-drowned survivors. Arrow heads and shell artifacts echo early man hunting and going about the business of survival.  Badly corroded World War II dog tags announce in sad muted tones the names of young men who trained in Florida for a landing in Europe that would change the world.  Modern coins and jewelry items tell of those who played, grew up and raised families on the Treasure Coast as well as tourists who came to enjoy the sun, sand and surf.  It is all there.  You can feel it if you are quiet enough.  You can see it if you respect it enough.

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It looks like we are in for a week or so of 2 to 4 foot surf.  Not very encouraging.

Please respond to the blog poll if you hunted the Treasure Coast beaches during the last half of October.  It will help me evaluate my beach detecting conditions ratings as well as tell us what was or was not found.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

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4/4/15 Report - $100,000 1715 Fleet Gold Bar. Charles Garrett Gone. More Palm Beach Renourishment.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.

Unique $100,000 1715 Fleet Gold Bar
Photo source: Sedwick online auction catalog.

This Peruvian 2148-gram 20K gold bar from the 1715 Fleet with tax stamp and other markings requires a starting bid of $100,000.

The really neat thing to me about this brick is the incomplete melting of the cobs or whatever it is made of.  You can see some of those in the photo.

It seems to date to the reign of Charles V and the early 1500s.

The item is lot number 252 in the current SedwickCoins auction.

Online bidding has begun.





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Photo Of Beach In Front Of Mar-a-Lago
Photo by Joe D.

Joe said, Yesterday I went on the beach in front of Trumps and the surrounding area, but finding beach access in this area is difficult to the say the least! This is one of the few areas that has not, as of yet, had beach renourishment! Lots of iron due to rotting groins, and the sand is building! There was some previous erosion (see pics), but nothing but some older encrusted clad! Had to be mindful of the "private" beach so I didn't attract unwanted attention from staff!

 Definitely favor beach hunting (less kneeling and bending), but with near eight foot depth by 200 foot width of renurishment sand being place, it looks like beach hunting will be about done here for a while! 

Notice the tops of the old groins showing. 

One of my best hunting spots was between some old rotting groins in South Florida.  They have now been covered up by tons and tons of sand.

That is one good picture Joe!  Thanks.

Renourishment Project
Photo by Joe. D.

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A big name in metal detecting just passed away.   Any serious detectorist knows the name Charles Garrett.  If you don't own a Garrett detector, you've read his books and articles.

Mitch King sent me the following link to his obituary. 

http://www.garrett.com/charles_garrett_obituary.aspx

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There was a beautiful full moon out last night.  Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox.

That tells you something.   I suppose man has closely observed nature's cycles as long as he has walked the earth.  There are always some people who observe things more carefully.  Those that observed most carefully often won a special role, maybe as shaman, priest or elder.

Holidays punctuate the year and provide cherished memories.  I have many and you probably do too.

If you don't celebrate Easter at this time of year you probably celebrate something - maybe Passover, which is intimately connected with and foreshadows Easter.  It all ties together.  Even Easter bunnies and eggs hint of new birth. 

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The most read post of February was the 2/22/15 Report - New Authoritative Research On The Gold Pelican-in-Piety Of The 1715 Fleet. 

That one contained the most recent research by author Laura Strolia.  If you missed it you might want to go back and read it.

The most Google Plused posts of Feb were the following.

2/25/15 Report - Florida Coin Shooter's Dream Come True!  Reader Of This Blog Finds 335 Silver Coins On One Small Lot!

2/16/15 Report - Strategically Selecting Discrimination Settings.   Rechargeable Batteries.

There are literally hundreds of posts in this blog now.  They are still available.  You might find the search box on the first page useful.

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\The surf today (Saturday was only one - two feet.  Easter it will be more like three or four feet, and Monday just a touch higher.

Happy Easter,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

3/6/14 Report - Old Jug Sells for $100,000, 8th Century AD Mint Found, Coin Molds & Couple of Common Tokens

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

What would you pay for the jug shown here?  How much do you think it is worth?

Here are a few details that might help you.  It is a five gallon jug made in Alabama in the 1870s.   Did that help?

Here is some more help.

It was by the made by John Lehman and purchased in a junk shop for $12 dollars about 40 years ago.








Here is the link to the story with the photo.

http://mail.aol.com/38430-111/aol-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=OldMail&uid=28895881&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_L

A museum paid $100,000 for this jug.

The lesson is that it can really pay to do some research to find out what you have. 

Another lesson is that if you want to sell something, finding the person that will most appreciate it can make a huge difference.


Talking about auctions, an auction was halted when the auctioneer announced, “Someone in the room has lost his wallet containing $2,000. He is offering a reward of $500.00 for its immediate return.” After a moment of silence, there was a call from the back of the room, “$550.00”

Just a joke.  But maybe I should remind you that sometimes people will attempt to claim a lost item when it is never belonged to them.  That is why you should not show finds before a claimant can prove that he is actually the owner.


I recently mentioned that Odyssey Marine Explorations got a contract to work the SS Central America shipwreck site.  In the last month their common stock has gone from under $2.00 to over $2.25.

Here are coin molds and crucibles found at what appears to be an 8th Century AD mint in India.








Here is the link.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/salvage-operation-brings-to-light-1000yearold-mint-in-haryana/article5740619.ece


I've shown a few common tokens you can find.  Here are a couple more.

The one on the left says on one side, A Friend Doesn't Sell You Drugs and the other side has the skull and cross bones and says, Say No To Drugs, Crack Kills.

I associate the first with Nancy Reagan and the eighties, but don't know if it is from then or later.

The other is a token for an ice machine.  I don't know where it was or is used.


On the Treasure Coast the tides have smoothed out a little.  High tide is round mid day.

The surf is running around four feet with no significant change in he immediate forecast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net