8/24/19 Report - Two Weather Systems to Watch. Changing Times and Changing Finds.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

The National Hurricane Center map is becoming more active in our part of the world.  

The area of low pressure over Florida has a 70%  chance of becoming a cyclone.  It is predicted to move north and out into the Atlantic.  I'd say there is not much chance that it will affect us very much.

The other system is heading west/northwest, but I don't think it will affect us much either, but there is still a lot of time for it to change.

Still, it is that time of year and I'll be watching for something that might improve beach detecting conditions.

The Treasure Coast surf is supposed to be up to three feet today but nothing higher than two feet for the next week or so.

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How things have changed!  And it didn't take long.

I came across some photos of a something you'll probably never see again.  It was a circus parade that came down main street when I was young..

I remember going out to the field where they were going to set up and watching the elephants being used to put up the poles to hold the big tent.

That doesn't happen any more.  It is something children today will never see again.

Its amazing how much has changed in my lifetime, and even during the years that I've been detecting.

There was a time when you'd find a lot of the ring type pull tabs.  Now they aren't too common.

Its amazing really.

I remember when we first got a TV and there was only on program, which came on in the evening for one hour.  Friends of the family would come over to watch it.

Gold and jewelry fashions have changed too.  Now you get a lot of rings made of materials like tungsten or stainless steel, which I didn't find twenty years ago.

Even gold changed.  Recently there was a lot more white gold.  It seems that yellow gold is coming back now.

Of course the internet changed a lot of things.  I think the metal detecting community is generally much more informed now.  And it is a great research tool.

I found tons of hotel keys in the past.  They are not nearly as common today.  Many hotels are now using the magnetic cards.

I also used to find a lot of arcade or game room tokens - also transportation tokens ie bus, turnpike, and other types of tokens.

Circus Token Dug on Florida Beach.

Here is a very nice pdf on the history of early gaming tokens.

http://www.ccgtcc-ccn.com/tokens.pdf

Silver modern coins were more common finds too.

I also used to get a lot more of the WW II shells than I have in recent years.

Also soda bottle caps used to litter some beaches.  We still have bottle tops to contend with, but not so much from soda bottles.

The same for glass soda bottles, which are now mostly plastic.

And one thing I found recently that I never found way back when is a smart phone.  I did find a few beepers back some years ago, if you remember those now.

All of the older things can still be found today if you find a good site or we get some improvement in beach conditions.

I'm sure I could think of some more changes in the last thirty or so years of metal detecting.  Maybe you can add some to my list.


That one system has a chance of developing in a few days.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/30/18 Report - Pillars and Waves Example. Native American Fort. 400-Year-Old Clan Artifact. System Coming Off Africa.

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

Reproduction Eight Reale After Cleaning.

Other Side of the Same Coin.

Not long ago I posted what appears to be a reproduction escudo with the plating corroded off.  I thought I might have one just like it, so went looking for that one.  I didn't find it, but located the one shown above, which I dug up some years ago.  If I correctly recall, it was found near Jensen Beach.

Anyhow, I cleaned off much of the encrustation.  It was heavily encrusted when found.  It is fairly heavy - 22.2 grams.  Not too far off the real thing.

As you can see the Pillars and Waves side still has some plating on it, but some has come off, revealing the copper underneath.

The other side is still encrusted, and the cross can barely be seen.

This one is particularly chunky and although it gave some excitement as it came out of the sand, it really isn't very realistic when you see it cleaned.

Even where the plating is still intact, it looks strange.  When new, it would still have been an obvious fake.

The Pillars and Waves side doesn't look like a genuine silver cob at all.  A genuine old silver coin that has spent time in salt water will be grey to black.

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... Not only did experts recently find the remains of the 17th century fort, they discovered some artifacts including arrow and spear tips that date back an estimated 3,000 years, indicating Native Americans were active at the site for generations. No evidence of human remains has been found...
He said it appears the Norwalk Indians, a tribe that historians know little about, had a fort at the site from about 1615 to 1640 and used it to trade goods with early Dutch settlers. The site is on a small sliver of land next to railroad tracks that carry Amtrak and Metro-North commuter trains. A 19th century history of Norwalk mentions an old Native American fort, and a road near the site is still named Fort Point Street.

The site was found during preliminary archaeological surveys ordered as part of the state's upcoming replacement of the 122-year-old Walk Bridge, which spans the Norwalk River and swings open to allow boats to pass. The bridge has gotten stuck in the open position several times and caused massive rail service delays. Construction is set to begin next year...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/native-american-fort-connecticut-1.20709914

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A 400-year-old clan artifact was uncovered near ruins in Scotland.

Artifact Discovered Near Ancient Ruins.
Source: HeraldScotland.com link below.

Site Where Artifact Discvoered.
Source: HeraldScotland.com link below.

Here is the link if you want to read about that.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16601818.ancient-clan-artefact-uncovered-after-being-hidden-for-400-years/

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It has been a very quiet summer.  There have been no storms of any effect.

There is now one developing, but it is just coming off of Africa, and it will be a while before we know what it is going to do.  If it does eventually come our way it will take several days.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

In the mean time...

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/22/18 Report - Singing in the Rain. San Jose Shipwreck. Tropical or Subtropical System Development Possible.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

As I recently mentioned, it is the time of year to start watching for tropical storm development.  Here is what is causing our rain and will possibly cause tropical development.

Special Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
745 AM EDT Tue May 22 2018

For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

1. A broad surface low centered just east of Belize is producing a
large area of cloudiness and showers extending from the northwestern
Caribbean Sea across Cuba into the Florida peninsula.  While strong
upper-level winds and dry air aloft are expected to limit
organization during the next couple of days, some gradual
subtropical or tropical development is possible late this week while
the system moves slowly northward into the central or eastern Gulf
of Mexico. Regardless of development, locally heavy rainfall is
possible across western Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and much of
Florida during the next several days.  For more information on the
heavy rain threat, please see products issued by your local weather
office. The next Special Tropical Weather Outlook on this system
will be issued by 800 PM EDT.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...medium...40 percent.

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Source: See FoxNews link below.

And here is a new article on not so new news.

An autonomous vehicle was used in 2015 to locate a Spanish galleon that sunk 300 years ago off the coast of Colombia with $17 billion in treasure, the research team that helped in the discovery said on Monday.

The San Jose, which was considered the “holy grail of shipwrecks,” was located with the help of an underwater autonomous vehicle operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The institution said it was holding the discovery under wraps out of respect for the Colombian government...

Here is the link.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/05/22/autonomous-vehicle-helped-locate-holy-grail-shipwrecks-off-colombia.html

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I don't know if the rain prevents you from detecting or not.  Rain can be a pain if you don't have waterproof gear, but for the treasure hunter, rain can be a good thing.

Rain causes erosion.  It can erode the dunes.  You might also find erosion to some inland sites.  Take a look to see what might be uncovered by runoff.  In areas with good history where you might not even be allowed to detect, you might be able to find uncovered artifacts in ditches or gullies.  And, of course, you might be able to detect things in the soaked ground that you might have missed before.

One thing I always liked about rainy days is the quiet beaches.  I like detecting in the rain.

One of my most memorable sights was when I was detecting in a dead calm ocean in a downpour.  That was an surreal sight.  I couldn't see but a few feet out.  It was eerily quiet.

Its not too late to take advantage of the rainy days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

PS: If you have a roof leak, try Flex Seal spray.  It is easier to apply than roof tar, but you can't spray it through puddles, so you need to get rid of any puddles first.

Rustoleum and other companies have similar products that might be a bit cheaper. 

You can probably find metal detecting related applications too.

9/9/17 Reportt - Saturday PM Update Added - Irma Trending Towards The West Coast of Florida. An App or Two That Will Help You Get To The Beach.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

As you might be able to tell from the NHC track above, as of yesterday afternoon, the track moved more to the west.  coming in closer to Naples than Miami, and expected to proceed up through the state closer to Tampa than Canaveral.  If that is what actually happens, the Treasure Coast won't get the kind of damage that it would if the track stayed more east.

Now they are concerned about the storm surge that might occur on the Florida west coast.

Our surf predictions have decreased too.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Yesterday they had something like a 22 foot preicted surf, now the biggest is 14 feet.  That is still to occur late Sunday.

Fourteen feet is still a lot more than the two or three feet that we have been getting most of the summer.

If the current MagicSeaWeed predictions are correct, we're not going to get the north winds either now.  Instead they will be east/northeast but mostly east.  That means that not only will the water not be as high into the dunes, but we'll probably get less erosion.  I'm not saying we won't get any.  We almost certainly will get some at various locations.  And it doesn't always take cuts to produce cobs.

After the storm and the east winds pass, we'll quickly be back to south winds - again if the predictions are correct.  That would mean that the beaches would start to refill again.

All of that, of course, is based upon what they think Irma is going to do, which might or might not be correct.  We'll see.

I've heard some say that we won't have much damage to buildings. I wouldn't mind that.  They are saying it will be more of a tree thing.  I won't mind less property damage.  Maybe - just maybe - the damage will be light enough that the beaches won't be closed.  Again, we'll see.

The predicted track could change again, but I don't think it will change much.  The models are agreeing more and the changes seem to be less frequent and drastic.

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In following Irma I found some good web sites and mentioned them.  Some I posted.

One very interesting thing I found is a traffic app.  Go to googlemaps.com.  From the menu select the "traffic" option.  You will then see a map showing how heavy traffic is on the roads.  That is useful.
One day the Turnpike was jammed and traffic at a crawl or less at a lot of locations. You could take a look at the web site and choose another route if you found one that was moving better.

I saw there was a slow down at a corner near my house, so I went out and looked down the road to see it.  At the time I didn't know how it was done, but I did see the slow moving cars represented by a red line on the map.

You might wonder how google can show the traffic flow for roads all over the state and country.  The answer is they can track people with Android phones and how fast or slow they are moving, and of course they can tell where they are.  That is pretty amazing, but you might not want to think you are being tracked like that.  You don't have to because you can turn off the location data from your phone.

Check it out.  I found it to be a very useful web site.

Before you can do any metal detecting, you have to get there.  You might also like Gas Buddy, which will tell you where they have gas and the price.

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I received some nice emails from some of the fine and thoughtful people that read this blog.

Thanks to all.

Janine K. sent the following message.

Thinking of all you Floridians and sending thoughts for a safe outcome for all. 

Thanks Janine!

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Saturday 5 PM Update.

Beach erosion has begun on Fort Pierce beach but the bridges are closed - residents and business owners are among those permitted on the island.

The wind and surf is increasing - mostly from an easterly direction.



Be safe,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net