Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
UPDATE: As of Saturday evening South Beach and the Miami beaches were closed. Spring breakers from around the world were ordered off the beaches. The following was written before I got that news.
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2020/03/14/south-florida-beaches-packed-despite-coronavirus-fears-as-spring-break-arrives/ |
| Source: See local10.com link below. |
UPDATE: As of Saturday evening South Beach and the Miami beaches were closed. Spring breakers from around the world were ordered off the beaches. The following was written before I got that news.
From South Beach to Hallandale, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano, the South Florida beaches are absolutely crowded with spring break beach-goers ignoring the Coronavirus threat.
I did most of my metal detecting on the South Florida beaches. It was not until after several years that I tried my luck on the Treasure Coast wreck beaches.
The South Florida beaches get a lot more crowded than the Treasure Coast beaches, and you can find a lot more. You can often find items that were lost just minutes or hours earlier. That makes it much easier. You don't have to depend so much upon beach conditions, especially when there are rowdy crowds playing in the surf.
It was down south that I learned a lot about metal detecting. Despite the fact that yo don't have depend so much upon beach conditions, it still helps to know how to find those holes where the gold accumulates.
Except for a few months, I always had a job when I lived down south and was only able to detect occasionally. Still I was able to pick up 20 - 30 pieces of gold per month - mostly rings.
I specifically remember hunting the beach shown in the photo above and some of the finds I picked up there. There was a near-mint silver Isle of Man coin, for example. Also class rings and gold bands.
One day a couple young girls told me they lost their sister's class high school class ring in about three feet of water. They weren't supposed to have it. Luckily I found it for them in just a few minutes.
Hollywood beach was a good beach to hunt, but never had the very expensive jewelry you could find at South Beach. I spent a lot of time at Hollywood beach when I just began metal detecting because it was close to my home. I find it amazing how many finds I can remember very accurately, and could point out the exact spot where they were found. My first ring find ever was made at Hollywood beach. I remember that one like it was yesterday too.
Back in the day the Fort Lauderdale beaches were often so crowded with college spring-breakers that there was virtually no space to walk between the blankets.
I've talked many times before about metal detecting experiences in South Florida.
Well, as you can see, that photo brought back a lot of metal detecting memories.
I did most of my metal detecting on the South Florida beaches. It was not until after several years that I tried my luck on the Treasure Coast wreck beaches.
The South Florida beaches get a lot more crowded than the Treasure Coast beaches, and you can find a lot more. You can often find items that were lost just minutes or hours earlier. That makes it much easier. You don't have to depend so much upon beach conditions, especially when there are rowdy crowds playing in the surf.
It was down south that I learned a lot about metal detecting. Despite the fact that yo don't have depend so much upon beach conditions, it still helps to know how to find those holes where the gold accumulates.
Except for a few months, I always had a job when I lived down south and was only able to detect occasionally. Still I was able to pick up 20 - 30 pieces of gold per month - mostly rings.
I specifically remember hunting the beach shown in the photo above and some of the finds I picked up there. There was a near-mint silver Isle of Man coin, for example. Also class rings and gold bands.
One day a couple young girls told me they lost their sister's class high school class ring in about three feet of water. They weren't supposed to have it. Luckily I found it for them in just a few minutes.
Hollywood beach was a good beach to hunt, but never had the very expensive jewelry you could find at South Beach. I spent a lot of time at Hollywood beach when I just began metal detecting because it was close to my home. I find it amazing how many finds I can remember very accurately, and could point out the exact spot where they were found. My first ring find ever was made at Hollywood beach. I remember that one like it was yesterday too.
Back in the day the Fort Lauderdale beaches were often so crowded with college spring-breakers that there was virtually no space to walk between the blankets.
I've talked many times before about metal detecting experiences in South Florida.
Well, as you can see, that photo brought back a lot of metal detecting memories.
Here is the link for more about the South Florida beach-going crowds.
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Not long ago I posted this photo of items that came spilling out of the dunes when TM was digging a target at the base of the dunes. One person thought it might be shattered safety glass, and I originally thought t could be from a beach wedding.
Over the years I've found a lot of decorative items from beach weddings including small glass balls that are used in vases. Tony S. evidently studied these items better than I and came up with something interesting. Below is what Tony said.
The shape of the stones posted are called octahedron. Based on quick look as shown, they are most commonly in a gem/crystal called flourite, which comes in many colors including those in the picture. But, diamonds and quartz crystals can also take on those shapes and colors, but did not come up on searches as often and required deliberate search of “diamond” tied to the shape in search.
Tony continued with the following.
Fluorite is found worldwide in China, South Africa, Mongoliam, France, Russia and the central North America. Here, noteworthy deposits occur in Mexico, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Colorado
Blue flourite is fairly rare and much sought after by collectors. The brilliant yellow is also quite rare. The rarest fluorite colors are pink, black and colorless. Black fluorite is formed from exposure to radiation during the growth of the crystals.
Fluorite is an important industrial mineral composed of calcium and fluorine (CaF2). It is used in a wide variety of chemical, metallurgical, and ceramic processes. Specimens with exceptional diaphaneity and color are cut into gems or used to make ornamental objects.
Fluorite is the second-most popular mineral in the world among mineral collectors next to quartz. Famed for its enormous range of colors, it is often referred to as "the most colorful mineral in the world." But fluorite is not just another pretty stone; it has a number of fascinating properties and some very useful industrial applications.
Flourite is interesting to mineral collectors because it has several different crystal habits that result in well-formed clean crystals. The cube is by far the most recognized habit of fluorite, followed by the octahedron, which is believed to form at higher temperatures than the cube. Fluorite has perfect octahedral cleavage.
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| Flourite Crystal. |
Thanks for all of that information Tony.
That is a very interesting possibility that I never would have thought of. It is also a possibility that raises a lot of questions such as how they got there.
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Metal detecting is a Coronavirus-safe hobby. If you don't maintain a safe distance, your detector will chatter.
Metal detecting is a Coronavirus-safe hobby. If you don't maintain a safe distance, your detector will chatter.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net