2.13-carat diamond found in Arkansas

MURFREESBORO, Ark. — A San Antonio man has unearthed a 2.13-carat diamond at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park. Clay Jarvis was in nearby Texarkana on business when he decided to visit the park in Murfreesboro, which is the only diamond-producing site in the United States that is open to the public. "Due to good rains this year, many of the large diamonds were found right on the surface. Diamonds are a bit heavy for their size, so a good downpour will wash the dirt away, leaving the diamond exposed," according to Jenks.

More than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at the site since the first diamonds were found in 1906 by John Huddleston, a farmer who owned the land at the time. The site became an Arkansas state park in 1972.

Jarvis found the champagne brown diamond Saturday after searching for about 90 minutes. "It happens! And, keep looking, because it's fun," Jarvis said. Park interpreter Margi Jenks says the diamond is the 368th diamond found at the park this year — and the fifth diamond this year weighing more than 2 carats.

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A 12-year-old North Carolina boy has unearthed a 5.16 carat diamond while on vacation with his family at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park. Park officials said Saturday that Michael Dettlaff found the honey brown diamond on July 31 after searching for less than 10 minutes. He named it God's Glory Diamond.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/08/13/boy-12-unearths-516-carat-diamond-at-arkansas-state-park/?test=latestnews#ixzz2brbXxCrB

Michael found the gem in an area of the park where the 15.33-carat Star of Arkansas diamond was found in 1956. His father was still renting mining equipment when he discovered the diamond. The diamond is about the size of a jellybean and is the 328th diamond found this year. It is the 27th largest diamond found by a park visitor since the site became a state park in 1972, according to Cox. More than 75,000 diamonds have been found at the site since the first discovery in 1906 by John Huddleston, the farmer who owned the land at the time.

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Terry Staggs of Kentucky was visiting the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas on July 4th when he saw something in the dirt sparkle in the sunlight. It turned out to be a 2.95-carat, champagne-colored diamond, according to United Press International. Mr. Staggs has named it the Patriot Diamond in honor of the day it was found.

The Crater of Diamonds is a 911-acre state park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas that contains a 37.5 acre plowed field in which visitors can literally dig for diamonds.

It's the world's only diamond-bearing site that's accessible to the public. The largest diamond ever discovered in the US, the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, was found there in 1924. It was cut twice, resulting in a final 12.42-carat (2.484 g) M-color, VVS1 clarity emerald-cut diamond. In 1971, the Uncle Sam was sold for $150,000.

http://www.businessinsider.com/man-finds-295-carat-diamond-in-arkansas-2013-7

Cool Gemstones II

Citrine. Quartz crystal from the La Gardette Mine, Bourg d’Oisans, France. Quartz : clear quartz crystal from Arkansas. Has intersecting quartz rod giving the appearance of "the Sword in the Stone"

Tanzanite : natural deep blue tanzanite crystal. Cornetite : deep blue cornetite. From Etoile Mine, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tourmaline on Quartz - Jonas Mine, Brazil. Fluorite crystal on a matrix of granite. From Piemonte, Italy.

Star Moonstone from Burma Cat’s Eye Sillimanite from India.

Mozambique ruby, Madagascar blue sapphire, and a Madagascar purple sapphire.

More Spanish gold found off Treasure Coast

A family has discovered $300,000-worth of 300-year-old Spanish gold chains and coins during a sea scavenge off the Florida coast. The Schmitt family and a diver, Dale Zeak, found three pounds of thin gold chains, five gold coins and a gold ring just 15 feet below the surface 150 yards off the coast of Fort Pierce this weekend. The family runs a company named Booty Salvage but this is the biggest loot they've ever found.

Florida will get 20 per cent of the gold and it will be displayed in museums. The rest will then be evenly split between the crew and the company. But Schmitt said he's happy with whatever they earn from the stash. 'I'm happy as hell to find it,' he said. 'I don't care if I got one per cent of it. Finding it is 90 per cent of it for me.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2410051/Florida-family-finds-gold-Treasure-hunters-discover-300k-300-year-old-Spanish-gold.html

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48 gold coins from the 1715 treasure fleet have been discovered off the Florida coast. Brent Brisben, who owns the shipwreck salvage company 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels LLC, discovered the coins with a four-member crew as part of his excavation quest Saturday. A half hour into their quest, the crew was only 100 feet away from the shore when they discovered the coins. Brisben is estimating the value of the coins at $250,000, but says his archaeologist has to come in and provide the full value. He estimated that each coin is worth $4,000 to $5,000. The oldest one dates back to 1697, and the newest one 1714, he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/07/treasure-hunters-find-gold-coin-trove-off-florida/ ____________________________________________________

On July 31, 1715 eleven of the twelve Spanish ships sailing from Havana to Spain with royal treasure were wrecked by a violent hurricane on the east coast of Florida from St. Lucie to Cape Canaveral. Seven of these Spanish Treasure laden ships were scattered over the reefs from south of Fort Pierce to the Sebastian Inlet. Spanish coins of all types (gold and silver) started to be found on the beaches in the 1950s after strong nor'easters or a violent hurricane. This part of Florida's Atlantic east coast quickly became known as the Treasure Coast.

The (El Senor) San Miguel - was a 22 gun NAO Class(Fast Carrack). It very likely contained a significant portion of the treasure. It is believed the ship separated from the fleet the day before the storm struck and the wreck has never been found. It is believed only a small fraction of the treasure of the lost 1715 Treasure Fleet has been recovered.

1715 Fleet ships believed to have been found are: 1 - Nuestra Senora de la Regla 2 - Santo Cristo de San Roman 3 - Nuestra Senora del Carmen 4 - Nuestra Señora de La Popa 5 - Nuestra Senora del Rosario 6 - Urca de Lima 7 - Nuestra Senora de las Nieves

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Ships of the 1715 Fleet never located are the: 8 - Maria Galante 9 - El Senor San Miguel 10 - El Cievro 11 - Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion 12 - Griffon made it safely and went on to France

VERO BEACH — Bonnie Schubert couldn’t believe her eyes when, about 1,000 feet off Frederick Douglass Beach near Fort Pierce, she came face to face with a solid gold statue of a bird that had lain under the Atlantic Ocean exactly 295 years and 15 days.

“I remember asking myself, ‘Is this real?’” Schubert recalled Wednesday as the 5.5-inch-tall statue she found Aug. 15 was revealed to the public at her home in the Vero Shores neighborhood of Vero Beach.“The Bird,” as it’s come to be known, is real all right. So is it’s $885,000 appraised value. The statue was aboard one of 11 Spanish ships laden with treasures from the New World that were bound from Havana to the court of King Phillip V before encountering a hurricane July 31, 1715, and sinking off the Treasure Coast.

Urbana Corporation - URB.t

Urbana Corporation - URB.t is a closed-end investment company with current interests across the financial services sector from exchanges to banks to broker dealers and investment managers. Urbana has the scope to invest in any sector in any region.

On August 27, 2013 the company released NEWS

"Under the Notice of Intention to make a Normal Course Issuer Bid accepted on August 27, 2013 by the the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "Current NCIB"), Urbana is authorized to purchase up to 5,394,023 its own Class A shares between August 29, 2013 and August 28, 2014.

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http://pennystockjournal.blogspot.com/2013/09/urbana-corporation-urbt.html

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"Ophel Treasure" found

In summer excavations at the foot of the Temple Mount, Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar made a stunning discovery:

two bundles of treasure containing thirty-six gold coins, gold and silver jewelry, and a gold medallion with the menorah (Temple candelabrum) symbol etched into it. Also etched into the 10-cm medallion are a shofar (ram’s horn) and a Torah scroll.

The discovery can be dated to the late Byzantine period (early seventh century CE). The gold treasure was discovered in a ruined Byzantine public structure 50 meters from the Temple Mount’s southern wall. The menorah, a candelabrum with seven branches that was used in the Temple, is the national symbol of the state of Israel and reflects the historical presence of Jews in the area.

Given the date of the items and the manner in which they were found, Mazar estimates they were abandoned in the context of the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614 CE. After the Persians conquered Jerusalem, many Jews returned to the city and formed the majority of its population, hoping for political and religious freedom. But as Persian power waned, instead of forming an alliance with the Jews, the Persians sought the support of Christians and ultimately allowed them to expel the Jews from Jerusalem.