Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend, and for those of us who placed bets on the Super Bowl I hope that you walked away with some winnings! I did get lucky on one myself that 
Today I won't be talking about sports, but I do have some interesting items to share. You've already seen the first image of the silver token with the iconic ship that resides in front of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. That is where I'm getting started today! This token I picked up as part of a lot on eBay several years ago, and what really caught my eye was the ship. I've always liked coins or silver/gold with ships on them, they're just plain cool. If you've been to Vegas I'm sure you saw the ships along the Strip, they used to do a really cool show there in days past!
First up, have a look at this nice commemorative Silver Strike token that was won out of a Silver Strike slot machine at Treasure Island back in 2003. I didn't win it unfortunately, that would have been a really cool story if I had!
From silverstirkers.com
Like I mentioned previously, I picked this up as part of a lot on eBay some years back, and it was the ship that really caught my eye. It really is a nice token and contains 0.6 Troy ounces of silver, which is important to all silver stackers. These tokens really are fun to collect, although they are becoming more expensive as silver prices continue to climb and so few tokens are now produced.
ar.inspiredpencil.com
mavink.com
The hotel opened in 1993 with a pirate theme that included a pirate act that took place in the marina featuring two ships and pyrotechnics. Thus the ship seen on the silver token. The Battle of Buccaneer Bay show lasted ten years being replaced with Sirens of TI show in 2003. It featured showgirls and bare chested pirates, trying to attract more of an adult audience. In 2013 it too came to an end. I do recall seeing the latter act at some point while I was staying at the hotel, and it was impressive! The boats remain on display and are lit up at night, but no more shows are performed as management felt it didn't attract enough foot traffic into the casino.
Wikipedia
In 1986 Roman Polanski directed the movie "Pirates" starring legendary funnyman Walter Matthau. They constructed the Neptune, which is a fictionalized galleon for the movie. The movie did rather poorly at the box office and lost a lot of money, but at least they made an awesome looking pirate ship. The Neptune is docked in Genoa, Italy and is available for tours for those interested. I would love to see it, so next time I'm in Genoa I'm taking the tour!
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Built in 2009 as a true replica of what you would have seen in the 1600's, it's built of oak, pine, and African teak. Although a replica in most senses, it does have modern navigational technology. It boasts five decks and can deploy seven sails. This ship has sailed to docks around the world offering tours to the public. I would love to see this in person, maybe one of these day in will stop in Los Angeles or San Diego!
This was built as an exact replica of the Manila Galleon which were a famed ships of the Spanish fleet. This is the type of ship that was hauling looted treasure from the Americas to Spain, carrying silver from Acapulco to Manila to trade for silk and spices, and other commerce around the world. These were formidable ships at the time, and are really pretty big. They were tempting targets for pirates, but due to their armaments only four were ever captured by pirates.
The lost Spanish treasure fleets of 1715 and 1733 would have been of similar construction. Both fleets encountered hurricanes that doomed nearly all the sips, treasure, passengers, and crew to a horrible end. Those who did survive had no food or fresh water and perished more slowly. There is still a lot of silver and gold coins buried in the sand along Florida's treasure coast where the 1715 fleet smashed into reefs. I have tried my luck with my metal detector several times along those beaches, but walked away with no silver or gold.
The 1733 fleet was lost to reefs in the Florida Keys, and there is still a lot of unrecovered treasure waiting to be discovered buried in the sands off of the Keys. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was another galleon lost in a hurricane in 1622, and is the famed wreck that treasure hunting legend Mel Fisher discovered in the early 1970's. The treasures from that wreck are worth a fortune today. This silver coin from the wreck is for sale on eBay for $2,650!
eBay.com
There's still a lot of treasure to be found, and I wish you better luck than I've had over the years. It would be amazing find some silver or gold just sitting on the beach. Along the Florida treasure coast it's not an uncommon event! So if you're feeling lucky, go find your treasure!
That will wrap things up for today. I hope you enjoyed seeing the silver token from Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, it's a proud part of my collection. I also hope you enjoyed seeing the ships constructed to reminisce the era of pirates and Spanish treasure galleons sailing the seven seas. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below, and thank you everyone for all of your support. I really do greatly appreciate it! Have a great week everyone!
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune_%28galleon%29
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gale%C3%B3n_Andaluc%C3%ADa
https://lost-in-history.com/the-lost-spanish-treasure-fleets/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_de_Atocha
https://www.worldhistory.org/Manila_Galleon/
Disclaimer:
All pictures are mine unless otherwise indicated
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!
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