6/14/12 Report - Brass Steamship Artifact(?) & Ship Artifacts Pumped Onto a Beach

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




Brass or Bronze Artifact Metal Detector Find

 
Here is a  brass, or roughly cast bronze, artifact found by James F. up around the St. Johns River. He thinks it might be a cleat and ring off a early steamboat.  The area is also where Seminole War battles were fought. 

Notice the maker's mark in the closeup.

Any additional thoughts or information on the object would be appreciated.  I'm sure  someone can give some ideas on web sites or other resources for researching maker's mark.

Really nice find and great photos.  Thanks James.




Maker's Mark.

 Could that be another mark on the raised part in the middle?              

It helps to know something about a lot of different types of things.  And it helps to keep your eyes open for all kinds of things.  Don't just look for coins, silver and gold.  Other things can provide important clue.

I've mentioned before that sometimes old shipwreck items will get pumped onto a beach by beach replenishment projects.  That is exactly what happened in the following story.  Old pieces of glass and ceramics started to show up on a freshly replenished beach.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged up what appears to be the the Severn, which sunk in Delaware Bay in 1774 while bringing household goods and building supplies to the colonists from England.

Here is the link to the storey.

http://www.seaglassjournal.com/articles/shipwreck/severnshipwreck.htm


I guess the Corps pretty much destroyed the context of that archaeological site.


Some people like sea glass just because they like sea glass, but sea glass can also provide clues to possible shipwrecks.  Glass and ceramics tend to remain near the surface and are visible when many other old items remain buried.



A shipwreck possibly containing 3 billion dollars worth of platinum was found.

Here is that link.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/uk-usa-shipwreck-platinum-idUSLNE81200T20120203


I was on the way to the store this morning and stopped at a local tourist beach.  Although the beach is hunted by multiple detectorists daily there was a combination of new drops and deeply buried coins in the dry sand.  People are evidently missing some things.    It could be that they are moving too fast or using too much discrimination, thus missing the deeper targets.

Of course there is nothing wrong with missing some things if you are just doing a quick search, but the guys I usually see here are running a very tight pattern.  I also see them using discrimination.

After quickly checking out the dry sand, I jumped into the water to see what was there.  In less than 20 minutes I got three pieces of jewelry - only one nice piece but I was just checking to see what it was like.

In summary, I'd have to say there are still things to be found even though conditions remain poor for finding old shipwreck treasure coins.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net



1/19/2011 Report - Salvaged Nautical Objects & Half a Million Dollar Gold Coin

Salvaged Nautical Items.

These were some of the items that were for sale at the Nautical Flea Market last week at the Indian River Fairgrounds. Some pretty neat stuff.

You don't have to find a galleon or gold coin to find treasure. These items were selling for around $150 for the lowest priced items and up into the thousands. I think you can see why.

Nautical theme items are very popular now for decor.

Like with anything else, you have to be careful if you are particular about what you want. While these may be authentic salvage items, some items are fabricated. At the flea market the fabricated items were selling for less. The vendors appeared to be honest.


While out checking out an old detector, I found this metal band. Can you tell me what it was used for?


This metal band is about twelve feet long. A three foot section was broken off. I think it was probably used to bundle some kind of large heavy items.

The length of the loop was adjusted by tightening one end into a circle as shown, and then the end right before the tight loop was clamped. I think you can see that in the photo.



I wonder how many detectorists have never detected their own yard? You should do that if you haven't. Besides never knowing what you might find, it can be a good place to test your detector or learn how to use it better.

My old Tesoro Royal Sabre makes a good relic hunting machine. Even though it is as old as the hills it works great on dry land or the dry beach. It is not real good at ground adjusting in the wet sand.


The daily Jupiter Beach pictures web site link is now under my Treasure Links List.


An ancient Anglo-Saxon gold coin found by a metal detector was purchased by a museum for nearly $500,000.

Here is the link to the story.

http://news-antique.com/?id=781051&pg=1&keys=


Forecast and Conditions.

Not much new here. It's a bit rainy this morning. The wind is out of the west/southwest. That is the same as yesterday, and the seas are still relatively calm. At the beach, you might want to detect the wet sand at low tide.

Calm seas are expected for the next few days, and of course that means no significant changes in beach conditions.

Happy hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net