12/29/17 Report - More Treasure Coast Finds and Info on Old Finds. # 6 Post of 2017. Higher Surf Begins.

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

Found by Gaylen C. a few weeks ago.

I showed the above item found by Gaylen back a few weeks ago.  Gaylen got some additional opinions on what the item might be.

Here is part of a message I received from Gaylen.

Wanted to thank you for the tip on the free day at Mel Fisher Museum. Awesome place. Seeing the real thing is way better than pictures. Got some folks to look at my artifact from Ft Pierce beach and a couple of other items. They agreed it could likely be a graver like the one at McLarty, or a cannon vent pick. Research indicates most vent picks were brass or copper to avoid sparks.

Got back to the same location a couple more times and found a few more pieces, some easier to ID than others.

The nail is an obvious nail this time and looks like another handmade piece. The two pieces of crockery are small, very thick, and from two different pots. One piece looks like it came from the opening. Could these be from olive jars or vases?

The small gray pieces I also showed to the Fisher folks. They didn't recognize anything but commented on the heavy weight. Later I saw some older posts on your site that looked pretty similar and I wonder if they might be pewter. Heavy like lead, shiny when scraped. Two pieces came from something with a very prescribed large arc.

Won't be back down there for a bit because of a knee injury, but maybe the expected higher surf will uncover more...

Here are a few pictures of Gaylen's recent finds.

Finds From a Heavily Renourished Area.

And here is a closer look.

Hope your knee gets better soon Gaylen.

I'm glad that readers of this blog took visited the museum after I posted about it and that I was able to provide a little indirect support for them through this blog.  As Gaylen said, it helps to see identified items in person.  You don't get the complete picture from photos, no matter how good the photos are.
Gaylen also obtained more information about items that he took to show.

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Photo by Darrel S.

I showed these items that Darrel S. got out of a conglomerate.  I didn't mention that when they were freed, they were together, like a snap from a canvas bag or something.

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Joe R. said the tracks I posted the other day looked like panther tracks.  Thanks Joe. I think so too.

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Continuing with the list of my top ten most popular 2017 posts, the sixth most popular post of the year was my 1/6/17 Report - Memorable Metal Detector Finds: Firsts. Beach Conditions Prior to Approaching Winter Weather and Bigger Surf.   In that post I told a little about several of my personal firsts, including my first 1715 find, first gold coin, first non-1715 shipwreck treasure coin, first platinum ring, etc.

Here is the link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/01/1617-report-memorable-metal-detector.html

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Today the Treasure Coast surf will be up to three to five feet.  It looks a little like winter this morning.  We are also supposed to have a north wind.  That might open up a spot or two.

In a few days the surf is supposed to get higher.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/28/17 Report - Couple Mystery Finds. Old Pottery Site. Popular Posts of the Year. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

Brooch That Held Gem Stones
Find and photo by Chris N.

Chris N. sent the following message with the two photos.

Just wanted to share some more items found near St. Augustine area.

Copper Salt Shaker Top I thought was different and unusual for a find in the sand on a salty shore. No pun intended.

Some type of Broach copper material in which there was some sort of set points in the middle and top where decorative stones or jewels must of been places at one time, but were not present.

I dug both items in loose sand, by water line about 8-10 inch down, strong signal on my machine.

Find and photo by Chris N.

I told Chris I didn't think it looked like a salt shaker top and pointed out the two arrows at the top and bottom.  

Chris then added the following.

The object is about the size of a Salt Shaker Top. Sorry! for not using Ruler. I found it at the waters edge in loose sand which was not corroded, when pulled it out.. That probably means it was washed down from the bank which it probably laid for some time till the Hurricane and Nor east'er came last few weeks ago.

From my understanding talking with some folks who live in and around area where I found objects, one said there as an shipwreck in that area.

I know that the British camped out on the Northern end of Anastasia Island, but the dune areas is off limits to foot traffic and especially digging.

Another good friend of mine informed me that the British marked each item made of copper, or any other precious metals because it belonged to the Crown.

What do you think?

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...It remains a mystery why so much pottery from such a wide time span have been found at this site.

Some speculate a settlement was submerged by a rise in the water level or the pots were sunk there in obscure rituals. Others sidestep romance and suggest it was just a dumping ground for used ceramics....

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201712270033.html

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Yesterday I started to list the top ten most read posts of 2017.  I gave you numbers 10 and 9.  Working up the list towards the most popular of the year, today I'll give you numbers 8 and 7.

The eighth most read post was not from September like so many of the top ten.  In fact it was from January of 2017.  It was the 1/18/17 post with the heading, A Few Tips For Finding Modern Jewelry On Dry Sand Beaches.

Here is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/01/11817-report-few-tips-for-finding.html

The seventh most read post is a much more recent post.  In fact it has only been out there a couple of weeks.  It is the December 12th post, which included one of my very popular Ole Timer Talks.  That one was about a crate of dishes, possibly Kang Hsi, uncovered by heavy erosion on one Treasure Coast;

That post also showed the heavily eroded Fort Pierce South Jetty beach.  It would probably be higher on the list if it was not so recent.

Here is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/12/12817-report-erosion-at-one-renourished.html

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For Tuesday a 3 - 5 foot surf is predicted for the Treasure Coast along with a north wind.  That could do something.

A 6 - 9 foot surf is predicted for Tuesday.

Another year is about to fade into history.  I clearly remember starting the year and it doesn't seem that long ago.

Happy hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/21/17 Report - St. Augustine Beaches Hit Hard by Irma. More T. C. Beaches. Couple of Finds. Big Surf This Weekend.

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

St. Augustine Area
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

North of St. Augustine Inlet
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

North of St. Augustine Inlet
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

The other day I mentioned that some of the other areas of Florida would probably produce as good or better Irma finds than the Treasure Coast.   Here is a good example of where that could happen.

Darrel S. sent these pictures showing the St. Augustine area.  I can pretty much guarantee that some interesting finds have been or will be made up there.

Thanks for the photos Darrel.

Bon Steel Beach Yesterday
Photo by Joe D.

You might also remember the dugout canoe found in the Cocoa area after Irma.

Below are some new Treasure Coast pictures from Joe D.

Just South of Sebastian Inlet Yesterday
Photo by Joe D.

In Front of Wabasso Disney Resort 
Photo by Joe D.

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Here is a picture of an item found in England.  It looks similar to the rounded piece of wood found after Irma on the Treasure Coast.  See my 9/15/17 post.

Found Sheave (?)
Photo submitted by William G.

I think this item as well as the one I posted on 9/15 might be an old sheave.  In that case I would suspect that it is made of lignum vitae wood.  Lignum vitae is a very hard wood often used for things like that.  The depression might have held a metal plate.  I think that would make it what would be called a "coaked sheave."

If I'm wrong on that, please correct me.

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Here is an old Corrigan's find.

Unidentified Corrigan's Find
Photo by Michael S.

It appears to be a piece of oriental ceramics.  If anyone can add to that, please email me.

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I'm watching the surf predictions for this weekend and next week.

Surf Predcitions
Source: MagicSeaWeed

Ther are now predicting a peak surf of up to nine feet for Sunday and Monday.  It looks like the wind will be most favorable a bit later - maybe Tuesday and Wednesday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide

6/29/17 Report - Army Corps To Metal Detect Large Part North Hutchinson Island. Diagnostic Artifacts Web Site.

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

Area Designated for Study.

The area shown above will be the subject of a study to determine what materials might remain on the old amphibious training base.  Below is an excerpt describing the study.

A Tiny Tim was found in January of 2017 during a construction project.  Munitions were also found during a removal project in 1998 and munitions were removed in 2014 and 2015.

The Tiny Tim is a 1200 pound rocket or torpedo (I've seen it referred to both ways) that was detonated in the water off Vero.

Here is the link to that event.

http://www.wptv.com/news/region-indian-river-county/vero-beach/world-war-2-era-tiny-tim-rocket-dug-up-in-vero-beach-neighborhood

I saw them remove the obstacles from the shallow water a long time ago.  It must have been 1998, although it seems like it could have been longer than that to me.

It should be interesting to see what they find, military or otherwise.

Trez sent me a copy of the proposal prepared by the Environmental Science and Engineering Co. of Gainesville for the Army Corps of Engineers.  There goes our tax dollars again.

Thanks to Trez for the great info.

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I found a great web site just yesterday.  It is the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum website.

I commend them for putting it out there and making it accessible to the tax-payers.  Good example of other states and government organizations to follow.

The have sections on diagnostic artifacts, including projectile points, prehistoric ceramics, colonial ceramics, and other small finds.  You have to go two or three clicks deep in each of those to get to the individual examples.

Here is the link.

http://www.jefpat.org/researchtools.html

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On the Treasure Coast we still have a one-foot surf.  The tides are more moderate now though.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/16/16 Report - Three Tropical Storms Plus Now. Padre Island and Emanuel Point Shipwreck Study. Fossils.

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

Julia has become a tropical storm again.  It is lingering off of South Carlina and it looks like it is bringing some northeast winds to parts of North Carolina, South Carolina an North Florida.

That is the kind of thing I'd like to see happen off the Treasure Coast - a storm that sits off shore and churns for a while.

We now have three tropical storms, two depressions, but no partridge in a pear tree.

Karl is expected to become a hurricane, but is expected at this point to move to the north before long.  I've made the observation before that when they get strong that far away they tend to move north into the Atlantic.

Another depression is about to come off of Africa.  

It is pretty busy out there.

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You might enjoy this fossil slideshow.  Just some very neat fossils.

http://animalmozo.com/2016/09/03/24-insane-fossil-discoveries

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I found a paper on the Padre Island and Emanuel Point shipwrecks.  Simplified, the hypothesis is that the pattern of ceramics on a wreck site can help you determine something about the type of ship was involved.  There were however some other details that you might find interesting, for example the following illustrations on early salvage techniques.

I suspect that there will be differences between deep and shallow water wrecks and some other factors.

Dragging for a Wreck.
Source: Arnold, 1979.

Salvage Divers Following Chain Down To Wreck.
Source: Arnold, 1979

The source of those illustrations is the following.

Arnold III, J. Barto, 1979.  Documentary Sources for the Wreck of the New Spain Fleet of 1554, David McDonald, translator. Texas Antiquities Committee Publication, No. 8, Austin.

You might find the study of the wreck sites, ceramics, etc. interesting.

Here is the link.

http://etd.fcla.edu/WF/WFE0000406/Sorset_Scott_Ryan_201306_MA.pdf

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The World Health Organization found that the United States ranks third (behind India and China) in most depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol abuse.

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Promoting interest in Florida archaeology.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/23/14 Report - Very Interesting Mystery Find. Gold Band Found. Buckle Found. New Blog Poll Posted.

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



Find and photos by Robert H.

Here is a very interesting find made by Robert H.

Notice the design shown on the top picture and the ridge and groove shown in the bottom picture.

Robert would appreciate any ideas about the piece.  If you've seen a piece like this before or know of some good references, let us know.

Great find Robert!  I'll do some looking.

Other Side of Same Sherd.

One good book that might be helpful is John Goggin's The Spanish Olive Jar; An Introductory Study.

I'm not saying this is a Spanish olive jar, but just that these references might be worth checking.

Below is one very good link for information about Spanish olive jars.  It is from the book Pottery From Spanish Shipwrecks 1500 - 1800, by Mitchell W. Marken.

It is a preview of the book and is limited to one chapter or so, but it is a very good chapter.

Again, if you have any thoughts on this sherd, let us know. 

Here is the link I mentioned above.

http://books.google.com/books?id=-4q8LQ4WA90C&pg=PA41&dq=isbn:0813012686&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false


And here is another good link.

http://www.academia.edu/8566480/Sean_Kingsley_Michael_Decker_and_Ellen_Gerth_Rome_in_Spain_Spain_in_the_Americas_Amphoras_Olive_Jars_and_the_Economics_of_Long-Distance_Trade


This is the type of thing that can be found during a calm surf after a period of rough or high water. 

Added Later:  It appears the object might not be a sherd at all.   Gives a metallic reading on the detector.

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Steve from Iowa is in the area and hit some gold.  Here is what he said.

Arrived for my annual Christmas visit and checked out one of my local
spots. Pretty much sanded in. I noticed up the beach an area that looked
flat as if the beach had a slight fold in it so I decided to give it a
try. Shortly after I began detecting I got a whisper of a signal and dug
it. I spread the sand out with my foot and before I could swing the coil
over it I caught a glint of gold. Picked it up and lo! It was man's fat
gold 14 karat wedding band. Ten minutes later I found another ring, this
time an old junky one. It proves your point to check out those out of the
way areas. I'd never gone up there, so it paid off. Thanks for all your
great advice.

Thanks for writing Steve.






Nice Dug Buckle
Find and photo by Dan B.

Yesterday I showed a Masonic ring found by Dan B.   Have a look if you didn't see that.

Here is another nice find from Dan B.









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As we come to the end of 2014, a slow year for sure, it is a good time to look back and find out what people were finding.

I posted a new blog poll.   As always, your participation is helpful.

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For those of you who wrote with get well wishes, my back is improving quickly. 

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On the Treasure Coast we'll have one more day of two-foot surf and then we'll get a few days of slightly increased surf, though nothing that I'd expect to significantly change beach detecting conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

10/22 Report - Vero Bone Carving Find Studied by Smithsonian & Wreck Ceramic Reference

A Local Find with National Scientific Significance.

Look near the center of the bone in the photo to see the carving of a mammoth.

There are all kinds of treasures. Some people are focused on shipwrecks and gold coins. Other people are focused on diamonds and gems. And other people focus on things that change scientific thought.

The above carved bone was found near Vero and was recently inspected by researchers at the Smithsonian who did not find anything to suggest that the carving was not authentic. There is nothing particularly earth shattering about a carved bone, but this one dates back to around the end of the Ice Age, which was about 12,000 years ago, and suggests that there were humans living at that time right here on the Treasure Coast along with extinct animals such as the mammoth.

Before being studies by the Smithsonian, researchers from the University of Florida studied the carving and with similar results.

Here is something mentioned in Mr. Jones' TCPalm article that provides a useful hint.
"In early 2009, local fossil collector James Kennedy cleaned off an old bone he found two years earlier and noticed some lines on it — lines that turned out to be a clear etching of a walking mammoth with tusks."

I always recommend keeping finds until you have studied them thoroughly and are sure you know what they are. Mr. Kennedy had this important bone for two years before he finally cleaned it off and discovered the carving.

I've kept cobs for at least that long before cleaning them off. I wanted to make sure I knew how to approach the task before attempting it.

But if you keep objects, like Mr. Kennedy did, you will often later discover something about them that you failed to notice earlier. Sometimes you will also learn something that will make you see the object in a new light.

My advice is to keep anything that might have any mystery to it at all, occasionally take it out and inspect it using whatever new tools, techniques and knowledge that you might have access to. Sometimes it is almost like finding a new item when you discover something new about an old item.

Here is the link to the article about the Vero Man bone carving.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/oct/20/smithsonian-does-not-dispute-authenticity-of-in/

Remember there are many types of treasure that are not metallic, so keep your eyes open when you are metal detecting.

Talking about nonmetallic treasure, I recently mentioned olive jars in some recent posts, and in the past I've mentioned the K'anh Hsi pottery that is sometimes found on the sites of 1715 Fleet wrecks.

If you are interested in the ceramics of the Spanish galleons, here is a link to a digital book that will be of interest to you.

http://books.google.com/books?id=-4q8LQ4WA90C&pg=PA44&dq=spanish+shipwreck&hl=en&ei=XG3ATMEYgoLyBo65uf0G&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=spanish%20shipwreck&f=false

You can go to the table of contents and then select any section you wish to look at.

You might also want to look at the illustrations.

Pot shards are often found on the beach. It will help you to be able to identify the shards of the shipwrecks. Such shards can provide valuable clues to the informed detectorist.

A broad knowledge base will help you many ways in the hobby of metal detecting.

The SedwickCoins auction begins the second day at 10:30 this morning (Eastern).

The moon was beautiful this morning. It would have made perfectt Halloween photo.


Forecast and Conditions.
As you know the seas have been calm lately. The high tides have been unusually high. That might make for some interesting low tide browsing next week.

The seas will be increasing Saturday, reaching a height of about 4.5 feet Sunday. That is normally not enought to do much good, but this time it might be helped by north winds, which could create a few small cuts on the beach fronts if we are lucky.

Tropical storm Richard seems to be headed towards Yucutan. Two more disturbances are coming off of Africa.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net