Deos anyone remember the detector in Monerey, Cal. who found a $20.00 gold coin on the beach........
SanctionII
Posts: 12,119 ✭✭✭✭✭
..............10+ years ago after one of the worst winter storms in memory savaged the California Coast?
I remember reading about it and seeing pics of the beachs after the storm hit. Hardly any sand was left, as the waves from the storm washed most of the sand out to sea.
The guy with the metal detector decided to go to the beach area and try his luck. He hit the jackpot by finding a long buried double eagle. I recall it was a Liberty Head double eagle.
That would definitely make a detectorist's day.
I remember reading about it and seeing pics of the beachs after the storm hit. Hardly any sand was left, as the waves from the storm washed most of the sand out to sea.
The guy with the metal detector decided to go to the beach area and try his luck. He hit the jackpot by finding a long buried double eagle. I recall it was a Liberty Head double eagle.
That would definitely make a detectorist's day.
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Comments
<< <i>He hit the jackpot by finding a long buried double eagle. I recall it was a Liberty Head double eagle. >>
<< <i>That would definitely make a detectorist's day. >>
Or millennium!
<< <i>I found a 1851 Chile 8 Esc!! >>
Yeah, and never reposted the pictures of it when I asked you to, on the thread where numisma wanted to buy a beach detector.
Go stuff your mouth with peanuts, MadMartyBum.
<< <i>me and riccar know that person very well. his name is tom. i detected with him on that beach, that same week he got that coin. he also dug another gold coin that week as well. that storm uncovered thousands of old coins and jewlery items. sometimes you did'nt need a detector, you could see the coins just laying there. >>
Do you remember the date and mintmark?
Obscurum per obscurius
monterey has a history dating back to the 1700's. people have always loved visiting the beach and as always dropped and lost whatever they had. a good storm can move alot of sand in and out. the oldest coin i saw during that time was an 1854 italian coin.
if tom were to post here, he would blow you all away.
in the double digits (and does not include a cache as far as I know). He has
also found somewhere around 25-30 reales (yes- from CA).
Recently Tom has been asked to provide lectures that deal with researching
the Mission Era sites. He was filmed at one of the lectures and that one is
now on DVD. I haven't seen it yet, but I know it is packed with info.
Here's the DVD cover:
<<edited to correct amount of reales Tom has found>>
<< <i>Would definitely be fun to metal detect along "El Camino Real" [The King's Highway] in California going from one Mission to another if you had the inside scoop of exactly where along the route to look. >>
Finding the exact route may be the hardest part, especially since it changed over the years. It may be hard to detect on the 101, also.
Obscurum per obscurius
"King's Highway" (aka 101- but as you said, it's not exactly the same today)...
Tom is also a proficient beach hunter and has formula's that use the current tide
and swell forecasts in order to determine beach storm erosion (when the sand
is washed out, exposing the older layers... similar to the one where he found
the $20 gold you mentioned). He has written a couple papers on beach storm
detecting... and clubs have requested that he provide a lecture on that topic too.
<<edited to add note about hwy 101>>
some difficulties. (it's been so long, I forget what's required to be able to post but
I seem to remember a wait period that went through an approval process- -
-- is that correct LM?)
Here's Tom's note concerning that $20 gold coin find:
<<...2 gold coins in a week (6 or 7 days apart) in the big storms of 1997-98. An 1873-s $20 and a 1914 $2.50. On the day I got the $2.50, I had nearly 500 coins, of which 46 were silver, and over 100 wheaties. I told a few buddies about the erosion occuring at that beach, and they joined me the following days. Several hundred silver coins were harvested from that, before it sanded back in, but no more gold coins
And, his note concerning reale finds:
<<No, I don't have 100-ish reales. Maybe 25 or 30? I'm far from first place in this department though, as there are a few sleuths that do have nearer to 100, if not over. I'll take 3rd or 4th place for that in CA maybe
Can you imagine going to the beach with a double eagle in your pocket? Even if it was back in the 1910s or '20s, that was a lot of cash.
Obscurum per obscurius