7/15/19 Report - 1715 Fleet (?) Silver Bracelet From Treasure Coast Wreck Beach. Old Flat Buttons and Markings.

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

Two Views of Hand on End of Silver Bracelet.

This hand is on the end of what seems to me to be an interesting and unusual silver find that came from a Treasure Coast shipwreck beach where other 1715 Fleet items were found.

Each hand is only about 3/8 inches long from beginning of the cuff to the end of the knuckles.

Here is the entire bracelet, if that is what it really is.

Silver Bracelet (?)

The hands on both ends are very similar, the one of the left is just at an angle that doesn't show it well.

It is about the right size for a bracelet.  It would fit around most wrists if it was not stretched open as it is.  Of course it could be something else altogether.

I noticed the ruffled cuffs, which remind me a little of cuffs such as the one shown below.

Ruffled Cuffs.

Hands are not unusual on pieces of 18th century jewelry, which include Claddagh rings and Higas like the one shown below, which was also found on a Treasure Coast shipwreck beach.

A nearly identical Higa is in the Mel Fisher Artifact database and documented as coming from the Atocha.

So, is this bracelet a 1715 Fleet artifact?  I don't know, but it appears to me that there is a good chance that it is.

Let me know what you think.

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I've found a variety of old buttons over the years and didn't keep good records on them, so I don't know now where I got them, although some probably came from Treasure Coast sites.  Here are seven that don't have much of anything on the front of the button, but they do have markings on the back.  I know I have other old flat buttons somewhere.

Seven Dug Old Flat Buttons.

The largest is almost exactly one inch across, and the smallest one half inch across.

I'll refer to the buttons as being in four rows and two columns.  The largest button at top left is 1A.  There are no marks on the back of it.

The one beside it (1B) reads as follows on the back: STANDARD COLOUR TREBLE GILT.  (See below.)

Button 1A

On the back button 2A (below) reads: PLATED between stars.

2A

2B also reads PLATED but with no other ornamentation.

Button 2B.

3A (below) reads: FINE TREBLE GILT.  It seems to have something like a big "C" in the open area.

Button 3A.

The back of 3B (below)  twice reads: STANDARD GILT.  There is also a ring of what appears to be shields.

Button 3B.

And the last and smallest button, the only one in row 4, reads: STANDARD RICH COLOUR.  There are some other things that I can not make out, but it looks like maybe S 2.

Button 4A.

As I've mentioned, I didn't keep good records on the buttons and don't know where they all came from.  If you have reason to believe that anything I've said about these buttons are wrong, please correct me, or if you can add any information about the identify of the buttons from what you see, please do so.  I'm sure some of these markings suggest date ranges, but haven't done the research myself.

Thanks for any help.

I'm just glad I got this organized and have these buttons together now.  When I find or locate others, I'll get them organized and documented.

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Barry is weakening and heading north.  There are no other significant systems on the National Hurricane Atlantic map right now.

You can expect another week of small surf on the Treasure Coast.

It is the time of year when we could get a system that creates some erosion and improved hunting.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/29/16 Report - Detecting Surf and Turf. Button Finds. Digging Egyptian Movie Artifacts in California.

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

Tis the season to be jolly.  Anytime you can be jolly is the season to be jolly, but for beach hunters, the winter months are generally better than the summer months, unless there is a summer storm that shakes things up. From my personal experience, October to April is the best time to find cobs on the beach, with Nov. to February usually being the best of those.  It is the opposite of the salvage season around here, which relies on the smoother summer surf.  More likely than not we'll have some good opportunities to find cobs on the beach in the next couple of months.

Dan B. was hunting in South Carolina.  Here is what he had to say about that.

I spent a solid week of research before heading to SC this year. I was surprised at how difficult things can be if they are not in one's own back yard. Going to unfamiliar territory is strangely challenging. Surprised that anything could stand in my way, I found that everything did. Satellite photos of streams were bulging rivers. The ground and roots in some places combined with many inches of leaf litter reminded me of how nice it is to dig in sugar sand.  Trees were down everywhere and shotgun shells seem to be more of an issue than pop tops. Overall, I had a nice time in the woods and learned to appreciate my neck of the woods more. I was able to pull a nice variety of different buttons.

It is nice to be able to hunt various types of locations and do different types of detecting.  It is difficult though - especially if you are accustomed to one type of location and one type of hunting.

Most of us beach hunters know the beaches that we hunt.  We figured out what type of detector we need and are prepared for the sand and surf.  In other locations our equipment might not be so well suited to the environment.

Sifting sand through a scoop is one thing, but digging in rocks or clay is another.  You might choose both a different detector and a different type of recovery tool.  It can be difficult to see a coin covered with clay, or dig through rocks and pebbles without destroying the coin, or find a target in a pile of leaves.  Those are all things I have to do when I detect my favorite site in West Virginia.

A different search strategy might be required too.  You don't have the surf to sift and sort things when you are not on the beach.  You might have some sifting and sorting though, as I described in a recent post.  You have water runoff, and you have erosion in some spots, so there are some similarities.

Buttons Found by Dan B. During A  Land Hunt In S. C.

Here is what Dan said about the button finds.

Large flatty with no front design and broken shank. Looking closely you can see "plated" on the second.  The last two don't appear as old.

Thanks Dan.

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Los Angeles, CA)—Artifacts from the epic movie "The Ten Commandments" are starting to surface from underneath the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes in California...

A giant sphinx was found in the dunes earlier this year and it's currently on display at the nonprofit Dunes Center in Guadalupe. More remains are expected to be found from a "lost city" that boasted a huge temple, four more sphinxes, massive statues, a 750-foot-long wall, and amenities.

Hamilton said roughly 2,500 people lived in the camp for several months during the film's production...

Here is the link for the rest of that story.

http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=17132

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That is all for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net