6/19/20 Report - Metal Detecting Hobby Makes Contributions to Archaeology. Digging Gold Mining Camp. Old Postcard Treasure.

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

Viking Era Coin Found by Detectorist.

Source: See news.err.ee link below.

Another archaeological find has been made on the island of Saaremaa, just weeks after a major haul including a 1,700-year-old gold bracelet came to light.

The recent find dates from a later era, the viking period, ERR's online news in Estonian reports, and includes a large number of silver coins, according to both the Heritage Protection Board (Muinsuskaitseamet) and Saaremaa Museum.

As with the earlier treasure trove, the latest find was the work of a metal detector hobbyist, who, in line with Estonian law, informed the authorities.

"We are grateful for the licensed hobby detector, who reported the findings to the Heritage Protection Board, which can now preserve some of the crucial history of Saaremaa," Saaremaa Museum stated on its social media page...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://news.err.ee/988737/another-saaremaa-archaeological-haul-includes-viking-era-silver-coins

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Postcard Postmarked June 10, 1875.

This post card is postmarked June 10, 1875. It was written to Thomas Gillespie of Stephenstown, Ohio, by Charles Louis Loos, who was a noted professor of ancient languages at Bethany College. I've been to Bethany, which was not far from West Liberty University (formed in 1837) where I once taught. The town of West Liberty was named in the late 18th Century as the westernmost point of the new liberty provided through the Declaration of Independence.

Source: Wikipedia.

Back of Same Postcard.

Notice the signature from the Wikipedia site and the postcard- very good match.

The one cent that it cost to send this postcard in 1875 would be roughly equivalent to 20 cents today.  Not bad.

To me this is an interesting piece of history that found its way to me.  I enjoy ephemera as much as any type of treasure.  Unfortunately you can't find it on the beach, but I've found a lot of it.  

You can learn a lot of history from old books and postcards.  I especially enjoyed this postcard because I was able to research the person and already knew about the places.  It bears the handwriting of a famous and historic person.  

Reading old script isn't easy, but with some difficulty I was able to make it out.  Whether you are trying to decipher documents from the Spanish archives or something else, reading old script in any language can be a challenge.

I have a lot of old books and postcards.  A good number of the books I puchased at thrift stores years ago for one dollar a piece, but a lot of the old books and postcards just found their way to me.  I guess it was just because I appreciated them.

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Here is a link to an article about digging through the remains of a old Chinese gold mining town.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/gold-rush-garbage-mined-to-unearth-history-of-chinese-miners-in-b-c-1.5595906

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Trivia question -  What language is aare the word for treasure?  Hint: the Finnish word aarre is very similar.   You'll find the answer in a June 2019 post.

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It looks like the Treasure Coast will have a week or more of one or two foot surf.  The tides aren't big either, and there are no tropical storms to pay attention to now.

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net