8/19/19 Report - Metal Detecting for Watches and Detector Responses. A Scouting Tool. Memorable Metal Detecting Moments.

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

Man's Watch on Ground

An expensive watch can sound like a piece of junk.  No ID meter is going to tell you when you are detecting a watch, but if you are digging everything, or if you are discriminating but know how a watch is likely to sound, you will still find a fair share of watches.

In the above photo you see a watch. That shows one way a watch can be positioned.  The face and band are standing on edge. Watches can also be positioned so the face of the watch is facing up or down with the band lying flat on the ground.  (See example below.)

Watches are usually made of a variety of materials.  Even if the casing is gold or silver, part of the watch and band will be made of other materials.  That means that you can get some confusing signals.  Not only that, but if you swing your coil over it in different directions you will get different sounding signals and different conductivity ratings.

If you swing left and right over the above watch,  the Equinox will give conductivity ratings of 13 to 16, but if you swing north to south, you will get higher readings - something like 18 - 22.

Your readings won't be consistent, but will depend to some extent upon exactly where the watch is positioned under the coil.

Watches will often give two or more tones because of all the different parts and materials used in the watch.

Watch Lying Flat.

This watch, which is a different than the one at the top of the post, is lying flat on the ground.  The signal will be primarily determined by the casing and face of the watch, but also the band.  This watch, produced a much more complex signal than the watch above.  This one jumped around all over the place between -1 and 35.

Although there are so many kinds of watches and the signals can be very complex and varied, it is still good have an idea of what they might sound like,  You can learn what to expect by experimenting with a variety of watches.

I previously posted three YouTube videos that illustrate the effect of the position of a watch and the sweep direction of the coil on the detector signal you get from a watch.

Here are those links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqZ9XJiKy7o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtIVumXmtyU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGswg64oWE


I've found a lot of watches in shell-filled dips right in front of the beach.

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Its amazing what is online.  If you want to scout around a little without actually going anywhere, you might try Google Maps street-view.  It is almost like you are there.

Entrance to White City Park as Seen Using Street View on Google Maps.

As you drive down the road using street view you might want to look around for construction areas, like that being done on Midway Road through White City.   I've posted many stories in this blog about old things being exposed by construction projects.

The views you see on street view will be somewhat out of date, but still you might get some good leads.  The construction in this area has been going on for years, so things might be different now, but they are still turning earth.

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We hear so much these days about the massive amount of data being kept on private individuals by both internet companies and the government, but how about your scholastic "permanent record?"

Decades ago when I was in elementary and high school (we didn't have kindergarten or middle school in our rural area), whenever you did something bad enough to warrant it, your teacher or school principal might threatened that IT (whatever it was) could go on your "permanent record."  My wife remembers it too, so it wasn't just a local thing.  I've heard it joked about on TV sitcoms too, so it must have been near universal.

It sounded really ominous when it was referred to by authority figures that were twice your size and as much as 35 or 40 years old.  I don't know where those "permanent records" were kept, but at the time your permanent records sounded just a little less important than the Book of Life.  It sounded like it could determine the rest of your life somehow.  Now I know it was a fake.

Only a few people in the world now know if I even went to first grade, and nobody knows or cares what graduate degrees I completed. That is one of the things about being retired - what you thought was so important and spent so many years on becomes irrelevant.  After spending years of time and lots of money, the degrees did help me get jobs, but now there are only about two people in the world that actually knows anything about that. Time flies and things change.

Despite the sham of the mythical permanent record, there are records that last.  For example, there is your ancestral record encoded in your DNA.

But each and everyone of us keeps a record of our own.  It might be selective and spotty, but it is there.  Some long lasting memories seem to have been indelibly imprinted on our brains.  There are successes, embarrassments, sports moments, and things that someone said that you seem to never forget.  Some of those are metal detecting experiences.

I remember some finds very clearly even though they occurred many years ago.  I remember the location, what the weather was like, etc., etc.  Many of those memories are of what I call first finds.

I remember, for example, the first Rolex watch I found, even though it was drowned.  I also remember the last Rolex I found, but that wasn't so long ago.

I remember the first shipwreck silver I found on a Treasure Coast beach.  I told about that one in this blog before.  It was at John Brooks beach.   It was almost in front of the beach walkover, but a little to the right.  My wife took it out of my scoop, looked at it and was in the process of giving it a toss, when I stopped her.   It was flat and black, and I didn't know for sure it was silver until I got back home and tested it.  But I remember it all very well.

I remember the first silver ring I found, but strangely not the first gold ring.  That silver ring was found on Hollywood beach down near the water in the evening.  My parents were there and I was showing them my new detector.  They were surprised when I came back with the ring in hand.  Their reaction of surprise probably made it more memorable.

I remember one large solitary multi-carat diamond ring find very well.  I was in the water.  The sky was cloudless and blue and the water was crystal clear that day.  I saw the ring sparkle when the sand slid off of it while it was still in the scoop just a few inches off the bottom.  I saw it sparkle through a two or three feet of water.

Those are just a few examples.  Some of my favorite metal detecting memories weren't finds.  They were just beautiful sights.

One of those occurred came just off Fort Lauderdale Beach in and about thee feet of water.  One day I was metal detecting in the water when it started raining.  The water was flat and the rain surrounded me like a shower curtain of rain surrounding me.  I could only see a few feet in every direction.  It seemed like I was alone in the world.  It was eerily quiet and stunningly beautiful.

That is one of the benefits of metal detecting.  You can accumulate an album full memorable moments that can last for decades.

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I'm going to start harping on including some indication of the size of finds submitted for identification.  It is so important.  Often just a coin for comparison or the object shown in hand will do, but the more information you provide, the better chance you will have of getting an answer.



It looks like another week of one foot surf is predicted for the Treasure Coast.

Nothing that will affect us is on the National Hurricane Center map.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/22/19 Report - Google Maps and Changing Landscapes. Lunar Eclipse. Columbus Verboten. Bigger Surf.

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

Eclipse As Seen From Treasure Coast

and Captured by Alberto S.

I missed the eclipse, but Alberto sent me the beautiful images that he captured.  He said the last image was from about 12:10 AM.  He said it felt like it was freezing outside.

Great images Alberto!  Thanks!

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I've talked a lot about using old maps and the benefits of knowing the history of a place.  I'm amazed how seldom people reference old maps to check out shoreline and other topological changes.  Targets that were once on land might now be either in the water or more deeply buried under sand that has accumulated.

Recently I was talking about the advantage of having personal knowledge of changing landscapes.  Now it is possible to get GPS positions and compare those to images to see how things have changed.

Here is one example of what I was talking about yesterday.  The satellite map is from Google Maps.  It shows some of the changes I mentioned yesterday and illustrates how having a knowledge of the past can help you locate old treasures.

A View of An Area That I Was Very Familiar With Back a Few Decades Ago.

This area has changed a lot since the 1950s.  Where you see the bull-dozed dirt, there was an old barn (big rectangle) and a corn crib (little rectangle beside it).  

The house across the road with two cars out front was a small wash house, where several young local families got their start with housekeeping before getting their own house.  The rectangle behind that, was an outhouse, that later was filled with great old cork-top bottles, many with paper labels.

Across the road from that was a small dump in a little ravine by the current telephone poll.

The two blue arrows point to the winding creek where we threw bottles and shot them with BB guns.  Funny how toxic masculinity was fostered back when there was so much less crime.

Across the creek were no buildings or roads up until more recent decades.

The good old dump is the area indicated by a circled X.  It is right across the road from a three story farm house.

There is much more that I could show on this and neighboring maps, but that is enough of an illustration for now.  There were locations where arrow heads were routinely found and many other things.

I think you can see how knowing the history of the place would be a huge advantage for a detectorist.  There are many good detecting sites that would not be apparent to those who don't know the history of the place.

Although I haven't been able to spend much time, I have had a few short hunts there and quickly dug up some of the old metal toys that I played with as a child as well as some silver coins around the old ball field that is now hidden by weeds and trees, so I know those things are still there if only I was there and had the time to work them.

The same thing applies to the beaches.  I was not raised on the Treasure Coast, but I have been here long enough to observe some of the changes.

Here, for example, is the Blind Creek area.  The access road to the south of the lake has been closed for some time.  There was a parking lot where I drew the blue rectangle.  It washed over in the 2001 storms and kept filling in.  I think they eventually gave up on keeping it open.   Anyhow it has been closed now for quite a while.

Blind Creek Area As Seen With Google Maps.

Where you see the blue semi-circle, the beach was eroded back close to the lake.  Just a little more erosion and it could have opened to the ocean.  I don't doubt that it was at some time an inlet, although I don't know that for sure.

There is a lot more to know about just that little area, for example the Native American habitations, or where the WW II observation tower was, or the WW II dump to the south.  You can still find evidence of all of those today

Landscapes change and beaches change.  Some changes are rapid and permanent.  Knowing about those changes can help the detectorist in many ways.

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SOUTH BEND, Indiana - The University of Notre Dame will cover murals in a campus building that depict Christopher Columbus in America, the school’s president said, following criticism that the images depict Native Americans in stereotypical submissive poses before white European explorers...

Here is that link.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/01/22/notre-dame-to-cover-up-murals-of-columbus-in-the-new-world/

I have so much to say about that but I won't.  It is just too much.

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Google Maps and similar web sites provide a convenient method for checking out sites that you haven't been to for a while or comparing to older maps.

The wind is out of the east at about 15 to 20 mph this morning.

I hope to get a chance to look at the beach some time today.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The tides are still nice and big.

Looks like the Treasure Coast surf will be a bit bigger tomorrow, but the wind will shift to the south.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/14/14 Report - Treasure Coast Gold Artifact Find Identified As Reliquary Pendant. Google Higher Resolution Satellite Imagery Coming Soon. Massive Tomb Found.

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



2014 Treasure Coast Find (on left) From the Salvage Vessel Booty



New information just in about the Booty's Treasure Coast gold relic find.

I received a photo of this find back a few weeks ago and showed it in my 7/31/14 post.   After doing a little research I said I thought the object might be a pyx.  Yesterday I received an email about the item from author and researcher Laura Strolia.   It seems I was wrong about the identity of the item.  

Here is what our friend Laura Strolia said.

In regards to the recent find ... I believe it is a RELIQUARY PENDANT.  The central oculus would have held an object that belonged to a saint, such as a piece of hair, or a painted image of a holy person.  Crystal would have been added for protection, as well as a chain.

This piece of devotional jewelry exhibits a cross above a sunburst.  The sunburst was intentionally created to take on features of a monstrance, an object used to display the consecrated Eucharistic Host for adoration.  During the Colonial Era, the monstrance design was quite common for displaying relics, with some relicarios being several feet high and others being only a few inches long.  For instance, a beautiful hanging pendant from the late 1600s, belonging to the Hispanic Society of America Collection, shows an intriguing sunburst with a topped cross.  While it does not contain a relic, the subject matter of reverence is an example of its popularity for the time period.

Reliquary pendants suspended on a chain would have been worn with upmost care and love because of their precious contents.  Catholics venerated saints and owned relics to be intimately connected to a favorite saint through prayer.  The remains were a reminder of their existing spiritual relationship.

The size of the pendant recently salvaged seems to be of a quite large dimension compared to the smaller lightweight personal pieces that were worn around the neck or waist.  Wearing a pendant of this size, along with its bulkiness, would put the holy object within at significant risk for physical damage.  Therefore, one would assert it was not designed as a wearable piece of jewelry, but to display elsewhere.  The devout often kept religious items in view, hanging from chains in their private quarters for adoration.  Often these exquisite pendants were given as votive offerings and church treasuries owned many donated ones.  On a holy person’s feast day, it was common for reliquaries to be carried and suspended for public view.  They would then be exhibited in the church during hours of prayer.

It had been mentioned that the found artifact might have been a pyx and would have carried the consecrated Host to the sick or dying.  Catholics believe that the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  The container used for such an important mission needed to be completely closed on all sides, front, and back. It was crucial no elements came into contact with the consecrated Host through any cracks or opened wire, and that was why small round boxes with secured latches were usually used for the job.  A pyx would have been put in a burse (pouch) that hung around a priest’s neck while traveling.  When looking at the artifact, there seems to be a circle on its top that most pendants have for chains.  This piece of hardware would not be needed on a pyx because it was the burse that included the long fabric or leather pieces for hanging.  When taken out of a church, a pyx would never be hung by itself without being in a burse, and especially with having airy filigree metalwork.  If any Hosts had not been used, the pyx immediately went back to the Church where the Blessed Sacrament was returned to a closed tabernacle.  Now, three hundred years later, the Church still acts with laws regarding the importance of the Sacrament, as I recently attended a meeting by our Bishop in protecting the sanctity and dignity of Holy Communion distribution.  After all, the Blessed Host IS the very life of God, a sacrament which Christ taught is necessary for eternal life. -- Laura Strolia

Thanks much Laura.  

You might have read Laura's book The Marigalera of the 1715 Fleet.  I've read it and mentioned it in this blog.

 Google Maps provides a satellite and street views.  Most of you probably know that.  Maybe you have used google to research remote sites.   Well Google now has a contract with a satellite company to obtain imagery from space that will detect objects as small as ten inches.   That is a good tool for higher definition remote research.

Here is the link.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/googles-satellites-could-soon-see-your-face-from-space



A massive tomb from the era of Alexander the Great was uncovered in Greece.  Nearly 500 meters in circumference, it is one of the largest ever uncovered in Greece.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2401057/Have-archaeologists-discovered-grave-Alexander-Great-Experts-enormous-marble-tomb-fit-king-Greece.html

Just goes to show how many things remain undiscovered if this huge tomb could remain hidden for so long.


On the Treasure Coast the tides are still bigger than normal and the surf is predicted to be 1 foot or so for at least several days.

No new tropical activity in the Atlantic either.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

5/22/14 - How To Track Gold On The Front Beach, Google Street View Beaches and Naples Florida Canals

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

Sample Google Street View Image Showing Beach at Rio Mar With Navigation Icons.

Memorial Day is coming up and people will be hitting the beaches.  In fact, there have been good numbers at some of our Treasure Coast beaches lately, but if you want to visit a new beach or two and want to get a preview of what it looks like before you make the drive, you can take a look at it by using Google Maps Street View.  That will give you a 3-D view of the beach and will allow you to use the navigation tools to look and move in all directions to get a good idea about what is there, including facilities, lay of the land, parking, etc.

Bill M. wrote and brought this to my attention.  He said,  Google just activated street view for every inch of beach in Florida.

This means you can now get a step by step view of any stretch of Florida beach.

For example, if you wanted to see what the beach in front of RioMar country club looked like, you can go to Google Maps, pull up Vero, zoom into RioMar, click the street view icon, and drag it onto the blue line at the beach.

It will show this: https://www.google.com/maps/@27.639677,-80.351071,3a,75y,95.47h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1scMeTCBCW-NPR5EgiQow2kw!2e0!3e5?hl=en-US

Then you can use your mouse to rotate, zoom, or move up and down the beach.

This isn't a real time view, but it is useful when doing research - especially for those out of the way or secluded beaches that may be difficult to reach.

Thanks Bill!

It is important to remember that Google Maps  is not a real-time view.  That means that you can not get an up-to-date idea about beach conditions, but you can get an good overall view.

I was talking about rut busters the other day, and this is a tool that can help you get an idea about some new beaches you might try. 


Here are some very up to date views of Treasure Coast beaches.

I visited three different beaches just yesterday around low tide.

The surf at this beach was down around two feet and the beach had filled more since my last photos.

I didn't bother to detect at this beach. It just didn't look worth it. 

There were a few shells here, and small sea glass.

Below is another beach a few miles away.   That is a more busy beach.

You can see the flat area below the slope.   I detected this beach briefly to give it a test.

There were a modern coins running for quite a distance near the bottom of the slope.  Not a huge amount of coins, but enough to keep it interesting. 

The modern coins here were a few inches deep. The signals weren't real loud and could easily be missed if you were moving too fast.

The first target I picked up was a fractional zinc penny.  It was so corroded only about half of it remained.  It obviously wasn't a recent drop.  Although totally worthless as a find, it was a quick indicator that helped me determine where I would continue the hunt.  By evaluating where it was found I got an idea of which direction to go to find better targets. 

Always try to determine if a find is part of a pattern.  If it is not a recent drop and is in the wet sand, it probably is. 

If it is a light target, such as a zinc penny, move up or down the slope slightly (most often down) as you proceed along the beach to see if you get into heavier or lighter targets.  (I've discussed the zig zaz pattern in the past.)

Make a mental map of where you are finding lighter and heavier targets, noting particularly the transition zones, both East and West and North and South.  Of course, moving from light to heavy target areas and continually evaluate and redefine the different areas according to what you find.

The next find was a green encrusted dime.  I was moving in the right direction.  Then a few more mixed coins.   I then know I'm in the zone and continuing to get a better idea of how things are distributed in the area.  Following the trail and moving towards where I would guess from an evaluation of the scatter pattern the heavier items are located, confirmation comes as a small gold ring pops up.

After checking for a possible cluster and not finding evidence of one, I moved on.

I showed the following beach a few times in the last few days.  It is the one that had some nice cuts that have been disappearing and which have now almost totally disappeared. 

I didn't bother detecting this treasure beach.

Overall, I'd say beach detecting conditions are poor for the treasure beaches, but some of the busier tourist and swimming beaches will produce a few coins and jewelry.  A little patience will pay off.


Naples Florida was the site of a network of canals dating back to around 1000 AD.

Here is the link to that story.

 

http://news.wgcu.org/post/tests-suggest-age-prehistoric-naples-canal

 

 

 On the Treasure Coast the surf will be decreasing down to around one foot.  We'll have a nearly flat ocean for a week or so if the surfing web sites are correct.  I'd try water or wet sand hunting at the swimming beaches.

 

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net