Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
Coal miners in Serbia recently dug up an unexpected surprise: three probable Roman-era ships, buried in the mud of an ancient riverbed for at least 1,300 years. The largest is a flat-bottomed river vessel 15 meters (49 feet) long, which seems to have been built with Roman techniques. Two smaller boats, each carved out from a single tree trunk, match ancient descriptions of dugout boats used by Slavic groups to row across the Danube River and attack the Roman frontier.
The Kostolac surface mine lies near the ancient Roman city of Viminacium, once a provincial capital and the base for a squadron of Roman warships on the Danube River. When the Roman Empire ruled most of Southern Europe, the Danube or one of its larger branches flowed across the land now occupied by the mine. The three ships lay atop a 15-meter- (49-foot-) deep layer of gravel, buried under seven meters (23 feet) of silt and clay, which preserved them for centuries in remarkably good condition—or did until the miners' earthmoving equipment dug into the steep slope to excavate for the mine...
Although elements of the largest ship's construction are Roman, Korac says those same shipbuilding techniques may also have been used by later Byzantine or medieval shipwrights. Without radiocarbon dating or geological analysis of the sediment layers at the site, it's impossible to be entirely sure when the ships were built. Korac and his colleagues have sent wood samples from preserved oak trees buried nearby to a lab for analysis, but the COVID-19 pandemic has held everything up...
Here is the link for the rest of the article.
https://medium.com/@yinonweiss/lets-visualize-state-by-state-shutdown-effectiveness-on-covid-19-e13a5cdb50ad
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The price of gold has been increasing daily lately.
The demand for gold and silver composition coins has gone ballistic. Demand is outstripping supply...
Precious metal coins are selling at a premium above their intrinsic value spot price regardless of the collectability of these coins. Truly rare coins are selling for surprisingly strong prices at auctions despite the decline in discretionary money and the consideration that all lot viewing and bidding must be done online. The times are changing for collectors just as much as they are for the general public. It’s a strong market, but be wary of speculation.
Here is that link.
https://www.numismaticnews.net/article/demand-for-gold-and-silver-ballistic
I'm sure you noticed that both of those articles mentioned coronavirus.
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Chinese counterfeiting operations today have the ability to produce hundreds of thousands of various types of U.S. coins per month, and as technology improves so do the counterfeits. In many instances, the quality of the counterfeits has even fooled dealers and seasoned collectors. Counterfeiters have leveraged the web and online marketplaces to sell their wares such as Alibaba.com, Wish, Amazon, and eBay. The ease of access has allowed black marketers and individuals with criminal intent to buy counterfeit coins in bulk quantities at a fraction of the true market value of genuine examples. The counterfeits are then marketed and sold to unsuspecting victims who think they are getting “a good deal.” ...
A “slabbed” (encapsulated) coin has long been the standard-bearer of authentication and certified grading of a coin. A coin slab is simply a hard plastic, tamper-proof case that protects a coin that has been authenticated and graded by a certified professional grading service. Counterfeiters have taken their craft to a new level and are now slabbing their own fakes, along with inserts that include barcodes and certification numbers. Counterfeiters utilize pictures of real slabbed coins from webpages and auction sites to produce exact replicas of key date coins and bullion coins that again can fool a dealer or advanced collector...
Here is that link.
https://www.numismaticnews.net/article/demand-for-gold-and-silver-ballistic
Interesting how things are connected. Sometimes you don't see the connection. Sometimes the connection is not obvious. But in the words of an old song, "One thing leads to another."
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Yesterday I mentioned a little about my background to give you some idea of where I'm coming from. My academic and research background affects how I look at almost everything - most certainly my hobbies. So does my nature.
The reason I mention something might not always be obvious, and sometimes I don't point out the connection, but there is usually a reason relevant to metal detecting or treasure hunting that I post something. There are also times when I just really want to share something that might be funny, touching or important, but those times are relatively rare. Most of the time there will be a very relevant point.
I don't always point out the connections because I believe that treasure hunters will see the clues and be able to put it together for themselves.
I do want to share one secret with you today. It is one of those secrets that has been hiding in plain sight.
While everybody is talking about the country being shutdown and opening it up, did you notice that the country is NOT really shutdown - a large part of it is open now. That includes government, federal, state and local, including large organizations, such as the postal service, but also the military, airlines, railroads, grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, construction companies, pawn shops banks, utilities, internet providers, hospitals, nursing homes and healthcare providers to some extent, and others that I've personally observed such as car dealerships, lawn services and home painting and pressure washing, pest exterminators, etc. etc. Most of those that are for remaining shutdown. Maybe they made a few adjustments, but hey are going about their work. If you realize that only a part of the country is shut down, that makes a huge difference. Only a segment of the population bears the weight of the "shutdown." And it is not like a light switch must be turned on. It is more like a dimmer switch that will be adjusted.
There has been heart-breaking illness and death, and I express my deepest sympathies, but there is some small amount of good news too. Breakthroughs are being made. Stockpiles have been built up, and vaccines are being developed.
There are also smart creative businesses and people that are adapting and will come out of this better than ever. Some businesses are seeing what is going on and doing what they need to do. In some cases it takes only a number of relatively small changes, such as building plastic barriers for store clerks and modifying customer traffic patterns. Increased remote working and shopping is obvious. The world will be changed, much of it for the better. Some people will benefit immensely, while others, unfortunately, will be left behind.
Here is the point. Like many things, it applies to metal detecting and treasure hunting, but also has a wider application. The world will not return to how it was before this happened. It will affect you. The world will be changed. How will you change? What is your vision of what is going on, and how can be you thrive in this changed and changing world?
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I hope you are not developing comorbidities from a new sedentary lifestyle. But how could you not?
I saw a huge field being plowed up today. It begged to be searched.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
