My first shipwreck coin

[McCDig]

Bound for Philadelphia from Londonderry in 1785, The Faithful Steward ran aground on shoals off the coast of Delaware, just north of the Indian River inlet. Coins from its cargo of 400 barrels of British pennies and half pennies still wash ashore. I found my first on August 17th. It is a George III Hibernia half penny with enough detail to make out a figure facing right on the obverse and the left side of the harp on the reverse. I took it to the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum in Fenwick Island and the curator, Dale Clifton, examined it and authenticated it as from the Faithful Steward wreck. For point of reference, the towers in the second pic are at the bridge over the Indian River inlet.


Have to give a plug for Dale's museum. Check it out. https://www.discoversea.com/
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[CarsonChris]

Awesome find!

 

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[califteacher]

Wow! Very cool find. 400 barrels of coins is quite a cargo. It would be interesting to know how many of these coins have been found, but we will never have an answer to that. The really great thing about your find is the history behind the coin. Congratulations!

 

[McCDig]

Thanks for this post. It truly is "the rest of the story"; thanks for sharing. Hi to Sonny!

 

[BLK HOLE]

Very cool find and so cool to be able to identify it to a specific shipwreck..congrats!

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Awesome find and an even better story!! Congrats!!!!!!!

 

[McCDig]

Thanks Bob. About 20 years ago I purchased a Fisher 1280X from a shop at the beach, some time after I sold my White's Coinmaster. Think I used that 1280X the one time I went to "Coin Beach" the first time. Now, 20 years later, and 3 other detectors later, I hit the beach with my Equinox 600.

 

[McCDig]

Thanks BLK HOLE. My thanks, too, to Dale Clifton at the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum who took the time to check out this find.

 

[McCDig]

Thanks Brian. I have wondered the same thing. Hoping there's another in my future. I'm about a 3-hour drive from the ocean.

 

[McCDig]

Thanks CarsonChris. That same day another halfpenny was found on top the sand along the cut that the waves made in the beach. I had shown my find to a family that morning and their son spotted the next halfpenny a bit later. They actually posted it as a reply to this post yesterday.