7/1/19 Report - Native American Copper Artifacts and Finds. Drought Uncovers Palace.

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

Copper Native American Artifacts Found by Detectorist.

This copper cache was recovered by Oliver Anttila while using his metal detector at a small secluded beach on Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was the sixth cache he had found on the bay and contained 122 pieces including a 6 5/8 inch awl, several conical and square socketed points, two crescent knives, and over 100 hammered copper nuggets prepared as preforms for future tools. (From PeachStateArcaheologicalSociety web site.  See link below.)

Illustration by C. B. Moore showing a copper-covered mammal jaw bone from the Mt. Royal site in Putnam County, Florida.

Not all metal artifacts found in Florida are of European origin.  Native Americans had sources of copper in the north and traded widely.  Some Native American copper artifacts have been found in Florida, including the one shown above, which was found at the Mt. Royal site, which is west of Bunnel.

Wikipedia says, The Mount Royal site was occupied beginning about 4,000 years ago. The site was largely unoccupied from 500 BCE until AD 750. Mount Royal was occupied again after 750, and after 1050 it grew into the main town of an important chiefdom with connections to the Mississippian culture. The town lost importance after 1300, but a settlement, called Enacape, was still there when Europeans entered the area in the 1560s. The Spanish mission of San Antonio de Enacape was located in the town from 1595 until after 1656.

Below is a reconstructed headdress very much like one found by C.B. Moore at the Mt. Royal site in Putnam County, Florida.  

Reconstruction of Headdress Made With Native Copper.

In the 1890s C. B. Moore traveled the rivers by houseboat and made arrangement to investigate mounds.

Although it is unlikely you will find anything as extravagant as those shown above, you can find Native American artifacts on Florida beaches.  In this blog, I've shown some Native American artifacts that were found on the Treasure Coast beaches.

I'd recommend taking a look at the PeachStateArcheaologicalSociety web site to become familiar with a variety of copper Native American artifacts.  It is an excellent web site.

There is much more to see there, such as these items.

Copper Fish Hooks and Knives.

Here is the link.

http://peachstatearchaeologicalsociety.org/index.php/20-copper-artifacts

You might remember that Irma uncovered thousands of Native American artifacts.

The first Native American artifacts I ever saw and recognized in nature in Florida was by the natural bridge that is now in Arch Creek Park in North Dade County.  The bridge was on a path used by Tequesta and early settlers.  The park now has a small museum.

I first learned of the site when I saw a photo of Thomas Edison collecting artifacts on a mound under a banyan tree.  The banyan tree and mound was still there.

Before the park was as developed as it is today, there was a trailer park on most of the property, but it was removed before I was there.

I have a friend that found some significant Hopewell Culture copper ceremonial artifacts up north.

---

You might also want to take a look at the National Archives web site.

https://www.archives.gov/

---

A 3,400-year-old palace has emerged from a reservoir in the Kurdustan region of Iraq after water levels dropped because of drought...

Here is that link.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/iraq-palace-drought-scli-intl/index.html

---

Expect another week of one-foot surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/29/19 Report - Vacation Metal Detecting. Pigeon Island. Coin Cleaning. D. B. Cooper Mystery. Reader Comments.

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

Pigeon Island, St. Lucia.
Photo I took from resort across bay.

It's the time of year when you might want to take a vacation and go somewhere else.  Above is a photo that I took back years ago.

I made a number of personal firsts on that island.  I don't know if it was in the eighties or nineties, but it was a good trip.

If it looks familiar, I talked about it before in this blog, but you might have seen it on the Sandals TV commercial that has been running lately.  They show the island from almost the same angle.

Pigeon Island is now a National Park and there is an admission fee.  When I was there it was virtually abandoned.

I found grape shot, musket balls, military buttons, musket parts, and some other neat stuff.

It always made me laugh to watch the crab pull in their legs in and roll down the hill.

At the resort, I didn't do as well as expected - a lot of coins, but not a lot of gold.

One lady at a restaurant refused to accept the coins I found.  She said they looked like they had been burned.  I did spend most of them though.

I found this picture on the internet and added arrows to some of the places of interest that I remember

Aerial View of Pigeon Island From St. Lucia Commerce Web Site.

I added the arrows.

A.  Fort Rodney.  There was only one at the time I was there.
B.  Trash dump over the hill.
C.  Steep hill where things were found showing evidence of battle.
D.  Cave with indigenous carvings, supposedly also used by pirates.  Must dive to enter.
E.  Remains of old stone buildings.
F.  Building now converted to restaurant.
G. Cannon emplacement on other side of hill.

The causeway was made in 1972.  The red roofed resort in the photo wasn't there when I was.

Here is a little of the history.

Pigeon Island was first occupied by the Amerindians, mainly Caribs. The island was later occupied by pirates whose leader was a Norman Captain called Francois Le Clerc. He had a wooden leg and was known to the French as Jambe de Bois. The French who owned the island in 1778 declared war on the British, who retaliated by attacking them in Saint Lucia and capturing the island. The British then built a Naval Base at Gros-Islet Bay, heavily fortifying Pigeon Island. From there they were able to monitor the French fleet in Martinique which resulted in the defeat of the French at the Battle of the Saints in 1782. Pigeon Island was therefore a key factor in the Battles between the British and the French. In 1909 a whaling station was established at Pigeon Island. Legislation to control whaling in 1952 put an end to this operation. Pigeon Island was leased to Josset Agnes Hutchinson, an actress with the D’Oyle Carte Theatre of England in 1937. When the American established a Naval Base at Rodney Bay in 1940 she left the island. In 1947 she returned to establish a thriving yachting industry, entertaining many guests and giving the island the reputation of a paradise island. She relinquished the lease in 1970, finally retiring to England in 1976...

See https://www.slunatrust.org/sites/pigeon-island-national-landmark/

Here is a photo of a grape shot, which I left.  I wasn't about to take a chance it being considered an explosive.  It might still be snuggled between the roots of the tree where I left it.

Grape Shot Found on Pigeon Island.

54th and 74th Regiment of Foot and some other buttons were found.  I believe they came from the 1778 Battle of Morne de la Vierge, also known as the Capture of St. Lucia.

Pewter British Buttons.

I know a lot more about it now than I did when I was there.  I often find myself wishing that I knew then what I know now.  I don't care how much it has been searched or excavated, I know where I'd go to find artifacts, metal detector or not.

---

Same Dime Before and After Additional Immersion in Acid.

On the left is the silver dime after about 12 hours in Muriatic Acid.  After two additional similar periods of immersion, once with a strengthened solution (right), I can see no significant difference in the appearance of the surface.  My conclusion is that leaving the dime in a Muriatic solution for a period of time will achieve results.  Continuing immersion seems to produce neither additional results nor damage.

The difference in color of the two photos is caused by lighting, not a change in the color of the dime.

---

James F. added his thoughts on the article I posted about the "comtemporary archaeology" of Woodstock. 


Interesting to know that "Contemporary archaeology is a very big thing right now..," And I thought that I'd heard everything at this point. I have previously looked up the definition of archaeology in the past and find that it is defined as 1) the scientific study of historic or prehistoric peoples and their cultures by analysis of their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains, especially those that have been excavated. or 2) Rare. ancient history; the study of antiquity. Apparently "contemporary archaeology" meets none of those conditions. I studied archaeology as a minor course of study in college, and none of this new take on the subject really complies with the study of ancient or prehistoric cultures.

I find this sort of thing by the archaeological community as waste of time and resources...50-years later collecting surface samples from the Woodstock Festival. Seems like they are really reaching here, their scientific findings reveal Woodstock "...took on a life of it's own."  All they really needed to do was watch a few documentaries in full color with sound on the festival, filmed by people who were actually there, most of whom are still alive today. Or type "Woodstock" in the little window on YouTube for all the sound and video you could stomach. This is the sort of thing that may bring about the un-funding of archaeological groups...and maybe it should!

James F.

---

Here is an excerpt from a lengthy article on the D. B. Cooper skyjacking mystery.

… Eric Ulis has been researching the famous skyjacking for years. And like many amateur Cooper sleuths before him, he believes he’s solved the mystery. The Phoenix entrepreneur, one of the creators of the defunct poker-playing TV show “High Stakes Hold ’Em,” says he’s “98 percent” convinced that Peterson is D.B. Cooper.

That’s why he was hacking through thick foliage on Bachelor Island, near Ridgefield, Wash., last weekend. He believes the FBI misidentified Cooper’s “jump zone” and so searched the wrong stretch of forest in the weeks and years after the high-profile crime. This small isle along the Columbia River, most of which is part of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, offers pristine woodlands that have been largely untouched by humans for decades. Ulis has analyzed wind speeds, “free fall” data and other information that led him to conclude the skyjacker likely came down here...
Here is the link for more.

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2019/06/db-cooper-search-leads-to-bachelor-island-ex-fbi-agent-says-suspect-will-get-away-with-it-unless-he-confesses.html

Thanks to Dean R. for that link.

---

More of the same beach conditions.  A lot of thunder early this morning, but just a little rain.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/28/19 Report - Finds From Two Good Hunting Days. Asteroid Mining. Roman Shipwreck. Old Land Sea Explorations Project.

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

Finds From Two Successive Days Hunting.

I was looking for something else and came across these photos that were in an envelope with an old article that I intended to submit to one of the treasure magazines.  These are therefore old finds from twenty or more years ago.  I've described the hunt before, but don't know if I posted the photos.  They are from two different but successive days in Fort Lauderdale.  Each day I hunted about four hours.

I knew when I left after the second day that there was still a lot left, so I planned to hunt again the next day, but as I left after the second hunt I noticed a front coming through.  When I showed up the next day conditions had changed and the targets were gone.

That is one of those times when I should have stayed and worked it out while conditions were good.  I didn't know it was going to turn off.  Make hay while the sun shines.

---

NASA is eyeing up a nearby asteroid that contains enough gold to make everyone on Earth a billionaire.

Psyche 16 is nestled between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and is made of solid metal.

In total, it's estimated that Psyche's various metals are worth a gargantuan $10,000 quadrillion...

Nasa is launching a mission to probe the asteroid in summer 2022. Dubbed the Discovery ''Mission, it will arrive at Psyche 16 around 2026...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/nasa-headed-towards-giant-golden-asteroid-that-could-make-everyone-on-earth-a-billionairehttps://www.foxnews.com/science/nasa-headed-towards-giant-golden-asteroid-that-could-make-everyone-on-earth-a-billionaire

---

Cyprus has found its first undisturbed Roman shipwreck complete with ancient cargo off its southern coast, the antiquities department said Thursday, noting the discovery could illuminate regional trading history.

"The site is a wreck of a Roman ship, loaded with transport amphorae, most probably from Syria and Cilicia," the antiquities department said in a statement...

Here is that link.

https://www.afp.com/en/news/826/cyprus-discovers-first-undisturbed-roman-shipwreck-doc-1hw3h41

---

Another thing I found was an old envelope and letter from H. Glenn Carson.  I think I said he was doing a treasure hunting newsletter, but he actually put together a treasure hunting group called Land Sea Explorations.

Land Sea Explorations Letterhead.

It was members of this group that invested in a silver mine in Mexico that didn't work out.  Some people thought it was a scam and people wanted to take a look at the books.  Glenn blamed it on the low price of silver at the time.  That was in 1991.

I just looked it up, and it looks like silver was running around $4.00 an ounce, give or take 50 cents, through most of the year.

---

Expect another week of one-foot surf.  Nothing different in the predictions yet.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/27/19 Report - Encrusted Objects. Older Coins and Coin Cleaning. Archaeology of Woodstock. Where Will Your Passion Take You.

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

Encrusted Cross and Medallions

Find and photos by John C.

Above are some encrusted finds from John C.

Thanks John.

---

1911 Cent.

I've been digging some older coins lately,  Included was this 1911 cent.  Some people call that a semi-key date, but it is too badly damaged to be worth much of anything.

1943 Steel Cent.

I also found this 1943 steel cent.

I immersed the 1946 dime I showed yesterday for about 12 more hours in the same Muriatic Acid solution.  Very little if anything more was removed.

I strengthened the solution and will immerse it for another period of time to see what that might do.

If the stronger solution doesn't do anything more, I guess the acid has done all that can be done with acid.

I still have a bunch of other coins to clean.  They are mostly in pretty bad shape.

I found a 1955 penny and hoped that it was not a double die error.  1955 pennies have some valuable double die errors, but I'd hate to find one that is in such poor condition that it isn't worth anything.  It was not an error coin - at least not that I could see.

Below is an example of a 1955 double die error penny.

---


Here is an excerpt from an article on an archaeological survey of Woodstock.

“Contemporary archaeology is a very big thing right now. Archaeologists study the past through the material things that people leave behind—things they lose or throw out,” she told Gizmodo. “Our methods are just as applicable to material discarded ten years ago as thousands of years ago and our interpretations just as applicable to contemporary issues, such as migration and refugees, human impacts on the environment, how we use urban spaces, and so on. What we produce is an interpretation of daily life and activities which is not often covered in historical documents or contemporary news reporting.”

To which she added: “Archaeology, through its focus on daily life, adds depth to, and often contradicts, mainstream history and media.” 

See https://gizmodo.com/woodstock-took-on-a-life-of-its-own-recent-archaeolo-1835839807

How is an archaeological survey of Woodstock helpful?  How does it contribute to the scientific body or knowledge or our understanding of man and the world when here are tons of photographs, video and other documentation.

Nonetheless, for somebody my age it is hard not to reminisce at the mention of Woodstock.  Woodstock was a iconic cultural event, but dose not represent much of what was going on at the time.  It is just the kind of thing that the media loves to fantasize about.

For me, there were other more important things in 1969.  Jan. 1969 I received my BA.  It was also the year I had my physical for the draft.  Student deferments were removed and I went to Fort Knox and failed my physical (1Y, not 4F).  I don't know why to this day but remember that I walked several miles back to the University of Louisville instead of waiting for the bus.  The Viet Nam war was a much bigger thing in 1969 than Woodstock.

I was introduced to computer programming in 1969.  For me that turned out to be really big.  A few hours of instruction in FORTRAN for statistical analysis was the only computer instruction I ever received.  That was before there were computer science departments or degrees in computer science.  But I enjoyed exploring and finding out what I could do with computers, and as it turned out computers became a big part of my adult life and professional career.  I did consulting and software design and development for large organizations for many years and eventually ended up teaching computer science at a university even though I never had more than a few hours of instruction myself.

I'm not just reminiscing, I'm really illustrating some general principles that I think are important.   One is the importance of timing.  I could elaborate a lot on that one, but won't.  Another important principle is taking what you enjoy and taking it to the next level.  You don't have to wait for everyone else.

---

The surf is supposed to remain nearly flat for at least another week.

I'm afraid the Atlantic must be really warming up.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/26/19 Report - Some Cleaned Silver Coins. Jackie Robinson Bat Found. Metal Detecting Around People: Tips and Precautions.

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

Silver Coin Cleaned by Muriatic Acid 

Yesterday I posted photos of the surface of a couple coins that I was going to clean using Muriatic Acid.  I immersed three silver quarters and five silver dimes about a 10% solution for about a day.   All eight coins were in the same container together for the same amount of time.

Above you see the cleaned 1942 quarter,.  Below you see part of the same 1942 quarter (right) before it was cleaned.

Surfaces on Recently Dug Dime and Quarter That I'll Be Cleaning.

That quarter came out better than the others.  Below is another 1942 quarter that I cleaned in the batch.  It didn't come out as well.

Another 1942 Quarter That Was Cleaned.

It looks like the second 1942 quarter might benefit from additional cleaning.

And below is the third quarter that was cleaned in that batch.  It is in worse condition.

Cleaned 1947 Quarter.

The surface on this one is very rough.

I also cleaned some Roosevelt and Mercury dimes in the same solution.

1946 Dime After One Day in Diluted Solution of Muriatic Acid.

This dime (above) still has some surface scale that I think will come off with additional cleaning.

I'm going to put it back in the solution for a while to see how the surface corrosion reacts.

Here are a closer views of the surface of that dime.

Closer View of Surface of Same 1946 Dime.

We'll see the effects of additional time in the solution maybe tomorrow.

Another 1946 Dime

I did another 1946 dime.  That one (above) has a badly pitted surface.  I don't think additional cleaning will do much for it.

Here is a Roosevelt dime that is nearly unidentifiable.

Roosevelt Dime - Date Unknown.

The third Roosevelt dime came out just as bad as the Mercury dimes.

Now to the Mercury dimes, which did not come out very well.

Mercury Dime - Date Undetermined.

Additional treatment of this Mercury dime might remove some more surface materials, but I don't think the appearance will be improved,

Almost Unidentifiable Mercury Dime.

The last Mercury dime is terrible as well.

The first quarter turned out fairly nice, but the rest are bad.

None have any numismatic value.  Coin collectors are very particular about condition, and these ones aren't even close.

---

A man found a valuable Jackie Robinson baseball bat in with a bunch of worthless bats and tells the seller.  They quickly removed the bat from the garage sale.

Here is the link.

https://news.ntd.com/man-realizes-baseball-bat-at-garage-sale-is-worth-more-than-its-price-tag_305473.html

If I was the owner I would reward the man for his honest kindness.  He could have easily bought the bat for almost nothing and kept the profit for himself.

Kindness is often not rewarded.  I don't know how many times I returned a found gold ring or something and received not so much as a thank you.  You have to wonder about people.  Are the not capable of showing gratitude?

I'm not saying you should return items and show kindness for the reward, but I'd think that people would like to reward those that freely do things for them for no particular reason other than being honest and kind.

In fact, as I've told before, I've had people on multiple occasions try to claim finds that did not belong to them.  If they see you find something, they'll say that they lost it.  Or they'll tell you I lost a ring, if you find it, it belongs to me.

Here are some things I do.

First, get a good description of the item, including details that would not be obvious to any casual observer, such as a date inscribed in the ring.

Define the area you are going to hunt, and if in sand, draw a boundary and keep everyone out of it while you search.  Explain that you have to be able to swing the detector and have to cover every inch and you want to be able to see where you have and haven't been.  You can't have people in the way.  That also helps makes it possible for you to get a look at found items before everybody else.

When hunting in the water, if other people are trying to see what you are digging up, when you raise your scoop, as it nears the surface, shake it violently, raising a cloud of sand that will conceal the item until you stick your hand in the scoop and find it by feel and put it in your pocket before anyone else sees it.  You can then move away from people and inspect it when you can do it privately.

The goal is to get items for the rightful owner - not for crooks.

---

A couple days ago I heard from Captain Jonah.  He has been having boat problems, but expected to get out soon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/25/19 Report - Musket Gun Barrel Mold. Cleaning Coins. Benefit of Metal Detecting. Gold Prices. Way to Remove Rust.

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

Encrusted Musket Barrel as Found.

Find and photo by Will R.

If you saw yesterday's post early, maybe you didn't see the link I added later in the day.  That link was to a old post in which Will R. talked about some nice finds and how he made a mold of the gun barrel shown above.  Here is what Will said.

I love your last post. I ran into a similar situation last year. I was detecting a private site on the intercoastal when I found a brass butt plate, then the side plate and one of the ramrod tubes. Then it hit me... where's the barrel? Soon I found the barrel because it had one of the ramrod tubes stuck in the EO chunk. I took it home and did as I do with most EO's and put it in a tub of fresh H2O. The next day I noticed the end of the EO was oozing sludge. I figured this was the end of the barrel. I gently flushed the end of the EO with water and then I knew I had rare opportunity. This was a perfect mold of the metal barrel that once was there. I carefuly flushed the rest of the mud and sludge out and made sure it was clear of all metal. Now here's where the fun began. I used fiberglass resin and made a perfect mold of the barrel. Here are some pics of it. You're welcome to use them if you like.

Finished Copy Made From Mold.

By Will R.

If you used the link yesterday, you might have already seen this, but I thought it was worth posting again for those who might have missed it.

---

Surfaces on Recently Dug Dime and Quarter That I'll Be Cleaning.

I'm going to use diluted Muriatic acid.  I'm doing four dimes and three quarters, all having a black patina very much like the dime and quarter shown in the photos above.  Some are a little worse than others, but all are similar.

You hear that you should never clean coins.  There is no danger with these coins since they have no collector value other than the melt value.  They are already damaged beyond what any body would pay a premium for.  Therefore there is no danger of actually hurting the value.

Make sure you know that is the case before you clean any coin.  In the case of possibly valuable coins, definitely don't clean them until you know for sure.

I hope to have some photos for you as things progress.

---

I heard another way to remove heavy rust from iron objects.  On the Antiques Roadshow it was said that a fellow found a clump of rust and buried it in his barn in horse manure.  It looked like it did a good job of removing the rust from what turned out to be a medieval key.

---

The price of gold has been really flying for the past week or two.  It went up another $28 per ounce in the past couple of days.  That puts it close to $1430 and moving.

---

I've commented about some of the fake elements of some of the "reality" treasure shows.  I realized the other day that I actually hope that some of the other so-called reality shows are fake.  It would be sad to think that people are actually like that.  I could list a number of shows that I've seen enough of to actually hope that they are really fake.

---

It's been established that people who spend more time in parks and other natural settings tend to report higher levels of health and happiness, but new research shows there's actually a magic number for it.

According to a study published this week in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, spending 120 minutes a week strolling a tree-lined street or sitting by a lake can greatly enhance a person's overall sense of well-being. Less time didn't yield any significant benefit, the research showed...

Here's the link.

https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/People-who-spend-more-time-outdoors-lead-more-14025910.php

As always you can quibble with the conclusions and details of the article, as I'm so prone to do, but isn't that one thing we all like about metal detecting or treasure hunting.  You have to be out there.

There is something about feeling the sun, wind and rain.  I like being barefoot.  I like feeling the grass or sand beneath my feet, and will accept the risk of fire ants or other dangers.  I like when it is stormy and nature is getting a little frisky.  You feel nature even more.

On the other hand, there is the garbage and pollution littering the out doors.

Millions of tons of plastic enter the oceans every year, polluting our seas, littering our beaches and endangering wildlife.

Plastic can take centuries to break down, and instead of quietly disappearing beneath the waves, it has a way of coming back to haunt us.

Almost 1 million shoes and over 370,000 toothbrushes were among more than 400 million pieces of plastic recently found washed up on a remote group of islands in the Indian Ocean.

Great chunks of plastic have been found inside the stomachs of everything from seabirds to whales, while tiny microplastics are eaten by fish and other sea creatures, ending up as part of the food chain...
See https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/24/health/plastic-pollution-rivers-oceans-scn-intl/index.html

The litter makes me a little sad.  It intrudes on nature, and makes it a little less "natural."  Litter seems to intrude upon nature and removes some of the healthy-giving and aesthetic benefits.

One of the side benefits of the dig-everything and take-everything philosophy that I encourage, is that it leaves the environment a little better than you found it.

---

The price of gold continues to rise, going up another $28 per ounce in the past couple of days.  That puts it close to $1430.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/24/19 Report - Encrusted Objects (EOs), Clumps and Conglomerates and Their Contents.

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

Photo of Terry holding the EO before cracking and what was in it. The canvas and hemp rope was still in intact.

Find by John C.  Photo submitted by Jerry P.

I received the following email with photos from Jerry P.

“IF YOU DON’T KNOW DON’T THROW” This is a lesson I learned from John C. One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started hunting the Treasure Coast was throwing unidentified objects away. One day Terry Shannon and I were hunting the Vero Beach area and I heard a good target sound off on my GT. I pulled up an encrusted object aka an EO. I walked over to have Terry swing his coil over it and he agreed it sounded like a good target. At the end of the day I decided to crack it open in the parking lot and inside was a copper/brass grummet from a tarp, or at least that’s what I assumed it was. I gathered up the pieces and threw it in the trash can. When I got home I called John C. to give him the beach report and told him about the grummet EO. He congratulated me on the find and I thought he was joking and I told him that I threw it away. I will never forget what he said. “Excuse me Jerry, did you say you threw it away?” He texted me a photo from his private collection and it was the exact some copper/brass grummet partly encased in coral. He explained that it was in fact a brass grummet from a canvas sail probably 1800’s and don’t you know the rule, if you don’t know you don’t throw? Sick to my stomach as I came from a long line of sailers and that piece would look great in my collection. I asked John if he could do me a favor and trash dive first thing in the morning to retrieve the EO. He was there as the gates opened but after going through multiple cans he couldn’t locate it. Since Terry was going there a bit later that morning, and he seen me throw it in the can, I ask him if he could retrieve it. Both Terry and John scuba dive but a true measure of friendship is dumpster diving first thing in the morning, thank you both! Besides meeting new people and making new friends a large portion of the fun is the research and learning the story behind each object. If you don’t know don’t throw.

I would love to see some good EO’s, please share.

Jerry P.

Photos submitted by Jerry P.

Thanks for the email and photos Jerry. That is a good lesson that bears repeating.  I couldn't agree more.  Very good topic suggestion too.

I looked back through the blog and found quite a variety of encrusted objects, including such diverse items as coins, a gun barrel, cannon ball, sword hilt, and gold ring.

Here is one good photo showing and EO before and after cleaning.

I used electrolysis to clean this spike after removing some of the crust mechanically.

In order to keep the broken iron spike from rusting again, you could add a protective coating.

Coins can be totally encrusted too.  I had some that looked like nothing other than a ball of sand and shell bits.  I can't find of photo of that right now, but here is a cob that was partially encrusted before being cleaned.

Same Half-Reale After Some Cleaning.

Here are a couple encrusted objects that I've posted before and I still don't know what they are.  Here are a couple more EOs that I haven't opened or cleaned yet and do not know what they are.  I can tell they are partially hollow.

The biggest hollow one is about seven inches across.

Here is another than seems to contain a blade-like object.  It is about seven inches long and one inch wide.

Seven by One Inch Encrusted Object.

Here is a flat one, that has an intriguing coin-size bump on it.  The surface coins are for size only.

Thin EO With Bump.

You can see the bump near the upper right of the object.  Here it is from the side.

Bump on Flat EO.

I curious about the bump.  It could be a bolt or something like that, but that one will not be easy.

Some EOs contain a void where the object used to be.  A cast can be made the shape of the void.  I had a post showing a cast of a gun barrel made from such a void but can't find that post right now.

Two EOs.  
Top One Showing Square Void From Spile or Something Similar.

I had another post on using X-Ray to determine the contents of an EO.

The next clump is composed mainly of melted lead that stuck to sand and shells.

Melted Lead in Conglomerate.

Some clumps contain interesting things besides metal.  Here is a photo of a nice calcite fossil shell sticking out of a clump.

Clump With Nice Calcite Shell Showing.

And here is a clump containing a fossil tooth.  It is the brown nearly rectangular object near the center bottom.

Fossil Tooth in Conglomerate.

Here are links to some previous posts on EOs.  The first one is about an X-Rayed EO.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2018/08/82918-report-another-conglomerate-x-ray.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/12/121217-report-clumps-conglomerates-and.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2016/12/121516-report-key-find-appreciating.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/07/7815-report-more-treasure-finds-from.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2014/10/101014-report-subtropical-storm-fay-and.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2012/12/12812-report-wreck-of-la-belle-and.html

Here is a good one I was looking for a just found.

Will R. found gun parts and was able to make a mold of the barrel.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2012/12/12912-report-encrusted-objects-again.html

Send me your photos of EOs and the objects found inside.

A lot of mine haven't been opened yet.

Sometimes I think it is better to leave some of the matrix intact.  Makes a nice display.

I have a lot of heavy-duty coin cleaning to do.  Maybe I'll get some good examples from that.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net