7/24/17 Report - Type 5 1714 Mexico Escudo: More Details. Assay and Sampling of Precious Metals Reference. Get Smart.

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

1714 Mexico Escudo.
Photo submitted by Captain Jonah Martinez.

If you've been following my posts, I first thought the the 2 escudo recently found by Grant of the Capitana was a 1714.  Then I noticed the two fleur de lis in the panel at the 4 or 5 o'clock position. The design shown in the Bowers and Ruddy catalog for 1715 coins showed two fleur de lis in that panel at the 4 or 5 o'clock position, but only one of the varieties for the 1714 Mexico escudos in the Bowers and Ruddy catalog showed two in the same location, I concluded that Grant's escudo might be a 1715 escudo.  There is also, however a 1714 variety that has two fleur de lis at that location, (See illustration below.) like the escudo shown above.

Type 5 1714 Mexico Escudo
Source: 1977 Bowers and Ruddy Auction Catalog

As you can see in the illustration, there are only two fleur de lis in the panel I've been discussing for the 1714 Mexico escudo (red arrow).  That differs from the variety I showed yesterday for the 1714, which had three at that part of the shield.

Captain Jonah sent me the photo of a clearly dated 1714 Mexico escudo (top of post) that shows two fleur de lis in the same field.  That escudo is similar but not exactly like the type five shown in the illustration.  There is no "o" above the "M" mint mark (blue arrow) on the type 5 illustration, but there is an "o" above the "M" on Jonah's coin..

 I can't see any other features that would in my mind definitely distinguish between the two dates.  Maybe someone else can.

Like I said many times before, I'm not an expert in numismatics, just an interested student.  I learned a little more by muddling around with this.  Hope you did too.

Thanks to Captain Jonah for sending such a great photo for study.

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While doing some research on one of my longer standing mystery items, a 10 gram silver ingot or whatever, I found a great reference book.  The book is The Sampling and Assay of the Precious Metals, by Ernest Smith, published 1913.  Click on the title if you want to take a look at the free ebook.

What I've read in that book makes me think that the 10 gram silver ingot or button probably has something to do with the assay process.

Below is a brief excerpt from the book just to give you the idea.

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Teresa T. sent in a link to a supplement that seems to be endorsed by famous people such as Stephen Hawking that is supposed to dramatically increase mental alertness and IQ.  I'm too old to get smart now, but here is the link.

http://mail.fashionmu.com

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I've been watching a fellow do some involved work and having a lot of trouble with it primarily due to poor planning and preparation.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

You might consider detecting early or later to avoid the hot mid-day sun and afternoon thunder storms.

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We're still having a one to two foot surf on the Treasure Coast.  No change in sight.  The tides are big though.

There is no tropical activity of interest in the Atlantic or Gulf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/23/17 Report - Capitana's Mexico Escudo Find: A Closer Look. Turning Failure Into Success.

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

2-Escudo Found by Grant of the Capitana a Couple Weeks Ago.

I thought I'd take a closer look at the shield design on Grant's recent find today.  Unfortunately it does not show either the date of the mint mark or assayer initial.  It does show the denomination (II ) to the right of the shield.

When I first looked at it, I thought it would be a 1714 escudo.  After taking another look, I see at least one thing that makes me think I was wrong and that it might actually be a 1715 escudo. There are a number of signs that might help you determine the date.

The following illustration shows the design elements for a 1713 escudo.

Design Elements For A 1713 Mexico 8-Escudo
Source: 1977 Bowers and Ruddy auction catalog.

Notice that the middle panel does not cover the lower castle that appears in the upper right quadrant.

Below is the shield for a 1714 Mexico escudo.

Design Elements For A 1714 Mexico 8-Escudo
Source: 1977 Bowers and Ruddy auction catalog.

The middle panel now covers the lower castle entirely.  That suggests that the escudo is later than 1713.

There are a number of variations on the 1714 design, but they are mostly smaller things such as ornamentation around the denomination indicator.  Sometimes GRAT appears where other times the date is displayed.  That is another variation.

Below are the design elements for a 1715 escudo.  Take a close look at the shield.

Design Elements For A 1715 Mexico 8-Escudo

Source: 1977 Bowers and Ruddy auction catalog.

The red arrow points to what I missed before and why I now believe that Grant's find is a 1715 escudo rather than a 1714.  There are 2 rather than 3 fleur de lis there.  That is what I missed before and what makes me think it is 1715 instead of 1714.

 I can't see some of the other elements on the real escudo.  That is typical, but my opinion now is that it is a 1715 escudo.

I'm no expert on these things and there might be other things I'm missing, but you might benefit from looking at these designs and realizing that there are a lot of clues to the identity of a cob even when it does not display the date or other information.  It might take an expert to identify them all, but it is always interesting to take a good close look at your finds.

If I'm still wrong about the date, I hope you'll let me know.

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Almost anyone can deal fairly well with success.  You celebrate, congratulate yourself and feel good about yourself and whatever is going on.  Maybe you don't learn as much from your success as you could.   Maybe you give yourself a little too much credit and don't acknowledge all the factors that led to success.

Despite the pitfalls of success, it is usually even more difficult to deal with failure - especially a lot of failure.   How you react to failure can be extremely important.  It is during the difficult times that you can learn a lot about the task and about yourself. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”   (I don't know if he really said that.  They say he did, and it is a good thought anyhow.)

When you're not having success, strive to learn something from it.  Make use of the time and the experience.

I recently watched someone having trouble with a job.  He was having trouble doing something he had done many times before.  He became upset, and ranted and cussed.  The more emotional he got, the more mistakes he made.  He got stuck in a self-defeating spiral.  The more trouble he had, the more upset he got, and the more mistakes he made.

How you react when things aren't going well is very important - maybe more important than how you react to success.  Don't get to emotional.  Look at the situation analytically and see what you can learn or change.

Thomas Edison also said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”   There were a couple of 49ers that had no success.    They finally gave up and were headed home when one of the discouraged miners shot himself.  On that spot a large nugget was discovered by his partner who was digging a hole for the burial. He retired very wealthy.  ( I wish I could remember the names of those fellows.  Maybe one of you can tell me their names.)

If you are not an eternal optimist, you have one strike against you.  You'll have to work harder to keep yourself encouraged and moving ahead.  If you are afraid of work, you have another big strike against you.  Edison also said, “We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work."  

There are other factors, but if you want it bad enough to work hard and stick to it, you have a very good chance of success.  Don't give up  when things aren't going well, but make it a time to learn and grow.

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Regarding the ring inscription that I asked about yesterday, I received a number of replies, first from Bill A., saying that it referred to a date.  All agreed that Dic 22/87 probably was Spanish for Dec. 22, 1987. Thanks to all for the help.  

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I enjoyed watching the commissioning of the USS Gerald R. Ford yesterday.

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No big changes in beach conditions to report.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/6/17 Report - Valuable Reales With History and Provenance. Ribault Fleet Link.

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

Here is a four-reale that had an auction estimate of $1250 - 2000, but sold in the recent Sedwick auction receiving a bid of $14,000.

I highlight and discuss things that sold for a variety of reasons.  Usually they are exceptionally interesting.  You can also learn something about how things are valued by looking at those that did extremely well and those that did not do so well.

This example sold for way above the auction estimate.  As you can see, it was displayed extremely well.  It also had an interesting history and provenance.

Here is the Sedwick listing.

Mexico City, Mexico, cob 4 reales, Philip V, assayer not visible, extremely rare and popular provenance. 21-3/4" x 13-3/4". A typical 4R cob (toned, no corrosion) with off-center shield visible (mounted upside down) centered in its own niche below a drawing of a ship model and above its original certificate signed by Barry Clifford and other company officers, one of very, very few coins to have been released by Clifford (and not intended to be re-sold), and only the fourth we have seen, perhaps even more popular this year (2017) as it is the 300th anniversary of the sinking of the Whydah! Mounted in a matted picture frame with original Barry Clifford certificate #57501 and color picture of a ship. Recovered from: Whydah, sunk in 1717 off Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

For a little background on the Whydah, Here is a paragraph from a good National Geographic article.  I think you might like reading the entire article.

The Whydah's story begins in London in 1715 when the hundred-foot [31-meter] three-master was launched as a slave ship under the command of Lawrence Prince. Named for the West African port of Ouidah (pronounced WIH-dah) in what is today Benin, the 300-ton [272-metric-ton] vessel was destined for the infamous "triangular trade" connecting England, Africa, and the West Indies. Carrying cloth, liquor, hand tools, and small arms from England, the Whydah's crew would buy and barter for up to 700 slaves in West Africa, then set out with them on three to four weeks of hellish transport to the Caribbean. Once there, the slaves were traded for gold, silver, sugar, indigo, and cinchona, the last being a source of quinine, all of which went back to England.

Here is the link.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/whydah/story.html

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Darrel S. is selling some things.  I'm not going to turn this blog into Craigslist or anything, but you might like looking at these 1715 Fleet cobs, each of which has a noteworthy history.

Photos submitted by Darrel S.

Here is what Darrel said about these reals.

4 Reale belonged to Kip Wagner and was displayed in museum that burned before relocating to McLarty.

Purchased a few from Steve Hodge who purchased a collection from a friend of Reale 8, and investor.

Asking at least $400 due to photos and paperwork showing these coins on display and from Kip's personal collection. Will be included with coin.

8 Reale not for sale. Was in National Geographic.

If you are interested in these coins or any of the iron items that Darrel has for sale (see 8/23/16 post) , you'll have to contact him yourself and deal with him directly.  He says he'll be down this way before long.

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After doing some more thinking about the mystery item that looked something like a belaying pin, I'm thinking it might be something else.  I had a few emails.  Some people thought it looked like maybe a break handle or something.  I'm sure there were a variety of types of handles that it could be. If it came from a ship, one type of handle would be a bilge pump handle.  I'm sure there were others.

Let me know if you have any other thoughts on it.

Thanks to all who have sent ideas.

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I know a few of you are very interested in Ribault's French fleet.  I think I've mentioned this before, but it might be helpful to some of you now.

Here is the link.

http://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/LAMP/Research/FrenchFleet/frenchfleet

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A front came through and the wind is from the west today.  No change in beach conditions.  The surf remains small.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/8/16 Report - October 1715 Salvage. Listed Jewelry Finds From Rio Mar. GPS Coordinates For Wrecks, Obstacles and Dive Sites.

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

Here is an excerpt from a document referred to online as Exhibit 99.  The excerpt is a translation of a report written by Don Miguel de Lima y Melo on the 15th of October, 1715.

All of the cargos of the other ships were all lost, less a few leather bags off my ship, but this was little because by the day following the disaster the hold of my ship was completely full of water with over a codo and a half (27 inches) over the main hatchway. This was caused because we were unable to cut the rigging on the leeward side of the ship to dislodge the foremast. By the movements of the sea, caused by the mast still being erect, the bottom part of the ship opened and if this hadn’t happened I would have been able to recover all of the cargo on my ship.

However, for the first eleven hours following the ship wrecking, the ship was strong as it had been before the disaster which is the ultimate proof of its great strength.. I have been fortunate in bringing much of what was salvaged to the Havana, but the remainder is buried underground in my Real [camp] and I am hoping it could be picked up by the next schooners that arrive there. But sir, most of the cargo is badly damaged and wet due to the water entering my ship and in carrying the things from my wreck to the shore in a small boat… Only my small boat and another of the Capitana were the only launches which were left after the disaster...

There is some interesting and useful information.  What was salvaged was buried for safe keeping until it could be dispatched.  That would undoubtedly be back in the dunes.  And I'm sure that at least some small amount would be dropped or missed.

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/85684/000102826906000019/ex99-2ahc8k.htm

Here is another excerpt that you might find interesting.

The Carmen carried a number of wealthy passengers on their way back to Spain. It is likely that these passengers carried items in their luggage not declared on the manifest (contraband). This is supported by the fact that several recovered items from the site are not listed on the manifest. For example items recovered include:

1) an emerald teardrop
2) a three-carat ruby stone
3) a gold finger ring with amethyst

4) 8 gold rings
5) 5 gold earrings
6) 2 gold brooches
7) 2 gold flower ornament holders
8) a gold hat pin
9) a gold hair piece
10) 2 gold crucifixes
11) 3 pairs of gold cuff-links
12) 3 gold pendants
13) 3 gold wire pieces
14) a gold grooming spoon
15) a silver candelabra

And a partridge in a pear tree.

As you probably know, the Carmen is thought to be the wreck at Rio Mar.

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You might also find this web site useful.  It gives GPS coordinates for shipwrecks and all kinds of submerged junk along St. Lucie County.   It is useful for diving or fishin but you might find it useful for identifying things you come across.

Here is the link

http://www.floridagofishing.com/reefs/ce-reefs-st-lucie-county.html

Similar web sites give data for the other counties.

Here is the link or Indian River County.

http://www.floridagofishing.com/reefs/ce-reefs-indian-river-county.html

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Thursday and Friday the surf is supposed to be only one or two feet.   The surf is supposed to be two to four feet Saturday.  That could be interesting.  We'll have to see how it develops.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/6/14 Report - Young Boys Find Very Rare and Old Gold Hair Tress. Fake or Real Escudo? Error Dime. Poor Beach Conditions. It's All About ...

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

4000 Year-old Hair Tress Found By Young Boys.

This 4000 year-old hair tress was found by four boys (ages 7 - 10) while participating in an archaeological dig.

Joseph, seven, said: "We were digging carefully in the ground and I saw something shiny, it was gold.  "Me and Luca started dancing with joy. It was very exciting."

Luca, eight, added: "When I first saw it I felt happy but I thought it was plastic.  "When I found out it was gold, I was very happy."

To their astonishment it turned out to be an ancient hair tress which is one of the earliest pieces of metal work dug up in the UK.

Experts say the pre-Bronze Age ornament is one of the most significant recent archaeological finds ever discovered in the UK.

 

Here is the link for the entire article.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/495572/Gold-hair-tress-more-than-4-000-years-old-found-by-kids

Great story.   It is great that the boys, and the public in general, were able to participate.  

It also goes to show that you never know what might pop up.  

Fake or Not? 

Here is a little practice exercise. 

This is supposed to be an 1715 era escudo.   Do you think it is real?

I'll  show you an easy way to tell below.

Here is a common dug dime - 1985 D.

Do you see anything unusual?

It has a double rim at the bottom right. 

I noticed that, and when I researched it, saw that it appears to be a fairly common error.  People sell it on the internet as an error coin for a few dollars.







Back to the questionable escudo.

Edge of
Questionable Escudo

Here is the picture of the edge of the escudo in question.  Notice the mold seam.   That is a dead give away.   Fake!

That is a quick way you can often identify a poor fake.

I took a look at some beaches from Fort Pierce Inlet to Walton Rocks this morning.    See photo below.

There was nobody on the millions of dollars of what remains of the newly dredged sand at South Inlet Park.  If that was supposed to help bring tourists, it was an obvious waste.  Very few people go there.

The water along the Treasure Coast was very flat this morning.  And there were steep piles of course sand on some of the front beaches, such as Douglass park.

I didn't see any savage vessels anywhere around the Nieves site this morning.

The beaches around that area were very poor.  There is a lot of sand around there.







The surf web sites are predicting a one foot surf for a week or more.   That means easy water hunting, as far as water conditions go, but it might be difficult to find anyplace that isn't mushy sand.   If you can't, you'll probably have to be content with recent drops.

Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

You can't find things like the gold pyx or gold hair tress everyday.  Rare things are rare.  That is why they call them rare.   But no matter what treasure you are trying to find, there is always something you can find along the way. 

When it seems like you can't find anything at all, maybe you are missing the most important thing.   All you have to do is stop and take it in.   The joy of life is all around you, anywhere and everywhere, waiting to be had.  Just drop the preoccupations that keep you focused on less important things, and you'll find that joy hovering around you just waiting to be taken in.

Some say it isn't about the find, it is about the hunt.  I'll go a step farther.  I'll say it isn't all about hunt, it is about the gift of life.  Don't forget to appreciate it, no matter what is going on with it. 

Being thankful magnifies the joy of life.  Give thanks.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

9/4/13 - The Recent 1715 Nieves Site Gold Find In The News

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




Graphic From ABC News Piece
Link below.

Well, they did it again.  Another escudo yesterday!  That on top of all the previous gold and silver finds.

People have been hunting the Nieves site for decades.  Sometimes more, and sometimes less.   Lots of dry holes, and lots of finds.  Treasure plays hide and seek it seems.   Some people go away discouraged, and others doing the happy dance.  Its a big ocean.  You can hit lots of nothing and then move over a little, and whoooops, there it is!   That's life.    Right time and right place - or not.

Here is the ABC News link.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/09/treasure-hunting-family-strikes-gold-off-florida-coast/

I remember watching Moe and gang out there.

I said in a post that the media should pick up on this story and they did.  It appeared all over the place today, including national news.

The last time I said the media should pick up on a story, it did.  That was when Michael E. found and returned that $4000 engagement ring to a happy couple.

The treasure of the Black Swan also comes to mind.  Good thing the doctrine of sovereign immunity doesn't apply here.  Here is the link to the summary on that story.

 http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/black-swan-treasure-122402.htm

I usually hold back on details unless I'm told I can post them, but when stories hit the national media it is all out there.

So here are a few stills from the ABC piece, including some of pictures of the escudos below.

Arrrrrr  Booty Entering Fort Pierce Inlet 

Escudos

Two Escudo

Eight Escudo

Encrusted Escudo

And here is one link to a video on the story from the Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/florida-family-shipwreck-tresure-300000_n_3860806.html


Tomorrow I'll take a better look at some of the coins.


Thats all I have time for right now.   Gotta run.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/24/12 Report - Carlos II Cobs From 1715 Fleet Beaches

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



According to Wikipedia, Charles II (or perhaps more correctly, Carlos II) ruled Spain from November 1661 through November 1700.  His name appeared on New World coinage during much of that period, while immediately before and after that, you'll see King Philip indicated on the cobs.  The transition was not always precise.  I know of at least one cob with the name of Carlos on one side of a cob and Philip on the other side of the same cob. 

I'm certainly not an expert on cobs or coinage of any type, but I do like to discuss what I have observed and am learning about these subjects. 

I said the other day that I would be discussing cobs from the reign of Charles II.   I especially like half reales and the monograms that they display.   From my personal experience, I think you can expect to find more Philip than Carlos half reales on 1715 Fleet beaches, but there are a good number of Carlos half reales to be found.

One of the things that I like about half reales is that they are all different, and there are so many variations on the monograms which can provide clues about the source and date of the cobs.

Here is one half reale that was found on a 1715 Fleet beach that bears the Carlos monogram.  Carlos reales would be in the range of somewhere around the 1660s up to about 1700, a time period that would not be uncommon for cobs transported by the 1715 Fleet. 

As you know, half reales usually don't show much of the cobs design due to being poorly centered, shaped or corroded.  This one shows a good bit of the monogram, but not all of it.  Certainly there is enough to clearly identify the Carlos monogram.

Carlos II Half  Real

You can see almost all of the "A" with part of the "C" to the left and coming up and ending near the middle of the horizontal bar of the "A".  You can't see any of the "S," which would be to the right.

You can often make out the Carlos monogram when there is only a small part of it showing on the cob.  Sometimes you can see what I refer to as the fish hook at the end of the C.  Sometimes you can tell by the 45 degree angles, or the big curve of the C.  Anyhow, it doesn't take much when you know what the monogram should look like.  There are however a lot of little variations, and some of them are diagnostic.

The half real shown above is from the Mexican mint.  You could easily tell that if I showed the style of cross seen on the other side of the cob. 

Here is a stylized Carlos monogram.  As I said you will find a lot of variations.

Stylized Carlos II Monogram

I don't know how it got rotated.

The illustration is from the Sewall Menzell book, Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins.

On the Carlos half real shown below there are additional clues to the mint that can be seen even though much of the monogram is missing.

You can see two important clues on this monogram that verify the Mexican mint.  Neither of those features are seen on any Potosi or Lima Carlos half real that I have been able to find in the reference books.

First, is the assayer mark, just to the left of the lower part of the C, but above the end of the left leg of the A.  In the photo it looks like a "C" but it is actually a "G."   That would be for assayer Geronimo Bercerra, and would place the cob in the range of 1666 to 1677.

Potosi did have an assayer "C" during the period of Carlos II, but Potosi did not typically place the assayer mark at that position, and did not have another important clue that we can see on this cob.

Another Carlos II Half Real

If you look just to the right of the C, and just above the left leg of the A, you will be able to see what you might be able to make out as the bottom of a very small R.  The "R" of Carlos.   You do not see that on Potosi or Lima cobs.  Even if I couldn't see the cross on the other side, these two clues would make me very confident that this is a cob from Mexico.





I added Clausen's 1970 report on the Fort Pierce Collection in my reference link list.  You might want to check out some of the links there. 



Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.

The seas are running about three feet today, and the beaches still are very sandy.   Low tide is around 6:15 today.  No significant change in conditions yet.

The water will be calming down gradually the next couple of days.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguidecomast.net

7/23/12 Report - 1715 Fleet Ornate Silver Piece

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

Treasure Coast Dug Silver

This ornate silver piece was found on one of the 1715 Fleet beaches.  I don't know what it might be from, but it looks like it would have simply been attached to something else for ornamental purposes.  I haven't been able to figure out what it is from but have one idea.

The irregular shape might help narrow it down some.   What do you think?   Have you seen one like it?

Below I'll post a picture of something that I think it could be.


Yesterday it was rainy on the beach and the sea was kicking up a bit.   The beach was still very sandy and extends well out into the water. 

While some beaches show absolutely no targets, a few beaches do have miscellaneous targets out in the wet sand where the waves have kicked up things lately.

Conditions remain poor for finding old shipwreck cobs or coins.  The water hasn't been getting very high on the beach, and the frequent south winds have been washing sand in.

Here is a photo of the one Treasure Coast beach yesterday afternoon near low tide.  It is pretty typical.

I stopped at three beaches yesterday to see what was going on and didn't see a single person or foot print in the sand.


You can still find some miscellaneous junk to sift through, with an occasional but rare old item of possible interest showing up if you are willing to dig a bunch of junk.

On the few shipwreck beaches with variety of  targets, expect lead sinkers, lures, hooks, iron, copper, etc. with an occasional spike or other item of interest.  Patience can pay off.

Gun Showing Side Ornamentation.

Back to the silver item.   Here is a photo from an old Dixie Gun Works catalog.

Notice the ornamentation on the side of the pistol.   The gun shown here is a Deringer, and so would not be the type of gun that the silver came from (if it did come from a gun) but it shows what I am thinking it might be.  

Below are some other sideplates from the same old catalog.


Old catalogs like this can be helpful if you are trying to identify or restore an old item.  This particular catalog has everything from entire reproduction cannons, to matchlocks, to swords and percussion caps and all kinds of springs, bolts, hammers, or anything you might need to repair or build a reproduction of an old weapon.

A Few Example Sideplates For Old Guns.

The silver I'm showing might not be from a gun, but that is my best guess at this point.  If you have an ideas what it might be from , please let me know.

The style of ornamentation shown on the silver is similar to some that I have seen on gun side plates.

I think you can see how a catalog like this might help you identify mystery items.





From an email from the Fisher organization:  A total of 26 emeralds were found during the 5 days on the site last week. Add to that the 58 emeralds found by investors during Division Week, that brings the total for the year to 84 beautiful Atocha emeralds!!


Some time in the next few days, I'll be showing and talking about cobs from the Charles II period.

Expect continued south/southeast winds today, with up to four foot seas.  On the Treasure Coast it will probably be too rough for any but the most experienced shallow water hunters.   Watch out for lightening.

Low tide will be around 5:30.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/18/11 Report - 1715 Fleet Shipwreck Screw Top & Treasure Coast UFO Photo???

1715 Fleet Shipwreck Screw Top Listed on EBay.

I thought it would be a good idea to show this photo because I bet there are a lot of people that would simply throw this thing away if they found it. I bet a lot of you never associated screw tops with Spanish shipwrecks.

This item is said to be a screw top from a container that might have been used to hold sugar. Might be, I guess.

It is listed for $199.00, so if you find one you might want to keep it. The item number is 120724702170.

I always like to browse artifacts just so I know what they are. I know I've thrown away some good things over the years, simply because I didn't realize what they were.

It just occured to me that the piece of titanium from the Challenger that I showed yesterday was picked up at about the same time the Endeavor was going off. I don't know why that didn't strike me at the time. The view of the last launch was pretty good along the Treasure Coast. I saw the shuttle go up while I was on the beach. I know it had to be about the same time that I was picking up that metal. I guess I didn't know for sure that the metal was titanium when I was on the beach. I stuck it away for later. That is undoubtedly why I didn't put the two things together. It would of been really neat if I picked it up and held it up and got it in with a picture of the Endeavor taking off. To bad I didn't do that.


Titanium is being used a lot for jewelry these days. It is similar in appearance to aluminum but duller and stonger than steel. At first glance it sometimes looks like white gold, but it is a lot less expensive.


While I'm on the subject of space, I'm tempted to show you another photo I got by accident one day a few years ago.

Uhhhhhh... I'll do it. Here it is.

Photo of Cobalt Blue Bottle.

I was taking a photo of this old cobalt blue Milk of Magnesia bottle for someone and didn't notice anything unusual until I went inside,loaded the photo onto the computer and looked at it on the monitor. After a while I noticed something just above the lip of the bottle.

Here is the original photo and the other photo was cropped from the original to focus in on whatever was above the lip of the bottle in the photo.

I didn't use Photoshop or do anything to this photo. I didn't even sharpen it. This is the original, just cropped.

I don't have any idea what it is or where it came from. I guess you could call it a UFO. It could be a reflection or something, but I took other photos from nearly the same angle just seconds apart, and the object is not in those other photos.

Cropped Photo Showing Unidentified Object.

I have a relative that loves UFOs, and he thinks I am the luckiest person in the world to have captured a daylight photo of a UFO.

I don't know what it is. It could be a reflection of some sort? What do you think?

I better quit on this one. I don't know how to follow that.


Oh, I put a new survey on that will help me find out what types of things you are most interested in. Please respond to the survey. Thanks.

I've been having some trouble with the blog lately. Today after starting the survey, I found an error. When trying to edit the error, I lost the original responses, so if you answered the survey earlier you can answer again. The survey restarted at about 4:25 PM 5/18/11. Sorry.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The wind is still out of the west. We've had some cool fronts lately and the weather is really nice for being out.

The swells are coming from the north and the tides are pretty high. Take a look at the tide charts.

The seas are still calm and will remain calm for a few days. Still good for water hunting and low tide hunting.

Yesterday I gave some tips on how to work the water where the swells are breaking on the front of the beach. I think you'll find that useful.

I'll get out to get some new beach photos sometime soon.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net