3/23/17 Report - Mystery Pillar Dollar Recently Found on Florida Beach. Bigger Surf Today.

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

Find by Daniel M.

Daniel M. found this coin.  He said that if it is real it is the first time he found anything that old on a SW Florida beach.

The date is obvious enough, but what is that mark between the two threes?

Dan tested it and found it to be silver.  He is still unsure if it is genuine.

Other Side of Same Coin.

The legend reads "REX PHILIP V D G HISPAN ET IND."

The mint mark is F for Feipe Rivas Angulo, assayer from 1730 to 1733.

It is from the Mexico mint.  You can see the mint mark (o over M) on either side of the date in the top photo.

Here is more information that Dan sent.

Thank you for the info on the items to look for. I put it on a scale and its weight is 25.4 grams and I silver tested it and it is silver as for purity I can say. Unfortunately I found what looks like a seam line in some areas of the edge. It’s not a raised seam like you see on plastic. This looks like two pieces that have been pressed together and didn’t fuse cleanly on the edge. I have included a link from the Heritage Auctions to what looks like a real one that has the same marking as the one I found. I also included pics of the edge of mine. My wife congratulated me as she told me it was a very high end souvenir. It was fun while it lasted. At least it’s a nice hunk of silver. Maybe some time I’ll get the purity tested.

Here is the picture of the edge that he sent me.

Edge of Above Pillar Dollar.

I also asked him about making the find, and he described it as follows.

Anyway I was working the dry sand area along the dune line between the public beach and a large upscale hotel. I was watching a bunch of kids digging these massive hole in the sand along the dune line. When I say massive I’m talking 4 to 5 feet deep and 5 to 6 feet in diameter at the bottom. There were three different holes and I noticed the change in sand texture and color. When they left I went and checked out the holes. The first one gave up nothing and after trying to get out of the first one I was hesitant to climb into the others. The possibilities of finding something worthy of needing climbing gear to get back out was too much to resist. So in I went. Then came a very faint hit. A couple scoops and the tone got better. 18 inches of digging and I was turning down the volume on the excal. Then came the happy sound of rattle rattle in the scoop. What I found was a very dark sand crusted item the size of a silver dollar. In the water the sand came off very easily and the black started to rub off also. Then the OMG stated. Anyway thank you again the info and your time.

I'm curious about the edge.  It isn't what I was expecting to see.  It isn't what I expected to see on a fake and not what I expected to see from the real thing.

The coin is heavily worn.  If it was a real Pillar Dollar, the edge should show a design around it.
The picture of the edge makes me think the coin is fake.

1733 would be just the second year they were making coins with the screw press technology in Mexico, so I wonder it the look of the edge might actually be due partly to a mint error.  I would think that would be highly unlikely, but perhaps possible.  What do you experts think?

I have a good bit of experience with cobs, but almost none with Pillar Dollars and would like the opinion of those of you who are more familiar with Pillar Dollars, maybe Ernie R. or another expert.

Thanks Dan.  Very interesting find, and very good photos!

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I already received one theory on the coin from Larry.  Here it is.

Could be an old sand-cast counterfeit? That could account for the recessed seam, which can occur in sand casting, and the grainy texture and poor detail. It may have some value as a collectible counterfeit.

But if it's a counterfeit, it should have significantly less silver in it, which I think should have caused it to corrode more, if it were old. Unless it was buried deep enough early enough to have inhibited corrosion. 

Thanks much Larry.

And here is a good link Larry provided.

http://calgarycoin.com/reference/fakes/cast.htm

I considered the possibility of it being what I would call a reproduction, perhaps even made of salvaged silver by someone like the Fishers.  I don't know if that is a possibility or not.

Interesting mystery to be solved.  Congratulations and good luck.

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Unfortunately I had other things I had to do and couldn't take a look at the beach today, so can't say how they are progressing.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/29/14 Report - Treasure Coast Sea Glass and Fort Pierce Pirate Fest

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

Exceptional Piece of Red Sea Glass Found
on a Treasure Coast Beach

I mentioned sea glass a day or two ago.  You might think that picking up sea glass is a nice thing to do, something like collecting shells but having no particular value.  That is wrong.  Not only can sea glass be valuable in an economic sense, but for the detectorist it can be an important indicator.

If you see sea glass while detecting, think about what it might tell you.  See if you can determine anything about its age or source.  That might help you determine if the site is worth detecting.

You might not know it, but like most collectibles that are bought and sold, sea glass has enough economic value, that it is often counterfeited or faked.  Some people actually try to create sea glass by tumbling or etching glass and then try to sell it as sea glass.

Obviously genuine sea glass has more actual value, and there are ways to tell the difference between genuine sea glass and fake sea glass. 

For one thing, tumbled sea glass has a more uniform surface than sea glass that is tumbled in the ocean.  Genuine sea glass also has a different surface patina created by being submerged in the water for years.  And that difference is not just due to salt residue.  There is an actually a change to the surface of the glass.

One vendor of sea glass jewelry uses the term "certified genuine" sea glass.

This web site explains how to tell the difference between genuine sea glass and fake sea glass.

http://www.bytheseajewelry.com/theglass/genuine.php

Here is one interesting paragraph from the above web site that addresses the issue of fake sea glass.

Cost is the best determiner. If you see a bag of blue or red sea glass for $5.99 and claiming it is real sea glass, it is not. For example - A single piece of bright aqua sea glass (unset in jewelry) recently sold for over $260. Single unset top quality red pieces can go for well over $100 in a pendant size. A pair of genuine blue earrings can sell for a much as $70 where a pair of artificial or faux sea glass will sell for around $25.

As you see, pieces of genuine sea glass can sell for hundreds of dollars.  

Of course not all genuine sea glass is of the same quality.  Very good sea glass can be described as jewelry quality.

Three Small Pieces of Sea Glass Found
on the Treasure Coast a Couple of Days Ago
The red is rare, the green much more common.

Some sea glass has not been in the ocean very long and has not been smoothed or changed enough.

Some beaches produce better sea glass than others.  Some have older sea glass, and some areas have a rougher surf and rocks or shells that smooth the surface of the glass over time. 

Rarity determines price too.  Yellow and orange sea glass are the most rare, with red following right behind.  Those three colors are highly sought after.   Blue is more common than those, and green, brown and clear are very common.

Red sea glass is sometimes from old warning lanterns.

Here is a web site that lists some Florida beaches where people can look for sea glass.  Some are rated.

http://www.odysseyseaglass.com/east-coast-sea-glass.html#Florida_

And the following web site talks about the rarity of red sea glass specifically.

http://www.odysseyseaglass.com/red-sea-glass.html


Very old sea glass, such as what is called black glass, can be a sign of a nearby shipwreck or other human activity from the past.

If you hold black glass up to a bright light, you will often see that it is not actually black, but olive green.  Also look for bubbles in the interior of the glass that might indicate that it was hand blown.

The piece of glass at the top of this post was being held up so that the sun light cane through it.  It is an exceptional piece of sea glass and would make a nice piece of jewelry.  It is not nearly as bright when not held up to the sun though.  It is a rare color, has a very good "cushion" shape, and is well smoothed.  It is about one fourth as thick as wide.

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As an unpaid advertisement, or actually more like a news item, Pirate Fest will be held in Fort Pierce beginning January 31 and ending Feb. 2.

Here is the link to learn more about that.

http://www.treasurecoastpiratefest.com/


On the Treasure Coast we have a two to three foot surf today.  Still not much, but the tide will be dropping more today.  That might give more access to shells and sea glass.

The surf will be increasing a little the next tow days, but not much.  Not enough to improved detecting conditions, but if you look out a week or so in the predictions, a higher surf is now predicted.   We'll have to wait and see if that actually comes to pass.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@oomcast.net