A couple of firsts! Sort of...
I've been doing some late-night dry sand hunting since work (school) is back in session and the tides have been lame and always during work hours. But ya know how it is-- never hurts to check for fresh drops above the tide line, even as the summer season comes to it's end.
I've generally been finding a healthy amount of clad and the odd bit of silver jewelry-- satisfying, but nothing to write home about.
The other night was real slim pickin's (I hunt that beach a lot) but I found a couple firsts!
My first silver coin... is actually a coin ring!
And my first dry-sand gold-- a truly minuscule amount!
Silver Coin Ring-- It's an extremely odd one! It's very large and very thick-- so much so that when I dug it up I thought I'd found a cross-section of pipe. Upon closer inspection I realized that it had a face and part of a shield on it, as well as a 925 and maker's mark on the inside. I also realized that it was definitely not from a currency with which I was familiar.
A short search revealed the unexpected truth-- it's a Maria Theresa Thaler, a huge silver coin from the Hapsburg Austrian Empire in 1780. Whaaaaa!? But don't worry- further searching revealed what I expected: It's definitely not an original. It's a modern re-strike of an old and very valuable european coin. I'll have to check with the coinshooters, but I think turning a true 1780 MTT into a ring would be considered the vilest kind of sacrilege. Anyhow, I did find a couple people online making rings from MTT re-strikes -- they sell for about $80. Definitely one of my weirdest finds and possibly the only silver coin I will ever find!
Dry-sand gold-- Yeah, it's a silver earring with a 14k gold post. Lol. I was surprised to find it with the backing still on it and in very good condition. Even better, it's another "Chrome Hearts" piece! They sell them as individual studs for men at $400 a piece (criminal? yes- i agree) and there are used ones being sold on ebay and yahooauk for $200. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get more for it than if it had been a real gold ring!
All in all, some pretty cool firsts!
I've been doing some late-night dry sand hunting since work (school) is back in session and the tides have been lame and always during work hours. But ya know how it is-- never hurts to check for fresh drops above the tide line, even as the summer season comes to it's end.
I've generally been finding a healthy amount of clad and the odd bit of silver jewelry-- satisfying, but nothing to write home about.
The other night was real slim pickin's (I hunt that beach a lot) but I found a couple firsts!
My first silver coin... is actually a coin ring!
And my first dry-sand gold-- a truly minuscule amount!
Silver Coin Ring-- It's an extremely odd one! It's very large and very thick-- so much so that when I dug it up I thought I'd found a cross-section of pipe. Upon closer inspection I realized that it had a face and part of a shield on it, as well as a 925 and maker's mark on the inside. I also realized that it was definitely not from a currency with which I was familiar.
A short search revealed the unexpected truth-- it's a Maria Theresa Thaler, a huge silver coin from the Hapsburg Austrian Empire in 1780. Whaaaaa!? But don't worry- further searching revealed what I expected: It's definitely not an original. It's a modern re-strike of an old and very valuable european coin. I'll have to check with the coinshooters, but I think turning a true 1780 MTT into a ring would be considered the vilest kind of sacrilege. Anyhow, I did find a couple people online making rings from MTT re-strikes -- they sell for about $80. Definitely one of my weirdest finds and possibly the only silver coin I will ever find!
Dry-sand gold-- Yeah, it's a silver earring with a 14k gold post. Lol. I was surprised to find it with the backing still on it and in very good condition. Even better, it's another "Chrome Hearts" piece! They sell them as individual studs for men at $400 a piece (criminal? yes- i agree) and there are used ones being sold on ebay and yahooauk for $200. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get more for it than if it had been a real gold ring!
All in all, some pretty cool firsts!