6/2/19 Report - Castle Remains Found Under Water. Aquasound Metal Detectors. Artifacts and Life.

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

Castle Remains Found Underwater

Source: See DailySabah link below.

Archaeologists in Turkey's eastern Van province discovered the ruins of a 3,000-year-old Urartu castle during underwater excavations in lake Van...

"There was a rumor that there might be something under the water but most archaeologists and museum officials told us that we won't find anything," the head of the diving team Tahsin Ceylan said, adding that they proceeded with the research and discovered the ancient castle...

Here is the link.

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2017/11/12/underwater-ruins-of-3000-year-old-castle-discovered-in-turkey

A lot of times before a nice discovery you'll be told there is nothing there.

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Yesterday I showed a photo of one Aquasound metal detector and said I have two more Aquasound metal detectors that were a little different.  I used them a lot, and they were good.

Two Different Aquasound Metal Detectors.

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As I mentioned the other day, we recently lost a member of the family, and I've we've been attending to things that need to be done.  For me, among other things, that includes preparing a eulogy.  How do you sum up a person's life?

Going through a person's belongings can tell you a lot about that person.  The person I'm talking about liked clocks, weather and music.  He left behind a bunch of clocks.  I noticed one advertising clock on the wall that read something like Frehler's - Fresh Coffee Brewed Daily.  I don't remember the name of the establishment for sure, but it was something like Frehler's even if it might not be exact.

He also had thermometers, barometers and other meteorological equipment everywhere I looked, and also his musical instruments and electronics.  As they say, you can't take it with you.

The clock on the wall is still ticking, and the anemometer in the yard is still spinning, but somehow they seemed to have lost their life.  They are hollow remnants of a life that left them behind.

So what does that have to do with metal detecting?  If you have found things that you like, you might have kept them.  They help you remember events and maybe they tell a story.  The value of the finds you keep might be worth more to you than dollars and cents.  You give them life by learning about them.  They might represent a time in history.  Someone else once used them, and maybe cherished them too.

By studying finds, you can add value to them - both economically and otherwise.  They become more meaningful as they are studied.

You will probably not own your finds forever.  Someone else once owned them, and someone else might own them in the future.

When I sell a find I hope that by doing so I am finding them a good new home.  I hope they are bought by someone who will appreciate them and perhaps also pass them on again someday.

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It looks like the Treasure Coast will have several days of one-foot or less surf.

Thanks much for the sympathies and condolences.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/5/17 Report - Sifting Beaches With Merkitch Sifter. Science of Shipwrecks. Castle Cache.

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

Merkitch Sifter.
Photo submitted by Joe D.

Yesterday I showed some old coins that were found by sifting.  The sifting was done using a stationary sifter.  Dirt was dug and shoveled onto the stationary screen and sifted to find any coins or other objects.

I also mentioned a Merkitch siftter.  The Merkitch sifter is a different kind of sifter.  It is pulled through dry sand. Joe D. found a picture of one of those somewhere.

The Merkitch sifter was made by a fellow with the last name of Merkitch.  As I recall, he published a paperback book that gave plans for building the sifter and instructions for using it.  I once had that book, but no longer do.

Here is my simplified illustration of such a sifter.

Diagram of Merkitch-Like Sifter

The sifter I made was not exactly like the one shown at the top of the page, although it was very similar.

There are several things that are very important about this type of sifter.  The angle of the box, the wheels, and angle of the handle are all very important.  So was the size or gauge of screen.

When you pulled the sifter, you wanted the lip of the sifter to reach a few inches under the surface of the sand.  If the lip was too deep, it was difficult to pull, and if was not deep enough, you would just be skimming the first inch or so of sand.

The angle of the handle was important.  If it was off, the sifter would be hard to pull and the sifter would not extend into the sand the right amount.

The wheels were also important.  Remember they had to be pulled over sand.  I would think that the wheels on the sifter shown at the top of the page would not work very well in loose sand.  Maybe I'm wrong about that, but I'd probably either put bigger and wider wheels on the sifter or use something more like a skid or sled rather than wheels.

Like a sand scoop, the size of the holes is important.  The screen should allow sand to pass through as easily as possible without letting valuables to slip through.

This kind of sifter can be used to good advantage where there is  lot of junk..  Since you can see what is left in the box after the sand goes though, you can quickly pick out the good objects and dump the junk.

You don't miss much that is in those first few inches of sand if the gauge of screen is right.  Small chains and non-metallic targets get caught.

Another good thing is that you can use it where you are not allowed to detect.

The big problem is how much effort it takes.

Another problem is that it can only skim a few inches of sand.  If it sifts too deep, it becomes difficult to pull.  It can take some tweaking before to get the sifter working just right.

You can not use it in wet sand.

I'm always thinking of other ways to find objects besides metal detecting.  For me, metal detecting is not the objective - finding things is the objective and there are sometimes other ways of doing that.  Sifting is one good alternative.

The Merkitch sifter is good when there is a high density of shallow targets in dry sand.  For some situations it is much more efficient than detecting and recovering individual targets one by one.  Multiple targets can be picked up as quickly as a single target.  It is not a good choice when targets are deep or very scarce.

Yesterday's post showed how one reader used a stationary sifter to find some nice old coins and marbles.  Stationary sifters are good for junky areas where the targets are masked or deeper than your detector will reach.  I expect to be posting a detailed report on that reader's sifting experiences in the near future.

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Here is an article entitled The Science of Shipwrecks by the North Carolina Coastwatch.

https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2013-2/winter-2013/the-science-of-shipwrecks/

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In proper storybook style, in a disintegrating cardboard box shoved to the very back of a drawer, in a castle where every nook and cranny is still stuffed with the possessions of generations of hoarding owners, a cache of valuable antique coins, some extremely rare, has been discovered...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/nov/03/cache-of-antique-coins-found-in-drawer-at-scotney-castle

Thats all for now.

Happyhunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/9/14 Report - Souvenir Or Fake Reale Recently Found On The Treasure Coast & Not A Fake.

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

I just received an email from a reader who had been trying to clean what appeared to be his first cob find.   He did his research and learned how to clean cobs.  Then he carefully cleaned it so he could see the details.  Then he did some research only to find out it was a fake or souvenir reale.

Most of us have found fakes.  I'd say I've found about a half dozen fake cobs over the years.  My first fake was really confusing.  It was encrusted very much like a real cob might be.  As a result I carefully cleaned it, first carefully removing some of the crust with a dental pick.   When I finally got it to where I could see some of the detail I was even more confused.  The design didn't match the  color I was seeing.  Remember, that was my first cob (I thought) and I didn't know much about them at the time.  I did more and more research until somehow (I don't remember exactly now) I finally learned that it was a fake.  What a disappointment!

Today I can usually identify a fake pretty quickly, often as soon as I see it or pick it up.  Sometimes they can be identified by feel.  Some are way too light.  Sometimes you can tell by appearance.

Some fakes are made out of lead.  Some, like like the one below, are plated with a gold color plating  Some are marked "COPY," but often the marking will be small or covered by dirt or sand.

I've seen some convincing fakes.  I'm sometimes hesitant to scratch a possible cob for metal testing, and that can be a bit of an obstacle.

Often I can identify a cheaper metal by look or feel, but I have seen fake cobs actually made of silver.

I usually remember where I found the better fakes because at first sight I thought they were real.

One thing to consider is where it was found.  If you find a cob on top of dry sand in a public park where no cobs have been found before, most likely it is a fake.   It isn't likely that one will show up in a place like that, but strange things can happen.  I've found a lot of things where I still wonder how in the world they got there.   Some kid could have taken dad's prized possession for show-and-tell and lost it.  Things like that are possible.

The first fake cob that I ever found (the encrusted one I talked about above) was found probably ten yards from where I found a genuine cob, so you can't always tell if it might be fake by location, although that might be your first tip off.

Replica 8-escudo.

Here is a "replica" coin.  There is no intention to deceive.  It is sold with the packaging clearly marked "replica."  Nonetheless, if you dug one up you might get excited at first glance.

One very big Florida retailer includes these with some of the detectors they sell.

After a while you'll get to know what cobs should look like.   Real cobs will often be black.  They aren't perfect either.  They can be a little bit like diamonds.   If they look too perfect, maybe they are fake.

With experience you'll have a better idea of what a real cob should look like.  That first sight of a fake in the scoop can get you excited until the disappointment settles in.

I once found a genuine Spanish silver coin that I thought was a fake at first glance (See photo below.).  It is shown here as it looked after it was partially cleaned.

When I dug it up I saw what appeared to be a cross on one side and quickly assumed it was a fake reale and put it in my pocket without getting excited at all.  I assumed it was fake.  It looked too perfect.  It was perfectly round.  It was not worn.  It did have enough sand on it that the design was not clear.

I didn't really take much time to inspect it.  I didn't expect to find anything very old where I was and quickly slipped it in my pocket.

Since that time I've learned that old things do show up at that location on rare occasion, including 18th and 17th century items.

This particular coin, showing a cross and a lion and castle on one side, in my judgement was probably a fake.  Anyhow, I knew that I could inspect it later, so slipped into my pocket and continued my hunt.

After cleaning it off and doing the research, I eventually learned that this coin was a 1966 100 pesetas silver bullion coin.  The same coin is shown cleaned at the top of this post.  Not exactly a fake.

Fakes can be disappointing, especially if you thought you just found your first reale.  The one thing good about them is that you generally learn a lot from them.  All of the cleaning and research pays off to some extent.  You will probably learn more about cobs from your first fake than your first real cob.

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is supposed to be calm Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday we are supposed to get somthing like a five to seven foot surf.  That could do us some good if the other factors line up.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net