5/29/20 Report - Valuable Imitation Cobs Versus Modern Fakes or Copies. Beach Conditions On The Treasure Coast.

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

John Brooks Early Friday Morning.

We are into summer conditions now and the beaches are sandy.  Hurricane season begins Monday.

Walton Rocks Friday Morning.

This time of years there are other things to deal with in addition to the sandy beaches, especially if you go out in the morning after rain.  You might want to think of the insects.  

This morning I wasn't bothered by the noseeums or sand flies or whatever you call them, but at some locations the mosquitos were very heavy.  Insect repellant might be a good idea.

Walton Rocks Friday Morning.

There was a little chop and both the beach and shallow water was sandy.

Frederick Douglass Friday Morning.

Frederick Douglass Friday Morning.

As you can see, these beaches didn't look very good.

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One thing I noticed in Sedwick's treasure auction yesterday was a number of  "imitation" cobs.

You can use a lot of different words in addition to imitation, such as fake, counterfeit, or copy,  and you might think of all of them as being worthless, but that is not necessarily the case.

There were several good examples that sold for good prices.

For example, there was a Cartagena copper imitation 2-reales that sold for $6,545, including the buyer's premium.  Here it is.

I don't know what you'd think of it if you dug it up, but I suspect that you could think it is junk.  It really doesn't look very good.  

Here is another "imitation."  It looks very strange.   You might suspect right away that it is a fake, but it sold for over a thousand dollars.

Below is another imitation.  If you've seen many 1715 cobs, I think this one would immediately strike you as strange and probably fake.  But it is old, like the other two above, and was dated to the early 1800s.

And below is one more "imitation."

It looks strange too, but perhaps not as strange as some of the others.  It also dates to the early 1800s.

I've done posts on fakes, copies and counterfeits before.  There are different kinds.  Some are not meant to deceive.  They might be souvenirs.

Modern fakes should be stamped "COPY" but they are not always properly marked.  Sometimes they are marked but the mark can be removed or hidden.  I had one that was marked, but it wasn't easy to find the mark.

Here is one marked "COPY" I dug up down at Jensen Beach a few years ago.  It is a modern fake that isn't worth anything.

Fake Cob Marked "COPY."

Many fakes are often made of the wrong metal, as is the one above.  Fake escudos are often plated.

There were a lot of interesting curiosities in that particular session of the auction.   I never buy treasure coins or artifacts, but study the auctions.  You'll see more good examples in the Sedwick auctions than you'll likely see anywhere else, including museums.

One thing I say time and time again, is don't be too hasty.  It can take a quite a while to figure out the real story of a find.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/21/20 Report - Treasure Auction To Go Live May 27. Near Million in Cash Found. Cunneform Tablet. Christogram Medallion.

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

Less than a week left.   For more information see https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/auctionlist.aspx

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A family in Virginia trying to escape the boredom of coronavirus lockdown on Saturday did exactly that when they happened upon two duffel bags of cash totaling almost $1 million.

David and Emily Schantz, residents of Caroline County, Va., were out for a drive with their children when they ran over what they thought were trash bags in the middle of the street.

It was only after putting the bags in their truck and driving home that the family realized they were full of cash. According to the family, there were “plastic baggies” inside the duffels that read “cash vault.”...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://justthenews.com/government/local/virginia-family-finds-nearly-1-million-cash-duffels-road

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I just received the following email from a Connecticut person concerning a post I did in 2015 about the Christogram shown above.  I thought it was interesting that people from around the country are responding to posts that are five years old.


Hello,

Regarding this post: http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/12/122415-report-christogram-pendant-find.html

I have an exact duplicate of this medallion that was given to me by my ex-step mother in law. She purchased it in the Vatican and attended a ceremony in the presence of Pope John Paul ii where he blessed the crowd making this medallion the relic of a Saint.

The medallion might very well have more value than its weight in gold.

Susan C.

Stamford, CT

That would certainly make it more valuable to those who appreciate it.  That is the way it is with value.

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NEW YORK – Pursuant to ongoing Cultural Property, Arts and Antiquities investigations by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, a civil complaint was filed Monday to forfeit a rare cuneiform tablet bearing a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian epic poem considered one the world’s oldest works of literature. Known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, it originated in the area of modern-day Iraq and entered the United States contrary to federal law. The tablet was later sold by an international auction house (the “Auction House”) to Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (“Hobby Lobby”), a prominent arts-and-crafts retailer based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for display at the Museum of the Bible (the “Museum”). Despite inquiries from the Museum and Hobby Lobby, the Auction House withheld information about the tablet’s provenance. The tablet was seized from the Museum by law enforcement agents in September 2019...

Here is the link to the Customs and Immigration Enforcement site for more about that.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/civil-action-filed-forfeit-rare-cuneiform-tablet-hobby-lobby

Of course the ICE website has a lot of info about counterfeits and smuggling.

As I've said before, you can't separate politics from treasure hunting or much of anything.  You have to wonder how much the politics of Hobby Lobby had to do with the enforcement.  As you probably know Hobby Lobby is religious/conservative and in September 2012 filed suit in federal court in Oklahoma based on its First Amendment Free Exercise of Religion right and the RFRA.

Anyone near the top of federal agency is by definition political.  You can be a government scientist, for example, which means that you are a bureaucrat as well as a scientist.

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Surf Prediction.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

It looks like the surf will build today.  The swells are supposed to be northeast, but I don't know if they'll be enough from the north.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/25/19 Report - Horse Tack and Related Finds. Gold Coin Counterfeits and Cautions. High Tides and Flat Surf.

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

Old Rusty Snaffle Bit.

If you've been metal detecting very long you've probably found some horse tack or wagon parts.  I found the above bit years ago.  At first I didn't know much about it and still don't, other than it is a horse bit.  It looks a lot like an 18th century one I saw in Ivor Hume's book, A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America.

Source: A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America by Ivor Hume.

As you can see, the found bit pretty well matches example 3 in Hume's illustration, which is from circa 1730.  I doubt mine is actually that old and suppose they make similar ones today.  Maybe someone confirm or deny that for me.

Anyhow, I think we probably find horse tack and related items more often than we know.  There are so many different pieces of hardware that can be part of a harness, and some of them are decorative.  Separated they might be hard to distinguish from other unrelated items.

I was just ran across an item on a harness that reminded me of another old find.  Notice the piece in the middle attached to five or six chains.  That reminded me of a find that I wondered about for a long time.

Here is that item.

Two Views of Odd Find.

One person told me it looked like a clasp for a bolo tie.  That is the best answer I have, but it also looks very much like it could be something like the piece in the center of the harness.  I'd think that item would be sturdier though, so for now my best guess is bolo tie clasp.

I've found other bits that could be horse tack items.  Also horse shoes are no uncommon finds.  Hume's book also has an illustration for dating horse shoes.

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Somebody recently told me they were afraid to buy coins on eBay because of all the counterfeits.  Their fear is well-founded.  I don't buy coins, but if I did, I wouldn't buy from eBay.   There are some places where you can safely buy though.  I would feel confident buying from some well known auction houses, including Sedwicks or Bowers, for example.  In fact the history of a coin selling in some auctions can actually improve the price of the coin by providing additional provenance.

Below are a few tips from an article you might find helpful.  

Did you know that PCGS and NGC slabs are also counterfeited?

Slabbed coins tend to be slightly more expensive, but the peace of mind that third-party authentication provides is more than worth the added cost.  **One note - make sure to check the slab certification number on the NGC or PCGS website to confirm it is a valid slab. Counterfeiters have recently taken to creating slabs along with the coins...

Buy from reputable sellers...

You are generally safe in buying raw classic and modern gold coins from the eBay mega-dealers like APMEX, Silvertowne. Those dealers do an enormous amount of business in American Gold Eagles and other gold bullion coins, where the time/cost of sending in a coin to get graded and authenticated is not the worth the time or effort. These dealers have two advantages for customers: a) they are large and established businesses (as opposed to small, fly-by-night dealers), with a vested interest in maintaining their longterm reputation; and b) they thoroughly inspect all the inventory they buy to identify counterfeits, prior to selling the coins to their customers... 

Avoid raw Indian head quarter eagles, Indian head half eagles, and gold dollars - these are the three most heavily counterfeited series of classic gold coins. If you are not already a collector of these series, you will not be able to identify the key diagnostics to identify counterfeits. (Also, a large percentage of raw gold dollars on eBay are problem coins - either polished, cleaned, or removed from jewelry). All of the other series of U.S. gold are counterfeited as well, but not to the extent of those three. Weigh the coin after you buy it.  If it's not within 0.1g of the mint standard (check the Red Book), open an item dispute and return the coin immediately. Even heavily circulated coins should still fall within 0.1g of the minted weight - the metal mass loss from circulation is less than you might expect...

And here is the link for the entire article.
https://www.silverdollarco.net/blogs/the-silver-dollar-scoop/36502081-how-to-safely-buy-gold-coins-on-ebay

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Looks like we'll have a few days of nearly flat surf.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

We'll have some good high tides though.

Fort Pierce Area Tides

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/26/19 Report - Two Good Coin Web Sites for Browsing. Replica Coins Including 1715 Fleet Coins. New Hampshire Arcaheological Site.

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

1714 8-Escudo Replica Coin For Sale Online.

Source: coinreplicas.com.

I was just browsing coinquest.com.  I found it both informative and entertaining.  Lots of coins are listed and described, including early American colonies, Spanish colonial, medieval coins, error and variety coins, counterfeits, reproductions and many world coins that were completely new to me.  They give descriptions, details and values. I could have spent a lot of time there and probably will in the future.  

One of the things I found on CoinQuest is reference to CoinReplicas.com, which is another web site that I found useful.

CoinReplicas.com lists for sale a large variety of replica coins, including the above 8-escudo listed as a 1715 Fleet coin.  It was described as 24K gold layered lead-free pewter, with a price of $20.

They listed quite a variety of coins, including a number of colonial American coins and world coins in addition to Spanish Colonial coins.

You might enjoy taking a look at both of those sites.

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DOVER, N.H. (AP) — Where an untrained eye sees different soil colors and doesn't think anything of it, a trained archaeologist sees history.

This past week, a team of archaeologists working under the direction of University of New Hampshire professor Meghan Howey, found those soil differences as they work on unpacking the history of the Second Meetinghouse built in Dover Point in 1654...

During a week-long investigation last year at the 1654 site, the team uncovered a row of bricks buried under the soil towards the road side of the property. Howey didn't believe they were from the 1600s but rather the 1800s, and she speculated the bricks could have been added on top of the 1654 meeting house foundation. There was some published history suggesting that a schoolhouse had existed on the property, though other accounts disputed that notion.

After researching historical accounts over the past year, Fiske developed a new theory she plans to investigate further: The bricks could be remains of what may have been a replica of the meetinghouse built in the late 1800s...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.argus-press.com/news/state_news/article_7558f0e5-9311-583d-9f3f-9dbb19fa9b55.html

There are two things in that one I'd like to emphasize.  First is the soil color differences that were a clue.  Second is the intermingled bricks, possibly from a later period, that complicated interpretation of the site.

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They started out as normal urban rehabilitation works but quickly unearthed intriguing finds which had been hidden under the historical town of Silves for centuries, namely a “structure that had been dug in the rocks” where the body of a human child had been ‘dumped’ along with several animals...

And here is that link.

https://www.portugalresident.com/2019/07/24/archaeologists-unearth-new-piece-of-history-in-silves/


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Joe D. wrote and thanked me for the information I posted yesterday on hallmarks, silver marks, and maker's marks.  He says he shops for glass, china, pottery, silver, silver plate, artwork, etc. at Goodwill and does quite well.

Glad you found it useful Joe.

I used to spend a good bit of time in thrift stores.  I collected primarily books, but also a few advertising items.  In fact I once published a database of collectible books and prices.  Of course that is now all out of date.  But one thing I found was a lot of good old history books with metal detecting leads.  I also found some expensive numismatic books and old books dating back to the 1700s - and all for a dollar.

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There are no weather systems to watch right now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/1/16 Report - Portrait Eight-Reales Counterfeits. More On Fakes and Counterfeits. 900-year-old Oil Lamp Found.

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

900-year-old Oil Lamp Found By Lifeguard
Source: ipost link shown below

Yesterday's post was about colonial counterfeits.  I just stumbled onto a book about counterfeit Spanish American portrait eight-reals, which were produced in Spain's new world colonies from 1772 to 1825,  The description on Amazon says, The book illustrates and describes literally hundreds of different types of counterfeits known to have circulated alongside the genuine versions. It specifically expands upon the Thirty-nine varieties noted by Dr. John L. Riddell as existing in circulation in New Orleans in 1845, and swells that number to some 589 varieties.  

Even if you never personally view a portrait eight-real and do not care to be able to identify a counterfeit of such a coin, I think you'll benefit from reading the book and inspecting the many examples.  It will help you learn how to more expertly inspect any coin for any of a variety of purposes, including evaluating the coin's condition, finding errors or  simply appreciating the aesthetics.  

Here is the link to the description of the book on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Counterfeit-Portrait-Eight-Reales-real-Reales/dp/1500497177?ie=UTF8&tag=vglnkc3605-20


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Not all fake coins are what I would call counterfeits.  Here is one dictionary definition for the word "counterfeit" - made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or:defraud.

Some fakes are not made to deceive and some are not made in exact imitation.  Some are simply souvenirs and some are fantasy pieces or toys.

Some are clearly marked "COPY."  Others not so clearly marked.  The mark can be small or in some inconspicuous place.  And the mark can be covered by corrosion or worn off.

I've found a variety of fakes over the years.  Some were clearly fantasy pieces, and others were more realistic.

The worst thing is when you are not sure if it is something good or just a cheap fake, but there is so much corrosion that you have to do a lot of very careful cleaning before you can tell.  You can spend a lot of time only to eventually find out that you have a cheap fake.

There are a few things you can do that might help you.  Try a magnet.  A magnet won't stick to a silver or gold coin.

Another thing you can do is weigh the coin.  If you know what it should weigh, that might help.  The problem is that coins might not weigh what they should weigh for a variety of reasons.  We know that some were minted slightly off.  And someone could have cut, shaved or clipped a coin.  And of course, the coin could have lost weight because of corrosion.

Some fakes are pretty realistic, and might even be made of the correct material and be the right weight.  I saw one silver cob that was very convincing, but with magnification I found the remnants of the word "COPY."  It was originally marked with a very small inconspicuous mark, and I believe the mark was intentionally smoothed down to almost nothing.

By the way, my first find of a fake cob was at Jupiter beach.  It was very encrusted.  I took pains to carefully remove the crust.  Then I got to the point that I could see most of the surface.  The design was that of an escudo, but it didn't look gold at all.   That confused me at the time.  It was probably more than thirty years ago.   I eventually figured out that it originally had a gold-colored plating that was no longer present.


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Meir Amsik, a lifeguard who works at the beach, said he came across the relic when he stopped to pick up planks washed from the Mediterranean onto the ancient southern port city’s shoreline.

“Suddenly, I saw part of a cliff deteriorating,” he said. “So I made my up way there and saw this intriguing oil lamp lying there in its entirety. I thought it might be an antique, so I picked it up.”

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Lifeguard-discovers-900-year-old-oil-lamp-on-Ashkelon-beach-during-morning-jog-457932


Notice where he found the oil lamp - sticking out of an eroding cliff.

I always check erosion.

It also reminds me of the Jupiter wreck and how it was located.  Silver cobs had been detected just south of the inlet for years.  I knew one detectorist that lived nearby and ran into him many times. He had found a lot of cobs there. Unfortunately a jar full of cobs was stolen from the trunk of his car while he was parked at the inlet one day.  That was some time in the 1980s I would guess.  Anyhow, one day the lifeguard was on his morning swim and looked own and saw a cannon that had been uncovered.  Not long after that the salvage of the wreck began.


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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net