11/4/19 Report - Some Moving Sand. Gold Nuggets and Silver Bars. Ais Indians Along Treasure Coast.

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

Frederick Douglass Beach Sunday Evening.

I took a look at the beaches Sunday evening and found some cuts at John Brooks and Frederick Douglass beaches.  Those cuts weren't there Friday.  The cuts were not as strong as those I found on Oct. 26.

It was a little after high tide on Sunday evening when I took these photos.

Frederick Douglass Beach Sunday Evening.

In front of the cuts the beach was typically still mushy.

John Brooks Beach Sunday Eventing.

At least some sand was being removed at these beaches, although I don't expect it to continue much.

John Brooks Beach Sunday Evening.

---

Yesterday I showed a couple especially nice lots that recently sold in the current Sedwick auction.  They were cobs from the 1715 Fleet.  Today I'll mention a couple more lots that I found particularly interesting.

Gold Nuggests From Rio Mar that Recently Sold at Auction.

Source: Secwick Coins Treasure Auction No. 26 Online Catalog.

One is the small group of gold nuggets shown above that were found at Rio Mar.  That lot sold for $1300 plus buyers premium.   Below is the lot description.

Lot of seven small gold nuggets, 1.12 grams total, ex-1715 Fleet. Each up to 1/4". Very few natural gold nuggets were found on the 1715 Fleet, so it seems odd that the Fisher marketers did not separate this lot into seven individual artifacts, but fortunately these pieces have retained their original plastic artifact tag and certificate. A few of the nuggets (mostly flat) are tiny, but some are substantial, and most likely they were being carried as "tax free" wealth by a passenger. From the 1715 Fleet ("Rio Mar" site), with original Cobb Coin Co. (Mel Fisher) plastic tag and photo-certificate #CC86-025.

It wasn't too many years ago that I found three nuggets at John Brooks beach.  

At one point salvagers attempted to dredge fine gold flakes at Rio Mar, but weren't very successful and gave up on it.

---

Lot 208 was sold for $48,500 plus the buyers premium.  Lot 208 is the Atocha silver bar of over 92 pounds shown below.

Here is the lot description.

Large silver Atocha bar #779 from Potosi, 92 lb 3.84 oz troy, Class Factor 1.0, with markings of mine / date Po1621, manifest IIIIULI (4051), and fineness IIUCCCLXXX (2380/2400) followed by cartouche of assayer Mexia, shipper / owner's marks (Arriola) and tax stamps, from the Atocha (1622), with original stock certificates. 13-1/2" x 5" x 3-1/2". A rather large example with choice full markings, especially the manifest number and the silvermaster's "V" in one corner, plus full date 1621 and nearly full tax stamp in addition to the fineness and assayer, with typical double-scoop assayer's "bite" in center, but perhaps best of all is the elegant diamond-topped AR monogram with what looks like a magic wand (all of which apparently refers to shipper / owner Arriola) near the left side, quite a showpiece for the advanced Atocha-bar collector. From the Atocha (1622), with original Fisher photo-certificate #85A-S779 and investor folder containing three Treasure Salvors, Inc. stock certificates from 1986 (525, 1500 and 1517 shares).

Heavy silver bars from wrecks like the Atocha typically bring high prices at auction.

---

Here is some good reading: The Location of the Paramount Town of the Ais Indians, as presented in the The Florida Anthropoligist, Sept. - Dec. 2010 issue.

If you like Florida history, I think you will enjoy this well-researched article of over thirty pages packed with maps and references.

Here is the link.  https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00210/7x

Thanks to DJ for that link.

---

It is still breezy today, but the tides are smaller and the surf is getting smaller too.  I don't know what might have happened to the beaches overnight, but yesterday there was some positive movement.

It looks like next week we have a chance for some higher surf again.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/17/19 Report - Seeing Beaches, Cuts, Bars and Dips Form. Reflections on Cathedral of Notre Dame.

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

I have an free Easter present for you today.  It is a little early. and it wasn't what I planned on doing, but it is just too good.

I'm going to show you an excellent wave tank video.  It begins with small slow waves and increases the frequency of the waves and then the size of the waves. You will get a really good look at how waves of different frequencies and sizes affect a beach differently.

There are some things I want you to watch carefully, so I'll give you advance warning.

Here is a clip that comes from the beginning of the video when the waves are small and the time between them is relatively large.

Small Infrequent Waves Building a Beach.

Notice how the sand is agitated in the high energy area where the wave is breaking.  I've mentioned this before, but this is the best illustration that I've seen.  You can really see the sand being suspended.  The suspended sand is then dropped on the beach as the water slows on the slope.

Suspended Sand Under Front of Wave.

You can really see how the sand is suspended in this clip  That sand moves back and forth as the wave passes, almost seeming to vibrate.  If you watch it in the video, you can see how similar it looks to the liquefaction video that I posted yesterday.  You can really see the similarity when the waves are more frequent.

While there is a lot of sand movement both ways in that area, there is a net movement either landward or seaward, depending upon the size and frequency of the waves.

When the frequency is increased,, you'll see the sand start to erode.  A small cut is created when the waves are frequent but not large.

Then when the waves get bigger, the whole thing accelerates, and a lot of sand migrates down the slope.

Bigger Waves Has Moved Sand Down The Slope And Has Created a Sandbar.

Notice also the dip.  That is an area that can expose a lot of objects on a beach, especially when the dip is down close to a hard rock or clay bottom.  That can be a real bonanza.

In the last clip, the sand has been completely removed from in front of the end of the tank.  That is how it would work if there was a sea wall or something behind a beach.  A sea wall will accelerate sand loss, as will a cut.

Now watch the video and you will see how all of those things develop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCirBRjYKSo

If you watched the entire video carefully several times, you probably got a lot out of it.

I watched it quite a few times and will probably watch it several more times.

Again, a wave tank is not exactly like a beach, but you will find some things the same.

---

I wanted to comment on the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  We all saw the images.

Alain de Botton, author of the The Art of Travel said, “A dominant impulse on encountering beauty is to wish to hold on to it, to possess it and give it weight in one’s life. There is an urge to say, ‘I was here, I saw this and it mattered to me."

I lost the original reference, but I read the following in a current article. Maybe it was the New York Post, but I'm not sure.

… In a world that increasingly feels impermanent, transactional, brittle and under threat, the stillness and solidity of an 850-year-old steeple stretching into the sky gave us hope that some things remain. That how we once were is how we will always be.

Indulgently, these monuments are also a backdrop to our younger, more adventurous selves. They remind us of who we were when we fell in love or explored with friends or opened ourselves to long unscheduled weeks in unfamiliar lands.

You cannot gaze at a shimmering stained-glass window or find yourself dwarfed by a sepia-toned fresco and not feel sharper, rawer, as if in glimpsing beauty it is indelibly etched on your soul.

I think that is all pretty true, but watching it burn and crumble, reminds us that all things in this world, the most wondrous and long-lasting, will eventually crumble and fall.  In that we recognize our own mortality. And in the thought of rebuilding, we share the joy of resurrection Sunday.

Happy Easter!
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/18/17 Report - Large Metal Religious Find. Mystery Bar Marked Piedmont. Surprise Under the Floor.

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

Large Metal Figure.
Find and photo by John C.

Here is the email John sent with the above photo.

Happy Resurrection weekend,, about a year ago I sent you a photo of a small cross with Emerald Trace that was probably one of my smallest crosses . This one is my largest about nine and a half inches tall by seven and a half inches across not sure the metal maybe some type of pewter but on the back it has evidence it was gold gilt. The second photo is a life-size cross just north of the seawall at Wabasso Beach.

Thanks again for all your hard work. And for educating us all with all your interesting articles and research.


---

I received this email message from Erin A. about a mystery object shown below.  Send me your thoughts if you have any idea what it might  be.

We were doing some metal detecting in our yard (just tore up old deck) and found this metal bar like object. I have attached some pics. It says "PIEDMONT" on it. It is not magnetic. Do you have any ideas on what this may be? We have also found an old dime from 1899 and a couple of old bullets. Thanks for any info you may have.

~Erin

Thanks Erin.  

Let me know if you have any idea what this bar might be.

---
Hole accidentally cut in U.K. museum floor reveals stairs to hidden tomb of five archbishops...

Of the identified coffins, the most important belongs to Bancroft, the chief overseer of the publication of the King James Bible. Production began in 1604 and the Bible was finally published in 1611, the year after Bancroft’s death. To find his coffin after all these centuries is astonishing...

Here is the link for the rest of that story.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/hole-accidentally-cut-in-u-k-museum-floor-reveals-stairs-to-hidden-tomb-of-five-archbishops

---

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/10/15 Report - Mystery Object Might Be Inscription From Crucifix. 233 Coins Detected In One Spot.

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



Item Found By Todd G.

I didn't know what I was going to post today.  I had a bunch of random thoughts, but nothing was coming together.  One topic was partially developed in my mind but it wasn't ready for posting.  I'll put that off to some other time. 

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.

----



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.

---

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

10/2/12 Report - Treasure Auction Coming Soon, Gold Bars & More

Written by the treasureguide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogpot.com.

Atocha Gold Bar Up for Auction

Here is a large gold bar from the Atocha that will appear in the upcoming SedwickCoins auction.  The starting bid will be $100,000.

The following notice was recently received via email from Daniel Frank Sedwick of Sedwick Coins.


Our latest auction, closing LIVE in five sessions on October 25-26 (Thursday-Friday), is ready for viewing online at SedwickCoins.com

Note you will need to register for this auction even if you already have an iCollector profile and bid with us in the past.

While our photos and descriptions are well beyond what you see elsewhere, we recommend viewing the lots in person if you can. We will be showing coin lots at the ANA National Money Show Dallas October 17-20, 2012 (Dallas Convention Center). All lots will also be available for private viewing at our office in Winter Park (by appointment only) before and after the Dallas show.

Printed catalogs (364 pages, full color) will be available starting this week. If you are not a prior bidder or on our mailing list already or you want extra copies, please click the button on our website to order the catalog.


In case you didn't notice, I started a new poll in this blog.  I hadn't done any polls for a while.  I was just so busy that I almost forgot about them.  They are informative.  I hope you will take the time to give your answer.


Here is a nice little video about a man who found a 1909 wheat penny worth a thousand dollars.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/missouri-man-finds-rare-penny-worth-1-000-dollars/2285394775/Comcast/2284617181/




There is not much new on the Treasure Coast beaches, but there is a lot of rain today.

A large low pressure area, 800 miles west of the Cape Verdi Islands now has a 60% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.  Keep an eye on this one.


I'm running late.  That's it for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/26/12 Report - Silver Bar, Mystery Item & Joined Copper

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



Atocha Silver Bar



This Atocha silver bar with COA was offered for sale on eBay.  Although there was a bid of $35,000, the reserve was not met.   If I remember correctly this bar was about 26 or 28 pounds in weight.

That is about the size of the silver bar that I told you about a week or so ago, that I saw brought into a shop by one hunter a number of years ago.  It was one of several that he found.

Here is another dug item for identification.   It was dug by Bill M.   I've shown some of his other finds in recent posts.

Mystery Lid for ID

I think someone will be able to identify this one.   It appears to be a lid.   He isn't sure of all the words, but believes he can make out " products are supreme" with a name at the bottom, part of the name being "louis."

I always advise holding onto items.  Sometimes they'll sit around for a long time and then you'll look at the item and notice something interesting that you never noticed before.   Sometimes that happens because in the mean time you've learned something that now makes something significant that you never paid any attention to before.

That happened to me just last night when I noticed that a dug piece of copper was actually made of two pieces that had been put together.   I had recently read somewhere about how two pieces of copper were often cut in strips, sometimes from an old item, and then patched together to make a new item.



Joined Copper Pieces



I looked at this piece of copper and noticed what looked very much like the illustration that I had seen.  The piece of copper appeared to show a  zipper-like pattern.  You can see in the photo how the top appears to be patched to the bottom with a zipper pattern in between.   That is is exactly the type of thing I had seen in an illustration.



Detecting is an activity that keeps on giving.  You just keep learning more all the time.  A lot of the fun occurs after you make a find.  Then you often have some research to do.

Archaeologists excavated a skeleton to see if it might be the skeleton of Mona Lisa.

Here is the link.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-25/archaeologists-close-in-on-real-mona-lisa/4153160

There is a prop wash deflector now for sale on eBay in case you want one.



We still have that West wind and calm seas.  The seas are running down around one or two feet.   Of course that means no significant change in detecting conditions. 

Low tide will be around 8:00 and 8:30 today.


Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/14/11 Report - More on the Gold Bar, A First Silver Dollar Find, and a Diamond Ring Returned

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

Front and Back of the $100,000 Gold Bar To Be Auctioned in the Upcoming Sedwick Coins Auction.

Photo and information on the bar was submitted via email by A. G. of Sedwick Coins.

I showed the front of this bar yesterday and gave you some clues about its identity. One reader sent an email correctly identifying the seal.

I'll give you more about the bar below.

James F. sent in this story telling about how he responded to a request to find a lost ring.

My detecting club sends out emergency e-mails reporting any lost item, usually rings, reported to the club by normal, everyday people who don't know where else to turn for help in finding that lost wedding band or heirloom lost somewhere in the ocean of sand, or just the ocean, period. Once such call came in this last Wednesday, from a frantic husband...his wife, relaxing on a beach chair as the surf splashed past her, seems to have relieved her of her VERY expensive ring. This piece of jewelry was 18kt white-gold encrusted with diamonds encrusting 360 degrees of the ring's circumference...if you ran it along the sand, it would have left something that looked like the tread of a miniature truck tire. Serious piece of bling.
His wife was crying and frantic, as well as anyone would be, who had lost her first wedding ring after being married a little over a year. It had been lost last Saturday, the 3rd, and his e-mail to the club was pretty sad...

(I omitted some of the story here to save space. TreasureGuide)


I sent him an immediate e-mail and told him we may be able to recover it, if he remembered where they had sat. I met him there with my Minelab SE Pro with a 16" coil, and within 45 minutes had recovered his wifes ring. I told him I thought I had something, he came over, I dug up a mound of sand (about 8" deep), pulled out my pinpointer, wiped away clumps of sand with it to reveal his lost ring. He couldn't believe it...a tiny ring had been gone more than a week, both him and his wife thought they would literally NEVER see this important piece of their married life again. He had told me on the side he would not be able to afford another ring for her, and I felt so bad...you cannot imagine seeing someone so resigned to the loss. When he first saw it in the wet sand, he grabbed me and hugged me like a long lost friend...almost busted my detector stem. We walked back up to the beach pavillion, and there was his wife in her bathing suit. He showed the ring to her and SHE started crying, also hugging me (I had the detection gear out of the way this time), which I didn't mind all that much. Long story, short, two very happy people were walking on a cloud, still expressing disbelief that I had found such a tiny thing on such a big beach. These folks were totally alien to the sport of metal detecting, but can now be counted on to be another positive voice in the general public concerning the sport.

This taught me a lesson about the here-and-now of detecting; if anyone is distraught over losing a valuable item, and you have some time to lend a hand, do it! The good will that your assistance will generate for the hobby is worth much much more than the gold value of the ring. Just saying, I'm proud of what we do, cause nobody does it better!

Good thoughts. Thanks James.


John benefited from Irene going to Connecticut. He had some good luck. Here is what he said.

I hunted up here in Ct. after the storm (not a hurricane anymore) hit us. I found my first Silver Dollar in over 40 years of beach hunting, a 1897s. It was washed out of the upper beach that hardly anyone ever does. Also in the same 20 ft. area I found a 57 quarter, 2 buffalo nickels, 44 merc dime, and several wheats. In the water at low tide, I hit a 14K gold buckle ring with small diamond. Lots of modern coins were in the cuts in the beaches. Tide was at high when the storm hit so it came in flooding and churned up the beaches quite a bit.
John

Glad to know someone benefited from Irene. And congratulations on your first silver dollar!


Back to the gold bar.

Minted in Brazil, this gold bar is an example of pseudo-monetary gold that is somewhat comparable to the U.S. pioneer gold issues of the California Gold Rush.

The particular ingot shown above is from the foundry of Serro Frio and is very rare. Even more rare, the original guia (documentation) is available and in remarkable conditoin.

If you want to learn more about this gold bar and the history of similar bars, here is a link to all of the information provided by Sedwick Coins.

http://sz0160.wc.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/Brazilian%20gold%20bar%20_3_.pdf?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=58060&part=2


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

Maria is now a tropical storm and is east o the Bahamas and headed towards the North Atlantic. There are no other storms or hurricanes to watch right now.

The wind is from the north/northwest. The seas are around two feet and will not change much, only increasing slightly to about three of four feet on Sunday.

Obviously, that means no significant change in detecting conditions on the Treasure Coast.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/13/11 Report - $100,000 Gold Bar

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

Very Rare and Valuable
Gold Bar.

Do you recognize this? I don't think many will.

See what you can figure out. I'll give you some more clues below.


The HMS DeBraak was a 14 gun brig-sloop captured and used by the Royal Navy before sinking in Delaware Bay in 1798 with a rumored huge treasure. Much controversy surrounds the treasure. Some say it has been recovered, while other say it is still to be found.

Whatever happened to the treasure, the wreck has produced many interesting artifacts. In the following article you can view a pair of woven socks that was recovered and conserved. That is pretty unusual.

Here is the link to that story if you want to read more.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110908/NEWS/109080334/Archaeologists-begin-intricate-task-saving-DeBraak-s-hull?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home


Markings on the Gold Bar.

On the left is a seal, then next to that is a serial number, then the numbers 1 - 3 - 06, which indicates 1 ounce, 3 eighths, 6 grains, followed by "23 TOQUE", meaning 23 karat, and the AAB, which is the assayers initials.

You might want to try to figure out the identify of the bar from those clues.

I'll give you more information on it another day.

Thanks to Sedwick Coins for the photo and information.

You'll be hearing more about the bar in the near future.


Odyssey Marine Explorations.

About a month ago, the Global Newswire reported the following from Odyssey Marine.

The Odyssey Explorer is working on a shipwreck project and the Gairsoppa operation is now underway. Recent developments lead us to believe that we will begin excavation of at least one of our high-value shipwreck targets this working season. We have the cash available on hand to execute the most ambitious marine operations program in the history of our company. Our team aboard the Dorado Discovery is approximately halfway through another successful deep-ocean mineral exploration survey being conducted for Neptune Minerals in the South Pacific. There have already been discoveries of several new SMS deposits with assay results confirming exceptionally high grade gold, silver, zinc and copper ore," said Greg Stemm, Odyssey CEO. "We are looking forward to a number of possible positive developments in the near future including progress on our shipwreck projects and government negotiations, a positive ruling in the "Black Swan" case, and additional positive results from the mineral exploration work being conducted on behalf of Neptune Minerals. ... With gold and silver near all-time highs, and our unprecedented backlog of advanced stage shipwreck projects, I have never been more optimistic about our outlook and near-term value creation opportunities.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

Maria is headed towards the North Atlantic and won't affect us very much.

There are no other storms to watch right now.

If the surf web sites are correct, we'll have one foot seas tomorrow, gradually increasing on a daily basis for the next several days, reaching about three feet by the weekend.

It doesn't look like we'll have any real improvement soon.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/18/11 Report - 1500s Gold Bar, Bronze Coin Finds, and $5 Indian

Gold Bar for Sale on EBay.

This 14.74 troy ounce lower kt. gold bar is for sale on eBay for just under $20,000. Interesting! To me it seems unusual in a variety of ways. It is listed as being from a shipwreck, but the age and ship is unknown. It is speculated to be from the 1500s. That would be a relatively rare date for a North American shipwreck, although there are some.

There is no COA included.

I'd like to hear from others that may have some thoughts on this bar.



3,422 ancient bronze coins dated to between 264 to 241 BC were accidentally found in 68 feet of water off the island of Pantelleria.

Here is the link to more of that story.

http://news.discovery.com/history/punic-coins-retrieved-110812.html


Gold hit $1825 today as India and China keep buying.


One gold coin that I really like the look of is the Indian Five Dollar gold coin, which is close to a quarter of an ounce. Of course the value of these coins varies depending upon year, mint and condition.

The New Orleans mint, for example, produced just over 34,000 coins in 1909 and since not many survived you might get over $1800 for a coin like that.

The following link is to a nice article that shows what dealers would pay for an Indian five dollar gold coin of various dates, mints and conditions.

http://www.coinstudy.com/indian-five-dollar-gold-coin-value.html


There is a new survey on the main page that has already started.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The tropical disturbance down below Cuba is developing and has an 80% chance of becoming a cyclone. It will probably not affect us on the Treasure Coast.

There is another tropical wave over by Africa that is developing but it is too early to guess what it might do.

The wind is from the south and the swell from the east. The sea is calm, although a touch rougher than last week. That will continue for a few days and then next week it will get just a little rougher again, if the predictions are correct. It will still be less than three feet, again, if the predictions are correct.

That means no change in conditions again.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net