A GENIUS- OR IS HE JUST CRAZY

Update of:  Shipwrecks, Train wrecks and Kate Gosselin

Regular readers may not  be aware that Jack Magne', President of Treasure Sails, Inc., and creator of the Ghost Galleon Collection  has a serious, dedicated side, which has resulted in the production, and launch of what may be one of the most unique treasure offerings   ever created. We believe Jack's alleged confinement- possibly self imposed in his mountain cabin in Northern California  is only a temporary, humorous glitch which has come in the middle of an otherwise successful launch of one of the world's most unique jewelry presentations.  Jack has sent us a somewhat cryptic message- along with a poem,  which appears later in this  writing.

Magne's  passionate, if not obsessive,  pursuit of a goal he set many years ago has finally come to fruition.  His name is pronounced monyea, was the first entrepreneur to find a way to market many of the silver bricks, called ingots that were recovered by Mel Fisher in perhaps the world's most famous and celebrated 1622 shipwreck "Atocha".  Most prominent in the treasure cargo  were 1000 silver bars and 562 copper ingots- laid in close proximity, (side by side) almost four centuries ago.

Beginning in 1988, Jack, with some assistance from  Mel Fisher, was  able to market Atocha  shipwreck silver,  cast  into authentic designs inspired and recreated from actual one-of-a-kind recovered artifacts.  Jack successfully launched his first treasure jewelry at D.H.Holmes department stores headquartered in New Orleans. Other chains such as Dillards and JC Penney followed and were spectacular successes.

Here is the rub: No one in the world, in the 25 years, since the location and salvage of the Atocha has been willing or able to utilize BOTH  Atocha Silver AND Atocha copper incorporated into the same piece of jewelry. Spurred on by the fact that the Atocha copper is actually, (at 562 ingots), more rare than the Atocha silver (at 1000 bars), a fact not lost on collectors and seekers of treasure- Jack has never abandoned his goal of combining, once again,  the copper and silver- but now as treasure jewelry.  Fisher's original contention that there is naturally occurring gold in Atocha's copper ingots was substantiated by him with an early  sampling of 6 randomly chosen copper ingots which contained varying small, but significant percentages- This additional, yet little known,  uniqueness of the special copper further propelled Magne's passion.  While no one else cared,  Magne' has collected and stored the Atocha copper along with  the silver, in bank vaults over the years.

There are many reasons casting of Atocha copper had been problematic.  First, in the New World, in the 1600's  the ingots were crudely cast in dug-out sand holes. The surface embedded sand, along with over three centuries' gathered sedimentation beneath the ocean had made the copper difficult to manage and destructive to the equipment small-batch casters work with. Add to this the fact that silver smiths are not copper smiths - and usually have no desire to be.

Undaunted, the tenacious Magne' has tried repeatedly over the years to come up with the appropriate answer --- and,  finally he has. Like most things worthwhile, it was a major challenge to get it started.  First, he persuaded a major USA bronze foundry to agree to melt the Atocha copper, skim the sand and impurities, and re-cast into smaller, 15 pound  user-friendly  units that are then shipped to the copper-smith who casts the copper into Jack's authentic treasure designs.  The castings are then shipped to Jack's silversmith who  painstakingly fits actual Atocha hand cast silver components to the copper coins, medallions, pendants, earrings and more.  The finished product, stunning with its contrasting hues,  is protected against oxidation, antiqued and hand polished. Original mint marks, manifest numbers, tax stamps and other primitive inscriptions are all captured in beautiful, wearable treasure  jewelry.

Since presumably no one else world-wide has gone to this much trouble to produce jewelry, Magne' has been described variously as an obsessed genius, or just plain crazy. Thus,  www.pmacoins.com , is short for Precious Metal Advocates originally a marketer of rare coins only,  now presents the Ghost Galleon Collection at special affordable introductory  prices. Jack's insistence on quality is combined with his original commitment to make the Atocha shipwreck treasure affordable to the average person.

               GHOST GALLEON

Through the years that Fisher spent
In search of HIS shipwreck

No lucid dream - the lure was real

Like cannons on ship - deck

Today's the day - or so he thought

Path clues would disappear

The galleon moved, or so it seemed

Elusive - yet so near

For sixteen years, the sea hid back

Atocha's secret hold

The pirates' quest - the treasure chest

And ghostly stories told

The eery mist gave up one day

Something less surreal

The silver, gold and copper too

The ghost Mel found was real

           Jack Magne'