1/26/19 Report - Bigger Surf Coming Monday. Search Pattern Selection For Dry and Wet Sand Areas.

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

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The surf is supposed to be only about one to two feet today despite the north wind, but the surf will increase tomorrow and get up to five to seven feet on Monday.  That is a decent level of surf.  Maybe it will help some.

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Some of what I'm going to talk about today will seem obvious to many of you.  It is something like the discovery of gravity.  It didn't take Isaac Newton to notice that apples fall, but he took it to another level.

On a beach, there will often be a flat dry beach and a wet-sand slope.  Some guys hunt the flat dry beach more, and others the wet-sand slope.

There are significant difference between those two parts of the beach, and they present different types of targets and call for different strategies.

To begin with, the flat dry beach has a lot of items that were recently lost, while the slope very often presents targets that have been lost for a while but have been either washed in from the surf or washed out of the beach. 

In general the dry beach presents more new targets while the slope presents somewhat older targets.  The dry beach, though, can turn into a part of the slope when the water had been unusually high or rough.

Two ways for old items to end up on the flat dry beach is either by being washed up from the surf or down out of the dunes.  Much less frequently old items are dropped on the dry sand.   Detectorists have done that without knowing it.  All it takes is a hole in a pocket or something like that.

Different search strategies will often be used on those two different areas.  What I call recent-drops will dominate the flat dry sand, while there will often be more seasoned targets on the slope.  The distribution of recent drops is determined by human activity, while the seasoned older items of the slope will be redistributed by the forces of nature.

One search pattern, if you can call it a pattern at all, is random.  Some people will use a random pattern on both the dry and wet sand areas.  I doubt that it is really a random pattern.  I believe there is usually something that draws a person one way and then another, even if they aren't aware of what it is. 

Some people might think that they are being guided by intuition or by some unseen force.  In that case they might not feel like it is a random search even though it would look random to an outside observer.

To repeat, targets in the dry sand area are mostly distributed by human activity, while those in the wet sand are influenced more by forces of nature.  Targets will therefore often be distributed differently in the two areas.  In the wet sand you'll often find coin lines or coin holes.  (I've described those in this blog before.)

Besides random or intuitive searches, running a grid can be effective in both types of area.  When you use a grid search, a lot of time is spent covering a relatively small area thoroughly.  My opinion is that a tight grid should only be used when you have reason to believe there is a concentration of  targets in that area or there is a high value target in that area.

In the dry sand, a grid might be used in areas such as in front of concession stands, or in front of a beach access, or any place where there are a lot of people doing things that would result in good targets.  Volleyball courts or where beach chairs are put out can be good places to grid.

In dry sand, you might also choose to go from hot spot to hot spot, going wherever it is apparent that people were active.  People leave a lot of signs.  You can see the churned sand where there was a football game, or the smoothed sand left by a beach blanket, or the trash left by beach goers.  It isn't difficult to tell where people have been and what they were doing.

In the wet sand, a grid would be very advisable when you run into a area where items have accumulated and are being uncovered or deposited.  You might have already found a few targets in the area, and think there might be more.

Instead of tracking people like you might do in the dry sand, you might want to run a looser pattern in the wet sand to see if there are any coin lines or coin holes where nature has dumped good targets.  For the wet sand I often like zig-zag pattern running roughly along the beach between the waterline and high tide mark.  

Just like in the dry sand, you will see signs that some areas in the wet sand might be better than others.  Cuts are one good sign.  You might just sample the area below a cut before committing to a tighter search pattern, zig-zagging first and then if it seems like it might be worthwhile, gridding.

One search pattern I introduced a number of years ago is a linked-spirals search pattern.  I originally developed it for working rough shallow water with little or no visibility, but it has also proved very effective for working the wet sand.  It will help you quickly  determine if there is a coin line, and if so where it is located and the direction it runs.  I won't describe the pattern in detail again.  You can find that by using this link.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2016/03/3316-report-linked-spiral-search.html

The linked spirals search pattern can begin as a zig-zag or straight line search and then change into a linked spirals pattern when the first target is encountered.

While I described the dry sand flat beach and wet sand slope as being different types of areas, they can overlap.  The dry sand can be hit by high water and turned into a wet sand slope.  And it is not extremely uncommon to find old objects washed up over the berm and onto the flat sand.  In my experience, they are most often on the first few feet behind the berm, and often in or in front of a something of a shell line.  Those are usually smaller targets such as half reales.

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I have my batteries charged and and am eager to see what happens Monday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/8/17 Report - Florida's First Large Spanish Settlement Might Not Be Where You Think It Was. Scale Weight and Mystery Object. Drowned In Dry Sand? Tropical Storm Franklin.

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

Scale Weight Found at the de Luna Settlement Site.
Source: See link below.

What was the largest mid Spanish settlement in the Southeast in the mid-16th century?  The answer might surprise you.

University of West Florida archaeology students and researchers have spent the summer uncovering more details about the 1559 Luna Settlement.

The Tristan de Luna settlemnent overlooking Pensacola Bay existed for just two years until 1561...

“We now know that the site really does have a definitive boundary and that encompasses an area of about 27 total acres minimum…and if we turn it into a grid, it’s about 31 acres,” said Dr. John Worth, the project’s principal investigator. “Either one of those numbers makes this the largest mid-16th Century Spanish residential settlement in the entire southeast.”

That makes the Luna Settlement, known as Santa Maria de Ochuse, larger than St. Augustine when it was first established in 1565; and it was bigger than Santa Elena when it was initially established in 1566 on the coast of South Carolina.

“That’s because Luna brought 1500 colonist, whereas St. Augustine and Santa Elena had something on the order of 300-600 settlers(at first),” said Worth in reference to the initial size of those colonies.
“So, we had the largest settlement at the time. Therefore, we have the largest archaeological site of the 16th Century Spanish Colonial era here, which really puts it on the map.”

Here is a link for more from that article.

http://wuwf.org/post/luna-site-confirmed-largest-mid-16th-century-spanish-settlement-southeast

Detectorists have found old scale weights.  I have one item that might be one, but I think probably not.  They are not what I would call common detector finds but do show up occasionally.

Silver Dug Object From Beach.

Some people think the object shown above is a scale weight.  Note the stamped "1" on one side.  Under the "1" seems to be a small wreathe.  It weighs ten grams and is silver (acid tested).

Another guess I get is "button."  It shows absolutely no sign of any type of attachment and is a solid ten grams.  I don't think it is a button.

If it is a scale weight, I don't know why it is made of silver.  One person said it might be what was available at the time.  That is possible.  It is rounded on top and bottom, so not stackable like most scale weights.  Maybe it didn't need to be stackable.  It could be a coin weight or something like that when only one weight was necessary.

For me the jury is still out, but the most likely answer in my mind is that it was what was left over  after an assay.  I still don't know.

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Here is a strange one.

The strange death of a woman who drowned in sand along a Maryland beach has been deemed an accident, authorities said.

Ashley O'Connor, 30, was vacationing with her family in Ocean City when she somehow landed in a deep hole, according to police.

A beachgoer found the woman's body submerged in the sand, with only a hand showing, the Ocean City Police Department said in a statement.

O'Connor, who lived in Plano, Texas, was last seen going for a walk on the beach Monday at about 2 a.m., her family said...
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/08/07/vacationing-woman-dies-after-shes-accidentally-buried-in-sand-on-beach-police/23068638/

Accident?  Crime?  What?

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If you do much beach detecting you are probably in pretty good shape.  Walking in the sand while swinging a detector can be exercise - especially if you do it vigorously.

If you've slowed down during the hot summer heat, you might be losing some of your conditioning.

A good exercise program might be a good idea.  A good level of fitness can help your detecting and increase finds.

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The Golden Corral on Virginia Avenue in Fort Pierce seems to have exceptionally good management.  Every once in a while they surprise me with service beyond what I expect.

There was another G. C. down by the St. Lucie WalMart that went out of business for some reason.  I never felt it had the same excellent management and always liked the one in Fort Pierce better.  I just wanted to say a good word about the Virginia Avenue G. C. because they really impressed me once again recently.

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Franklin, as expected, is crossing the Yucatan and is expected to make it back to the Gulf.

The second disturbance is moving west but has not been developing.

Expect a one of two foot surf on the Treasure Coast for at least another week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/3/17 Report - State of Treasure Coast Beaches. JFK's Rosary. Musket Ball.

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

Fort Pierce Area Beach This Morning Before Low Tide.

I went out to one Fort Pierce area swimming beach this morning to see what was going on.  I checked the dry sand first.  I could tell it had been heavily hunted, as has been the case for at least the past couple of years.  It is detected frequently and thoroughly - probably multiple times a day. Of the targets in the dry sand the vast majority were bottle caps, although they were relatively few.  Some detectorists at that beach are in the habit of removing the trash, and overall it is pretty clean.  

I did find one big spill of coins (couple dollars worth) in the dry sand and one small 9K band that was hidden under three bottle caps.

I could tell that there were a lot of people at the beach this weekend.  You could see where the crowds were.  They covered the beach farther north and south than usual.

If you want to detect the dry sand at the popular swimming beaches this summer, you might want to go when the crowds are just beginning to leave.  If you wait too long, most things will already be picked up by other detectorists.

The coins I found in the dry sand were all really recent drops - still nice and shiny.  Even the coins I found in the wet sand were still nice and shiny.  

As you might expect, the shallow water conditions were not good.  Neither were conditions for finding old things.  Sand has been accumulating in the shallow water and on the beach fronts for months now.

Fort Pierce Area Beach This Morning Before Low Tide.

There is one tropical disturbance way out in the ocean to keep track of.

Source: nhc.noa.gov

On the Treasure Coast don't expect any changes real soon. A one foot surf is predicted for several more days.

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The late president John F Kennedy’s rosary beads – valued at up to $400,000 (€356,000) – failed to sell at auction in New York last month.

In this centenary year of his birth, mementoes associated with JFK continue to attract intense interest but, for once, bidders baulked at the steep estimate ($300,000-$400,000). The rosary, described by auctioneers Christie’s as “one of the most important and personal possessions” of America’s first Catholic president, had “impeccable providence”, having been later given by JFK “to his best friend and special assistant, David Powers”.

Following his death, his family discovered a hidden cache of mementoes

The rosary beads are made of onyx (a black, semi-precious stone) and are attached to a silver crucifix with the name “John F Kennedy” engraved on the reverse. The decade beads are connected to the antiphon beads by a silver circle containing an image of the Holy Spirit inside of a triangle...

It might have done better if it showed heavy wear from use or there was a photo of him with it.  

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/fine-art-antiques/no-buyer-for-jfk-s-rosary-beads-in-ny-sale-1.3135589

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Archaeologists take musket ball of evidence that they are digging in a Revolutionary War trench.

Here is the link.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/tiny-lead-ball-confirms-archaeologists-are-digging-in-right-place/article_4e92c066-5d02-11e7-b92a-47d8da82a83c.html

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Yesterday I added a new post to the blog.  It will help us get an idea of how many people depend a lot upon intuition, which was also the subject of my post yesterday.

I hope you'll take the time to respond to the post.

Be careful with the driving and fireworks.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/18/17 Report - A Few Tips For Finding Modern Jewelry On Dry Sand Beaches.

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

Somebody mentioned that I hadn't talked about finding modern jewelry much lately.  That is true.  I've been talking more about shipwreck treasures and old things, so I decided to do something different today and talk about a subject that I haven't addressed for quite a while.

You can find a lot of jewelry on a beach, but more of it in the water.  Hunting in the water and in the wet sand requires a little more technique to do it well than working on the dry beach.  Yet there are some things that can help you find more jewelry even in the dry sand.

It goes without saying that most jewelry will be lost where more people frolic.  Both the quantity of people and their activities are important factors. And of course there is a vast difference in the quality of jewelry at different beaches. It is also obvious that you can't find much expensive stuff on a beach visited only by people of modest means. 

I mentioned volleyball courts the other day.  They are good places to find jewelry.  

Most of the people that I've seen detecting volleyball courts, detect the middle of the playing area.  I wouldn't skip that area, but you will find a lot to the back and well outside of the court itself.  Think about it.  Where do people dive after balls?  A lot of that happens outside of the boundaries.  And that is a place where things are often lost.  

Another place to check on a volleyball court is the area right around the base of the posts that hold the nets.  That is where people tend to lay things.  Then sand gets kicked over the items.  A lot of detetorists don't check that area, especially if the polls are metal.  You can make adjustments to detect where others won't or can't.

A third tip I have for volleyball courts is to look in the morning right after rain or watering.  Fine chains and other things are sometimes exposed.

You might choose to grid the busier areas.  Nothing wrong with that, but don't neglect the areas that a lot of other detectorists might neglect.  Beach chairs are often made of metal or have metal parts that make detecting difficult.  Many detectorists will not detect close  or under beach chairs because they don't know how.  You can learn to do it.  I also would always check where beach chairs have been moved.  Look at the tracks in the sand if they are still there.  Often a high tide or something will cause chairs that are normally in one location to be moved.

I've found a lot of pairs of ear rings around beach chairs.  That is the main place where there is a good chance of finding a matching pair.  It seems people take them off and lay them down or else drop them there.  They are often very good earrings.  Other places you'll usually just find a single earring.

When hunting dry sand, DON'T discriminate out watches!  There are Rolex watches and other valuable watches in the dry sand.  They won't likely be found real often, but there are more of them out there than you might think.  I don't know how they get buried, but they do.

Another tip that I've found productive is to detect very trashy areas that a lot of people will avoid.  

Get to know the life guards and beach concession workers.  They might tell you about items being lost and where.  I always remember the time when a fellow that rented jet skis and other water toys lost the keys before he opened for the day and said he'd give me fifty dollars if I found them for him.  I think this was back in the eighties.  I found them in just a few minutes and he gladly paid me.

Some of the old timers that I knew would sit where they could see what people were doing and where and then detect at the beach at the end of the day.  You'd be surprised how often you'll see people obviously looking for something they lost.  And often they'll ask you  if you can find it for them.

There are a few tips for finding jewelry in the dry sand.  All of those things hve been productive for me.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/15/15 Report - The Big Three Factors Of Hunting In Dry Sand. How Waves Move Very Big and Small Objects. The Langeid Viking Sword Finally On Display.

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

Ornate Viking Sword.
Photo from http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/37504

A deadly weapon and symbol of power -- jewellery for a man, with magical properties. The sword gave power to the warrior, but the warrior's strength could also be transferred to the sword. That is how they were bound together: man and weapon, warrior and sword.

This sword was found in Langeid in Bygland in Setesdal in 2011. It is a truly unique sword from the late Viking Age, embellished with gold, inscriptions and other ornamentation. The discovery of the sword has not been published until now, when it is being displayed for the first time in the exhibition 'Take It Personally' at the Historical Museum in Oslo...

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150714093658.htm


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When talking about where to hunt for gold jewelry on a dry beach, I could sum up ninety percent of what needs to be said in a couple of paragraphs.  It isn't that complex.  It doesn't change as much as the wet sand or water does.

It comes down to looking where the most people of the right type do the right things.  The primary factors are (1) number of people, (2) type of people and (3) their behavior.  Number is obvious.  Go where many wealthy people who wear a lot of gold either participate in very active behaviors or are involved in taking off or adjusting jewelry.  Example: busy volleyball court at a resort that attracts a lot of active wealthy people.

Of course there is a lot more that could be said, but that tells you the vast majority of what needs to be said.  You can't sum up where to hunt wet sand and shallow water so easily. There are a lot more factors and things change a lot.

Number of people, type of people and type of activities would be a start for those areas too, but it would only be a start.  After those factors you would want to include how the water moves sand and objects, and that is quite complex.

I've been at this a long time. I'd say something over thirty years, sometimes not as actively as others due to different careers and things, but one of the most surprising things to me is how much I continue to learn.

I knew a lot about where to look before, but a lot of the time I didn't know why.  I didn't know how it all worked.  In the last few years, I've filled in some of the blanks. I now understand some things that puzzled or confused me.  Having a more complete understanding helps in a variety of ways.

A few days ago I talked about coins being flipped up and over the face of a cut.  I first told what I saw happen on one occasion maybe twenty years ago.  I then received and posted reports by others verifying what I'm now calling flip-ups.  In a case reported by Clint L., the object flipped was a gold ring.  In a case reported by Bill P., the object flipped was a reale.

You might have been skeptical.  You might have wondered how objects could flip up and over a two foot cut.

I think the illustration that I provided in my 7/13 post might have satisfied many of you.  However if you still are not sure, you might be satisfied after reading today's post.

I came across a book entitled, Wave Action In Relation To Engineering Structures, by D. D. Gaillard, Captain, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., 1904.  It is a free Google ebook.  It is a very technical and mathematical engineering book, and isn't easy to quickly browse.  You'll find the link below.

The book provides a lot of good information - much that has been widely published and easily available in recent years, but also details of a lot of experiments and additional specifics that you might not have read before.

Below are just a few examples many similar examples found in the book.  Whether you find these anecdotes convincing or not, I'm sure you'll find them interesting.

Just to give you the idea here are a few.

And a Florida example.

Like I said, that is to give you the idea.  You can find more examples like this as well as experimental data and mathematical calculations in the book.

Click here to go to that book.

After these remarkable examples, you might not find it hard to believe that something like a coin or ring could be flung up and over a cliff.

The power of the sea is amazing.  These events are almost beyond belief, yet this is a very credible source, and others have attested to similar things.

The book provides evidence of other things that I've talked about in the past.  The effect of density on how items are moved is one important one.  You can find the required force calculated for different examples. The density and surface area of the objects are factors, just as is the case for coins and jewelry. Precise mathematical formulae are provided.

While many of the principles I have presented are supported in this book, you will have to downscale many of them to apply to smaller objects.

You might wonder why you would want to know this.  If you do know this type of material, you can look at the waves and know a good bit about the bottom.  You can easily estimate the depth of the water where the waves are breaking, for example.  You will know where sand is building and where it is getting washed away.  That might tell you where to hunt when the water calms down.

If you know that the depth of the water is about one half the wave length ( distance between peak to peak) where the waves are breaking, you can look out and immediately have some idea about how deep or shallow the water is there.  If you keep a mental note of that, you will know when the near shore sand is coming or going and something about the shape of the bottom in the shallow water at that location.

On the deep side of the breaking waves, the bottom is not being affected much.

Most importantly, you'll be able to get an idea of where and when objects will be moving.  As a result you'll better know where to look to find things.

There is a great deal to it.  I have learned a lot from experience, and I have learned a lot in recent years, putting together my own observations and experiences with what I read.  I am enjoying the learning process and it is continuing at a rate that surprises me.

I got a lot more from that book that applies to metal detecting in very practical ways, but I can't put all of that into one post.

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The next two days the Treasure Coast surf is supposed to be very calm.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/14/15 Report - Comparing Very Different Types of Metal Detectors For Beach Detecting.

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

Treasure Coast Gold Dug Yesterday.

Here is just over one ounce (1.05) of 14K gold dug yesterday.  It is marked Italy and 14K.  Acid test verifies the marking.

This is a common man's bracelet design. 

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I plan to give a brief summary of three very different detectors for beach hunting.  I'll start at the inexpensive end today with the Garrett Ace 250.

I'll preface this by saying that for many years I was not a fan of Garrett detectors..  One reason is that my first Garrett detector was a water proof PI detector. That was back sometime in the eighties.  My history up until that point included only VLF detectors including some very good custom modified gold detectors.  The custom detectors that I used almost exclusively for years nulled iron.  That was a convenient feature when looking for modern gold and when you didn't care about artifacts such as shipwreck spikes.

 I quickly learned the pulse machine was very hot on iron, and I detected many swimming holes that had a lot of bobby pins, nails and other iron trash, but that wasn't my main concern.  I couldn't get a good smooth threshold.  I didn't know at the time that the threshold tone I was getting was pretty normal for PI detectors.  I expected something more like the detectors that I had used.  I sent the detector for repairs two or three times and nothing changed.  That was my fault, but we didn't have the video instruction DVDs in those days and I just didn't know any better, so it was my ignorance combined with a lack of good information that was the problem.  It wasn't the best choice for the type of hunting that I was doing anyway, but I like to experiment and try different things.  That one didn't work out.

Another reason I didn't care for Garrett back then is that I saw that a lot of people were using Garrett detectors and not very well.  I would see what they were missing and blame the detector.  That wasn't completely fair. 

One thing that contributed to my failure with the Garrett PI was that I ordered the detector via mail order, so I didn't see it operated before I got it.  If I had gone to a retail dealer who could demonstrate the detector and provide good information, I probably would not have made that mistake, which turned out to be a poor purchase and gave me a bad impression of Garrett.  Lesson learned.

There are a number of lessons there.  If you are a beginner, or not, it might be a good idea to get a demonstration of any detector you are considering.   Sometimes a friend will let you try a detector like the one you are considering, but if it is new on the market that might not be possible.  You can get good information and a hands-on demonstration from a dealer.  That will help you make a good decision and get started quicker with your new purchase. 

As I said before, most of what I learn I learn by personal experience.  That is just the way I am and always have been.  Anything I read or hear,  I test for myself.  I do a lot of testing and enjoy that sort of thing, but you can avoid mistakes by talking to others and reading.

This is also something that dealers should remember.  You might be able to avoid a bad customer experience by providing good thorough information. 

Back to the Ace 250.  One very good thing is the price - around $250.  It is an effective detector with target ID, discrimination and multiple hunting modes.  The coil is small but that isn't all bad. You can change coils if you want.  There are others that you can buy.  For me, the small coil works fine.  Quick and easy pinpointing even without going into pinpoint mode.

It doesn't eat batteries like Godzilla either - another good thing.

It works very well on dry sand.  Depth isn't the greatest in the world, but is good for the price.  It does a good job on small objects and gold.  Not bad for a back up or as one more tool in your personal arsenal.  Also not a bad starter detector. 

The small coil can be changed if you want.  I wouldn't change it for dry beach detecting, but maybe you want to cover more ground. 

The vast majority of good targets on a dry beach are not very deep. 

The Ace and the small coil works well close to objects such as metal beach chairs.  It is also good on small gold.

In this blog I gave you a report on my first few hours with the Ace 250, which included a number of finds at an inland site.  Wheat pennies were found within the first hour and the second day netted an 1829 large cent. It was easy to assemble and begin detecting. 

Working in wet sand requires some adjustments and less depth.  Remember this is a very inexpensive detector and can not fairly be compared to detectors costing much more.  I would, however, not feel handicapped if I were using the Ace on a dry sand beach. 

It is light and easy to swing, has acceptable target ID, and won't miss much if you use it well.  It does have a fairly small coil, which is not all bad.  In my opinion, if used well it will do nearly as well as more expensive detectors on dry sand beaches. 

What I tell you is what I've personally tried and tested.  It comes from personal experience not theory or reading what somewhat else had to say. 

I've never been one to care much about how things are engineered or supposed to work.  I only care about how they actually work, as tested and proven by careful experiment and observation in real-life conditions. 

I'll get to the other detectors tomorrow or soon. 


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The Fishers estimate that there is still over $280 million to be found from the Atocha and Margarita.

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On the Treasure Coast we'll have smooth seas and South winds for a few more days.  That makes for easy water hunting if you can find some decent dips.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

3/22/15 Report - One Hunt: Strategy And Results. Two Gold Rings In Two Hours On A Poor Beach.

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



Two Gold Bands Found
On The Treasure Coast Yesterday

I often talk about having more than one detector and selecting the one to use based upon your strategy.   Yesterday, like every other day that I hunt, I did that.

First came an assessment of conditions.  Here is what I considered.    On the Treasure Coast beach conditions have been poor lately.  The surf has usually been not big but not smooth either.   There have been many tourists in the area as well as locals enjoying spring break on the beaches.

The day before yesterday I went by some of the beaches but didn't detect.  I had other things to do, but I noticed where the people were.  I noticed one beach that was particularly jammed. 

Even though water hunting generally produces more gold per hour and wet sand can be very productive when conditions are right, I decided to hunt the dry sand where the people were.

My first consideration was beach conditions.  Another consideration was that I didn't have a lot of time and didn't feel like driving to a more promising beach where the conditions might be better and the finds might be higher quality.   So I narrowed it down to a few beaches that were close by, and selected one that I haven't hunted very often but where I saw a lot of beach goers the day before.

Then it was time to decide on a strategy and select a detector.   Just to give a couple of examples, I could select a simple target ID detector or a deeper seeking detector.   Of course you can have various combinations other than these two extremes, but I want to keep it simple here.

So one strategy would be to quickly skim a large area for recent drops.  Another would be to go for deep small gold that might have been missed by others.

Due to the fact that there have been so many detectorists on the popular and easy beaches lately, I didn't expect a large number of good targets.   I expected most targets to be recent drops, but there might also be a few small and deep targets remaining.

I decided to go with the deep-seeking PI detector.   Many people say they would never do that in the dry sand due to the amount of trash you will have to deal with.  Some beaches are pretty clean now.  Not even much trash remaining.

I was right about one thing.  The beach had been heavily worked- even more than I expected.  The area in front of the parking lot was pretty much cleaned out.  Somebody must have been there yesterday evening or early in the morning.   There was little trash, though some, and the surface clad had been removed.

There were however some recently dropped coins to the South of the area in front of the parking lot.

It takes a while to clean out an area of that size and when it is very clean there is usually at least one person that detects the area daily plus a few more detectorists that hit it once in a while.

I did a loose pattern scan to see if the area was clean and to identify how far the cleaned area might extend.  During my analysis, I considered what kinds of things, including trash, remained.  In this case the cleaned out area did have some foil remaining, a few pieces of small iron, and a few bottle caps.

One thing that I especially noticed is that there was foil down several inches.  Most junk foil will be near the surface.  But that also told me there might be deep gold that was missed.

As quickly as possible I did my analysis and identified the boundaries of the area that was cleaned out.   The really clean area, not surprisingly, was the area right in front of the parking lot.  That is very often the case.

I went just south of that and started to find a few scattered bright shiny recently dropped coins.  That area had been hunted some, but not as recently, and it was not completely cleaned out.

After hitting a few shiny clad, a small signal turned out to be a 14K ring down several inches.   I continued hunting south and hit another similar looking band, only this time it was 10K.  I soon called it quits. 

What I wanted to illustrate today is how you might analyze a situation and select a strategy for a particular hunt.  I hope that gives you some ideas about how to approach different situations.  There are a number of factors to take into account. 

In this case, it appeared that most good surface targets had been removed.  My strategy of going deep paid off in this case.

------

Treasure Coast Beach Yesterday Near Low Tide.

The beach above isn't as bad as many you'll see on the Treasure Coast right now. 

The surf should be small enough to do some water hunting -  only one or two feet Sunday.  The trouble is that in many areas there is too much sand.  It is not easy to find a good water hunting area now with all the sand near shore.

At least one beach had some shells and a good number of fossil pieces recently.  Also a little seas glass.

With the vernal equinox and the negative low tides, you'd think you could find some decent dips in the water somewhere, but the best dips that I've seen are still sandy.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net



9/5/14 Report - Gold Cob Found By Salvage Crew On Treasure Coast! Fascinating Clump of Artifacts Too. How Objects Sink In Dry Sand.

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

Gold Treasure Coast Shipwreck Coin
Photos submitted by Captain Jonah Martinez

The past few days I've given a lot of information on how objects sink on the beach, and I'm far from done with that.  I've only addressed a few factors so far and will continue with that topic in the future.

Today I wanted to take a bit of a break from that and show you some finds to drool over.  The finds were made by the crews working the shipwrecks off of the Treasure Coast.   Thanks to Captain Jonah Martinez for sending the pictures.

First, here is a gold coin they found.  Although this gold coin sure is pretty, they found a silver coin that actually might be much more rare.

I'm no expert on Spanish shipwreck coins - far from it.  So if you can correct anything I say here, feel free.

Notice the type of cross on the top photo.  Each arm of the cross is like a cross on the end.

That is not a real common type of cross, but that type of cross was used on some Mexican escudos,

On the left side of that coin, I think I can make out part of the "M" mint mark for Mexico.

I can not see the legend on this coin or the date.  They do not appear to be present.




Below is a photo of what I believe is a very similar escudo.

It is found in Monedas Espanolas desde Juana y Carlos a Isabel II 1504 a 1868, by F Calico et al, 1985.

Illustration of Similar Design Escudo from the Calico et al Book.

The following illustration more clearly shows a similar type of shield and the same type of cross although there may be some differences.

Illustration of Similar Escudo Design Elements.
Source: Cobs, Pieces or Eight and Treasure Coins book by Sewall Menzel

From what I've seen I would guess the escudo above to be an early 1700s Mexico two-escudo.  That is just m guess from what I can see from the photo.


Below are two pictures of a recovered clump.   Captain Jonah says this clump of objects was found by Mike and Gavin and ... if you look close you can see to buckles, two medallions, a silver spoon and maybe cuff links...

Photos submitted by Captain Jonah Martinez.

I always find clumps exciting.  You never know what all might be in them.  And I never know if I want to leave them alone or take them apart to find what is in them.  There is that conflict between wanting to preserve them and wanting to find out what might be in there.

They can be x-rayed or examined internally by using other technologies without taking them apart.

Those are just a couple of the photos that Captain Jonah sent me.  I'll show more of them in future posts.  Included are cobs, porcelain, and one very early and exciting cob.

Thanks for sharing Captain!


The last two posts that I did received  lot of +1s.  It seems they were very much liked.

I should explain that the did not discuss all relevant factors, but maybe it did help to put to rest some common misconceptions.  I still want to add just a little to that discussion today.

First of all, people might wander how objects sink in dry sand where the water does not hit if objects only sink through suspended or disturbed sand.   One big factor affecting dry sand is the wind.  Barrier islands and beaches in general tend to migrate away from the ocean as wind coming off the ocean tends to blow sand towards the back beach where it piles up as dunes and fills in marsh land.  You can find that fact in any number of books.

On our local beaches I've seen a lot of dune building over the past year.  Any plants or anything that serves as a wind break will cause wind driven sand to drop off and build up.  That causes items lost on the dry beach to be buried as the sand builds up.

If you go to the beach after a busy holiday, you'll notice how much the busy spots have been churned up by foot traffic, kids digging, etc.  That certainly disturbs the top layers of sand and causes items to sink or get covered.

Also, the water does occasionally come up over the dry sand and all of the way to the back dunes.

And they sink in when dropped, flung or thrown.

There are some ways that the dry sand is disturbed causing things to sink or get more deeply buried in the dry sand.

I'll discuss more details on how items sink on the beach and in the shallow water in the future, but I'll also be showing some more pictures of the Treasure Coast treasure finds that Captain Jonah sent me.


We still have a one to two foot surf on the Treasure Coast.  Beach hunters are tired of the consistently smooth surf this year, but it has been good for the salvage crews.

There is one disturbance coming off of Africa, but it is days out, and we'll have smooth water on the Treasure Coast for at least several days.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/25/14 Report - Beach Zones and Dry Sand, Time-Saving Recovery Skills, & St. Jude Medallion

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



Dug Gold St. Jude Thaddeus Medallion
 

Don't forget the cookout today.  Check my previous post for details.

This 14K St. Jude medallion was found in the dry sand on a beach that had been recently detected.  It was left behind by a detectorist who picked up the clad coins and most of the junk from the area.


There are three general zones that most people detect at the beach.  Those zones can be divided into smaller zones, and there are other zones that are not as often detected.  Today I'll talk a little about the dry beach.

The three most general zones for beach metal detecting are the dry beach, the area between the high tide line and water line, and shallow water.   Each is different.   The wet sand and shallow water  are more similar to each other than they are to the dry sand area.  

The water action moves the sand a lot more in the shallow water and the wet sand areas.  That means your strategy should be different for the wet sand and dry sand areas.

On the dry sand, even the heaviest items (or more correctly, the more dense items) sink slowly and you have a much greater mixture of types of items near the surface.  In the wet sand and shallow water, items get separated and classified more quickly according to density. 

Pull tabs as well as gold rings can all be found together in the top inch or two in the dry sand.  Dense items will remain shallow for a longer time in this zone unless there is something else that disturbs the layers of sand - for example a beach cleaning machine or beach replenishment project.  But unless something like that is going on, things will remain fairly close to where they were lost for a good amount of time. 

One big factor in the dry sand is the number of other detectorists and their habits.   A busy beach can get pretty well cleaned up by multiple detectorists on a daily basis.  Many of them will detect the dry sand.  There are always a few things left though.  Some good targets will be protected by things such as trash or beach chairs.

One thing that you should get to know on a heavily hunted beach is the habits of the competition. Every detectorist has tendencies or habits, and those can be identified and exploited.

You can usually tell in a short time where others have detected and something about how they detected.

Observe where there is a disproportion of different items, no matter if it is trash or treasure.   Sometimes you will see a disproportionate number of nickels, for example, or zinc pennies, or pop bottle caps, or only deep targets.  

Observe what type of trash others leave, where they hunt and what they miss.  If they leave the deeper targets, that is fine.  Once the surface is cleaned up, you can focus on the small signals.  That is just one example of how you can adjust your strategy. 

If you want to hunt a heavily hunted beach, and there are certainly good alternatives to that, there will probably be a good day of the week and a better time of day. 

I know the foot prints and habits of many of the regulars at the beaches that I detect on a regular basis.

I told you just a couple of days ago about how I recently stopped at a heavily hunted beach and started detecting right in front of the beach walkover, which is where many people pass through and also where most detectorists would start detecting.  In front of that walkover, it was clean except for four pop bottle caps.   I could tell that someone had recently detected the area.  The clad and most trash had been removed, but a gold medallion was found hiding several inches directly under one of the bottle caps.

I could quickly tell that someone had recently detected that area and cleaned up most things.  Moving down the beach a short distance, I could tell from the remaining clad that that area had not been so recently detected.  

It shouldn't take long to identify areas that have and have not been recently detected and how well.

One reason that I don't use much discrimination, is because I want to know what items are on the beach and how they are distributed.  I want to know things such as where others had detected and how they detected.  I want to know something about how items are layered, and what the deeper layers contain.   Then I adjust my hunting strategy.

I don't worry much about competition.  When I don't decide to detect more overlooked or inaccessible areas, I'll simply analyze what has gone on before I got there and adjust my strategy.

I can guarantee that nobody will cover the entire beach and clean out everything.  When you really know your competition, they can be your best friend as you learn to exploit their tendencies. 


While I'm on the topic of dry sand, one way you can save a lot of time and still clean up a beach is by selecting the right scoop for the job and perfecting your speed recovery technique.

It is easy to quickly remove either trash or treasure from dry sand.  For the typical shallow target, it shouldn't take more than about four seconds. 

If you consider the time it takes to get a good reliable readout on a graphic display and determine to dig or not, you could remove the typical shallow dry sand target nearly as quickly.

I'll try to make a video on that someday. 

In dry sand sifting is normally quick.  Select a quick-sifting scoop with a handle long enough so that you can swing it with one hand skimming the top inch or two of sand in one motion.  One quick jerk of the scoop should then reveal the target. 

Of course accurate pinpointing of the location and depth of the item is necessary.  That is a skill that most people have not sufficiently developed.  

If you use your foot like most people and push the scoop in farther than necessary to dig shallow targets you will waste a lot of  time digging and sifting.  One swing and jerk should do the job on surface items in dry sand. 

If you dig junk to be removed, you don't even have to take the time to take it out of your scoop after each recovery.  Just leave it cradled in the bottom of your scoop and accumulate several items until you pass a trash can and dump them all at once or empty them into your trash bag.

I've seen people take more time getting an accurate read out and deciding if they want to dig or not when they could have more quickly removed the item if they had good pinpointing and recovery skills

Of course, if you are in wet sand you can't always get such a quick sift and recovery.  But in wet sand I wouldn't normally be wasting much time in areas where there is a lot of trash either.  

And don't forget that if you leave an item, there is a chance you'll go over it a again, and maybe even several times in the future.   Groundhog day all over again!


Mike M. and Tim M. said my fish skeleton was a cow fish or box fish.  They are simple little creatures.   Thanks for the help guys!


Never wash ivory.  Collectors tend to like it original.

I once showed an ivory and silver Spanish Colonial higa.


On the Treasure Coast today the high tide will be unusually high, however the surf is very small.  It is still very sandy.

Remember that my beach detecting conditions rating scale is for old objects.   Conditions are poor for finding old objects on the beach now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net