Spanish Army, Conquistador Armour, Weapons and Artifacts that have been found.

[Hot zone]

I think it important to note the guy with armor is shown With a lantern for night digging. A grave perhaps.

 

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[Conquistador1539]

Very Funny! Some people come here to truly find out all they can about what the past has to offer those who seek to find it. While apparently still others are totally oblivious to the true meaning of Spanish Treasure and what it takes to actually discover it! Be a good boy and take your senseless comments elsewhere if you please. Thank you! You shall never know what it's like to be a professional in the treasure hunting business and if you ever put your metal detector to some good use, you sure don't know how to show it. Respectfully!

 

[Hot zone]

If it means disrespecting graves then you professionals can have all that bad mojo.

 

[Conquistador1539]

Wow! Now where did I see that signature before? Oh yeah! I found it on a piece of copper in western Kentucky. The Spaniards used the same material to fashion spare crossbow tips out of after they got done shooting Native Americans with all the iron spiked ones. View attachment 637499 For example at the Battle of Mabila 1540. Much more exciting holding a piece of history in the palm of your own hand than combing grand mother's hair. Sometimes a person can even uncover important historical relics that shed light on some old lost trail theory. Of course, you know that already I would hope? But the hardest part about discovering Spanish Treasure is knowing what to do with it after you find it. I wonder what some *Senior Members would have to say about that? Because inquiring minds would really like a few good answers and it could even rewrite the history books so old folks like us can have something to read without fear of having to use a lantern in the middle of the night to keep our activities a secret. I get enough of that already from Members of Congress, the EPA , our wonderful National Parks Service in charge of National Memorials, and even a few archaeologists and knowledgeable experts of Florida History with more to hide than could ever be gained by the revelation of historical truth. So seriously treasure hunting can be fun, yet at the same time we need to remember what the difference is between archaeological ethics and a metal detector user's Code of Conduct. Somehow these two sets of standards need to learn how to cooperate with each other so both sides of the issue can gain from digging up the past. AGREE OR DISAGREE in this great hobby of ours and in the world of historic preservation there is enough Spanish Treasure out there for everybody to find some. First you have to be able to even recognize it. And then find the courage to do whatever it takes to put your treasure to some good use. Being authorized to officially admit your own history ever happened at De Soto's own National Memorial at the same time you keep on commemorating it did would be a perfect start. And when the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee can finally put this kind donation on public display without fear of being embarrassed over where exactly it was found, then that's the day perhaps I myself can finally rest my case. Until then, what good are the laws or the Florida Court Rulings being forced upon those of us who actually do find Spanish Treasures when sometimes they do get enforced when it benefits a very select few like Presidents and Kings and those who act like they are in charge telling us how history happened according to themselves while on the contrary these same laws and Supreme Decisions get tossed under the Smithsonian Bus and trampled beyond recognition whenever it is expedient for governments, politicians, and bureaucrats to do so. Even Scholars and Historians are included. As well as your local treasure hunter who is fortunate enough to dig up such controversial pieces of history. Sorry, I just wanted to say that, eh. The politics of discovering a Conquistador's Lost Trail can be more than you bargained for. But to delete historical truth from the official record is bad for business and your favorite hobby alike.

 

[CaliforniaWilliam]

It would be near impossible to find any actual Spanish armor in California unless it washed ashore from some sunken galleon (highly unlikely). Although Cabrillo made reconnaisance of the coast and a couple others as well, the vast majority of any Spanish troops in California would have consisted of soldados de cuera (the leather jackets) whose "armor" was leather (obviously). New Mexico and even Colorado, there were some troops who would have worn breastplace and morion, but in California? No. As far as I know, there hasn't been much in the way of military finds (weaponry) even at the excavated presidio sites or battlefields (Mexican-American War). No swords, carbines, lance heads, etc. Period people would have collected these long before they got "buried". The majority if not all of the alleged imagery of breastplates, helmets, and weaponry (as well as skeletal remains) in the public mind stem from the imaginative men's magazine "adventures" and "lost treasures" illistrations from the late 1950s-1960s. As far as I can determine, there has never been a find of ANY Spanish or Mexican soldier's remains in the Southwest U.S. outside of a cemetery.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Hey california-william, you're talking common-sense and logic. But you will be beating your head against the wall, because the human psyche wants "so hard to believe" in any sort of fanciful treasure chests, suits of armor magically sitting undisturbed on cave floors, and so forth. Once you get someone giving a "lead" to a "treasure story", people will not find reasons to dismiss the notions, with common sense. Instead, they subconsciously bolster them, to the point of being iron-clad (because he said that she said that .... etc...). Why do you think all those treasure mag's from the 1960s and '70s sold so many copies? You know, the old yarns about the dying miner, the lone survivor of the indian attack, who drags himself into the saloon, spills the story of fabulous riches, giving a few clues, but dies before being able to return to recover the "lost mine" blah blah blah. We gullible md'rs want so hard to believe (lest we be "left out") that no amount of counter-persuasion works.

You're right about the "leather jackets" being the extent of their "armor" in the pacific northwest. Because they only had to repell indian arrow, not bullets. For example, in the Carmel Mission museum (the 2nd of the 21 missions), is an actual 1776 De Anza party chest armor, made strictly from leather. Multiple pieces steam-pressured and sewn into a type of chest armament. That particular excursion in 1776, was well financed and supplied Spanish excursion into Alta CA, at the time. I suppose ship traffic (which had the luxury of carrying more weight) could have had heavier stuff to bring to the new world. Still though, realistically speaking, manufactured goods were in short supply here, as cargo space was very precious and valuable, EVEN on ships arriving to re-supply the CA missions and presidios. We were at the remotest parts of the known-world at that time.

I've found Spanish uniform buttons, and other knicknacks. Even a sword hilt (however that *could* have been mexican era, who knows).

Not saying things aren't possible, or couldn't have occurred once somewhere ........ but just saying that in CA, you're going to be really lucky even to get Spanish era reales, at most, if you're really hardcore. The day and age of stumbling into caves (that coincidentally no one ever saw before, doh!) and just seeing treasure chests and suits of armor there? I mean, c'mon.

 

[centfladigger]

there was spanish armor and othert related artifacts found in a small shell mound in Pinellas county, the majority of it is on private property, 40 ft on public land you can still find shell beads as this was a manufactoring site. At another shell mound south of there inPinellas county mygood friend who does metal detect found spanish dragoon buttons and a small cache of musket balls and 2 flint locks. There have been found pieces of spanish armor and chain mail on a few different shellmounds around central florida.
I have printed out documents an old interview done inthe ealry 1900`s and the person being inteviewed talks about 5 mounds with spanish artifacts and beads, he also talks about the Desoto landing site not being where the park is today. I believe that. The Desoto memorial is just a nice park with some shell mounds on it. They have a nice little viewing area/museum with no real artifacts. I offered to donate some of my REAL artifacts and was told that if thew State archy`s came down they would confiscate it and take it back up to Tallahassee, so a no go there. My friend and I did our research and found where a site was and befriended the land owner and got permission to dig on his tomato farm, the site has long been destroyed from farming but there is still stuff there, it floods regular and is some hard work to find what we do. These are late 1500-1650`s beads a knife and a real cool spanish silver pendant engraved I found. we found gold foil and silver foil also. The silver foil were in pieces and apperantly were layed over a wooden object with a design relief carved into it and formed onto the foil

 

[leprechaun]

Awesome finds.

 

[snakeyes]

Interesting thread,I'm always looking for the trails, but alais this is all I have found so far

 

[centfladigger]

just north of me in Gainesville Florida a husband and wife archy team found a Desoto camp site on thier own family land 700 acres or so.. The are excavating coinage and chevron beads pig and other animal bones and various other artifacts

 

[Ryan L.]

In the. 1920's my grandfather his brother and one of their friends found a cave in north eastern OK there was Spanish armour a Skelton and a sealed box that was to heavy for the three of them to move they went to get help when they returned everything was gone not long after this there so called friend and his family moved away it took four men to pick up a box and carry it out of the house and the box wasn't that large he must have got help first returned and took everything before my grandfather and his group could get back there as far as the box in the cave they didn't open it I would speculate it was full of gold why the man was left behind with the box is a mystery

 

[Smerch]

In the Mesa Museum, in Mesa, Arizona there is on display the back plate of Spanish armor. The chest was protected by a breast plate of armor, and an armor back plate. The front and back armor plates secured together with leather buckles. The back plate was found in a cave 25 miles south of Phoenix.

 

[bigscoop]

Ever notice how most treasure legends involve completely desperate people in desperate situations? Blindly throw a dart at a United States map and it will undoubtedly land somewhere where one or more of these legends exist. On the other hand, throw this same dart again and it is extremely doubtful that it will land anywhere where an actual documented case exist.


To me, anyway, here lies the real challenge and difficulty in treasure hunting - finding documented cases, or at the very least, discovering some type of credible supporting evidence beyond he-said-she-said.

 

[reptwar1]

Hi,
The stories of Spanish and Conquistador armour, weapons and relics that have been found in mountain caves and desert trails with or without the original owners remains still attached has fascinated me for years, but being in Australia the chances of stumbling upon one of these discoveries would be neigh on impossible or as we say here 'rare as hens teeth'.

In all your experiences has anyone here ever come across anything mentioned above, weather it be in person, a story from a friend of a friend or read a story in print.

I am most interested to hear what people have to say, as working in my profession I find that handling artifacts that belonged to a real person in time is worth more than the gold they were mining or protecting.

Cheers
Matt

Old thread I know, but I just spoke with a gentleman 2 days ago, here in Arkansas that happened upon a local cave where, sat a skeleton in conquistador armor, holding an axe of some sort. He described it as being at the entrance of a cave as if he was guarding it. My friend also retrieved a coin from the 1600's from the same location. And yesterday, I saw pics on here where a tnet member found Hernando De Soto initials carved in a nearby rock. The Spanish were here. Feel free to PM me

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Reptwar1, my answer to you would be the same as post #26 . Be careful you do not watch too many episodes of Raiders of the Lost Ark

 

[Smithbrown]

Would like to see a photo, but even then this situation is easy to fake, even on photographs!

 

[reptwar1]

Would like to see a photo, but even then this situation is easy to fake, even on photographs!

I agree 100%. I'm the same way. All I can say is the guy seems like a straight shooter, but you never know. Sure would be cool to see in person though if real!

 

[Smithbrown]

But could be some third party, setting the whole thing up as joke/hoax....

 

[Smithbrown]

All I know is, if I was fixing to die soon, I would take off the armour and make myself comfortable....