10/28/13 - Crotal Bells, Sharks Teeth and New Atocha Finds

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Dug Crotal Bell

Yesterday I mentioned some dug crotal bells and gave a link to a web site that provided good information about crotal bells.

This one was dug on an old trail along with some other items including horse shoes.

Did you ever hear someone say "I'll be there with bells on."  If you aren't a youngster you probably have heard that said.

If you look it up online you might find something like the following.  The expression goes back to the days before the automobile, when it was the custom to deck out with the fanciest harness the horse that drew the carriage for special occasions. That, of course, was the harness 'with bells on.'"

I think it has an older and more utilitarian beginning.

The bells were a type of insurance when going on a journey.  They were sometimes traded for goods or services if problems were encountered.  Therefore if you arrived with the bells, you arrived in good condition, not having had excessive problems along the way.

Same Dug Bell

Notice the design around the bottom.

This bell is very much like one that you will see towards the bottom of the above linked site.

It should have a size marker and a makers mark somewhere.  Maybe that can be found when the bell is cleaned.


On the Treasure Coast we still have a one to two foot surf.

There is a lot of sand, and a good many shells on some beaches.

I saw one piece of old pottery along with the shells.  I'm sure there will be a few beach fossils at a few places too.  Of course some beaches have more shells than others.  And also some beaches are a slight bit better for detecting now, even though I wouldn't expect to find any cobs now.


And this just in via email.  -  Captain Andy and the crew of the JB Magruder recently found hundreds of artifacts on the Atocha site, including 210 musket balls, 12 spikes, and 8 split shot and numerous pieces of pottery and a few encrusted objects.  For two days they found something in every hole.

One Very Sandy Convex Beach.

The beach above was very mush and poor.  The beach below was flatter at low tide and more firm.  Both had a good number of shells.  Note the sea weed at the high tide line at the beach below.

Also notice the sand bar in front of this beach.  There had been more of a dip in front of this beach until the bar moved in.

Both pictures are from near low tide this morning.

More Concave Beach.

A 4 - 7 foot surf is predicted for a week from Tuesday.  You know how it goes with those higher surfs that are predicted a week in advance.  It might not happen.

Fossils Found Last Sunday.
Photo by Dan B.

Dan took in quite a haul.  He found 430 sharks teeth as well as the other fossils you see here.  He said it was under difficult circumstances.

That is often the way it is.  The best finds are often difficult.

Congratulations Dan.

Like I always say, "There is always some place to hunt and something to be found."


I received a lot of emails and find photos.  I'll show more of those in the future.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net