Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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Unidentified Button Find.
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As you can see, this button has a crown on the front and the back is too corroded to show much of anything.
I haven't done the research on it yet, and would appreciate any help.
I had a cup with old button finds that had accumulated over the years. Unfortunately I didn't label them, so I don't know when or where they were found.
The button I posted yesterday has the words "EXTRA FEIN" on the back. In German that means extra fine. I thought it might have been produced in Germany for another country because I didn't think it was very likely that I would have found a German button, but I guess it is possible. Susan E. thought it might be a WW II German button but hadn't found the exact one yet.
I started wondering where I might have found a German WW II button. The first thing I thought of was the German spies that came ashore during WW II, but it seems extremely unlikely that would be the source. It seems more likely to me that someone just lost a souvenir or something.
Then I remembered that I used to do a lot of metal detecting down south in an area where there was a WW II prisoner of war camp. I found some lists of Florida WW II prisoner of war camps, and there were a few, but they didn't list any in the area that I was thinking of, so I started wondering if I remembered that correctly. Finally I found that I was right about that.
Since the 1920's, the Detroit-based Miami Beach Heights Corporation (headed by industrialists Robert C. Graham, Walter O. Briggs, and C.T. Fisher) owned 245 acres of undeveloped, partially swampy land that stretched from the bay to the Atlantic. Mr. Graham assumed the duties as the developer for Bal Harbour. In the 1930's, city planners Harland Bartholomew & Associates were called in to design the Village. The company made several plans and they were submitted for review to Miami Beach Heights. In 1940, World War II began and the plans were put on hold. As a goodwill gesture to the government, Robert C. Graham rented the land to the United States Air Corps for $1 per year. The Air Corps used this land to train their soldiers and established a Prisoner of War camp. The ocean front area was used as a rifle range and the barracks were set up on the west side of Collins Avenue. The camp for prisoners was located where the Bal Harbour Shops are presently...
(Source: https://activerain.com/blogsview/484718/the-history-of-bal-harbour--florida----paradise-found----miami--fl-33154)
I used to spend a lot of time hunting in that area. If the button I posted yesterday is a German WWII button, there is a very good chance that is where I found it.
While doing the research I learned a lot. Did you know, there were over 425,000 prisoners of war in the United States during WW II?
I found a few Florida POW camps listed on Wikipedia. The Bal Harbour camp was not in that list or other lists that I saw.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_the_United_States
Once again I'll remind you to keep good records of your finds.
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A middle school girl stumbled upon a buried treasure while spending her spring break on a beach in North Carolina.
Avery Fauth and her family love to scour the sand for shark teeth whenever they’re on a beach. But Fauth attributes her recent prehistoric find — a megalodon shark tooth — on North Topsail Beach to luck...
Here is the link.https://nypost.com/2019/04/19/girl-finds-megalodon-shark-tooth-buried-in-sand-at-beach/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_4028701
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Source: click2houston.com.
See link below.
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Two Viking burial boats are being uncovered in Sweden.
In this sort of burial, the person was placed along with his or her riches in a boat that was then put into the ground.
The archaeologists also found a sword, an ornate comb, a spear and part of a shield in the intact boat.
The identity of the man remains unknown.
The other of the two boats did not hold up as well. It was probably damaged during work on the land in the 16th century....
It's been 50 years since the last burial ship was found in Sweden...
Here is the link.
https://www.click2houston.com/lifestyle/2-rare-viking-burial-boats-uncovered-in-sweden
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Expect continued small surf on the Treasure Coast for at least another week or so.
Let me know if you find any information on the buttons I posed yesterday and today.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
