11/30/18 Report - Indian River Lagoon Muck Dredging. Expanding World Coin List. Euro and Other World Coins.

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

They are going to dredge tons and tons of muck from the Indian River Lagoon.  The project has been started in some areas.

The Florida Inland Navigation District plans to build a nearly 10-acre basin between the road and the Florida East Coast railroad track to hold muck and sand dredged from the Intracoastal Waterway channel in the southern half of St. Lucie County, roughly from Midway Road to the Martin County line.

Construction at the 20-acre site about a mile north of Walton Road will begin within a year and take about a year to complete, said Mark Crosley, FIND executive director....

FLORIDA INLAND NAVIGATION DISTRICT MUCK DUMP SITE

Where: 10315 S. Indian River Drive, about a mile north of Walton Road

Description: Permanent facility to process sediment removed from the Intracoastal Waterway in southern St. Lucie County

Site size: 20.3 acres

Basin size: 9.67 acres

Impacted area: 13.09 acres

Basin capacity: 84,268 cubic yards

Amount to be dredged: 15,200 to 30,400 cubic yards

Estimate of sediment to be dumped over 50 years: 76,029 cubic yards

At this time the muck dump is well underway. You can see it from Indian River Drive.

https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/indian-river-lagoon/2016/12/24/indian-river-lagoon-muck-dredging/95606736/

Hard to tell what might be in all that dredged material.

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Gaylen C. sent pictures of coins he found from Venezuela and Portugal, and Sherman W. reported finding a few from Australia.

Here is the updated list of world coins found in Florida.

Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Haiti, European Union, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Virgin Islands. 

I just remembered a Greek coin that I found, but it was from B. C. and not a part of the modern state of Greece so I haven't added it to the list. 

I also added the European Union.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the Euro.

The euro is the result of the European Union's project for economic and monetary union which came fully into being 1 January 2002 and it is now the currency used by the majority European Union's member states with all but two bound to adopt it. It is the currency used by the institutions of the European Union and in the failed European Constitution it was to be included with the symobls of Europe as the formal currency of the European Union. The euro is also widely used by other states outside the EU.sn

Except for the two states with opt outs, all current and future members of the EU are obliged to adopt the Euro as their currency, thus replacing their current ones.^[2] The relationship between euro and non-euro states has been on debate both during the UK's membership (as a large opt-out state) and in light of withdrawal from the EU and how that impacts the balance of power between those in and out of the euro; namely avoiding a eurozone caucus out-voting non-euro states. The UK had called for the EU treaties to recognise the EU as a "multicurrency union", which sparked concerns about undermining euro adoption in remaining countries.^{[1] [3][4][5]} 

Below are pictures of Galyen's coins.  The first pair appear to be Euros.

Here is a beat up Euro I had.

Notice the outline of the various countries separated to the left of the big 20, suggesting preservation of individuality within the union.  You know what is going on there now.  They are having trouble holding it together.  Political messages are often meant to counter oppositional trends.

Coins usually carry a message.

It always amazes me how so few design elements are used over and over again in different locations and at different time periods.

Here is a what appears to me to be a modernized Lady Liberty on a French coin.

Here is what Lady Liberty looks like on an American Eagle.

I think that is a very attractive coin.

Here is liberty personified on a coin from Chile.

Is there a political message? Who is trying to say what to whom and why?

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The PM high tide is going to be good and high on the Treasure Coast today.  The surf will only be about one foot though.

We'll be having south winds for a while.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/29/18 Report - Cache Of 7000 Coins Uncovered. World Coins. Unidentified Coin. Denticles.

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

Cache of Silver Coins Found in Pots.

Source: See Archaeology in Bulgaria link below.

A hoard of over 7,000 silver coins minted by the Ottoman Empire and hidden in two treasure pots has been discovered by accident by inmates from the prison in the city of Pleven in Northern Bulgaria.

The Ottoman coin hoard with the two broken treasure pots was stumbled upon on November 9, 2018, by prisoners during agricultural work on land owned by the Pleven Prison.

The newly discovered silver treasure, which is believed to have been buried in the ground in the 19th century, was formally presented to the media by the Pleven Regional Museum of History on November 19, 2018...

Here is the link for more about that.

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2018/11/19/prison-inmates-find-hoard-of-7000-ottoman-silver-coins-hidden-in-2-treasure-pots-in-bulgarias-pleven/

A few days ago I listed a number of ways that caches are found.  This is another example of a accidental hoard found as the result of farming.

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As I said the other day, you can find coins from many countries on Florida beaches.  I posted a list of the countries that I have found coins from.  Alberto S. sent me some additional ones that he found (blue) and I added a few that I previously overlooked (red).  Here is the updated list.

Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Haiti, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Uruguay, Virgin Islands.

Here is one that I haven't identified.

Unidentified Coin.

Can anyone identify this coin for me?  Thanks.

Sorry I couldn't get a better photo.

Send  me any other additional countries that you have found coins from and I'll add them to the list.  Photos would be nice too.

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Denticles Around Coin Rim.

Source: See TheSpruceCrafts link below.

Here is a brief article on denticles  (the irregular raised areas around the inside rim shown above).

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/denticles-on-coins-768440

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Turkey is moving gold bullion to Iran for oil.

Here is the link about that.

https://invest.usgoldbureau.com/news/us-moves-keep-valuable-gold-out-iranian-hands/

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It looks like the surf on the Treasure Coast will be only one or two feet for a few days.

We'll have a north wind for a while today, but not much surf.  The wind will then shift and we'll get some warming weather.  

The tides still are decent.

Let me know if you have found coins from additional countries or can identify the unidentified coin.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide

11/28/18 Report - Crossbow Use and Tips Found in Florida. Closing In On Oak Island Treasure. More Detected World Coins for The List.

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

World Coins Dug in Florida That Were Not On My Original List (Except Russia).

Finds and photo by Alberto S.

Yesterday I posted a list of coins from various countries that I found on Florida beaches and asked others to add to that list with other world coins that they have found.  Alberto S. submitted the above, along with the following message.

... the attached image shows some that were not on your list except Russia which I included by mistake. What is interesting is the number of coins from the Ukraine compared to other coins like the euro coins which were frequent in Miami Beach.  I took these with my iPhone so the ones which are damaged by sea water do not show well.  

Thanks Alberto!  I'll add those to my list.

You'll certainly get a lot of world coins on Miami beach.  

Where you are will determine to a large extent what you will find.

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OK.  I'm almost ashamed to admit it but I just watched Oak Island season six, episode two.  Most of it anyhow. I had a phone call and missed part of it.

I feel a little dirty and abused. They found a gold brooch.  That's like saying you found a gold bar when you found a lead bar that is gold plated.  They seemed to forget the other metals used in the brooch.  I've seen more gold than that in the bottom of a bottle of liquor.

One person said it was the first gold found on Oak Island.  A few minutes earlier they showed a lady put a gold cross on the table that was said to have been part of the contents of  a treasure chest recovered from Oak Island.  Wasn't it found before this gold - or should I say copper - brooch?

But that isn't the worst of it.  This is season six, and let's say they did just find their first gold!  Where can you go in this world and not find gold.  There is gold almost everywhere - yards, beaches, fields hills, etc.  I learned that very early in my metal detecting experience.  But this isn't anywhere.  It is Oak Island!  One of the biggest treasure stories ever, and it takes six seasons to find your first?  What is surprising is that it took six seasons!

Episode three was better.  They got the seismic survey data and followed up with some core drilling.  That makes sense.  Finally!  Thank you!  That should help them get closer to some real answers on the big questions.

There was a little something in episode six that confused me.  They were carting around the deep-seeker ( I think they said it was an EM-6 ) and finding signals, which were then re-detected or pinpointed by the Minelab.  Some of the targets were huge, such as the nearly two foot spike, but not deep at all.  They were easily detected by the Minelab.   So again, what took so long?  Large targets which didn't really require the deep seeking detector were laying near the surface just inches deep and found by the deep seeker!  Just seemed to me to be a redundant effort.  I have to remember that they have get video to fill a season of episodes.  That area seemed attractive enough that near-surface targets could have been cleared early on with the Minelab.  It seems they tend to be pretty random with search patterns.

I hope we get some good analysis on the recent finds.  And more targeted core drilling.  That will make up for a lot of the craziness.

The crossbow bolt find, which hasn't been analyzed yet, was pronounced to be from the time of the Templars.  It was said, "That is when they (crossbows) were used."

Crossbows were used then, but they were used since times B.C., and are still used today.  Something that I often repeat is the difficulty of quickly pinpointing a date for an item.  It can be very tricky.

Many countries use crossbows today for military purposes.  It is silent.  There can be psychological effects on the enemy.  I've also read that the crossbow can be used to stop a person carrying explosives with less risk of causing detonation.

People still use the crossbow for hunting too.  I remember seeing some at a gun shop.

Politics gets into almost everything. Did you know that the Roman Catholic Church at one time banned the use of the crossbow in warfare?  Can you guess the reason?  It had to do with maintaining social stratification.  The crossbow made it possible for an  unskilled peasant from the underclasses to  knock off a knight.  That was a threat to the elite, so they lobbied Pope Urban II to ban the crossbow.  You know how it goes - ban it for the regular folks and use it yourself.  The same old two-tiered justice system.

You can't separate politics from treasure or much of anything.

If you do a little research, you'll notice that most crossbow bolts are different from the one found on Oak Island.  Most, including some found in Florida, have a smaller tip that is made to fit on the end of a rod.

Here is a link that will take you to a site that talks about the evolution of the crossbow, including a little about how it is used by military units today.

http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/history-of-the-crossbow-origins-and-evolution/

And here are some tips found in Florida.

Crossbow Bolt Tips Found At the Luna Site Near Pensacola Bay.

Source: See link immediately below.

That photo comes from a blog on the Luna Settlement site.  Here is the link.

http://lunasettlement.blogspot.com/2017/07/excavations-conducted-by-university-of.html

Interesting site.

Similar crossbow points have been found at other Florida sites, including St. Augustine.

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On the Treasure Coast the tides are still big, but the surf is low.

We're having some north winds that will shift tomorrow.

It was down in the forties last night along the coast.  Cooler inland.  Pretty cool.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/27/18 Report - Cache of Coins Found. World Coins Found On Florida Beaches. Spying In Your Home.

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

Celtic Coin Cache.

Archaeologists found a treasure of Celtic coins in Mošovce near Turčianske Teplice. The finding of 40 coins contains the most precious coins that Celts minted in this era, so-called tetradrachms...

The coins were scattered in a steep slope. Archaeologists found a place where they were packed in a small knot of organic substance and thanks to soil erosion, they scattered on the slope. They also found out that Celts put them into soil in times of battles at the beginning of anno Domini. It is already the second large-scale finding of coins in this area, the first being in 2008...

“We have to make a maximum effort to overtake raiders because everywhere we research we find tracks after people who were there before us,” he said, as quoted by SITA, adding that unfortunately they have already lost many findings. He would appreciate an amendment that would allow the cooperation of professionals with amateur finders, as it works in many other countries...

Here is the link.

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20962892/archaeologists-found-treasure-of-silver-celtic-coins.html

In the news items I post, there will be tips that are applicable to detectorists anywhere.  In this article you'll find mention of erosion, which is a big topic for me.  Erosion can reveal things on land as well as at the beach.  The article also talks about the reason the cache was concealed and how the container deteriorated so that the cache was scattered.  The article also calls for cooperation between archaeologists and detectorists, something else I've also written about in this blog.

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You'll notice that the coins shown above show horses.  Coins feature subjects that are important to the culture for some reason, and you might therefore be able to tell something about the culture from the coins.

Many 1715 Fleet coins that we find on the Treasure Coast feature a cross on one side.  Many show a coat of arms.  Others show the Pillars of Hercules.

US coins often feature a President, but their are many other subjects, such as landmarks or symbolic objects.

From an informal survey of the world coins I've found, mostly in Florida, I'd say that Queen Elizabeth has to be on more coins than any other person or subject.  Not only is she on the coins of England but also the coins of other countries, such as Canada.

I've found coins that feature some more unusual subjects such as starfish or squid.  Some coins show objects that I don't recognize.  I could probably find out what they are if I look it up.

You can find coins from most countries on Florida beaches.  I thought I'd start a list of some of those I've found (just off the top of my head).   I can add to the list as readers provide additional ones that they've found.  The very uncommon ones will probably be the most interesting.  I have a couple somewhere from countries that I never heard of.

Here are some that I've found just to start the list.

Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Haiti, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Tobago, Uruguay, Virgin Islands.

I think I have a few other strange ones, but would have to go find them.

If you have any to add to the list, send me the name of the country, and if you can, add a photo of the coin.

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The plans that some of the companies have for the near future are amazing, including snooping into your life, not only what you do on the internet, but using cameras and microphones, including those on electronic devices in your home.

According to the following article, they will use recognition software to identify things such as the picture on the shirt you are wearing in your home and use that information to provide advertising or otherwise "maximize" your experience.  You probably already know that they can track the stores or establishments you visit even when your smartphone is turned off.  At least that is what I read.

Here is the link.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/google-reveals-plans-to-monitor-our-moods-our-movements-and-our-childrens-behavior/

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The wind shifted and some cooler air moved in last night.

The tides are still nice and high on the Treasure Coast but the surf is going to be only about two feet for the next few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/26/18 Report - Mysterious Tunnels Discovered. Treasure Hunter Can't Present Coins to Court. Florida Shoreline Change Database. Plastic in Whales.

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

More evidence has emerged of a mysterious network of tunnels beneath the historic neighborhood of Ybor City in Tampa, Fla.

Earlier this week, architect Gerry Curts was on site showing pictures and offering descriptions of one of the tunnels, Fox 13 reported. He said that a new opening to the tunnels was revealed during demolition work by developers planning an office building./..

Mormino speculated that the tunnels may have been part of a network that transported Chinese prostitutes from Cuba to the Port of Tampa to Ybor City in the early 1900s, but added that we may never discover their real use. "The tunnels of Ybor City represent one of the great riddles and mysteries," he said...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/mysterious-tunnels-discovered-in-florida

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COLUMBUS (AP) — A treasure hunter has taken back a pledge to turn over 500 missing coins just days after he promised to deliver the coins minted from gold found in a shipwreck off the South Carolina coast.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Tommy Thompson agreed on Wednesday to deliver the coins to a court-appointed receiver by Sunday to settle a lawsuit brought by an investor.

The paper says the deal fell apart Friday when Thompson said he has no idea how to obtain the coins.

Thompson found the S.S. Central America in 1988 after convincing more than 100 investors to fund the voyage for nearly $13 million.

Thompson never repaid the investors. He became a fugitive and fled...

Here are a couple links.

https://www.limaohio.com/wire/state-wire/329120/treasure-hunter-flip-flops-over-returning-missing-gold-coins

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181114/tommy-thompson-agrees-to-surrender-gold-coins-in-tentative-settlement

You might remember when a fugitive Tommy Thompson was apprehended in a Boca Raton hotel.

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Here is a link that you can use to find some information on Florida shoreline changes.  Not all of it is up-to-date.

https://floridadep.gov/water/beaches/content/historic-shoreline-database

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A dead whale that washed ashore in eastern Indonesia had a large lump of plastic waste in its stomach, including drinking cups, bottles and flip-flops, a park official said Tuesday, causing concern among environmentalists and government officials in one of the world’s largest plastic-polluting countries...

Santoso said researchers from wildlife conservation group WWF and the park’s conservation academy found about 5.9 kilograms (13 pounds) of plastic waste in the animal’s stomach containing 115 plastic cups, four plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags, 2 flip-flops, a nylon sack and more than 1,000 other assorted pieces of plastic...

For more - 

http://www.startribune.com/dead-whale-had-115-plastic-cups-2-flip-flops-in-its-stomach/500897282/

I'm always amazed by the number of flip flops and other plastic that washes up on the beaches on the Treasure Coast.

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I've been busy with holiday activities already.  I always like the holidays.

Cooler weather is on the way.  The Treasure Coast surf is down to two to three feet, but the tides are still big.

We'll be getting more west and northwest winds, so I'm not expecting any improvement in beach detecting conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1 of 3

In this undated photo released by Akademi Komunitas Kelautan dan Perikanan Wakatobi (Wakatobi Marine and Fisheries Community Acad

emy or AKKP Wakatobi), researchers collect data of the carcass of a beached whale at Wakatobi National Park in South

11/25/18 Report - Some Ideas About Coin Caches. What Are Your Dug Coins Trying To Tell You?

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

Coin Found Friday.

Did you ever notice that most coin caches are found by accident? Very few coin caches are found as a result of a hunt for that specific cache.  You can prove that for yourself by doing a little research.  If you do a Google search, you'll find that most caches are discovered purely by accident.  Gardening accounts for a few. Some have been dug up by dogs or other animals.  Some have been found by spelunkers.  Very often someone is just searching a field or conducting an archaeological dig when they discover a cache.

A cache of gold, dollars and euros found in a garden outside of Gaddafi's stronghold.  

A cache is typically described in terms of the quantity of coins, dates, denomination and types of coin.  The earliest and most recent dated coins and distribution of dates is often significant.

The container is also significant.  It seems a good number of caches are buried in canning jars, others in metal or ceramic containers and many in bags of some type.  Cloth containers often deteriorate and disappear.  Most often they are not buried deep - at least not those that are discovered.

As with any find, it can be difficult to learn much from a cache if without information about the context.  Archaeological context  refers to the place where an artifact is found, including the soil, the site type, the layer the artifact came from, what else is found in that layer or area, including remnants of buildings and things.

I've talked before about how dates on coins can be misleading. I won't go over that again now.

I saw a new episode of the Oak Island TV show the other day.  I had pretty much lost interest, but was encouraged by the Seismic Scanning Survey.  Up until that time their search had been, with the exception of the sample holes, unfocused and disorganized.  The sample drill holes from last season and the seismic survey of this season are the two most reasonable things they've done.

As a scientist, I like to see defined goals and theories that give rise to hypotheses that can be tested.  I prefer a thorough systematic approach.  After a while, running around in circles and making wild claims about miscellaneous isolated surface finds deposited over the history of the island is at first comical but eventually becomes tiring.

 Hopefully the seismic scan will keep them focused.  I know they have to get enough video for a season of TV, and the miscellaneous surface finds do that, but the surface finds are misdirected energy and don't do much to answer the big question of what, if anything, is buried in the shafts or vault.

I'm not talking about a leisurely metal detecting outing here.  If you just want a leisurely hunt and there is no big question or puzzle to be solved, you can go about it any way you want, but when you have a specific targeted cache or treasure, a lot of research and a more scientific approach is wise.  Old maps that show the island in centuries past could be very helpful.

A few targeted caches have been found as the result of good thorough research.  Ron Pastore has reportedly found some of the smaller Jesse James caches, even though the big James cache has not yet been found.  Some criticize Pastore's book, Jesse James' Secret, which they claim is full of mistakes, but Pastore has appeared on the History Channel's documentary, Jesse James' Hidden Treasure ,and was also discussed at some length in Jack Myers' book Knights' Gold.

Here is an interesting web site presenting Pastore's materials on the James treasure.

 http://jessejamesphotoalbum.com/the-rj-pastore-collection/

When a random coin cache is found, it can be difficult to figure out where it came from and why it was buried.

Here is a brief excerpt about a Nazi cache find.

An amateur archaeologist in Germany has found a historic collection of gold coins worth around 45,000 euros, probably buried during the Nazi era or shortly after World War Two, experts said on Wednesday.

Armed with a metal detector, Florian Bautsch found 10 coins in a hollow under a tree near the northern town of Lueneburg and professionals then excavated another 207.

They are of French, Belgian, Italian and Austro-Hungarian origin and date from 1831 to 1910.

Two aluminum seals featuring swastika crosses, eagles and the words "Reichsbank Berlin 244" were also discovered under the field with the coins. Germany's central bank was called "Deutsche Reichsbank" during the Nazi era and an analysis of the metal in the seals suggests they were made some time after 1940.

"This was all found under a pine tree that is around 50 years old ... and that must have grown afterwards ... so we know it must have been buried in the last days of the war or shortly afterwards," Mario Pahlow, a local archaeologist, told Reuters...

And here is the link for more about that one.

https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Nazi-gold-cache-buried-at-end-of-war-or-after-found-in-Germany-409096

You might want to take a look at that one.  It provides some good hints and tips.

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Dime Found Friday.

The past couple days I went out to see what was going on at the beach.  On Friday I did a few minutes of detecting at a couple beaches.  At the first beach I found the dime shown above.  It was discolored but otherwise looked in pretty good shape.  Just a clad find.  I was surprised by the date when I got it home and took a look.  Only one year off being silver.  It looked pretty much like the other coins that I was getting at that particular beach.  Nothing real old.

I then moved to a beach that had been renourished probably about a year ago.  The coins there looked different.  You can see one of those at the very top of this post.  It is a heavily encrusted and worn quarter.  It had more crust on it when I dug it up.  I just brushed some of the crust off, but still can not see a date.

As you can see beside being encrusted it is heavily worn.

Closer Look At Edge of Same Quarter Shown Above.

You can see how worn the edge is.  You might think it has been out there a while.  It sure looks like it.

Here is another coin found at the second beach.  I found it after the quarter.

Penny Found At Same Beach As the Quarter.

The penny is also encrusted with similar color shell bits, but the discoloring and encrustation is not as complete as on the quarter.

Also unlike the quarter, you can see that the lettering on this coin is still sharp.  It must have been lost nearly new.  The penny, however, is at least as recent as 2008.  I can't make out the third digit at this time.  So even though it is encrusted fairly heavily, it has not been out there a very long time.

These shield cents deteriorate in regular circulation, but this one has held up well even though it is encrusted.  It doesn't look like it took long to become encrusted.

While I can't say for sure, it looks like the encrusted coins from the second beach might have been dumped with the renourishment sand.  I'll have a better idea of that when I clean the penny enough to see the remaining digit of the date.

My point here is that you can sometimes get some useful information from the condition of the coins you find.

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The Treasure Coast surf is supposed to be around two to four feet today.  

The wind continues out of the west and the tides remain high 


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net