1/14/20 Report - Some Early 2020 Treasure Coast Finds.

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

One Uncleaned Half Reale With Two Others.

Finds and photo by Terry S.

Yesterday I posted photos of some finds made by Terry S.  After sending those pictures, Terry sent me the photo above.

Referring to the items I posted yesterday, Terry then continued with the following. 

… Just before I found them I found this half reale. I didn’t clean it to be able to show others what they look like when found. If you look closely you can make out the cross on it. The cleaned 1/2s on either side I found a couple years ago and the dime is to show size...  There are a lot of people out there that have never found a 1/2 and don’t know what they look like when found before cleaning. I enjoy your blog and check it daily as many of my friends. You put out a great blog and I commend you. Terry

As you can see, the uncleaned new find (in the middle) is encrusted as found, and it is difficult to tell what it is except for the faintest bit of the cross showing.  I'll talk more about that another day.

Thanks Terry.

Below are a couple interesting finds from Alberto S., including a quarter for size comparison.

Shard and Button Find

Finds and photo by Alberto S.

Alberto asked me for comments on these and one other find he made.  I thought these two were the most interesting.  He said the button rang up as a 12.8 on a CTX 3030.

That is a very interesting button.

Concerning the shard, what I would want to see is the edge of the shard.  I once did a post on the subject of identifying porcelain and Kang Hsi.   Actually, more than one post.  Anyhow, the edge of Kang Hsi porcelain will show a very fine dense and very white paste.  The blue paint will have depth and appear to sink into the glaze rather than sit on top of it.

Here is one link that will direct you to additional information.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2019/05/52919-report-book-on-1715-wrecks-kang.html

Thanks Alberto.  Very interesting.  Of course, any information or comments about those finds would be appreciated.


DJ sent me a photo from the Facebook page of a Tom J. whose page says he was in Melborne with the family for a couple of days and one afternoon did some detecting north of Wabasso where he found the item shown in the following photo.  He said it rang up as a 20 on the Equinox and thought it was going to be a penny.

Item Reportedly Found North of Wabasso by Tom J.

Photo submitted by DJ

I magnified the photo and it appears to have a Potosi like cross on it, but it also appears to have a strange raised edge around it.  I can't really see it very well.  I also was not able to read the entire Facebook page, but the text I could read ended by saying "So don't get too impres…"  Sounds like there might be a surprise ending.  I wasn't able to read the reveal, but have a suspicion.irme

See tomorrow's post for the conclusion of this story.

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The beginning of the year wasn't the worst for metal detecting on the Treasure Coast.  It is the time of year when beach detecting conditions often improve.  Too bad there is so much renourishment sand on so many beaches.  Still, as you can see, some interesting things have been found.

The predictions call for a 3 - 4 foot surf on the Treasure Coast for at least three of four days.  The low tide will be decent.

Nobody has run down the mark's on Duane's silver ring yet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/24/19 Report - Six to Ten Foot Surf Predicted for Thursday. Indian Massacre Artifacts. Porcelain Find.

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

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Last week didn't turn up much despite the erosion at various beaches.  Where there was more erosion, it didn't last long.  And at other beaches it just didn't get down to the older layers of sand.

Back in February, I said there would be old coins found, and there were.  There weren't many though, as far as I know.

My beach conditions rating was a little overly optimistic in February, as it was last week.  I thikn ther reason for that is that I didn't adequately take into account the large amount of renourishment sand that has been dumped on the beaches in recent years.  Despite the erosion, it didn't get down to the older layers of sand.

Despite the significant erosion at John Brooks both in February and last week, all we saw was the same old brown sand.  And there were almost no shells to be seen.

In February I think I gave a four rating for a very brief time.  That was too high.  I should have gone no higher than a three.  And last week, I flirted with going to a three rating.  In retrospect, that would have clearly been too high.

At least I think I learned something.  The accumulating renourishment sand on and off-shore needs to be taken more seriously, and I'll have to be a touch more conservative with my beach conditions ratings.

That said, it looks like we will have another chance at improved conditions in a few days.  Right now MagicSeaWeed is predicting a six to ten foot surf for Thursday.  Of course, things can change over the next few days.

I still remember those trips I made to the Treasure Coast when I was living in Broward County not having any idea what things might be like on the Treasure Coast.  I remember the wasted trips and then finally finding something.  I was starting to think it would never happen.

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The attack was the Wethersfield Indian Massacre of 1637. Artifacts that could provide new context for understanding the incident, along with a large cache of items spanning four centuries, have been uncovered behind the Webb Dean Stevens Museum in Wethersfield during an archaeological excavation over the past two years. Concluding in November, the excavation was required by the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office as a prelude to the construction of a new visitor/education center getting underway this spring.


The nearly 19,000 items collected will add layers of knowledge about the lives of the colonists, says Sarah Sportman, who supervised the dig. Sportman is a senior archaeologist with the Public Archaeology Survey Team, a private, nonprofit research and public education organization based in Mansfield. “I think we’re really just starting to get a handle on this period archaeologically,” Sportman says. “The interesting thing about the project is that we’ve actually found archaeological material from the 1630s all the way up to the 20th century. Every period of occupation on this site really tells a rich story about this property and about the town of Wethersfield.”...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

http://www.connecticutmag.com/the-connecticut-story/connecticut-s-jamestown-an-incident-in-wethersfield-nearly-years-ago/article_23470b4e-45a7-11e9-a081-e75a6b99c142.html

The funny thing to me is that all of that stuff was behind the museum, but they didn't dig it up until they had to before they did new construction.  If it was in your backyard, you probably would have dug it up long ago.

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Found Porcelain.

I found this piece of porcelain.  I think I found a similar piece of a cup  before.  Maybe I can find it.  I'm sure this one is porcelain, but the design looks a little odd to me for Kang Hsi.  Unfortunately there is no marking on the bottom.  That would help.  The design looks a little crude like it might be a European copy.  But I don't know.

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Don't forget to verify details on the Kellyco closeout sale before going if you were planning on going.  Someone told me it is over.

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It looks like a beautiful day to be out.  Keep watching the surf report.  Maybe we'll have some better hunting before long.



Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/14/19 Report - Great Coin Collection Dug Up. Kang Hsi Porcelain. Surf Worth Watching.

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

Source: CoinWorld (See link below.)

An eight-coin 1876 Proof set containing silver and minor coinage, buried by its owner in the backyard of his Chicago home more than two decades ago, was brought for authentication and grading April 27 to the Central States Numismatic Society convention in Schaumburg, Illinois, by the late owner’s son...

The unusual story has a tragic element. The late collector, who died in 1994 at age 84, suffered with Alzheimer’s disease the last five years of his life, according to his son. The son said there’s a possibility that his father may have buried his entire extensive collection of United States coins. The coins, which have been off the market for more than 50 years, were primarily silver and gold issues...

The son said he has purchased a metal detector to help better pinpoint where else on his father’s property other coins may have been buried.

The son said his father told him some time before his death that, if something happened to him, to be sure to look under the home’s front porch. After his father passed, the son said, he did just that, and discovered three metal coffee cans housing Morgan silver dollars that were also wrapped in plastic bags. Although he has never executed a complete inventory of his discoveries to date, he said there are examples of Morgan dollars from the Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans and Carson City Mints...

Here is the link.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2018/05/family-finds-1876-proof-set-buried-in-yard.all.html


When I post stories like this, there is always something to learn from it. These kinds of stories generally tell you where things were discovered and how. That is something to remember for your own hunts.

It seems it is not highly unusual to bury valuables in the back yard or under a porch.

I've seen some porches that I'd love to get under, especially at commercial locations where there have been millions of people and there are spaces for things to fall into.

I still remember the first time I detected under a walkover at Hollywood beach and found a good bunch of coins.  It was exciting.  I hadn't been detecting very long at the time.

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Not all treasure is made of silver or gold.  There are treasures that are not even metal.  One thing you can find on the Treasure Coast is fine Chinese porcelain that was being carried on the 1715 Fleet.  I've mentioned it before and you are probably aware of Kang Hsi or Kangxi (spelled various ways) porcelain.  On the beach you will usually find only a small piece but there are cases when intact cups, plates or other porcelain items have been found.  Those can be quite valuable.  The small pieces are often mounted in silver or gold jewelry.  The Kang Hsi item shown immediately below is offered by Sothebys is offered with an estimated price of 6 to 8000 dollars.

Source: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/kangxi-the-jie-rui-tang-collection-part-ii-n10031/lot.301.html

Unless you have studied, it can be difficult to identify Kang Hsi porcelain from a lot of other pottery.  Kang Hsi is often blue and white, and that is also a common color of a lot of old but less valuable pottery.  I've done posts on how to tell the difference.

See https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2013/12/122913-report-1715-fleet-kang-hsi.html

In the past I've also posted photos of pieces that were found on the Treasure Coast.

Here is a link to a Sothebys auction of  Kang Hsi porcelain.

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2014/kangxi-porcelain-n09110/kangxi-porcelain/2014/02/kangxi-porcelain-a-.html

That will give you a good idea of possible values.

And here is a Kang His teapot that was found on a shipwreck, although the site doesn't say which wreck.

https://orientalceramics.com/index.php/product/a-yongzheng-porcelain-teapot-from-the-ca-mau-cargo/

They are not always marked, but if you are lucky enough to find a mark, this site that shows the Kang Hsi marks might come in handy.

https://antique-marks.com/kangxi-chinese-porclain.html

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

\
It looks like we could get some good surf next week.  The forecast surf has increased to 4 - 7 feet now.  It will probably change some in the next few days.  It could get either bigger or smaller.  It is something to watch though.

In the mean time, we're getting some decent southish winds.  There are a few beaches that sometimes improve with south winds.

The tides are pretty flat.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/29/18 Report - Eerie Eelie Beach. Some Small Erosion. Not Kang Hsi, Oxidation on Nice Mercury Dime.

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

John Brooks Beach Sunday Afternoon.

The surf wasn't large but the wind direction was good so I went out to take a look at the beaches yesterday.  Often when a front comes through you'll get a little cutting.  As you can see from the photo above, there was a little erosion.  The surf and tides were high, so the cut was low on the slope. The sand in front of the slope was fairly soft.

The weather was beautiful, and on such a beautiful Sunday afternoon, you'd expect to see a lot of people, but there were very few people at the beach.  Evidently the Red Tide was still keeping people away.

I felt a little respiratory irritation, but not as much as at Jensen Beach a couple days ago.  There were a few dead fish and eels.  

I didn't know there were eels in the lagoon until the I saw some dead ones over there recently.

John Brooks Beach Sunday Afternoon.

Notice how the water is washing up onto the beach here was at about a thirty degree angle.  That was directly below a cut and was the cause of the cut.  

Frederick Douglass Beach Sunday Afternoon.

Above is the view looking south from Frederick Douglass beach.  As you can see there was less erosion there.  The depth of the foot prints also shows you that the sand was soft there.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Sunday Afternoon.

There was a nice cut south of the Fort Pierce Jetty.  Unfortunately that is all renourishment sand.  

Notice the steep slope in front of the cut in the distance.  That is down near the old picked-over wreck.

For such a beautiful day, it is a shame that people weren't able to enjoy it more.

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Blue and White Beach Shard.

If you were walking the beach and found this shard, at first glance you might think Kang Hsi.  If you've seen much Kang Hsi, a closer look will show that it is something else. Take a look at the broken edge.

Edge of Shard.

The paste is not as white and fine as Kang Hsi.  This paste is more coarse and not as hard.  But that isn't all.  The top layer of blue sits on top of the surface.  Kang Hsi has a transparent layer and the blue penetrates down through that layer.  I think I've shown that before.

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1942 Mercury Dime.

This is an old find that I decided to experiment with.  I'm experimenting with methods of removing the black oxidation.

Close View of Oxidation.

This dime was probably in excellent shape when it was lost.  The date and lettering is still very nice.

It is very rare to find a nice silver coin on a salt water beach that isn't badly damaged.

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We'll have some more north wind, but the surf won't pick up until late Tuesday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/28/17 Report - Couple Mystery Finds. Old Pottery Site. Popular Posts of the Year. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

Brooch That Held Gem Stones
Find and photo by Chris N.

Chris N. sent the following message with the two photos.

Just wanted to share some more items found near St. Augustine area.

Copper Salt Shaker Top I thought was different and unusual for a find in the sand on a salty shore. No pun intended.

Some type of Broach copper material in which there was some sort of set points in the middle and top where decorative stones or jewels must of been places at one time, but were not present.

I dug both items in loose sand, by water line about 8-10 inch down, strong signal on my machine.

Find and photo by Chris N.

I told Chris I didn't think it looked like a salt shaker top and pointed out the two arrows at the top and bottom.  

Chris then added the following.

The object is about the size of a Salt Shaker Top. Sorry! for not using Ruler. I found it at the waters edge in loose sand which was not corroded, when pulled it out.. That probably means it was washed down from the bank which it probably laid for some time till the Hurricane and Nor east'er came last few weeks ago.

From my understanding talking with some folks who live in and around area where I found objects, one said there as an shipwreck in that area.

I know that the British camped out on the Northern end of Anastasia Island, but the dune areas is off limits to foot traffic and especially digging.

Another good friend of mine informed me that the British marked each item made of copper, or any other precious metals because it belonged to the Crown.

What do you think?

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...It remains a mystery why so much pottery from such a wide time span have been found at this site.

Some speculate a settlement was submerged by a rise in the water level or the pots were sunk there in obscure rituals. Others sidestep romance and suggest it was just a dumping ground for used ceramics....

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201712270033.html

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Yesterday I started to list the top ten most read posts of 2017.  I gave you numbers 10 and 9.  Working up the list towards the most popular of the year, today I'll give you numbers 8 and 7.

The eighth most read post was not from September like so many of the top ten.  In fact it was from January of 2017.  It was the 1/18/17 post with the heading, A Few Tips For Finding Modern Jewelry On Dry Sand Beaches.

Here is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/01/11817-report-few-tips-for-finding.html

The seventh most read post is a much more recent post.  In fact it has only been out there a couple of weeks.  It is the December 12th post, which included one of my very popular Ole Timer Talks.  That one was about a crate of dishes, possibly Kang Hsi, uncovered by heavy erosion on one Treasure Coast;

That post also showed the heavily eroded Fort Pierce South Jetty beach.  It would probably be higher on the list if it was not so recent.

Here is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/12/12817-report-erosion-at-one-renourished.html

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For Tuesday a 3 - 5 foot surf is predicted for the Treasure Coast along with a north wind.  That could do something.

A 6 - 9 foot surf is predicted for Tuesday.

Another year is about to fade into history.  I clearly remember starting the year and it doesn't seem that long ago.

Happy hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/8/17 Report - Erosion at One Renourished Beach. Ole Timer Talk: Crate of Dishes. Benefit of Reading Broadly.

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

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Erosion
Photo by Gaylen C.

You might remember Gaylen's find that looked something like a Marlinespike or maybe an engraving tool.  Galen sent a message and some photos from his hunt yesterday.  Here is what he had to say.

Went back to the same area as my relic find. Found another nail or spike, but it may prove to be fairly modern. Lots of signals. Picked up a few things. The dunes look like this from the south jetty for a long way and then gets a little more slope. High tide was within a foot or so of dune. Really undercut in some places, with lots of sand falling to the foot. Several different layers showing. The piece I got was among larger rocks at the base.

The following photo shows how high the cliff is and the various layers.  Note the rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

Thanks for the report and photos Gaylen.

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Brain M. sent the following Ole Timer Talk.

Here is a quick little treasure story that happened to an old friend of mine 20 + years ago on the treasure coast. He was out metal detecting after a storm . Big cut on the beach and if I remember correctly it was at night. He noticed something that stood out as strange. There partially exposed in the wall of the cut was a stack of dishes. He told me when he saw it he figured that someone had a pic-nick back in the 1930’s   and must have left them on the beach. He didn’t mess with them he was looking for coins and metal. Days later he was talking to another treasure hunter and was told of Chinese porcelain dishes were cargo. I don’t remember what dynasty he said it was from. He told me they looked like they were stacked and the crate must have rotted away and left the stack of dishes in the wall of the cut. From what he told me they were worth a fortune had he only known what he was looking at. When he went back the sand was in and the cut was gone. We wonder if they are still there waiting to be found intact or did the incoming sand and surf knock them out and smash them to bits.

We most likely will never know.

Thanks Brian.

A stack of well preserved Kang Hsi porcelain would indeed be worth a lot.

I've been very much surprised by how often I already know something about these accounts that go back twenty years or more or the people involved.

I knew the fellow who found the eight escudo in Clint's account, for example, and I also heard about these plates.  I don't remember now when or where I heard about the plates, but I think I might have even posted something about them in this blog years ago.

The lesson Brian's account provides is that you should get to know as much as you can about various types of treasure so you will recognize them and their possible significance when you see them in the field. There have been a lot of times when I failed to recognize something good.  I regret some of those failures to this day.

One example that came to mind yesterday was the time when I was on Pigeon Island at a battle site from right around 1800 when I dug a rusted twisted piece of metal that I later realized was the hammer from a flintlock.  Right beside that piece was a squared piece of flint.  I can see it in my mind's eye today.  I was hanging on the side of a steep cliff, with an old Tesoro detector, which I fitted out with a short board as a rod stem.  ( The short stem helped since the face of the cliff was right in front of my face.)  I was using a screw driver as a dig tool.

I didn't pay much attention to either the rusted metal item or the flint when I dug them.  I wish I had realized their significance and kept them.  If I found the same items today, I know I would have kept them, and better realizing their significance, I also would have hunted the immediate area more thoroughly to find other pieces of the musket or other items.

It is easy to get so focused on coins or some other particular kind of target that you miss other types of items that can actually be more valuable, not to mention being significant clues.

Those dishes, as Brian pointed out, could have been worth a lot, but they were ignored because of a lack of that realization.  They could have also been a clue that other good things might have been buried in the area.

I didn't know what my first fossil find was, but I kept it.  I just kept it out of curiosity.  I didn't find out what it was until probably at least ten years later.  I undoubtedly passed up other fossil finds before that one, not knowing what they were.

I also failed to recognize the first enameled ring I found from a 1715 Fleet wreck site.  I thought it was modern because I incorrectly thought that enameling was a modern process.  Even though it was gold and very attractive, I didn't pay very much attention to it when I dug it.  I just slipped it into my pocket not thinking much of it because I was targeting shipwreck items.  How wrong I was!

Enameling is actually a very old process.  In fact it is believed to go back to at least the 13th century BC. (See https://www.ganoksin.com/article/earliest-cloisonne-enamels/)

I used to hear people say that if something is plated, it is not hundreds of years old because plating is a fairly modern process.  That might be true of some types of plating, but gold and silver gilding is a very old process.

I think you get the point.  Knowing something about a wide variety of types of objects can be very helpful.  The failure to recognize items you see in the field can be a big mistake.

I'm sure I sometimes talk about items that a lot of people are not interested in.  You might not have any interest in iron artifacts, for example, but those rusted old items might provide important clues to a site and other types of treasure.  They might also hold more economic value than you think. 

You might not be interested in sea glass, but a piece of black glass washed up on a beach might be a good clue to the presence of other historic items nearby.  If you do a lot of reading, you might be better prepared to recognize various kinds of treasure when you see them and be better able to interpret what the item is telling you about the site.

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We're going to be getting a cold front.  The wind will be coming from the north for a couple of days, but the surf will be small.  The tides are pretty good yet.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/26/17 Report - Kang Hsi Porcelain. Silver Cleaning Cloth. Fenn Treasure Hunters Die.

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

Kang Hsi Displayed At St. Lucie County Historical Museum
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

The porcelain shown above was on display at the St. Lucie County Historical Museum that is located near the East side of the big bridge on the south causeway from Fort Pierce to Hutchinson Island.  It is near the aquarium and is easy to miss.  The link below will give you the address and more information about the museum.

http://www.stlucieco.gov/departments-services/a-z/parks-recreation-and-facilities-department/st-lucie-county-regional-history-center

I showed a new find of Kang Hsi in my 5/18/17 post. Smaller pieces can be found on the beach at time. Small pieces can have some value and are sometimes mounted in jewelry. I've shown a few pieces that were found on the beach.

A stack of Kang Hsi plates were once seen on South Hutchinson Island newly exposed by erosion. That was back years ago. The detectorist did not bother to collect them. He thought they were from a beach picnic or something and didn't think much more about it. When he learned what they were, he went back and couldn't find them. That is why I talk so much about being able to recognize various types of treasure. Big mistakes can be made when you do not realize what you are looking at. A stack of Kang Hsi plates could be worth quite a bit.

I once did a post on how to identify fine China like Kang Hsi.  It can easily be distinguished from other blue and white old pottery.

You can sometimes find small pieces in shell piles.

If you do any research on Kang Hsi, you'll find that it is spelled in a variety of ways.

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The museum owns some very early Fort Pierce phone books that I found before they were discarded by what was then the Indian River Community College.  

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People have died seeking the famous Fenn treasure and the police want people to stop looking for it.

Here is the link for more about that.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/police-urge-treasure-hunters-to-stop-after-latest-death/ar-BBD7vqZ?li=BBnbfcL

Thanks to Dean for submitting the link.

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I have a polishing cloth that I used for years.  The bag it came in reads, "Miracle All Purpose Polishing Cloth."  I wouldn't call it a miracle, but it works.  What is most amazing to me, is that the cloth still works after all these years.  I looked it up and found that they still sell them.

It won't take heavy corrosion off things, but it will remove the black patina off oxidized silver.  You might want to look into it.

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To everything there is a season.  It is now hurricane season and also salvage season.  For beach hunters, depending upon where you are and what you hunt, it can be either a slow season or productive season.

The Treasure Coast is supposed to have a couple weeks of one-foot surf.  There is no tropical weather on the Atlantic map right now.

The tides are pretty big.  We've been having some nice negative tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/18/17 Report - Another Nice 1715 Fleet Find. One Way To Narrow Down The Age Of A Piece of Jewelry. Two Tropical Disturbances.

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

Find Made by Gavin on the Arrr Booty.

Photo submitted by Jonah Martinez.

Jonah M. sent the above photo and said, "Find made by Gavin. Eric's working hard trying to make some more great finds."

That is one nice piece of Kang Hsi. Hope they find more of the same item.

Congrats to Gavin and the crew of the Arrr Booty! And thanks to Jonah for sharing!

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Yesterday I showed an amazing ring that was found by Warren D. (If you missed it, you might want to go back and take a look.)  When you find an item, it helps to know where it came from and where it has been up until the time you found it. It is also nice to be able to determine its age.

There are a lot of things that might give some clues. First is the where it was found, including the layers of sand above and surrounding the item. The sand adhering to the item might give you some clues about where it has been. So will the patina or crust. I can't talk about all of that today, but I am going to talk about the diamonds. Although the type of setting and other features of a ring can tell you a lot, I'm just going to focus on diamonds right now.

Although diamonds were used in jewelry much earlier, diamond cutting did not being until the 14th century.  Then they were more polished than cut.

Diamonds were mounted with what you might call a "point cut" in the 15th century.  There still wasn't much cutting involved.  Here is an example of a 15th century diamond ring sold by Christies.  You can see the point or pyramid.

15th Century "Point Cut" Diamond Sold by Christies.

True faceting didn't begin until the 16th century.  Then the "rose cut" was invented.  Diamonds were still rare in jewelry.

Rose cut diamonds have 24 facets.  They are domed on top and have a flat bottom.  The top looks very much like a geodesic dome.

The old mine cushion cut began in the 18th century.  That cut featured a relatively small flat table on top, a very slightly rounded edge, and a deep culet.  Below is an example.

Old Mine Fashion Cut Diamond Shape
Source:  See ErstWhileJewelry link below.

By the mid 18th century the Marquise cut was developed.

Of course there are more, but I'll stop there for now.  I just wanted to show that you can get a lot of information from the cut of a diamond or any gem.

If you want learn more about the history of cutting diamonds, you'll find an intersting article by using the following link.

https://erstwhilejewelry.com/blogs/stories/history-of-diamond-cutting

It can be very difficult to capture subtle but important details in a photo.

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Things are heating up in the tropics.  There are now two tropical disturbances,both of which have a 70% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.

One has been hanging around the Yucatan, but at some point might head north.  The other looks to be heading towards the Yucatan.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/22/16 Report- Kangxi Seal and Treasure Coast Shard. Shirley Temple's Blue Diamond.

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

Shirley Temple Blue Diamond Auctioned
Source: CNN

(CNN)Got a spare $35 million? This blue diamond ring owned by a bouncy, curly-haired child star could be yours.

Sotheby's is auctioning the 9.54-carat ring it says belonged to Shirley Temple, the movie star-turned-diplomat who appeared in films such as "Bright Eyes" and "Curly Top."

The cushion-cut stone was a gift from her father in 1940, Sotheby's said in a statement. At the time, she was 12 and her movie, "The Blue Bird," had just premiered...

For the rest of the article 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/20/entertainment/shirley-temple-ring-auction-sothebys/

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Kangxi pot shards are sometimes found on the Treasure Coast beaches. I've shown some examples in this blog in the past.  I've also shown the mark that identifies such porcelain.  That was not too long ago.

You can see a piece found on a Treasure Coast beach by going to the following linked post.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/search?q=kang+hsi

Here is a picture of that piece.

Sample Kang'Hsi Shard That Was Found on the Treasure Coast.

The spelling varies.  Sometimes you will see it as Kang'hsi

Kangxi (4 May 1654 – 20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Shanhai Pass near Beijing, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China from 1661 to 1722 (Wikipedia)

Sotheby's will be auctioning the Kangxi seal shown below.

Bearing the inscription “Revere Heaven and Serve thy People”, the Seal of the Mandate of Heaven is the largest and most powerful ever carved for the Kangxi Emperor, the greatest and longest reigning monarch of China. The Mandate of Heaven is the philosophical tenet that Heaven granted emperors the right to rule based on their ability to govern and their righteousness and was used throughout the history of China to validate and legitimize the rule of the emperors. During Kangxi’s reign, the seal was at all times kept in the Palace of Ultimate Purity, where emperors entertained and a major venue for their policymaking...

Here is the link to the Sothebys video about the seal.

http://www.sothebys.com/content/sothebys/en/news-video/videos/2016/03/kangxi-history-power.html

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On the Treasure Coast we had a north wind this morning that shifted to east later, but only a two to four foot surf.  I hope to get out to take a look some day soon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/23/16 Report - Various Beach Shards. Frozen Gold TV Program.

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

Variety of Beach Sherds.

Yesterday I showed some pottery.  I thought I'd follow up on that today.

Glass and pottery can be one of your first hints of a land site.  They can be very plentiful on the surface.

On a beach, there are times when they might be found, but most often you won't see any shards.

The picture above shows a wide variety of beach pieces.

The three big orange ones could be from olive jars or something similar.

It is easy to confuse more modern pieces with older pieces.  You can learn to tell the difference though.

Modern pieces are often extruded.  If you carefully inspect them, you can see how they were extruded.  They look different than pieces that were wheel thrown.  For one thing, they won't show the marks of the potter's hands or fingers.  The surface might be more perfect, the clay more consistent and the surface more heavily glazed.

If you want to learn to tell the difference, study modern items such as drain pipes, roofing tiles, etc.

The top left piece in the picture above shows some fairly large inclusions.  The other two pieces of similar color show some encrustation or other signs of sea life having been attached.

The one at bottom left corner, shows the ridges typical of wheel thrown pottery.

The two light colored pieces are actually more beige than they appear in the picture.

The lower of the two is a bottom piece and is very chalky and worn but shows only a touch of remaining glaze.

Directly below that is a small red/orange bottom piece.  The glaze, which is darker, remains only in the more protected corners.

There are both Spanish and Native American pieces in that group.

The blackened beige piece second from the right side in the bottom row is incised.

Kang Hsi Porcelain

Kang Hsi porcelain was transported on 1715 Fleet ships and has been found on Treasure Coast shipwreck beaches.

At left is a small piece of Kang Hsi porcelain. Note how white it is, how thin it is and how the blue is sinks into the top layer.   That is typical.

It isn't difficult to distinguish Kang Hsi from the more common types of blue on white pottery that you will often see.

I've talked about how to identify Kang Hsi and other porcelain before.

Seal Mark Of The Kang Hsi Dynasty

If you are lucky enough to see a marked piece, the mark shown to the left woul indicate the Kang Hsi dynasty.





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Here is another TV show you might like - Curse of the Frozen Gold.   You can also watch it online.

http://www.history.ca/curse-of-the-frozen-gold/

Thanks to Dean R. for the link.

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The surf will be decreasing a little.  Expect another day of south wind on the Treasure Coast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net