Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED MACRO PIC CLOSEUPS AND X-RAY PHOTOS

1liquigirl

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Gambling in Atlantic City is a thing of the past. You'll make out better on the shoreline. I run with a Garrett Ace 250 and came back with this and a few pieces that I think are bayonets, various sand pennies and the mouth of an 1800's amber brown whiskey bottle. It stormed with thunder and lightning the night before, and the surf was really pounding. The beach opened at 6AM and out I went. I turned the stone over and there it was, a chain and a shiny silver coin sticking right out at me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and after the shock wore off, you should have heard me whooping it up. I put it in my bag with the shells I had been collecting prior. I didn't care at that point about breaking any of them, to me I don't think I'll ever find anything better. About a minute after I put it in my bag, an ATV cop went by me, and I ecstatically said "Hi" to him. It was probably pretty out of place, but I couldn't help it. I held onto that bag like my life depended on it all the way back to the hotel room, to show my sleeping partner the treasure I had truly found. I wonder how long it takes to embed coins and chains in to sandstone? More than 30 years, I'm sure. :laughing7: We didn't head straight home, we went to a friend of ours that owns a stones and gems shop. He'd never seen anything like this before. He told us that as is, we are looking at a value of at least $400. We plan to get the stone X-rayed at some random dentist's office to see if there may be a pendant or even a gem on the chain and if we're lucky, there may be more coins. There is an indent in the rock underneath the area that the coin is showing that could have held another coin, it is completely round and about the size of a dime. There's alot of MDing that goes on along the shores of Atlantic City and alot of iron content out there, so I bet this stone could possibly have been overlooked by others more than once. I want to get all of the sand removed that is concreted on this coin, but I'm afraid to hurt it in any way. I carefully removed some of the grains of sand with a razor blade and I am sure I didn't scratch it. It is just enough to see that some letters are still present, but not enough to identify them. I refuse to do anything more to it. I trust someone out there can get it clean. The chain located in the top left of the stone in picture one and on my finger in picture two is handmade, the ends of each link are wrapped over the next loop. It is non magnetic, but has been tested for 14 ct gold and dissolved right away at our local jewelry store, so it's more likely to be bronze. A few more links are showing on the other side of the stone from where it hangs out on the other, so most of the chain could be wrapped up inside the stone. I hope to make banner with this one! I live in Central Pennsylvania and I doubt there is anyone around here that could identify this coin as is, it is thinner and smaller than an American Dime.

Update: There have been lots of views, replies and posts for me. Read the whole post to see the progression of IDing this. We will have the Macro pics of the coin tomorrow (Thursday, October 7th). We have used Goo Gone and the sink spigot for two days (alot longer tonight than the last). It's is showing a spot in the middle of the coin, when it hadn't before, but not much more. We used aluminum wrapped around the coin with baking soda and hot water for about 5 minutes, it didn't help much. We're hoping to find a dentist to do a water pick trick on the coin, although none of the dentists we have called wanted to even do an X-Ray. We paid $105 for two X-Ray photos at Metzger Animal Hospital in State College (I had volunteered here 12 years ago, in High School. We received a phone call back from the head of the Earth and Mineral Science Building here at Penn State. The head of the Department gave me an e-mail for a lady in the Anthroplogy Department. She has lived in Florida and has worked with shipwrecks. Just waiting to hear back from her now. Thanks for the five coin rating, on the My Best Finds Forum, but to see how this is progressing, it goes to show you, that everyone wants to find treasure, but the time and effort it takes to ID and find it's place in history, takes alot of work and patience. No one sees that in the beginning, then you find something good and you realize. Please, any other suggestions would be appreciated.
 

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Erik in NJ

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

The new pics are at the end of the original post! :D
 

Bigcypresshunter

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

Its the piece of severely rusted steel holding it all together. I agree threaded bolt means modern. Maybe its just a worn Merc. and a brass chain with a steel bolt. :dontknow: Odd combination. :icon_scratch: Either way its very interesting. Im not sure what part is wood. Does the coin have a reeded edge? Who can we thank for the x-ray?
 

Bigcypresshunter

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

Could it be?
 

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Erik in NJ

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

Oh noooooo BigCypressHunter.... I fear you may be correct :'( When I zoom in on coin_closeup_1.jpg I can just barely make out "ED STATE OF A"......was hoping it was a Reale or similar ancient treasure........and I still hope we're both wrong for Michelle's sake. The chain looks quite old and "rock" seems to be holding it, silver coin, and what look's like two threaded objects and a bent round rod all in one very interesting time vault! Still an amazingly cool find no matter what it is, especially with the supporting x-ray photos! Hope if it's US silver that it's old!
 

Bigcypresshunter

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

These are celphone pics. A better pic with a good macro lens camera would have revealed it.

Yes I can see the ED in this pic.
 

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SouthJerseyJim

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

BigCypress that half dime would not last 170 years in the beaches of AC and still have writing on it. Its going to be a eaten away at Rosy or Merc dime.
 

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1liquigirl

1liquigirl

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

Thanks BigCypress, Erik in NJ, and SouthJerseyJim, and all who have posted for help so far. There is quite a bit of chain inside, just like I originally thought. The chain has lined markings on it in a few spots, all going the same direction, but the lines may be there due to rubbing on the stone and everything else the surf threw at it. The reeded edge, I don't see, possibly for the same reason.

BigCypress, I agree, I see what you're seeing. The letters are in the exact spots to be a Half Dime. Thanks for the photo comparison. Tried the water trick Erik in NJ suggested to see more.

Thanks Jeff of PA for your comment, I feel priviledged to see excitement coming from a moderator on my post. :thumbsup:

I promise to not leave you all hanging, as I get news about the progression of this, I post. The Macros Pics come tomorrow, including the wood area (located at the back side of the chain section in Picture 1), the shells in it, the strange hole in the end of the stone, closeups of the coin/chain, etc. Thanks for watching
 

Bigcypresshunter

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

SouthJerseyJim said:
BigCypress that half dime would not last 170 years in the beaches of AC and still have writing on it. Its going to be a eaten away at Rosy or Merc dime.
I dont see why not. Spanish reales are found with dates here in Florida. It depends on a lot of factors.

She says its smaller than a dime in the What Is It thread. http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,354207.0.html
Heres the pic, a little blurry. :dontknow:
 

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Bigcypresshunter

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

The writing is close to the edge, like a modern dime. Maybe the size is an optical illusion. :D
 

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Erik in NJ

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

I really hope it's a half dime, but I don't see any serifs on the "TA" in "ED STATE_ OF A" which are the most prominent letters in this pic. Here's a 400% zoom with grid.
 

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1liquigirl

1liquigirl

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

Ok the D in the pic of this coin that you have posted Erik looks like it has a triangle in the middle of it. It is not a modern dime D.
Big Cypress, it is not an illusion, it really is smaller than a modern dime, but you'll have to take me on my word on that. Believe me I want to ID this just as much as you all do.
 

49r Relics

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

I still think this is awesome as is and it would show well in anyones treasure display!

Did about 2 hours of research on this tonight and after some extensive investigation, I believe it is a Mercury Dime that has the edge worn down as the rock tumbled all the way up on and in the sand. If you take a mercury dime and remove the reeded edge through wear, you not only get a coin smaller than a dime but you get the letters closer to the percieved edge. In this photo I have super imposed the reverse of a mercury dime over a close up from your photo.

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Just my opinion. :icon_pirat:

HH, Mark
 

jeff of pa

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

it's looking more & More like
a US Coin. However..

We didn't head straight home,
we went to a friend of ours that owns
a stones and gems shop.
He'd never seen anything like this before.
He told us that as is,
we are looking at a value of at least $400.

This has my fingers crossed for you.

If he handled it,
I Would think he would have known
if it was rust, not stone, or coral.

he did say, he never seen anything like it though
 

Bigcypresshunter

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

I think its a clump of rust. I searched through several pages of vest and jewelry chains in my 1909 Sears catalog and online a bit but I cannot match it. Can anyone find a match to this chain? It looks more like a toilet flapper chain and the threaded stud doesnt seem to point to purse or jewelry. :icon_scratch: Matching the chain may help solve it.
 

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Bigcypresshunter

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

In comparison to the dime, the threaded stud is very large diameter. I just thought that it may be a toilet flush handle with the chain attached. :dontknow: The dime doesnt seem to fit this scenario. :icon_scratch:
 

jcooking

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

Very cool find! Do what you think is best, but if it were me I would put it in an electrolysis tank and get the pieces apart. I just don't think that I could stand not knowing. It is hard to value something if you don't know WHAT it is, so I would do whatever I could to identify it. Just my 2 cents. Let us know what is in it if you decide to look whats inside!
 

N.J.THer

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

bigcypresshunter said:
In comparison to the dime, the threaded stud is very large diameter. I just thought that it may be a toilet flush handle with the chain attached. :dontknow: The dime doesnt seem to fit this scenario. :icon_scratch:

I just saw the X-ray and I knew I saw that chain before. It is the handle to a toilet with the flapper chain...I'm 99% positive. In high school which was many many years ago I worked as a plumbers assistant. The threaded item maybe a Johnny-bolt which would make sense.

NJ
 

Erik in NJ

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Re: Treasure Set in Stone UPDATED X-RAY PHOTOS

The more I look at the x-ray pics the more I agree with your assessments - the chain type would explain the long round bent rod, at it appears to have a handle attached to one end. Would the older chains be made of brass? Nice sleuthing work!

The coin being there? Maybe it was a pay toilet! ;D Just kidding of course - I think the silver coin was just a lucky coincidence and makes it a heck of a conversation piece - shows well as is too!!
 

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