Silver Gold Stackers Twelve Days of Christmas, Day 10, Also Gold an...

At heart I have always been a treasure hunter. I believe it all started when I saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as a child, and ever since I have been hooked. I lived for many years in the Caribbean and spent lots of weekends diving on reefs looking for any lost treasures. Sadly all I ever found was an old cannon, which was much too heavy for us to recover with the small boat we were using. The cannon was an awesome find though, but no silver or gold anywhere near by!

I have also searched the beaches along Florida's Treasure Coast in search of gold or silver coins that were lost during the sinking of the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet. On July 31, 1715 a fleet of eleven Spanish galleons loaded with silver, gold, and jewels were caught by surprise by a hurricane off the east coast of Florida. The shipped were all smashed against the reefs dumping millions in silver and gold all over the seafloor and much washed up to the beaches and mangrove swamps beyond them. To this very day on occasion you can find silver and gold coins on the beach after strong storms.

I never had any luck along the beaches with my metal detector. I have always wanted some of the treasure from the lost fleet. Now that I live in California my best bet is to buy it or move to Florida, which I am considering. As I still haven't finished up my Silver Gold Stackers Twelve Days of Christmas of items I would love to receive from Santa, a coin from the fleet will be on the list today, for day 10.

The following coin I found on eBay and is is a really nice one. It's a 2 Escudos gold coin that was minted in Colombia between 1694 and 1701 and lost to Atlantic ocean along with the 1715 treasure fleet. This coin was recovered form the seafloor and is in remarkable condition. Have a look:

This coin is graded by the Numismatic Guarantee Company (NGC) which is one of the major coin grading services worldwide. It was certified to come from the 1715 fleet and graded MS 64 , meaning it is in mint state condition as it would have coming right out the mint, and assigned a score of 64 points out of 70 possible. For a coin produced in that era they don't come much nicer!

Santa would have to be very kind this year on this coin, as the asking price is currently $11,880! Way outside my current budget... I would love to have such a beautiful coin from the shipwrecked fleet. Maybe someday, but not this year...

So a runner up that is still expensive, but not a shipwreck item. It's a 1 Escudo gold coin produced in Seville, Spain between 1599-1612. It is a very pretty coin also found on eBay.

Also a graded coin by the Professional Coin Grading Company (PCGS) is has been assigned the grade of AU 50. That means about uncirculated and receiving 50 points out the total possible of 70. Not too bad still, and a very nice coin. I would be thrilled with this one too, and it's only $3,095, alas, also outside of the current budget!

I have always loved gold coins, especially the older ones but they are usually way outside my budget. Now that gold is so expensive most gold is outside my budget except the small amounts, but I can dream!

Gold and Silver

Gold and silver prices have been going crazy over the last few days. So to finish up I wanted to go over the charts of the two precious metals over the last five days.

First up gold, it has been pushing up the charts like a freight train once again. Right now it's at $4,218 per Troy ounce, only $200 shy of the all time high. Governments and individuals are flocking to gold as a safe haven for their wealth right now as the world economies continue to struggle and amass huge amounts of debt. Gold is a great investment right now!

Kitco.com

However, the biggest news of the day is silver. It's hit a new all time high today going over $56 per Troy ounce. Silver is in very short supply and it's selling faster that it can be mined or refined right now. The result is some very steep silver prices. Remember, it's also stored by governments as a reserve, it's used in jewelry, coins and bars. But some of the most usage is in electronics, there's even some in your smart phone! I've been investing in silver since I was young, and I'm glad I have. It's never too late to start investing, begin small with a silver coin or some other silver at a reasonable price and keep buying it regularly and it will pile up fast!

Kitco.com

Silver may stay above $50 indefinitely after this push, it may no longer be cheap like it used to be. I remember buying silver in the 1990's for around seven or eight dollars per Troy ounce. The good old days... lol

Precious metals are always a smart investment and are not only for the rich. Everyone can invest in them, you just need to start and stick with it. This is, of course, non professional advice!

That will wrap up my post for this Black Friday, not my favorite day of the year. But oh well... I hope you enjoyed looking at those beautiful coins, someday I will get a gold coin that is from a shipwreck. It may not be this year though! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below, and thank you for all of your support, it really is greatly appreciated. Have a great weekend everyone!

References:

https://www.kitco.com/charts/gold

https://www.kitco.com/charts/silver

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1715_Treasure_Fleet

Disclaimer

I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!