Silver Tree Chaser
Bronze Member
I almost overlooked this coin weight that I found this past December. I thought it was a worn out cam gear, but then figured that perhaps it was a possible coin weight. I found some similar weights online, but they were larger and more modern than I had figured for this example. It also didn’t have any markings – or so I thought. On closer inspection I could discern a Roman numeral. After an overnight soak in mineral oil, I found clear markings. It was a weight of some sort. I then found online a close match in style, shape, and arrangement of markings. While I only found one good match, I really like the provenance of the matching example; it was found on the excavation of Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s ship, which was scuttled down in North Carolina in 1718. There’s obviously no connection between what I found and piracy, but it does provide a good means of dating the coin weight to the early 18th century. Here are the photos –
This is the weight that I found
![treasure4[1].webp](https://www.treasurenet.com/data/attachments/1155/1155975-171c7b02755054c4eb68844c5ae841b4.jpg?hash=lojQ2dMqK6 "treasure4[1].webp")
This is the weight excavated from Queen Anne’s Revenge. It may have been used to weigh coins, gold dust or medicine.
Here’s the link - Treasures of the Outer Bank | HILUXURY - Hawaii Luxury Magazine
I may have it weighed to see if it matches a Spanish silver four reales. I noticed that one weight has a 4 R, while the other has an 8 R, so I’m thinking four reales and eight reales. I would have rather found a four reales coin like the stunning banner find by Palmetto a while back, but I’ll take the coin weight over nothing.
Here’s the last picture of a few 17th century buttons, I recently found. They are not much to look at, but they are the right period if you’re looking for Mass Silver.
This is the weight that I found
This is the weight excavated from Queen Anne’s Revenge. It may have been used to weigh coins, gold dust or medicine.
Here’s the link - Treasures of the Outer Bank | HILUXURY - Hawaii Luxury Magazine
I may have it weighed to see if it matches a Spanish silver four reales. I noticed that one weight has a 4 R, while the other has an 8 R, so I’m thinking four reales and eight reales. I would have rather found a four reales coin like the stunning banner find by Palmetto a while back, but I’ll take the coin weight over nothing.
Here’s the last picture of a few 17th century buttons, I recently found. They are not much to look at, but they are the right period if you’re looking for Mass Silver.
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