Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasureeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Source: Associated Press. |
It is not totally unprecedented. In fact another 3.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of St. Augustine in June.
In 1878 an earthquake knocked plaster from walls in St. Augustine. That one was felt all the way to Tampa.
Here is the link.
https://weather.com/news/news/rare-37-magnitude-earthquake-florida-coast
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The most recent poll has concluded and the results are in. Conditions have been poor for quite some time, and, as I suspected, the poll shows that very few treasure coins have been found on the beaches recently. In fact only one person reported finding a treasure coin on the beach up to this date in 2016.
Of course not everybody responded to the poll, so there could well have been more people who found treasure coins this year than is reflected by the poll. What I conclude from the poll results is that some very low percentage of those that read this poll did find a treasure coin so far this year. From what I've seen and reported, beach detecting conditions have been very poor. I did miss a lot of time this year due to illness in the family, so I thought there might have been some better times that I missed.
According to the poll results, 2015 was considerably better. In fact, just going from the poll results, only 1 percent of those that responded to the poll found a treasure coin as late as 2016, while 8% of the respondents found their most recent treasure coin in 2015.
It seems that 2014 was a relatively poor year for finding treasure coins, although the number could actually be as high 9% of the sample. Those that found coins in 2016 and 2015 could have also found coins in 2014, but that wouldn't show up on the poll because of the way the question was written. In retrospect, I could have, and probably should have, allowed multiple responses, and then I would have had the additional data.
20% of the sample reported that the last time they found treasure coins was 2013 or earlier. That could be 2013 or anytime before that.
Only 30% of those who responded to the poll reported that they have ever found a treasure coin on the beach. To put it the other way, 70% had not found a treasure coin on a beach. So those of you who have, can count yourself as among the minority.
I've done polls in the past that show that if you found one treasure coin, there is a very good chance that you found more than one. Once you get your first, it seems easier.
Overall, the poll results seem to support my estimates of beach conditions, at least in a general way.
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I ran across a test of the Nokta Fors Relic metal detector by Colonel Dan on the Kellyco web site.
They called it a field test, but the test targets were selected and placed or planted (not sure which from the report) in the field. It also seemed to me to be more like a test for coin shooters not relic hunters, as iron targets were considered trash. I'm not sure that is how relic hunters look at the world.
Here is one of the tables found in the report. You might find it interesting even if you'd never consider a Nokta. "WSS" indicates wet salt sand. The two sets of data are for the stock and small 5 inch coil.
| Sensitivity at Depth | 7x11" Stock | 5" Round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values = inches | WSS | Soil | WSS | Soil |
| 1897 Silver Quarter | 7 | 11 | 4 | 7 |
| 1877 Silver Dime | 7 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
| 1883 V Nickel | 7 | 10 | 3 | 6 |
| 1886 Indian Cent | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 Ring CW Bullet | 6 | 10 | 3 | 6 |
| Antique Key | 6 | 12 | 4 | 7 |
| 1853 Large Cent | 5 | 11 | 5 | 8 |
| 14K Ring | 5 | 10 | 4 | 8 |
| 10K Ring | 3 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
The small coil was said to provide excellent separation between the trash (key) and good targets.
Click here to go to the field test.
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This week on the Treasure Coast we'll have something like a two or three foot surf. Nothing much else going on other than the Blue Algae.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
