🥇 BANNER Does Coral beep? yes, when its full of coins!!!

[BVI Hunter]

Could'nt work out why this lump of coral (in 2 ft of water) at the beach kept "hitting"?

brought it home and it started to fall apart in my bag - WOW!!!

just need to identify them and work out how to save / clean them

any ideas

thanks!!

 

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[calisdad]

I'd be going back to that area and hitting it again!

Ya think? LOL
I never would have left and personally I wouldn't break them up- leave them just as they are.
Fantastic find Johnsas.

 

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[Erik in NJ]

I mostly lurk here. Based on the enthusiastic response, this is a major find. I personally think it is very cool, but I am not a pro. Like others, I think this could be the tip of the iceberg. Like those same others (and a few more) I think the OP should probably keep any future finds to himself. I PM'ed the same advice. This might be a fluke, but if it is only a small part of a larger discovery then discretion is probably the best way to go here.

The key word here being IF. Remember these finds were made in 2 ft. of water which to me signals that these are remnants of something that have washed ashore from somewhere--possibly long ago. It's highly unlikely in my opinion that there is going to be a huge windfall of coins where he is searching or they would have been washing up on the shore and found by many, though hopefully there will be some more coins, relics, and projectiles where he is searching.

In the mean time he is finding some very interesting projectiles that can identified here and it would serve no purpose at all to keep these finds quiet. I would agree with you if these finds eventually point to the existence of a wreck somewhere laden with treasure, but again that is a big IF and will in all likelyhood require a lot of work by many people to recover the goods.

In the mean time, I for one would like to see what other sorts of items he finds in the current search field. I think the most sage advice right now is just to keep the location of the search field to himself for now.

He may have a narrow window of opportunity as there's always the possibility that as the days go on that the area will get sanded in and the items again will be out of reach.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Congrats on a find of a lifetime! I don't they are actually in "coral". It looks more like a concretion. I can't remember all the posts, but if you still have it in salt water, you should move it to fresh water. A good, long, soak in FW, with frequent changes of the water will leach the salt out and prevent further damage.

 

[TheCoinKid]

Wow. My vote, don't separate.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Incredible! I agree with the others...Leave it as is, but try to get it stabilized. I will forward the post to a diving buddy of mine to see what he has to say.

 

[ratz110]

Amazing find, can't wait to see pictures if you get them apart, or at least hear what the experts have to say. Great Job!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

My vote is to sell the entire lot to the highest bidder on eBay!
Then throw a huge celebratory 'beach party' with your buddies!

But, that's just what I'd do!
Dave

 

[Breezie]

OMGoodness what an AMAZING find! I'd like to see lots of close-up pics from all different angles. CONGRATULATIONS on finding them and making a most well deserved BANNER! I can't wait to see what else is in that area. Be sure to check the tide chart for that day and time, and try to hit the same area at the same tide. Breezie

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Congrats on a find of a lifetime! I don't they are actually in "coral". It looks more like a concretion. I can't remember all the posts, but if you still have it in salt water, you should move it to fresh water. A good, long, soak in FW, with frequent changes of the water will leach the salt out and prevent further damage.

I thought about that myself it looks more like a concretion.

Well I went to the beach today with renewed enthusiasm and waded out into the suf. I found 2 batteries, a poptop and a bunch of bottle caps.

 

[steelheadwill]

Big Congrats I'm a stacker myself, but I don't have one like that..... I'd return to that site fersure, HH !!

 

[diggummup]

Well I went to the beach today with renewed enthusiasm and waded out into the suf. I found 2 batteries, a poptop and a bunch of bottle caps.

Sounds like Hollywood. I'm going in the morning. Don't know which beach yet, thinking Lauderdale before the sun comes up.

 

[Bum Luck]

] Then throw a huge celebratory 'beach party' with your buddies! [/COLOR]

Yep! And we'll all bring our detectors!

 

[birdman]

Now that is an awesome find! The story that clump of silver has to tell.

 

[emachado]

WOW what a cool find! I'm in Puerto Rico, hope to find the other part!!! LOL

 

[yaxthri]

Congrats on the banner!

 

[BVI Hunter]

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OK, so after a day or two in distilled water, a little grime came off - tried to get a close up of the small coin underneath which appears to have a crown?
Did not come out much clearer but the silver one just below seems to have markings of some sort?

Also another close up of the letter on one of the upper silver coins??

hope this helps!!

 

[WildDigger]

When using distilled water change it every few days and repeat for at least a month.

 

[Southern_Digger]

I have been following this since day one but only had time to reply now... First Congratulations on a rare experience and find. Regarding your decision to keep all cemented as you found it versus, separating the coins, allow me to help you decide. In the 80's a local salvor who dived the Florida Keys in the 50's & 60's offered to sell me one of two nice display pieces he had recovered from a wreck long ago--a wreck now in the underwater park. He had two pieces of nice white coral, the lightest had to weigh at least two pounds. Atop the smaller clump was two separate green/black silver face coins that dates to the late 1700-s-early 1800's. The larger piece had three separate face coins. Each coin on the two pieces were at least 75% exposed and it was left as he had found it--only think, he chiseled the coin encapsulated coral from larger pieces growing on and near the wreck. I can tell you in mid-80's, a mere $35.00 would have bought the large piece of coral with the three coins. I asked him and he agreed to sell it for that. However, I had only $20 in my wallet and he would accept cash only. Unfortunately, someone overheard me offer to buy it and that person whipped out the cash and got it immediately. I ran down to the bank to get more cash, so to buy the second piece. It was sold before I returned. I ended up buying from him a single blackened Spanish face coin for $20. I was upset with myself for several years after for not carrying more cash when I attended this symposium because that coral with the three face coins could have been mine to this day.

The two coral pieces with the coins were, clean, white, with green/black silver dollar coins. In other words, they were beautiful display pieces and should never be separated. However, what you have seems to be more of a concretion/coral mixture and is not clean and attractive--it appears rather gray in color. In fact, I have seen shallow coral just like that off Key Biscayne, Florida, all gray and blackish. The reason it appears as such is because on a nearby key is the Miami Sewage plant with an emergency outfall. All this sediment washes back on the beach and settles in and below the sand and on to the coral, it is filthy and unattractive and it stains the coral. I have gone their to hunt in the water and not enter when the ocean water smells like tell-tale sewage. In closing, I think you should compromise the decision. Have someone assist you in removing three or four coils from the bottom, and keep the remainder in clump form. I have seen much more attractive display pieces than what you have found. Nonetheless, you should photograph every angle and do an article in some US treasure magazine. PM me and I will suggest one.

 

[Jason in Enid]

View attachment 803744View attachment 803745View attachment 803746View attachment 803747View attachment 803748View attachment 803749View attachment 803750


OK, so after a day or two in distilled water, a little grime came off - tried to get a close up of the small coin underneath which appears to have a crown?
Did not come out much clearer but the silver one just below seems to have markings of some sort?

Also another close up of the letter on one of the upper silver coins??

hope this helps!!

Jonas, I'm not sure how much you know about shipwrecks and treasure and such. But here is one aspect to your find you may not have considered. These coins were not in some "pirates chest" or even a crew or captain's stash. This is a neatly stacked group of coins. That means they were counted as part of a manifest and loaded into a transport chest, most likely sailing east. If you found this "stack", you can be certain there are others, even if there was a single chest. Combined with the other iron artifacts you have found (I hope you have those in fresh water too) says shipwreck, very close to your spot. May be a little bit off the beach, but very close to your area.

I am absolutely green with envy. I wish I could be there to help you do some off-shore investigation.

Lastly, it looks like the visible date is 1729, which also fits with the partial "Philippus V" visible on another coin. Now, if I remember correctly, you said there are no known wrecks of the period in this area. That could very likely mean that this "unknown" was lost in a storm with all hands and nobody knew where it went down. But you have a date you know it can't be earlier than, and is most likely not more than a few years after. Pretty narrow window to begin searching. Of course, it could be a fluke coin stack from a much later shipwreck, ,but I highly doubt it.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I believe they are Old World Pistareens sailing west. Check out the ID in the What Is It Forum.http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/355764-coin-expert-needed-coral-encrusted-coins-2.html

Some great reading in this link

http://numismatics.org/wikiuploads/CNL/Pistareens.pdf

"...pistareens were familiar coins in common usage throughout colonial America. Pistareens traveled west by sea from Spain into the Windward Islands of the Caribbean, to the Sugar Colony of Barbados, and beyond to America where they washed ashore with seagoing wayfarers at colonial seaports and river landings."
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