4reale
Jr. Member
- Jul 29, 2008
- 40
- 21
- Detector(s) used
- Fisher CZ 20
- Primary Interest:
- Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Just a few of the more memorable finds along Jupiter Beaches. The coin I found after a dredging operation the State performed in June - October, 1997, using a huge New Orleans style end-dredge that was 2 decks tall, 250' long and had a beam of 70'. It was the first and only time the State (FL.) ever let sand be removed from outside the inlet, and they were right on top of a known wreck (the San Miguel, which was an aviso that went down in a hurricane in 1658 or '59). To say that the beach was crawling with treasure hunters would be an understatement, because the
project stretched from the inlet South toward Carlin Park, almost a mile away, and they added millions of tons of new sand, nice grainy native stuff that had been sitting there for years, soft underfoot and easy to sift. My find came the following month, when a cold front was bellowing in from the Northeast, the sky uncharacteristically broiling with thick dark gray clouds, the wind howling down the beach at low tide on Nov. 17th, about 3:45 PM. I had already found a nice Clauda ring, man's 14K, in a section of beach a quarter mile South of where the dredging stopped, and in all that time, I never met anyone who claimed to have found Spanish silver, and I sure as heck didn't either.
So I hunting the surf line using my 1280X when I got a solid hit, and loud. I knew the sound was silver - been doing this too long to not recognize that ring. I had my 6 quart beach brute scoop, a 54" long beast that can dig a post hole with 2 scoops, and each wet bucket of sand will nearly separate one's arm from the shoulder breaking the suction from a hole. No kidding, 45 to 60#'s / scoop! I shoved the scoop down 4" behind the target and pushed, lifted it out of the hole, immediately swept the hole, and the target was still there, but louder. Dump sand, position scoop before the next wave hits and shove again, lift scoop out and scan hole. STILL IN THE HOLE! Dump sand and plunge the scoop down again, pull it out, sweep the hole... silence IS GOLDEN! By that time, the hole was almost as deep as my knee with soft, rapidly filling sand.
I ran up on the dry sand carrying my 50# load of sand and threw it across the dry sand and gave it a sweep. BAM!!! I used my foot to expose this completely encrusted black rock looking thing, scooped it up and ran back to the water to clean everything off. The rock was as big as a woman's hand, but I knew what lay inside, something I had dreamed about for years since moving to Florida in 1990, and being surrounded by all this history.
I managed to not get ticketed for speeding on the 6 mile journey home with my rock. My wife looked dubious, although she well knows and wears many of the things I've found. I took a flat, 1/2" wide screwdriver blade to the side of the rock and gave it a sharp rap with a 2# stone hammer, and it split like a melon right down the middle. I had found not one, but 2 old Spanish coins. The 4 reale shown is a 1654 from Potosi, Bolivia, fresh from the mint as new coinage after the mint was shut down in scandal in 1652, when the assayer was mixing up to 40% copper into the silver coins. He lost his head for that crime, along with a whole slew of his cronies. The bonus was a nice 2 reale 1620 coin fused to the 4 reale. The next Treasure Club meeting was exciting to say the least, as we all speculated that this was not part of the small amount of treasure found on the ship (about 10,000 silver, 10 gold coins), my coins were probably in someone's purse, because the dates were so far apart.
Took about 5 days to completely clean the coins with a 6 volt battery, salt water and a tupperware, which I ruined. The bail around the coin was custom made from 2 old gold bands, and the 14k chain (diamond cut) I found in an elementary school playground while hunting them when the beaches were too crowded with tourists. Live in a good area during good times and it's amazing what kids lose under swing sets, etc.
Good grief! First time trying to load an image here - how does one place them in the text?
project stretched from the inlet South toward Carlin Park, almost a mile away, and they added millions of tons of new sand, nice grainy native stuff that had been sitting there for years, soft underfoot and easy to sift. My find came the following month, when a cold front was bellowing in from the Northeast, the sky uncharacteristically broiling with thick dark gray clouds, the wind howling down the beach at low tide on Nov. 17th, about 3:45 PM. I had already found a nice Clauda ring, man's 14K, in a section of beach a quarter mile South of where the dredging stopped, and in all that time, I never met anyone who claimed to have found Spanish silver, and I sure as heck didn't either.So I hunting the surf line using my 1280X when I got a solid hit, and loud. I knew the sound was silver - been doing this too long to not recognize that ring. I had my 6 quart beach brute scoop, a 54" long beast that can dig a post hole with 2 scoops, and each wet bucket of sand will nearly separate one's arm from the shoulder breaking the suction from a hole. No kidding, 45 to 60#'s / scoop! I shoved the scoop down 4" behind the target and pushed, lifted it out of the hole, immediately swept the hole, and the target was still there, but louder. Dump sand, position scoop before the next wave hits and shove again, lift scoop out and scan hole. STILL IN THE HOLE! Dump sand and plunge the scoop down again, pull it out, sweep the hole... silence IS GOLDEN! By that time, the hole was almost as deep as my knee with soft, rapidly filling sand.
I ran up on the dry sand carrying my 50# load of sand and threw it across the dry sand and gave it a sweep. BAM!!! I used my foot to expose this completely encrusted black rock looking thing, scooped it up and ran back to the water to clean everything off. The rock was as big as a woman's hand, but I knew what lay inside, something I had dreamed about for years since moving to Florida in 1990, and being surrounded by all this history.
I managed to not get ticketed for speeding on the 6 mile journey home with my rock. My wife looked dubious, although she well knows and wears many of the things I've found. I took a flat, 1/2" wide screwdriver blade to the side of the rock and gave it a sharp rap with a 2# stone hammer, and it split like a melon right down the middle. I had found not one, but 2 old Spanish coins. The 4 reale shown is a 1654 from Potosi, Bolivia, fresh from the mint as new coinage after the mint was shut down in scandal in 1652, when the assayer was mixing up to 40% copper into the silver coins. He lost his head for that crime, along with a whole slew of his cronies. The bonus was a nice 2 reale 1620 coin fused to the 4 reale. The next Treasure Club meeting was exciting to say the least, as we all speculated that this was not part of the small amount of treasure found on the ship (about 10,000 silver, 10 gold coins), my coins were probably in someone's purse, because the dates were so far apart.
Took about 5 days to completely clean the coins with a 6 volt battery, salt water and a tupperware, which I ruined. The bail around the coin was custom made from 2 old gold bands, and the 14k chain (diamond cut) I found in an elementary school playground while hunting them when the beaches were too crowded with tourists. Live in a good area during good times and it's amazing what kids lose under swing sets, etc.
Good grief! First time trying to load an image here - how does one place them in the text?
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