please help me identify a coin I found on a Florida beach as a child

ziggystardust

Newbie
Feb 23, 2013
4
2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
02-22-2013 038.JPG 02-22-2013 039.JPG 02-22-2013 036.JPG

hello everyone. I found this (coin?) on a beach in Florida after hurricane david. that was back in 1979 or so. as a small child i gave it to my parents who put it up and then forgot where it was hidden. I never forgot it and have looked for it off and on for all these years. well here we are now all these year later and I finally found it , again! I assume that it is copper because of the color but I would have to scrape it to see the underling metal to be sure and that is, and that is not someting i would feel comfortable doing. i have always believed that it was a coin of some type and seeing that it was found on a Florida beach it would make sense that if it is, it's Spanish. one side has a crosshatch pattern on it and the other is indistinct because some sort of redish covering is on it. coral perhaps? I would just like the mystery solved. after all these years it would be nice to know what it is!
keep in mind when viewing the pictures that it is THICK. what I mean is that it is about the thickness of 2 to 3 quarters stacked on top of each other. also it is pretty heavy for its size but I have not weighed it. I hope that helps. Thank you!
 

Last edited:

comfortably numb

Full Member
Mar 31, 2010
248
78
Crystal River, Florida
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter QD II,
MPX,fisher 1280x
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Post it in the spanish cobs section, Someone there should be able to help. Silver is black when it comes out of the ocean,like yours.
 

Upvote 0
OP
OP
Z

ziggystardust

Newbie
Feb 23, 2013
4
2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Post it in the spanish cobs section, Someone there should be able to help. Silver is black when it comes out of the ocean,like yours.

thank you i will do that. I appreciate the advice and, I didn't know that it comes out of salt water like that. thanks!
 

Upvote 0

Bigcypresshunter

Gold Member
Dec 15, 2004
27,000
3,338
South Florida
Detector(s) used
70's Whites TM Amphibian, HH Pulse, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Hello Ziggy. A lot of treasure was found after hurricane David. It looks silver and its a good chance its from the 1715 fleet.

Do you remember what beach you found it at? Could you post a side view? Dont clean it.
 

Upvote 0

Peyton Manning

Gold Member
Dec 19, 2012
14,549
18,711
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
MXT-PRO
Sandshark
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
is that you poppin? that be a pirate medallion
 

Upvote 0
OP
OP
Z

ziggystardust

Newbie
Feb 23, 2013
4
2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
02-22-2013 037.JPG
Hello Ziggy. A lot of treasure was found after hurricane David. It looks silver and its a good chance its from the 1715 fleet.

Do you remember what beach you found it at? Could you post a side view? Dont clean it.

I absolutly will not clean it! I do know better than that. I know, I know some people don't, so thank you for the advice. you know, the funny thing is that I always thought the darn thing was copper. (just by the way it looks) i guess that's a bit silly now but I was working from memory. I never thought about the effects of age and salt water imersion. I had always wanted to get it identified.
I never ever forgot about finding it, it's just that my mother couldn't remember where she put it. I just found it again in January. it was hidden in plain sight, sort of. what I mean by that is, i was within feet of it for years!!! you say that it could be from the 1715 fleet? where can i find more information on that? I know, the internet, but it is sooooooo much easier to have a web site to go to than it is to look thought the 15 millin hits I'll end up getting.
here is the side view. as for your first question, yes i do remember where i found it but you'll have to forgive me if I want to keep that information to myself. i will say this though, it was southern Florida, on the east coast. It's not the sort of thing you forget even as a child, finding what you believe to be an old coin, on a Florida beach. if it is what I am hoping it is then I know exactly where I am spending my next vacation. in Florida with my metal detector!!!!!
thanks for the lead but does anyone know what type of coin this could be and or what it's called???
Z.
 

Last edited:
Upvote 0

Bigcypresshunter

Gold Member
Dec 15, 2004
27,000
3,338
South Florida
Detector(s) used
70's Whites TM Amphibian, HH Pulse, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Mackaydon found something interesting on the Spanish Cobs forum.

What beach did you find it at? portcullis.jpg
 

Upvote 0

Tigger

Hero Member
Mar 6, 2011
596
87
N Central Fla
Detector(s) used
Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
very cool. I'll be interested to see what it turns out to be. Of course you don't want to tell the beach! :laughing7:
 

Upvote 0

Mackaydon

Gold Member
Oct 26, 2004
24,181
23,070
N. San Diego Pic of my 2 best 'finds'; son & g/son
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
NWS I saw the coin on the Spanish Cob thread, I noted it looked more like a portcullis device that a shield on a Spanish coin. The coin pic I showed (with the portcullis) was actually the reverse image off an Eliz. I half penny.
Don...
 

Upvote 0

Bigcypresshunter

Gold Member
Dec 15, 2004
27,000
3,338
South Florida
Detector(s) used
70's Whites TM Amphibian, HH Pulse, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
very cool. I'll be interested to see what it turns out to be. Of course you don't want to tell the beach! :laughing7:
My bad, I remember hurricane David hitting the Treasure Coast and I assumed it was found off the Treasure Coast where all the wrecksites are well known.

I realize now Ziggy only said Florida. No matter, as all the wrecks off the East coast of Florida are also well known and buried deep in renourishment sands.. Nonetheless the APPROXIMATE location would help make the ID. Forget about it being from the 1715 fleet if found in South Florida lol.

Mack are those coins thick?
 

Attachments

  • hurricane david.gif
    hurricane david.gif
    39.6 KB · Views: 247
Last edited:
Upvote 0

Paleopilot

Hero Member
Dec 4, 2012
566
199
South Dakota
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
View attachment 746538 View attachment 746539 View attachment 746540

hello everyone. I found this (coin?) on a beach in Florida after hurricane david. that was back in 1979 or so. as a small child i gave it to my parents who put it up and then forgot where it was hidden. I never forgot it and have looked for it off and on for all these years. well here we are now all these year later and I finally found it , again! I assume that it is copper because of the color but I would have to scrape it to see the underling metal to be sure and that is, and that is not someting i would feel comfortable doing. i have always believed that it was a coin of some type and seeing that it was found on a Florida beach it would make sense that if it is, it's Spanish. one side has a crosshatch pattern on it and the other is indistinct because some sort of redish covering is on it. coral perhaps? I would just like the mystery solved. after all these years it would be nice to know what it is!
keep in mind when viewing the pictures that it is THICK. what I mean is that it is about the thickness of 2 to 3 quarters stacked on top of each other. also it is pretty heavy for its size but I have not weighed it. I hope that helps. Thank you!
Maybe more than one coin, "encrusted" together?
 

Upvote 0

Silver Searcher

Gold Member
Sep 27, 2006
10,386
2,657
UK
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
BCH,
I don't know the thickness of the portcullis coin though its diameter was only 10 mm. It was the smallest coin issued by Eliz. i. .
Don.......
Elizabeth 1st and James 1st both produced Portcullis half pennies, this coin posted is neither of those. It's more like a Greek Drachm :dontknow:

SS
 

Upvote 0

Mackaydon

Gold Member
Oct 26, 2004
24,181
23,070
N. San Diego Pic of my 2 best 'finds'; son & g/son
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
QE II also had a three pence minted during the late 1950's showing a portcullis, but I agree that the IP's coin is none of these. I expressed my previous comments as first impressions, saying the image appeared more iike a portcullis than and shield coin. Stranger still would be an authentic, ancient Greek Drachm found on a Florida beach.The search continues...
Don..
 

Upvote 0

Silver Searcher

Gold Member
Sep 27, 2006
10,386
2,657
UK
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
QE II also had a three pence minted during the late 1950's showing a portcullis, but I agree that the IP's coin is none of these. I expressed my previous comments as first impressions, saying the image appeared more iike a portcullis than and shield coin. Stranger still would be an authentic, ancient Greek Drachm found on a Florida beach.The search continues...
Don..
No stranger than the Roman ones that have showed up over there...I was mearly expressing my first impressions about it's thickness, like that of a Greek Drachm, and it could hardly be taken for QE11 thrupney bit that had iregular edges, neither was it Silver like the one posted.

SS
 

Upvote 0

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top