5/16/15 Report - Another Closer Look At Two Old Finds. And One Recent Modern Find.

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

I felt like taking another look at some old finds today.

First is this unusual silver cross.  I've shown it before, but never got the marks figured out.  Maybe someone can help.

I can't quite make out the word at the top and don't know what to make of the other marks.

I see none of the marks you would expect to see, such as 925 or sterling or anything like that.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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I've shown the following higa before.  It was found on a shipwreck beach, it is like one shown in the Mel Fisher artifact database.  It has no identifying marks that I've been able to find.

I decided to look it over very carefully under magnification to see if I could find any marks that I might have missed.




While I didn't find any identifying marks I did see some features that I thought were interesting.  I was glad that I took a closer look at it.

Here is a close-up view.

Notice the carving on the fingers.   I believe that it is carved ivory.

Notice below what appears to be the cementum rings.

The item also fluoresces yellow.  Ivory copies or substitutes generally appear dull purple in black light, according to the following reference, if I got it right.  I'll have to study it more carefully.

As far as I have been able to determine, this item is probably ivory.   Here is a link to a very good reference that provides instruction on identifying ivory and its substitutes.

http://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/resources/pub/E-Ivory-guide.pdf

I'm still not confident in this.

I could see how the silver ring was formed.


And also the detail along the edge of the silver cap, which I never noticed before.





I was glad that I looked at it one more time even if I didn't find any markings.  I didn't find anything to suggest it is not ivory.

I always enjoy learning about finds.

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Now for a recent modern finds.

Here is a somewhat unusual small ring.

It is 14K with sapphire and two small diamonds.

It is clearly marked 14k so there is no mystery to this one.

Almost looks like and evil eye ring.

Could be.

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On the Treasure Coast the surf was a little rougher today.  The good thing is the nice negative low tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/6/15 Report - Spanish Colonial Higa. Red Cent Indian Head Pennies. $100,000 Hot Wheel Toy.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of TreasureBeachesReport.BlogSpot.com.

Carved Jet Higa
Source: Current Sedwick Coins Auction Catalog.

This carved jet higa is lot 1545 in the current Sedwick Coins auction.  Jet is black wood.  It is broken and incomplete.

Higas (sometimes figas) are common Spanish colonical artifacts and have been found on wrecks of the 1715 Fleet.

Higas are charms or talismans meant to ward off evil.

They are made of various materials, including jet, ivory, and various other materials.

Below is a higa that was found by using a metal detector on a Treasure Coast beach.

That one appears to be made of ivory and has a silver cap and loop.

One that looks nearly identical is listed with a photo in the the Mel Fisher artifact database.

Higa Dug On Treasure Coast Beach

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Not worth a red cent!  You might have heard that expression.  Maybe not so much anymore, but I've heard that expression many times in the past.  I always thought it meant "not worth much of anything," but red cents can actually be worth something.

What is a red cent?  If you've dug a lot of coins you've probably dug some pennies that look red.  I have.  I've seen red wheat pennies as well as memorials.

I've read that the color is determined by different copper oxides.

I once believed that any patina on a coin was bad.  That isn't necessarily so.  Some patinas actually add value. 

A rainbow toned silver US coin can be worth 10 or 20 times more than a similar untoned coin. 

By toning I'm referring to the natural aging process, not encrustation or corrosion. 

Back to red cents.

Indian head cents are popular collectibles.  The following article from numismaticnews.net says, “There’s a big jump in value for red Indian Head cents. The 1890 is scarce in a high grade with red color. That’s an underappreciated rarity."

Here is a link if you want to read more about the value of Indian Heads and red cents.

http://www.numismaticnews.net/article/good-to-see-red-with-indian-head-cents

The next time you dig up a  red cent in nice condition, check it out.  It might be worth more than you think.

You might also want to go back and look at the nicer pennies and other coins that you've stored away,  and look for those with especially nice patinas.

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Source of photo: Comcast link below.

Is this Hot Wheels VW Beach Bomb Rear Loader really worth $100,000?

Use the following link to find out. 

If you've been metal detecting very long and dig things besides coins you've probably dug a few Hot Wheels.  Of course it isn't likely that you'll find one this valuable, but you can find one worth a few bucks.  It can be fun to research the toys you do dig to see what they might be worth. 

It is always good to know what kinds of things might have some value.  Sometimes you might be surprised.

http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/watch/Pawn-Stars/7196250346352115112/421517891940/Hot-Wheel-of-Fortune/videos?skipTo=58&cmpid=FCST_hero_tv_pawnstars

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On the Treasure Coast the higher surf that was predicted turned out to be only up to around four feet.  Not only is that disappointing, but the wind is South/Southeast.  That won't help much.

Not much hope in the predictions for this week either.

Hope you had an great Easter,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/26/14 Report - 16th Century La Plata Mint, 18th Century French Weapons Recovered, Jesuit Missions, & T. C. Silver & Ivory Higa

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

Encrusted 18th Century Weapons Salvaged From Alexandria

Note: An incomplete post was showing up earlier.  Sorry for the mistake.


You will often see encrusted items.  Here are some 18th Century French weapons recovered by divers near Alexandria, Egypt.

You can see the trigger and trigger guard on the one third from right.

Immediately below is the link for more of the story and the source of the photo.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/104416/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/French-weaponry-found-by-Russian-dive-team-in-Egyp.aspx


The other day I showed a Potosi minted coin found by the crew of the Capitana on the Green Cabin wreck site.  While we determined that the cob is from Potosi, there was actually another mint that produced cobs that were indistiguisable from Potosi cobs.  The short-lived La Plata mint produced 134,000 reales in face value from Dec. 20, 1573 to March of 1574 using dies and other tools and equipment sent from the Potosi mint.

Both the La Plata mint and Potosi used the mint mark of P, and Rincon was the assayer for both.  Since they used dies from Potosi and since the mint mark and assayer initials were the same for both, it would be virtually impossible to distinguish between cobs made at those two mints.  Howver, only the Potosi mint made eight-reales.  La Plata manufactured only the lower denominations.

I obtained that information from Stuart Menzel's book Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins. 

Here is a nice map of the early Florida missions from teachingflorida.org.  The link for the map and other informatin can be found below.  It is worth checking.














http://teachingflorida.org/primaryresources/missions-of-spanish-florida


You can't do much with ivory these days.  Below is a paragraph form Kovels Komments on the issue.

Example of Found Higa or Figa

Lawmakers in New York State have voted to outlaw the sale of items that are over 100 years old and made with more than 20 percent elephant ivory, mammoth ivory or rhinoceros horn. These rules for antique ivory are stiffer than those of the federal government (see the June 20 New York Times article.) There is great confusion about the new laws. I recently asked a museum curator if he could accept a 112-year-old humidor made of a piece of an elephant tusk mounted with Gorham silver and marked with the date. He didn't know. The federal law says old or new ivory can't be accepted by a museum, and we know many antique pieces have been destroyed in Colorado. Recently, antique musical instruments with ivory inlay were exempted.

You might wonder what that has to do with Treasure Coast treasures.  There have been a few ivory pieces found on the Treasure Coast shipwrecks.   One is an ivory and silver higa found on a beach years ago.  I believe there was a nearly identical one found on the Atocha.

If you don't know what a higa is, it is a charm to ward off evil eye or curses.  Higa's have been made and used for centuries.

On the Treasure Coast detecting conditions haven't changed.  The only difference is that the surf will be about a foot bigger the next few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net