3/14/19 Report - Great Coin Collection Dug Up. Kang Hsi Porcelain. Surf Worth Watching.

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

Source: CoinWorld (See link below.)

An eight-coin 1876 Proof set containing silver and minor coinage, buried by its owner in the backyard of his Chicago home more than two decades ago, was brought for authentication and grading April 27 to the Central States Numismatic Society convention in Schaumburg, Illinois, by the late owner’s son...

The unusual story has a tragic element. The late collector, who died in 1994 at age 84, suffered with Alzheimer’s disease the last five years of his life, according to his son. The son said there’s a possibility that his father may have buried his entire extensive collection of United States coins. The coins, which have been off the market for more than 50 years, were primarily silver and gold issues...

The son said he has purchased a metal detector to help better pinpoint where else on his father’s property other coins may have been buried.

The son said his father told him some time before his death that, if something happened to him, to be sure to look under the home’s front porch. After his father passed, the son said, he did just that, and discovered three metal coffee cans housing Morgan silver dollars that were also wrapped in plastic bags. Although he has never executed a complete inventory of his discoveries to date, he said there are examples of Morgan dollars from the Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans and Carson City Mints...

Here is the link.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2018/05/family-finds-1876-proof-set-buried-in-yard.all.html


When I post stories like this, there is always something to learn from it. These kinds of stories generally tell you where things were discovered and how. That is something to remember for your own hunts.

It seems it is not highly unusual to bury valuables in the back yard or under a porch.

I've seen some porches that I'd love to get under, especially at commercial locations where there have been millions of people and there are spaces for things to fall into.

I still remember the first time I detected under a walkover at Hollywood beach and found a good bunch of coins.  It was exciting.  I hadn't been detecting very long at the time.

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Not all treasure is made of silver or gold.  There are treasures that are not even metal.  One thing you can find on the Treasure Coast is fine Chinese porcelain that was being carried on the 1715 Fleet.  I've mentioned it before and you are probably aware of Kang Hsi or Kangxi (spelled various ways) porcelain.  On the beach you will usually find only a small piece but there are cases when intact cups, plates or other porcelain items have been found.  Those can be quite valuable.  The small pieces are often mounted in silver or gold jewelry.  The Kang Hsi item shown immediately below is offered by Sothebys is offered with an estimated price of 6 to 8000 dollars.

Source: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/kangxi-the-jie-rui-tang-collection-part-ii-n10031/lot.301.html

Unless you have studied, it can be difficult to identify Kang Hsi porcelain from a lot of other pottery.  Kang Hsi is often blue and white, and that is also a common color of a lot of old but less valuable pottery.  I've done posts on how to tell the difference.

See https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2013/12/122913-report-1715-fleet-kang-hsi.html

In the past I've also posted photos of pieces that were found on the Treasure Coast.

Here is a link to a Sothebys auction of  Kang Hsi porcelain.

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2014/kangxi-porcelain-n09110/kangxi-porcelain/2014/02/kangxi-porcelain-a-.html

That will give you a good idea of possible values.

And here is a Kang His teapot that was found on a shipwreck, although the site doesn't say which wreck.

https://orientalceramics.com/index.php/product/a-yongzheng-porcelain-teapot-from-the-ca-mau-cargo/

They are not always marked, but if you are lucky enough to find a mark, this site that shows the Kang Hsi marks might come in handy.

https://antique-marks.com/kangxi-chinese-porclain.html

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

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It looks like we could get some good surf next week.  The forecast surf has increased to 4 - 7 feet now.  It will probably change some in the next few days.  It could get either bigger or smaller.  It is something to watch though.

In the mean time, we're getting some decent southish winds.  There are a few beaches that sometimes improve with south winds.

The tides are pretty flat.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/13/18 Report - Valuable Coin Collection Dug Up In Backyard. Famous Selby Gold Heist. Big Low Tide Today.

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

Beautiful Encased Proof Set Among Coins Dug Up In Back Yard.
Source: CoinWorld link below.

An eight-coin 1876 Proof set containing silver and minor coinage, buried by its owner in the backyard of his Chicago home more than two decades ago, was brought for authentication and grading April 27 to the Central States Numismatic Society convention in Schaumburg, Illinois, by the late owner’s son...

The late collector, who died in 1994 at age 84, suffered with Alzheimer’s disease the last five years of his life, according to his son. The son said there’s a possibility that his father may have buried his entire extensive collection of United States coins. The coins, which have been off the market for more than 50 years, were primarily silver and gold issues.

In a May 3 interview with Coin World, the son, who requested anonymity, indicated his father collected a lot of U.S. gold coins, focusing on his birth year of 1915. Asked how many coins he had dug up from his father’s backyard, the son indicated he didn’t have a firm count but he had weighed them all, and combined they weighed “in the pounds.”

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2018/05/family-finds-1876-proof-set-buried-in-yard.html

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Story of the Selby Gold Heist.

"I committed the greatest robbery of the century and I did it alone."

So bragged Jack Winters, a.k.a. Buck Taylor, after he stole gold bullion worth $283,000 — the equivalent of about $17 million today — from the Selby Smelting Works in Contra Costa County on Aug. 5, 1901...

"I made fourteen trips from my tunnel to the wharf where I lowered the bullion into the bay," Winters told reporters in an Aug. 12, 1901, Chronicle article. "I made a mark on the wharf where I dropped each bar, so that I could readily find them."

By then dawn was breaking, and Winters was running out of time. He left behind $130,000 of gold, and in his haste, dropped two bars on the beach. Still, he was able to submerge more than $283,000 in bullion in the bay and make his getaway.

When Selby employees opened vault the next morning, they found the hole in the floor and almost 900 pounds of gold missing. No one suspected a one-man job: the prevailing theory was that a gang of crooks tunneled to the gold, hauled it through a railroad tunnel and loaded it on a boat moored in the bay off Vallejo Junction...

For more of that article on the Selby gold heist, here is the link.

https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Sunken-treasure-Is-part-of-17M-Selby-gold-heist-10918863.php

Imagine strolling along and seeing one of those gold bars on the beach?

Is any of it still out there to be found?  Could be.

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There is still a disturbance in the middle of the Atlantic, but don't expect it to affect us at all.

There is going to be an unusually low tide this afternoon.  Maybe you can take advantage of that.  The surf will be smooth too.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net