Value of an Anchor

[JCB]

I know the value is in the eye of the beholder and that's not the answer i'm looking for. What I would like to know is what you guys percieve to be a fair sale price for a fully preserved 1600's spanish anchor. It is 11 feet long and 7.5 feet wide and in very good condition? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

 

[ScubaDude]

Not much unless you start preserving it asap. I don't want to sound like a jerk but you are removing valuable clues that could lend a hand in finding and identifying something a lot more valuable than that anchor. The people that would pay the most for artifacts would want to know the details of the wreck. The more wrecks get haphazardly scavenged like this the harder it becomes to find and properly identify them.

If you think you might have found a valuable wreck, quit pulling stuff up, keep diving your site to see what else is there. Hang out on this board for a while and get to know the people and the personalities. When you find one or two that you can relate to ask them for help with your project. No body that is sincere is going to press you for an exact location right off the bat, if they do don't give it up just yet. They are some very skilled and intelligent people here that can guide you into something beyond your wildest dreams if you ask for the help.

Welcome to the forum,
Brad

 

[JCB]

Brad,

The anchor was pulled up over two years ago and is fully preserved right now. It took two years, but it is preserved now. That pic was taken right after it was salvaged and it was immedietly put in to a fresh water bath. I stll have the coordinates obviously and know exactly how it was lying, where it was pointing etc. I have looked around the area with a mag and spent many days searching with metal detectors. The mag had a few spikes, but when we dived the "spike spots" we did not find anything with the metal dtectors. Any help regarding this matter is appreciated, however I would very much like to know an aprox. value of this anchor. I am not planning on selling it, but I would still like ot know what it worth just for my knowledge. Thanks for your help guys.

 

[ScubaDude]

Interesting, I wish I knew more about it. What kind of mag, how stong were the hits, how you corelate your dives to your mag hits. Sound like there is definately something there, its just deeper than the detectors can hit on it. Did you excavate the bottom at all? I'm assuming it was sandy where the hits were?

Cool mystery man, keep it coming.

 

[JCB]

It's a buddies mag, I will get the info off of him and let you know what type and everything. The mag and gps are linked together in a laptop so we can place locations to the hits. The hits were not sharp jumps though. There were two spots where it would creep up very high and back down over about 150 feet. We have a metal detector that will suposedly detect up to 8 feet away, but no hits. The hits are on reef as well, not sand. The anchor was on the edge of the reef and the shaft was pointing out into the sand.

 

[rgecy]

JCB,

Some finished picts of the anchor would be nice to see and maybe lend some clues to a price. Has it been sandblasted and painted?

Without giving away the spot, could you give us a general area of its recovery, The keys, upper florida, etc.

Robert

 

[Chagy]

It could well be under the reef and thats why you cant detect it with the mag a hand held mag might come in handy but $$$$$

Did you find it here in Florida? If so check out my last post "1641 New Spain fleet"

All the best,

Chagy.....

P.S. Welcome to the forum!!!!!!

 

[Chagy]

here is a pic of the anchor from "La Consepcion" 1641

 

[JCB]

Here is a shot of it right after we painted it.

 

[Chagy]

Nice job

 

[SEAHUNTER]

I like it.!!! How much do you want for it?

 

[JCB]

I don't know what it is worth yet. I've had an offer for $8,000.00 but I turned it down because it is worth more than that to me. I don't really want to part ways with it right now, but everything is for sale, it just depends on the price.

 

[Chagy]

A friend of mine has one from the 1700s in his back yard he says it was appraised at 10k......I cant assure this information since I don't know his source ....I am going from what he told me.....

Good luck,

Chagy.........

 

[SaltyCracker]

How many do you want I will sell them @ 500.00 a pop and up to 2000.00 for amazing ones all sizes , ok orders 5,10,20?
Seriously its worth your memories only there are dozens in every harbour, not worth dick, nice find though! Keep on searching.
Salty

 

[rgecy]

Salty,

If they are preserved like the one JCB has done here, then yes, I will pay you $500-2000 a pop all day long. They are just scrap iron if they aren't preserved and will continue to rust and disintegrate otherwise.

Robert in SC

 

[SaltyCracker]

Let me check my closet..hang 5!

 

[Donovan]

The value of an artifact is directly related to the amount of accurate data available about the item. Sometimes called, provenience, other times called pedigree.
Without the paperwork a dog is just a mutt. With the papers the dog has lineage and pedigree and is worth a lot more.
The more you can document.... the more paper you can produce from experts,( not just your opinions.) in the field of colonial anchors in the new world, the more bucks you can command. Location data is great but assumption, as to origin, is just speculation and has little value.
All the authentic 17th. century Spanish colonial anchors that I have seen all had sharp pointed flukes.( about thirty anchors.) The anchors from other, non Spanish sites ( about sixty.) had palm shaped flukes like yours.
That is, until you get to the mid to late 18th. century, then the Spanish seemed to adopt the palm shaped flukes. Some of those anchors were possibly purchases, swaps, or salvaged.
I think you need to do more research on the origin of your anchor, in order to get that price up there where it is worthwhile to recover, preserve and properly document this artifact, then sell it to someone who can appreciate it's unique history and pedigree.
Best of luck.
Splash,
Donovan

 

[bigkid4]

Of course at a glance all of those anchors look alike but from the angle of the ring, the flukes, and the amount of growth on it, it sure looks like one I dove on around 8 years ago. I have some pictures of it at home somewhere but they are not digital. I showed it to someone who then showed it to someone and then shortly afterward I couldn’t find it and I always thought someone removed it but hoped it was just covered with sand. The one I’m talking about was in only around 12’ of water, sitting jut outside of the reef on the sand off of Palm Beach County and pointed out to sea to the SE. I sure hope you did a good job of preserving it because I would have much rather it would have been left where it was for everyone to enjoy and not rot in someones backyard.

 

[Nyse]

. I have this anchor have not much info about it exc tht it was found out n the Atlantic off va nc. Any thing you can off will be helpful. I have no idea where to look

 

[Darren in NC]

Interesting, Nyse. You found it? Or did you get it from someone who did? It needs to be thrown in a pond or some water asap, lest it deteriorate quickly.