9/29 Report - Fort Capron and the Sunken Gold Coin Payroll

1898 US Silver Dollar.

I thought I'd talk some about local US finds today. One that is sometimes mentioned, is the Fort Capron payroll of gold coins that was sunk at the mouth of the old St. Lucie inlet. Some accounts call it the Indian River inlet, which you might remember, has moved.

While references to this treasure are not common, they can be found. If you scroll down to the third or fourth story on the following referenced web page, you'll see a brief account of the recovery of the gold coins just off the Indian River. As the account mentions, the coins were found back in 1965 by some boys diving for lobsters north of Pepper Park. Although I've read that the boys found all of the lost coins, I just find it very hard to believe that they found all the coins unless they were still in barrels or something. If the coins were loose, I have a real hard time believing that a couple of boys without metal detectors would find all of the coins. Although I guess it is possible, even modern searchers with metal detectors could easily leave one or two behind. The ocean is big and the sand hides things pretty well.

I believe there is a historical marker at the site of Fort Capron, although I've read that the marker might not be on exactly the right spot. An old book gives the fort's latitude as being at Latitude 27 30.

Here is the address for that nice web site including a brief account of the recovery.

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/gold/standard/new.php

You can find more detail on the lost payroll in the Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 47, I think it was. The article by Clausen also provides a map and other details.

Remember that we live in an area that has a rich history and treasures in addition to the sunken Spanish galleons.

Corrected Link. The Treasure Reference Link for the Sedwick Auction 6 in this blog is now correct. It was bringing up the fifth yesterday. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Forecast and Conditions. The predictions say that by the weekend the seas will be increasing. I've noticed that the wind predictions for five days out have not been real accurate. I am seeing predictions for increased seas and north winds for this weekend and into next week. If it actually goes according to the current predictions, it looks like things might improve a bit. Until something actually changes I am maintaining a 1 (poor) rating.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@cocmcast.net

9/28 Report - Detector Gold Chain Test & Brevard County Treasure

Gold Chain Metal Detector Test.

I used the small gold chain shown in this photo to conduct a test to see how well three metal detectors would would do with the chain. I conducted the tests in my front yard where there is some ambient electrical interference that might have affected the results. For one thing, there is a power line about 80 yards away from where I conducted the test.

The chain was placed on the ground in a position similar to that shown in my hand in the photo. I used a Minelab Excalibur II first. The Excal did not detect this small gold chain in either discrimination or pinpoint mode with both modes using maximum sensitivity and minimum discrimination.

I then used an older Tesoro Stingray. The Stingray detected the chain very clearly at about two inches in both the pinpoint and discrimination mode, but with the discrimination setting at zero. Turning the discrimination setting to foil decreased the signal strength significantly.

I then used a very old Tesoro Royal Sabre. It detected the chain best of all. The signal was good and loud at about three inches in both the pinpoint and deiscriminate modes with no discrimination. Increasing the discrimination to the foil level barely decreased the signal strength, while turning discrimination up to the nickle level eliminated the signal altogether.

This test is not totally fair. The Excal does better at the beach than in my yard. Using max sensitivity, it seems to pick up a lot of the electrical interference in my yard which is not present at the beach. The Tesoro detectors, on the other hand do not do as well in the wet salt sand as they do in dry sand, or in the case of the Stingray, completely submerged. To get a completely accurate test would require controlling more variables.

Yet, I do feel safe in drawing a few conclusions. The Tesoro detectors are known for their good response to small precious metal targets. I do find more very small items of platinum, gold and silver with them even though their depth doesn't seem very good under certain situations such as in wet salt sand. I would use the Minelab over the Tesoro detectors in many situations, but there are times when one of the Tesoro detectors might be the best choice.

Older detectors can be used very effectively when used in the right situations. In certain situations some of the older detectors might out-perform newer and much more expensive detectors when they are well suited for the situation and used well.

There are times when I think it is a good idea to go over the same area, the second time using another type of detector. Because of the differences in operating characteristics you might pick up something you missed with the first detector.

I choose to use the Excal most of the time because of its versatility. It provides good all-around performance under a a variety of situations. There are times though, when I would use one of the other detectors. It depends upon the environment and the target.

Of course, there are a variety of detectors that a person could use, and I've used a variety of other detectors. This test was lacking in many ways, yet I believe the results are still both instructive and useful. I tend to use detectors something like golf clubs - one is best for one situation and another might be better for another situation. You might also find it useful at times, to use more than one type of detector at the same location.

Gold Value Calculator. Here is a nice web site that is nice for calculating the gold value of items.

http://www.midstatesrecycling.com/karat.php


Florida Treasure Hunting Vacations. Here is an article on Treasure Hunting vacations. It talks mostly about treasures on the Florida West Coast, but there is also a good paragraph on Brevard County cobs.

http://www.googobits.com/articles/p0-660-treasure-hunting-vacation--gold-coins-and-pirate-loot-on-the-florida-beaches.html

Forecast and Conditions. There is nothing significant out there in the Atlantic right now. The tides are decreasing. Seas will be getting even calmer through the week until Friday when they are expected to be only about a foot. That will be a good time to do some snorkeling or some water hunting where ever that is possible. A cool front is due Wednesday. There is nothing to rip the beaches yet, but you might start to get ready in case we have our normal Fall fronts. Until that happens we'll probably be stuck on a TCTBDC Rating of 1.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/27 Report - Error Coins & Where's George

A Couple of Error Coins Found with a Metal Detector.

About three days ago, I posted a link to an article on some of the more common error coins that are found in circulation. Here are a couple of error pennies that I noticed in my finds. On one there is an irregular raised edge and the other has the Lincoln Memorial printed over Lincoln's profile. It can be fun and productive to look through your finds with a magnifying glass before you spend them.

Sedwick Coins and Gold Artifacts. There are a number of 1715 Fleet cobs in the Sedwick auction. You can get a good look at a variety of examples.

You might have noticed that on some of the gold artifacts described in the auction catalog, there is a green patina or other signs that if you didn't know better, might lead you to believe that the item is not gold. That is a common mistake. Sometimes the alloys, particularly copper, can mislead you to think that a lower purity gold is not gold at all. Be careful when trying to judge gold from surface signs. On modern gold items there can also be misleading effects, especially when an item has been soldered or repaired.

Forecast and Conditions. Tropical Depression eight has fallen apart and the remnants are still far out in the Atlantic. It doesn't look like we'll have any tropical storms in the near future.

The wind is coming from the west today and the tides have decreased significantly. The waves will be around 2 or 3 feet for the coming week, so we won't be getting much help from the weather.

I would expect that it might be possible to get a little lower on the beach with the west winds and decreasing tides.

I am not changing my treasure beach rating. It is still a one.


Where is George? I don't know if you've ever received a dollar bill or a larger bill with the words "Where's George" on it. Just the other day I looked at a dollar bill that I got at a restaurant and it had those words on it along with a web site address.

When I got home I went to the computer and went to the webs site, www.whereisgeorge.com, and found out that the bill had been last reported in New Jersey.

One of the more creative uses of the internet that some one came up with allows a user to track the travels of bills in circulation. I think it is interesting. You go to the web site and enter the series and serial number of a bill carrying the stamped or written message, "Where's George" on the bill and follow its travels. If you register at the web site, you can enter new bills and receive notification when the next person lists a new location of a bill that you've tracked.

Well I still haven't done my gold chain test. I'll be doing that soon I hope.

And hopefully we'll be seeing a change in beach conditions before long.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/26 Report - Gold and Amethyst Treasure Ring & Huge Gold Find

Gold and Amethyst Treasure Ring.

This one is valued at between 5000 and 7500 dollars and is available through the Sedwick Treasure Auction. See the link for the Sedwick auction on my Treasure Links List.

You can learn a lot by looking at the pictures. I especially learn a lot form looking at the artifacts. I saw a few items that are similar to things that I've found and now know a little more about.

When you look through the auction items, notice how the artifact is constructed. Look at how the amethyst is set in that ring, for example, and the designs and workmanship. That will help you identify artifacts that you find, weather it is jewellery, spikes, lead cargo seals or whatever. If you detect the Treasure Coast beaches, the more you know about these items the better off you will be.

Huge Gold Find with Metal Detector. Here is the story of the largest ever find of Anglo-Saxon gold. It was discovered by a detectorist using a fourteen year old detector on a farm. There are several hints in this story that you can benefit from. One is that you don't need the newest most expensive detector to make great finds. Wait until you see the pictures. The hoard included at least 1,345 items dating back to the seventh century. Fox News also covered this story.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1215723/Staffordshire-hoard-Amateur-treasure-hunter-finds-Britains-biggest-haul-Anglo-Saxon-gold.html#ixzz0S38OUfSt

Thanks to Gary D. and Paul H. for submitting this story.

Conditions and Forecast. Tropical depression 8 is now out there in the Atlantic but looks like it might not come our way. I don't see any signs of much surf this coming week and the tides are slackening off. So the hunting won't be easy. My TCTBDC Rating for our local beaches is STILL a 1. \

Nonetheless it is still fairly easy to find some modern coins and a few other things. Almost every time out I'm surprised by the number of coins left out there, usually just around the corner by a heavily populated and detected beach.

Like I've been saying, we can expect a change from summer conditions as we get into Fall.

9/26 Report - Sixth Sedwick Auction 8 Escudo

Mexican 8 Escudo in New Sedwick Auction.

This coin is valued at 35 - 60 thousand dollars, and is up for auction at the new Sedwick Auction described below. Augie just sent me the press release, which you will find below.

Be one of the first to check out the new auction items and register to get your dream coin. There are a lot of great coins for inspection even if you are not bidding.

Here is the entire release.

----------------------------------------------------


Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC announces the release of their Treasure Auction #6, October 15-16, 2009

Specialists in world coins and treasure items Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC has released their sixth and largest Treasure Auction, available immediately for viewing on their website, www.sedwickcoins.com. This auction features well over $1 million in coins, ingots, artifacts and books, almost all of it opening at very reasonable levels. Because of the size of the auction this time, Sedwick has split this sale into three sessions, all closing LIVE on www.iCollector.com/sedwick.

“After our first live Internet auction last time, we decided to hold our Treasure Auction #6 in three sessions to provide breaks and avoid bidders having to monitor the auction all day long to bid live on the lots they want,” says Sedwick. “Also there is no more confusion about the buyer’s fee, which is set at 18% for everyone (discounted to 15% for check or cash).”

Starting off Session I (Thursday, October 15, 11:00 am EDT) is a unique Mexican cob 8 escudos (possible) Royal 1709 (estimated at $35,000-$50,000), one of more than 70 gold cobs in this sale, mostly from the 1715 Fleet, including also an extremely rare Lima cob 8 escudos 1702 (estimated at $20,000-$30,000). World gold coins feature a Mexican bust 8 escudos 1733 PCGS AU-58 ($15,000-up) and a Paraguayan cut 4 pesos fuertes (1866-9) ($12,500-up), one of only two known. In the shipwreck silver section you will find a Cartagena cob 8 reales 1621 ($16,000-$25,000), first date of issue and one of three known, plus the Louis Hudson collection of Potosí countermarks 1649-52, as well as selections from the Atocha (1622) Research Collection and a newly formed “Coconut wreck” (ca. 1810) Research Collection.

The four silver-cob sections in Session II (Thursday, October 15, 4:30 pm EDT) feature a La Plata cob 1 real (estimated at $700-$1,000), the first ever offered at auction; a unique Potosí cob 2 reales specially struck on a zoomorphic planchet in the form of a double-headed condor ($25,000-up); the finest-known Panama cob 4 reales (estimated at $5,000-$7,500); and Part I of the extensive collection of late world-coins dealer Mark Bir. The world silver coins section, which is becoming larger and more advanced in Latin American coins with every auction, features several key rarities as well as Part I of the Colombian Republic collection of Herman Blanton.

Session III (Friday, October 16, noon EDT) starts with a wealth of shipwreck gold and silver bars, featuring 6 “tumbaga” silver bars from the “Tumbaga wreck” (ca. 1528), 2 gold “finger” bars and 4 huge silver bars from the Atocha (1622) and one highly desirable small-size Justh & Hunter California Gold Rush ingot (estimated at $50,000-$75,000) from the SS Central America (1857). In the shipwreck artifacts section you will find a very high-quality emerald cross from the 1715 Fleet (estimated at $10,000-$15,000), in addition to many other treasures continuing in the non-wreck artifacts. Rounding out the sale are documents and books, plus the third and final offering of treasure auction catalogs from the Tom Sebring library.

Says Sedwick: “As always, we research and present each item diligently and put our long-standing reputation behind every lot. We wish you luck in adding more of this fine treasure to your own collection. Please register to bid today at www.iCollector.com/sedwick.”

---------------------------------------------

(You can find the Sedwick site listed in my Treasure Site List to the left.)


Forecast and Conditions.

Strangely, we have a bit of a northeast wind this morning. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few spots with a little (very little - too little) erosion. According to the web sites, the seas are not high enough for that to have much effect. I haven't seen them myself this morning. I usually look for at least 6 or 8 foot seas before expecting much and I know that is not happening.

Yet, as I mentioned yesterday there are still coins out there to be found. Not much chance of cobs or escudos - mostly more modern stuff and other types of targets.

The TCTBDC Rating remains at a 1.

I'll give you plenty of time to browse the Sedwick auction site and get back to other things in the near future.

Augie asked me if I wanted to auction that half reale that I cleaned a few months ago, but i didn't. You know my thoughts on the dollar and precious metals and coins.

Tomorrow I'll have a story on one of the recent but largest gold treasure finds ever. I was planning that for today, but delayed it because I had so much for today already. But don't miss tomorrow's story and photos.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/24 Report - Error Coin Finds & Scan Patterns for Wet Sand

Beach Photo This Morning.

As you can see, not much has changed. I've seen very little change to the Treasure Coast beaches over the past few weeks. This particular beach lost a little sand from the front, but not much.

A Strategy for Hunting Wet Sand Areas. I was surprised to find that there are still a number of coins out there today. At the beach I showed you a couple of days ago with the small cuts at the top of the beach, someone had detected along the cuts where i showed you the recently exposed roots, but they missed most of the coins, which were a little lower on the beach. Most of the coins that I found on that beach today were about half way between the low tide line and the high tide lines. There wasn't much either above or below that narrow line.

When you work wet sand areas it is often a good idea to use a zig-zag pattern covering a lot of ground just to see if you can locate a line or hole. When you hit a target, slow down and thoroughly work a circular around that spot and out a few yards in all directions to see if there are more targets close by. That will give you an idea if you have located what I call either a coin line or hole, or if you might have simply found an isolated coin.

In wet sand areas when you find a coin that shows evidence of having been exposed to the elements for some time, more often than not there will be more. And more often than not, the targets will be distributed in something of a pattern.

When I found the first coin today, I first checked right around the hole, and didn't find any more targets within the first few feet. So I checked to see how far I was from the water and worked parallel to the beach keeping the same approximate distance from the water. I found more coins, and they were in a fairly narrow line that ran for at least fifty yards down the beach.

Often zinc pennies will mark the margins or boundaries of a line or hole. That was the case today. Zinc pennies marked the lower boundary of the coin line and the ends of the coin line. Most often in my experience, zinc pennies will define the higher boundary with the heavier coins being closer to the water but that will vary depending upon a number of variables, including the slope of the beach and weather the coins are being washed out of the back beach or washing in from the water.

When working the wet sand areas, you should look for lines or holes, especially when the coin you find is not simply a recent drop. Use a scan pattern that criss-crosses the wet sand area in the hope of detecting a pattern of targets. When a distribution pattern has been identified, really go slow until the area is completely worked out, including all metal targets.


Check Your Coins. It is good to check out your finds even if they are only clad coins. Some clad coins are worth good money. Here is a list of the ten most valuable but common coins that you might find in circulation.

http://digital.library.cornell.edu/m/moawar/

It can be well worth checking your clad coins before you either clean them or spend them.

Conditions and Forecast. We've had very weather to help us out this summer. Things haven't changed much for weeks. There is one new disturbance in the Atlantic but it is still way out there. And unfortunately the projections for increased seas this weekend has changed and it looks like the seas will be gradually getting even more calm.

It looks like we'll just have to wait for one of those Fall Northeasters. That shouldn't be long in coming.

Soon, I'll be sharing a test with some detectors and the gold chain I showed you yesterday. Maybe tomorrow.

One thing you could be doing while waiting for a change is scouting around and getting to know one or two beaches better. The better you know your beaches, the better off you will be. Another thing that you could do is check out some of the referenced works that I've told you about lately.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/23 Report - Small Gold Chain and Barrel of Coins

Thin Gold Chain Found with Metal Detector.

Here is a very thin gold chain in the palm of my hand. I believe that most detectorists would probably miss this chain, especially if they were using discrimination. Many chains are found because they have a medallion that gives a strong signal, but many small chains are often missed.

One good way to find a lost chain if you have an idea where it is, is to use a rake. Also rain or watering will often uncover chains. I've found chains exposed after rains on the beach and at parks after the irrigation system was used. Especially check volleyball courts after rain or watering.


Research Resources. Did you hear the one about the two men from Nantucket? According to Oct. 24, 1846 issue of Scientific American, they found 5000 Spanish dollars when the top of a barrel was partially exposed in the surf at low tide. The treasure was lost when a brig wrecked in the area fifteen years earlier.

You can read the original report at the following address.


http://digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=scia;cc=scia;q1=wrecked;rgn=full%20text;idno=scia0002-5;didno=scia0002-5;node=scia0002-5%3A1;view=image;seq=0036

I mention this story only to point out that there are a lot of research references that you can find online.

Here is a list of historical resources published by the Cornell University Library. You'll find quite a variety of searchable old publications here, including the one above. Of course some mention the Treasure Coast and shipwrecks much more than others, but I think anyone interested in history will find this list useful.

http://digital.library.cornell.edu/m/moawar/

Conditions and Forecast. There is nothing to pay attention to out in the Atlantic right now. We do have some news though. This Sunday, the seas are expected to increase up to about five feet. We haven't had that for a while. Looking at the wind charts leads me to believe that there will be good surfing. The wind will be coming out of the west and south. The West winds will help the waves form nicely. Unfortunately, although the winds will be shifting, I didn't see any signs that they will be coming from the north at all. I therefore don't expect much cutting except perhaps a few spots at high tide like we had before when the swells came in.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/22 Report - Old US Coins and Historic References

Old Coins Found with Metal Detector on Treasure Coast.

When you detect the Treasure Coast, you should remember that there are more than Spanish shipwreck treasures. There are other shipwrecks and other types of treasures. Here are two older US coins found on the Treasure Coast.

Unfortunately coins found on beaches are often in poor condition, especially those that have spent time rolling around in the surf. Coins that get washed out of the back dunes have a better chance of being in better condition. Encrustation can protect a coins surface and can sometimes be removed easily and quickly.

Good Free Research Reference. I recently discovered a good reference work dealing much with Florida in the early 1800s. You will find reference to a number of events of interest in this digitized work. It is the Army and Navy Chronicle, Vol. 6, which was published in 1838. Shipwrecks, Indian battles and many historical events are described. One item that I found interesting, was mention of a man who found a note in a bottle on Gilbert's bar. The note was from a passenger on the British ship Pegasus. But there are many items of interest in this reference that you can download in PDF format or keyword search online. You might be especially interested in the battles and shipwrecks.

Here is the address.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Q_kRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP9&vq=contents&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html

Using Discrimination. I've talked about using discrimination before. I almost never use discrimination of any kind. There are a times though, when using some discrimination is justifiable, but it is seldom if ever justifiable when you are targeting shipwreck coins and artifacts. That is especially true when you are working wet sand areas where the surf sifts items and deposits them according to density and other factors. In that case, the presence of junk such as aluminum generally tells you something important. The presence of aluminum, for example, often tells you that you are simply not in the best of all possible spots and it might be a good idea to move on.

When detecting for other targets and other types of areas I will admit that there might be a use for limited discrimination. In some cases, I would consider removing at least some of the junk on each successive visit until the area is clean. If an area is worth detecting multiple times, your best bet would be to clean it up. I do not see why you would leave any junk in a promising area. Sometimes junk tells you something important, but as long as it is there, it can mask good targets. A few months ago I did an experiment that showed how iron often masks silver cobs.

In summary, I thought I would repeat my advice concerning discrimination, but I also wanted to mention that there are times when limited discrimination could be useful. Discrimination is most useful when you are simply sampling the targets in a large area in order to decide if you really want to spend a lot of time in that area rather than some other spot. It is definitely not indicated when you have reason to believe that there might be something really worth while in a particular area.

Forecast and Conditions. There is nothing much in the Atlantic. It looks like we might escape the hurricane season without any real storms. The seas are running around three feet and conditions are just not very good.

With fall beginning, there might be a change before long. We usually have some nice erosion in the fall.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/21 Report - Strange Pottery Item Find

Mystery Treasure Coast Pottery Find.

I don't know what this is. It was found on one of our Treasure Coast beaches. It seems to be made of a red clay in the form of a squash or gourd and is hollow. Nothing appears to be in it. The slot looks like it was made when the clay was still wet. I don't know any more about it than that.


Treasure Coast Reality Treasure Show? The Treasure Coast could be the scene for a new reality show based in Sebastian and documenting local treasure salvage efforts. You won't want to miss that. For more of the story, read the following.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/sep/07/treasure-coast-could-be-reality-tv-show-based-in/

Great Gold Coin Find. A rare US double eagle gold coin valued at near $15 million was found in a closet. Nice find! Read the story at the following address.

http://www.dig4coins.com/news/latest-news/a-rare-us-gold-coin-valued-at-15-millions-found-in-a-closet

Indian Artifact and Fossil Photos. Here is a great web site for studying Indian artifacts and fossils. You should be familiar with these items so you will recognize them while detecting. I've found a few items like this that came up in my scoop when digging metallic targets.

There are a lot of examples to look at and the photography is really exceptional.

http://paleoenterprises.com/

Conditions and Forecast. There is nothing serious out there in the Atlantic now. The seas are rather calm, but the tides are high enough to possibly uncover some things like todays find.

After a slow summer, we are now into fall and things should be improving. At least that us what my past experience would suggest. Maybe we'll see some nice northeasters before long. For now, my beach conditions rating is unchanged - still a 1.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/19 Report - Silver Half Reale & News Articles

Mexican Minted Half Reale Found with Metal Detector on Treasure Coast.

Uncleaned as found.


Scientific Articles on Shipwreck Archaeology.

Here is a list of shipwreck articles found in the Journal of Archaeological Science. The articles can be read online. They are scientific and address very specific topics that might not be of interest to all readers. The first on the list, for example, studies the deterioration of wood under water. They found pretty much what you would expect - that wood buried in sediment is protected somewhat from deterioration as compared to wood that was not buried in sediment. Further, wood that is buried more deeply, deteriorates more slowly.

There are a number of esoteric articles that might be of interest to the more serious student of shipwrecks. Here is the site where you can find the list of articles.

http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/S01_301.cws_home/JAS_virtual_shipwrecks


Eye Balling Finds. Here is a story on beach-combing, or you might call it eye-balling. The story tells about finding a Spanish mission bell, a Spanish gold bar, and other items.


http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090906/NEWS/909060353/1006/NEWS


$10 Billion Worth of Treasure Found on an Island. The treasure was reportedly discovered in 600 barrels on an island. This one sounds suspicious to me, but it describes some technology that you might find of interesting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/sep/26/chile.mainsection

Forecast and Conditions. There has been no real change in Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions. There are some spots worth detecting. The tides are inching higher. They have been pretty high.

There are three disturbances out in the Atlantic now. One has a good chance of developing, but it will be a while before it affects us.

My rating is still a 1.

Happy Hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/18 Report - Conditions Poor But Things Still Being Found

Encrusted Coin Found This Morning.

This coin looks like a pizza with everything. It's nothing exciting but I wanted to make a point or two this morning. The day before yesterday my photo showed a small cut on the Treasure Coast. I didn't detect it the day that I photographed it, even though I could tell it was a promising spot, because I wanted to move on to something else. I went to the exact spot shown in that photo this morning even though I know the area is frequently detected. I wanted to see if it was cleaned out. It wasn't. There were coins there that had obviously been in the area for quite a while, as well as some other more interesting items.

You can clearly see that this particular coin is not a recent drop. Beside the encrustation, the edges are completely worn away.

Because other people detect a site on a regular basis doesn't mean you can't find anything there. As far as I can tell, the fact that other people frequently detect in an area doesn't mean a lot, especially when you are talking about wet sand areas.

The coins and items that I found there this morning included a variety of near surface coins, small items and a few deeper items. The presence of a good number of smaller items lead me to believe that the people who detect that area on a regular basis probably use discrimination.

If you want to detect an area where other detectorists often detect, you can often quickly tell what they are leaving behind and adjust your hunting to pick up whatever they are most likely to miss.

A disproportionate number of nickles, for example, is often a sign that the other detectorists are discriminating out pull-tabs. They will also generally miss some rings and small or deep items.

I saw a guy with an ID meter detecting that area just a few days ago. I am sure his meter didn't tell him what some of those smaller pieces that he left behind were.

Don't hesitate to cover areas after other detectorists have been there. Just study what they are doing, and adjust your hunting to pick up what they miss. Observe where they detect, what type of detector they are using, when they detect, and how they detect, and you will learn how to take advantage of the situation. Sometimes other detectorists will do you a favor by removing some of the easy targets so you can get directly to the good stuff.

Vero Bone Carving. The local man who found the carved bone in the Vero area is now talking of selling it for a million dollars. Here is the story.

http:/www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/sep/16/vero-beach-man-who-found-13000-year-old-on-bone/

New Technology for Detecting Gold. Zeus technology has been used to find gold 3000 feet below the earth's surface in Mongolia. Now that is deep.

“Zeus” technology, which measures electrical conductivity to locate mineral deposits.

Here is the story.

http://www.canada.com/business/fp/mining+technology+uncovering+Mongolian+gold+Ivanhoe/1996930/story.html

Maya and Aztec Artifacts. If you want to study Aztec or Mayan artifacts here is a nice web site. It is the from the National Museum of Anthropology and History of Mexico.

http://www.delange.org/ArchMuseum2C/ArchMuseum2C.htm

Conditions and Forecast. The high tides are high. That is why i went out this morning. I was hoping that new sand had been hit by the high tides. It didn't get quite high enough.

Some of the old cuts form a couple of days ago were filling in. The recently dredged sand just south of the Fort Pierce inlet is quickly disappearing. There are three to four foot cuts there now.

Generally, conditions aren't very good. We are expecting about four foot seas this week-end. Overall, I'm maintaining a one rating on my TCTBDC Scale.

Like I always say, 'There is always something to be found."

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/17 Report - Gold Soars & OMEX Again

Torch Light - Nautical Artifact Found with Metal Detector.

This emergency light was found on the Treasure Coast. The picture embossed on the front of the item seems to show it hanging on a rail. It was made by the Marine Torch Company in Baltimore MD in the early 1900s.

Items like this are not heavy and don't require good hunting conditions to be found.

Handle with Care. When you find something, be careful not to break it. Dig and remove and handle artifacts and dug items carefully. They can be fragile. Even items that are typically not fragile can be weakened under different circumstances over time. Gold can even get brittle and break. A lot of copper was used as an alloy at one time. Copper or other substances used or found with gold can make it more brittle than most modern gold. I've broken some nice items simply because I wasn't careful enough when digging them up. Now I know a little better. Treat every item like it is made of egg shell until you have it safely stored.

Sometimes items might be cracked or weak but still dug up in one piece if you are careful enough. If an item is cracked or broken, you might want to be sure not to lose any little pieces so that the item can be repaired.

Gold Soars. I told you before to hang onto your gold and precious metals because the price would be going up. And now the price for gold has gone over $1015 per ounce. It has to go up. The President is doing what he said he was going to do - redistribute the wealth. One way they are doing that is by printing money. Now that migth sound good, but it is like if you have a pie and cut it into more pieces. Printing more money just makes more shares, each share being worth less.

If you have a dollar in your pocket, it is shrinking as we speak. When they print more money and spend it on government programs, the effect is the same as cutting your dollar up into smaller pieces, taking some of those pieces out of your pocket and giving them to whoever gets that government money.

There is a good possibility that you already heard about the price of gold going up, but it is less likely that you heard about the value of the dollar going down, which it did yesterday. That is the way it works.

I was right in the past, and I hope I am not right now, but you can expect the value of the dollar to keep decreasing. As long as the government keeps printing money and spending like they are, inflation will continue. As a result it would be a good idea to have some hard assets like gold and silver or rate coins or foreign currencies. I don't see anything going on right now that would halt the trend of inflation.

Half Reales and Other Cobs for Sale. I noticed a whole list of cobs for sale on ebay. There were a large number of half reales - mostly Philip IV but some Carlos. You might want to take a look. You typically don't see a lot of photographs of half reales to study.

Coins Belong to Spain? It seems that the U. S. government is supporting Spain's claim to coins possibly lost in 1804 on the Mercedes and recovered by Odyssey Marine. Despite that news, OMEX stock is going up a bit (20 % from the recent bottom caused by Spain's claim on the treasure). With all of this going on, their stock is more of a gamble than an investment. To read more, go to

http://eresearch.fidelity.com/eresearch/goto/evaluate/snapshot.jhtml?symbols=OMEX&rsrch=gqb

Conditions and Forecast. Fred has disappeared and there is nothing going on in the Atlantic. With a new moon, the tides will be unusually high. We have those southeast winds again, but the seas will be increasing slightly into the weekend and into next week. Nothing more than about four feet though, so nothing to get excited about. I'm maintaining my beach conditions rating at a 1.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/16 - Battle of Loxahatchee & Small Cuts

Treasure Coast Cuts.

I took that photo this morning. This is the type of thing you might see this week. Just some small cuts. Notice the newly exposed roots. That means that the sand that eroded was probably in place long enough for those roots to grow. In other words, the sand that eroded here wasn't newly deposited sand.

Erosion in old sand is generally a better sign than erosion in newly deposited sand. Erosion at the back of the beach is generally a more positive sign than erosion at the front of the beach or in newly deposited sand (other things being equal).

That said, these cuts are small and have been decreasing over the week. I checked one stump near this site and the sand level had gone up on the stump in the past two days. That means that the sand is now filling in at that spot.

You can use stationary objects like stumps or rocks to tell you if the sand has eroded or increased since you were last at a spot. I sometimes mark stumps or rocks or other stationary objects so when I return I can tell exactly what has happened.

The presence of sea weed also tells you that the sand is building up rather than eroding. Sea weed will be swept away when erosion is occuring.

Local Man Finds Battle of Loxahatchee Site. He didn't think it was where every one else thought it was and kept looking for it. He eventually discovered the site and artifacts. You can read more about it at the following web site.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/15/a1a_riverbend_0316.html

Eye-Balling. Here is a great little article that will alert you to some of the non-metallic things you should watch for while detecting. You should also look for these types of things when just scouting around. The Florida beach discussed is not on the Treasure Coast, but the same things apply to our local beaches. To read this nice little beach combing story, go to the following address.

http://www.littletownmart.com/fdh/shell-point.htm

Forecast. I already talked about current conditions. There are two disturbances out in the Atlantic. One is the remnants of Fred. Nothing we should expect to see anything from for a while, though.

The seas are fairly calm, but the high tides are nice and high. I still won't change my current beach conditions rating from a 1.

Enjoy the nice weather and watch for our beaches to change soon from summer conditions to fall conditions. That will be a welcome change for me.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/15 Report - Gold and Silver Rings

Two Silver and Gold Rings.

I'm curious now. I found two more rings of gold and silver. I showed one like that a couple of days ago, and now I have two more. On one of these there is the hint of a mark, but it is not clear at all. In fact, it barely shows. For a while I thought the mark was a crown, but I can't really make it out. Both have obviously spent time in salt water. The design on one is very much like that of the one I showed a few days ago. They appear to be of a similar age. I don't think they are shipwreck rings. If anyone can shed some light on when rings like this were popular or anything else about these rings, I'd very much like to hear about that.

Conditions and Forecast. Fred has fallen apart but the remnants of that storm are still out there. Sometimes when they hang around that long they reform. I'm not looking for much of anything for the coming week though. Seas are expected to smooth down and little and then pick back up again. I don't expect any significant changes.

You might want to look around to see if you can find any of those little cuts by the back dunes. The water has been pretty high recently.

It seems like fall is on its way. Hurricane season is on it's way out after a very inactive year. This summer has produced very little.

Last fall produced some great hunting and some nice finds. If this year is like last, we'll have some good hunting before long.

A Couple of Web Sites. Some of the references that I've recently listed present some good in-depth information. Today's web sites present more basic information. You might find some of it interesting or useful. The first is about Spanish colonial coinage.

http://www.coinlink.com/Articles/world-coins/two-bits-four-bits-six-bits-eight/

You might want to go to the home page and browse around a bit.

For some information on the Spanish fleets and treasure sites, the following web site is good. The web site also has lesson plans which you might find useful if if you are a teacher. As I've said before, there is a lot you can learn by being involved in the metal detecting hobby. It provides a lot of good ways to interest students in history, metallurgy, numismatics, economics, geography, archaeology etc.

Here is the site.

http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/129shipwrecks/index.htm

I've been thinking of talking about scanning patterns for the beach. Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow. I also have some more finds that I want to photograph for the blog.


Have fun.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/14 Report - Philip IV Eight Reale

Philip IV Eight-Reale with Punch Marks. Here is an eight reale that shows very little of the coin detail on this side, but has some interesting marks. I can't really make them out though. This cob was not found on the Treasure Coast. I just thought I'd show it today since I forgot to take my camera to the beach.

Conditions and Forecast. There is still a remnant of Fred floating around out in the Atlantic. Nothing to pay much attention to though.

I wish I had taken my camera out this morning because I was surprised by what I saw. I actually found half-foot to foot cuts on the back beach exposing roots in some places. The cuts weren't large or found very widely. There were some nice scallops and some areas that looked like they were worth hunting. I quickly found a nice coin line.

Some other spots were complete mush even though the water did get pretty high. It was more interesting than I expected, but it wasn't enough to change my rating from a one. Maybe I could go as high as a 1.5. I didn't see enough different beaches to know if I just found one good spot, or if there were more. I suspect there were a few more.

We had some NE winds, but the seas will be decreasing through the week. It is worth doing a little scouting around.

Other Items of Interest.

I found a Book of Shipwrecks that was published in 1836 which has chapters on Spanish shipwrecks, pirates, salvage and more. Best yet, the entire book is available online. This book has a lot of information for the treasure hunter and historian. The full text is available at the following address.

http://books.google.com/books?id=6hUtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA9&dq=florida+shipwrecks&lr=&as_brr=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html

I read another interesting article that tells about exploring ancient river beds that now run miles off shore. Florida was much larger in times past when the water level was lower. As a result, signs of human habitation can be found along ancient river beds that are now many feet below current sea levels. I've mentioned a number of times how the Treasure Coast inlets were a different spots at different times in history. This article, although focusing on finding signs of human habitation on lands now deeply submerged, provides a number of hints that might be useful to the modern beach hunter. It sure gave me a lot to think about.

You can read more about that at the following address.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831131402.htm

I also recently read another article about the various layers of land in Florida. It reminded me of one thing that I've found helpful in the past. If you are ever hunting and see a milky white in the surf next to the beach, that is an important sign. It is a sign of unusual levels of erosion. If you water hunt, in South Florida, for example, every time I've seen that and I detected that area, clusters of gold items were found. Gold often tends to sink until it hits clay or rock and when those layers are uncovered, you have a good opportunity to make some good finds. I'm not ready to get into more detail than that on that subject.

Well, i hope you enjoy the online book. And there seems to be some interesting spots out there,

so, happy hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/13 Report - Nice Waves But Not Much Erosion

Conditions and Forecast. There are some pretty nice surfing waves out there. The west winds are giving the waves some nice form and the water is coming up pretty high on the beach, but I haven't seen much in the way of cuts. The front of the beach is getting stirred up a bit, but its hard to get out front because of the wave action.

There are a couple of disturbances coming off of Africa, but it's too early to tell if they will affect us at all. I'm only giving the beaches a 1 on my TCTBDC Rating Scale.

I did see some places worth scouting if you are willing to hunt outside the box (a phrase I haven't used much lately, but you'll know what I mean if you've been reading this blog for a while). You might be able to find a few secondary targets at low tide.

Dinosaur Invasion at Vero. The Dinosaur Invasion Exhibit will return to the McKee Botanical Gardens in Vero beginning Nov. 1. Thirty life-sized dinosaur models will be display among the tropical jungle. During the exhibit you will also see a variety of fossils and plants from the time when dinosaurs ruled the earth.

Actually there is no evidence that dinosaurs ever lived in Florida. Florida was supposedly under water during the age of dinosaurs. Nonetheless, you might enjoy the dinosaur exhibit and find the fossils interesting. It is an inexpensive way to learn something and enjoy the day. Admission will be only seven dollars.

To read more go to

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2013132/dinosaur_invasion_returns_to_mckee.html?cat=8


A Rare Gold Coin Returned. A rare gold coin thought to be worth about $4,500 has been retrieved by police after a man tried to cash it in at a bank in Ohio.

The coin was a 1890 $20 gold piece that the 19-year-old man allegedly stole from a relative. The bank tellers became suspicious and looked up the 1890 coin on the internet. After discovering its true value, they called the police.

Rare gold coins worth about $5,000 were reported stolen from a home in North Fort Myers, Florida. The ownder said that the collection had included some extremely rare and valuable pieces.

To read more go to the following address.


http://www.marketintelligence.gold.org/news/2009/09/04/story/12879/rare_gold_coin_retrieved_following_theft

This is a good time to remind you once again to keep your good finds in a bank deposit box.

Hits. Just one more note. I started this blog approximately one year ago. And although I didn't look up the exact date, it looks like there have been over 25,000 hits in the first year. The blog counter, which I didn't install on the very first day, shows that the blog went over 25,000 yesterday. I never expected anything like that.

Thanks to all you readers and the contributors that make it a little easier for me to keep it going.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/11 Report - Panama Mint Cobs & Pirate Ship

Fossil Bone Found on Treasure Coast Beach.

I've been trying to figure out what type of bone this is. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

The Treasure Coast beaches are one good place to find fossils. The Vero area is widely known for fossils. As is Wabasso. Many are black like this example, but some are a brown color. If you keep your eyes open as you detect, you might just see a fossil bone from a mammoth or some other Ice Age creature.

Conditions and Forecast. There is nothing in the Atlantic that will affect us much for the coming week. Seas are expected to be around three of four feet. Nothing much else worth noting right now. It has been a slow summer. My Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Rating remains a 1 on the 5 point scale.

Spanish Colonial Cobs of the Panama Mint. The Mint in Panama began operations in 1580. Less than 50 cobs are known to exist from the Panama mint, and each is unique. They bear a mint mark of "AP." There is a web site that provides information on the Panama mint and their cobs. You can see that site and a catalog of Panama cobs at the following address.

http://www.coins-of-panama.com/cobs.html?Size=LargeNOen

This site also has other related coin information that you might enjoy. Take a look.

Pirate Ship Treasure Discovered. Over $10-million worth of treasure was found in sunken pirate ship near Borneo. The ship sank off the coast of Borneo in 1806. Silver, gold, jewellery, and Ming dynasty porcelain are among the treasures estimated to be worth over at over 10 million dollars. Here is the web site where you can read more.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2009/07/29/arrrr-over-10-million-worth-of-treasure-found-in-sunken-pirate-ship-near-borneo.aspx

Fall is nor far away now. Typically we get some nice fall storms to stir up the beaches.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/10 Report - Silver & Gold Ring & The Disappearing Find Trick

Here is a ring found on a Treasure Coast shipwreck beach. I don't know the age or anything of this one. It has no markings. It tests out as silver and gold and has a few remaining stones.

I don't know of any signficance of using both silver and gold on the same ring, but I suppose there is some significance. If anyone knows about that or anything else abut the ring or the design, please let me know.

Hoard of Ten Thousand Coins Found by Man on First Treasure Hunt. Did you hear about the man who on his first treasure hunt found 10,000 ancient Roman coins in an old pottery jar on his first treasure hunt? Reminds me of the woman that found a gold coin on the Treasure Coast on her first outing. That is really beginners luck. Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://explore.dailymail.co.uk/locations/facilities/british_museum

(Story submitted by Gary D.)

The Invisible Find Trick. This morning I thought of a little trick that I sometimes use that might be helpful to some of you water hunters. When you are working a swimming area where there are a lot of people, sometimes kids or adults will follow you around and try to see what you are digging up. I remember one time when I dug up a large token, some kids saw it when I took it out of my scoop and yelled out loud enough for everybody within a mile to hear, "He found some type of big strange coin."

Anyhow, here is the tip I was about to give. When you get an object in your scoop under water, before raising your scoop above the water, vigorously shake your sccop hard enough to suspend the sand and create zero visibility around the scoop. Stick your hand in the scoop to locate the item by feel and quickly remove the item while it is hidden by the cloud of sand. Put it in your pocket and don't remove it for inspection until you are safely away from people. With a little practice, you can learn to do this so no one will ever see what you dig up even if they are standing beside you straining to see.

Conditions and Frecast. Beach conditions haven't changed since yesterday. Yesterday's photo provides a good illustration of current beach conditions along the treasure coast. There are a few thunders showers that are stirring up the waves a bit.

Fred will probably not affect Florida. The seas will be increasing slightly this weekend, but nothing that will change the beaches much. I'm still rating local conditions as a one on my five-point TCTBDC Rating Scale.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/9 Report - Treasure/Junk Test & One Lady's Big Find

Beach Photo from This Morning.

Like I've been saying, there are a few small cuts and scoops out there, but that is about it.

New Fool-Proof Method Revealed for Determining if an Item is Treasure or Junk. This method has worked for me multiple times in the past. And I just used it again just a few minutes ago. I've never used this method intentionally even though it seems to work every time. Here is the secret. If you drop it and it breaks, it was treasure. Never fails. If on the other hand, an item survives all kinds of abuse without any deleterious effect, it is junk.

I was reminded of this method just a few minutes ago. I had a few fossils that I had picked up and put them in a bucket to be washed. After I took them out, I was carrying the items, including a crab claw which I thought might have been fossilized, from the bucket to a table where I planned to sit down and look at the items that I just washed, and the crab claw fell out of my hand, fell on the concrete and shattered into a number of pieces like a fine crystal vase. That proved to me that it was indeed a fossil. My test, unintentional as it was, was conclusive. A plain crab claw would not have shattered like that.

That experience reminded me of all the times that the unintended shock test (UST) worked. Another example quickly came to mind. I remembered the time that I was picking up bottles along a river and put one in one plastic bag and another in another plastic shopping bag. I told you not to do that just a few days ago, but this was years ago. As I walked the two bags started to swing in rhythm to my steps - one in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. Well, when the arc reached the right amplitude, the strongest part (the bottom corner) of one swinging bottle hit the other bottle in the weakest possible spot, and the second bottle broke into pieces. You guessed it - the bottle that broke was a very interesting hand-blown bottle, while the one that survived was basically junk.

I could go on with more examples, but it might get depressing. And I'm not going to tell you to use this test. Not only is the test destructive, but you couldn't do it if you tried. The reason is, it has to be unintentional.

Just something a little lighter for today, since the beaches have been so hum-drum. So on with the more serious business.

The Beep that Caused Her to Leap. A small gold religious item worth nearly $400,000 was found by a woman using a metal detector. It was really the title that caught my attention on this one even though it talks about a great find. Here is the link.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1195298/The-beep-leap-Housewife-discovers-250-000-gold-treasure-seven-years-hunting.html

Conditions and Forecast. You already saw how poor the beaches look. Fred became a strong storm but appears headed for the North Atlantic. The surf projections now are showing a slight increase in the seas for Saturday, but only up to 3 or 4 feet, which is usually not nearly enough to do much good.

It's been a slow summer, but Fall is on the way.

I have another reale or two to show and some other stuff in the near future, as well as some other treasure links.

A lot has been written about today's date being 9/9/09, but I didn't find it to be anything unusual.

Again, I'd encourage you to take a look at the Hakluyt that I gave you a few days ago.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/7 Report - Tropical Storm Named Fred - Mourning Jewellery

Enamelled Item Found with Metal Detector.

This was found on a local shipwreck beach, but I doubt if it is a shipwreck artifact. It is often hard to tell when there are no distinctive markings. It is about an inch and a quarter high. Enamelled items have been found on the local shipwrecks. If you have any idea of the age or identity of this item, I'd like to hear from you.

Conditions and Forecast. The lastest tropical storm in the Atlantic has been named Fred. Fred is still far from the US, but is expected to strengthen. It is too early to say if Fred will affect Florida.

It looks like the seas will be about two-feet or so for the next week. I'm starting to think we might not get any summer storms worth anything. I'm keeping my TCTBDC Rating at a 1. There are, however, a few little dips and cuts out there that might be worth exploring. There are also a number of secondary targets being found, most especially fossils and glass.

Gold Garden. How would you like to have a garden that where you could go and harvest some gold? One lucky lady has a gold garden. While gardening she has found a variety of antiques in her garden, including a gold engagement ring, Roman coins, medals and brooches. She says, "Nearly every time I am out in the garden I make a new find." I wish I had a garden like that. You can read more at the following address.

http://www.gold.org/news/2009/05/20/story/12069/solid_gold_watch_among_garden_discoveries

Mourning Jewellery. Mourning jewellery was commonly used in the 17th through 19th centuries. Some were rings. They often were decorated with enamelled skulls. (If you find an enamelled ring on a shipwreck beach, don't assume it is modern.) In the 19th century, hair from the deceased was often added. And of course the initials in gold. Mourning rings often also had diamonds.

I mention this because I ran across a recent story about mourning jewellery that I thought you might want to see. Lockets, as well as rings, were used. And they also often held a bit of hair from the deceased and were worn in memory. Here is a story about one such locket that was found with a metal detector and returned.

http://www.gold.org/news/2009/09/07/story/12894/family_reunited_with_19th_century_gold_mourning_locket



I hope you took a look at the reference I gave you yesterday. It is an interesting read filled with facts.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/7 Old Shipwreck Reference Book & More Local WWII

Photo of Two Items Found on the Treasure Coast with a Metal Detector.

I wasn't going to post today. Most everybody seems to be out this holiday weekend rather than reading. But I got a few interesting emails and decided to go ahead and post an entry today.

I saw a number of detectorists out this morning and there were a few small cuts. The cuts I saw were small but still looked worth checking out. I got word that Fletcher Beach was cut. I also heard of bronze nails and spikes being found down that way. You just have to get out there and keep looking.

I also got a couple of emails in response to my recent post on WW II artifacts. A long-time local resident said that he remembered the towers that I talked about and said that one of them was possibly now at the Fort Pierce public works yard and one behind the house of refuge. I think you can see one at the public works yard when you drive by. I've seen it, but didn't know that it might have come from the beach.

The same person told me that they once found a steel helmet washed up on the beach after a hurricane, along with old shell casings.

Gary D. sent me a photo of a dog tag and a military insignia that he found on the Treasure Coast. He followed up on the name and address on the dog tag and made contact, but for some reason the people did not respond as you would expect. You never know. Those two items are shown in the above photo.

Edward Bonaventure Shipwreck. I was researching the wreck of the Edward Bonaventure in 1594 around Bermuda when I discovered a good reference for anyone that might be interested in historic shipwrecks. You can find the entire text of the book digitized online. The book is Divers Voyages Touching the
Discovery of America and the Islands Adjacent‎\ by Richard Hakluyt, printed in 1801. Here is the address if you want to check it out.

http://books.google.com/books?id=QAUVAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=divers+voyages&as_brr=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html

These digitized books are great. You can download this one in PDF format or read it online.

Conditions and Forecast. There are a few scattered small cuts out there. The waves are expected to remain around 2 feet for the coming week. There is a low pressure area over by the Cape Verde Islads that have a good chance of developing into a cyclone within the next 48 hours. It will not be affecting us for some time if it ever does.

I'm maintaining my "1" rating. The beaches are very sandy. Primary targets are hard to come by.

Enjoy the Day,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/6 Report - World War II Era & Cob Collection Including 1715 Fleet

WW II Era Artifacts from the Treasure Coast.

Just a little variety today. I'm sure that anyone that has detected the Treasure Coast very much has found some of these. They can be found all the way along the Florida Coast. Some spots have rather high concentrations. I used to find a lot of them down at Dania.

Yesterday I mentioned finding WWII dog tags on the Fort Pierce beach. This week a friend of mine, Clifford Smith, a Fort Pierce native passed away. A veteran of WWII and a survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Clifford will be sadly missed.

Learn more about Clifford by reading the Patriot Guard Rider's web site at

http://patriotguard.org/Forums/tabid/61/postid/1229643/view/topic/Default.aspx

The Patriot Guard Riders honor those who have served.

If you've done much detecting on the Treasure Coast you've probably found some WWII artifacts. It might be bullets or shells, or something from around one of the observation towers that were used to spot cruising German U-boats off the coast. There were a number of towers used for that purpose around the Treasure Coast. I believe I know where two were located on Hutchinson Island. I believe one was just above the Nieves site up near the condos. I know for sure there was a tower there. I am not totally sure it was an observation tower. You can still find a lot of iron and old junk around the site. I believe there was also a tower down the beach a mile or two. I've seen it marked on some old map. I know for certain that many bits of metal have been dug up down there and some appear to be WWII era artifacts. I am not absolutely certain of the purpose of the that tower either.

A few years ago the Army Engineers removed a number of large concrete obstacles from the ocean along the beaches just above where the old St. Lucie Inlet was. I wish I had taken a photograph of the strange monster piece of equipment that they used. It was humongous. I remember that they brought it down the beach and then ran it into the water where it served as a base for a crane, etc. I think they had to shut A1A for a while to bring it in. It was as wide as both lanes for sure.

Treasure Site Link. Here is a site that was just submitted to me via email. It has a lot of cobs to inspect and some for sale, both mounted and unmounted. There is a good collection of 1715 fleet cobs, as well as others. Give it a look.

http://www.sunkentreasure.com

Conditions and Forecast. There is one disturbance way out in the Atlantic. I don't think it will be affecting us. The surf site has calm seas, picking up a bit next Saturday. Low tide is around four o'clock. There doesn't really seem to be anything much worth noting. You'll have a challenge with all the sand out there. My beach conditions rating stands at a "1."

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/5 Report - Eight Reale & Returning Items

Philip IV Eight-Reale.

Back when we had those big swells when tropical storm Bill passed by, I told you that the Outer Banks of North Carolina were going to get 15 or 16 foot seas. They got a lot more out of Bill than we did.

A few days ago, after I got back from my trip and got my photos taken and uploaded, I showed you a photo of a Philip IV eight-reale . The photo today shows the other side of that same reale.

Treasure Coast Beach Conditions and Forecast. Erika has disappeared, but there is a new low pressure zone west of the Cape Verdes Islands that is coming our way. NOAA says that it could develop into a tropical storm in the next few days.

The surf sites are predicing only about 2 foot seas for the next week or so. The tides are coming up pretty high though. Low tide is around 3:00. My TCTBDC Rating is a one on my five-point scale. The beaches are not very promising for primary targets (old sivlver and gold).

Shipwrecks 2010. The 16th annual one-day symposium on shipwrecks, Shipwrecks - 2010, will be held in Ontario Canada. I know this is far from the Treasure Coast, but still might be of interest to possible presenters or other interested parties from Florida or readers of this blog who come from up north. For more information read the following web site.

http://vaxxine.com/advtech/shipwrecks/sw2009.htm

Returning Found Items. I got an email not long ago from Gary D. who had recently returned two class rings that he found to the original owners who he located. Of course the owners were delighted to be reunited with their rings after the passing of a number of years. It is always nice to return items to the people who most apprectiate them. You will get more out of returning items like that than you will get from selling them for scrap.

Some items don't have any value to anyone other than those who at one time owned the item. I'm thinking especially of things like the WW II dog tags that are often found on the Treasure Coast. In years past they often washed up on Fort Pierce beach when there was a good storm.

Troops often practiced landing exercises there. An older gentleman told me that during the war he sold newspapers, and when he had some left over he would sometimes go down to the beach by the Fort Pierce inlet in the winter and sell his leftovers to the troops that were soaking-wet and cold, who would buy whatever he had left to burn for warmth.

Anyhow, WW II dog tags do often turn up on the Treasure Coast. While that generation is quickly passing away, surviving troops and their families are sometimes very happy to receive an item that revives their memory of their younger years.

While I'm on the subject of returning items, one thing you don't often hear about is the person that will try to claim a found item that is not their's. I can think of at least three occasions, without even trying, when a person tried to claim a ring that I found that did not belong to them.

If someone asks you to find an item they lost, make sure that you ALWAYS get a very detailed description of the item, including information that would definitively identify the ownership of the item, such as inscriptions or whatever. People do actually try to claim items that are not their's when you find something other than what they lost, especially when it is more valuable than the item they lost. Have a good discussion with the person before beginning the search and make sure they give you plenty of space to operate. When you find an item, inspect it carefully to see if the item matches the description of the lost item before you let the person get a good look at it. Before searching,tell the person that they must stay away from you and your detector while you search for their own safety and so you can execute a proper search pattern.

Happy Labor Day Weekend.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/4 Report - More on Florida Detecting Rules and Regulations

Gold. Gold was up about $20 per ounce yesterday and nearing a new high for the year and $1000 per ounce. People are expecting inflation and that is what I expect. Our money is going to become worth less, due to the government spending spree and printing new money to cover it. The dollar in your pocket is shrinking as we talk. That is why people are fleeing to gold.

OMEX. Odyssey Marine Explorations is around $1.80 per share and has failed to recover much from the claims that Spain was making on their finds.

Florida Statutes. Yesterday I mentioned the laws and regulations concerning detecting in the water around the Treasure Coast and referred you to a discussion on that topic. Seeking further detail, I sent an email to the State Division of Historical Resources and got a prompt reply.

Here is the information they provided in response.

http://www.flheritage.com/archaeology/underwater/finds/

As you will see when you read that, the Isolated Finds policy has indeed been terminated. Nonetheless, while you are not allowed to collect artifacts on state property, if you should stumble upon a significant object or collection of objects, I am sure that the state would like to know about it.

One paragraph in the above referenced site describes how an individual might proceed under the current policy. Here it is.

"The Division accepted the recommendation of the Historical Commission and notified IFP participants and other interested parties that the IFP was discontinued as of June 1, 2005. Participants were encouraged to continue their interests in Florida archaeology by working with scholars and archaeological societies."

(IFP refers to the Isolated Finds Policy.)

If you want to work with a local society, information concerning the local Treasure Coast society can be found at the following address which I found through a link on the Division of Historical Resources site.

http://www.fasweb.org/chapters/southeast.htm

You might find it helpful to explore the other links and pages on the Division of Historical Resources web site. If you find anything else significant in the statutes or publications, or need to correct something I said, let me know. I haven't studied everything that is available on the subject.

Conditions and Forecast. It looks like Erika is falling apart as predicted. The surf sites are now projecting only 2 to 3 foot seas for the next week. The water came up pretty high this morning though and the surfers were out at one location, but I didn't see anything to suggest improving Beach conditions. There could be a few scattered small cuts to be found where the beach runs at just the right angle. I hunted a little this morning and basically struck out. I'm maintaining my "1" TCTBDC rating.

Happy Labor Day Weekend.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/3 Report - Erika, Sebastian River, & Rules & Regulations

Pumice. This was found on one of the Treasure Coast treasure beaches. I've been told that rocks like these are sometimes found around ballast piles. That is hard for me to understand since it actually floats.

Pumice is volcanic rock, and I would guess is therefore from some other geographical area. I've been told that because of its abrasive surface pumice was often used to scrub wooden decks. That is about all I know about that.

Final Phase of St. Sebastian River Dredging. 1.6 million cubic yards of sand and muck was dredged from the St. Sebastian River and moved to a containment area in Micco. The last phase involved dredging the south prong of the St. Sebastian River. The river was dredged to its natural depth of the river floor down to the hard bottom. That should be interesting.

Bathtub Beach. Martin County is discussing closing and rebuilding Bathtub Beach. The commissioners say that people are damaging the reef and trashing the beach.


Rules & Regulations on Detecting in the Water. I often receive questions about the laws concerning detecting on the beaches and in the water. Read and reread the following discussion carefully.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,16144.0.html

NOTE ADDED 9/3/2009, 4:40 PM EST: I have been in contact with the State Division of Historical Resources and will try to add to this tomorrow or in the future.

Conditions and Forecast. Current NOAA projections show Erika decreasing in strength and falling apart. The path now seems to be to the west of the Bahamas. The surf site shows real flat seas on Saturday. That might give you a chance to get out a little further into the low tide area. Seas are expected to increase a little after that, but nothing very significant. My TCTBDC Rating remains a one.


For Sale. Mac I metal detector, not working, sold for parts. It was heavily used and is well worn, but when it quit working I never tried to determine what was wrong with it. Despite it's poor condition, it might have a workable coil or control box. I doubt that both went bad simultaneously. I haven't used it for a number of years. It is very hard to find parts for this type of detector. $75 firm - for parts only. Extra charge for shipping. This is the same detector shown in the July 22, 20009 report.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/2 Report - Erika Forms in Atlantic

Conditions and Forecast. The big news today is that the tropical disturbance that I've been talking about has become a named storm. Erika is nearly stationary and still a few days from affecting us, if she does at all. The direction of Erika has not been determined. ThMy TCTBDC Rating is still a one and likely to remain at that level until Erika moves a lot closer.


Photo of Old Stove.

Not long ago I made a little vacation trip to the Rockies. While hiking one day I found what appeared to be at one time a cabin site. No cabin was standing, but there were rusted remnants of tin sheets like that used for roofing and a variety of other junk. The stove that I found there is shown in the photo above.

I've talked before about glass being a possible sign to alert you to historic activities in an area. It can often be found laying on the surface many years after a site is abandoned. At this site I found pieces of a number of different bottles, plates, etc. scattered around and even though they were fairly small they gave me some insight into the age of the site and what went on there.

I know that this site isn't on the Treasure Coast, but the same basic method of looking for signs such as glass to learn about the potential of a site is the same for a beach as it is for the woods. Of course, since a beach is a dynamic system, materials like glass can be moved considerable distance from its original location.

The photo shows some of the glass and pottery that I found scattered around the site. One that was particularly interesting to me was the small purpled bottle. I found part of the base of the bottle and it's lip so I could get a pretty good idea of the size and general shape of that bottle.



The cabin might have belonged to a famous artist that painted western scenery including Bierstadt Lake, which could have been named after him.

If you would like to explore this site yourself when you are out west, here are the coordinates. It's at the head of Bierstadt Lake just on the other side of a horse trail which runs very near the site.
40 19 38 N
105 37 34 W

I really like my wilderness GPS system.

In my next post I'll have news on the dredging of the Sebastian River, an update on Erika and some other things.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/1 Report - Philip IV Eight Reale

Philip IV Eight-Reale. This one wasn't found on the Treasure Coast but I thought you might find it interesting anyhow. It cleaned up pretty nicely but unfortunately doesn't show the date or other detail. I haven't taken the time to really study it yet.

Beach Conditions. No change. The seas are calm. There are a few dips as I explained yesterday. The tropical disturbance in the Atlantic has not further developed and seems to be moving slowly even though NOAA says there is a good chance that it will develop into a cyclone. My TCTBDC Rating is still a "1." That is the lowest rating on my five point scale and applies, as I have explained in the past to what I call primary targets, which are old precious metal shipwreck items. You may have better luck with secondary targets under the current conditions, even though general conditions are not very good for the heavier, or should I say denser, items.

Wreck Sites. I had an email asking where the wrecks are located. Don't forget to check out my list of links to the left of this blog. Check out this one to see the coordinates of the wrecks.

http://www.treasuresites.com/members/sef.htm

Hunting Off the Beaten Beach. I got an email the other day from someone that took my advice on hunting outside the box, and he said he found an area that had enough clad coins to keep him busy. There is no guarantee that you'll find anything but clad coins in a spot like that, but if you keep working at it, going over it time and time again, and working the immediately surrounding area, there is a good possibility that you will come up with something else - either something old or gold.

Beaches are different. The Treasure Coast beaches work differently than the South Florida beaches even though there are a number of similarities. Your results will improve when you really get to know a particular beach. Some spots will produce time and time again. And a particular beach will tend to change with the seasons and conditions, but there will be repeated patterns that become pretty predictable as you get to know the beach better.

I don't believe that you can get a good understanding of a particular beach without hunting it a number of times under different conditions. The study time will pay off.

Watch for the next tropical disturbance and have fun in the mean time.

I have some real off-the-beaten-path finds to show soon.

Happy Hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net