12/23/17 Report - How Common Beach Finds Can Become Treasured Christmas Memories and Other Christmas Treasures.

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

Vintage Brass Crotal Bell Ornament.

I got very much into Christmas activities this year and have been doing a lot of Christmas stuff.  I like to make use of the things I see on the beach and pick up a lot of things that aren't big treasures but which I find interesting or possibly useful.  Some of those things come in handy for Christmas.  I already showed the buoy that I turned into a silver bell and hung with other yard decorations.

Here is a crotal bell almost exactly like one that I once dug that makes a nice Christmas tree ornament.  You can buy them or make them out of your own finds.  I like to use my own finds.

I like hand-made ornaments or ornaments that have a story or that hold personal memories.  While at the beach, you will undoubtedly see shells or other nice items that can be made into ornaments too.

Wreathe Ornament Made From Beach Coral.
My wife makes those kinds of things.

Here is an example of drift wood and a beach shell that was made into an ornament.

Another Ornament Made By MyWife Out of Beach Finds.

Here is one more ornament made out of shells.  It is actually covered with glitter and very sparkly, which doesn't show in the photo.

Ornament Made of Sea Shells.

Nice ornaments can also be made of sea glass and found miniature bottles.  Bottles can be mirrored or decorated to make really attractive ornaments.

It is all about the story and memories for me.  Some of my ornmanets were made by my grandma and every time I decorate the tree, I'm reminded of her and things she did.

One of Many Ornaments Made by Grandma

Grandma's ornaments always have a special place on my Christmas tree.

If you remember the fifties at all, you might remember the little cardboard buildings that went under the tree.  They had cellophane windows that were always punched out by the children.  Here is one of those that survived.

Vintage Cardboard House For Under The Christmas Tree.

My wife made a little copy of the house I was raised in which my dad built.  That was a very thoughtful gift and is under the tree with the vintage cardboard houses and animals.

As I was saying, for me it is all about the story and memories.  Here is a special one for me.  Even though it is a purchased ornament, it is the story that goes with it that is important.  My mother purchased the ornament and typed up the story that goes with it.

The Box and The Typed Story That Goes With The Ornament.

Christmas Ornament With a Very Personal Story.

My mom and dad as 21 year-old country bumpkins starting a family just after World War II, had a truck like this, and as my mother explains, they rode around on the bumpiest roads they could find when I was long overdue hoping the jarring would induce labor.  My dad is now gone and my mother is 91.

I hope I got you to think of other kinds of treasures today and what can be done with some of the more common things you see on the beach and how they can become treasured parts of your Christmas and life.

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That is where I'll stop today.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/3/17 Report - Some Common and Some Strange Beach Finds.

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

You can find almost anything almost anywhere.  When I hunted the shallow water of South Florida I found some strange things.  One thing I found a lot was glasses, both sun glasses and eye glasses.  I'd say hundreds

The eye glasses I often donated.  The Lions Club had collection boxes around the community and if you donated used eye wear, they would recycle them and give them to people who really needed them.  That was a good thing.

I never liked to find eye glasses in the surf, knowing that someone's day was probably ruined when they lost their glasses, especially if they belonged to a tourist from out of town.

I remember finding a few pairs for people who asked me to look for their's.

Sometimes I told people wearing glasses in the surf that they needed to be careful.  Some resented me trying to help them.   I never really understood why some people were so insulted when someone tried to help them.

Sun glasses were found even more often than regular eye glasses.   Some were expensive brands worth a hundred dollars or more.  Some were destroyed.  Often they looked ok at first glance, but the lenses would be terribly scratched by being tumbled in the surf.

The ones shown below were found recently.  If you were to buy them new they would run near $100.

Costa SunGlasses

Glasses were common finds, while other things were more unusual.  Some of the less common finds included things like dentures, pool balls and bowling balls, brass knuckles and guns.   I actually found a few of each of those in the surf.

Why there were pool balls and bowling balls in the surf, I don't know.  I guess you can imagine some different scenarios, but none of them seem real likely.

Very little would really surprise me now.  You might find almost anything.  The surprises can be fun.

I remember finding a silver casino chip enclosed in a clear plastic case at the water's edge.  Why would someone carelessly carry around something like that?

You can find almost any kind of coin on Florida beaches.  Finding an old coin doesn't mean it was lost long ago.  People sometimes carry around old, collectible and valuable coins, and occasionally lose them on a beach.  I've found a number of old coins, some of which were obviously recent drops.  It is sometimes difficult to figure out how and why they ended up where they did.  There were some that were lost in a shipwreck hundreds of years ago then salvaged, sold, and lost and found again.

Bullion coins are one good example.  One silver bullion coin I found not long ago was found on a very deserted beach.  I could only imagine what happened there and why it was lost.

Things can end up on a beach in various ways.  Years ago, early in the morning, three huge bales of  of marijuana were found on a 1715 Fleet beach.

That brings up another point.  Items found on a beach can be intermixed with items from thousands of years.  Million-year-old fossils and Native American artifacts can be found in the same shell pile with space debris.

Those are just a few examples of common and somewhat unusual finds that you might or might not expect.

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As you know, the Super Bowl is Sunday.  Sunday the surf will increase but not much.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net