4/26/20 Report - Carlos and Joanna Reales. Beach Openings Next Week. Paleovirology. Statistics.

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

Johanna and Carlos 2-Reale

Lot 71 in Current Sedwick Auction.

You might remember my posts on the Carlos and Johanna two-reale found by Terry S.  There are several listed in the current Sedwick auction.  Here is one that is similar to Terry's.   

Here is the lot description.

Mexico City, Mexico, 2 reales, Charles-Joanna, "Late Series," assayer G to right, mintmark M to left (M-G). Nesmith-49e type; Cal-93; S-M5. 6.70 grams. Low-contrast AU with bold full details including legends, steel-gray color all over. Recovered from: "Golden Fleece wreck," sunk ca. 1550 in the northern Caribbean 

Here is the one found by Terry for comparison.

Charles and Johanna Two-Reale Found by Terry S.

Photos by Terry S.

The auction lists other Carlos and Johanna coins, including a 3-reale, and a two-reales with another assayer's mark.

This Sedwick two-reale that I'm showing seems to be very similar to Terry's, though there are others in the auction that you might want to view.

The assayer and mint mark sometimes change sides.  Sometimes the assayer mark is on the left and sometimes on the right.

Besides this group of lots, there is a lot consisting of three (or four) Carlos and Johanna cobs listed as lot 1471.

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SebastianDaily says Indian River County beaches will reopen April 28, 2020, 7 AM to 7 PM.

Wabasso Beach, Golden Sands, Tracking Station Beach, Round Island Beach, the east end of Beachcomber Lane, South Beach, Humiston Beach, Sexton Plaza Beach, Conn Beach and Jaycee Beach will all be reopened. All other public beach access points will remain closed.

Walking, running, swimming, wading, floating, surfing, paddle boarding, and kayaking, and exercising will be permitted,  No sitting or laying.  

Here is the link.

https://www.sebastiandaily.com/community/indian-river-county-beaches-will-soon-reopen-22778/

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I said that the data we have on COVID-19 cases is dirty.  By that I mean that it is not it includes a variety of sources of error, one of the most important, in my opinion, is the use of inconsistent coding and reporting procedures.  Without getting into great detail, here is a just a brief part of what CDC says about their data.

CDC does not know the exact number of COVID-19 illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths for a variety of reasons. COVID-19 can cause mild illness, symptoms might not appear immediately, there are delays in reporting and testing, not everyone who is infected gets tested or seeks medical care, and there may be differences in how states and territories confirm numbers in their jurisdictions...

I could provide a lot more, but you can go to the site for yourself if you are interested.

If you have ever dealt with a death certificate, you might know that a cause of death can be described in various ways and is subject to a number of influences. Again, I won't comment any more on that,  but you are free to do your own research.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/index.html

Here are a few more articles that you might want to check.

An article in ScienceDaily suggests bears the title, Ultraviolet LEDs prove effective in eliminating coronavirus from surfaces and, potentially, air and water.

Here is the link to that.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200414173251.htm

I've previously discussed the use of ultraviolet light for inspecting artifacts.  My favorite example had to do with a piece of red sea glass treated to be luminescent.   Ultraviolet light can be helpful for inspecting fossils too and other things.

Talking about fossils - did you know about the field of paleovirology?  Scientific American published an article entitled Ancient "Fossil" Virus Shows Infection to Be Millions of Years Old

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossil-virus-bird-genome/

I've talked before about the benefits of opening archaeological information up for the public, and I've talked more generally about the benefits of open access science.  Here is an article about how doctors are pooling data to help understand COVID-19.  

https://www.wired.com/story/doctors-are-pooling-data-to-help-understand-covid-19/

The same attitudes and techniques can be effectively applied to a wide variety of types of problems.    It is no surprise to me that many of the same attitudes and approaches are useful in a wide variety of fields.

I always encourage  creativity and problem solving.   For me, that is what makes metal detecting so much fun.  I also believe you can get some good ideas from the most unexpected places if you are open and think about how you can apply the information.



You'll be able to visit some beaches next week and people won't be allowed to come up to you and ask if you found anything, but I guess they can yell it from a safe distance.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/13/18 Report - Mexico Half Reale With P Assayer and Nice Monogram. Coin Patinas and Crust.

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

Mexican Half Reale With Mint Mark.

Yesterday I showed a very small half reale. Here is one that is closer to normal size. It was found during the same November 2013 hunt as the small one.

If you look closely at this one, you will see the mint mark and assayer initial. Just to the left of the bottom half of the big P is the M mint mark over the assayer initial of P. This is not the most common assayer initial for the 1715 Fleet. More common would be the OMJ mark, which I showed some examples of in the past few weeks.

This cob does not show a date,but we can narrow it down to somewhere between 1634 to 1665, when this assayer initial was used. It would have been minted during the reign of Philip IV.

According to Sewall Menzell, "Assayer P worked as a lieutenant for Sebastian Carrillo Madonado and possibly others." The name of assayer P is unknown.

Here is the basic design of the monogram during this time.  

Source: Sewall Menzel's
Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins.

You can also narrow down the date of a half reale from the monogram.

This particular cob gives a good view of much of the monogram but the crown is missing.

Here is the other side of the same cob.

Other Side of Same Mexican Half Reale.

A good part of this side is covered with a thin encrustation.

I'll show another half reale with nice monogram from the same hunt as well as a one reale in the near future.

That is the second of four cobs found during a November 2013 hunt.

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I've started thinking about patina's and how they can be classified.  So far it seems to me that useful descriptions would include color, thickness, coverage, and coarseness or consistency.

The two sides of a coin can have very different types of patina.  I believe that happens when the coin remains in place for a long time in the same position.

When I get a system of classification developed, then it might be possible to correlate the patina with some variables about a coin's composition and history.  I already believe that I can tell a little about where a coin has been from it's patina.

Some coins are covered by a very hard thin layer such as that seen on the left side of the above cob, others are covered by a crust composed of pieces of shell or sand.  The cob above has a few of those.

I'd like to hear what you might add to the classification scheme.

Here are two coins with different color patinas.

Patinas of Different Colors.

And here is a thick patina composed of coarse sand and shell.

Thickly Encrusted Coin.

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Chris is now gone and what is left of Beryl is out in the Atlantic up by North Carolina.

On the Treasure Coast we'll have a one to two foot surf for a few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/29/15 Report - A Treasure Coast Beach Find. Black Sand. Decreasing Surf This Week.

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

Item Shown Yesterday After Being Partially Cleaned.

The crust on this partly cleaned cob was not only thick but also very hard and stubborn.   It was like stone.

You can clearly see the mint mark in the upper left.  The reale is from Potosi.

The denomination is also clearly shown on the coin (top center) - more clearly than the picture shows. It is a 1 reale.

In the middle row is PLV SVL.  Next to that, which you can't see on this coin, would be TRA.

That would indicate Plus Ultra, meaning "more beyond" and referring to the New World.

In the bottom row is a connected VR, the mark of assayer Pedro de Villar, who used that mark from 1684 through 1696.

Next to that you can only see part of the date, which in better lighting, appears to me to be 92, for 1692, although I am not sure of that, especially the second digit.

The other side is not clean enough to read at all yet.  It might reveal the date.

These are suppose to be 3.43 grams.  This one is nearer 2.5 grams.

As I've shown before, beach found silver cobs are typically way under weight.

This cob also shows a planchet crack, which is typical (top) of the reales from this mint and time period.

I don't know how long it will take me to get the crust off of the other side.

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Some people have trouble detecting over black sand.  You'll find good targets in black sand that were missed by other people.

The amount of trouble you have with black sand will depend to some extent upon the type of detector you are using and your settings.  Generally, you will have less problems with black sand if you slow down your sweep speed.  Also sweep with the sand instead of over narrow strips and edges.

I like to see back sand and take it as a good sign.

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We had about a 5 - 8 foot surf today.  It will be about 4 - 6 feet tomorrow, and down to around 2 feet by Thursday.

Just as important, the wind, which was a little northeast today, will be shifting around and later this week be coming out of the south.

I'm sticking with my 2 beach detecting conditions rating for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/23/14 Report - Attempting To Identify A Reale Found On The Green Cabin Wreck Site

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

Picture From Sewall Menzel's
Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins

Yesterday I showed a picture of a reale found by the crew of the Capitana at the Green Cabin Wreck site. It is also shown in the picture below.

The first picture shown here is a very similar reale to the one that was recently found.  It is shown by Sewall Menzel in his book, Cobs, Pieces of Eight, and Treasure Coins.

This isn't the most simple case for identification.  I would guess it is a Potosi coin, and it would have to date before 1653, which is when Potosi starting using the pillars and waves design.

Notice the mint and assayer marks (PR) to the left of  the shield.  The mint would most likely be Potosi, and the R would be the initial of the assayer, Alonso Rincon.  If that is true, the date would be between 1573 and 1576.  That is a very early cob.

Reale Found by The Capitana Crew On The Green Cabin Wreck.

The found cob does not show the denomination, which would be marked to the right of the shield.

 The crown of the found cob matches that of the Menzel example very well, but the R is a bit different.

The shield of the found cob also matches the Menzel example very well.

If you can correct me on any of this, please do so.

I have a lot more to post today but don't have time to get it posted.  I will end there today with this short post and hopefully get to the other stuff tomorrow.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/13/14 Report - Treasure Coast Half Reale Date, Iron Cannons and Poll Results

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

Mexican Half Reale Found In Nov. 2013

They say that time heals, but you could say it also reveals.  That is one reason I like holding onto things.  It often takes a good bit of time to learn about some things.

Just yesterday I was browsing through the Sedwick Coins auction listings.  I was looking at Mexican half reales.   I have a special interest in those since they have been frequently found on the shipwreck treasure beaches of the Treasure Coast.  But while looking through the auction listings I noticed a half reale with an O to the right of the monogram.  Hmmmm.  Where had I seen that before?

A little later when I was looking through some half reales, there it was -  the big round circle to the right of the monogram (See photo above.).

I then went to Sewall Menzel's book, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins, and looked through the Mexican half reales of the appropriate time period.  And there it was on page 108.   Menzel shows a cob that matches the one in the photo extremely well.

The book says that in 1705 there was a transitional half reale design that showed the common mint and assayer mark of "OMJ" to the left of the monogram and an"O" to the right of the monogram.  The O was the mark of an assistant assayer.

The match between the one in the Menzel book and the one in the above photo was one of the best matches I've seen.  There is the same lop-sided V, and on and on, detail by detail, making for a very excellent match.

Since the transitional design started in 1705 and ended by 1719, or maybe earlier, I now have a better date range for this cob.  If it came from a 1715 Fleet wreck, as I'm confident that it did, the date range would be 1705 - 1715. 

My point is that it was a combination of  browsing through numerous examples, in this case including the auction listings, and taking yet another look at the real thing that made it all come together.  Not only do I now have the date for the cob narrowed down to between 1705 and 1715, but this cob might be from the same die as the one in the Menzel book, or at the very least, a very similar die.

I'm reminded of that old song, Just One Look, which says that's all it took, but one look is seldom enough for me.  I really like how old things seem to reveal their secrets over time as you add one fact or detail after another.


Bill F. ran across some iron Spanish cannons in a marine consignment store.  The asking price was about $2000 each.  They were reportedly found in the Bahamas in the 1930s and were in a yard in the Sewall's Point area for some time.  Bill says they were in good condition.


The most recent blog poll has concluded and the results are in.  The sample size was good, especially considering the time of year and everything.

One thing is for sure - this blog has a heavy Treasure Coast focus even though a good number of its readers are from other parts of the country and other parts of the world.  The two most favorite categories were Treasure Coast specific.

According to the poll results the top "most favorite" thing in the blog is Treasure Coast finds.  I guess that shouldn't be too surprising.  Over one third (36%) of the poll respondents selected that category.

The second most favorite topic is Treasure Coast beach conditions (24%).   That is what I started this blog to be.  That part has become a smaller part of the blog simply because Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions don't change real often and I got tired of giving the same old ratings everyday.  I still make every effort to stay on top of things and warn you of any changes in beach conditions that result in a beach conditions upgrade.  I actually spend a lot of time monitoring beach conditions, even if I can't issue an upgrade or downgrade very often.  I really stay on top of things and give daily conditions ratings when I can issue anything other than a 1 (poor) beach conditions rating.  As you know most of 2014 has been poor this year and there have been very few upgrades.

I'll talk about the poll results some more some other day.


On the Treasure Coast we still have poor beach detecting conditions.  The wind picked up a little today, but we still have something like a three or four foot surf and the wind is coming from the East.

It doesn't look like it will get much better in the next few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net