Written by the Treasure Guide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.
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| Thin Piece of Silver About Dime Size If Complete |
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Isn't that the magic of detecting? You create memories. It surprises me how I remember exactly where and how so many items were found. So many of those memories seem as clear today as they were 20 years ago.
They might be moments of elation, surprise, wonder, or maybe exhaustion or fear. Those memorable moments are very different, but they stick in memory just the same.
I remember stupid things that I did. I remember the first time I got caught in a rip tide. And the time I got bumped by something in the ocean at night, and I still don't know what it was. (I don't do that anymore.) It got my heart pumping.
They say God watches over helpless fools. He took care of this ignorant soul.
You might not know exactly what something is when you first dig it up, and that seems to add to the excitement.
There often is excitement when you first dig up an item. I clearly remember the diamond that I saw sparkling through a couple feet of crystal clear water as it came up in my scoop. That was beautiful, and it was memorable. The sky was so blue and the water was crystal clear that day.
I remember the time my wife thought she had a real hot spot when she had a hole in her goody bag and kept picking up the same coins. That was funny.
I remember the time I found a very nice gold chain and religious medallion and it slipped through a hole in my pocket on the way back to the car. After discovering that it was missing I walked back a mile or more to find it, and was lucky enough to see part of it sticking out of the sand at the edge of the water.
Those are just a few. There are tons of them, and they come marching back one by one as I look through old finds.
Some of those finds will last a long time. Somebody else will own them some day, but whoever gets the item won't get all the magic. They weren't there. I was.
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Above are two views of a dug silver object. It looks like it could have been a coin, but most of it is missing, as you can see. The side shown in the second photo is almost completely covered with a thin coat of encrustation. It looks like it was in the water a good long time. It looks like it attracted some iron residue.
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This blog has become a very good resource. I find myself often using the blog search box to find old postings to locate information or links. There are quite a few links to good reference works.
One reader commented on especially liking the gem stone link from the other day.
Below are some very good links relating to Florida archaeology. Some deal with 16th Century Spanish exploration.
The works are by Jeffrey M. Mitchem. The articles are a few years old but excellent.
The first describes the archaeological evidence for the location of Narvaez's Aute. Very good article about one of the very first Spanish explorations in Florida. Well worth reading.
https://www.academia.edu/1419291/Archaeological_and_Ethnohistoric_Evidence_for_the_Location_of_Narvaezs_Aute
Here is an good list research resources by the same author.
http://uark.academia.edu/JeffreyMMitchem
Thanks to Mr. Mitchem for making his works easily available to the public. That is how is should be.
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On the Treasure Coast today and tomorrow we are supposed to have a small surf - only one to two feet. That is as calm as it is going to be for a week or so if the predictions are correct. Unfortunately the tides are pretty flat, so we won't be getting much of a low tide.
There is one disturbance hanging around in the south of the Gulf of Mexico.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net
