December 1988 - One Of My Best Coins Pt 1

[stupot]

There are without doubt, finds that will always stick in your mind as long after they were found. This is one of those to me that means a great deal.

In the 1980's I used to holiday on the Cornish coast here in England. Spending a few weeks every year searching the coastline for Coins & Jewellery. Those times my detectors were the new Whites Eagle SL90 & a Goldscan 5 PI. It was always productive with the majority being more recent losses. Occasionally, an old section opened up with coins from the last couple of centuries brought into detection range. In those times I was a PI fanatic & it opened up many new places.

I hit the local bay as soon as the tide had dropped in the morning with the Pulse, winds had opened up a short stoney section which produced many coins all graded by size - a rare occurrence for me to come across. Heavier coins were at the further end of the channel, & all the smaller light weight at the other. This bay is a very typical storm beach with Atlantic breakers hammering the rock & clay cliffs in bad weather.

That afternoon the tide ran in to an ever increasing high winds from the West. By dark, the storm was a force 7-8. It was bad but just a few hours later it had moderated as the tide dropped. I took the Eagle down and looked for the earlier stoney coin section, It was gone. But I did start to find many old green coins further up which I just stuffed in my bag not wasting any time. It started to rain heavily which eventually put out my head lamp but I continued up among the very exposed rocks. One rock I didn't recognise at all a huge boulder at least my height - all sand gone. More coins and a piece of lead, no other non-ferrous scrap at all.

After three hours, now after midnight, I'd had enough. back at base sodden clothes & wet but functioning Eagle (not known for its waterproofing qualities!) Emptied bag onto newspaper a lot of older copper and silver coins mostly from the 1920's & 30's. The lead lump I could now could plainly see was and big fat heavy 8 Reales, & in really good condition. Lack of wear indicates either exposed layer by the rock or blown out of its hiding place much further out, weight 373 grains. I was inclined to deduce the former.  I've had a great interest in old wrecks long before this find & had found a few Spanish coins elsewhere on very rare occasions. But this was a big one!

Yes, straight back the next morning. That boulder and open rocky section was now re-buried with just one tide, even the PI couldn't reach deep enough. That 1699 Potosi coin still remains one of my very best finds - at least to me. It stayed at the top for the next five years until another coin very surprisingly took its place.

 

 

[F350Platinum]

Outstanding. 🏆 Love that Spanish Silver. 

I have yet to find anything above 1 Real, but I did squeak a 1687 1 Real cob a few weeks back in a farm. I dug a 1690 1 Real cob right in front of the farmer one day about 3 years ago! Your odds of getting something much older are far greater 😅

Last year my hunting buddy got a 2 Real milled coin at one of my permissions. Bucket lister for me. 🤔

That was a pretty brutal hunt with a great reward.

[Rivers rat]

I wish you were still a PI fanatic............

 

RR

[stupot]

2 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

F350Platinum thats a really good effort on your part. I know Spanish  coins circulated until 1850 there. Many Portugese and Spanish coins were in circulation here too. Roman or Medieval dont hold to Spanish for me, but they are rare!

 

[stupot]

2 minutes ago, Rivers rat said:

I wish you were still a PI fanatic............

 

RR

In my heart i love it still !

[rvpopeye]

That was some serious sand movement stupot !

Hope you see that boulder again soon , without the rain this time. 🖖

[Geologyhound]

Well, you said in a prior post you liked lead…