1/2/18 Report - Meteorite or Meteor Wrong? Meteorite Worth $30,000. Very Good Chance of Beach Detecting Conditions Improving.

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

Treasure normally doesn't just fall out of the sky and hit you on the head. although I guess it theoretically could.  Every once in a while I get a question about meteorites.  I might have dug one up at some time, but if I did, I didn't know it. 

Florida isn't a great place for finding meteorites and I know nothing about them, but there is a fellow that hunts meteorites and gold nuggets on a regular basis, and he also visits the Treasure Coast to detect, so I was able to ask him when I recently got a question about a possible meteorite being found on a Florida beach.

First, here is the question and a couple photos of the unidentified item that I received from Joe D.


Hi, my name is Joe from Merritt Island.  Your website I great.  I look at it every day  I purchased a metal detector about a year ago.  I haven't found anything worth a lot of money but I really enjoy the time on the beach.  Last week I was north of Sebastian when I came across what I thought was a rock.  My detector was going off on it so I took it home.  I figured it was a EO so I broke it apart where there was       a crack.  There was nothing inside.  A couple of days later I started thinking it may be a meteorite  Has anyone seen something like this?  Thank you.

3.5 by 2.5 Inch Unidentified Object.

Find and photo by Joe D.

Same Object Opened.

The fellow I asked about the item is a super guy who uses the handle SuperRick.  I posted some of his finds before, including a meteorite that I showed in my 5/31/17 post.

Below is SuperRick's response concerning the above object.

It's hard to tell from the photo but I would say no. There is only one type of meteorite that looks like charcoal and that is a  carbonaceous chondrite! Those meteorites are extremely rare!
I went to Sutter Mills when that meteorite came in and have a very small piece of it.

Here is a photo of the one that I missed because someone was cutting the grass in a park that we stopped to hunt! That part of the meteorite was found by a school teacher that sold it for over $30,000.00 Here is a photo of it.

https://s17.postimg.org/btbg5yfsv/IMG_20120426_162854.jpg

I hope that this helps you out.  I would throw it away without sending a small sample to a university if you can find one that will look at it because when you say that you found it on the beach it's going to throw up a red flag!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter%27s_Mill_meteorite

Thanks for the help Rick.  I'm sure it helped the person that asked the question  It also helped me, and I'm sure it helped many of the readers of my blog.  It is always good to know something about different types of treasures

Thanks much for your help.  I'm glad I have so many readers who are experienced and informed in a wide variety of types of treasure and are willing to help others.

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Continuing with my list of top ten most popular posts from 2017, number three on the list is the 4/27 post about the Cooper's Treasure TV show and the salvage lease process in the Bahamas.

You might remember the controversy caused by the TV show.  I don't know what happened to it.  They seemed to drop it.

The link for that post is immediately below.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/04/42717-report-more-on-coopers-treasure.html

The top two posts of the year actually made it into the top ten all time list.  That is especially surprising because they were posted late in the year.  In fact the number two post of the year was posted in December, less than a month ago.  It was the post about the find and return of the 1937 class ring of Fairleigh Dickinson Jr. that was recovered on a North Florida beach by Chris N.  The same post also showed a silver reale found on a Treasure Coast beach.

Below is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/12/12617-report-ring-of-well-known-person.html

And finally, the # 1 post of the year, the 9/10 post about how the best conditions are not always caused by the strongest storms.  I talked about Irma and Jose.  The title of that post was For Metal Detecting You May Have Missed the Big Deal. More To Come.

Here is the link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/search?q=missed+the+big+deal

I didn't think it would take so long to do the top ten.

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There is a lot going right.  The tides are big;  the surf is going to be something like 6 - 10 feet Tuesday; the wind turned Monday evening and should continue from the north through Tuesday.  That all goes together to suggest a very strong chance of improved beach hunting conditions 

Here are the surf predictions.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to check some beaches tomorrow, so I can show you what is happening.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/22/17 Report - Predicting Versus Rating Beach Conditions. Will Maria Send Us Good Hunting? Coaked Sheave. Beached Sailboat.

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

Washed Up.
Photo by Warren D.

Warren D. said, This is located in Brevard County at South Spessard Holland Park. Similar to the one in Vero a couple of years ago.

I talked with the Channel 13 reporters and they said no one was on board but there was a mannequin.

The coast guard had boarded it at sea and saw no one was on board and they painted "OK" on the hull.---

Two hurricanes and little to show for it.  Disappointing!  That is how you might be feeling.

Irma and Jose raised expectations but didn't deliver much.  The surf got bigger, but on the Treasure Coast we didn't get anymore than brief erosion at a few spots.  There were definitely places that got more.

As I said the other day, it isn't over yet.  We still have a chance.  Maria is still out there, and they are predicting a surf of six to nine feet for three days.  And Monday we're supposed to have North winds. That could be what we've been waiting for.

I recently highlighted some factors that have to come together to produce what I would call ideal beach hunting conditions when I referred to the legendary Thanksgiving Storm: high surf, north/northeast wind, continuing for days coordinated with high tides.

The MagicSeaWeed surf predictions are frequently off when they predict a very high surf several days in advance.  As I've often pointed out, those high predicted surfs tend to get smaller as the time gets closer.  I don't know why that is, but it is a definite error in their model.

It is often said that one of the most important qualities for a treasure hunter is patience.  Treasure hunting is a very opportunistic activity.  You have to be at the right place at the right time.  You have to be alert and prepared to take advantage when the window of opportunity opens.

I often say there is always some place good to detect.  You might have to adapt.  It depends upon what you are willing and able to do.

I have no doubt that some of the most serious detectorists will travel to other parts of the state to find better hunting conditions.  Over the years I ran into fellows that lived in their van and traveled around always looking for  the best location they could find to detect.  Maybe they'd pull into Fort Lauderdale during the height of spring break, park their van and detect for days until some better opportunity called, and then they'd move on.  They'd follow the opportunities.

Most of us aren't willing to live out of a van and follow the biggest and best detecting opportunities. That is a choice we make.  For me and you that might be a good choice, but it is a choice.  We have our priorities and detecting doesn't come first.

You might have been disappointed by Irma and Jose.  It is better to be prepared than not be prepared when the window of opportunity does open.

I don't think I've issued any higher than a three rating on my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Scale in a few years.  We just haven't had very good beach detecting conditions overall for quite a while.  All of the beach renourishment has not helped.  But there will be a time when the window of opportunity opens wide again, and I'd rather be prepared, even if it means that I was prepared several times and nothing much happened.  I guess it is something like putting up your hurricane shutters.  All of the preparation might be for nothing, but then again, at least you will be prepared when you really need it.

If you wait for me to issue a high rating on my beach conditions scale, I don't do that until I am highly confident that I should.  I don't issue those ratings without making very sure that I am correct.That means that I don't do that early.  I have to see it for myself.  But I also keep you informed about the predictions and developments as they occur, so if you keep up with what I am posting, you should have a very good idea in advance when something good might happen before it happens.

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Coaked Sheave.
Source: promare.co.uk/ships/finds

Recently I posted photos of sheaves.  One was found on the Treasure Coast as the result of Irma.  Of course sheaves vary.  The one shown above is in very good condition.  The found ones that I showed in this blog don't have the metal bearings anymore.  You can see how the bearing sits into a depression in the wood.

In case you didn't know, a sheave is a wheel used in a pulley block.  Back years ago Ian A. found one on the Treasure Coast with the bearing still in it and marked with a broad arrow, if I correctly recall, indicating it was from a ship of the Royal Navy

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Notice that the surf predictions slipped just a little but not much.  I hope it doesn't slip any more.

If I had more accurate surf and wind predictions, I'd be able to better predict beach conditions myself.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/13/17 Report - Irma Finds. Bridge Openings and Beach Accesses Closed. Some Beaches Cut.

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

Haul From One Low Tide.

Photo submitted by Captain Jonah Martinez

Holes Where Recoveries Made

Photo by Captain Martinez

I'm still struggling with a strange computer that won't pick up the photos from my cell phone, so this post isn't going to be as good as I hoped.

I took some beautiful beach photos this morning but you aren't going to see them until later.

The bridge to South Hutchinson Island was open this morning.  I assume that the bridge to North Hutchinson Island was also open.  However the John Brooks beach access was closed this morning.

Jonah told me that 510 was open.  He said they were hunting Sunday AM and then the beach starting filling again.

At John Brooks there was a substantial cut this morning from the condos and north of that, which ran down at least to Frederick Douglas.  It was about four feet high and pretty far back towards the dunes.  I would say at the John Brooks walkover the cut was back to about forty yards in front of the walkover.

In front of the cut. there was a lot of mushy built up sand.  There were a lot of nice shells.  It was a good day for shell collectors.

For beach metal detecting overall, I'd rate conditions as no better than a three on my five point scale.  I would not be surprised if it deteriorates until Jose sends us some good north winds.

The only beach I saw was John Brooks so I'm going on the basis of what I saw and the reports I received.  So far I'm very iffy on my rating.

If this computer was cooperating better, I would explain my rating scale again.

Too bad I couldn't post the pictures I took, but I'll get another look at the beaches sometime soon and hopefully be able to post more photos.

I don't really know why the John Brooks access was not open today.  I suspect more beach accesses will be open tomorrow, but can't say which ones will or won't.  Sometimes it is difficult to see any reason for some closures.

I got some reports from North Florida, and it seems they got some improved beach detecting conditions.  I know of one shipwreck under the beach up that way that yielded a variety of large spikes.

Someone asked me about the West Coast of Florida.  I'll try to address that, better in the future, but I'd bet treasure coins will be found in the Naples area where they have been found in the past.

I hope I get my computer going soon.  This one is driving me crazy.

I hope everybody is well.  I'll try again later today or tomorrow.

Be safe,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/7/17 Report - Hurricane Irma Predictions. Dangers and Difficulties of Detecting a Beach After a Hurricane.

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

Track of Irma So Far
Source: Wunderground.com

Above you can see the curvy track of Irma.

Below is the cone from NHC after the 5 AM advisory.  That track takes the eye right over Fort Pierce and the Treasure Coast.  It will still be a very strong hurricane.

NHC Cone After 5 AM Advisory.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Of course, there isn't 100% certainty of the future track.  

Probability of Tropical Storm Force Winds.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Above you can see the probability of tropical-storm-force winds hitting the Treasure Coast.  It shows that at the time of the prediction, there was a 80 - 90 percent chance that the Treasure Coast would receive tropical-storm-force winds.  The probability of hurricane-force winds, as estimated at about the same time, was less than 50 percent.

The point of that is that there is still uncertainty about the track of Irma.  Although both the Euro and FGS models are very similar now and have the eye-wall passing over or very close to Fort Pierce, it could vary.  As you can see above, the cone still extended well out into the Gulf and into the Atlantic, so it still could end up going right over us or into the Gulf or out in the Atlantic.  I really don't want the eye-wall over us or real close to us.

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I've heard from detectorists from out of state that want to run down to the Treasure Coast on Sunday and do a little detecting.  That could be a very serious mistake.  HURRICANES ARE VERY DANGEROUS.   Hurricanes kill people and cause serious damage and real human suffering. 

I can tell you right now that I will not be out there Sunday. I will be taking care of people who need assistance.  I probably wouldn't be out there Sunday even if I didn't have those other responsibilities. There will likely be many people who really need some assistance.

When the storm passes, unless it passes way off the present predicted course, things will be a mess. There is likely to be downed trees and power  lines across the road.  People will be coming out and looking at the damage and wondering how they are going to go on.  Beach accesses will be closed. Roads and bridges will be closed.  Roads might be flooded or washed away.  You might not be able to get where you want to go.

There could be massive power outages.  Gas stations could be closed.  And authorities won't want you out on the road to get in the way of emergency efforts.

It is easy to get excited hearing about gold coins on the beach, but hurricanes are dangerous and not totally predictable.  There might be good detecting or there might not.    Last year,  Matthew didn't hit where they thought it would.   

This will be especially tricky because there are three hurricanes out there.  Hurricane Jose is following closely after Irma, so after Irma passes and everything looks bright and sunny, you might just encounter Jose.

If the beaches are badly damaged, it probably won't be easy to get there, and when you do, you'll encounter other dangers. The high surf could be very dangerous.  After a hurricane, the surf contains a lot of debris.  Anybody who has been on the beach immediately after a hurricane, probably has a story about nearly getting taken out by a tree trunk thrashing around at the edge of the water.  The backwash coming off the dunes can be powerful and dangerous.  It doesn't take a hurricane to cause that.  It can easily catch you off guard and knock you off your feet and sweep you out.  I know of more than one person who has lost a metal detector or other equipment to a rough surf.  

I'm especially concerned about people who have never been through a hurricane and unknowingly putting themselves at risk.  There are many dangers, and you might not know about the dangers or what you are getting yourself into.

In short, I want you to realize that hurricanes are dangerous and that you should not think of trying to face the storm winds or the dangerous surf after a hurricane for a few coins.  I don't want anyone to run out to the beach not knowing what they are getting into and getting hurt or worse.  I'd rather you volunteer to help with the recovery efforts.  I know I'm being a downer right now, but I want you to realize the very real danger.   If you want golden memory for the rest of your life, volunteer and help people who need it.

Another thing people don't realize is that hurricane ravaged beaches can produce for days or even weeks after the hurricane passes.  Some of the most amazing finds have been made when the detectorist thought it was too late to find much of anything.  Be sure that conditions are safe and you are prepared before you even think about running out to the beach to find some coins.

Be safe,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/6/17 Report - Part 2 - Three Hurricanes. Irma Developments. 18 Foot Predicted Surf.

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

Three Hurricanes Now All At Once
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Katia is probably going south and into Mexico.  Jose will probably turn north before he gets to Florida.  And Irma is currently heading our way, according to the NHC predictions.

If you check the Euro and GFS models, they are very similar right now, both making landfall down around Miami and then heading up towards the Treasure Coast very close to Port St. Lucie.  Of course there is still time for things to change and there is a large cone of uncertainty that could include Irma going more east of us, only making landfall north of Florida.  Still too soon to tell for sure.

The lastest NHC Irma prediction as of 5:30 PM.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

That is a pretty sharp turn north and away from Cuba.  It could still turn sooner or later.

Below is the surf prediction for the Fort Pierce area.  At this time the predicted Sebastian surf is supposed to be about the same but maybe a foot or two less at the peak.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

As you can see the surf is supposed to begin increasing Saturday and peaking late Sunday.

That's all for now.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net