Coin Beach

It was a bright sunny day in August and I finally had the opportunity to go to "Coin Beach", the one mile long stretch of coastline, north of Indian River Outlet, which is known for finding ship wreck coins.

I had always wanted to go there, perhaps it was the adventurous side of me, God knows it was only in my thoughts, for there were not too many adventurous bones in my body.

My Walk On The Beach

Any time I went to the beach areas I would take a walk on the beach right at the shore line, where the foam of the ocean would ripple up on my bare feet. There was something calming about the feeling of salt water washing on and off my weary feet. Glancing down, there was also something special about the white foam from the ocean, and the feeling of the sand washing from underneath my feet, and then replenishing again. I loved the ocean and everything involved in it's nature.

The History of The Faithful Steward

I knew the history of this very beach, and it was called "Coin Beach" for a reason. This stretch of ocean people forget that it was a major shipping highway because one of the largest ports of call in the early America's was Philadelphia. The only way of reaching Philadephia back then was through shipping along the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. This well known one mile long stretch of coastline produced thousands of coins over the years from the wreck of the Faithful Steward. I had no illusions of finding a coin from the fateful voyage of the Faithful Steward. The Faithful Stewart was bound for Philadelphia, carrying 249 passengers and a cargo of 400 barrels of British copper half pennies and rose gold guineas.

The Faithful Stewart shipwrecked off the coast of Delaware in 1785, specifically near the Indian River Inlet and Cape Henlopen.

After a severe storm coins were found on the shores of coin beach. I began to tire, and turned around to walk where my husband was sitting patiently in a beach chair, waiting for me.

My Treasure Surprise

I was approaching my husband, and I looked down at the white foam that was washing over my feet and I saw something shiny, and I reached down and picked it up, it was a coin, distorted and not completely round, it was worn but it was a coin. It was a shipwreck coin.

What Did I Do

I didn't know what I should do, so I headed for a coin shop in the beach area, and they gave me a generous amount, or at least that is what I thought. I gave him my name and address and he gave me a check for fifty dollars.

We drove the hour long ride home and in our driveway, there sat a black limousine with a government license plate.

An official man exited the car, and he had a badge that read:

"Secret Service"