8/19/19 Report - Metal Detecting for Watches and Detector Responses. A Scouting Tool. Memorable Metal Detecting Moments.

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

Man's Watch on Ground

An expensive watch can sound like a piece of junk.  No ID meter is going to tell you when you are detecting a watch, but if you are digging everything, or if you are discriminating but know how a watch is likely to sound, you will still find a fair share of watches.

In the above photo you see a watch. That shows one way a watch can be positioned.  The face and band are standing on edge. Watches can also be positioned so the face of the watch is facing up or down with the band lying flat on the ground.  (See example below.)

Watches are usually made of a variety of materials.  Even if the casing is gold or silver, part of the watch and band will be made of other materials.  That means that you can get some confusing signals.  Not only that, but if you swing your coil over it in different directions you will get different sounding signals and different conductivity ratings.

If you swing left and right over the above watch,  the Equinox will give conductivity ratings of 13 to 16, but if you swing north to south, you will get higher readings - something like 18 - 22.

Your readings won't be consistent, but will depend to some extent upon exactly where the watch is positioned under the coil.

Watches will often give two or more tones because of all the different parts and materials used in the watch.

Watch Lying Flat.

This watch, which is a different than the one at the top of the post, is lying flat on the ground.  The signal will be primarily determined by the casing and face of the watch, but also the band.  This watch, produced a much more complex signal than the watch above.  This one jumped around all over the place between -1 and 35.

Although there are so many kinds of watches and the signals can be very complex and varied, it is still good have an idea of what they might sound like,  You can learn what to expect by experimenting with a variety of watches.

I previously posted three YouTube videos that illustrate the effect of the position of a watch and the sweep direction of the coil on the detector signal you get from a watch.

Here are those links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqZ9XJiKy7o

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGswg64oWE


I've found a lot of watches in shell-filled dips right in front of the beach.

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Its amazing what is online.  If you want to scout around a little without actually going anywhere, you might try Google Maps street-view.  It is almost like you are there.

Entrance to White City Park as Seen Using Street View on Google Maps.

As you drive down the road using street view you might want to look around for construction areas, like that being done on Midway Road through White City.   I've posted many stories in this blog about old things being exposed by construction projects.

The views you see on street view will be somewhat out of date, but still you might get some good leads.  The construction in this area has been going on for years, so things might be different now, but they are still turning earth.

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We hear so much these days about the massive amount of data being kept on private individuals by both internet companies and the government, but how about your scholastic "permanent record?"

Decades ago when I was in elementary and high school (we didn't have kindergarten or middle school in our rural area), whenever you did something bad enough to warrant it, your teacher or school principal might threatened that IT (whatever it was) could go on your "permanent record."  My wife remembers it too, so it wasn't just a local thing.  I've heard it joked about on TV sitcoms too, so it must have been near universal.

It sounded really ominous when it was referred to by authority figures that were twice your size and as much as 35 or 40 years old.  I don't know where those "permanent records" were kept, but at the time your permanent records sounded just a little less important than the Book of Life.  It sounded like it could determine the rest of your life somehow.  Now I know it was a fake.

Only a few people in the world now know if I even went to first grade, and nobody knows or cares what graduate degrees I completed. That is one of the things about being retired - what you thought was so important and spent so many years on becomes irrelevant.  After spending years of time and lots of money, the degrees did help me get jobs, but now there are only about two people in the world that actually knows anything about that. Time flies and things change.

Despite the sham of the mythical permanent record, there are records that last.  For example, there is your ancestral record encoded in your DNA.

But each and everyone of us keeps a record of our own.  It might be selective and spotty, but it is there.  Some long lasting memories seem to have been indelibly imprinted on our brains.  There are successes, embarrassments, sports moments, and things that someone said that you seem to never forget.  Some of those are metal detecting experiences.

I remember some finds very clearly even though they occurred many years ago.  I remember the location, what the weather was like, etc., etc.  Many of those memories are of what I call first finds.

I remember, for example, the first Rolex watch I found, even though it was drowned.  I also remember the last Rolex I found, but that wasn't so long ago.

I remember the first shipwreck silver I found on a Treasure Coast beach.  I told about that one in this blog before.  It was at John Brooks beach.   It was almost in front of the beach walkover, but a little to the right.  My wife took it out of my scoop, looked at it and was in the process of giving it a toss, when I stopped her.   It was flat and black, and I didn't know for sure it was silver until I got back home and tested it.  But I remember it all very well.

I remember the first silver ring I found, but strangely not the first gold ring.  That silver ring was found on Hollywood beach down near the water in the evening.  My parents were there and I was showing them my new detector.  They were surprised when I came back with the ring in hand.  Their reaction of surprise probably made it more memorable.

I remember one large solitary multi-carat diamond ring find very well.  I was in the water.  The sky was cloudless and blue and the water was crystal clear that day.  I saw the ring sparkle when the sand slid off of it while it was still in the scoop just a few inches off the bottom.  I saw it sparkle through a two or three feet of water.

Those are just a few examples.  Some of my favorite metal detecting memories weren't finds.  They were just beautiful sights.

One of those occurred came just off Fort Lauderdale Beach in and about thee feet of water.  One day I was metal detecting in the water when it started raining.  The water was flat and the rain surrounded me like a shower curtain of rain surrounding me.  I could only see a few feet in every direction.  It seemed like I was alone in the world.  It was eerily quiet and stunningly beautiful.

That is one of the benefits of metal detecting.  You can accumulate an album full memorable moments that can last for decades.

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I'm going to start harping on including some indication of the size of finds submitted for identification.  It is so important.  Often just a coin for comparison or the object shown in hand will do, but the more information you provide, the better chance you will have of getting an answer.



It looks like another week of one foot surf is predicted for the Treasure Coast.

Nothing that will affect us is on the National Hurricane Center map.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/28/17 Report - Personal Metal Detecting Firsts. Effigy or Pendant? Big Canoe. Surprising Carving Tools.

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

Found at Douglas Beach About 15 Years Ago.
Find and photo by Darrel S.

Here is what Darrel said about the above find. At first I thought a pendant with the top part worn from time. A friend, who wrote a book on Taino, thought possibly an effigy, etc.  It is about 2.5 inches. The material is steathite, which was used making celts, etc. Definitely, material not from Florida. I still think it is a pendant and the grooved ring was worn over time. 

I really like that piece, especially how you can see the different layers.

Thanks for sharing Darrel.

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BELCHER, LA -- Excavation efforts have unearthed a large, prehistoric Indian canoe along the Red River in north Caddo Parish.

One archaeologist said the almost 34-foot-long dugout canoe, described it in very good condition even though one side is missing. The canoe, weighing an estimated 1,000 pounds, could be the largest ever found intact in North America...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.ktbs.com/news/prehistoric-indian-canoe-unearthed-along-red-river/article_c50de896-56a5-11e7-9d3e-7f99bd422e0a.html

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11,000 Year-Old Statue
Source: See link below.

New scientific findings suggest that images and hieroglyphics on the wooden statue were carved with the jaw of a beaver, its teeth intact.

Originally dug out of a peat bog by gold miners in the Ural Mountains in 1890, the remarkable seven-faced Idol is now on display in a glass sarcophagus in a museum in Yekaterinburg.

Two years ago German scientists dated the Idol as being 11,000 years old...

Here is the link.

http://siberiantimes.com/science/others/news/beavers-teeth-used-to-carve-the-oldest-wooden-statue-in-the-world/

To me, that is absolutely one beautiful statue.  And the idea of using beaver teeth to carve makes so much sense -  I love it!

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I was thinking of my personal metal detecting firsts.  Some came readily to mind even though they happened a long time ago.  Some I could remember like it was yesterday, and some are things that I would barely pay attention to if I found them today. Still they made an impression at the time.   I'll try to put them in chronological order as well as I can.

My first ring.  It was a silver skull ring.  Nothing that I consider special in any way today.
My first Rolex watch.
My first multi-carat solitaire diamond ring.
My first national championship sports ring.
My first escudo.
My first piece of shipwreck silver.
My first gold shipwreck artifact.
My first raw gold nugget from a treasure wreck beach.

Looking at the list, there are a couple of things that might seem a little surprising.  For one thing, I found an escudo before I found a reale.

Another thing that seems a little odd to me is that I have no idea which was my first gold ring find.  It doesn't stick out in my memory for some reason.

The diamond solitaire ring find sticks out in my mind because it was such a vivid sensory experience. It was blue sky day with a very calm clear surf.  What I remember is seeing the diamond reflecting the sunlight as soon as it emerged from the sand even though it was under about three feet of water when that happened.

Unlike that one, which made a real impression as soon as I saw it shining under the water, there were other items that I didn't appreciate until after I did the research and found out what they really were. Sometimes that was a long time later.  Those I not sure of when they were found because I didn't appreciate them right away.

It is not surprising that most of the modern finds came first.  I lived in South Florida and was focusing on modern jewelry before moving to the Treasure Coast.

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There is no tropical weather to watch right now.

The surf is still calm and we still are having some nice tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/6/17 Report - Memorable Metal Detector Finds: Firsts. Beach Conditions Prior to Approaching Winter Weather and Bigger Surf.

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

Douglas Beach Near Low Tide This Morning.

As you probably know we will be getting colder weather this weekend.  A front will be coming through and the temperature dropping.

The surf is also predicted to increase - perhaps up to seven feet.  

I wanted to see the condition of the beaches before that happens.  In most places there is a lot of newly accumulated sand.  You'll see that from my photos.

Another View of Douglas Beach

You can see the new sand on the front of the beach in this picture.  There were also some shells.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Park.

You can see the different steps or levels on this beach.  Notice the light shell sand that accumulated on the front beach.  Back a while ago that was decent detecting. 

One Beach That Had Some Better Swells.

This beach also showed recently accumulated sand and had some shells.  This beach however, even with the new sand, is back farther than in recent years.  A good cut on this beach should be productive.

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Time flies.  Things change.  What you are left with is memories.

I decided to do a post or maybe a few posts on memorable metal detecting moments.  After thinking about it a little while, I discovered that they break down into a small number of categories.  The main categories are (1) firsts, (2) big finds, (3) numerous finds, (4) difficult recoveries, (5) human behavior, and (6) regrets.

Today I'll start with some firsts.

My first 1715 Fleet find was a black silver "razor."  It isn't worth much of anything, but I was glad when I finally find it.

It was the size and shape of a 2 reale but had absolutely no design detail to indicate that it was a coin.  It was found on Douglas Beach decades ago.  I had made several trips to the Treasure Coast with no luck prior to that and I wondered if I would ever find a treasure coin on the Treasure Coast.  I had found some down south, but my trips to the Treasure Coast had up to that point been frustrating.

I always remember when I dug it up (and I could go to within a few feet of that very spot today) my wife took it out of my scoop and started to toss it.  I said, "WAIT!! Don't throw that away."  I still didn't know if it was silver or what, and I didn't find out until I went home and acid tested it.  For quite some time I thought it was my first reale, but now I'm not so sure it was a reale.  It could have been a piece of silver from something else.  I just don't know.

That find is very clear in my mind today after decades have passed.  Most of my early years I was specializing in modern jewelry.

My first escudo find, (a 1714 2-escudo) was very memorable.  It came before I ever visited the Treasure Coast.  Sometimes things are found where and when you are not expecting them.  What a pleasant surprise!

It was found in Dade County.  The area has changed totally.  The hotels in the area have been replaced, and the beach has been extended out into the ocean over a hundred yards or more.  It was on my birthday weekend.  On the same weekend I found a 20th Century American Eagle gold coin (1980 something if I correctly recall).  That was a very lucky birthday weekend.  Two gold coins from two different centuries in one weekend!

My first reale find not from the 1715 Fleet was found at Jupiter.  It seemed like a long time coming too. I found a lot of older U. S. coins and things at Jupiter before finally getting a reale there.  On my visits to Jupiter, I often ran into a fellow (Dave) who hit that beach daily and had found jars full of reales.  I had some luck on the 1715 Fleet beaches before I got a reale at Jupiter.   It came one day when I visited Jupiter and the dunes were eroding.  It was in extremely nice condition although it was encrusted when found.  

My first 18th Century military button came along with a number of other 18th century firsts.  Those firsts came because of the location.  As they say, "Location, location, location."   You can't find what isn't there.

 I was on a small Caribbean Island with a lot of history, including battles.  My first finds there included military buttons, grape shot, trench art and some finds that fall into some of my other categories, including regrets.

My first ring find was made not long after I got my first metal detector.  It was a silver skull biker ring found on Hollywood Beach near the lifeguard stand near the water.

My first old bottle find was made on Key Biscayne after Hurricane Andrew.  I was hunting coins and noticed old bottles floating in the surf.  I found a plastic bag and started collecting them.  That was the beginning of my bottle collecting.

My first gold nugget find was a few years ago.  I never did any nugget shooting and was happy to find three raw nuggets one day on a 1715 Fleet beach.  They are among my favorite finds now.  Not real valuable, but I like them.

Strangely, I don't remember my first gold ring find, but I do remember my first platinum ring find.

First finds aren't necessarily valuable finds, but they can be memorable just the same.

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Watch to see what happens when the cold front hits and the surf increases this weekend.  Hopefully it will hit just right.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net