11/6/19 Report - Hoard Being Analyzed. Prehistoric Site Found by Drone. More on Carlos Half Reales Including Video. Higher Surf.

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

Part of Staffordshire Hoard

Source: TheGuardian.com  (See link below)

The Staffordshire Hoard is being analyzed by archaeologists.

… The archaeologists have even tentatively identified the Mercian king they believe may have once owned the booty, and can draw a tantalising link to the dynasty of the rival Anglo-Saxon ruler who was buried at Sutton Hoo, Britain’s most famous site of the period.

Dating from the period AD600-AD650, when the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England were battling for prominence, the Staffordshire find is in essence a “war hoard”, says Fern, consisting of spectacular items the experts believe were captured in battle by armies from the kingdom of Mercia, at the expense of neighbouring Northumbria and East Anglia...

Here is the link if you want to learn more about that.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/nov/01/staffordshire-hoard-archaeologists-academic-research-gold-ornaments

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Drone-mounted lasers have revealed details of the architecture of an ancient island settlement off Florida’s Gulf coast, researchers said in a new paper published on Monday...

Laser scanning reveals 'lost' ancient Mexican city 'had as many buildings as Manhattan'

Read more

Although archaeological objects were first spotted on the island in about 1990, and subsequent exploration of the area in 2010 revealed the presence of a settlement dating from 900 to 1200 CE, Lidar scanning revealed previously unknown architectural details...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/nov/04/drone-lasers-ancient-settlement-florida-lidar-archaeology

I found out it is Raleigh Island.

See https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/11/a-drone-helped-archaeologists-discover-a-lost-florida-island-settlement/

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I received an email from Glen S. pointing out a mistake I made in yesterday's post when I posted an image of the stylized Carlos monogram as it would appear on a Lima half reale.  As a result I went back and made corrections to yesterday's post.

Thanks Glen!

Yesterday I did not intend to get into the differences you will see on Carlos half reales produced by the mints of Lima, Mexico and Potosi. There are features that distinguish cobs, and specifically Carlos half reales, produced by the different mints. Although I was talking mostly about the monograms yesterday, both the obverse and reverse sides show features that distinguish between half reales produced by the three  mints.

While looking for stylized images of the Carlos monograms for each mint that I could use as illustraitons, I found an excellent YouTube video that shows how you can tell which of the mints produced a particular Carlos half reale.

One of the easiest ways to identify a Mexico minted half reale is from the Florenza cross.  On almost all half reales you can see at least one end of the cross, which is enough to tell you if it came from the Mexico mint or not.  It is the Mexico minted Carlos half reales that show what I described yesterday as a fishhook on the end of the C.

The shape of the castles and lions is one way to distinguish between the Lima and Postosi half reales, and the shape of the elipses is another.

Rather than trying to describe all of the distinguishing features in this post, here is a link to the YouTube video posted by CaptainMyCaptain.

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

Very nice video.  I usually prefer text to videos, but this video is concise.  No time wasted getting to the point.

You have easy access to a lot of really good information these days.  I wish I had that back a few decades ago.

By the way, two of the Carlos half reales I showed yesterday were found on John Brooks beach, where I found mostly cobs from the Mexico mint and many more Philip than Carlos half reales.  Without an exact count, I'd guess that I probably found four or five times as many Philip  than Carlos half reales at John Brooks.

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DJ sent me a copy of a letter from the town clerk of Indian River Shores which included the following items of interest.

• The Tracking Station Park and adjacent beach entrances have been closed and will remain closed for approximately two weeks as the Sector 5 segment of the beach renourishment project commences.


• Jungle Trail has been reopened following the shoreline stabilization project.

Thanks DJ.

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MagicSeaWeed is predicting a high surf for Saturday.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The tides are still pretty flat.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/5/19 Report - Charles II/Carlos Half Reales and Monograms. Lapstraked Ship Construction. Modest Surf and Tides.

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

Here is an interesting half reale.  It shows the Charles monogram, which, if you've found many half reales on the Treasure Coast, you've probably seen.

This reale was part of the intenet only session of the Sedwick Coins auction that concluded Monday.

Included in that session were some of the more common and less expensive lots, such as this one, which sold for $122, not including the buyer's premium.

Here is the lot description.

Mexico City, Mexico, cob 1/2 real, Charles II, assayer not visible. KM-23. 1.41 grams. Teardrop shaped, F/VF with weak cross but defined monogram.

I suppose the most interesting thing about this one is the clear monogram and the unusual shape.  It would probably make a nice pendant.

Below is one that I found on Treasure Coast beach showing a distinctive monogram as it would appear on a half reale minted by the Mexico mint.

1715 Fleet Cob Showing Part of Carlos Monogram

It is often easy to identify a Carlos monogram even when you only can see a small part of it.  One of the features that you'll see on Mexico minted examples is what looks like a fish hook on the end of the C.  Being near the center of the monogram and being very distinctive, it is often all you need.

In the example below you can see a part of the C and a big part of the A, you can also see the assayer initial that looks like a C, but would be a G, which would be Geronimo Bercerra.  That would indicate a date range of 1666 to 1677.

Partial Monogram Mexico Half Reale Cob Found on Treasure Coast.

Below is another Carlos half reale that sold in the most recent Sedwick auction.

Source: Sedwick Treasure Auction No. 26 Online Catalog.

This Potosi minted example is partially dated - something unusual enough for a half reale.   You'll notice that the style of the monogram is different than those seen on the Mexico minted Carlos cobs.  I find the Mexico monogram more aesthetically pleasing.

The Carlos monogram as shown on the Lima, Mexico and Potosi minted half reales are different for each mint.

Here is the stylized monogram that you would see on a Lima minted Carlos half reale.

Stylized Carlos Monogram For Lima Minted Half Reale.

Tomorrow I'll post a link to a video that shows how you can tell the difference between Lima, Mexico and Potosi minted Carlos half reales.

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A few days ago I was talking about broken shipwreck spikes from the Treasure Coast and discussed my theory on why so many are broken.  Here is an illustration that I think suggests how easily they could be broken.

Diagram Showing Lapstraked Hull.

Source: DIYWoodBoat.com

You can see how planks would be attached to the frame by clinched or roved spikes.  If you consider how all of the planks are attached to the frame, it seems that there would be a lot of broken spikes when the planks are ripped off of the hull.

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DJ sent this photo of the Seagrape Trail beach yesterday afternoon.

Seagrape Trail Area on Monday Afternoon

Photo by DJ

Thanks DJ!

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The tides are very flat now.  We're not getting much of a low tide at all.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Looks like we still have a chance for an increase in the surf next weekend.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.netC