3/1 Report - Dive Weights & Vero in the Ice Age

Some Dive Weights Found in the Ocean.

You can find quite a variety of things when metal detecting. I found these weights at different times and used them myself. I've also found dive knives, watches, etc. I've heard of a nice long-handled scoop that was found in the ocean. And I once talked to a lady that lost her metal detector to the ocean on a very rough day when she was beach hunting. That would spoil your day!

On March 4, 2010, Vero in the Ice Age will be at the Emerson Center in Vero. There will be a session before the main program where you can get the opinion of experts on your fossil finds, and then the main program will start at 7 PM. Various experts will describe what Vero was like in the Ice Age. This program is in part the result of the good response to the Museum's February display of James Kennedy's carved bone from the late Pleistocene era in Florida, which has been described as "the oldest, most spectacular and rare work of art in the Americas."

I often mention that you should report significant finds to the state. Richard Hulbert of the University of Florida and the Florida Natural History Museum will be participating in the program. He is someone you should know if you hunt or just happen to find fossils and is a good contact for reporting fossil finds.

For more information about the program, call (772) 778-5880.

And here is a link.

http://www.veronews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6494:emerson-event-to-focus-on-vero-in-the-ice-age&catid=277:lectures&Itemid=352

On a sad note, I was surprised to learn that Kevin Reilly passed away just over a year ago. He was the founder of Reilly's Treasured Gold. I'm sure that some of you have dealt with Kevin and knew this before me. I was really surprised and sorry to learn about that. It seemed like it wasn't more than a year since I last talked to him.

Did you see the pictures of Hawaii when they had the Tsunami watch this weekend? Fortunately it turned out to be mild, and no damage was done. But if you noticed the one shot where a small channel let out a lot of water when the sea level went down a foot or two, you saw some dangerous currents. You could see how the bottom sediment was being moved by the currents. It looked like it was acting very much like a rip current.

If you are thinking about doing any water hunting, you should know about the dangers of rip currents. Often some of the best detecting is where the rip currents have made a trench. That can also mean danger. Be sure to be safe and stay in shallow calm water unless you are a strong swimmer and are very comfortable in the water. You could easily wander into a rip current without any warning if you don't know about them. Again, be careful.

When I began water hunting in South Florida, I tried using weights on a weight belt to help hold me in place when working rough water. Even though some people do that, for me that didn't seem to be best solution. I found it better go with the flow and work with the waves instead of trying to resist them. But working rough water is not for the beginner.

As I mentioned a day or two ago, often the really good spots will be about as hard as a paved street. The bottom will be covered with rocks and the cracks in between filled with smaller rocks and sand. That makes using a scoop almost impossible.

A good way to work a bottom like that if you are a wader, is to foot fan. After locating the target, work your foot rapidly back and forth over the target. The sand and small rocks will be lifted out by the currents you create, and that will loosen the bigger rocks. You'll have to practice that a bit, but be sure to use footwear of some sort, because the flying debris can hurt your feet and if the target turns out to be a fishing lure, the hook can come up and embed itself in your foot. I know!

If you are working in those conditions, once you remove the first target, check for more in the hole that you just created. There is a good chance there will be more targets. Locate the next target and fan to increase the size of the hole.

Well those are some good tips for someone that is ready for some advanced and very tough water hunting. Again, if you are not experienced at water hunting, stick to shallow calm water for a while.

I'll probably talk about scan patterns for water hunting in the near future.

There is a long list of items that you don't want to find. And if you do find them, don't pick them up, or as soon as you realize what they are, dispose of them. I think everyone knows possession of drug paraphernalia can get you into trouble.

I once saw a pretty brightly colored item in the water and picked it up. When I realized that it was a coke pipe, I immediately got rid of it.

Did you know that it is illegal to possess brass knuckles? Of course a metal detector will detect brass knuckles and you might not know what they are until they are dug. I found two pairs of brass knuckles and got rid of them. It is illegal to possess brass knuckles in Florida and I think most if not all other states.

Another innocent mistake is to pick up sea turtle bones. They are interesting, especially if you don't know what they are, and you might be tempted to pick them up, but it is illegal to possess sea turtle parts.

And another thing that is occasionally found on beaches all along Florida is ordnance. Be careful.

Remember not to hunt in the water around the leased shipwrecks. You'll find easier water hunting in South Florida or on the West Coast of Florida anyhow.

Forecast and Conditions. Again we have northwest winds. There has been one cold front after another this year without hardly a break. The seas are relatively calm, but will be increasing a little tomorrow and then more later in the week. Hopefully when the front gets a little further out we'll get some circulation that will change the wind direction. Until then I'm sticking with my 1 beach conditions rating.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/27 Report - Gold Coin Found in Ocean & Hunting Other States

Alexander the Great Gold Coin.

This was found in the ocean a few years ago. the coin was mounted in a pendant, which I cropped out of the photo. The coin itself would be from around 350 BC.

I was going to show a 2 escudo but found this photo already on my computer. I'll have to take a new photo of the escudo I guess.

If you need something to get your detecting juices flowing, here are some great metal detecting photos from the beaches of North Carolina. Lots of finds and photos from the field taken over recent years.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2261223520050257828dRDAOO

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is something like our Treasure Coast. They have plenty of shipwrecks and find some great cobs and things on the beaches up there when conditions are right. They get more rough weather than we do, which actually helps if you are up to it.

There is a web site that gives beach hunting tips that appears to be pretty relevant for us on the Treasure Coast. Check it out.

http://www.outerbanksnc.net/beachtips.html

On the subject of other geographical areas, did you know about the new California Gold Rush. With the economic hard times more people are trying to find gold in the creeks and rivers of California. A few are successful, but one of the biggest winners is Keene Engineering that manufactures gold dredges. Too bad we don't have naturally occurring gold in Florida. Of course you can make a little trip to Georgia. Otherwise we have to settle for used or second hand gold. Even that is a resource that otherwise would go unused.

As you might have noticed, I often recommend trying different types of treasure hunting. You might consider it cross-training. I'm convinced that you will learn something that you will help you even if your primary hobby is metal detecting the Treasure Coast beaches. For one thing, if you do enough panning, you'll learn about how gold and other heavy substances settle over time. It is pretty much the same way that gold will settle over time on a beach that is periodically battered by the waves.

If you are looking for something to do on a vacation trip this summer, there are places where you can pay to hunt nuggets for a day at places known to produce. Look up Happy Camp for example.

Here is a link to the New California Gold Rush story.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local-beat/NEW-CALIFORNIA-GOLD-RUSH.html

I have a Flip Cam and have been taking beach detecting pictures with it but haven't taken the time yet to know how to post videos in the blog. I have been using the Cam to capture the stills that I've been posting.

I'll get back to talking about water hunting before long. I just had this neat stuff that I wanted to post today.

Forecast and Conditions. We still have the northwest winds and mild seas. I would either be checking for the few spots that might be pealing a little at high tide or waiting for low tide to check the area right next to the water. There is no significant change. I'm still giving a 1 rating on my beach detecting conditions scale.

The surf web sites are predicting nothing more than three foot seas for the coming week. That won't change current conditions much.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/26 Report - Old Square Copper Spike Uncovered Thursday

Photo of Square Copper Spike Eye-Balled Yesterday.

This square spike was eye-balled as it was being uncovered.

I noticed one spot where the end of a limb was sticking up an inch or so where none was visible on the previous day. About fifteen minutes later on my way back, I noticed another part of the limb being uncovered, so I slowed down and looked at the area where the sand was beginning to peal away and noticed the copper spike that was being uncovered as I stood there watching. The emerging pieces of limb that I had noticed gave me a good idea on where to look for objects that might get uncovered.

I didn't have my detector with me. I was going from one appointment to another and just had a few minutes to stop and see what the beach was doing while I was in the area. There were some small cuts on a number of beaches.

When I first saw part of the copper spike, I thought I would take out my camera and get a picture of it as it was being uncovered, but since I had my shoes on and did not have a detector, I thought I better pick it up before it got swept away and lost.

I did take a picture of the area where it appeared just after picking up the spike.


Notice the small pieces of limb that were being exposed. Also notice the small shells that were being uncovered. The spike was in the shells and just being uncovered when I saw it.

You can see from the spike that it had probably been completely green and the green patina was in the process of being removed. What you probably can't see in the photo of the spike is the square worn head.

I actually like eye-balling better than detecting, but you find so much more when you skillfully use a detector. Eye-balling really tests your understanding of the beach and how things are sifted and revealed. I personally don't like dealing with equipment, but using a detector is also very challenging and so much more productive.

Anyway, one thing I am trying to show is how to watch for clues about how the sand is moving when you are on a beach. I've visually found cobs and almost everything you can think. Eye-balling is a good way to size up a beach, and then when you see what is going on, get your detector and clean out the most promising spots.

I know that people like to talk a lot about how deep a detector detects, I personally focus more on finding those spots where the targets are on or near the surface. The targets generally will be near the surface when you find a really good spot. Almost all of the cobs I have found have been near the surface. Many were lying on the surface either exposed of covered only by a thin layer of sand.

Yesterday afternoon I noticed that some small cuts had formed overnight and/or in the morning and they were continuing to slowly improve a little at some spots when I finally got to take a look. Unfortunately, not only did not they not improve, but all the cuts that I saw in St. Lucie County completely disappeared. I'm thinking that there might still be some small cuts on some of the more northern Treasure Coast beaches, but I don't know.

For some reason the gates to the St. Lucie County beaches weren't open until around 7:00 o'clock this morning.

I'll continue with my water hunting discussion at a later time.

Forecast and Conditions. As I said, whatever cuts I saw yesterday have disappeared, but there might be a few remaining on the northern beaches. I'm not very optimistic though, since the beaches I saw this morning deteriorated rather than improved. I'm going to stick to my beach conditions rating of 1. I don't really expect much good to happen this week now.

Low tide is somewhere around noon. We have about three foot seas.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/25 Report - Modern Dollar and Half Dollar Coins & Detecting in the Water

Photo of Some Chunky Change Found with a Metal Detector.

This lot includes modern US dollars and half dollars of various types found in the water. They are not old enough to be considered historical.

Notice the patinas. The patina will often tell you something about where the coin was found. Some places will create a black patina, other green, some brown, and some, like the northern fresh water lakes, a nice gun blue. A few Florida areas, mostly swampy areas, have a very acidic ground that will eat coins in a very short time.

Once again I am reminded of the public service provided by detectorists. They return tons of coins to circulation, return sentimental objects to those who lost them, etc. etc.

I even once helped a small business that had been shut down for the day. The jet ski concession at one of the big world-famous Miami hotels had lost all of their keys before they started for the day. They were dead in the water so to speak. I found the lot of about fifty keys in short order, and they were happily back in business and gave a nice reward.

I've received some questions about water detecting and am going to say a bit more about that.

First of all, people often ask if they are allowed to hunt in a particular area. I can't answer for all of the different areas, but you can't hunt near the leased wreck sites. One of the best things to do is ask a lifeguard if there is one in the area. They'll generally be able to tell you what you can and can't do in that area. (Posted below is a link to the Florida Statutes.)

If you haven't done a lot of water hunting, first make sure you are in an area where it is allowed. Start detecting in very shallow water and work into deeper water as you gain experience. If you are a beach detectorist, you can start in knee deep water. Your first attempts should be in calm shallow water. Rough and deeper water adds significantly to the challenge.

One nice thing is that if you want to scuba in the future, you just might find a lot of your equipment. I've found lots of dive weights, dive knives, watches, etc. in shallow water. The best place to find dive equipment is where the dive instructors take their students.

I'm getting off on a lot of side topics today. Back to water hunting. Yesterday I told you to look for dips and holes. Your first few times out, you might forget that and simply try a nice calm spot where you can easily work with the coil in the water. Develop a method of working a pattern so you cover ground thoroughly. Working a pattern in the water is more difficult than working a pattern on the beach where you can see easily see your tracks. You might look for rocks or other landmarks and work parallel to the beach moving out to deeper water on successive passes.

Notice how your detector reacts to various bottom conditions. Get the tuning and settings down. Just like on beach hunting, you might take a target with you (something not valuable, maybe a coin, to begin with) and use it get your settings down. On the beach I recommend using the kind of object that you want to find to test your settings, but in the water, make sure to use something you won't mind loosing, because it is much easier to lose track of items in the water if you are just beginning. Even if you just drop an item in the water, it won't necessarily fall straight down where you expect it to go. So it is a little more tricky in the water.

It seems that I got into doing Beginnning Water Hunting 101. I didn't plan to do that, but I guess it is good. I can get into more advanced topics in the future.

I know I am always saying to not use discrimination. You need it even less in the water than on the beach or on dry land because of the sifting effect of the water. I won't bother to explain all of that, but it won't hurt to practice without much discrimination. Digging a few pull-tabs will add to your learning.

I guess I'll get to some of the other topics some other day.

A stock market advisor who correctly called the 1987 crash, is advising purchasing land and precious metals. Although precious metals prices are now pretty darn good, I alwasy like the chances of holding precious metals for the long term. Here is the link if you'd like to read more from Dr. Doom.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article7035913.ece?print=yes&randnum=12670988470

I know that most detectorists are not attorneys and might have a difficult time interpreting the laws of the state. Nonetheless, you can easily find the state statutes online. The sections you might be most interested are those related to the Division of Historical Resources. You can also do a keyword search on the site for terms like "archaeological" or "submerged land." Here is the link.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0253/SEC034.HTM&Title=->2009->Ch0253->Section%20034#0253.034

By the way, I might add that you can contact the Division of Historical Resources. I have found them to be both friendly and helpful. Another good contact point is the Florida Museum of Natural History, who is charged with maintaining collections and making them available for study.

Well, I didn't get into a lot that I was thinking of, but I can do that some other time.

Forecast and Conditions.The wind is from the north northwest. The swell is from the east. Since the seas are only about three or four feet, I doubt if things will improve much, although we might see some small cuts on the front beach.

The seas aren't supposed to get any higher for the next few days. I'll have to stick with my 1 beach conditions rating.

The problem this year is that we've had a nearly continuous flow of cold fronts through the area, and that means west winds. We just haven't had a sustained north or northeast winds.

Low tide today will be around 11:00.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

2/24 Report - Scouting the Banks & Water Hunting

Photo on the Beach of the Indian River.

The banks of the Indian River have been used for a long time. A leisurely walk will often reveal clues of the past. For the most part, it is very trashy for metal detector use. For years people threw their junk in the river.

Towards the top of this photo you will see a part of a bottle sticking up. Below you will see the bottle unearthed. It is certainly not a valuable bottle. From the bottle, I would say it is probably from the twenties or thirties. It is not so much a find as a clue that tells you that there is some older stuff there. But you can find some genuinely old stuff along the river. I once found a nice fossil Great White shark tooth along the banks. Not long ago I mentioned a hoard of Spanish coins that was found at the Sebastian Wal-Mart site, so we know that the Spanish and other explorers were on the mainland. And waterways were the old highways.

Along the west side of the Indian River, the sand is about six feet deep over the bedrock. That means that a lot of the old stuff that is now in the river is deeply covered by sand. And of course, I should mention again, that old things found in the River belong to the State of Florida. But the banks are mostly on private property.



A day or two ago I said I was going to talk about water hunting. Of course on the Treasure Coast you can't detect around the leased wrecks, but the Treasure Coast is not the easiest place to water hunt anyhow. The water is often rough and the bottom conditions don't make it really easy. Places like South Florida and the West Coast of Florida have better conditions for water hunting.

No matter where you hunt in the water, it is something like hunting on the wet beach. In the water and low tide areas, things are easily lost and covered, then sifted around and accumulated, and then uncovered or left near the surface. It is not like detecting on the mainland where things tend to stay pretty much where they are dropped.

When water hunting, the best thing is to find a hole. I've talked about lines and holes that can be found on the beach at times. It is pretty much the same in the water, but in the water it is more often a hole than a line. And there tends to be more gold.

Anyhow, the key to consistently good finds, is finding the better spots, or holes. Of course in a heavily used tourist area you can find recent drops on a sand bar almost any time, but if you find the holes where things have accumulated and have recently been uncovered you will generally do better more consistently.

In the water, like on the front of the beach, holes can quickly develop and disappear. I remember one spot that had a target in every square foot and I took at least ten dollars of quarters out of the hole in a couple of hours with some rings thrown in, but while I was working the hole a weather front came through (I remember looking up as the front passed through) and the next time I visited the spot, there was not a single target to be found. And it wasn't worked out. The targets disappeared. It can happen that fast.

Generally you want to find dips. Sometimes you'll find a moving bar and the highest concentration of targets will be found on the front or back side of the bar as it moves. But you'll generally find that the really good holes are dips with firm or hard bottoms. Sometimes the bottoms will seem like they are paved, because there are so many rocks and the area between the rocks gets packed with sand. Those bottoms can be very difficult to work with any kind of scoop. I might tell you how to work that type of bottom some other time.

Generally holes like that have more of the lighter targets like pennies around the borders of the hole and heavier targets like quarters and gold rings nearer the center of the hole. The hole can contain targets lost over a period of years.

You can often see the dips by walking along the beach and looking to see where the bars are and if the sand and rocks have been recently moved. It can get really good when you find a dip that digs into the clay layer near the beach. Good heavy targets will really concentrate there.

You might find it difficult to detect in rough water at first but you can learn how to deal with the waves. There are a number of tricks to that which you will learn with experience. I remember one time before I learned some of the tricks when the waves were giving me a headache and knocking off my ear phones time and time again.

If you do a lot of water hunting in the ocean, you are bound to see a lot of beautiful and interesting sights out there in the ocean. But be careful and be safe.

Daler Plate Money. Someone from Fort Pierce is selling on ebay Daler Plate Money found on a 1715 shipwreck. Daler Plate Money is copper money manufactured in large sheets, some being over a foot long. Take a look if you are interested. There are a number of these for sale on ebay right now by the same seller. Just do a search of Daler Plate Money.

Also, one of the Florida Treasure Coast Shipwreck Beach Maps is now listed and currently as no bidders. It is ebay item number 110497697771.

Forecast and Conditions.The seas will increase to about three or four feet tomorrow. That won't help much if at all. I'm sticking with my 1 beach conditions rating for the present, and I don't see anything in the near future that would likely cause a change in that.

Tides are around 10:00.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/23 Report - Diamond Ring Found on Key Ring

Diamond Ring Found on Key Ring.

Gary D. found this ring and keys. I've found gold rings on key rings with keys myself. But the reason I post this is because it provides a lesson or two.

Gary first saw the keys and could have easily left them, but he picked them up and saw the diamond ring too. Some people leave junk where they find it. In my opinion that is not a good idea for two reasons.

First, gold and other good finds can be hidden by junk. Twenty dollar bills have been found in old cigarette packs, for example. Silver and gold coins have been found attached to corroded pieces of iron. It is a good idea to check out junk because you never know what it might be hiding.

Secondly, I don't like to leave junk on a beach because it can be a distraction and I don't want to detect the same junk every time I visit a beach. It is simply better to remove it the first time.

I don't mind detecting beaches that someone else has already detected, especially if they are using discrimination. I'll quickly assess the level or type of discrimination they were using from what is left, and go for the other things that they missed.

I've pointed out before that many metal detectors discriminate out iron. If a small silver cob, for example, is close to a piece of iron, the good target can be missed because of the iron masking feature.

I think back over the years and know that I have made a good number of mistakes by misevaluating certain shipwreck related items. Fortunately I have always kept things that I wasn't sure about, and that does cut down on critical mistakes, but I've still made a few that couldn't be fixed at a later time. Unfortunately, I still am way behind on researching some items.

Concerning one of the buttons I showed yesterday, someone wrote in to tell me that there was a button on ebay with the imprint "EXTRA FEIN." I checked it out, and the one on ebay was said to be Victorian, which is basically from 1837 to 1901. I'll check further to make sure the ebay seller was right about that, but that is a start.

But back to my main point, it is better to remove all junk when you detect if you possibly can. If I repeatedly detect a particular beach, I make sure to clean it out. When you clean up the junk, then you can really focus in on those faint signals from deeper and smaller targets.

On the subject of beach renourishment at Melbourne, the sand is being brought in from the Canaveral area where it is being dredged. The reader that emailed this information to me didn't know how far out the sand was coming from, but that is the general area. That is one way to get a shot at what was previously submerged sand.

Forecast and Conditions. The car axle that I showed a few days ago is now at least half covered with sand. And the six foot concrete slabs that I showed are unchanged. Once you know where on a beach things like that are, you can use them to assess the movement of sand.

The concrete slabs were high on the beach up at the level of the middle (or flat) beach. The water simply didn't get high enough to even touch them.

The axle was in the water at the edge of the beach with some exposed rocks. By observing the sand on the axle and the rocks, you could easily see that that area was filling in. Overall, there wasn't enough wave or tidal action to do much of anything to the front beach even though there was a little filling at that one particular spot.

Certainly nothing has happened to change my beach conditions rating from a lowly 1. The tides will be around nine o'clock.

I do like the good visibility of the water. Wade or snorkel and look around at some of those areas where the sand has moved away and recently exposed rock. It's always nice to observe nature on a beautiful day at the beach, but don't feed the sharks.

Side note: That reminds me of the time I was detecting in a very crowded tourist swimming area and a six or seven foot fish or shark swam right through the crowd without anyone else apparently noticing. If they would have seen that, it would have been crazy.

Another note: Sometimes chains will get hung up on rocks or even sea weed. Emeralds and other things have also been known to get caught up in certain areas. Gary mentioned that the keys shown above were caught in coral.

The seas are expected to increase to around three or four feet on Thursday. I hope that is wrong - on the low side. Again, there are some good things about the calm seas.

Remember, detecting in the water around the leased shipwrecks is not allowed.

I guess that is all I will get to today. More soon.

Oh, If you know any real good reference books on 16 - 18th Century Spanish jewelry, I'd like to know the titles. I know about the auction catalogs. I'm looking for some detailed reference books with lots of illustrations.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/22 Report - Old Button Metal Detector Finds & 1715 Fleet Items for Sale

A Couple Old Button Finds.

Here are a couple of metal detector finds that I am trying to date and ID.

I can't seem to make out the bottom one at all. It is a two-piece and on the back says, "Extra Fein." The other one says, "Standard Rich Colour" on the back.

If you can help with this, let me know.

I noticed a few 1715 Fleet items for sale on ebay right now. There is a musket ball with certificate, and a canon ball, which is listed on ebay for $850. If you are interested in looking at the canon ball take a look at item number 150415036639. Of course it will not be there indefinitely.

I also noticed a provenanced 16th Century Toledo blade being sold on ebay by a Florida interest. The blade came from a Spanish Galleon nao ship, the "Chaperon." The steel rapier blades were salvaged by treasure salvor Daryl Pinck in 1998.

The six-sided blade is 43.25" long overall including remnants of the split tail piece at the tang, which would have accommodated the sword pommel. The blades were once shown in a Treasure Quest magazine article.

If you want to see the photos, here is the item number. 260536075102

If you have gold or silver finds to sell, you should be somewhat informed about how to find current metal prices and how to calculate the weight and percent of gold or silver in items of different purity.

Gold prices have backed off of recent peaks, but prices are still fairly good. But you should know how to figure what an item is worth as scrap so you can get a fair price. Realize also that many items should be sold for more than scrap if they have any additional historic or aesthetic value. I think it is always good to check prices for similar items online. If you do decide to sell, you can often get much more for your items if you can find the right buyers.

There was a recent article talking about how sellers of gold have been complaining about companies that offer to buy their gold. You might want to check it out.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gullible-consumers-may-get-gored-on-gold-price-sellers-beware-2010-02-10?sissr=1

Forecast and Conditions.Nothing is happening that will help the beaches right now. I'll stick with my beach conditions rating of 1.

The winds are from the south southwest, the seas are calm and low tides are between 7 and 8 o'clock. If you are a water hunter you like calm seas like this, and the clear water is nice too. You can walk along the water's edge and see the bottom in the dips.

There is some neat stuff being found off-beach and in other areas of Florida. I haven't seen much being found on the Treasure Coast beaches for a while. I have seen a few nice finds, but I haven't seen any shipwreck coins or artifacts for a while.

Something has to change someday. The seas will be increasing a little around Wednesday or Thursday. In the mean time try some of the alternatives that I've suggested in the past.

I'm thinking about talking about some techniques for metal detecting in the water someday soon. Maybe tomorrow.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/21 Report - Castine Cache

Part of a Large Cache Found Near a Waterway.

I ran across the story of a fantastic cache discovered around 1840. It consisted of money primarily dated from 1642 to 1682. It included French, Spanish and Pine Tree money, which was some of the earliest minted in the US.

The story is of interest for several reasons. First, it gives a good example of how mainland caches can be discovered along waterways. Second, it provides some good illustrations of Spanish cobs and other money of the colonial period.

There are a number of good clues in the story for anyone interested in metal detecting.

The story is presented in two parts in the Wilson Museum Bulletin, Spring and Summer issues. Here are the links.

http://www.wilsonmuseum.org/bulletins/spring2003.html

http://www.wilsonmuseum.org/bulletins/summer2003.html

And here is a unbelievable lost and found story that was submitted by Gary D. In brief, a couple was taking a cruise on the Queen Mary 2. They dropped their camera off the ship out in the middle of the ocean. They get the camera and photos back after sixteen months after a Spanish fisherman picked the camera up in his nets. Some of the photos which were still good on the digital camera, were broadcast on TV and seen by someone that told the people who lost the camera. How improbable is that?

If you want to read more of that story, here is the link.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1250270/Couples-holiday-pictures-recovered-fishing-net-16-months-camera-dropped-cruise-ship.html

I'm going to try something new. If you are selling metal detectors, equipment, or Spanish coins or shipwreck artifacts on ebay, and you send me a photo and an ebay item number, there is a possibility that I will mention the item in this blog. It depends upon my own personal whims and decision. I am not gauranteeing that I will advertise any item in particular. I'll give priority to those who contribute information to this blog but am making no promises or gaurantees to anyone about anything. If I feel like using the item in the blog, I'll use it, otherwise not. It can result in some additional advertising for your item if I do decide to post it.

Forecast and Conditions. The winds are from the east and the seas are calm. Water visibility is good. The low tides are around 7:00. High tides are modest.

I'll downgrade my Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Conditions rating to a 1. It is not quite as bad as summer conditions for finding cobs and precious metals, but it is nearly as bad and the beaches have been heavily hunted.

I always say there is always some place to hunt and something to hunt. Right now, I would be checking the low tide areas for lighter materials and secondary finds like sheeting, iron, glass, ceramics, fossils, etc.

You might also consider some water hunting if you are in an area where you can do that or some mainland hunting. I've given you some tips for both of those this winter.

You might have seen the two championship rings from South Florida that I posted back around the Super Bowl and this blog also presented some good information on mainland salvage sites not long ago. If you missed those topics, you might want to go back and take a look.

You might also want to do some scouting about just to identify future spots to check when conditions improve.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/20 Report - 115 Million Dollars for George Washington's Yorktown Battle Map

Photo of a Very Small but Fresh Cut on the Treasure Coast.

Here is one area that is eroding a little. I mentioned it yesterday. Notice that the cut is small, but by the cliff up above the cut you can see that previously the same area had already been eroded. That means that the current cut is just cutting into the area a little more. This is the area that I mentioned yesterday and just above the auto transmission shown below.

Also notice that just beyond this little cut is a dip, which might be an even better detecting spot.

Photo of Car Transmission in the Surf.

This is the same item that I posted yesterday, but is a much better picture. (Submitted by George L.) The transmission was higher on the beach a few weeks ago (closer to where the fresh cut is now) and covered by sand. Evidently it was pulled into the surf where it was uncovered and is now pretty much trapped by rocks. I'll be interested to see if it ever gets pushed back up.

Spots like this is what has kept me from reducing my beach conditions rating to a 1. Some of the beaches are showing sanded-in conditions that are every bit as poor as summer conditions. Yet if you scout around, you can find a few better spots like this. But the probability of finding something like a cob on this beach is still low even though it is slightly better than many of the other beaches at this time. I should also mention that this beach has been very heavily hunted this winter.

I just want you to know that there are some spots out there that are slightly better than others. You can find them if you are willing to spend some time scouting around.

The International Monetary Fund has sold over 200 of the 400 plus metric tons that it plans to sell, much of which went to India. The IMF fund was formed back in the forties to create economic stability in the world but there is the question of the increasing cost of the IMF to the US.

To read more, here is a link.

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2010/NEW021710A.htm

Recently funded Everglades restoration projects could endanger historic sites. Some of those site are Tequesta sites that are thousands of years old.

Here is the link for more of that story.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-everglades-historic-sites-20100215,0,6948015.story

George Washington's personal map of the Battle of Yorktown, which descended through the family of an aide to Washington, was auctioned two weeks ago. It brought $1.15 million at James Julia Auctions in Maine. That set a record for an American map and was possibly the most expensive map sold anywhere.

http://www.mcwetboy.net/maproom/2010/02/george_washingt.php

Forecast and Conditions. The wind is supposed to be from the northeast today, but the seas are supposed to be down around one foot. That isn't enought to improve things much at all. And the tides are nothing special. That means that I'll be sticking with my 2 rating. One thing you can expect is for the materials in the shell piles to be turned over a bit.

Like I said before, there are a few scattered better spots out there, but you will probably have to do some walking to find any that aren't heavily hunted.

My post today was earlier than usual, so if you are accustomed to reading the blog in the morning, you might want to go back to see if you saw yesterday's post.

That's it for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/19 Report - Recently Exposed Items & More on Silver Plating & Coins

Photo of Two Six Foot Square Concrete Slabs on the Beach.

This is north of the Blind Creek area, I would guess near a half a mile from the beach access. I don't know what it was, but it might have something to do with the old WWII spotting towers.

I often tell you to go out and scout around. Sometimes you'll find clues like this. Not only does it indicate that there was considerable activity at this spot at one time, but it also can be used as an indicator of the depth of sand.

After spotting the two slabs, I noticed a couple of heavily corroded smaller iron objects in the shells. It might be worth detecting the area when the sand goes down some more.

Here is something else that was exposed. At the left is what appears to be a transmission and an axle for a wagon or small vehicle. It is in an area where there was a lot of WWII activity. there was a small cut just above these iron objects. I think these objects were exposed this week.

There were some other interesting clues found in the shells, along with some fossils and sea glass.



When conditions are not ideal for hunting cobs, go scout around and see if you can find clues to any other possible detecting areas.

Information on Silver-Plating Continued. As you know, I've been talking about silver-plating a lot lately. I received two more good emails on the subject.

First, Marcus M., a master watch maker says, "The oldest form of covering other metals with gold or silver, known even by ancient Egyptians, is so called "fire gilding". The process is quite complex and almost unknown and forgotten today, but the results are thousands times better than those done by electroplating. It includes preparing an amalgamate from pure gold (or silver) and mercury - fumes of mercury are highly toxic - and some long time on low fire, but as result you get object covered with very thick layer of gold or silver,which will last for hundreds of years. Contemporary electroplating provides only about 1/8 micron thick layer of gold or silver, therefore is very prone for mechanical (touching) removal - on the other hand, a XVII Century clock will still look almost intact as far as gold layer is concerned. As a watch maker, specialized in restorations of watches made between XVI to XVIII Century, I am doing that kind of gilding, 6-8 times a year, when it is necessary to obtain original gold appearance of old time piece."

Regarding one of the photos I recently posted, Marcus says, "I am 100% sure, that this coin was silver plated at much later time than minted - layer of silver is very thin, and does not look like real silver, which is the case, when object is fire gild."

David J. sent in a link to another good web site showing ancient imitations, or what you might call counterfeit, Roman Coins. The example shown on that web site is a silver-plated copper coin.

To see that one, go to the follwoing link.

esty.ancients.info/imit

One thing I think I can say for certain is that silver (and gold) plating has been going on for centuries. As far as determining if any particular item has been recently plated or f it was plated centuries ago, that is something that is more difficult and something I do not feel qualified to do. As some of you know, I often refer people to specialists for opinions on things like that.

I often say that metal detecting is a great way to introduce young people to a variety of fields of knowledge. This string of posts mentioning silver-plating and its history is just one small example.

Here is just one more thing for today even though I have a lot more that I could post today. Ken A. reports that heavy equipment is on the beach at Melbourne due to a beach renourishment project that is underway. Anyone know where that sand is coming from?

Forecast and Conditions. The seas will be calm for a few days. Nonetheless, as I pointed out above, you can find a few small cuts and dips if you scout around. You might also be able to find interesting things in the shell piles or find some newly exposed things that will give you some ideas about new detecting spots.

I'll stick with my same old stubborn 2 beach conditions rating.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/17 Report - Silver Plated Pistareens & Other Spanish Coins

Illustration from American Numismatic Society Newsletter

The past few days I've talked about silver-plating and showed some silver-plated dug items, and I got into a bit of the history of silver-plating.

Yesterday I received an email talking about silver-plated Spanish coins, and I found an extensive study in the April 2001 American Numismatic Society Colonial Newsletter mentioning silver-plated Spanish coins. The above photo and excerpt is taken from that study, which was written by Thomas A. Kays.

Before I talk more about that study, here is what DetectorBob had to say in his email.

"It was not uncommon for the Spanish to silver plate coins for the payroll in St. Augustine. Many years ago I found such a coin dating to the 1600's, which is enclosed (See photo at right.). As late as last year one other was found by the city archaeologist while excavating under a house in St. Augustine. Thus they had the knowledge to do so at least back to the early 1600's."

Yesterday I mentioned that electro-plating was not invented until around 1800. I've seen some disparity in the exact date and often people use the date 1840, which is when an electroplating process was patented. But I also mentioned that other types of silver and gold-plating was done long before that. (See my previous post for links to sources.)

But then I found the American Numismatic Society article by Kays entitled When Pistareens Cut Their Way Through the Tobacco Colonies. It is an extensive study that includes a lot of interesting information. The article discusses the use of Spanish coinage in Colonial America and reports on a study of 199 dug pistareens and includes a lot of other information that will be of interest to many of the readers of this blog.

On page 18 of this study, Kays discusses silver-plated pistareens. Maybe I didn't read the article carefully enough yet, but Kays seems to think those plated pistareens are old. At least I think that is the implication. I'm passing this along before taking time to carefully study the article in detail, so if I'm misconstruing anything, just let me know.

If you want to read the entire Kays article, which I highly recommend, here is the link.

http://data.numismatics.org/cnl/Pistareens.pdf

Well, I hope the readers of this blog have enjoyed this topic as much as I have. I've learned some things in the past few days.

Conditions and Forecast. Well, its another cold day on the Treasure Coast. And the Northwest winds are still with us. We'll have three to four foot seas for a day or two and then towards the weekend the seas will be very calm. With these calm seas and all the sand piled up out in front of the beach, I don't expect much to change. Conditions are pretty poor. I am really tempted to drop my beach conditions rating to a 1, but I'll stick with a 2 for now. I'd be scouting some of the areas far from the beach accesses and scouting around the low tide areas.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/16 Report - Good Water Visibility and Calm Seas

Photo of Treasure Coast Beach at Yesterday's Afternoon Low Tide.

As you can see there is a lot of sand on the front beach. In some places there was a dip between the sand bar and beach. Shells were visible next to the dip and along the low tide mark.

In the News. Two Florida men were arrested by wildlife officers near Lake Newnan for excavating artifacts. The men who had dug a lot of big holes, had metal detectors and also had Indian artifacts in their backpacks.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100212/ARTICLES/2121004/1002

I don't have to tell you to not do what those guys did. It gives all detectorists a bad name even if it was only two guys involved.

Here is a totally different story that shows how detectorists can make significant contributions to history and archaeology when good working relations are established. Detectorists in England assembled a collection of 13th to 16th century finds to tell an important story that previously was little documented in the history books. The story I am talking about is that of Leicestershire's medieval pilgrims who made difficult journeys to distant religious shrines in the 13th through 16th.

Here is a part of the story.

"Peter Liddle, community archaeologist for Leicestershire County Council, said: "When I started with the county museums service over 20 years ago our collection included just a handful of religious relics."But thanks to the work of metal detectorists and the portable antiquities scheme, particularly since 2003, we are building a picture of the journeys undertaken by Leicestershire's pilgrims. We now have about 75 relics, many of which have been donated to us.""

Now that is the way it should work. England handles the matter of historical finds very well in my opinion. Other countries should learn from this.

Here is the link for the entire story and a few photos of the artifacts.

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Unearthed-relics-help-chart-lives-Leicestershire-pilgrims/article-1820935-detail/article.html



Forecast and Conditions. As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot of sand on the front beaches. That means that the beaches are somewhat protected from future erosion. I also believe the many of the heavier items that could eventually show up on the beach after erosion, are now buried under that sand. There is a lot of sand that needs to be moved before the beaches begin to show much promise.

There were however some positives. You could find lighter materials including glass and pottery. I might have found a small piece of an olive jar yesterday in the low tide zone. Also, the water was very clear yesterday. You could actually walk along the water line and see the bottom very clearly through the water. The fact that there were some dips is not insignificant. Take a look around rocks or other obstructions where heavier items might settle. There was good visibility for snorkeling or diving.

Winds are now from the North Northwest, but are modest. Seas are calm. But the winds will probably increase as the latest cold front passes through. The surf sites are saying that the seas will not get over about three feet all week long. That means there is little chance of much erosion or any type of significant improvement. I'm therefore keeping my two rating on my Treasure Coast beach conditions scale.

I haven't heard from people detecting the Juno beach renourishment project. How's that going?

Also, I'm still looking for information on the items posted the past couple of days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/15 Report - Found Ring for ID & Silver Plating History

Ring Found with Metal Detector.

This ring was found on a North Florida beach after a storm. The finder says it appears to be silver plated and thought it looked like it could be Spanish.

Before I continue, I want to ask anyone who can provide information or thoughts about this item or the one shown yesterday to email me. I started to think that the bell shown yesterday might have come from a religious artifact of some sort.

The past two days I've posted photos of items that seem to be silver plated. I received a good question about how long silver plating has been used. As a result, I did a little research, and here is what I found.

If you consider silver plate synonymous with silver electro-plate, the answer is the early 1800s. A method of electroplating silver was discovered around 1800 (I've seen some variation in the exact dates.) but a process of silver electroplating was patented around 1840.

There are methods of silver plating that were used before electro-plating though. Old Sheffield Plate, for example, refers to silver plate made from a fusion process that was used in the late 18th century before the invention of electroplating. A brick of copper and a brick of sterling silver were fused together and then rolled into a sheet. The sheet (of silver and copper) was then used to create items the same way a sheet of silver would be used.

There are other methods of applying silver and gold over other materials besides electroplating and Old Sheffeld Plate. There is gold and silver leaf, overlay and gilding, for example.

(This gets confusing, and I'm not an expert in this area so I might not use the terms absolutely correctly from a technical purists point-of-view.)

Silver and gold can be applied over other materials by hammering thin sheets, using adhesives, or applying the powdered metal much like paint.

As you'll notice from the wikipedia article, even the Inca applied silver or gold over other materials. And gold plating (if you use the term in a general sense) was done way before that.

I won't try to get any more detailed than that here. Check out the following if you are interested in delving into the subject any deeper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilding

http://www.justinteeantiques.com/news.html
You have to scroll way down to find the material in this article.

http://www.myantiquemall.com/AQstories/silveroverlay/SilverOverlay.html

http://inventors.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=inventors&cdn=money&tm=62&gps=143_66_1010_565&f=00&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.artisanplating.com/articles/platinghistory.html

I hope that is helpful.

As I always say, don't be quick to throw things away. You might be surprised how often you notice something about an item that you didn't notice years ago or just learn something new that changes how you look at it.

On another subject -

If you want to read more of the story of the discovery of the 1715 Plate Fleet salvage camp at the McLarty Museum site, here is a nice article.

http://digitalcollections.fiu.edu/tequesta/files/1966/66_1_02.pdf

Forecast and Conditions. We'll be having three real cold days and practically no waves. Right now the winds are from the southwest. That might mean there will be some shell piles to sift through. I would resort to some low tide hunting if you don't mind getting your feet wet in this cold weather.

I'll stick with my 2 beach conditions rating for now.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/14 Report - Small Ornate Bell Found - 1715 Fleet ???

Interesting Ornate Bell Found Recently on the Treasure Coast.

This bell was found recently in the Vero area by Rick C. who has been in town detecting the local beaches for the last week. His brother Lance submitted the photo.

The bell is silver plated copper. Fisher Museum personnel said that they could not say for certain that it is a shipwreck item, but they could not exclude the possibility either.

(Note inserted: Silver electroplating was not invented until around 1840 although there were other forms of plating used in the 18th century. I'll have to conduct more research on this topic and post it in the future.)

I'd like to hear from anyone that has found something similar or who has some ideas about the bell. And I'd also like to hear from anyone that has found an item in the past and obtained additional information about the item. Keep us up to date.
In my opinion, the unraveling of the mystery can be both fun and very educational.

A couple of detectorists who obtained permission to detect a construction site next to the old Philadelphia mint and dug up some previously unknown rarities. You can read more of the story at the following link.

http://www.coinlink.com/News/us-coins/newly-discovered-treasures-dug-up-in-philadelphia/

Yesterday I mentioned seeing a detectorist working a vacant lot next to the Fort Pierce inlet. Not a bad idea.

There are some 1715 Fleet reales and escudos for sale at St. Lucie Jewelry near Walton Road and US1. They were not in the display case when I looked, but they brought them out when I asked if they had any.

In their display case I did see a cob mounted in a gold or golden framed pendant. After having it removed to take a look at it, I saw the small and partially obscured "co" from the word "copy." Not that they tried to hide it or sell it as an authentic coin, but there was nothing in particular to make it obvious that it was a copy, and one could easily mistake it for an authentic cob if great care wasn't taken to inspect it thoroughly. I did have to find the make myself rather than it being labeled as a copy or brought to my attention when I asked about it. This is just a note of general caution, and I am not saying that the business did anything wrong.

Forecast and Conditions. As you can see from the story that goes with today's photo, even though conditions are far from ideal, things occasionally pop up. That is why my beach rating system starts with a 1 rather than a zero. There is always some chance that something will be found. It is a matter of probabilities. Sometimes it is a long shot and at other times conditions for finding cobs or jewelry are much better. That is what my beach conditions rating system is about.

You can often learn something even when conditions are very poor and you don't find what you are looking for. As Thomas Edison once said before making a break-through, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Discovering the things that won't work is a big part of learning to become more productive.

Today seas are around four feet with a northwest wind. Seas are expected to decrease over the coming week. The forecasts often change though.

I understand that another cold front is due, so we'll see if anything changes this week.

I was late on posted yesterday's post, so you might have missed it. It is still there, as are all of the other old posts.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/13 Report - Florida Safe Deposit Box Gold Coin Hoard

Photo of the Beach by the Nieves Site This Afternoon

Sand everywhere! Certainly no improvement here. If the entire Treasure Coast looked like this, I would have to issue a 1 rating. This beach didn't look any worse this summer.

Florida Gold Coin Hoard. 262 Indian Head $5 gold pieces were found in an unclaimed bank safe deposit box in Florida. The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) graded half of them as being mint. The lot included dozens of rare date 1911-S and 1916-S Half Eagles.

Here is the link for the story and photos.

http://www.coinlink.com/News/us-coins/pcgs-certifies-hoard-of-rare-half-eagles/

I always tell you to store anything good that you find in a safe deposit box. But when you do that, don't forget about them, and make sure to tell your family about them in case the unthinkable happens.

Forecast and Conditions. It looks like the winds won't be right. That has been much of our problem this year. There have been almost no north or northeast winds to slice away the sand. One cold front after another has raced through without hardly any periods of sustained northeast winds.

You occasionally get some cuts from southeast winds, but not often and they are generally not productive. A few hours of a north wind that pushes the water up on the beach at a good 30 degree angle can slice cuts into the beach while you watch.

I don't know why cuts from southeast winds don't seem to do much good. As often as not, the southeast winds pile shells and other light stuff up. I have a theory or two as to why. One theory is that they go against the prevailing near shore currents and tend to push up materials that have been migrating southward in the shallow water. On the other hand, northeast winds and seas increase the velocity of the north to south running currents, quickly moving sand and light materials out of the way and leaving heavier materials with small flat objects on the higher sand where the water is reduced in volume and speed.

As you probably have noticed east winds generally cause little erosion even if the seas get high enough to reach far to the back beach. They just seem to wash up and back, not slicing away the sand as does the seas guided by the north winds. They will leave a few spots of erosion where the beach curves so that it is not being hit at a ninety degree angle. As I've point out before, Hurricane Andrew caused virtually nor erosion along the mainland beaches in South Florida. The seas were very high, but hit the beach straight on. It did however cause some erosion on some of the keys where the beach does not run along a pretty straight north to south direction.

I already showed you what it looks like on the Treasure Coast beaches right now. It just isn't much good. The spots that are a touch better have to be scouted out. As I recommended yesterday, it wouldn't be a bad time to try some alternatives.

I saw one guy working a vacant lot where a building had just be torn down. He was using a long handled beach scoop. I wouldn't think that would be the best choice for the circumstances, but he probably just decided to try something else and used whatever he had.

I am sticking with a 2 rating, but just by the skin of my teeth.

Magicseaweed.com is saying that we'll get six foot seas on Sunday. That is a slight improvement, but the winds will have to shift a bit too or we'll not see any cuts to speak of. Then after peak seas on Sunday, the seas are expected to decrease again.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/12 Report - Big Cache in Buried Cannon & HMS Ontario Video

Take a look at the cob in this photo and see what you think. I'll comment more on it below.

On another topic - I've read about the following before. The find was supposedly made on a small island off the coast of Florida. A cannon was found full of gems. I don't have any personal knowledge of the find or the people, so I can only go on what I've read, but something about those gems just don't look right to me. They look like they are cut more like modern stones than what I would expect to see in a cannon. But I don't have any more than that to go by, so who knows?

http://www.okmmetaldetectors.com/metal-detector-finds/gems-in-florida.php?lang=en

Here are some other interesting finds to look at. If any one has experience with OKM instruments, I'd sure like to hear from you.

http://www.okmmetaldetectors.com/metal-detector-finds/pirate-bottle-treasure-suriname.php

Here is a fantastic underwater video of the HMS Ontario that sank in 1780. The state of preservation and the photos are fantastic. A great look at an 18th century ship. (Lead provided by David J.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF_5RtN3nvU

Also, check out the 3-D rendering of what the ship looked like new. Both of these are really cool. It is like a virtual tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIsra0OBDLA&feature=related

Back to the cob shown in the photo. It is fake. I don't know if you noticed it but
in the upper right of the coin at about the 1 o'clock position near the edge is a small mark that looks like it says "Copy" in script or cursive.

When you look at the cob in person, that mark is not very noticeable at all. I only noticed it when I looked at an enlarged photo of the cob on my computer screen. The photo posted above is enhanced. I sharpened it twice. That makes it look more granular too and makes the rest of the cob look funny. But think you can see how subtle the mark is.

I guess the manufacturer or retailer could say he is legal because it is marked as a copy. But the mark would only be noticed by a very careful observer. After I pointed out the mark to the vendor, the cob was removed from the sealed holder and tested. It is not silver. This is a fairly convincing fake in person - at least at first glance. I could see how people could be fooled. I don't think the vendor knew.


Forecast and Conditions. The wind is from the southeast and the seas will be four feet or less. Not much to get excited about. There are things to do though. I've mentioned mainland sites lately, and there are places where you can water hunt these days if you want to do a little day trip. Or with the the southeast winds, you can probably find some places where shells, fossils, glass and other things are washing up.

I have to stick with that old 2 rating though. I think this has been both the coldest winter and the slowest when it comes to hunting cobs that I've seen. Last spring was actually better than this winter. That is pretty unusual.

Oh, you might be interested - tomorrow at the Marriott down by Stuart (555 E Ocean Blvd.) at 1:00 there will be an auction of confiscated items. For more information call 772-225-3700. I never buy anything, but sometimes I like to look just to see if there is anything interesting.

Have fun,
Find your wife something for Valentines day.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/11 Report - Mosquito Fleet & Spanish Inland Salvage Camps

Photo of 18th Century Fortifications in the West Indies.

Artifacts were found all over this island including buttons, grape shot, and other artifacts. Blue and white broken pottery littered all of the old paths. Most of the military artifacts appeared to be from the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Have you ever heard of the Mosquito Fleet? Sounds like it might be something that belongs to the Treasure Coast, doesn't it? Well it was actually based in Key West in 1822 and 1823.

I found out about the Mosquito Fleet when reading the book The Great Commodore which tells about the life of Commodore Perry. One section talks about the buccaneers that operated around Florida after the War of 1812. The nineteenth century pirates were mostly Cuban desperados, cast-offs from the revolutions in the South American Spanish countries and longshoremen on the Florida coast, which was at the time nominally governed by Spain.

Unlike the pirates of earlier times, which were a bit more like the pirates portrayed in our motion pictures, most of these pirates were sneak thieves that preyed on crippled or stranded ships and attacked when the odds were overwhelmingly in their favor. They would then disappear into the inlets and rivers, turning themselves into innocent farmers or fishermen at the first sign of danger. Attacking these thieves with a large war ship was something like attacking a swarm of mosquitoes with an ax. The result was that Commodore David Porter, in addition to bringing two or three cruisers and several war schooners, also brought in a fleet of smaller sailboats equipped with tiny canon that could go anywhere a pirate craft could, and then their crews would follow the pirates ashore. This fleet of small pirate-chasing boats that operated around the Floria Coast and in the West Indies was called the Mosquito Fleet.

More directly on the Treasure Coast - Yesterday, my post discussed some of the evidence of mainland 1715 Fleet salvage camps. Tom Gidus sent in some additional information that he found in his reference materials. Both of the references quoted below were written in 1716 - one in February and the other in August. I think this information will help you get a better picture of what was going on around the Treasure Coast not long after the 1715 Fleet went down.

First...

"Escribania de Camara 55C - Captain Ayala Escobar , Palmar de Ayz, 4 Feb.1716

“He reached Palmar de Ayz on Feb 2nd and with troops to chase away the English who were then diving on Ubilla’s capitana and almiranta. Eight English schooners and one packet boat ran away. On the mainland he located Juan Francisco de Porta with all of his divers. ……”"

And in August....

"From Indiferente General 2645 – Alonso de Armenta, 23 Aug. 1716

“….and I must find new forces on both land and sea to prevent any further incursions from the enemy who impede the salvage operations and communications between the wreck sites and Havana…..the enemy landed on shore a long distance from our Reales (camp) and, realizing their intentions, it was decided that the small vessels being used for the salvage work be taken to a river nearby and with sufficient soldiers for escort, the 200,000 peso which was recovered at that time would be carried overland with boats, which was done.”"

So here we have documentation from the Spanish salvors indicating that they were using mainland camps and traveling inland. The Treasure Coast was obviously a busy place in 1716. The scattered treasure attracted opportunists of all stripes like flies to honey.


Forecast and Conditions. We still have a north wind, but it isn't much. And I don't expect much more than three foot seas. The surf sites say the seas might increase slightly to around 5 feet in a few days. That isn't really much to look forward to and probably won't change the beaches significantly. I'd expect continued filling. Yet, I'll stick with what is getting to be a very boring 2 rating on my Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions scale.

The radio just said we'll have strong gusty winds and rough seas on Friday. We'll see. I don't think it will be enough.

Sometimes it really takes perseverance. Something good has to happen before long.

I guess that is why I got off into more of a research mode today. Research helps. It gives you some additional alternatives to doing the same old thing and the same old beaches.

Take the opportunity some time to branch out and try something different

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/10 Report - Mainland Treasure Sites & The Disappearing Cut

Photo of a Treasure Coast Beach this Morning.

I think this beach is typical of what you will see along the Treasure Coast now. Notice the sand and shells built up on the front beach. A few days ago the cut was about three or four feet high, and now it is only about one foot high.

I got an email from Tom Gidus not too long ago with some good information. In one of my posts I had mentioned the cache of reales found in Sebastian when the Wal-Mart was being built. I provided a link to a site where one of those cobs was being sold. Anyhow, Tom wrote providing additional information.

First, Tom mentioned that there was a Spanish camp on the mainland which was established after the storehouse at the McLarty site was robbed by pirates. He mentioned that the Indian Rive was used to transport items between the camps, smaller ships entering at the old Indian River Inlet.

He also told about a talk by Eugene Lyon given at the McLarty Museum in 1992 in which Eugene Lyon mentioned another cache found at what Tom says he seems to remember as Micco Rd and US1 (north of the Wal-Mart).

Tom also said, "There was a high ridge that ran all along the west side of what is now US, and it would have offered a good view of the Indian River and out towards the ocean. The ridge is still there though not as high as it once was (check the elevation using Google Earth)"

Continuing, Tom wrote, "Taffi Fisher also mentioned to me once several stories of Spanish coins being found on the mainland...one of the spots being right near where their museum and conservation lab are.

There are stories of cannons being on the bottom of the Indian River lagoon in the Sebastian area. Possibly some of these were salvaged from the wrecks and were being taken to the mainland to offer some protection, only to be lost once again?

And of course, at the south end of Indian River drive is Barker's Bluff aka Kroegle Mound...which was the paramount (chief) town of the Ais indians. (according to new research conducted by archaeologist Alan Brech). The Ais were all but gone by 1715, but their large indian midden there was very easy to spot and would have made a nice camp for the salvors."

Thanks to Tom for all of this great information. You just don't get that kind of information every day.

Check out Tom's web site (http://www.wreckoverysalvage.com/) and watch for his dive articles in the papers.

Be warned - according to my understanding, any cannons (or anything else old) in the Indian River would be the property of the State of Florida.

Yesterday I mentioned how someday detectorists and academicians might have better relationships and work together more productively. It occur ed to me that I should mention that in many cases professionals, academicians, and government officials, now often work well together. I have mentioned how detectorists have reported finds and received information from our State Archaeologists. Ian originally sent photos of his sheave to a state archaeologist and received some helpful information. That type of thing is not uncommon. I often encourage people to show their finds to people like that or to take them to one of the Treasure Coast Museums. That often happens, and in every case that I know about, the professionals have been pleasant and helpful.

I just wanted you to know that you can work with them and they are helpful. I know that some detectorists are afraid of the professionals and the government officials because of some of the things that have happened in the past. You don't have anything to fear if you observe the applicable laws and report any finds that might have significant historical or academic value. Obviously, you should not remove anything old from state land or other protected land or archaeological sites.

There is one of the Treasure Coast shipwreck beach maps on ebay that has no bids.
The item number is 110490827628.

On another note, I received an email about a man who claims to be an amateur electronics engineer and supposedly helped design magnetometers in the past. From what I hear, this man is an unscrupulous person who stole a detector. My information on this is second hand so I just pass it along so you will be aware and cautious when dealing with someone like this who you don't know personally.

Another person sent in photos of fake coins similar to the one I showed a few days ago. They seem to still be quite prevalent.

Forecast and Conditions.I mentioned above how the beaches are generally filling in. I expected to see some piles of shells and did.

The water has just been touching the foot of any remaining old cuts and the cuts are generally disappearing.

The wind is now pretty much out of the north or northwest. The seas are supposed to limp along at about three feet for the next couple of days and then increase by about a foot. That doesn't suggest much improvement. I'll stick with the same old tired 2 rating on my treasure beach conditions scale.

I'm about to give up on this winter ever being very productive. Last spring was decent. Maybe that will happen again.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/9 Report - Upcoming Treasure Coast Lectures

Philip IV Shield.

There are a vareity of Philip IV shields, but I think this might be the one that was on the fake coin shown in yesterday's post. There is another that is very similar, but this will give you some idea.

There will be a lecture on Coastal Archaeology at the Environmental Learning Center at 255 Live Oak DR. Vero Beach on Wednesday February 17 at 5:00 PM. Tickets are $15.00 and may be purchased in advance or at the door before the lecture.

This is a good opportunity to get some good information. I wish I could attend and would love to hear from those that do. I hope you will support things like this.

Also, Brian Lapointe, who has studied the South Florida reefs, will be giving a talk on "Reefs, Wreckers and Shipwreckers of the Florida Keys" at 4:00 PM and 7 PM Wednesday at Harbour Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University 5600 N US 1. Call 772-465-2400 for more information. The title seems a little ambiguous. I have one idea what they might mean. I hope I got it right.

Here is another great opportunity to learn something that could help you out. Thanks to Stephen for sending in these notices.

Ed B. sent in the following link. The article is about an inland site at Moss Bluff Florida by the Ocklawaha River where a Franciscan mission known as Santa Lucia de Acuera was built in 1627. The site is being explored and various artifacts, including Spanish beads have been uncovered. Evidence of a church and a smaller building has been discovered. Here is the web site which also has a short video.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20100208/ARTICLES/100209746/1402/NEWS?Title=Digging-history-in-Moss-Bluff

I was thinking last night how much donated time is provided by detectorists. And they provide a lot of services. I think of the lost jewelry, eye glasses, keys and other items that are returned, and usually without charge or reward. In fact, Gary D. tells some stories about how his attempts to return valuable items were often met with rejection. Someday I might tell more about that. My experience has been similar. Not only do people often fail too show any appreciation for the time spent in finding their items, but sometimes they even try to claim things that they did not lose. It's amazing to me that someone would not show any appreciation for having a valuable ring returned. It very often happens though. I have received rewards from grateful people, but more often that is not what happens. Some small sign of appreciation is all I hope to see, even if it is just an expression of thanks.

That isn't what I started to talk about. What I wanted to mention is some of the many services provided by detectorists. Of course, there is the discovery of old items, some of which end up in museums or become leads passed on to the academic community. There could be more of that, and I suspect that someday the academic community will come to appreciate the contributions of the amateurs and make an effort to create better working relationships. Lectures and programs like those mentioned above can help inform detectorists, lead to better reporting and lead to better understanding and relationships. Of course, not many finds are going to be museum pieces or provide any additional knowledge. After all, rarities are rarely found. That is why they are rarities. Most detector finds are both modern and common, not to mention the pull-tabs and other junk that is removed from the beaches.

Did you ever think of the number of coins that are returned to circulation because of detectorists? It has to be a huge number. I know I found over six hundred dollars in modern coins in my first year of detecting. I remember that because I remember when I accumulated enough clad coins to pay for my first submersible detector, which cost over $600. It took me less than a year. That is a savings for our country, because otherwise those coins would have to be replaced by manufacturing new coins. Once a coin is returned to circulation, it can serve for years and years. I once read that every penny manufactured now costs more than a penny to create.

In a salt water beach environment, coins and other items will deteriorate over time. And they aren't going to stay in the same place. Items deteriorate and contextual data is lost. Beaches change constantly and items on a beach will be moved whenever the sand moves. The churning water and sand will wear down even some of the harder materials.

I was once asked what was my most valuable find. I replied it was the car keys I found for an elderly couple that lost their keys on an isolated beach in the days before cell phones. There were other finds similar to that, but that one really sticks out in my mind. I just happened to stop at that beach when needed. And there was not another person or car around.

Anyhow, those are some of the things that detectorists do.

I'll have more on inland Spanish sites in the near future.

Forecast and Conditions.So far this has been a very poor winter for finding cobs. The winter is usually a pretty good time to get in some good hunting, but for some reason this year, it just hasn't happened. I know there have been a few decent days, and I saw some cobs, but it just wasn't up to what I expect this time of year.

For the next few days, the seas will be less than five feet. Not much in the way of waves and not much in the way of tides. So I'm sticking with my 2 rating.

These poor conditions make it necessary to really scout around and adapt to the conditions if you are going to find anything interesting. Yet there have been some interesting things that have been found this year. So you just have to keep pushing.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/8 Report - Coin(?) Found in Vero & Sheave Info

Coin Found in Vero.

The item was eye-balled by someone that was not detecting. They submitted the photo and asked what the item might be. I rotated it 90 degrees to get the right orientation.

Not long ago I mentioned that a lot of fakes were being found, and this appears to me that it might be another one. You can see the OM to the left of the shield indicating a Mexican minted coin, and the shield appears to me to be a Philip IV, but I can't tell the real color of the item from the photo. As it looks in the photo, the object doesn't look like it would be either silver or gold, and it looks like the edges might be flaking.

If any of you can see anything else in the photo that should be taken into consideration, or if you think that I am wrong about any of this, let me know. I didn't conduct a thorough analysis or go through all of my research materials, and I'm far from an expert at identifying these coins. My conclusion at this point,though,is that it is a souvenir copy.

Mystery Sheave with Brass Coak. In my opinion, one of the more fascinating treasure coast stories about a beach find lately has been the mystery of Ian's sheave and the research that is he is doing to identify the item and the shipwreck that it came from. You might remember that it was originally thought that the sheave might have come from the steamship Breconshire. There has been a lot of new information since then.

You can see a photo of this item on my January 20, 2010 post. If you didn't see that, I'd recommend that you go back and take a look.

Ian very recently received information about his find from England. He received an email from Mike Roberts, Hon. Sec. Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust (Support Group). The email said that the "DR94" marking on the coak indicates the manufacture date as being December 1794. The "WT" marking indicates the initials of the block manufacturer, Walter Taylor.

The email said, "This firm had it's premises near Southampton in the UK, and were a major supplier of Blocks and similar devices to the Royal Navy, and as a result virtually held the Navy to ransom at one time. Shortly after this date, the Navy established a block making factory within Portsmouth Dockyard, known as the Block Mills. This virtually put the firm out of business.

There are two forms of the brass/bronze coakes, those made by Taylor were of four lobes, whilst those of the Dockyard Blockmills were three lobed as is your example.

A problem arose, when the new machinery was not fully functioning, and the Admiralty has closed the contract with Taylor, and had to go back to his manufacture, and it is likely that the trefoil coake in yours was supplied by the Admiralty to Taylor, or possibly Taylor made the wooden block shells, and the fittings were made in the Dockyard."

Mr. Roberts mentioned the "Amaranthe,25 October 1799, a 14 gun brig sloop, which in turn was a French Prize Capture, and arrived in Portsmouth 1797 and underwent a refit 1797-98," as being lost off the coast of Florida and being the possible source of the sheave.

Well, that just goes to show how digging up an artifact is only the beginning. The research to identify and document an artifact can continue a long time after the artifact's discovery. It is the problem solving process that makes treasure hunting so much fun and provides so much of the educational value.

I guess I'll have to hold some of the other topics for another post.

Forecast and Conditions. The wind is coming pretty much out of the north. Seas are to be about five feet today. There are the remnants of some old cuts out there in a few spots. The water isn't getting high enough to do anything more to them. The old cuts are getting rather stale. Most of them are worked out and filling in.

The north winds might result in a little cutting, but it won't be much. The seas are only getting high enough to cut the front beaches if anything at all. You might see some stair steps.

Coins have been flipping up and being left on the top edge of the cuts.

Tomorrow the seas will slack off some and then increase again in about a week.

I'll stick with my very stubborn 2 rating for Treasure Coast beach conditions.

I saw some snow birds wandering around this weekend. Too bad conditions weren't any better.

If I was traveling with a detector this week, I would have visited South Florida.

I told you the Saints would win.... or did I?

Anyhow, until next time.
Happy hunting.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

Super Bowl Weekend Report - Metal Detecting the Super Bowl II

Photo of Another Championship Ring Found in South Florida.

On the topic of the Super Bowl yesterday, I showed a photo of a Championship ring found in South Florida. Today I am showing another. Championship rings are not extremely uncommon finds. I would say it is easier to find a championship ring in South Florida than it is to find a gold escudo on a Treasure Coast beach.

Beside the name of the team usually being prominently displayed on the ring, often the name of the player or coach is inscribed inside the ring and the owner can often be tracked down.

Of course there are other things to find in South Florida. There are even a few old coin holes that go pretty much unhunted. A lot of the hunters down there hit the same spots. And, I should say, not without good reason. But there are some good spots down there where I never saw another person hunt.

While I am on this topic, I'll take the opportunity to remind you to keep your good finds in a safe deposit box, like I do. I know of too many instances were nice finds or entire collection have been stolen, so I simply don't keep anything good at home.

Quite a few years ago there was a guy named Dave, who I've mentioned before, that pretty much owned the Jupiter Inlet beach. That was back maybe 25 or 30 years ago. He had collected a jar full of Potosi coins that he picked up before the now famous wreck pile there was discovered one morning by a lifeguard. Well, he left the cobs in his car trunk, and the entire collection was stolen. That is why I tell you to keep your finds in a deposit box or something. Unfortunately it happens all too often.

Also when visiting South Florida, be careful where you park. Many of the beach and tourist parking lots back a few years ago were prime hunting grounds for thieves. One of the most common means of entry was to break the lock with a screw driver or some similar tool. Unless things have markedly improved, I would take an old beat up looking car and leave nothing in it. The parking lot just north of the Foutainbleau was one very bad lot for thefts.

Did you hear about the large cache of Scotch secreted in 1909 that was recently discovered. That would make some fellows jolly. Here is the story.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/ernest-shackletons-whiskey-found-buried-near-south-pole/19347440?icid=main|htmlws-main-w|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fworld%2Farticle%2Fernest-shackletons-whiskey-found-buried-near-south-pole%2F19347440

Here is a good site where you can buy or just browse thousands of coins for sale.
They are divided into US, ancient, and world coin sections, and organized by vendor. You will find numerous vendors and their offerings on this site. You can find the reales and escudos as well as other old and US coins on this site.

http://www.vcoins.com/

I still haven't gotten around to some things that I promised to talk about soon and I got some good new information via email that I need to relate. Sometimes it takes a while for me to put things together to get them posted.

Forecast and Conditions. The Saints will win. Or, maybe the Colts. I donno.

Back to the Treasure Coast. We are having West winds and the seas are down around maybe three feet. The waves have some height to them as the west winds are holding them up and blowing the tops off, but from what I've seen, and I took a quick look this afternoon, sand and shells are piling up on the front beach again. That means you might look for lighter materials on the beach fronts at low tide. I like eye-balling during conditions like this. And of course there is no reason not to swing that detector at the same time.

I can't rate the beach conditions any better than a 2 yet. According to the surf web sites, the waves won't pick up until Monday when they are supposed to increase to about five feet. If the increased waves are accompanied by the north or northeast winds, that might help a bit. Otherwise I wouldn't expect any significant cutting.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net