Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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1784 and 1805 Coins Found by Lady Sifting For Fossils In The Peace River.
Submitted by Robert H.
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Here’s a very cool and interesting story. I belong to a Facebook fossil group and this lady found 2 reales sifting for fossils on the Peace River. Unfortunately it looks like the fossil group or she took down the post but the lady that found them gave me permission to share with you.
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Other Side of Same Two Coins.
Photo submitted by Robert H.
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I went there once myself. I hired one of the guides that do it for a business. If you hire somebody to take you the first time, you'll save a lot of time trying to find out where to go.
I always like sifting. When targets are packed closely together, there is no need to detect each and every one separately. Just dig and sift. And of course sifting is good for non-metallic targets.
Thanks Robert.
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It seems we have a diversity of opinions on the mystery items I showed yesterday. Brian F. says the crystal like items look like crystal meth. He provided the following link.
https://chapterscapistrano.com/how-to-tell-if-someone-is-on-crystal-meth-signs-of-crystal-meth-use/
Brian also said, Meth seems to come in blue or white and i have detected two heroin bottles on TC beaches before. This would not surprise me.
A detectorist will find a variety of items beside a metal detector and sand-scoop helpful. One of the less obvious is an ultra-violet or black light.
A black light is most useful for identifying non-metallic objects such as gems or minerals. Certain types of glass, such as Vaseline glass or depression glass will fluoresce.
I discovered that one piece of red sea glass that I found fluoresced under ultraviolet light on just one side. I believe it was a piece of a lantern from an old buoy that was infused with uranium. I noticed some yellow in the glass, but didn't pay much attention to it until I put it under a black light and found out it glowed.
See https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/09/91715-report-how-one-artifact-continues.html for more about that.
Many interesting beach finds, including calcite crystals, certain fossil shells and even arrow points made of fossilized coral will glow. I once found an old fishing lure that glows in the dark.
Yesterday I posted a discussion of fluorite crystals, which will fluoresce. In fact, the word "fluoresce" was derived from the word "fluorite" which was the first mineral discovered to fluoresce.
Other tools that might come in hand include the following.
Obviously enough, a magnifying glass, jewelers loop or microscope will undoubtedly come in handy. Sometimes the naked eye just isn't enough.
A camera that will take good closeup photos is also very useful.
Another very useful item is a magnet. Many of the questions that I receive can quickly be answered by using a simple magnet. It is inexpensive and easy to use. Some coins are magnetic, such as the steel war pennies and many foreign coins.
Another important item is a good scale for weighing small items such as coins. The weight of a coin will often tell you a lot about the coin - perhaps what denomination it is, how badly it is corroded, or if it is made of the correct metal.
An acid test or test pen for testing metals is very handy, although you can take items to a pawn shop or jeweler to have the metal tested by XRF.
I'd also recommend a rock tumbler for cleaning common coins. DON'T tumble items that could be historic or valuable. Don't tumble encrusted objects until you know what they are. I've made that mistake before.
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Don't expect any more than a four foot surf this week.
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
