4/30/19 Report - Summer Beaches. Copper Bracelet. Cookout Fun. Increased UFO Sightings Concerns Military.

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

Frederick Douglass Beach Sunday

Photo by DJ

Thanks DJ.

Looks like we are getting into real summer conditions.  You might think about making changes to where and how you hunt.

---

Terry S. found this bracelet and would like to hear your ideas about it. Here is what he said.

This was a beach find in an area that has produced ship wreck artifacts for me in the past. I found it quite a while back and had really forgot about it until today.  I attended the treasure hunters cookout and on a whim took it with me and showed it to a few people there. They all agreed that it was copper and old and they had some interesting ideas. I enjoyed and appreciated all the input I received on the gold pendant and even had people approach me at the cookout to discuss it...  I enjoy your blog and read it daily and appreciate the information that you pass along.  Sincerely, Terry Shannon

It has two faces on it.  Here are the photos.

Jerry also said it was totally encrusted when found, but it cleaned up well.

Send me your thoughts.

---

2019 Annual Treasure Hunter's Cookout

Photo by Joe D.

Yesterday I posted an email from Chris N. telling about how good a time he and his son had at the cookout.  Here are a couple photos of the scalawags, pirates and other characters that attended.

2019 Annual Treasure Hunter's Cookout

Photo by Joe D.

---

I added one suggestion by Bill P. to yesterday's post.  I added it a little late, so in case you missed it, Bill suggested having the white pieces of melted metal test by XRF analysis.  Good idea.

---

The military has been observing an increased number of UFO sightings and wants them taken more seriously.  They are developing new reporting guidelines.

Maybe you'll find some previously unknown metals from undocumented aliens from space. 

Here is the link on the sightings increase and new guidelines.

https://www.navytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2019/04/25/aliens-ahoy-navy-developing-guidelines-on-reporting-ufo-sightings/

---

Looks like we'll be having nothing but a two to four foot surf for a while.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/29/19 Report - Incidental Sight Finds: Insulators. $30 Billion Dollar Treasure Story. Cookout Huge Success.

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

Blue Hemingray 19 Insulator.

I recently added a couple finds to my insulator collection.  One is a green Hemingray - No 9. (below), and the other is the blue No. 19 Hemingray shown above.

The green one  is in very nice condition. Otherwise it is nothing very special.

When I first saw it I thought it was broken because just a small piece of it was sticking out of the sand.  I almost didn't take the time to dig it up, but was glad I did.

It was just walking along and area where I've been many times before and wasn't really expecting much of anything because of the accumulating sand.  It was certainly not the place to expect coins.

Hemmingray No. 9 Insulator.

The blue insulator is the better one.  I don't know how much it is worth, but I saw the following ad.

---

HEMINGRAY

[070] (F-Skirt) HEMINGRAY (R-Skirt) No 19 SDP

Cobalt Blue . . . . . . . . . . . $350-400

The least expensive Cobalt Blue insulator you can find! Be careful not to confuse this color with the very common Hemingray Blue.

---

I don't know if it is worth that much, but it is my first blue insultor, so I'm happy to add it to my collection.  Now I have to learn if it is cobalt blue or just blue.

I always like sight finds, even if they are not metal.  I like a variety of types of treasure - not just metallic.  Keep your eyes open whether you are metal detecting or not.

I also learned that there are fake insulators.  They make copies of virtually anything that might have some value.

http://www.hemingray.info/database/index.php

I'm amazed by the different ways that insulators are altered and faked.  They are altered and faked just like coins.

---

Here is the beginning of big treasure story written by Thomas Whittle for Freedom Magazine, June 1986.  The title is The Mystery of the $30 Billion Treasure.

Here is the beginning.

You are about to read a story that strains the imagination. It is about the disappearance of a fortune of up to $30 billion in gold bullion. When it was first presented as a “tip” to a Freedom Magazine reporter in El Paso, Texas, in 1981, it was discounted as beyond belief. However, when dozens of unrelated, independent sources began to corroborate the story, it could no longer be disregarded, no matter how bizarre. The following story, constructed from personal interviews, documents and confidential reports, is the result of a five-year investigation...

In one of the most closely guarded crimes of recent history, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tons of gold bullion were secretly and illegally removed from caverns on White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the beneficiaries allegedly including former President Lyndon Johnson and individuals connected with the U.S. Army, the Central Intelligence Agency and organized crime.

The caverns are located in and around Victorio Peak, in a remote, rugged section of south-central New Mexico... 

And here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.freedommag.org/english/vol18I10/ 

Thanks to DJ for that link.

Good reading.

---

I received the following review of the annual Treasure Hunter's Cookout.

Treasure Guide,

Hello Friends!

What a wonderful time at the 11th annual Treasure Hunters Pic Nic, I had the pleasure to visit with some really interesting folks and seriously sincere Hunters whom some I knew, and others who I had the pleasure meeting.

For the short time I was there, I reflected on my time in Base Camp in Afghanistan during Operations with all the men whom appeared to look like us during during Operation Enduring Freedom, as we deployed to that area of the world.

One senior officer was reported saying he looked at us as "Pirates of the Caribbean" all of us,, not just one particular unit...

"I mean that with respect, to all who attended this gala."

Terry Shannon and friends, Capt. Fizzmer,  Taff Fisher, 1715 Captains, The Masters from NC, Capt. White, Capt Dominic to name a few...

If I missed anyone else it's was because it was so hard to meet every one involved, and the hero of the deep who made this possible.

Food was great and hospitality was what I expected from the "Breathen of the Coast" in a sincere manner.

I also what to mention all these men and women were exceptionally nice to my young son, who they paid attention to while I was talking to the folks there.

I look forward to seeing many of them again soon, and wish all of those passionate treasure Hunters the best of Fortune Safety and Joy these coming seasons.

Thank you from one Veteran to Another.

Respectively,Pirate Booty... 
 Chris N.  

---

Thanks for the report on the huge success of the cookout.

If you missed it this year, you won't want to miss it next year.

---

I just got an email from Bill P. suggesting XRF analysis to determine the content of the white melted pieces.  I talked about XRF analysis not too long ago, but didn't think of it in this context.

I think that should do it, if you want to take some samples to a pawn shop or where ever they might do an analysis for you.

Thanks Bill!

---

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/28/19 Report - Melted Beer Can or Space Debris? Some Answers and Tests You Can Perform.

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


I just received an excellent email from Jerry P. on those melted pieces of white metal that people find on the beach.  Here it is.


Aluminum or Space Poop by Jerry P.

It’s been called melted beer cans, space poop, space platinum, NASA trash. So is it space debris or beer cans? This is a debate that has been going on for years within our group of beach hunters. All I can do is add to the puzzle and maybe someone can put this dog to rest.

If you detect the beach long enough you will eventually pull a piece of what appears to be aluminum or titanium melted by super high temperature. Aluminum has a melting point of 1,220.58 F or 660.32 C and titanium 3034 F or 1668 C. A bonfire, at it’s highest temperature, if constructed correctly, can burn as high as 2012 F or 1100 C plenty hot enough to melt aluminum but not titanium. You maybe thinking slam dunk, case closed it’s melted beer cans. Hold on the dilemma is not over yet. Rockets are made of light weight materials like titanium and aluminum. Rocket propellant, under a controlled manner, burns at around 5,800 F or 3,200 C. This is plenty hot enough to melt aluminum and titanium. This temperature is based on a controlled burn within the rocket engine. If the lunch had an unexpected “anomaly” then these propellant would be mixed in an uncontrolled burn/explosion which could result in much higher temperatures. We are back to square one!

I detect with an old machine (sovereign gt) and it just talks to me. Aluminum has a distinct sound on the sovereign and the one thing that I notice about these melted pieces is that they sound something between aluminum and silver. This tells me it’s not aluminum and must be another type of metal.

A bonfire test is in order. I stoked a fire in the backyard pit and waited for it to get good and hot before adding some aluminum cans. I let the fire burn overnight with the cans inside. In the morning I took my inland machine (AT Pro), pinpointer and a sifting screen to retrieve all metal targets. The cans did melt or at least they changed their form however they did not look anything like the pieces we pull off the beach. They did not melt into a blob and were very thin and brittle. The pieces we pull off the beach are rock solid and can hardly be dented with a hammer.

I was starting to believe the beach pieces could very well be part of our space program or military missile defense program of which one is still ongoing today.

There are other things to consider like the Untied States Air force. They have a restricted military training zone just off our coast and could be firing air missiles. We also have our poorly constructed beach renourishment program to consider. Much of this renourishment sand comes from the offshore bars around Cape Canaveral. This would most differently support a space debris theory.

What solidified it for me was when I started pulling specimen pieces. These were pieces of the melted metal that have unique items embedded in them. Items that you don’t see at your average bonfire, some kind of thick quartz or crystals, rivets, orange and red tile like fragments and my best piece has both quartz/crystal and a small stainless steel spring embedded in it. Would love to hear if anyone has looked into these pieces. JP

      

----

Thanks much Jerry.  Great email!


Below is a related post that I did on 5/10/18.

Metal Glob Found On Beach
How can you tell if it is titanium?

There are a few questions that I get all the time.  One question that I get a lot is about those shiny globs of metal found on the beach that look like melted aluminum.  It could be aluminum but it could also be something else.

Sometimes space debris falls on the beach or in the ocean.  People often want to know if their shiny piece of metal could be a piece of space debris.

It can be difficult to say for sure, but there are tests that you can do to tell if a piece might be titanium or aluminum.  I once wrote about that a long time ago, but since I still get the question and have more information now, I decided to address the question again.

Here are some quick tips that can help you decide what you have.

Here are some easy tests to get started.  Titanium is not magnetic, so if a magnet sticks to it, it is not titanium.  However, aluminum is normally not magnetic either.  So that is only a beginning.

When it comes to telling titanium from aluminum, titanium is about twice as heavy as aluminum and much harder than aluminum.  If you use a metal file, aluminum will come off in small globs, but titanium will not.  It is relatively easy to scratch a mark on aluminum.

If you file down beyond the surface metal, the newly exposed surface of titanium will darker than a similar piece of aluminum.

If you used a rotary grinder on a piece of titanium, the sparks will be a blue-white color.
Here is a link to a web site that will give you more detail on these and other tests for testing titanium and other metals.

http://mrtitanium.info/2008/03/17/how-to-tell-if-a-piece-of-metal-is-really-titanium/

Titanium is used for a lot of applications these days. Everything from wheelchairs and bicycles to parts for rockets and wedding rings are made with titanium. If you find a ring that doesn't test gold or silver, it might be titanium.

Titanium isn't a very expensive metal. You can find current prices online.
 

Big pieces of space debris are occasionally found too.  Here is a link to an article about space debris including the above tank from the space shuttle Columbia that landed in Texas.

https://www.space.com/12518-space-shuttle-columbia-debris-texas.html

In 2015 a large piece of what looks like a piece of a Galileo rocket was found on the beach in Fort Lauderdale.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-lauderdale-rocket-debris-20150802-story.html

And in January of 2018 a part of a SpaceX rocket was found in South Carolina.

http://www.ibtimes.com/spacex-rocket-debris-found-south-carolina-amid-zuma-payload-mystery-photo-2641243

You never know what you might find, so it always helps to be able to test it out.

---

I know of at least one detectorist who contacted NASA and got confirmation that his find was a titanium space debris.  Of course that does not mean that all specimens are.

You might be able to find the post reporting on the person contacting NASA if you use the blog search box.

---

Bill P. just sent me an email suggesting XRF analysis.  I think that should do the job.

I did a post on XRF analysis recently but didn't think about it when I did this post.

Thanks Bill!

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/27/19 Report - Beam Finds. Shipwreck or Not? Archaeology and Theory for MDing. Cookout Saturday.

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

Ten-Foot Long Beam Found by Kurt R.

A couple days ago I showed this beam and asked if anyone had any ideas about it.  One person suggested a railroad tie, but the other end is V-shaped and it has a lot of other cuts and holes that I wouldn't expect to see on a railroad tie, so I don't think that is it.

DJ found the beam shown below back about a month ago at Pepper Park after a few days of rough surf.  One of the interesting things about that beam is that it has a broken treenail in it.

Beam found by DJ (left).



Trennel or trennel being pointed out (right).

Wikipedia says, A treenail, also trenail, trennel, or trunnel, is a wooden peg, pin, or dowel used to fasten pieces of wood together, especially in timber frames, covered bridges, wooden shipbuilding and boat building. It is driven into a hole bored through two (or more) pieces of structural wood (mortise and tenon).

I also read that treenails, or trennals, were commonly used until around the 1780s.

Maybe these beams come from the same source and got uncovered last month during the rough surf.

Below is an example of a shipwreck beam with trennals.  This photo was snipped from a USF video of a shipwreck found near Jacksonville.

I really hope someone can help us out here.   I know DJ and Kurt would like the information, and I'd certainly like to learn a little something about the subject.

---

Yesterday I wrote about cannon aprons, but the discussion was about more than cannon aprons.  It was also about investigating artifacts in general.

Here is an excerpt from the Schnitzer thesis that I referenced yesterday.

As Knappett (2005:1) states: It is perhaps surprising…that archaeology, while developing ever more sophisticated methodologies for artifact study, has not yet constructed similarly sophisticated theoretical models for understanding the roles of artifacts in human societies. So complex and daunting is such a task that it must inevitably be interdisciplinary in its scope, drawing upon cognitive science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and history.

Theory is important in all sciences because it provides a way to organize data in a meaningful way. Theories can be hypothetical or predictive. They are the overarching abstractions that form conceptual frameworks for scientific research. Archaeology is, in its strongest applications, an interdisciplinary science, and many of its theories are drawn from interdisciplinary concepts. The study of the QAR cannon aprons is no exception. According to Trigger (2006), “It is a fundamental tenet of science that nothing is significant by itself but only in relation to hypotheses; hence only theories can explain phenomena.” The goal of this project is to explain the “phenomena” that are the QAR cannon aprons using a blend of material culture theory and an adaptation of behavioral archaeology theory, as conceptualized by Michael Schiffer in the 1970’s.

 Here is that link again.

http://thescholarship.ecu.edu/bitstream/handle/10342/3842/Schnitzer_ecu_0600M_10612.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y )

So what does that have to do with metal detecting?

I don't expect myself or anyone who reads this to turn into an archaeologist, but as detectorists we do find items that we want to know more about, and we can learn a lot from how the professionals investigate artifacts.

I encourage all detectorists to take a disciplined systematic approach to hunting and artifact identification.  I've had a few posts on that type of thing lately.

If you have an idea - a theory - it will help you assimilate the information and make predictions.  It will also help you develop hypotheses that can be tested.  That will help advance your understanding.

The piece of lead that I found was not hugely interesting by itself, but since it caused me to do additional research, I learned a lot from the research.  I learned about cannon aprons, but also about some other things.

I've always said that a find is more than a find.  Gaining more knowledge about a find not only makes the find more interesting, but it will sometimes point you to additional finds.

I didn't really think much about the lead find until I happened upon the cannon apron literature and saw pictures of other pieces that looked similar  I could have missed some interesting features of that find, and  I will be studying that piece more in the near future.

---

Don't forget the Treasure Hunter's Cookout Saturday.

You can find the details by using the following link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2019/04/42419-report-treasure-hunters-cookout.html

---

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net