Hello from SoCal - Spanish Coin?

Unusual coin with some odd characteristics. A standalone lion? A lion not in a quadrant with castles is not common. I've seen in a book a Lima, Peru 1/4 reale Philip II has a standalone lion but the other side of the coin is a castle on a shield (not a cross).

You might check the Daniel Sedwick auction coin catalogues for similar coins if you're curious.
 
Ok folks. I have been able to narrow my coin down to the Spanish Netherlands, because of the standing lion with the sword above its head and the arrows in its hand. My research continues...
 
As strange as it sounds, it's not impossible. I know a guy who found a Roman coin in Monterey , CA demolition site . Dated to something like AD 60 or something like that. He wrote it off to a wartime souvenir brought back by a returning GI.

Coin collecting is nothing new. In the 1920s, 30s, etc.... When "Egyptology" was all-the rage, a tourist could walk the tourist streets of Egyptian cities, and buy ancient coins as curiosity pieces from street-side vendor tent tables. And So too is it possible that cobs have been forever-more traded , collected, etc....

As another example (don't get "lost in the example"), there's been md'rs in Florida who thought they'd found a cob. Only to later realize it's the replica ones that are sold in the Mel Fisher museum gift shop. Doh!

I know a guy who found a seated coin on the beach, still in the plastic sleeve with a price tag on it. And as a kid, I found a foreign European coin from the 1800s in my neighborhood, even though all the houses on our street dated to the late 1950s only. How did I know it was a modern loss ? Still in the bezzle. Could something fall out of a bezzle or mount ? You bet.

Yes there was exploratory traffic on the west coast prior to the founding of San Diego. As early as the 1500's , ships were plying the coast, naming sites, planting flags, etc.... Is it possible that an explorer era trade trinket could be here ? Sure. Is it likely someone's going to eye-ball such a find simply walking down the beach ? Not likely.

I say this as someone who's found over 100 reales in CA, dating back to the mid 1700's. So please don't take this an anything un-respectful.

I would second Tom’s assessment. Still could be a tourist drop. The flee markets where I am at also sell Roman coins all the time. They sit in trays and people handle (possibly dropping a few through the years). Many are low grade condition in a try you can buy for 5-10 bucks. I bet through the years some have been lost and you could technically find a Roman Coin in Iowa. But we all would know from history that it couldn’t have been lost during that period.
 
.... But we all would know from history that it couldn’t have been lost during that period.

What ?? Are you saying that my friend who found the AD60 Roman coin in Monterey CA, didn't find conclusive evidence that the Romans sailed to Monterey at that time ? SAY IT ISN'T SO !

(Just kidding. I concur :lol: )
 
What ?? Are you saying that my friend who found the AD60 Roman coin in Monterey CA, didn't find conclusive evidence that the Romans sailed to Monterey at that time ? SAY IT ISN'T SO !

(Just kidding. I concur :lol: )

Hahahaha
 
You might want to research the Manila Galleons. They were Spanish treasure ships that sailed from Acapulco to the Phillipines. In 1565 they discovered a return route on a north easterly course and brought Oriental treasure back to Acapulco which was brought overland to Vera Cruz and shipped back to Cuba/Spain. Some of the Manila galleons were lost/attacked along the California coast. They were much larger than the Atlantic ocean Spanish ships. Sir Robert Marx has written books on the Manila Galleons.
 
You might want to research the Manila Galleons. They were Spanish treasure ships that sailed from Acapulco to the Phillipines. In 1565 they discovered a return route on a north easterly course and brought Oriental treasure back to Acapulco which was brought overland to Vera Cruz and shipped back to Cuba/Spain. Some of the Manila galleons were lost/attacked along the California coast. They were much larger than the Atlantic ocean Spanish ships. Sir Robert Marx has written books on the Manila Galleons.


Sure, and if you study their history and routes, you will see that only the very early ones, of that 150-ish years (approx 2 trips per year) ever went by the coast of anything north of the Channel islands. The very early ones perhaps sighted the Pacific coast as far north as San Francisco, before heading south to Mexico. But within a short time, they were learning to eclipse that length and turn south much further out at sea. Such that they sighted the coast way south . Like somewhere @ the channel islands to Baja CA. Hence missing much of the also CA coast.

And even to the extent that it *is* true that some went missing (could have gone down in the middle of the ocean, by the way, and not on the coast), and even to the extent that some *could* have crashed on the alta CA coast (southern CA, or even central coast Ca), it STILL doesn't do md'ing any good.

Because on their return voyages from the Philippines, they were laden with trade goods. Not gold and silver (as in the ala Mel Fisher lore stuff). They had taken their $$ (gold and silver) TO the Philippines to buy the goods that were bound for the return trip to Mexico. And that would be silk, porcelains, wax, spice, etc.... Hardly the kind of stuff you'd care to find metal detecting, eh ?

There was an account of a wrecked Manila Galleon found, in the 1950s (?) along a barren remote stretch of Baja CA, south of San Diego. Must have come ashore and crashed @ the shallows. Because the beach, after erosion, was said to be littered with broken porcelain shards (woohoo) and wax globs (woohoo). Silk, spice, etc... was long gone .

While it's true that they weren't carrying gold & silver during that 150-ish yrs, the *best* there could have been a captains personal pay box. In his personal cabin.

But .... relatively speaking ........ this is all highly speculative. I mean, this is like someone musing that "the middle of Antarctica or the Sahara desert *might be a good place to detect*. Since, ya never know if some dude, 500 yrs. ago, might have been walking on just this area, and buried his goodies there.
 
The Dutch pirate Piet Heyn was very successful raiding the Spanish fleets. He got around the Pacific and the Caribbean, probably the most successful pirate of all time.
 
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