in 1989, presumably it was worth more now?Īs a last resort, Ellery tried eBay. And Spanish milled dollars were worth about $50 to $350. Higher quality versions were machine-made. More searching unearthed a 1989 Los Angeles Times article and the news that early pieces of eight were handmade and known as cobs. double escudo) was a two-escudo gold coin worth approximately $4 (four Spanish dollars) or 32 reales, and weighing 6.766 grams (0.218 troy ounce) of 22-karat gold (or 0.917 fine hence 6.2 g fine gold). The doubloon (from Spanish doblón, or “double”, i.e. If these coins were the real thing, how valuable were they?Ī quick search of Wikipedia elicited the following information: He probably thinks I found another body.Įllery started to put his phone down, but stopped. Jack said crisply, “On my way,” and disconnected. Jack was kidding, of course, though given Buck Island’s-and Ellery’s-history, maybe anything seemed possible to him. “I’m okay, but…I’d rather not say any more until you get here.” “Uh… Do you think you could maybe stop by here for a couple minutes?” Did you want to go ahead and grab a table?” Jack’s phone rang once and then Jack, who also happened to be Ellery’s boyfriend, said, “Hey, I’m not quite done here. Granted, when it came to the Shandy clan, some kind of elaborate scam was always a possibility, but given Vernon’s untimely and mysterious disappearance in the 1960s…Įyes still on the small pile of coins, Ellery reached for his cell phone and pressed the contact number for Pirate Cove’s chief of police Jack Carson. But if this was indeed Vernon Shandy’s diving collection bag-and whose else could it be?-was it likely the coins would be fake? The details of the gold pieces-the believably worn engravings, the rough, slightly misshapen edges, even the heft of the coins-doubloons?-felt real.Īppearances could be deceptive. He wasn’t even sure if the coins were real. Was the image supposed to be King Philip? Lament at Loon Landing will be released IN OCTOBER. HISPAN INFANS Dear Reader, you are not losing your mind. The other side was etched (engraved?) with the profile of a young man and the words PHILIPPUS D.G. He could just make out the (Latin?) words SÆCVLA VINCIT and below: VIRTVTI ET HONORI. On one side a woman held two wreaths aloft. Make that eight gold coins and one silver.Įllery Page, owner and proprietor of the quaint mystery bookshop known as the Crow’s Nest, let out a long breath and picked up the silver coin, fingertips tracing the unfamiliar size and design. Eight gold coins gleamed and glinted in the lamplight.
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