Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
A Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.After two days of southeast winds, this isn't surprising. A lot of seaweed was washing up on our beaches.
Sea weed is a bad sign that indicates that a beach is filling.
The cut beach that i showed a day or two ago deteriorated. It still had some cliffs, but also had sea weed and had filled in. The beach in front of what remained of the cut was now mushy where it was firm before. All of that means that the sand was coming in.
I'm downgrading my Treasure Coast Beach Conditions rating to a 1(poor) again.
The Whites Dual Pulse is an easy swinging detector. That is what I used today because I sprained my back the other day and it feels lighter than a lot of other detectors because it is well balanced.
One detecting tip that I have for today is when going along a beach and you aren't hearing hardly any signals, deposit a few test targets of your own behind you, then on the way back see how many of them you miss. That will give you a self-check. I'll bet that at least 50% of detectorists will be surprised how many they miss.
If you try this self-check where the waves might hit, bury the test objects under a couple of inches of sand so they won't be washed away.
I'm not saying that it is always necessary to cover every inch of sand on a beach. I often use a loose scan pattern when I am sampling an area, but there are times when you should cover every inch. By using some test objects you will learn just how much you might be missing.
Concerning the medallion that I posted yesterday for ID, Laura Strolia, author the the book, The Marigalera of the 1715 Fleet, sent in some good information. I thought she might know something about the medallion.
Here is what she said.
The lettering on the one side refers to St. Ignatius of Loyola of the Society of Jesus. He is shown as a courageous Christian knight, as he fought in many battles early on in his life. The image depicts St. Ignatius defeating a dragon like St. George had done centuries before. This act represents ideal Christian chivalry, thus making him the patron saint of all soldiers. St. Ignatius was said to have laid down his sword under the Blessed Virgin Mary of Montserrat, and he then dedicated his life to God.
The letters and image on the reverse side refer to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception who was born without original sin.
The Jesuit collection at St. Louis University holds a silver reliquary showing St. Ignatius of Loyola on one side and the Immaculate Conception on the back of it. It dates back to 1650, so the combination of these two images on artifacts goes back a couple hundred years.
Thanks for the help Laura.
When you send in an item for ID, please try to get a good clear photo. Many cameras won't focus well when the object is to close to the lens. Also provide as much information as possible, such as size, material, and any associated finds or anything that might provide some clues.
I can not post every submitted item. And i certainly can't ID every item.
Just because an item is old doesn't necessarily mean that it was lost a long time ago. For example, I dug up a wheat penny the other day, but I also recently found one in circulation.
People sometimes carry around old things. If it shows the wear of time and is found with other similarly old items, that might help to narrow things down a bit.
Unfortunately items that have been in salt water can corrode very quickly. I recently dug up one of the new state quarters that was completely green encrusted and corroded. It certainly wan't old, but it looked like it would be. The soil or context that items are lost in have a lot to do with how they are protected or how they corrode.
I mentioned the Diggers TV program the other day. I found it hard to believe that they were digging up such old items in such good condition. Some of those items didn't look like they had been used at all.
Artifacts from the blockade runner, Modern Greece, will be preserved after sitting for fifty years in storage tanks.
A systematic survey of blockade runners off the North Carolina Coast is planned before those wrecks deteriorate even more.
Here is the link.
http://www.kjct8.com/news/30635467/detail.html
The seas will be slacking off a bit tomorrow and then return to about seven feet or so Sunday. I'm not encouraged by the predicted wind direction though.
The high tide this evening is going to be higher than normal.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net