Real Piece of Spanish Treasure Found!!!

j.d. in the usa

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Sep 21, 2003
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Hi everyone, I found this ring on a 300 yr. old estate. I was walking between a lane of large oak trees, I found a crotal bell at 1 in. and was excited since it was my first... I walked about another 2 ft. and got a dime signal 3in. down I dug and found a 1773 spanish 1/2 reale, as I stood up I went back over the hole with my detector and it bounced back between button and quarter at 6in. depth in the same whole, I started to dig and hit 2 large tree roots I dug under the root and out popped the ring 3in. lower in the same whole than the reale, it was very encrusted with dirt and at first I thought it was a button but the dirt came off easy and I saw it was a gold ring I turned it around and there was sunlight going through the trees and when it hit the emeralds they just shined I also found a royal Spanish seal nearby.
I took it to 2 jewelers, the first said it couldnt be old because the emeralds were fake, but they were the best fakes he's ever seen. about 2 days later he called me back and offered me $100.00 for the ring because he wanted to show his apprentices a good quality fake.
The second said it was real and old and very rare because of the marque cut emeralds he said the marking on it was a hallmark and he could tell me the makers name that they didnt use karats when it was made, but thats all the info I got he wanted me to pay $500.00 to give me an official appraisal and info. I dont have that type of money laying around so I never did it, I was cleaning my stuff and I figured I'd show it here.

I took it to an antique jewelry dealer today, at first he looked disinterested in the ring.. he then looked at it under a microscope for about 10 min. it was driving me nuts lol lol, he then did 2 tests on it with some chemicals he was very scientific about it... after about 20 min... he walks over to us and says "I hope you have a safety deposit box, what you have here is real spanish treasure". and he told me the emeralds were real and of very high quality and color and it has 56 facets.. he then pulled out a book and tracked down the hallmark it was made in spain between 1760-1795, then he gave me this info, The 18th Century was a period of great change for the manufacturers of jewelry, for at the turn of the century, a Venetian Lapidary named Vincenzo Peruzzi invented the 56 faceted brilliant cut for stones which is still used today. It replaced the duller 16 faceted Mazarin cut of the previous century and launched diamonds to the forefront of jewelry design for the next 100 years. Metal work receded into the background almost completely and metals were used exclusively as inconspicuous back settings for diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires.

The amount they charge for a written appraisal is astronomical!! I have no intention of selling it, needless to say we went and bought a safe today and my kids are already fighting over who's gonna inherit it. lol lol hh all jd

the pics are of the ring and the royal spansh seal....

Now is it 100% I personally cant say... I was told it was fake and I was told it was old... I want to beleive it is old and real spanish treasure!!
 

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Upvote 1

Gypsy Heart

Gold Member
Nov 29, 2005
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Beyond Excellent John.
Now ,you know me.......What do the seal and the ring have in common and why found so close together. The estate that you were working...Spanish history? Do you have a name? Email me and I will see what I can find . You know this, but I will say it anyway...there is much more there to find. There has to be some reason that the two items ,both Spanish were found so close together...Was there battle history near there,where the estate owner would have been gathering valuables in a hurry and running to hide them...or a fire ? The family history can tell so much...were they robbed and the thief dropped them? Hmmmmm so many mysteries.... Whoa ...I started to post then went back and read the other posters comments and can see that I am thinking on the same lines as Boobydoo.....
 

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j.d. in the usa

j.d. in the usa

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Sep 21, 2003
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LOL sent you a PM Gypsy.... thats the fun thing about treasure its the thrill of the chase!!
 

grogmug

Full Member
Apr 26, 2006
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Kentucky
WHERE did u find this? Do you use big tools to get around the tree roots? Man I need to find some old estate and start digging....that thing is great.
 

Gadget

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Sep 10, 2005
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Both in the same spot? That's incredible. Thanks for sharing and giving the rest of us some hope while we're digging clad.
 

Bavaria Mike

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Feb 7, 2005
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Great finds JD and congrats! I looked at the pic before I read the write up and thought it resembled a Spanish ring similar to rings found from the 1715 fleets. HH, Mike
 

H

Hartmanchr

Guest
That is awesome. I dream of this type of stuff. I mean just the fact that your touching an item that hasn't been exposed in so long. It's like an instant connection to the past. who wore that ring? what story does it have to tell? My wife thinks I'm a dork for enjoying the hobby of metal detecting. For me it's more than a hobby and I haven't even found anything as interesting as these item's you've found. It's a dream! We are all time travelers and the metal detector is a time machine that takes us to distant places. What a great find----Congrats, I am jealous ;D
 

H

Hartmanchr

Guest
alright j.d you got my blood pumping here----I guess i'll go to the local school house and hunt for some clad. There is a gentleman who isn't poor by any means who owns the oldest building in my town. It was originally a tavern in the 1700's. I haven't had the courage to ask his permision to search his property. Congrats again j.d

Wow
 

Burdie

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Nov 13, 2005
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I would have replyed sooner JD but had to pick myself off of the floor from fainting. Lord OH Lord what great finds! Can I follow you just in-case you drop any finds? :D You are the Master ;D ;D ;D
Burdie
 

Rusted_Iron

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May 25, 2006
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j.d. in missouri said:
I took it to 2 jewelers, the first said it couldnt be old because the emeralds were fake, but they were the best fakes he's ever seen. about 2 days later he called me back and offered me $100.00 for the ring because he wanted to show his apprentices a good quality fake.

What a scoundrel. It still amazes me that in this age of the Internet, where word travels so fast, that a jeweler would have the nerve to be so dishonest.

Anyway, what else can I say, awesome find!!! You keep coming up with these amazing things while we're out digging 1982 dimes :D

HH!
 

jasonbo

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Nov 1, 2005
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JD the reaon they dont want you to post there appraisal is usally because they dont want the price to be out of whack by someone drumming it up. If the big C says ship it for Auction trust me just ship it the check you will get back is usally well worth it.
 

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j.d. in the usa

j.d. in the usa

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Man o' man Bavaria Mike youe right... someone just sent me some pics of some of the rings from the sunken spanish fleet some of them look just like mine!! man they are beautiful... did you see the pic of the bishops cross now thats incredible!!! WOW
 

trk5capt

Silver Member
Oct 14, 2005
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Charleston S.C.
JD, Excellant Finds, Congrats. trk5capt...
 

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j.d. in the usa

j.d. in the usa

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I got it ID'd from the spanish museum... at this website http://www.artifacts.org/default.htm the curator messaged me back saying its a royal spanish seal from Admiral Reggio... I know exactly what it is, what year it was made and from who, what it was used for... it was attached to a copper box I just didnt post that.... he was stationed at Havana Cuba, and the spanish secretly sent couriers to philadelphia during the Rev. War with gold as payment for the war effort...plus Italian wine makers wouldnt use the spanish coat of arms which is clear in the pic lol lol lol also the seal is large metal and heavy which you cant see in the pic and in no way could have been on a bottle...hehe
 

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j.d. in the usa

j.d. in the usa

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its not lead either lol lol I love it when people with a little bit of knowledge fall short.... the pic on the site has nothing to do with it... I have researched this thing for 3 years and know everything about it... I corresponded with them for a year over the seal. Military spanish lords had there own seals each one is unique to the individual family this seal with the spanish crown and crest is Admiral Reggio's personal seal as a representative of the spanish crown...his Name and title is right on it, it cant be more clear than that.... explantion done!
 

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j.d. in the usa

j.d. in the usa

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I dont care what you cant see, your opinion means nothing to me... I can see the spanish crown and his name clearly on the seal... also big deal that info is on the internet and I knew about that 3 years ago so what does it change??? NOTHING it just confirms there was an Admiral Reggio in Havana I'd like to thank you for posting that!
Now post a pic of an italian coat of arms on a seal just like that and I'll believe you until then, get on with life!! hh and I hope you find great treasures!
 

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j.d. in the usa

j.d. in the usa

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Please read the posts slower!!... never once did I say that the seal had anything to do with the ring!! I found many things that day colonial shoe buckle, buttons, coins, and even an arrowhead I dont think that a spanish soldier and a rev. war soldier were killed by indians in that spot.... c'mon all I did was say the seal was found nearby thats it..... i just posted them together because they were old and cool!! but somehow you assumed they must have been lost together... only an inexperianced detectorist would assume that.

It is Historical FACT that the spanish secretly sent gold for the Rev. War effort.... !!!!!!!! I never said prior please read it again!! I said the Spanish During the Rev. War...not him.
heres a clue to you my friend:

During the American Revolution vital assistance was provided to the Patriot cause by the Kingdom of Spain. Unfortunately the value of this aid has been down-played by most American writers and researchers. Some refer to it as having a minor effect but many do not even mention it in their accounts of the war.

Also, books which provide summaries of battles rarely list the battles at Mobile and Pensacola as well as conflicts along the Mississippi.. This article will provide some information which will enable wargamers to build Spainish units and re-create some of the era's battles. As I locate more material, I will include additional facts in future update sections of the magazine.

Prior to 1779 the Spanish armies of the American Revolution era was very active. They had fought Portugal in 1762 and recently conducted unsuccessful operations against Algeria (1774-5) and even mobilized for a possible war against Britain (1770) over the Falkland Islands. . Despite wounds to American pride, the North American colonies were never considered a vital British asset. A similar view of world strategic value was shared by the French and Spanish.

The Spanish would never had entered the war if there had not been strategic gains to be had by them. As a result the obvious focus of their efforts would be to protect current colonies and capture the British controlled Gilbralter and Minorica Islands which were on Spain's backdoor. With regular and militia forces scattered throughout South America, Central America, Mexico, Caribbean, Philippines and Spain, any declaration of War against Britain would open all of these areas to raids by British naval landing parties.

and if you can figure out which book this is from read it and you will find out how much gold they actually sent and why it was sent in secret!!!!!!!! you have mis quoted and mis represented what was said here. YOU LOST!! lol lol
 

jeff of pa

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THANK YOU

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