7/5/19 Report - Other Kinds of Treasures You Might See On Florida Beaches. The Official Florida Stone and Arrowheads. First Find of Dinosaur Eggs.

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

Arrowhead Found on Treasure Coast Beach.

I recently posted a broken spear point that was found on a Treasure Coast beach and decided to post some more Native American artifact finds.

The above arrowhead was found in a shell pile on a Treasure Coast beach.  I was told that it looked like it was made of agatized coral, which is Florida's state stone.

Agatized Coral specimens are collected and are sometimes sold for nice prices.  Here is a web site where you can see some specimens and learn more about agatized coral.

https://www.spiritrockshop.com/Agatized_Coral.html

The site says, In 1979 the Florida Legislature designated agatized coral as the Florida State Stone.
It is described in the statute as “a chalcedony pseudo morph after coral, appearing as limestone geodes lined with botryoidal agate or quartz crystals and drusy quartz fingers, indigenous to Florida.”

Continuing, Much of Florida’s natural foundation is composed of soft, highly-fossiliferous limestones intermixed with sand and clay. This is known as the Early Miocene Tampa Formation. There are several distinct exposures of this formation which produced silicified corals and mollusks; the best known of these is Ballast Point on Tampa Bay in Hillsborough County. Six Mile Creek on a nearby Tampa Bay exposure of the same formation produced only calcareous specimens.

Wondering if the arrowhead might really be agatized coral, I took a closer look.  Here is what I saw.

Magnified Surface of Arrowhead.

Despite my overwhelming ignorance of geology and such things, it looks like it could be coral to me.

The image was enhanced somewhat to show the markings.

Below is an interesting translucent arrowhead that I found online somewhere.

The one I posted at the top of the post is not translucent.

I've talked to a few tourists that have found arrowheads on Treasure Coast beaches.  I remember, for example, one lady that came up to me near the Disney Resort and showed one she found.

Here are a few more arrowhead finds.

Three Arrowheads.

Arrowheads are not really rare finds on the Treasure Coast beaches, but they seem to be found more by shell collectors than detectorists.

If you know about Native American artifacts, you might be able to provide additional information on the ones I showed today.

I talked about Native American artifacts made of metal in previous posts,  but most of those found on the Treasure Coast are made of stone, shell or other materials, and are not sought or often found by metal detectorists.

As you know, I often recommend keeping your eyes open for other types of items while you metal detect.  There are many different kinds of treasure that you can find on Florida beaches and you never know what you might see.

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Riley Black, from Smithsonian Magazine, points out that the first naturalist to discover and describe dinosaur eggshells was, in fact, the Roman Catholic priest Jean-Jacques Pouech. Father Pouech was the head of Pamiers Seminary in southern France, but in his free time he explored the geology and paleontology of the Late Cretaceous rock preserved in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.  That was in 1859.

Here is how he described his find.  The most remarkable are eggshell fragments of very great dimensions. At first, I thought that they could be integumentary plates of reptiles, but their constant thickness between two perfectly parallel surfaces, their fibrous structure, normal to the surfaces, and especially their regular curvature, definitely suggest that they are enormous eggshells, at least four times the volume of ostrich eggs.

Here is the link to learn more about that.

https://aleteia.org/2019/06/29/how-a-catholic-priest-was-the-first-to-discover-dinosaur-eggs/\

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Its amazing how people can see things so differently.  If you are a five year old, you might have seen the Macy's fireworks last night as little more than a bunch of sparkling lights and noise.  If you are an environmentalist, you might have noticed all the smoke and pollution.  If you are a left winger, you might have thought of the waste of such an extravagant display put on by a capitalist organization to increase profits at the expense of the poor against the backdrop of city built on the backs of immigrants. If you are on the other side politically, you might have seen a celebration of the country and opportunity and success. You might have thought about the invention of gun powder and the millions killed, or the evolution of rocketry and going to the moon.  A person could easily write hundreds of pages about the events, history and conflicting views represented in that single fireworks display.  Rather than responding emotionally to the first things that you hear of that catch your attention, if put it all together, add a large dose of facts and sift through it all, you'll end up with a more realistic, pleasing and well-balanced view of the world.  That's my opinion.

I hope you enjoyed Independence Day and gave some thought to it

We should be seeing some more treasure salvage finds before long.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/28/18 Report - Native American Artifacts From Treasure Coast Beaches. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

Artifacts Found On Treasure Coast Beaches.

A few days ago I wrote about what I called a "complete beach hunter."  I explained what I meant by that three-word term and how it means going beyond being just a detectorist.  It includes being aware of and finding all kinds of beach treasures - not just metallic.

Above is an example of one nonmetallic type of beach treasure that can be found on the Treasure Coast beaches.  On the left is a shell celt.  In the middle is an arrowhead made of agatized coral.  And on the right is a rounded shell object, and below that is a gaming piece.  All of those have been examined by experts.

Here is what the myflorida.com site says about agatized coral.

Coral is the outside skeleton of tiny ocean animals called polyps, which live in colonies attached to hard underwater surfaces. When alive, polyps combine their own carbon dioxide with the lime in warm seawater to form a limestone-like hard surface, or coral.

Agatized coral occurs when silica in the ocean water hardens, replacing the limy corals with a form of quartz known as chalcedony. This long process (20-30 million years) results in the formation of a "pseudomorph," meaning that one mineral has replaced another without having lost its original form. In 1979 agatized coral was designated the official state stone.

Agatized coral is found in three main Florida locations: Tampa Bay, the Econfina River, and the Withlacoochee/Suwannee river beds.

(See https://dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-stone/)

So the agatized coral arrowhead or the stone that was used to make it came from somewhere other than the Treasure Coast even though the arrowhead was found on a Treasure Coast beach.

Small Discoidal Artifact.

You'll find a lot of written about discoidals (disc-shaped gaming pieces).  The one shown above is deeply concave on both sides.  It is my uninformed opinion that the one shown above is too small to have been used in the game that is described below.

Many surviving discoidals are both beautiful and durable. Quartz and granite were often used in the making of these popular game stones. Both materials are extremely hard, and they had to be. Discoidals were continuously used in sporting contests over generations, so they had to be durable. A very few discoidals are made from colorful flint. Discoidals are very popular today with collectors because they come in many styles and colorful materials. Many are so finely made that today they are seen as works of sculptural art...

Here is the link for more about discoidals.

http://www.arrowheads.com/index.php/discoidals/632-mississippi-discoidals-ancient-sports-collectibles

I've seen other people find arrowheads on the beach.  One day after some good erosion a lady staying at the Disney Resort in Wabasso approached me and showed me one she found.

The first one I found was on a South Hutchinson Island beach.

These types of artifacts aren't found often but you can find them.  Like other types of treasure they appear once in a while - mostly after a rough surf that has piled up larger shells.

You can develop eye-balling skill just like you can develop metal detecting skills.

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The big news for today is the big surf predictions.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

This chart shows a five to nine foot surf on Sunday, then several days of big surf.  That could bet interesting.  At some time during all of that, the angles should be right.  There is not telling how long the angles will be right though.  It could be too quick for anything good to come of it.  We'll have to wait and see how things develop.

Kirk has been hard to call.  He was stronger then weaker and then stronger again, and he turned north, then south, then north again.  It appears he has turned towards the north again.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/10/15 Report - Artifacts Found On Treasure Coast Beaches In The Past. Baby Dinosaur. Tropical Storm Kate.

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

Items Found On Treasure Coast Beach With Sea Shells.

Here are some artifacts found on Treasure Coast beaches.  They were found when shell piles appeared on the beach.  Things like this will appear all along the Treasure Coast.

There have been a few times when I was detecting and a someone came up to me and asked me about an arrow head they just found.  You don't have to be looking for them, but they are occasionally out there to be found.

If you keep your eyes open while you detect you might see something like these.

I forgot to put a coin or something for size comparison in the photo, but it isn't really needed because the round shell piece on the bottom right is the same size as a U. S. quarter.

The item on the left is a large piece of a shell.  It is quite thick.  I'll show the other side below.

The arrow head is made of agatized coral.

Agatized coral is the state stone of Florida.

http://dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-stone/

I'm not sure of the material of the quarter-size round shell.  It might not be a finished object.  Or it might be a discoidal.  I don't know.

The round object at the upper right of the photo is a discoidal and is very concave on both sides.  I'm not sure what it is made of.

Discoidals vary in size and shape.  I find it hard to believe they were all used the same way.  The common interpretation is that they were used in games.

Authentic Head Knocker In Very Exceptional Condition.

This head knocker is owned by an avid enthusiast and expert from up north.  It is from the Mid-West. It is in very excellent condition.  You'll never find one of those on the beach.

That is just a reminder today.

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The fossil of a baby pentaceratop was discovered in the New Mexico desert and it is currently the only one on the planet. After years of excavations, the researchers were finally able to move the fossil to Albuquerque with the help of the National Guard, which employed a Blackhawk helicopter to airlift the precious finding...

Here is the link for that story and the video.

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/10/31/incredibly-rare-70-million-year-old-baby-dinosaur-fossil-gets-ai/21256953/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D861867879

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Tripical Storm Kate is out by the Bahamas.  It is predicted to go out into the Atlantic.

Expect about a 2 -4 foot surf today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/9/13 Report - Agatized Coral The State Stone & Wood for Ships & First(?) Metal Detector

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

Florida Agatized Coral
Source of photo link below.

What very famous inventor invented a metal detector and was called to locate a bullet used to shoot a US president?   I'll give you the answer below.

While I'm asking questions, here is another.   How many oak trees were required to build Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory?  You'll find that answer below too.

Its a damp rainy day on the Treasure Coast.  The surf today is to be a little bigger - up around six feet.  The surf will decrease some tomorrow.

The wind and waves seem to be coming from the southeast today.  It is warming up a bit.

Yesterday I showed a close-up photo of an arrowhead that was once found by a lady looking for shells on a Treasure Coast beach.  William M., who knows a lot about things like that, added the following comments.

The white coloration on the agatized coral point is a calcium patina...if you want to see the beautiful material below it..you can soak it in mineral oil for a day or two...this makes the patina clear temperately. It won't harm the artifact.

Thanks William.

That brings up another question.  What is the state stone of Florida?  Yes, we have one.

It is agatized coral.   The Florida Dept. of Historical Resources web site tells about that.

Here is the link.

http://www.flheritage.com/facts/symbols/symbol.cfm?id=16

The coral was fossilized when silica from the ocean water replaced the lime corals with a form of quartz over a period of 20 or 30 million years.  Three locations where agatized coral is found is Tampa Bay, the Econfina River and the Withlacoochee/Suwannee rivers.

That means that the coral for the arrowhead found on the East Coast was most likely obtained on the West Coast of Florida.

You might also want to look at samples of minerals found in Florida, including chert, agatized coral and others.  Here is a link.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/geology/geologictopics/rocks/florida_rocks.htm#minerals of Flor


A book that I am reading, At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson, says it took about 3000 oak trees to build the Victory.

And in the same book I learned, that Alexander Graham Bell, who sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of H. A. Largelamb, invented a metal detector and was called to locate the bullet that shot James A. Garfield in 1881.  The detector, which worked well in the laboratory, the book says, gave confused results at Garfields, picking up the bed springs.  Apparently the bullet was still in the president.  Of course it would be difficult to find a bullet in a hospital room, let alone in a body in a hospital bed.

I'm not totally sure that all of the details provided by the book are correct, but I assume that there is some truth to it.

There is a knack to using a modern detector near metal objects such as fences, beach chairs, and concrete walk ways with rebar, etc.  I've discussed some of the problems and solutions for doing that in the past.

I should make a video on that some day.

It is really pouring rain now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net