5/2/17 Report - Mystery Object Help Needed. Beach Closings. Small Surf. Florida Fireball Meteorites.

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

Metal Tubular Case Found

This is a mystery object that I found.  The embossing provides plenty of information so I should eventually be able to figure out what it is.

The top is corroded and I don't want to try to open it yet.  I am not sure if there is something in it or not.  There is something in it, but it might just be sand.  I assume that if there is any of significance in the case, it would be a lens - perhaps a microscope lens or telescope lens, or maybe a lens for a gun sight.  I have no idea about that yet and am not sure that I want to chance damaging the case to find out what, if anything, is in it.  I probably will at some point.  The curiosity will get the best of me or I'll be able to open the case without damaging it.

The Bausch and Lomb Company began in 1853.  So far I haven't found out much more than that and the following.

In the 1900’s, Bausch + Lomb continued to demonstrate its place at the forefront of technological innovation for optical products. Bausch + Lomb produced the first optical quality glass made in America, developed ground-breaking sunglasses for the military in World War I, and created the lenses used on the cameras that took the first satellite pictures of the moon.

Below is another view of the same case.

I'd love to hear any ideas on this object, including possible age or contents.

Thanks for your ideas.

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Bathtub Beach will be closed for two weeks, beginning may 1.  Beach renourishment has begun.

Does anyone know where the new sand is coming from?  It is always good to know that.


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Really, really old treasures.

We often talk about old coins and things, but there are things that are so old that they make those things look like newborns.

One is fossils, which can be millions of years old.  They can be found on the Treasure Coast.  I've shown some of those before.  But there are other really old things that can be found in Florida, although less often.

Yes Martha, Florida does have meteorites.  SuperRick from Nevada was hunting for treasure coins on the Treasure Coast recently.  He normally hunts nuggets and meteorites, but does that mostly in Nevada.

For a variety of reasons, Florida isn't a good place to find meteorites, but it does happen.

Source: http://www.space.com/32046-florida-fireball-meteorite-hunt-success.html

Those happy guys found meteorites from a fireball, which is even more rare.

Meteorite hunters in Florida have found six space rocks associated with a rare daytime fireball that streaked through the Sunshine State's skies on Jan. 24.  

The newfound meteorite assemblage was the sixth recorded from Florida, and the first one linked to a fireball observed by witnesses, experts said...

That was back in January of 2016.

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://www.space.com/32046-florida-fireball-meteorite-hunt-success.html

Meteorites can sell for a nice price.  There are many kinds.  Some can be found with a metal detector, others can't.

I'll have more on that sometime.

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Looks like the surf will be only one or two feet for the next couple of weeks.  I think some of the salvage crews might get out.  I think at least one exploratory lease will be getting a look.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/25/15 Report - The Treasure Coast Could Get a Hurricane Sunday or Monday. Example of A Jeweled Cross Escudo. Hunting Meteorites.

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

Predicted Path of Erika
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

I'm changing the focus today.  We now have a new tropical storm - Erika.  Erika is headed towards the Bahamas and Florida and could possibly get here Sunday or Monday as a hurricane.

We'll have to wait to see how that actually develops.  It could fall apart or turn away.

Here is a forecast about that.

http://www.wptv.com/weather/weather-blogs/tropical-storm-erika-forms-in-the-atlantic

I'm hoping she doesn't hit us hard but skirts the peninsula just giving us some good waves.

That is something I'll be keeping my eye on.

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In my 8/12/15 post I talked about the jeweled cross series of Mexican escudos.  Here is one.

Jeweled Cross Escudo.
Photo submitted by Captain Jonah Martinez.

This is not one of the most recent batch of gold cobs found on the Treasure Coast, but it is a good found example.

Notice the dots along the cross.  That is the characteristic that gives the name to the jeweled cross escudos.

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I've been talking a lot about the most recent Treasure Coast discoveries made by the crew of the Capitana..  We all want to hear as much as we can about that.  There are so many things to think about and explore, but there are a lot of other things to talk about too.

I'll have more on the Treasure Coast escudos of 2015 in the near future, but here is something different today from SuperRick.

SuperRick hunts meteorites and gold out West but also occasionally visits Florida and hunts our beaches.  He talks about meteorites, something I have never hunted but am interested in and would love to try someday.  He also provides a number of links if you want to learn more about hunting meteorites.

Here is what Rick wrote.

Space Diamonds in Gold Country: California Meteorite's Secrets Revealed

I thought that I would start off with this story, because I was hunting for this meteorite the day after it hit California. Out here in the Las Vegas area we do not have the beaches to hunt, so I hunt primarily  meteorites, with a good sprinkling of gold prospecting.

 Every time I come back to Fla. I bring with me a Garrett ATX to hunt the beaches, but like everybody else have been locked out of finding anything that I would say is a good find because of all of the beach reclamation. Still waiting for that first storm and the right timing to hit the Treasure Coast.... 

...I have three different detectors and just bought a Deus XP, as we all know different detectors do different things, so I run a Gold Bug 2, a Whites MTX and  a Garrett ATX hunting for different things.

The Meteorite's are worth more that the gold if you find the right kind of a meteorite that is what we call a cold find, that the collectors don't have. So I primarily do nothing but cold hunts, which you can go month or years without finding anything. Doesn't sound like fun, now does it?

There are times that I will take the out-of-town guests out prospecting or meteorite hunting where I can almost guaranteed that they will find a very common meteorite on one of our many dry lake beds. All of those hunts are done by sight. We also have some strewn fields where again they stand a very good chance of finding a meteorite or gold.

Now I'm not going to put up any videos that I shot because most of the stuff that I do is cold hunting and we keep those locations very secret.  Some very enterprising hunters have tracked down where someone is hunting by the video that was put online.

http://www.space.com/27959-space-diamonds-meteorite-sutters-mill.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrbmPvcl93o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eY9YiVvIP4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eY9YiVvIP4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o9151C6QcE

I will back in Fla. The first week of September and right now looking at that first storm out in the Atlantic hoping to have my timing right to see some beach erosion, without any major damage to anything else!

By the way, you can find meteorites in Fla, but because of the vegetation you would be pretty hard-pressed to do so!Now if any of you guys have any question you can send me an Email at superrick101@gmail.com


Thanks Rick!  I always like to learn about different types of detecting and am sure that others do as well.

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I have some more good information and news relative to treasure hunting the 1715 Fleet.  I'll pick up with that again in the future.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/13/15 Report - Have You Ever Found A Meteorite? Learn How To Tell. World's Largest Cave.

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

Number of Meteorites Found In Each State.
Source: Washington University in St. Louis web site linked below.

If you've been reading this blog over the years, you know that I disuss a variety of things.  I've talked hunting bottles, fossils, sea glass and all kind of things.  Today I'm going to get into something that I've mentioned a few times before but never discussed in much detail.  

Have you ever found a meteorite?  I know detectorists on the Treasure Coast who say they've found a meteorite on the beach.  Maybe they have.  I don't know.  It is possible, but certainly would not be common occurrence.

There used to be a TV series that followed a couple of guys who traveled around and looked for meteorites with their metal detectors.  They were very successful too.  They knew where to go and traveled the world.  I liked watching that program for some strange reason.

I know that there are some readers of this blog who live in other parts of the country and do hunt meteorites.  I heard from one not long ago.

Anyhow, I found some good web sites that will help determine if that odd looking stone that gives a signal is really a meteorite.

First, what are the chances?  In Florida, very very slim.  The map at the top of the post shows how many meteorites have been found in each state. excluding Alaska and Hawaii, both of which have very few.

Here is the link to that web site.  http://meteorites.wustl.edu/numbers_by_state.htm

And here is what that site says.

Many of the meteorites were found as multiple stones, sometimes years apart. The total number of individual stones is not known but is probably several times the number of meteorites. (By convention, if a meteoroid breaks apart in the atmosphere or when it hits the earth, all the fragments are considered a single meteorite with one name.)

The earliest find is Havana, an iron meteorite that was found by native Americans in prehistoric times and made into beads. The beads were later found in the Dickson Mounds archaeological site near Havana, Illinois, in the 1940's.

Bottom line: Only 1671 meteorites have been found and verified in the U.S. in the past 206 years. That's 7.6 per year.

There have been 154 observed and recovered meteorite falls in the U.S. in the past 206 years. The first was Weston (Connecticut) in 1807.

Here is link to a paper from the 2008 Lunar and Planetary Science discussing the Havana beads.   http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2008/pdf/1984.pdf

It is not very likely that your find is a meteorite, yet it is still possible.

The Washington University web site is excellent and will help you determine if your item is or is not a meterorite.  The site is very clear and has a lot of references, links, photos, examples, etc.  It tells you what to look for and what to do.

Here is a link that will take you to a great table that sums up much of the other stuff.

http://meteorites.wustl.edu/realities.htm

That site has enough information to help you qualify or disqualify suspected meteorites.  Take a look.

The Florida environment makes is not particularly conducive to finding meteorites.  If a meteorite falls in the vast Everglades, for example, it would likely never be found because of the swamps and thick vegetation.

If you do a little research I'm sure you can find out where in Florida meteorites have been found.

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The largest cave in the world was found in Vietnam in the 1991.  It was featured on GMA this morning.  New fossil species were found.  Very interesting.  Check it out.

http://www.messynessychic.com/2015/02/24/the-largest-cave-in-the-world-complete-with-its-own-river-jungle-and-climate/

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On the Treasure Coast it looks like more of the same.  Small surf and south or east winds.  That won't change things real soon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/6/14 Report - Meteorite Men. Gem Stones From Outer Space. Plastic Coins Coming. Gold Coin Prices.

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

ET Gem Stones.
Source: gemservice.com link below.

Did you know that you can find gem stones that come from out space?   The TV show Meterorite Men was on last night, and they were hunting a site where meteorites were found containing gem stones supposedly formed in an inner crust of a meteorite. 

I've said before that I like watching that program.  I don't know why, but I do.  I suppose that one reason is that they use metal detectors.  Another reason is I like to see how meteorites are distributed and where they are found as well as how they are identified.

Here is one very good web site about meteorites.

http://geology.com/meteorites/impactites.shtml

Here is a web site with information about peridot gem stones formed in a meteorite.

http://www.gemservice.com/Meteorite.htm


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Will metal detectors become useless for coin shooting?  Definitely yes for some new coins.   Coins made of plastic or composites are being introduced in one part of the world.

According to Pravda, “Coins made of plastic will be introduced in circulation from 22 August 2014 and will have a parallel circulation with paper money of the same denomination.”

Sources indicate the new coins are made of a special texture with contour elements, micro-printing, and with reflection of light when exposed to ultraviolet and infrared lighting. Plans call for the new coins to circulate simultaneously with bank notes of the same denominations, the bank notes eventually being phased out at some date not yet announced.

The yellow-brown color 1-ruble coin depicts A.V. Suyorov, is round, and has a diameter of 26 millimeters. The green 3-ruble coin depicts F.P. De Volan, is square and has a diameter of 26mm. The blue pentagonal shaped 5-ruble coin depicts P.A. Rumyantsey and has a diameter of 28mm. The red hexagonal shaped 10 rubles depicts Russian Empress Catherine II (“the Great”) and has a diameter of 28mm.

Here is the link for the source.

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=27976

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Heritage gold coins bring high bides.

A Carson City gold $20 led the pack at the Professional Numismatists Guild New York Invitational Signature Auction conducted Oct. 8-13 by Heritage.

Graded VF-30 by the Professional Coin Grading Service, the 1870-CC double eagle fetched $188,000, including a 17.5 percent buyer’s fee.

The cataloger said only 35-45 pieces exist and none is in Mint State.

Here is the link to read more of that article.

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=27955

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It can be beneficial in many ways to entertain challenging beliefs, but only if you are able to entertain them fairly for at least a brief time.  If challenging ideas immediately cause an emotional response, there is little chance that they will be "fairly" entertained long enough to obtain any benefit from the encounter.  If I have a bias, it is probably more towards the side of science, which, as an academic course in the philosophy of science would teach, is also based upon philosophy and requires that certain philosophical positions be accepted.

An idea doesn't have to be true to be beneficial.  Science fiction, for example, can stimulate the development of very useful ideas.

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We had a beautiful full moon last night.  The tides are pretty big.

On the Treasure Coast the surf will be decreasing a bit every day for a few days and then maybe we'll see a bump again.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net