“THE GREATEST COIN RECOVERED FROM THE 1715 FLEET”
Mr. and Mrs. Lucky had been coming to Florida’s Treasure Coast for a few years, and they dabbled in a pastime here known as metal-detecting. Escaping the northern climes for a few days or a couple of weeks at a time, their perseverance at the beaches opposite the famous wrecks of 1715 had yielded them modest rewards (a few silver coins). On a particularly stormy March 1989 day, Mr. and Mrs. Lucky were swinging their detectors over Florida sand as waves surged and receded. Suddenly Mrs. Lucky called out to her husband, “Honey, I’ve got a hit.” He joined her and managed the detectors while she dug ten to twelve inches down into the beach with her hands. On the final scoop, solar fire shone brightly from the bottom of the hole! Mrs. Lucky’s pulse quickened. She allowed a small amount of water from the next wave to wash over her fist in order to remove a little sand from her prize. She opened her hand carefully to confirm what she already knew and then showed it, very guardedly, to Mr. Lucky. A gold Royal! Clenching her fist firmly around her find, Mrs. Lucky took her detector in the other hand and, trying not to attract attention, headed straight for their car. They contacted some of the better-known dealers of Spanish colonial coins in the country to determine the value of her find. Thew piece was declared to the be finest specimen of a Royal eight escudos gold doubloon ever seen up to that time!
