Platinum pieces

[Crispin]

Digging an old artifact site and coming up with a lot of old silver and platinum pieces. I figured I would post them all together and see if anybody had any ideas that could help connect the dots:

























Thanks for looking. All intelligent comments most appreciated.

 

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[Nitric]

Sry if you've already mentioned this! What is folded in the metal? In the pic with the group of them. Is it leather,string, wire, etc.... I was looking and just made me curious! Like maybe was folded over string to wear around the neck possibly! The one looks reeded even!

Cool finds!!

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

crispin thank you for posting them all together. This is the first time I have seen this. I would say that they are definitely coins. If they test red, they are silver coins. Its very unusual to find this many silver coins washed up on a trashy beach. But they are all round so I would say yes they are coins. Im going to try and study them. Give me a minute.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I posted a very long reply with attachments before my pc froze up. I had to reboot and lost it all. So I may have to post in short segments or edit. This site continues to give me fits. You have probably gone to bed and will read it in the morning.

I dont understand "lots of acid". All you need is one drop of the amber silver test solution and it will turn red within seconds on coin silver or Spanish silver. Are they dime or quarter size? With nothing for size comparison, lets assume they are quarter size. US quarter is 2 reale size I think and I actually used one in a pay phone.. Its unusual to find this many silver coins on a modern trashy beach but lets say they are silver. You usually have to dig deep for old silver. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/30507-trench-beach-produces-silver.html

Deeply buried silver coins will corrode in a saltwater environment and look like this. The coins corroded beyond recognition are commonly called cookie coins. They are not necessarily that old and I have no reason to believe my finds are Reales.



Coins tossed around by wave action will wear thin and look like yours. These have not been in a fire. Wave action eats holes in them. They are commonly called razor coins. So my questions are how many test red (not amber) and do any have any markings? Why couldnt these be US silver coinage from the 50s? How long did it take you to find these? ....days, months or years?

Either way its a great find to find old silver on the beach. I can help you ID these but we need to both listen, keep an open mind and respect each other. Im not here to give you a hard time. Never was, and I would like to call a truce to figure this out.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

The turtle piece looks more like a splatter to me. Im sorry but its hard for me to judge the color of the drop in the pic. (one drop is all you need) I will assume its red. It looks kinda red. It could be a modern silver turtle charm like someone suggested but to me it looks more like a splatter.




The acid color on pic #8 below the turtle looks amber in your photo so that would signify lead, aluminum or tin. But the color may not be posting true. As you know by now, outdoor lighting is best.. ...and something for size comparison is needed.

Pic #8 is a cookie coin.

Pic #1 and pic #3 look like fire nuggets

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Picture # 10 looks like old lead bag or meter seals. I dont understand why they are not corroded but thats what they look like. Is that nylon string they are clamped to? Because they are not corroded and metal wire was not used, they are probably modern. Maybe fishing weights?

I dont remember if its bag seal or bale seal or wire seal but you can get some information here if you read between the bickering. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/174542-lead-object-writing-no-idea-what.html

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Are you searching in the water? Someone suggested that pic # 10 and the very bottom pic is homemade lead fishing net weights and thats probably the best guess. Forget about the bag or wire seal.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I dont know how to test Platinum so I will be no help but which pieces test Platinum besides the little square and rectangle pieces.?

The picture of 18 razor coins is impressive!! Thats very cool. I must have come here late on the subject because I never saw these before! I wish you had posted these before geez why didnt you post these before? It would have made a difference as they are round, all the same size and obviously NOT fire nuggets. Too bad we cant get better pics.

Are you finding different size coins? Its odd that they are all the same size. I have many questions. Are they dime or quarter size or something else? How many test silver? How many not silver? How many Platinum? Are you finding any copper nails? If you find any more please dont clean them so we can observe them in the condition they were found. And please do NOT shave any more metal off of them. I dont know who suggested you to do that.


See ya tommorrow. Hope you are cordial.

 

[Crispin]

The coins are all about 1mm larger then a dime. I shined the platinum because I thought it looked neat. Nothing is lead. Everything has been tested with a soldering iron. If it was lead it would have melted. I melted a lead weight just to make sure. This is a pic of what they looked like in their raw state. The site is a mixture of very old and very modern. I have reason to believe that the sand these are found on is intend coming from a very, very deep trench. I can't reveal why I know this as it would give the site away.



I have taken many pictures documenting this process throughout. I believe I am putting together a collection of sorts...

As you can see. There are a lot of modern coins that had to be weeded out. Everything is acid tested. Some where found to be pennies and hence crossed off.

 

[Crispin]

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

They look like coins. They are definitely not fire nuggets. They have NOT been in a fire. Like I said, I never saw these before.

If you find any suspected reales with markings, you might try scanning them in a scanner on the highest resolution... like 1000 DPI. I did that before with a medallion and it worked great.


If these round metal items are silver, they will test red. If some test yellow like I believe you said on another thread, than those are not silver. If they are silver and larger than a US dime, we could probably rule out US coins. Any coin people here?

Here is a link that shows the edge and size in mm of Spanish reales. A caliper would work best. But your coins are eaten badly. You may also try looking at the edges to see if they are reeded or not. Spanish Silver Reales Coinage

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

The coins on the white napkin look several different sizes. It helps us if you put something in the pic for size comparison. They are so deteriorated, they are going to be hard to measure diameter accurately.


Spanish reale diameters in mm

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I like your loupe. They work great. You can even take a photograph through the Loupe, like I did below, to show any markings. But your coins are very corroded by saltwater so markings may not be visible. Anyway a lot more interesting that fire nuggets. Thanks for sharing.

View attachment 1198914

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I knew you guys could do it....

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I found this on the Treasure Coast after a hurricane. It was coral encrusted on one side. I thought it was a worthless galvanized tag because it was very thin so I gave to my friend who was along for the ride. He sanded the coral off with sandpaper (yikes!) revealing Old English engraving. It also tested silver and is the exact diameter as a US quarter but much thinner. I was able to purchase it back from him. I put it in my scanner and it looks like this.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

My best explanation as to why my silver piece is not eaten like yours is because the coral protected it and it wasnt caught in back and forth wave action until 2 back to back hurricanes hit the Treasure Coast. The backside was black. It was found at a known 1715 fleet shipwreck location, and an English shipwreck, along with brass nails. However it doesnt prove my item is shipwreck related. Although its possible, and it may be a coffin tag, I was unable to prove it. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/17078-she-only-3-days-old.html

 

[Crispin]

I have found copper nails and screws but they are all modern trash. I have a pair of calipers so I measured the more whole coins. Most of them are 19mm, a couple are really worn down in the 18.5mm range, and then one is 20mm. My first thought was that they were silver dimes that had just been beaten up; however, I have not found a single silver quarter, identifiable silver roosevelt, or merc in the area. If these were all dimes then by odds I would have to have found a silver quarter by now. I also have found nickels going to back to 1940, a thin dime from an old play set, one wheat penny from the 50's, and tons of copper pennies from the 60's and 70's. All pretty readily identifiable and not in near the shape of some of the ones posted above.

I have been hunting this site on and off for three years. You are looking at well over three dozen hunts ranging from 3-5 hours. I have sifted out pounds and pounds of Aluminum. Thousand or so pull tabs, bottle caps...you name it. I don't mind taking better pictures of everything if we are going to get serious about this. However, I don't want to be doubted when I call something silver or platinum. That really irritates me. If you can agree to give me the benefit of the doubt on the type of metal I am identifying I will take good pictures tomorrow, with a blue background, in natural sunlight. Otherwise, we are just gonna end up back at square one with doubting. I need the help but I don't need the hassle.

I hope we can reach an accord here...I think I have been working on something special. Or....I've wasted countless hours of my time digging up trash...lol. Still plan on taking TH out to the site. He will not be able to disclose any details but he will be absolutely convinced by the end of the hunt that this area is special. He couldn't make it this Friday and I have to be the speaker at Grand Rounds next Friday. Otherwise we would have a solid date.

 

[Crispin]

My best explanation as to why my silver piece is not eaten like yours is because the coral protected it and it wasnt caught in back and forth wave action until 2 back to back hurricanes hit the Treasure Coast. The backside was black. It was found at a known 1715 fleet shipwreck location, and an English shipwreck, along with brass nails. However it doesnt prove my item is shipwreck related. Although its possible, and it may be a coffin tag, I was unable to prove it. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/17078-she-only-3-days-old.html

From a medical standpoint.....I doubt it is a coffin tag of a three day old. With the medical help available at that time the baby would have been stillborn or died within 24hours. Babies born with birthing complications back then died almost within the hour. They didn't have a NICU. I highly doubt it is the coffin tag of a three year old. Those dates must represent something else.

 

[Crispin]

I found this on the Treasure Coast after a hurricane. It was coral encrusted on one side. I thought it was a worthless galvanized tag because it was very thin so I gave to my friend who was along for the ride. He sanded the coral off with sandpaper (yikes!) revealing Old English engraving. It also tested silver and is the exact diameter as a US quarter but much thinner. I was able to purchase it back from him. I put it in my scanner and it looks like this.

View attachment 1198922

It was not uncommon for marriage ceremonies to last for several days hundreds of years ago. Perhaps it is the date of the wedding party... 12/30/43 to 1/2/44. Three days for the ultra rich 300 to 400 years ago was about the average time for a wedding celebration.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

From a medical standpoint.....I doubt it is a coffin tag of a three day old. With the medical help available at that time the baby would have been stillborn or died within 24hours. Babies born with birthing complications back then died almost within the hour. They didn't have a NICU. I highly doubt it is the coffin tag of a three year old. Those dates must represent something else.

thanks for your opinion. It would be great if you posted this on my thread and resurrect it from the TN archives. I still consider it a mystery.


I was just trying to show the detail you can get with a scanner. Much better than a camera but the item has to be thin.

Put all your coins that test silver on a scanner at the highest DPI resolution like 1000 and it will show us the detail. If there are no markings visible, our only means of identification would be the diameter.

A scanner set at 1000dpi will fill the entire monitor with great detail. I dont know of any other way to verify that these are reales. Maybe you could check to see if a shipwreck is offshore?

If there are no markings on the coins then dont bother posting better photos. But I thought you said something about a cross.