Here is a photo of the coins that Lloyd D. found in a week in the Bahamas. He said 95% came from one 100 yard stretch of beach. The coins totaled over $200.Lloyd said the guidelines that I present worked in the Bahamas, including what I have been saying about erosion and beach scalloping. Most of the coins were found where the beach had been cut and were very close to the surface - some he said were uncovered by the waves.
To me one of the keys to recovering a lot of targets is learning to stalk the prey, or to put it another way, finding those hot spots where targets are accumulating close to the surface. I might liken it to how an old Indian might hunt at those spots where the herd crosses the stream or grazes.
On the Treasure Coast it is not generally as easy as it is in some of the other areas. There just aren't as many people on our beaches. And if you are hunting the shipwreck coins, they are even more elusive. Even the salvors with all of their equipment and research spend a lot of time digging empty holes.
On another subject, an archaeological dig in St. Augustine shows that Aviles St. is the oldest street in the United States, and from pottery shards and other analysis, appears to date back to the early 1600's. A layer ashes found under the 1600's layer might have been formed in 1586 when Sir Francis Drake and his men burned St. Augustine. That is some pretty neat history.
Here is a link to the story.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=155560&catid=3
I just found a web site that might help me predict beach conditions. It is a site maintained by NOAA which shows the currents around Florida. Maybe if I keep an eye on it as it relates to our beaches, I'll learn how to use it to better predict beach conditions. You might find it useful. Here it is.
http://polar.ncep.noaa.gov/ofs/viewer.shtml?-gulfmex-cur-0-large-rundate=latest
Forecast and Conditions. Conditions on the Treasure Coast remain poor for finding shipwreck coins. Nonetheless, you can find things. I looked for about an hour yesterday and found a variety of things. Besides the junk there were heavy bronze and brass items, so I know there is the possibility of coming up with an artifact or two, and some modern coins. It is hot enough that people are visiting the beaches of the Treasure Coast, so you can also easily pick up a few modern items.
For the next few days seas will remain calm - below two feet. That makes low tide ad water hunting easy. The surf web sites are predicting an increase in seas for nest week. We'll have to see how that works out.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
