10/19/16 Report - T. C. Beach Conditions Rating Is 2. Sedwick Auction Online. Kang-Hsi From Bees Wax Wreck.

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

John Brooks Beach Yesterday Near Low Tide 

Yesterday I mentioned the bigger surf and higher tides.  I raised my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Rating to a 2.  I had dropped it to a 1 for a couple of days.

Eroded Dunes Yesterday Afternoon.

Although there isn't much in the way of cuts and most beach fronts on the Treasure Coast are mushy. as you can see in the picture above, the high water got to the dunes and caused some erosion there. That is part of the reason that I increased my beach conditions rating to a 2 again.

The surf is supposed to be higher today so it should be hitting the dunes at various places around the Treasure Coast again.

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The Sedwick Coins auction number 20 is now available online.

Here is the link.

http://www.sedwickcoins.com/ta20/catalog.htm

In that auction are five nice balance scales.  You might remember the silver mystery item that I've posted a few times, including the following picture posted in my 9/26/16 post. Although I think it could be a scale weight, I'm not totally sure.  The shape is odd and it is not shaped well for stacking.

One of the scales in the auction is the one pictured below.

Scale listed in the Sedwick Coins Auction # 20

The weights in this set are for gold coins of various denominations, such as "ten dollars, "twenty dollars," etc.  There would be no need for stacking these weights, so one more doubt about my mystery item being a scale weight has been removed. at least in my mind.

If it is a weight for a coin scale, I need to identify coins that weigh ten grams like the mystery item. If I can do that, I'd be pretty confident that it is a coin scale weight,

Internet auction catalogs are excellent research resources.  They provide more fine examples and easier access to certain types of information than most museums.

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You've probably heard of the Bees Wax Wreck.  It is in California, not anywhere near the Treasure Coast.

The other day I talked a little about Kang-hsi porcelain, which originated in China but was found on 1715 Fleet wreck sites.

There is an excellent web site for the Bees Wax Wreck, which shows among other things, a fascinating picture of what appears to be Kang-hsi porcelain shards that were turned into arrow heads by the native populations after the wreck, as shown below.

Shards Turned Into Arrow Heads.
Source: web site listed immediately below.

Here is the link to that excellent web site.

http://www.nagagroup.org/BeesWax/gallery/gallery.htm

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/18/16 Report - Civil War Ordnance Uncovered by Matthew. Kang-hsi Of Manila Galleons. TCBDCR= 2.

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

Pot Shards From Manila Galleon
Source: Xinhualin link below.

The first thing I want to mention today is the big tides that will be combined with a 4 - 6 foot surf today and an even bigger surf tomorrow.  Unfortunately the winds will hit straight on, but there could be enough water action to help, especially tomorrow.

High water can result in a few scattered cobs on the beach even if there are not much of any cuts. However, you can almost always find some erosion if you look around enough after high water, especially around rocks and other natural or man made obstacles.

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4PM update: I was out this afternoon and as a result am giving a Treasure Coast a beach detecting conditions rating of a 2.

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Hurricane Matthew uncovered Civil War ordnance in South Carolina,  One corroded clump of grenades was exploded.

Trae R. sent the following link.

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/great-white-nursery-discovered-off-new-york-old-civil-war-ammo-on-south-carolina-beach-ocean-oddities-east-coa_142415/

Here is another link about the same thing.

http://www.livescience.com/56458-hurricane-matthew-uncovers-civil-war-cannonballs.html

That reminds me of the grapeshot I found in the Carribbean, but left there because to take it on the plane could have meant hefty fines or other troubles.

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Mexican archaeologists have uncovered thousands of fragments of a 400-year-old shipment of Chinese "export-quality porcelain" that was long buried in the Pacific Coast port of Acapulco.

The shipment of rice bowls, cups, plates and platters dates from the reign of the Ming Dynasty's 13th emperor, Wanli (1572-1620), and is believed to have arrived in Acapulco aboard the China Galleon, which regularly sailed between Asia and the New World...

Evidence even shows that starting in 1565, the return trips to Mexico were manned by Chinese crews, said Fonseca.

Here is the link.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-10/17/c_135761246.htm

I've talked a good bit in the past about Kang-hsi porcelain, which is sometimes found on 1715 Fleet beaches.  I've posted pictures of shards in the past and even provided information on how to identify Kang-hsi (See photo above.).  My 3/29/13 post is one that talks a little about Kang-hsi porcelain.

Obviously not all blue on white shards are Kang-hsi.  There was other pottery shipped in the Manila galleons that was not as fine as the Kang-hsi.  Lower quality pots were used for storage.

You can learn to easily distinguish between lower quality pottery and Kang-hsi.

Here is a link to a great but brief overview of the archaeology of the Manila galleons.

http://www.themua.org/collections/files/original/61b274c68e00272c5e50f0af53f5b140.pdf

That is all for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net