5/14/20 Report - Tropical Storm Forming. Beach Conditions Around the Treasure Coast.

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

Turtle Trail Beach Thursday Morning.

It looks like we could get our first tropical storm of the year before long.  More on that later.

I took a look at a few beaches.  At Turtle Trail this morning, there was a little erosion, as you can see above.  Just the top of the bags was showing.

There was a flat area in front of the beach that had mostly aluminum bits but also a few pieces of lead.  The biggest piece of lead I got was a small strip, maybe two inches square if it wasn't folded.

Turtle Trail Thursday Morning.

The flat wet area is where I was finding most of the targets.

I dug a few small holes just to see how deep the orange sand was and found that it was more than a foot where I checked, but I didn't get all the way down to it.

As I was leaving, I saw Warren doing a few test holes.  He mentioned that the orange sand was down about 18 inches at one location.  That is about what I would expect when just the top of the bags are showing.

The parking lot at Seagrape Trail was still closed.

Ambersands Beach Thursday Morning.

Here is what Ambersands looked like.  I didn't check it with the detector at all.

Over the past couple of weeks, if anything, it has deteriorated a little.

Ambersands Beach Thursday Morning.

Wednesday evening I took a look at John Brooks.  It was much like Turtle Trail, with a small cut pretty far back on the beach and a lot of sand out front.

The cut at Turtle Trail was fresher, and the bar in front of Brooks was wider.

John Brooks Wednesday Evening.

John Brooks Wednesday Evening.

Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday

Photo by SuperRick.

Rick lost his controller for his XPDeus, so if anyone finds it, let me put you in touch with Rick.  Here is what he said.

While there I lost my controller for my XPDeus that came off my chest high holder that was Velcroed on and I was using the controller for my pin pointer!

At the time I was using my Equinox 800 to hunt with down in the wet so if you hear of anyone finding a controller I lost it!

Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday

Photo by SuperRick.

Rick found on cheap ring on the day.

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As I said, a tropical storm is forming down south.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

According to the NHC,  Environmental conditions are expected to become conducive for 
development, and this system is likely to become a tropical or
subtropical depression or storm this weekend when it is located near
or north of the northwestern Bahamas. The system is forecast to
move generally northeastward over the western Atlantic early next
week. Regardless of development, the disturbance is expected to
bring locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds to portions of
southeastern Florida and the central and northwestern Bahamas over
the next couple of days...

The beaches are not too far off now. If we can get some good direction to the wind and swells, we could get some nice finds.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/12/19 Report - Possible Opportunities Coming. 17th Century Shipwrecks. American Legion Anniversary Coins.

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

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

As you can see, tomorrow and Thursday the surf should be up, and then again, a bit more on Sunday.

Those are the types of thing that is common in November, but I'd prefer to see something more sustained.  After a little erosion the wind changes again and the beaches fill before the next opening.

John E. sent me the following report.

On Saturday found a 50 yard-75 yard stretch of beach with 3-4 foot cut.   Was down in some nice yellow sand...lots of targets - highlights ... one buffalo nickel ( no date) and couple wheat pennies.... 1940’s (all others clad ) and a lock escutcheon, don’t think it is very old ( 1.5 inches long) went back next day, cut was gone - no targets.... shows how short window of opportunity can be sometimes. Using equinox 800 - still learning!!      

Finds by John E.

Photos by John E.

Thanks for the report John.

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Swedish maritime archaeologists have discovered two wrecks believed to be 17th-century warships, at least one of which is likely to be the sister ship of the Vasa, a historic vessel that sank on its maiden voyage.

“When I came down as the first diver ... I saw this wall five or six metres high and I came up and there was a massive warship,” the maritime archaeologist Jim Hansson said. “It was a thrilling feeling.”...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/08/17th-century-warships-linked-to-swedens-historic-vasa-found

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American Legion 100th Anniversary coins from the US Mint.

You can see more at the USMint.gov web site (link below).

https://catalog.usmint.gov/american-legion-100th-anniversary-coins/?cm_sp=LP1-legion-coll-030619

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It looks like there is a good chance that a window of opportunity might crack open some time in the next few days.  If you manage to hit the right place at the right time, you might get access to some older things.  It won't come to you.

Open Sesame.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/15/19 Report - New Explanation on Beaches and Cuts. Rare Strike-Over Half-Reale Coin.

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

Cuban Half Reale Struck Over U.S. Half Dime.

Source: Sedwick Coins auction.  See link below.

Here is an interesting coin that is listed in the current Sedwick auction - a Cuba 1/2 reale that was struck over a U.S. half dime.  There are other coins in the auction that were struck over coins of other countries.

Here is the lot description for this coin.

Cuba (Mayari), silver 1/2-real(?) token with incuse MORALES above 1 over 2 denomination, made from a US Seated Liberty half dime (1800s), very rare. 1.10 grams. One of very few examples known, all believed to be made from half dimes, this one to our knowledge the only one without a hole, with oversized arms (lions/castles) covering the entire reverse and the obverse punched with MORALES H(o) in a box above an incuse 1 over 2 believed to stand for 1/2 real. Clearly from the same series are some 10 centavos (supposedly) made on US dimes with incuse 10 and also a unique 20 centavos made on a Spanish colonial 2 reales (both of those denominations with JUNIO below the number), the last-mentioned with more of the reverse design showing a clear DE MAYARI below the arms. Toned Fine with no host-coin details showing.

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Cuba-Mayari-silver-1-2-real-token-with-incuse-MORALES-above-1-over-2-denomination-made-from-a_i33012333

This coin is lot 1020.

There are more strike-overs in the auction.  This one already has a bid of over $2000.

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These days I often hear people say "You don't know what you don't know."  There is some truth to that, but it isn't entirely true.  I personally have an unending list of things that I know I don't know and would very much like to know.

Sometimes it is very important to know what you don't know.  I wouldn't let a podiatrist do brain surgery on me, for example.  Experts should be especially aware of their limits, and have a deep respect for the boundaries of their expertise.

I previously described how cuts are created.  The one thing that absolutely has to happen is the water has to move with enough force to carry sand down the slope and out into the water.   I've described how that happens when the water hits the beach at an angle and slices sand away.

Below I have a video that I previously posted that shows how cuts are created when the water is hitting the beach at an angle - in this case, it is an extreme angle.  After that I have an excellent and very revealing video of an experiment conducted in a wave tank that shows how a cut can be created when the water is hitting the beach directly at a ninety degree angle.

Here is a video I caught that shows how a cut occurs when water hits the beach from an angle.  In this case the water flows almost parallel to the beach.  I showed this one once before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8aCk1zC0e4

The cut is moved farther back each time the water flows along the face of the cut.  If the tide goes out and the water level drops but the water keeps hitting at a similar angle, another cut will be made lower on the beach.  You three different cuts at different levels in the video.  For a deep cut to be made the water has to keep moving along the cut for a period of time without the water level getting either much higher or lower.

That is one way a cut is created, however cuts can occur even when there is little or no angle to the water hitting the beach.

Here is a video that illustrates very clearly how a beach can erode when the water is hitting a beach straight on.  Watch closely.  This is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0C5sQ_NWs8

A wave tank is a different than a real beach in several ways, but the wave tank does help make some things clear.

If you carefully watch the beginning of the video, you can see a dip gradually form just below the highest reach of the water.  Watch from second three through nine and you will see a dip beginning to form.  The side of the dip highest on the beach continues to get steeper until finally it starts to collapse, and a small cliff (or cut) is formed.  The cliff becomes higher and moves farther back on the beach as the water continues to erode into it.  That is an excellent illustration that you couldn't see on a real beach in real time.

But that isn't all.  After the first cut, a second cut forms a little lower on the beach.  Why is there a space between the cuts, and why does the second cut form where it does?

What happens is that the sand from the first cut moves down the slope and that hump forms a steeper slope which focuses the force of the water and creates a new a new cut.

To sum it up, under specific circumstances such as those illustrated in this wave tank video, water hitting straight onto the beach CAN, under certain circumstances, cause a cut by first creating a dip that gradually increases until the slope is so steep that it begins to collapse, therefore creating a cut.

Steeper beaches return water at a speed and force that can carry sand down the slope (erosion).  Waves with less force cause lower wider beaches that deposit sand on the beach instead of pulling it back into the water.

A real beach is different in a variety of ways.  For one thing you don't have straight walls and the waves are more irregular in both shape and timing.  The beach is not straight either.  And the sand can vary in a number of ways, including grain size and compactness.

There is much more that you can see in that video if you keep watching, but that is enough to assimilate at one time.  I'll probably comment on more of what you can see in that video at some other time.  I do wish I could slow the video down.

Here is one tip if you want to study the video some more - watch the turbulent areas.

While on the subject I'll throw in one more video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05EQLQqKMGU&pbjreload=10

I didn't even get into what is special about cuts or why they are good for metal detecting.  I'll do that in the future.

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The tides are getting a little bigger.  Today there will be a small negative tide.

The surf is only around two feet.

As I recall, Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox.

I think what I posted today will help you understand beaches better.  There is more to come.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/28/19 Report - Beach Conditions Alert - Treasure Coast Beach Conditions Best Seen In A While. Bronze Spike Find.

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

John Brooks Beach About 1 PM Monday.

Yesterday looked like what I would call a "beachy" day even thought I was under the flu and didn't get out to take a look at the beaches.  It was the kind of weather that I always went out to detect, but yesterday I just couldn't do it.

I did get out to take a look at the beaches today, even though I wasn't well enough yet to do any detecting.  It proved my instincts correct, even though I didn't do anything about it.

It's official now: I'm hopelessly over the hill.  There was a time when I wouldn't keep a little thing like the flu keep me from detecting this beach.  It would have taken a team of horses or an ambulance.  At least you get the report sooner, otherwise I'd still be out there.

So I got to the beach and saw a long cut that was at least five feet high.  That was the best cut I've seen in a long time.  It is what I've been waiting for - and wouldn't you know, that is exactly when I had to have the flu.

I'd rate these beach conditions as a three on my five point rating scale. A "1" rating indicates that conditions are poor for finding old shipwreck coins.  A "2" rating is a transitional rating, meaning that conditions are improving.  A "3" rating means that some old shipwreck coins will likely be found, but probably not a lot of them.

I didn't get down to check out the beach firmness or anything.  It looked granular and soft.  Still, I believe that somewhere on the Treasure Coast there will probably be some shipwreck coin finds.

John Brooks Beach Tuesday Afternoon.

Sorry I didn't check things out better, but it bugs me probably more than it does you.

Face of Cut at John Brooks.

You'll notice that there are no shells in the side of the cut.  It is barely a level three from all appearances.  I would have liked to check it out better.

I would guess that there are other beaches around the Treasure Coast also showing some erosion.

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Adam D. found what appears to be a bronze spike (nicely shined), and he wondered what the age range might be.  It was found in the water close to a beach in Jamaica along with some other items.  I told him what I thought the age might be

Let me know what you think

 ---

As you can see from the following MagicSeaWeed chart, the surf will be decreasing tomorrow and the wind will be shifting a little.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/1/18 Report - A Look At Some Beaches. Cocoa Beach Hunt. Magic Black Quarters and A Friendly Wave.

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

John Brooks This Morning.

I took a look at a couple beaches on South Hutchinson Island this morning.  I didn't feel any throat irritation from Red Tide.  It was much better today.

Surveying at John Brooks This Morning.

EPA Vehicle At John Brooks.

On arriving I saw an Environmental Protection Agency vehicle in the parking lot.  They were doing a survey.  


The beach was scalloped irregularly.

There were a few cuts.  The biggest cut was in one scallop.  That one (shown above) was about three feet high, but only ran about ten yards.

The sand on the slope was mushy.  I did a quick check and saw no evidence of good targets.

I didn't see any dead fish.

Scallop With Three Foot Cut at John Brooks This Morning.

Beach Front At John Brooks This Morning Around Low Tide.

I also took a look at Frederick Douglass Beach.

Frederick Douglass Beach This Morning Near Low Tide.

Frederick Douglass was very mushy.

I also stopped at Fort Pierce South Jetty just to take a look.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach.

The slope there was very mushy.  I did another quick check and didn't find much.

By the way, those aren't my foot prints.  I took the photo before walking up the beach.

Dan C. sent me this report of his recent outing at Cocoa.

After a month of no hunting I decided to try yesterday since low tide coincided with sunrise-perfect for me.  I parked 200 yards from the beach, and when I got out of the truck, immediately my throat began burning. The closer I walked towards the beach, the worse it got.

I saw many people wearing dust masks or handkerchiefs, although I doubt that would work. I tolerated 3 1/2 hours of detecting but had to give up.

A small cut produced one tiny half inch diameter 14k religious medallion and a few "greenies", but otherwise the beach is not ripe for detecting.

My nostrils were inflamed for hours afterwards and the red tide toxin deposits on my face caused my eyes to burn if I rubbed my eyes. The beach also smelled like a combination of decay and dirty socks.

At least I have something to show for the 1.5 hours of driving and 3.5 hours of hunting, but I would have accepted getting skunked, as is usually the case at that beach. 

Thanks for sharing Dan.

When I stopped at Fort Pierce Jetty I met a fellow that asked if I had any spare change.  It reminded me of one time many years ago that I met a fellow when I arrived at a Fort Lauderdale beach just across from Bahia Mar.  The fellow asked if I could spare any change.  I had been detecting at another beach earlier and had a pocket full of change.  I pulled out about two dollars of black quarters and give those to him.  He said "God helps those who help others."  

I started detecting, and about two steps into the water after turning on my detector got a hit, dug it up - diamond ring.  Not bad.

I continued, maybe three more steps, got a hit - bingo - another diamond ring.

Call it coincidence or a message from God or whatever, it has been probably nearly thirty years and I still remember the experience.

Today I had a single dollar bill in my pocket, and very little change, so I handed the fellow the dollar bill.  I hoped he wasn't going to buy booze or drugs.

I should have given him some of my magic found change, but I didn't have any this morning.  And I found no diamond ring, but there was something better.  There was the absolutely beautiful day and the hope the fellow would be a little better off.

When I left, I was driving down the road and saw the fellow come out of a small store and throw a small wrapper in the trash can.  As I drove by he waved, and so did I.

---

Looks like the surf, which isn't big now, will continue to decrease for a few days.

At least it looks like the Red Tide is subsiding.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

3/29/18 Report - Thursday Beach Conditions. Bag Found. Contents Revealed. Decreasing Surf.

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

Bag Found Washed Up On Beach This Morning.

I went out to take a look at a couple beaches this morning and found the bag shown above.  I could see it was full, but bags always fill up with sand, if nothing else.  I hoped that it was full of something other than sand, but not something stolen, gruesome or illegal.  That remained to be seen.  The zipper wouldn't work, so I cut the bag open.  I'll show the reveal below.

 I always check bags or any sort.  You never know what you might find inside.  They usually fill with sand, and that is often all you'll find, however people do occasionally put better things in bags.  I've found both money and jewelry in lost bags.  

John Brooks Beach Thursday Morning.

Here is what John Brooks looked like Thursday Morning.  Some scallops.  The surf had pushed some pieces of shell back towards the dunes.

Beach Showing Where a Nice Cut Was Tuesday.

Tuesday I showed the same area shown above.   Below you can see what the same spot looked like Tuesday morning.  Today's picture was taken from a greater distance.

Same Spot Tuesday.

 On Tuesday there was a nice four or five foot high cut.  That cut was gone today.  Now there was only a very small cut to the west of the previous cut.

The cut disappeared and so did the targets.   Too bad!  That was the type of beach I really enjoy detecting.

Below you some some peat that had washed up.  It was there Tuesday too.  That was a promising sign.

Peat on Beach.

When I got home I wanted to find out what was in the bag, so I cut along the seam by the zipper.

Bag Cut Open.

Well there is something in the bag other than sand.  I see rubber worms and some plastic envelopes.  There could still be something good in there.

Contents of Bag.

Nope.  Not such a good Easter find this time.  Nothing in the bag except for rubber bait worms.  Ten bags at $3.29 a piece.

I don't know who was planning on doing so much fishing, but it looks like I won't be buying any rubber worms for a while.

---

I have some more to post on the report of the lot that was sifted as well as detected.  I also some other stories to post.  Also some explanation of what happened to the Tuesday cut.

Thursday's 5 - 8 foot surf will decrease to 3 - 5 for Good Friday and decrease even more for the weekend.  The tides are not bad.

We might get another chance at improved conditions in a few days.


Happy hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/29/18 Report - Recent Beach Conditions and Finds. Gold Rose Pendant. Lead Item.

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

Frederick Douglas Beach Sunday Near Low Tide

This is a good picture that shows a lot.  Notice the line of white water where the water is crashing into the front of the sand bar.  That line of crashing white water shows you where the sand bar is.  The sand bar extends out from the front of the beach maybe forty yards or more.  That means that any cobs being washed in from farther out would have to come over that bar or the bar would have to be moved.

Orange Line Is In Front of the White Water Line I Was Talking About.

Here is the same photo, but I added the orange line to illustrate what I was talking about.

John Brooks Beach Sunday Near Low Tide.

John Brooks looked smooth and mushy.

Blind Creek Beach.

Here is an area that produced scattered clad coins.  Not the cuts at the top of the beach and the slope.  This is not one of the shipwreck beaches.  I just stopped there and noticed the cuts and how the beach had been moved back and decided to pick up some of the the easy targets.

Small Gold Diamond Pendant Find.

Along with the clad was this nice little pendant that fits nicely with the thin chain I found the last time I detected.  The diamond chip is really small.

There was another beach to the north that was also cut back and produced scattered clad coins that I thought would have been picked up by detectorists the day before.

Young Fellow In A Big Hole.
Photo submitted by DB

DB sent in the above photo and said this guy was "all in."  I need someone like that on my team to do my digging for me.

Gaylen C. sent these photos of one of his finds.

Here is what he had to say about it.

This was the only interesting find from yesterday [Friday]. Lead I am sure, heavy. I have found several pieces of metal in this small area that exhibit a similar appearance of smooth or flat on one side and a side that looks to me like it landed on a rough surface in a molten state. I'll include photos of a piece of iron that demonstrates what I think I see.
Gaylen C.

Thanks for sharing Gaylen.

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It seems I'm getting ads from people that have emailed me before.  I would guess someone somehow got access to the mailing list.  I'm not sure how I can fix that now, but if you are getting weight loss or other emails from me or some of the others from this blog, it is a hacking issue.  Sorry!

One thing I'll do if I send an email to you, I'll put From TG in the header.  Don't know if I'll remember to do that every time, but I'll try.

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The tide is going to be only two to four feet, but we will be getting some decent tides.

The wind will be form the north Tuesday, but nothing exciting in the near term predictions.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

1/6/18 Report - Metal Detecting A Nicely Shaped Cut: A Case Study. Identifying Patterns and Choosing A Strategy.

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

Cut I Was Talking About Yesterday.

I wanted to talk more about the cut I hunted the other day because even though it didn't produce anything really remarkable, it is a good illustration.  You will never see a  back-beach cut that is more perfectly formed for producing a high concentration of coins.  I won't say it has it all because there is one thing that is missing.

The best back-beach cuts, like this one, have a sizable steep cliff, then below that, a hard packed slant, very often with some black sand, and below that there will be a softer surface that slopes at a less steep angle. You see the first two in the above photo.  I didn't get back far enough to show the third in the photo.  You can expect coins and similar objects to be found very shallow on the hard-packed slope.  You will often see some coins there without detecting or digging.

This particular cut ran maybe fifty yards or a little more.  I thought I took a photo that showed more of it, but can't find it now.

Coins and other things will typically be found running the length of a cut like this.

When I arrived at this beach yesterday, I first looked north, but it didn't look very good.  But then I looked south and saw a more concave beach that had been cut back.  I walked in that direction a short way down and saw the cut at the back of the beach, so I immediately went up to detect in front of the cut.

I was surprised at first.   I didn't find the good concentration of coins that I expected.  In fact there were no coins for maybe the first five or ten yards.  Knowing that there should be a heavy concentration of coins there, I figured that somebody had already detected the cut, which was created probably two or three days before I got there.  There were no foot prints or holes though, so I figured that whoever detected that cut was there before the most recent high tide, which removed their tracks.

One good thing about cuts at the back of the beach is that they will occur when the water is highest and then not fill again right away if the high water slacks off.  They can remain in place for days or more.

After going the first five or ten yards I finally found a nickel, and then another nickel right away, and then shortly after that another nickel.  So now I am sure it had been detected and that the previous person was using discrimination.  When you know what the target distribution should be like, and I did in this case, you can tell if another detectorist had been there and also something about what they did or did not do.

I already made some choices that day.  I passed up one good wreck beach because it didn't look good because I would have had to detect a large area with a small chance of finding anything old.  Conditions there were not great, and I wanted to spend no more than an hour for various reasons that I won't explain now.  I chose the beach where I could dig a number of targets quickly even though they were' probably not going to be real old. 

I said this cut was ideally formed for a high concentration of targets.  I also said that there was something about it that was less than ideal.  The thing that was wrong with it, is that the cut was into recent sand instead of into older layers.  That means that the targets would not be very old, though perhaps with few exceptions.  And that is what I got - modern coins ( and a few other things).

Some of the Coins Dug In Front of The Cut

Notice the nickels.  Those are some of the first targets recovered from this coin line ( Coin line is a term that I "coined" to describe a long narrow distribution of coins as opposed to a coin hole,which refers to a high concentration of coins in more of an oval pattern.)

You can see that after the first three nickels, I started digging other coins.  The area near the beach access was more cleaned out than farther on.  The other detectorist evidently lost interest or got sloppy after a while.

I knew that there should be a high concentration of coin targets as soon as I saw the cut.  I also knew that they would mostly be modern.  I didn't know that someone had detected the area before me but was able to determine that quickly.  I didn't stop when I found that out because when you have so many targets of this kind, people will usually leave some good hunting.  They will usually either cover a small area very carefully or a larger area less carefully.  In one case you can find the areas they missed, and in the other case, you can cover the same area they did but look for the small and deep or otherwise missed targets.

Since I had a very limited amount of time, I decided to go for quantity rather than quality and take a chance on something more interesting being found in with all of the clad coins. If you pick up enough modern targets, you have a good chance of picking up something better.  I found more coins than shown above and a few other things.  Below is one of the targets that was found between the coins.

Thin Gold Chain.

I was lucky to have found such a thin chain because I was skimming pretty fast.

To summarize, this particular cut looked nearly perfect, so I decided to use it as an illustration.  You can often visually identify the best spots on a beach to find concentrations of certain types of targets.  Knowing the likely distribution of targets and comparing that with the actual distribution, you can also often tell if someone has been there before you and make strategy decisions accordingly.  

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I've received so much good input from readers and had so much to talk about lately that I've been having a hard time deciding what to post and have had to put some things off for days.  That is a good problem.  Thanks to all who have contributed.

We are still having good high and low tides.  That should keep it interesting.  Also expect another increase in the surf next week.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/7/17 Report - Metal Detecting Conditions On A Couple Beaches This Morning. Are You Really Ready To Make Your Own Extra Special Find?

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

John Brooks Beach Front This Morning Near Low Tide

I took a look at a couple of  beaches this morning.  John Brooks was real sandy.  There was a steep front and a bunch of sand piled up on the beach front.

The other beach wasn't one of the major shipwreck beaches, but it was slightly better.  There was a small cut - less than a foot high but maybe forty yards long.

There were a few targets in front of the cut, including clad coins, EOs, small pieces of copper sheathing, and junk.  The EOs were deep.  I didn't dig all of them.

So conditions were generally not good, but there seemed to be a few spots where there was enough to entertain yourself for a while.

One Small Cut Found This Morning.

You might be able to find a few more cuts if you look around enough.

Don't expect anything more than about a three foot surf for the next week or two.  We could use a nice winter storm.  It isn't too late yet.

---

Some things in life require a certain level of knowledge, skill or maturity.  You won't want to take calculus before you take algebra.  You don't want to face major league pitching while you are in Little League.  And you wouldn't be prepared to start a family or join the military at age 14.  You just wouldn't be ready.

You might have heard it said that it is never too late, but I know for certain that sometimes it is too soon.  That can apply to a lot of things, but right now I'm talking about finds.

Some finds can be very special in unanticipated ways.  It can take years to find out how special they are, and then sometimes it definitely can be too late.

Some finds are once-in-a-lifetime finds.  You might not know that at the time, and you might not find that out until much later.  When you find something too soon, it can seem like it is no big deal and you think you will surely find more of them later.  But as the years go by and you never see another one, you learn that it isn't that easy and that the find was actually much more rare than it seemed.  As your experience level increases, your knowledge and appreciation of the object increases too.

Maybe you didn't realize how special the object was, and how unlikely it was that it would survive for centuries. Maybe you didn't appreciate how unlikely it was that you would be at that specific spot at just the right time to find that rare and lonely survivor.

I've found a few items like that.  I didn't realize how fragile one special object was.  Now it is hard for me to believe that it could survive on an ocean beach for a few years, let alone hundreds.  I didn't appreciate that at the time.  I didn't appreciate how unlikely it was that I would would see that rare item when it was uncovered at the edge of the water after hundreds of people had searched that and the other beaches thousands of times.  I've never heard or read of another being found - certainly not on a beach.

I realized just last evening that there are some things that you shouldn't find too soon.  There are some things that you might not be ready to find.  You might not be adequately prepared.  You might not even recognize the item when you see it.  You might pick it up an throw it away as junk.  You might not know how to take care of it and preserve it.  If you find it before you are prepared, the item might be ignored, rejected or destroyed.  You certainly won't appreciate it like you should.

I can think of several things that I found too soon.  It now seems that a few of those were probably once-in-a-lifetime finds.

Not long ago I did a post explaining some of my mistakes and regrets.  In that post I described several of my mistakes and regrets.  As it turns out, most of those were because I made a find too soon.  I just wasn't ready for them.

There is no way you can be prepared for anything and everything.  You can be somewhat prepared to be surprised though.  Treat items with extreme respect and caution, especially when the find is something that you haven't found or researched before.

You can prepare yourself to some extent by reading and researching.  The more of that you do, the better off you will be.

Most detectorists want to know what is the best detector and where to hunt.  They want to know how to find things.  The kinds of mistakes that I'm talking about today, though, are mostly made after you get the signal or after you uncover the item.

There are some rare and special, even once-in-a-lifetime finds, that do not require quite as much care and caution.  A gold coin, for example, is easy to recognize, will be appreciated even if not completely identified, and it doesn't require much cleaning or conservation.  There are definitely mistakes you can make with that kind of find, but at least it is durable and obvious from first sight that you should take care o it.  There are other kinds of finds that require more caution or study. Some require a lot.  If you make one of those kinds of finds, I hope you are prepared for the moment.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net