Pirate Coin?

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by Thomas15, Jul 8, 2018.

  1. Thomas15

    Thomas15 New Member

    Attached coin was recently found along beach in USVI. Diameter is 31-32mm and weight is approx 8 grams. It appears to have markings of Seville doubloon but does not appear to be gold though? More like bronze or copper. We did not clean yet because did not want to damage. Any initial thoughts? Thank you all!
     

    Attached Files:

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  3. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

  4. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    Arrrr!
     
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  5. bear32211

    bear32211 Always Learning

    nice little find.
     
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  6. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Shiver me timbers that's a great find!
     
    Thomas15 likes this.
  7. A dubious find. A Spanish Doubloon / 8•Escudos / Onza was approx. 27grams. A "sea salvaged" find is hardly synonymous with a "pirate" coin. Few salvaged finds can be truly or convincingly identified as pirate coins …and some of those that have been thusly identified &/or thusly marketed are gross errors.
    When I lived in the BAHAMAS, I found it noteworthy that most of the coins found on the beach had been salted by a group that had the decency to clearly mark them "Souvenir of Lucaya"! Which probably may be an indication of more pirates & dirt bags currently in the USVI… Caveat Emptor!
     
  8. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    Edited
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2018
  9. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    There is nothing dubious here except PARTS of the above post. Don't clean the coin. The writer is correct about "salting" a beach as I :troll: have done it myself with fake coins to enjoy the reaction from folks walking the beach. :hilarious: Post the image in the foreign section here and on several different coin forums.
     
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  10. PlanoSteve

    PlanoSteve Well-Known Member

    @Thomas15, nice find! :happy: Were you metal detecting or was it a casual find? Perhaps it was exposed from storm activity? Congrats! Sorry I cannot help with identification.
     
  11. Thomas15

    Thomas15 New Member

    Thank you all! Other than lots of Google searching, we’re certainly new to coins. While we are also certainly skeptical, we were the only ones on the beach taking an early morning walk. It wasn’t an obvious find either. Also, it was clumped with sand as well - see attached. We will go to a local expert but they’re closed on Sundays - so thought this would be a fun start. Truly thank you!
     

    Attached Files:

  12. Thomas15

    Thomas15 New Member

    Casual find! There was some light rain overnight but wouldn’t consider it a storm. Girlfriend was collecting seashells and small bit of coin caught her eye. It was barely exposed right on the water line. We also spent another hour looking for more but nothing..had a plane to catch
     
  13. BlackBeard_Thatch

    BlackBeard_Thatch Captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge

    It's crusted correctly but the weight is off by a lot. Seems you have found yourself a shield type Spanish 8 reales cob minted at Cartagena,Colombia meaning it was minted between 1622-1655 during the rein of Philip IV of Spain(date is covered by incrustation). I'm skeptical due to the weight and that is the only thing that throws me off. I'm guess USVI stands for U.S. Virgin Islands? If so Spanish ships sailed a lot around there to stop at port before going back to Spain, some of islands were even controlled by the Spanish. Most cobs found mostly come from Mexico or Colombia because those were the major new world mints where silver,gold and precious jewels like Emeralds were being mined and shipped back. I would reccemend sending some pictures to Daniel Sedwick and see what he thinks, he is the top expert on cobs.
    https://www.sedwickcoins.com/
     
  14. Thomas15

    Thomas15 New Member

    Thank you so much, Blackbeard! Yes, we were in the US Virgin Islands - certainly a known area for shipwrecks and pirate activity, making the coin possible (and us hopeful!); however, the weight is leaving us skeptical as well. I will certainly send over to Daniel Sedwick and thank you for the recommendation.
     
  15. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    There are a lot of those tourist trinkets down here (I live in the USVI). While the recent one-two hurricane punch certainly could have uncovered some interesting stuff, odds are strong that any such found coins are going to be tourist trinkets.

    (By the way, it is illegal to remove anything from the beaches down here-- rocks, shells, coral, anything.)

    There are many stores selling authentic shipwreck coins and ancient coins. Unfortunately most are set in jewelry.
     
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  16. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    TIF good wishes coming your way ....I know you're in the sights for the next blow!
    Spent some good times in the USVI as well neighboring islands. Batten down the hatches hon. Paddy
     
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  17. Thomas15

    Thomas15 New Member

    Thanks, T
    Thanks TIF - the more we 'dig' the more it appears to be a trinket as you mentioned. We noticed an almost identical replica coin on a different site. Oh well. Somebody's having a laugh somewhere.

    https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/236684-spanish-cob-coin-shield-type

    And we had no idea about removing anything from the beaches! Guess we'll just have to return it when we visit again ;) On serious note, I echo Paddy and wish you and all USVI well over the next few months. Be safe!

    Thank you everyone for your time and comments. It certainly gave us a new appreciation and knowledge of coins and history!
     
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  18. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Yody Ho.......and that's all I'll say.
     
  19. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Thanks! Looks like Beryl has mostly fizzled out. We could use some rain but a massive number of homes still have tarps for roofs, so I hope the wind isn't bad when this tropical storm passes tomorrow. It's going to be a nail-biting hurricane season because the recovery is slow going.
     
  20. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Shoot........didn't realize you folks were still hurting. Thought recovery was eminent. Stay safe Tif.......you're in our thoughts.
     
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  21. Paddy54

    Paddy54 Well-Known Member

    Yes friends in PR as well St Martin, and like I said spent quite a bit of my younger days on st Croix, st John,and st Thomas. All fun land falls.....;)
    Spent several st Paddy days in the parade on st Croix drinking Caribbean comas and Beula fan tails.... which were from Frederiksted that I'm sure she made out of bamboo , like wood alcohol.... only drink I've ever had that after drinking your eye saw trails! And of course a nice lobster dinner at Franks..... followed by a night of partying and hitting the roach coach aka the aluminum room down by fort Christansted. Before crawling back to the apt.
    But island time for the most part is a blast.....just someday like everywhere it can suck. Be safe.... soon come :)
     
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