Have I finally found A COB!?!?!?

[ted750]

Well, after years of searching and 2 trips to Florida, I think it might have finally happened.... Right now, the black mass is sizzling in electrolysis, but I thought I'd make it interesting and see if you guys can tell before it's even cleaned....
So wadda ya think? Cob, or junk?

Please join me in praying that it's a cob and post your opinions below.

When I'm done with the electrolysis I'll post whatever comes out of the crust for all to see.

Thanks, and HH!

- Ted

 

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[romeo-1]

Looks promising...keep us informed!

 

[ted750]

Heh heh heh heh, well, the electrolysis is basically finished, but sadly, as is my luck, the "cob" is an unidentifiable blank flan of silver.
While this may sound dissapointing, I assure you it is not. because first of all, the coin is obviously a cob, (the outline of where the "wave" from the pillar and wave design is clear, although nothing else is.) In addition, the site which produced it had been the last place I would search, but now, you can bet your behind I'll be there every day for the rest of spring break! The big mystery now is how it got there, there is a 1650's gristmill just a stonesthrow away, and an old map of my town I once examined showed a makeshift dock in the area, so it is possible, is it JUUUUUst possible, that some rogue trading vessel carrying a shipment of cobs to pay the gristmill with ran aground and sank in shallow water somewhere just off this site? I'll tell you one thing, I'm not waiting around for someone else to find out! I'll keep you all informed of my finds from the site, and hopefully, one day not to far away, I'll be posting about the magnetometer survey showing the clear outline of a ships hull!

Boy am I excited!

Regards,

- Ted

 

[{Sentinel}]

Ted, Spanish Silver aka Cobs were legal tender in the United States until the mid 1850s for a few reasons, one of which is that its value was more or less stable. Therefore, it does not surprise me one bit that you may have found one at a gristmill....There have been many that were found on old Civil War battlefields as even then, as said above, Spanish Silver was still a very popular tender. I think that may be the most logical explanation, but, on the slim chance that it is a sunken treasure ship, please don't be shy about sharin the location HAHA J/K

 

[ted750]

Well sentinel, I'm not going to pretend like I know better on this subject then you do, so I'll pose this as a question....

I found the "cob" on a sandbar say 500 feet from shore, the gristmill is right on the water, but I would find it hard to think that the cob could have been dropped in the inlet some 150 - 300 years ago and still be only about 10 inches deep.... Wouldn't the cob get buried pretty deep? Or maybe be washed out into deeper water? I wish I could describe the location better.... It's an inlet with a penninsula on one side and land on the other, the gristmill is on the penninsula, and according to old maps, an area that's now a pond was once part of the inlet. I wouldn't find it hard to imagine that the inlet was once much deeper, but has since silted in since they divided the pond from the ocean to build a road across. Looking out from the inlet is the bay, which is only a stones throw away from an infamous shipwreck site, and was known to be a treacherous spot for early sailors. (Thank you local library!) But I guess what I'm asking is that wouldn't it make more sense for the cob to have been washed in during a recent storm rather then dropped 150+ years ago in a radically different landscape then what it is today, and somehow be uncovered just in time for my detector to pick it up?

Once again, I'm really not an expert, I just think a shipwreck would be a more logical explanation giving the geography of the inlet and the area in which the cob was found

If anyone knows better or has any other ideas please don't hesitate to post! Any info is appreciated!

HH,

- Ted

 

[FloridaBill]

That still looks like a great find. Did you find it in the water or on the dry sand? And as far as shipwreck if there was any in the area it is very possible it got washed in. And of course it wouldn't have to have been a ship carrying millions in loot. Just some of the personal belonging of folks lost could make it a interesting site.

Have you ever found anything else in the area in prior trips. Keep at it and good luck...

 

[guzz1]

LOOKS like a cob.... NIce find guzz1