12/13/19 Report - Looking More Closely At Your Coin Finds For Fun and Profit. Coin Chips and Cracks. Surf's Up.

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

Potosi Half Reale From Jupiter Beach.

I enjoy studying my finds.  Sometimes it is more than fun.  Occasionally it can be profitable.

When you look more closely at your coins you can discover all kinds of things.  For example on the Potosi half reale shown above, one thing that might jump out at you is the multiple impressions of the S at the bottom of the coin.

When you look at a cob this closely, you can see some of the workmanship of the fellow that cut the die and you might also see artifacts of the minting process.  That brings you closer to the person who made the die and the person that punched the coin.

Closer Look at the Multiple Impression of the S on a Potosi Half Reale.

Unfortunately most beach found cobs are worn and corroded so you can't see the details very clearly.  The side of the cob shown above was complete covered by a thick crust of sand, which preserved the details.

Think for a minute about the man that created the die.  He had to carve the design into the steel die.  Each of those dots was hand carved into the die.   Then the die was used to punch the cob.  

Some of the details you see are the result of workmanship, but some are the result of accident.  I don't know now if the multiple impressions of the S were made by multiple strikes, a bouncing die or recutting of the die.  Perhaps someone can tell me.  I was told something about that at one point but forget now.

Another View of the Same Cob.

It looks to me like the dash in the middle of the monogram might have been recut. Again, maybe  a more knowledgeable person can tell me for sure.

Modern coins also show a lot of interesting details if you look at them very closely.  You might see die chips or cracks, for example.

Below are a few examples.

Die Chips on the Face of Roosevelt.

Modern Roosevelt dimes often show die chips.  On the dime shown above you can see die chips on Roosevelt's cheek, beside the corner of his mouth and above his eye.   I have found numerous examples showing die chips on Roosevelt's face, often more obvious than those shown above.

Roosevelt dimes also often show die chips on the reverse on the olive and oak branches.

Die Chip on Oak Branch on Reverse of Roosevelt Dime.

You can see the die chip between the lower right branches of the oak branch in the picture above.

Die chips are also often found on recent Jefferson nickels.  Below you can see a small die chip between the e and r.

Small Die Chip on Jefferson Nickel.

Die Chips on the O, T, and S.

Above is another example of a Jefferson nickel showing die chips.  There are die chips on the O of Montecello as well as on the T and S in CENTS.

You can also find a lot of die cracks on modern coins if you look closely.  Many memorial cents show a die crack running from a corner of the memorial building to the edge of the coin.

Below is shown a die crack running down the steps and then to the edge of the coin.  Those are very common and insignificant.

Lincoln Memorial Die Crack.

A die crack will be raised on the coin.  It is caused by a crack in the die - not the coin.

Here is a larger and more significant example of a die crack that is actually cataloged.  This die crack runs from the edge of the coin all the way down to Lincoln's neck.

Crack Running From Edge of Coin Down to Lincoln's Chin.

By far my best die crack find is a die crack with retained cud.  A cud is a die break that has not yet fallen out.  You can find that coin cataloged online as well.

My point today is that you can get more enjoyment out of your coins and possibly find a coin worth some decent money if you look at your coin finds more closely.

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The surf is up a bit - maybe up to six or seven feet.  I hope to get out today to inspect some beaches.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/6/18 Report - Studying Modern Coins to Better Understand Cobs. The Gold Rush of Georgia.

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

U. S. Penny Showing Distortion From Die Deterioration.

Yesterday I posted a picture of a half reale.  I chose that particular half reale because it is one of the better examples I have.  The cob is relatively complete and the surface in good condition.  I think you can see where the die was recut and where the die bounced, along with some other nice features that occurred with the die strike.  If a cob is too badly corroded you can't see all of that.  You can learn about some of those things by studying modern coins.  While modern coins are machine made, a planchet is still struck by a die and so there are some similarities.

Above you see distorted letters on a U. S. penny.  Although it can be difficult at times to tell the difference between damage that is done to a coin after it leaves the mint and distortions that occur when the coin is made, these distorted letters were made by using a die that was worn out.

Here is a dime showing distortion due to die deterioration.

U. S Die Showing Die Deterioration.

Notice the spread letters and also the lines flowing out towards the edge of the coin.  You might think this is corrosion or damage, but the lines show the worn condition of the die when the coin was made.

On the cob shown yesterday, I showed an area where I thought I could see where the die bounced and created a doubled image.  Here is an example of the same type of thing on a 1922 silver dollar.

Machine Doubling on 1922 Silver Dollar.

If you look closely at the numbers in the date, you'll see a doubled image.  That is not a doubled die error.  It is the result of what I would call die bounce.  It is not the kind of thing that results in valuable coins.  This kind of doubling is common.

As I was saying yesterday, when you look at a cob or coin, you will see the features carved on the die in negative.

2016 U. S. Nickel Showing Die Chips.

Although modern die are much better, they work about the same way.  They wear out, crack and break.  Small breaks in a die leaves chips on a coin.  I'm sure the same thing happened with the old iron Spanish colonial die.

The above picture shows three die chips on a 2016 nickel.  Die chips are common and do not generally increase the value of a coin.

A chip is a small break.  A break larger than 4 square millimeters is more significant.  That would more often be referred to as a die break rather than a die chip.

My point today is that if you study modern coins, some of the things you learn will help you better study and appreciate the cobs that you find.  It can also make modern coin finds more interesting and perhaps help you find a valuable coin.

I just began to studying modern coins more closely a few months ago and am finding it much more complicated than I expected but also very interesting.  I'm still very much a novice on modern coin errors and varieties.

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Here is an excerpt from a pdf document entitled Origens of the North Georgia Gold Rush by H. David Williams.

That is the most widely repeated story of the discovery of gold in Georgia.  As with most treasure tales, there are questions remaining.  Treasure finds are often not made public, and when they are you still have to wonder how much is true.  Treasure hunters don't always want the world to know the location of their discovery, and they either don't tell, or if they do tell, don't tell it all the way it was.  And there is always the chance that some of the story gets lost or distorted in the retelling.

This article covers other possible earlier discoveries and more of the story.  Here is another brief excerpt.

Sorry the edge curls down, but that is the way it copied.  It is a interesting article that you will probably want to read.

Here is the link.

https://archives.columbusstate.edu/gah/1988/161-168.pdf

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Nothing new in the Atlantic and nothing new with beach conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/22/12 Report - Found Casino Chips

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

.999 Pure Silver Luxor Casino Chip

I mentioned finding casino chips the other day.  Rick A. read that post and sent a link to a great web site for buying, selling, trading and finding prices of collectible casino chips.  I'm glad he did because I forgot that I was going to talk about casino chips.

I wouldn't say that casino chips are common beach finds because they are not, but it does happen.

Many people collect casino chips, and I can see why.  They are attractive, interesting, and can be very valuable.

Even modern casino chips have some value.  They can be used if you can get to the casino and some are made of precious metals, like the ten dollar Luxor chip shown here.

Some of the more collectible chips sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

Of course the most valuable chips are from historic casinos that no longer exist.  And many people especially like the slot machine tokens.

This chip was found near the water line in the plastic case shown here.  It was undoubtedly in the water for at least a little while but was protected by the plastic holder.

That is the type of thing that makes me wonder.  How did it get there?  Why would somebody be carrying a casino chip on a beach, and how did they lose it?

You can find all sorts of strange things on a beach, and I often wonder how they got there.

One good thing about Florida beaches is that people from all around the world visit and that means you can find things from all around the world.

Here is a chip from Nairobi Kenya.   It isn't old, but does contain nearly a half an ounce of silver.  That means that it has some value, if only melt value.  

I haven't looked up the denomination yet and don't have any idea what 10 shs is worth.  I suspect not much.

Anyhow, this is one more type of thing that is sometimes found on Florida beaches, and it can be a very interesting area of collecting.

If you want to collect casino chips, you'll probably want to specialize in some way, maybe collecting the chips from casinos of a particular state or time period.

Here is the link that Rick sent. 

http://www.casino-gaming.com/casino-chips-collectible.htm

Thanks Rick.

Florida had some historic beach casinos too.   One that you might be familiar with is now the Hollywood Beach Resort.  Back in 1926 it was a Florida hot spot.  You can still detect on that beach today.

And there were a  riverboat casinos.   That could be really interesting.

Below is a postcard for sale on eBay showing the old Hollywood Beach Casino.

There have to be some leftovers from those days around there if you can get to the right spot at the right time.

Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Conditions.

No significant change.  Seas still running about three feet.

The wind is from the south and the swells from the east.

Poor mushy conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net