2/3/19 Report - Wrapping Up January 2019 on the Treasure Coast: Finds and General Conclusions.

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

I'm glad my beach rating was as accurate as it was.  It appears that only a level three rating was warranted though.  Since I was sick and didn't get to actually inspect more than couple beaches for myself, I'm satisfied with my prediction and rating, which was based primarily on my observation of the weather and the condition of the beach I did get to inspect.  Some treasure coins were found, but not a lot.  Of course, I do not always hear about all those that are found.  Not everybody reports their finds.

When I issue a beach conditions rating, it is for the Treasure Coast in general - not any particular beach.  That means that you can go out and not find anything like what I was talking about if you just look at a few spots.  People reported cuts from Juno to Melborne, even though most beaches were not producing treasure coins.

I don't tell you exactly which beach or beaches you need to visit. There are a lot of very good reasons for that.  I can't even explain all the reasons why that would be a very bad idea.  I think you can come up with some of them if you think about it yourself.

First of all I don't know about all the beaches.  The Treasure Coast is about a hundred miles long.  Even when I'm well I can only check a few of them myself.

Imagine that you have been putting in some long hard beach time to find something good and you finally have some success.  Then the Treasure Guide tells everybody to go to that spot, and hundreds of people swarm to your spot.   That wouldn't be very nice would it.   You'd be certain from that point on to never tell anybody anything again - certainly not the TreasureGuide - and that ends all of those nice beach reports that you like to read.

Like I said, I can't give you all of the good reasons, but here is another.  It takes the hunt out of treasure hunt.  I know some of you just want to find your first, but you'll appreciate it much more and learn much more from it if it isn't handed to you on a silver platter.

One big TV expert used to complain about my ratings being too this or that.  I was surprised that such a big expert would even need my ratings - or maybe would issue his own.

Here is another reason.  When there is one good spot, there is likely more than one good spot, and there are times when it can really pay off to take the path less traveled.

I've never been one to follow the other guy.  I'm an oldest child, and tagging along never appealed to me.  If I see a bunch of guys going one direction, I'm much more likely to go other direction.

My specialty for a long time was finding those places that seemed to be overlooked by almost everybody else, yet produced very well.  There are those kinds of places on the Treasure Coast too.

Years ago I did a poll in this blog asking people where they had found cobs in the last five years.  Here are the results of that poll.

Didn't find any.	54 (72%)
Cocoa/Mellborne	3 (4%)
Bonsteel	0 (0%)
Sebastian Inlet to Ambersands	0 (0%)
Golden Sands/ Treasure Shores	0 (0%)
Wabasso	2 (2%)
Seagrape/Turtle Trail	4 (5%)
Between Turtle Trail and Rio Mar	1 (1%)
Rio Mar	0 (0%)
John Brooks/Frederick Douglass	3 (4%)
Jupiter	2 (2%)
Other Florida	3 (4%)
Not in Florida	7 (9%)

As you can see, there are six different Treasure Coast areas listed where people had found cobs during that time period. Some of them include more than one beach.  I know that cobs have been found at some of those other locations over the years since then.

The point of that is that the Treasure Coast includes a lot of areas, many of which will produce when conditions are right.  Some produce more often, and some have been producing more in recent years while others have not, but much of the Treasure Coast has produced some very good finds at one time or another.

I was thinking last night where I had found Spanish Colonial cobs or other identified Spanish Colonial artifacts over the years.  According to my best recollection, I came up with 18 different beaches, which ranged from a Caribbean Island, to the Florida Keys, South Florida, the Treasure Coast, and the Florida Panhandle.  At most of those locations I found only one or two.  The majority came from just a few beaches, but that is partly because I spent a good amount of time at those beaches.

You have to remember that there are some beaches that are not visited often by metal detectorists that have and will produced some remarkable finds when the time is right. 

The vast majority of my cobs came from one beach, but there is one other beach that is a not too distant runner-up.

The vast majority of my precious metals artifacts came from another beach.

And the vast majority of military artifacts (buttons, musket balls, etc.) came from another.

What I want you to know is that there is still a lot to be found, and they won't all come from the same one or two areas.

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Bruce B. wrote and identified himself in a photo that I posed the other day.   He also said,

I left John Brooks and turned into Middle Cove when I saw no other cars there. I was able to dig a bunch of coins many of which were dated from the 70's and 80's so I didn't go home completely skunked. At John Brooks I got one penny and some aluminum and I was there about 4 hours.

Thanks Bruce.  

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Sebastian Steve came through surgery well and now has two new stents.

Thanks for your prayers.

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I'm expecting to receive some more find photos.

It looks like this week we'll have a two to four foot surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/31/19 Report - Detectorists Thoroughly Cover South Hutchinson Island Wreck Beaches Today Without Much Luck.

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

First the important business: Sebastian Steve has some health issues and can use your prayers.

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John Brooks Beach Wednesday.

Photo by Joe K.

I received these two photos from Joe K., who has been reading this blog regularly, but this is his first attempt at sharing photos.  He wondered how they came out.  My answer is excellent  They are better than the ones I posted.  He also provided the necessary info such as where and when.  It seems they were taken a little before the ones that I posted yesterday.  You can compare these with those and see what happened in a short amount of time.

There is a lot to look at in those two photos.  The bottom one is very dramatic.  

John Brooks Beach Wednesday.

Photo by Joe K.

And here is another photo from Wednesday.  It is of Pepper Park, and was submitted by Dale J., who has contributed several photos lately.

Pepper Park Wednesday.

Photo by Dale J.

That illustrates how different beaches vary.  Pepper is not nearly as cut as John Brooks.

Thanks much guys!


John Brooks beach was very thoroughly detected on Thursday, starting in the early morning hours.

John Brooks Early Thursday Morning.

Photo by Joe D.

Joe D. arrived at John Brooks this morning before sunrise and was soon joined by two other detectorists.

That beach already looks like it has deteriorated since yesterday.   Looks like I was overly optimistic about the level=-four beach conditions rating I issued yesterday.

Near 10AM Joe  sent me this message:  Only a penny so far, zero trash! Cleanest beach around, im sure! Used my silver wedding ring to test a few times just to make sure it was not me or detector error!! Six others besides me by 9:30! Interesting to watch the different equipment and techniques used, but not much digging by anyone!

John Brooks A Little Later.

Photo by Joe D.

I heard that twelve or fourteen detectors could be seen at John Brooks and Frederick Douglas once today.

At the end of the day Joe reported a few pieces of aluminum that were buried 4 to 9 inches deep.  He was using an AT Pro with a 8.5x11 DD coil.

I didn't get an reports from Vero and north today, so I don't know what was going on up there.

   ---

I don't know of anymore finds being made today on the Treasure Coast.  I haven't yet received the photos of the finds made earlier, and some people wait a while before reporting.

I any case, at this point I think I should have gone no higher than a level-3 beach conditions rating.  That is the way it seems now.  We'll have to wait to get a better idea of what all was found.

It looks like we'll have a two to four foot surf for the next several days.  At this time I'm not expecting any further improvement.

Thanks to everybody for all the reports.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/14/17 Report - Treasure Coast Beaches. Gold Splash Find from Space Coast? Jose Still To Make Waves.

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

South Hutchinson Island Wednesday Morning

 This cut was about four feet high.  You can see where the dunes eroded.  You can also see how the shells were piled up.

Beach Tuesday Morning.

You can also see that the convex front beach.  It appears that the beach filled again after the cutting.
There was also a small dip and bar in front of that.

Yesterday Morning on South Hutchinson Island A Little After Low Tide.

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If you thought that was a lot of musket balls that Jonah and the guys found (See yesterday's post.), that was only about half of it.  There was another picture, that didn't load for me.

Maybe he'll resend the one that I didn't get loaded.

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Overall I'd only give a Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Rating of about a 2 right now.  I only got a chance to check out one beach for myself so I feel very uncertain about my rating.   If the other beaches are better, maybe it should be a 3 rating.

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There are a lot of places around the state that might actually be better hunting right now, from Miami to Naples to Jacksonville.  I think I mentioned one wreck that was uncovered farther up the East Coast.

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Dan C. found what appears to be a small gold splash.  Here is the photo.

What Appears To Be A Small Gold Splash.
Photo and find by Dan C.

Here is what Dan had to say.

I wanted to share a unusual find from a "space coast beach"  ...

Today I found 3 rings and a strange nugget of what turned out to be gold.

At first I thought it was a molten droplet of brass, but there was no tarnish.

It was found at the surf line today. Later at home, I tested it as between 14 to 18K gold.

(using a standard gold test kit)

I say between 14 to 18 because 14 K gave no reaction on the test stone rubbing, and 18K produced a mild reaction dissolving VERY slowly) I tried covering the whole thing in acid, and 14K acid gave a light smoke, no discoloration other than perhaps making it look even more gold. 10K acid gave no reaction at all.

I have seen the nugget collection at the Smithsonian, and it doesn't look like any nugget there.

It appears to be a drop of molten gold that solidified suddenly when it hit water.

What on earth could it be ?   Space debris ? Or a real nugget that I am just not familiar with.

Finding the 3 rings (one stainless, one gold 18K with gemstones, one silver) will get me back out there at 6 am tomorrow.

I only did about 1800 square yards in 4 hours using a 17 inch coil , not even 5 percent of the beach.

The sand was pulled away but without any cuts. The beach now simply slopes from base of dunes straight to the water.

Dan C, Orlando

Let me know your thoughts on Dan's find.

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Hurricane Jose is still out in the Atlantic.  It isn't supposed to make landfall or come close the Florida.  Evidently we're still supposed to get some surf from it.  It looks like maybe 5 - 8 feet on Saturday.  That one should be far enough away that it won't cause so much danger and havoc.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

2/12/17 Report - T. C. Beach Detecting Conditions Rating Back To 1. Flying Along the Beach. Small Surf and Negative Tides Continue

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

John Brooks Beach Saturday.

I finally got out a little Saturday around four o'clock.   I was surprised to see that the three foot cut that I found Friday was completely gone.  Compare the photo above with the one I posted Friday (immediately below).

Same View of John Brooks Beach Friday.

That shows how quickly things can change, but it doesn't show how quickly it did change.  I suspect that the cut might have disappeared in an hour or two.

Man Flying Motorized Kite

There were some guys flying around in these motorized kites.

Below is what the device looked like.  It had a chair, a motor and propeller and a kite.

Closeup of Motorized Kite

Very small and compact.  Not much too it.

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Never confuse this blog with a professional journal.  I don't think you would.  I am just saying that I do a post nearly everyday and don't sit down and deliberate with experts or editors and struggle over every word or attempt to fact check every reference.  This blog is not my job.  I don't get paid for it.  It is  just something I do because I feel like it.  There are a some issues on which I think my research and conclusions are as good you'll find anywhere, including academic or professional journals, but for the most part I post my casual observations and thoughts.  When I state something as fact, I am careful about what I say, but when I just throw out an idea (as I sometimes do) or post a link for reference, I leave some of the judgment up to you.  Almost every post I disappoint myself when I go back and notice misspellings, grammar mistakes, and writing that is simply not up to what I would like to post. Sometimes I am a little more careful than others, depending upon the amount of time I have and other things, but I don't give this blog the same priority in my life that I would if it were a professional or paid activity, so I hope you'll be forgiving and take it for what it is.

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I have some more topics to talk about but will keep them for another day.

I am giving a 1 (poor) rating on my beach detecting conditions rating scale.

The surf will remain small for a few days, but we will still be getting some big and some negative tides.  I noticed yesterday that the water got up pretty high at high tide.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

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

12/8/15 Report - When Things Go Wrong. Still A "2" Beach Detecting Conditions Rating.

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

The pictures above show some cuts.  They aren't big cuts, and they aren't even good cuts.  They are only about a foot high and the sand directly in front of these cuts is mushy.  The beach in front of these cuts is convex.  There is a hump and a then the slope is steeper near the water line.  The sand is separating from the beach and becoming a bar.  This beach has not been producing old items.

The beach shown in this picture looked better than the beach shown at the top of the post.  The front beach here is broad and flat and low.  I was eager to detect this beach, but I didn't get the chance.

I had a frustrating day.  First off, I had an obligation that didn't leave me enough time to drive to the beach I most wanted to detect.  I therefore decided to try a nearby beach.  It didn't look very good, but I spent a little time there.   In a very short time my batteries ran low so I decided to go back to the car, change batteries, and then go somewhere else.  That was no big deal because I knew my batteries run down on this outing and I brought some backup batteries.

I drove to another beach I wanted to check out, but I couldn't park close by because of a construction project, so I drove back a ways and thought I'd walk all the  way down to where I really wanted to detect.

I parked and got my detector out (with the changed battery pack) and walked a long distance as quickly as I could to where I wanted to detect.  Then when I turned my detector on, nothing happened.  It wouldn't turn on.  I played around a little, hoping to get it turned on, but had no luck. So I made the long walk back to the care without getting any detecting done at this spot that I really wanted to check out.

When I got back to the car, I put the first set of batteries back in, and the detector turned on.  At least the detector wasn't dead, but there wasn't enough power left in the used up batteries to detect for any amount of time even if I did want to make that long walk again.  So I gave up and headed home.

It seemed the problem was the replacement batteries.  I guess in the future, I'll make sure to check the backup batteries too.

So that is the way it goes.

PS: After a little testing at home, it seems the problem might actually be the second battery holder rather than the backup batteries.

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I issued a "2" beach detecting conditions rating for the Treasure Coast yesterday.  That rating is heavily based upon a couple beaches that are producing.  Most beaches are not very good right now. If I was to rate the beach that is producing the most own, it would get something more like a 3 or 4 rating, but my overall rating takes into account the overall condition of beaches along the Treasure Coast, so that rating is lower than if I rated only the beaches that are producing.

In the past couple of days some nice shipwreck finds have been made.

Conditions are spotty.  Most beaches are not producing - only a few are.  I'm sticking with my "2" beach detecting conditions rating for now.

Some beaches have been opening up for a few days then closing for a few days and then opening again.  That isn't all bad, especially coming off of a couple very slow winters.  I think this winter is going to be pretty good.  At least it is off to a better start this year.

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The surf will decrease tomorrow, and for several days we will have a 3 foot or less surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/27/15 Report - Beach Detecting Conditions Rating Increased To Level 2. Coin Clusters Being Found On T. C. Beaches.

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

Full Moon Last Night.

A couple days ago someone said they found clusters of clad coins, a good number of which were on the surface.  They wondered if anyone else was seeing the same thing.

In answer to the reader's question, I saw the same thing Wednesday and Thursday on two different beaches.  One was what I would call a coin line and the other was a coin hole.  It is evidently not uncommon to find shallow coin clusters on the Treasure Coast right now.  If you've been reading this blog very long, you know what I mean by the terms "coin line" and "coin hole."

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There was a nice full moon last night and a good bit of wind.  I went out this morning just after high tide and found that some beaches were slightly better while others looked worse.

The water was high.  At one beach the water was a good ten yards or more behind the berm.

I didn't find the clad coins at the beach where I found them on the slope yesterday.  Conditions at that beach were a little worse.

Six Foot Cliff At One Treasure Coast Beach Today.

As you might expect, there were a lot of detectorists out today.  Some were locals and some were from up north.

I am upgrading my beach detecting conditions rating to a 2.  That is a borderline rating.  It indicates that the beach has improved but is not consistently productive.  I know some shipwreck cobs were found today.  I only know of one beach that is producing cobs for sure.  Although conditions are way better than they were this summer, you will still have to hit the right beaches and even then the cobs will be few and far between.

In the recent past I have been pretty conservative with my ratings, especially the level two rating.  I decided that I should probably be a little more liberal with that rating in the future.  It is a borderline or transition rating.

According to the surfing web sites, the surf is supposed to peak at around 10 feet on the Treasure Coast this evening.

Even though the surf will be decreasing Saturday and Sunday, it looks to me like the wind will be more favorable later Saturday and into Sunday.

The beaches are wobbling.  By that I mean one day they will be a little better and the next a little worse.  We're not getting the consistent improvement that I'd like to see.

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.

I enjoyed a couple of the shows about the Pilgrims at Plymouth.  One movie had an excellent replica of the Mayflower in it.  I saw some artifacts on it that I couldn't identify.

It looks like there should be a couple more days of at least level two conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/26/15 Report - Wishing You and Yours a Very Happy Thanksgiving. Some Beach Improvement.

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

Vintage Greeting Card Circa 1909.

I'm not writing much today, but I did get out this morning to take a look at a couple of beaches.  Here is one.

Treasure Coast Beach This Morning Shortly After High Tide.

Do you notice anything about this beach?  I showed this same beach either yesterday or the day before,  and there is one very obvious difference.

Here is the answer.  The seaweed is now gone.

The water was up over the berm last night.  The wind blew pretty hard all night.  Conditions did improve a small amount.

The other beach I saw this morning was not as promising.

I am getting very close to upgrading my beach conditions rating.  I didn't see enough beaches today to do it though.  If the other beaches improved as much as this one, I would probably upgrade my rating to a 2.

We have a couple more days of surf at least this big.  I'd be surprised if I don't increase the rating soon.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/19/15 Report - Early Edition and Follow Up. Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Rating Increased To A Level 2. Beach Survey.

Written By The Treasure Guide For The Exclusive Use of TreasureBeachesReport.blogspot.com.

I'm increasing my detecting conditions rating to a 2 for now.  I'm sure it would be higher if it wasn't for all of the renourishment sand on so many beaches.

I expect to be back with more later today.

That is all for now.

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I'm back.  I took a look at some beaches yesterday, and the wind blew all night, so wasn't surprised to see some additional erosion this morning.   The change wasn't dramatic though.

Here is what Douglas beach looked like yesterday afternoon.

Three Foot Cut Along Douglas Beach Sunday Afternoon.

The cut at Douglas yesterday was bigger and more continuous than the cut at John Brooks.

Here is was it looked like at John Brooks as high tide approached this morning.

John Brooks Around Noon Today.

The is a lot of sand right in front of the beach here that prevents that surge from getting to the cut with a lot of force.

I also didn't like the angle - too easterly, which was the case everywhere.  I'd really like to see the waves coming more from the north or northeast.

Pepper Park Before The High Tide.

There wasn't much erosion at Pepper.  As is always the case, some places were much more eroded than others.

But Out In The Middle of Nowhere Today.

Not all erosion is at a beach access or public park.  Sometimes you have to walk a ways to find a good cut.  The one shown immediately above was the largest that I saw all day other than the old cliffs at the back of some beaches.

The peak of this cut was four plus feet.  The cut at Douglas was more like three feet.

North of Turtle Trail Looking South.

This cut at Turtle Trail was more like two feet.  In front of this, there was a dip developing between the beach and the front of the beach.

A lot of detectorists were out this morning.  I watched a couple of fellows detect along the foot of this cut while I was lower on the slope.  On my way back, I decided to check out the foot of the cut too and was surprised to find a good number of deep clad (over six inches) right along the foot of the cut.  I thought they had probably removed most of the targets from there.  Evidently not the deep ones.  There were a good number of iron targets lower on the slope and a few other things.I'

Yesterday at John 'Brooks there was a line of deep aluminum near the water line.

Yesterday I posted a few beach pictures but lost them somehow.

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We're expecting the same size surf along the Treasure Coast tomorrow.  I was hoping for more of a northeast wind and waves, but it doesn't look like we're going to get it.  As a result I'm not expecting a lot of improvement.  I'm sure there will be some improvement some places but deterioration at other places.

I'm keeping my beach conditions rating at a 2.  It would definitely be higher if it wasn't for all of the renourishment sand and all the sand that accumulated this summer.

I'll have some find photos for tomorrow and perhaps a few other things.

Happy hunting,
TreasiureGuide@comcast.net

4/18/15 Report - Moving From The Winter Detecting Season Into Hurricane Season. Vero Man Archaeology.

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

2000 - 2014

Chart Showing Number of Storms That Hit Florida Since 2000.

You never know when and where you'll find something interesting.  You can narrow it down a bit though.  That is one thing I talk about a lot - the probability of finding interesting things at the beach at different times.  That is the reason I developed the Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Metal Detecting Conditions Rating Scale.  Unfortunately we've been stuck on a single rating ( 1 ) for so long and frequently as of late that I quit giving the rating on a daily basis like I did in previous years.  Too bad I didn't keep a record of my daily ratings.  I would have liked to be able to look at the trends over those years.

I mentioned the gold nugget beach find that was found and posted in the Spring of 2014.  We had some decent erosion and hunting that year, but not this Spring.

When I started the blog back a number of years ago there were frequent rating changes, but not hardly any the past couple of years.  We've just been in a very slow period.  That has to change sometime, hopefully sooner rather than later.

2004 and 2005 were heavy hurricane seasons for Florida.  We all remember when the Treasure Coast was hit by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in a three week period back in 2004.  A lot of finds were made after those storms.  I hadn't started his blog yet, but I remember it well.

2013 and 2014 were pretty much the opposite of 2004 and 2005.  Very calm weather with very little erosion, and correspondingly very very few older beach finds.  It just goes to show how things get hot and then cold.

Since 2014 we haven't had a hurricane.  That is atypical, however this year is projected to be a calm hurricane season too.

In 2012 we had Sandy, which didn't hit Florida. Sandy didn't cause hardly any erosion on the Treasure Coast, but as she passed by she did cause high waters and a good number of old finds.  It doesn't seem that long ago.  I remember a lot of people hunting up on the back beaches after Sandy.  And that is where some things were found.

The October to February time period is when most of the good hunting of treasure coins has typically and historically occurred on the Treasure Coast beaches.  We're well past the good winter hunting season now.  It is very much over.  Now we're getting close to the hurricane season.

The winter season is typically best.  There can be a few months where the sand leaves the beach in fits and starts over a period of months.  The change to more South winds in the spring reverses the process and starts to build the beaches again.

The one thing that can change things in the summer is a good storm that takes a lot of sand all at once.  It really doesn't take a hurricane but a hurricane can really do the job.

Not all hurricanes do the same thing though.  Hurricane Andrew caused very little erosion in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas.  It was something like what Sandy did for us.  The water got high on the beach but there were few cuts.

There was one carpet of silver that I found right after Andrew, and Andrew got me started into bottle hunting.

Maybe I can talk about that carpet of silver some other time.  Unfortunately I don't have a picture but it was a very unique event and occurred in a location where I never saw people.

As the chart above shows, the storm season peaks in August and September.  We are in a lull between the winter season and the hurricane season right now.  That is if you are interested in finding old items on the beach.

For modern items Spring Break is over and we are getting into the hot summer season with smooth seas, which can make for easy and profitable water hunting for modern items.

The multitude of beach renourishment projects of recent years has complicated matters.

On the few beaches that aren't piled in mushy sand, you can see sand bars just off shore.  That sand will tend to make its way back in as long as we have south winds.  The sand bars will come closer to shore and the dips will get filled.

When a sand bar is moving check the back side of the sand bar, especially if people have been congregating on the bar.

Here is a link to a site that lists and discusses the storm seasons from 2000 - 2014.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Florida_hurricanes_%282000%E2%80%93present%29#Monthly_statistics

Considering the poor beach detecting conditions we've had over the past couple of years, you definitely will want to stay on top of things so you don't miss any short term improved conditions that do occur.  Those periods can be as short as days or even hours.  But eventually we'll get back into a longer term period of improved conditions that will last a period of years.

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Some very important archaeology takes place on the Treasure Coast.  Maybe you've heard of Vero Man, for example.  Here is a good article showing the importance of Treasure Coast archeology

http://www.npr.org/2015/02/21/387313451/can-you-dig-it-more-evidence-suggests-humans-from-the-ice-age

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On the Treasure Coast we have some very good negative tides today.  The surf is about two to three feet and a foot or so less tomorrow.

I hope you take a look at some of the old popular posts that are now listed on the first page of the blog.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net