5/17/17 Report - 2.65 Carat Diamond Found. Story of John Huddleston. Pirates Hijacked by ePirates.

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

John Huddleston
Source:  EncyclopediaofArkansas link below.

An Oklahoma woman struck gold when she found a 2.65-carat diamond at an Arkansas state park in less than 10 minutes.

Victoria Brodski and her family visited Crater of Diamonds State Park on Saturday after she heard someone found a 7.44-carat diamond there in March, according to the Arkansas State Parks website.

Brodski, 25, picked up a shiny object she thought was a pretty piece glass minutes after she arrived that morning. She dropped it in her pocket and kept searching for diamonds for the rest of the day...

See the link below for the rest of the story.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/05/12/2-65-carat-diamond-at-arkansas-state-park-found-in-less-than-10-minutes.html

You probably know how the Crater of Diamonds State Park started, and how farmer John Huddleston found a diamond there back in the old days.  Some accounts describe him as a hog farmer who discovered a shiny stone in the mud of his hog farm one day.  It was something like some of the treasures I talk about.  According to some accounts (which might not be totally accurate in all details), he didn't know what the stone was at first and was offered a very small sum for the stone before he eventually found out what it was after sending it to a gemologist in New York.  I've used that story for illustration purposes many times, as have many preachers.

John Wesley Huddleston is best known as a struggling farmer who found two diamonds on the surface of his field near Murfreesboro (Pike County) in August 1906 and made himself and his state famous. Soon after the discovery, he was recognized as the first person outside South Africa to find diamonds at an original volcanic source. In the process, he became the controversial subject of numerous folk tales...

In August 1906, however, Huddleston found two unusual crystals along a public road running through the new property. Experts in Little Rock and New York City identified them as diamonds, and soon word of the discovery got out. When diamond-mining interests appeared on the scene in September 1906, the Huddlestons accepted $360 cash for an extendable six-month option on the 243 acres, at a purchase price of $36,000. Afterward, they signed deed contracts and received payments on principal and interest for almost ten years...

You can read more about John and how he discovered diamonds in Arkansas by using the following link.

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4732

Pretty amazing how discoveries like that are made. It could have happened to anyone, but it happened to John Huddleston when the events that changed his life converged at that specific time and place. It has happened on the Treasure Coast. It might happen to you, or it might not.

If farmer John didn't pick up those shiny stones and start the whole thing, somebody else would have.   It is that close.   He could have easily missed it one way or another, and it would have been some other person that went down in history.

You can visit the Crater of Diamonds State Park and search for diamonds for a small fee.  Might be a good vacation idea if you like that sort of thing.

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You probably heard about Disney's latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie being stolen and held for ransom.  Someone (North Korea is suspected) threatened to release parts of the movie before the official release unless they are paid off in Bitcoin.  The day before yesterday, I think it was, I just talked about hacking and digital pirates sailing the internet, I also recently talked about digital forms of payment, including Bitcoin. Funny how the timing worked out.

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Like I said the other day, I haven't been out to the beach much lately.  Darrel S. however, was out and submitted the following report about the beaches from Wabasso to Turtle Trail.  Very mushy and way too much sand near low tide line. Renourished dunes are exposed. Reason for too much dirt closer to ocean.

Thanks for the resport Darrel.

We're supposed to have a 2 - 4 foot surf today on the Treasure Coast, increasing to a 3 - 5 foot surf tomorrow.  The tides are small, so that will be no help.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/12/14 Report - $20,000 Diamond Found, 100 Year-old Log Canoe, 1915 S Nickel & Non-metallic Finds

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



3.85 Carat Diamond Found by Teen
Source: AP video.

A young girl recently found this diamond of over three carats at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, the only diamond mine in the US where you can go and for a small fee spend the day prospecting for diamonds.  The diamond she found was sold for $20,000.







http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/teen-sells-diamond-she-unearthed-in-arkansas/223095875702/fanNews/newest/?cid=hero_sf

I've told the story of the Crater of Diamonds before.  Here is a bit of it.

One day in 1906 pig farmer, John Huddlestone, noticed something sparkling in the mud of the pig farm that he bought for a thousand dollars, giving his mule as down payment.  Not knowing what it was, he picked up the shiny stone and kept it.  He eventually sent it to a gemologist in New York.  It turns out the shiny stone was a diamond.  John sold the first diamond real cheap, but before the story is over, farmer John's pig farm turned into a diamond mine now know as the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.  

That story teaches a great lesson and has been as an illustration for counteless sermons.  Good things can sometimes be found in the muck and mire of life.

Here is more of the story of John Huddleston and the founding of Crater of Diamonds State Park.

http://murfreesboroark.com/johnhuddlestonday.html

An old log canoe was found in Lake Minnetonka 80 years ago when the water level was down and a dock was being constructed.   The canoe was thought to be nothine special  until testing was done that estimated the canoe to be nearly 1,000 years old, the oldest of its kind in Minnesota.
 

“We’ve always thought it was 200, 300 years old,” said Russ Ferrin, a retiree who runs the Pioneer Museum. “And then they came back and said it was 1,000 years old. It totally shocked us.”

Here is the link for more of that story.
 

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/254654311.html?page=1&c=y


One of the coins that Russ found and was shown in the coin photos recently was a 1915 S nickel.

Here is a good summary on that.

http://www.coinstudy.com/1915-nickel-value.html

This site gives a good description on how to evaluate the condition of Buffalo nickels.


There have been a couple of themes in my recent posts.  One is construction.   Russ' coins were found at such a site as were the finds of James F.  

Keep your eyes open for new construction that might be unearthing old items.  Make sure you are allowed to be there though.  Many construction sites are off-limits.


On the Treasure Coast today, the surf will be only about two or three feet.  The tides will be average.  The wind is from the East/Northeast.   That won't help.


Less than a day remains for responding to the blog poll.   We have a good number of responses so far.

One result that is showing up is the two least favorite topics: non-metallic finds and world treasures.

There are several reasons that I talk about non-metallic finds.  One is that I like them just as much as metallic finds.  Non-metallic finds can be just as valuable and sometimes more valuable than metallic finds.  And perhaps more importantly, they can serve as signs or pointers.  Ceramics and glass, for example, will often be one of the first signs of a historic area or a shipwreck.  Signs like that are important to me.   I seek out any possible signs that can point me to treasure.  they are made of.

My system is based upon following any and all type of signs that might give any clue to treasure spots.  I'm sure that if you do not use non-metallic items as signs, you can become more effective by learning to read what they might tell you.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net