7/23/17 Report - Capitana's Mexico Escudo Find: A Closer Look. Turning Failure Into Success.

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

2-Escudo Found by Grant of the Capitana a Couple Weeks Ago.

I thought I'd take a closer look at the shield design on Grant's recent find today.  Unfortunately it does not show either the date of the mint mark or assayer initial.  It does show the denomination (II ) to the right of the shield.

When I first looked at it, I thought it would be a 1714 escudo.  After taking another look, I see at least one thing that makes me think I was wrong and that it might actually be a 1715 escudo. There are a number of signs that might help you determine the date.

The following illustration shows the design elements for a 1713 escudo.

Design Elements For A 1713 Mexico 8-Escudo
Source: 1977 Bowers and Ruddy auction catalog.

Notice that the middle panel does not cover the lower castle that appears in the upper right quadrant.

Below is the shield for a 1714 Mexico escudo.

Design Elements For A 1714 Mexico 8-Escudo
Source: 1977 Bowers and Ruddy auction catalog.

The middle panel now covers the lower castle entirely.  That suggests that the escudo is later than 1713.

There are a number of variations on the 1714 design, but they are mostly smaller things such as ornamentation around the denomination indicator.  Sometimes GRAT appears where other times the date is displayed.  That is another variation.

Below are the design elements for a 1715 escudo.  Take a close look at the shield.

Design Elements For A 1715 Mexico 8-Escudo

Source: 1977 Bowers and Ruddy auction catalog.

The red arrow points to what I missed before and why I now believe that Grant's find is a 1715 escudo rather than a 1714.  There are 2 rather than 3 fleur de lis there.  That is what I missed before and what makes me think it is 1715 instead of 1714.

 I can't see some of the other elements on the real escudo.  That is typical, but my opinion now is that it is a 1715 escudo.

I'm no expert on these things and there might be other things I'm missing, but you might benefit from looking at these designs and realizing that there are a lot of clues to the identity of a cob even when it does not display the date or other information.  It might take an expert to identify them all, but it is always interesting to take a good close look at your finds.

If I'm still wrong about the date, I hope you'll let me know.

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Almost anyone can deal fairly well with success.  You celebrate, congratulate yourself and feel good about yourself and whatever is going on.  Maybe you don't learn as much from your success as you could.   Maybe you give yourself a little too much credit and don't acknowledge all the factors that led to success.

Despite the pitfalls of success, it is usually even more difficult to deal with failure - especially a lot of failure.   How you react to failure can be extremely important.  It is during the difficult times that you can learn a lot about the task and about yourself. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”   (I don't know if he really said that.  They say he did, and it is a good thought anyhow.)

When you're not having success, strive to learn something from it.  Make use of the time and the experience.

I recently watched someone having trouble with a job.  He was having trouble doing something he had done many times before.  He became upset, and ranted and cussed.  The more emotional he got, the more mistakes he made.  He got stuck in a self-defeating spiral.  The more trouble he had, the more upset he got, and the more mistakes he made.

How you react when things aren't going well is very important - maybe more important than how you react to success.  Don't get to emotional.  Look at the situation analytically and see what you can learn or change.

Thomas Edison also said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”   There were a couple of 49ers that had no success.    They finally gave up and were headed home when one of the discouraged miners shot himself.  On that spot a large nugget was discovered by his partner who was digging a hole for the burial. He retired very wealthy.  ( I wish I could remember the names of those fellows.  Maybe one of you can tell me their names.)

If you are not an eternal optimist, you have one strike against you.  You'll have to work harder to keep yourself encouraged and moving ahead.  If you are afraid of work, you have another big strike against you.  Edison also said, “We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work."  

There are other factors, but if you want it bad enough to work hard and stick to it, you have a very good chance of success.  Don't give up  when things aren't going well, but make it a time to learn and grow.

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Regarding the ring inscription that I asked about yesterday, I received a number of replies, first from Bill A., saying that it referred to a date.  All agreed that Dic 22/87 probably was Spanish for Dec. 22, 1987. Thanks to all for the help.  

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I enjoyed watching the commissioning of the USS Gerald R. Ford yesterday.

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No big changes in beach conditions to report.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/23/16 Report - The Flip of A Fin: The Dividing Line Between Success and Failure.

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

By the Flip of a Fin.

Some of the best and most amazing finds are accidents.  Almost all of them are to one extent or another.

The gold coins of a lost old army payroll was discovered while a couple guys were hunting lobsters. It was the sudden flip of the tail fin of a startled shark that exposed the  gold at just the right time.  You can't plan that.

How about the gold glove tray.  It is the largest gold artifact ever found along the Treasure Coast.  That is another example of a happy accident.  The gold tray was discovered when the swim fin of one of a group of guys that were spear fishing exposed the glint of gold.

Many of the most amazing finds were not  sought - at least not specifically.  They were unexpected.

You can set out to find a specific lost ring that has been described to you in detail.  In that case you know what you are hunting for, you have a specific goal and intend to find that specific object, but when you are searching for a centuries old treasure, you seldom if ever are hunting a particular object. You hope to find something, but not a specific item.

One story I have told many times and to many audiences, including radio audiences, is the story about how one Easter my wife and I tried to make a special memory for my young nephew when his parents were going through a difficult divorce.  We bought tons of candy, decorations and things, and did our best to make that Easter special for him.  In the morning when he came out and saw everything, he excitedly exclaimed, "I must have been really good, huh?" (He is now 36, has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and still thinks he is really good.)

Over the years I realized how well my nephew's statement illustrated the nature of man.  When we have good fortune, we think it must be because we did something good and fail to recognize when some of the credit should go elsewhere.

None of us can take credit for the good fortune of being born with relatively good health, having two arms and legs and a pretty good head on our shoulders, not being born into the poverty of a third world country, and being raised to adulthood by someone who cared.  We had not control over that.  We were just lucky.  We like to take the credit, but other things - things out of our control -  had to happen for us to be where we are.

Most big treasure finds are usually to one extent or another happy accidents.  There are those rare times when someone is targeting something very specific in a very planned way, but usually there is a large element chance.  Despite our skills and effort there is the element of surprise when a great find is made.

I once described skill as intentional action that increases the probability of success.  Probability is the key word.  Even with great skill, there is still the possibility of failure.  The element of luck (factors outside of your control) is usually there whether you want to recognize it or not.

I'm not saying there is no skill involved in treasure hunting.  I've spent a lot of time talking about ways to improve your skill and therefore the probability of success.

Effort and skill are to be celebrated, but it is also good to recognize good fortune.

There are truly great finds, but if you think about it, many of them could have been made by a total beginner if they just happened to put their coil over a treasure or if the item happened to be exposed to them at just the right time.  (Of course there is some skill involved in being at the right place at the right time on a regular basis.)

Many who have worked just as hard and skillfully failed in their endeavors, and many who were less skilled but happened to be in the right place at the right time succeeded wildly.  It is good to celebrate accomplishments that occur as the result of effort and skill, but it is just as important to recognize the factors outside of your control -  good or bad.  Sometimes, probably more often than we realize, success or failure is a matter of little more than the flip of a fin.

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I intended to finish yesterday's post today, but got off the subject.  I'll finish yesterdays post some other time.

This afternoon the surf is supposed to be up to four to six feet.  Tomorrow and for a few days it will decrease a foot or so.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net