4/6/19 Report - 16th Century Shipwreck. Reader Firsts. Scientific Approach To Treasure Hunting.

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

Copper Sheets From 16th Century Shipwreck.
Source: See nltimes link below.

Researchers found a Dutch shipwreck from early in the 16th century while cleaning up containers that went overboard from the MSC Zoe on New Year's eve. This is the oldest shipwreck ever discovered in Dutch waters, the National Cultural Heritage Agency said on Wednesday...

During the container salvage operation, copper plates and wooden beams were found. An archeological investigation was immediately launched. According to the Cultural Heritage Agency, the wooden beams came from a ship with a smooth hull that was likely around 30 meters long. The wood was further examined and this revealed that it was felled in 1536 and that the ship was built in the Netherlands around 1540. It sank while transporting copper plates.

Investigation into the copper plates dated them to around the same period. An interesting detail is that the plates are marked by the Fugger family, who had a monopoly on copper production in the 16th century. "The find is of very high cultural and archeological value", the Cultural Heritage Agency said...

Here is the link.

https://nltimes.nl/2019/04/03/16th-century-dutch-shipwreck-found-shipping-accident-cleanup

I had this article for a few days but put it on hold to discuss some other things first.

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I like to find different kinds of things.  Some seem special.  There was my first ring, my first Rolex watch, my first Spanish treasure coin, and my first gold nugget, to name just a few.  I often mention reader firsts.  Last month DJ experienced some firsts and shared them with me in an email.  Here is what he said.

... I have decided that your blog is an encyclopedia of information, much of which I was able to use in March. Thank you for sharing this information, it makes the hobby all the more rewarding.  

A list of firsts: First time I found lots of targets, jewelry, first silver ring, green clad lying on top of the sand and first square copper/brass nail. 

Also helpful were the strategy of reading the beach, checking, making myself check another beach if things are not too good where I am. Many examples exist and were put into play this trip...

Congratulations on so many firsts in such a short time DJ.   Many more to come!

I'm delighted that you are making such good use of the blog.

There were others who recently sent me emails of thanks.  I sincerely appreciate them all.  It keeps me going.

Thanks guys!

In a world filled with so much discord and hate, I'm encouraged daily by the fine kind people I meet through the blog. 

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Coming from a scientific background, it was only natural that I would bring a scientific attitude to my metal detecting and treasure hunting.  While a treasure hunter will usually not want to conduct any kind of formal scientific experiments, adopting a "scientific" approach is recommended.  To a large extent that means being abundantly cautious, systematic, thorough, disciplined, reserving judgement, and highly valuing evidence, or data.

There is a lot more to science than laboratories, test tubes and experiments.  Science requires a number of traits and attitudes. It requires a real desire to understand, creativity, objectivity, logic and skepticism.

That might sound like a lot, but you undoubtedly already possess and use some of those traits, and others can be developed and improved.

I can't do a comprehensive treatment of the subject in one post, or even a lot of posts, but I'll discuss some things that I've found very helpful and recommend that you at least consider them.

You'll often see someone make a find and without any serious thought or study, proclaim what the item is.  There are usually a variety of possibilities that should be considered.  I always like to try to think of as many alternative explanations as I can.  It is important to develop theories and hypothesis, which can be tested or evaluated.

They say, "You don't know what you don't know," but I know a lot of things I don't know.  It is important to have an awareness of what you don't know. A scientific approach requires having a deep respect for  how much you don't know.  I wouldn't want to have brain surgery conducted by a podiatrist.  Over-confidence can be deadly literally as well as figuratively.

No matter what you think of the TV treasure shows, they provide a lot of examples and illustrations that many of us have seen and can discuss.  Sometimes you will see a hap-hazard, disorganized, poorly considered approach.  They look here and look there and find this and that, most of which has no significance, and come up with conclusions that are little more than wild speculation.  That creates drama, which is something a TV show must do, but for me, it is not the way to solve a problem.  That is the reason I am so critical at times.

A number of seasons ago on Gold Rush, Parker finally got Tony to drill some test holes to sample some ground.  I thought, its about time.  Sampling is a scientific strategy that I use all the time in a different form.  It is a systematic method of collecting data.  That is just one of many examples.

Don't get me wrong.  A skilled professional who has tons of experience on a specific type of activity can be successful without all the stuff I am talking about today.  My father-in-law was in coal mining his entire life and could tell by just looking at the land where there was going to be good coal.  There is no substitute for that type of experience. You can find that type of experience and skill on the Treasure Coast.

A more scientific approach used by a relative novice will lose to vast professional experience every-time.  However, I believe anyone who wants to and makes the effort can benefit by taking a more scientific approach.  It will dramatically increase the learning curve for the less experienced and prevent costly mistakes and increase efficiency for those who are already skilled.

Taking a scientific approach is not a quick path to success.  Neither can it replace long hard work.  It will help though.  In some cases it might be absolutely necessary - depending upon what you want to accomplish.

Some people will not be interested at all in a scientific approach.  For some, it just will not mesh with their personality, philosophy or goals.

Some people are just out for a little relaxation.  Some people like to go by feel or hunch.  That is fine.   And if you disagree with everything I just said, that is fine too.

I haven't even began to scratch the surface on this topic and may or may not get into more detail in the future.  I suspect I will from time to time.

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We now have a slightly negative low tide.  Other than that there is not much change to report concerning beach conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/16/17 Report - A Recent Relic Hunt. Memorable Mistakes.

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

Finds and photo by Dan B.

When the salvage season is over and Dan B. isn't working on the Capitana bringing up gold coins from the 1715 Fleet, he does some relic hunting. Here is a group of finds he made very recently at a railroad site.

There are some neat things in there. Notice, for example, the eagle button and the strap buckles.

I visited an old RR spot today. Since I have already picked the area clean of easy hits, I spent some time hunting the most difficult and messy areas.  Nails and iron are usually enough to deter people including myself from detecting thoroughly. These are usually old structures and hold some goodies if you can differentiate the quality hits. Well worth the time today, but rarely so lucky. 

A lot of people would be scared off by a bunch of nails, but they can protect good finds for the more patient and persistent hunter.

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People often think that you have to be at a site the day it cuts or it is too late.  That is the case sometimes, but not always.  Some really great finds have been made days after people think it is over.

When Turtle Trail recently cut and produced some nice finds last week, most was found in the first couple of days, but not everything.  In fact an eight reale was found Friday - days after the very best hunting.

A lot of things can be found when a site hits its peak, but time after time  great things are still found when most people have given up and think it is over.

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I did a post one day on some of my memorable finds.  They were finds that I always remember for some reason - often because they were firsts of some kind.

Some of my memorable finds were memorable because I made a mistake that I continue to regret. Those are the kinds of things that make you wish you had known better at the time.

One that always sticks out in my mind was a musket hammer.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't pay much attention to the hammer when I found it.  I wasn't sure what it was.  Then I found the flint nearby.  The rusted hammer was my first musket hammer, and I wasn't sure what it was right away, but as I always say, keep anything if you aren't sure you know what it is.  Well, back then I made the mistake and didn't keep the hammer and not even the flint.

I found the musket flint after digging the hammer.  That confirmed to me that it was a musket hammer, but why I didn't keep the hammer or the flint, I don't know, and I still regret it.  I was hot on a trail of some good buttons and things at the time and that might have something to do with the fact that I didn't pay them much attention.

Another regret is an 18th century medallion that was so encrusted when it was dug that I didn't know what it was.  It looked like it could be a coin.  It went into the tumbler with a bunch of coins, and when I took it out, I saw what it really was.  Fortunately it wasn't badly damaged, but it should have been treated better.  It lost some gilt and a little detail in the tumbling  process.  What an idiot!  Hopefully, I wouldn't make that type of mistake today.

As I think about some of the regrets, they were often also firsts.  That is part of the reason the mistake was made.  I didn't recognize or appreciate the item, and as a result didn't save it or properly treat it.

Other regrets came from not properly cleaning and storing items. I can think of couple of very nice items that were not stored carefully enough and broke while in storage.  Store your nice items carefully. Don't have one type of metal touching another.  That can result in discoloratation.  It can happen to reales, for example.  Don't keep a reale touching another type of metal.

Store nice items separately and so they won't be under too much weight.  Coin holders help.  It is also a good idea to keep artifacts in separate plastic boxes or bottles.  You can't be too careful if you don't want any accidental damage.

Another type of regret to avoid, is damaging items during recovery.  Some very nice items can be damaged or destroyed by careless digging.  You might not know what it is until you dig it up, so be careful.  Remember, it might be something precious.  Even metal items can be fragile.  I've made that mistake too.

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The surf will be decreasing for a few days.

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