5/31/16 Report - Two questions or apparent disparities related to wreck finds as compared to beach finds.

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

Not long ago I discussed the observation that no silver rings had been found on 1715 Fleet shipwrecks by the salvage crews.  That observation was made by someone who would know.

My research, using such resources as the Mel Fisher artifact database, as well as books by archaeologists and other resources supports the idea that there have been very few, if any, silver rings found on the 1715 Fleet shipwrecks.  I did find one silver ring attributed to a 1715 Fleet shipwreck in Deagan's book on Spanish Colonial artifacts, but I don't know any details about where the ring came from or how it was determined to be from a 1715 shipwreck.  The book doesn't tell any of that.

Most silver rings authoritatively attributed to the 1715 Fleet wrecks were either gold or copper alloy. That seems certain from everything I've been able to find.

Despite all of that, a variety of old silver rings have been found on the 1715 Fleet beaches.  They are generally small and cheap and look very much like what would be called "trade goods." In some cases they were found with other items that appear to be from the 1715 Fleet wrecks, yet there is no definite proof that came from 1715 Fleet wrecks.  The question remains, why are the old silver beach rings so common when there so few, if any, from found on the wrecks.

I can think of several possible answers that might explain the apparent disparity.   I won't give all of those possible explanations now, but one thing that should be remembered is that the wreck beaches were busy places after the wrecks occurred.  There were salvage efforts conducted immediately after the wrecks, also salvage efforts that occurred later.  There were pirates and other opportunists, not to mention the activities that took place on the beaches even after the wrecks had disappeared.  Just because an item appears on a wreck beach, does not mean it necessarily came from the wreck, especially if it is not an item that can be precisely dated, and those that were found on the beaches can not be precisely dated.

I didn't intend to take so much time on this topic, but I wanted to point out what appears to me to be a bit of a mystery that has yet to be solved.

Another mystery, and one that I've discussed at considerable length in the past, is why the Florida collection shows such a lack of small denomination cobs when some of the wreck beaches produce mostly small denomination cobs.  Again, there are several possible answers.

Alan Craig's book on the silver coins in the Florida collection, says that small denomination cobs were kept in the colonies to be used for daily commerce rather than being shipped as bulk specie back to Spain.

There are some 1715 wreck beaches that produce predominately small denomination reales.  A lot of small denomination reales come from John Brooks beach, including a lot of half reales and some one and two reales.

The large number of small denomination reales found on the beach north of Sebastian Inlet is well known.  There is no known wreck off shore there, but that area is not very far from the salvage camp near the McClarty Museum.

If we put these two things together, we have cheap silver jewelry being found on the beaches but not on the wrecks, and we have more small denomination cobs being found on the beaches and more higher denomination cobs being found on the wrecks.  Could the two things be related.  I can think of at least one explanation that might account for both of those disparities.  I won't give that hypothesis right now. I'll wait until I have it better thought out and can do a better job of presenting it.  I'll also give others a chance to let me know what they think.  What is your explanation?

As far as the greater number of small denomination cobs appearing on the beaches, one hypothesis that I've presented in the past has to do with the fact that smaller denomination cobs might more easily washed up onto the beach.  We also know how easily small things get lost on a beach, compared to larger items.  That would be true of cobs as well.  And maybe the larger denomination cobs were found by beach seekers back in the sixties and seventies.  That might have something to do with it as well. I'm just throwing out a couple ideas to get you thinking at this point.  I haven't yet mentioned one idea that has become more interesting to me in recent days and might explain both disparities.

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Looks like we're in for a couple of weeks of calm surf.  Summer beach conditions have started.  We got nothing from Bonnie.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/24/16 Report - Top Treasure Coast Treasure Hunter Says No Silver Rings Ever Found On 1715 Wrecks.

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

One of the best things about doing this blog is all of the great information I receive from readers. Last night I got a very interesting email from Captain Jonah.  He told me what one of the most experienced treasure hunters, who, by the way, has been in the treasure hunting and treasure salvage business about as long as anybody, said.  The fellow said that there has never been a 1715 Fleet silver ring found.  Although I'm not giving you the name of the person, I'll assure you that he is one of the most knowledgeable sources you could ever find.  I would tell you his name if I received the email directly from him, but since I got it second hand and without express permission to give his name, I'll leave him nameless for now.

We know that all kinds of things found on 1715 Fleet sites are made of silver, but now we learn that there has never been a silver ring found from a 1715 Fleet wreck.  Very interesting!

I'm very cautious with what I say - maybe too cautious.  I seldom say words like "never."  I'm always thinking that there might be some exception somewhere.

Even if there is some exception somewhere, I now feel very confident in concluding that silver rings from the 1715 Fleet are extremely rare, if they exist at all.

I'm glad to have that new information. I will now assume that any silver rings are not be from a 1715 Fleet source unless I have good evidence to prove otherwise.

In order to test my new knowledge, I first went to the Mel Fisher artifact database and searched for silver rings.  I found no silver rings in the database.  That supports the idea that there are none, or if there are any at all, they are very rare.

The next source that I checked was Deagan's book, Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, `1500 - 1800.   The book includes artifacts found on both land sites and under water. Thousands of finger rings are documented.  Many are non-metallic.  Many were made of jet, presumably because of the presumed supernatural qualities or the symbolic or cultural significance. Other non-metallic rings were made of glass, stone, wood and even horse hair.

Of the rings made of metal, the vast majority are made of copper alloys, and a smaller number are made of gold.

There are a very few examples of silver Spanish colonial rings mentioned in that book.  Only one was specifically described and pictured.  It was from Santa Catalina and shows a flame-crowned heart that is very similar in to the heart-shaped cobs that I've discussed in the past.

I find it fascinating that no silver rings have been found on the 1715 Fleet wrecks and wonder why. Silver rings were common from much earlier times as well as the 18th century and common around the world, so why not on the 1715 Fleet?  That is an interesting question and the answer might prove significant.

I can think of a number of possibilities, but none are any more than possibilities.  Can you think of any reason why there might not be any 1715 Fleet silver rings?  Or why they haven't been found? Maybe it is a matter of numbers.

I've only entertained this idea for less than one day, so maybe this is all premature.  I'm glad to put it out there to be investigated and tested.  We'll see where it goes.

I also wonder how many non-metallic rings have been found from 1715 wrecks.  I'll investigate that. Deagan's book documents hundreds and hundreds.   Obviously a metal detector would not detect  non-metallic rings, and they might be destroyed in the surf.   Explaining the apparent absence of silver rings seems more difficult.  That will make for a good research project.

If we assume that there were none and none will be found on the 1715 wrecks and too quickly dismiss each possible exception, we have created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I want to thank Jonah and the person who told him there are no silver rings that have been found on the 1715 wrecks for sharing.  I appreciate that knowledge and am eager to see what more we can learn about that.

What I believe today might not be what I believe tomorrow.  I'll be glad to learn something new.  Let me know what you think, especially if I got any of this wrong.

In looking through Deagan's book once again, I also noticed some other interesting facts.  I'll discuss some of those in the future.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net