10/19/19 Report - New Quarter. Paper Money Grading. Peace Dollar. Small Surf.

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

You'll be seeing this quarter in your change before long.

See: http://www.coinnews.net/2019/10/18/u-s-coin-production-nears-940m/

---

You can get your paper money graded and certified too.

With an unparalleled commitment to accuracy, consistency and integrity, PMG is the world’s largest third-party paper money grading service with more than 4,000,000 notes certified. Every note that PMG grades is backed by the comprehensive PMG guarantee of grade and authenticity, which gives buyers and sellers greater confidence...

Here is the link to learn more.

https://www.pmgnotes.com/about/about-pmg/

---

I never thoroughly inspected my Peace or Morgan Dollars.  I took a good look at one Peace dollar today, a 1926 D, and it was very disappointing.  Not only is it banged up, but it was poorly struck to begin with.  It wasn't very long ago that I learned about the Peace Dollar VAMs.  Now I have more to look for.

1926 Peace Dollar.

The reverse is even worse.  It is struck so poorly you can barely read the legend.

If you compare that with the high-priced Morgan that I showed yesterday, you'll quickly see the difference.

Of course, Peace dollars are generally not as nice as Morgan's, but the 1926 Peace shown above is poor for even a Peace dollar.

---

Well it is cloudy and drizzly on the Treasure Coast today.  That is because of Nestor, which is up in  the Panhandle area.

Source; nhc.noaa.gov

We'll be having some calm surf this week.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Unfortunately the tides are small now.  I'd love to see the water back way off.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/11/19 Report - Pre-Columbian(?) Coin Found in Utah. WWII and Bullet Finds. Neat Sight Find.

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

Source: DailyMail - See Dailymail.com link below.

A visitor to Glen Canyon Recreational Area in Utah found two coins: one dated to around 1660 and the other is now thought to date to the 13th century, but that has not been confirmed.

The article ponders how the old coins, seemingly from a period prior to the earliest known Spanish presence in the area and Columbus' arrival in the Americas, could have been lost there. Here is a little of the discussion.

'It would be very strange, in a genuine early modern deposit, to have coins from such widely separated periods,' he said.

'These would not have been in circulation at the same time in Spain. With no further context, it is more likely that they are a modern loss: Basically dropped by a coin collector.

'This is not necessarily as unlikely as it sounds. A 19th-century shipwreck off the south coast of England was found to be full of ancient and medieval coins from the Mediterranean..

You can't assume that every time an old item is found that it was lost a long time ago.

One thing that is often forgotten is that, people did not dispose of things as quickly as we do today. Items were repaired or repurposed for decades or centuries. They didn't just discard old items and run out to the store and buy a new one that would last for only a short time.

The article leaves our a lot but is well worth reading (critically).  The article at one point suggests that the "coins" are Pre-Columbian, but only one of the two are.

Here is the link that was submitted by Dean R.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7009641/Mystery-Spanish-coins-Utah-desert-predate-Columbus-200-years.html

Thanks Dean.

---

Variety of Bullets Found on the Treasure Coast Beaches.

A few days I posted some pictures of small copper finds that could be bullets or shells. I discussed some of the helpful ideas about the identify of those items, and just received another email on the subject.

Steve M, said, These are 50 caliber machine gun bullets from 1943 (See photo below.). We find a fair amount of these on the West Coast as there was a lot of training going on here then. These were both found same day about 50’ apart in the deep sand in the water. The outer casing or jacket is copper the inside is cast iron. It usually looks like the crusty one. You can see on the one that has just a tiny bit of corrosion that there is a hole at the back. That is why the crusty ones have that big glob of rust there. Those could’ve bullets. Just the copper parts and they could have actually hit something solid. 

50 Caliber Bullets.

Photo by Steve M.

Steve sent a couple other photos of these types of bullets, but you can see the hole in the back of the copper shell of the bullet shown above. It does look a lot like the melted or exploded ones that I posted (below).

Previously Posted Copper Finds.

These were found in the same areas as some of the black powder gun parts that I found.  It looks like another example of the intermingling of items from different periods.

Thanks to Steve and all the others who provided help in identifying the exploded copper finds.

---

Here is a really neat find.  It is a sight-find made by Dustin L.

Bird Band.

Find and Photo by Dustin L.

Dustin L. said, Pretty neat find I thought I'd share. It was a sight find I found walking in a burnt field. It's a bird band with tag number. I contacted the federal government and was able to find out the type of bird and when and where it was tagged.

This belonged to a Cormorant that was tagged in 1984 in Canada. Anyhow, I thought it was neat. 

Very cool find Dustin.  Really good that you were able to get the information.

I once found a bird tag with my metal detector that was still on the leg bone.  It was on Key Biscayne.  As I recall I had a lot of trouble tracking down the information, but finally got it.  And again, if I correctly recall, it was from an egret that was tagged in North Carolina.  

---

Bruce B. said, My parents had a couple of deer skin coats made by the Sioux in the 1940s, and it looks like the same material in the photo. 

Thanks Bruce.  I think that could be right.  It looks and feels like it to me, now that you mention it.

---

It looks like we'll have nothing more than a two foot surf for a few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/30/15 Report - Part 2 - A Look At Different Beaches This Morning As The Tide Was Coming In.

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

I periodically do a survey of a sample of beaches along the Treasure Coast and thought this might be a good time to do one.

A few things have happened since I did my first post today.  For one, the remnants of Erika are now down around Key West and looks to be headed into the Gulf.

The second change is the Supermoon is giving us some high water.  The tide was coming in this morning when I went out to do my survey.

I'll show you what I saw.

John Brooks Looking North About 8 AM.

Turtle Trail This Morning.

Seagrape Trail As The Tide Comes In.

Up around the bend there was some cutting.  It looked like it could improve.  High tide was still maybe three hours away.

Detectorist At Seagrape Trail This Morning.

Other detectorists showed up at Seagrape Trail a little later.  It was getting close to high tide when you wouldn't have access to detect the beach front because of the high water.  Notice where the detectorist in the picture is.

Wabasso Beach This Morning.

Ambersands This Morning.

Ambersands didn't look promising at all.

I'm not upgrading my Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Conditions Rating at all at this point.  I'm keeping it at a 1, which is what has been all summer.

I think a few cobs might be found.  Remember Trez found some with out the benefit of the Supermoon.

The water is going to hit some of the cliffs, but it will be renourishment sand that is getting hit.

The high tide might wash up a few small cobs.

---

I did an earlier post today, so if you didn't see that you might want to go back and look at the earlier post.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/4/11 Report - Big Seas Coming & And Big DuBois Park Treasure Dig

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

Dip on Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

This beach in St. Lucie County looks very similar to the beach I showed a couple of days ago from Seagrape Trail.

There is a sand bar out front. You can probably see it in the photo. The waves are breaking on the bar out in front of the beach. A dip has formed between the beach and sand bar.



Palm Beach County may approve a treasure hunting project in DuBois Park. Interesting!

Here is the link. I'm pretty sure you'll want to read this one.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/doubloon-ing-down-county-may-okay-pirate-treasure-1948781.html

Thanks to Jorge Y. who sent me the article.


Have you ever dug an item so small that you just can't see it? Time after time it falls through your scoop or you spend an hour fingering the sand hoping to find that elusive target that gives a signal but can't continues to play hide-and-seek.

Some of the hardest targets to see are needle thin pieces of iron or pieces of old fish hooks. But not all see-ums are junk.

I remember the time I found a small gold bead at Corrigans. I had no trouble detecting it, but had a very hard time finding it in the sand. I got it in a handful of sand and threw it on my coil. Still I had a hard time finding it even though I knew it was there and could hear it every time I moved it around with the sand on my coil. Not only was it small, but it seemed to fade right in with the sand.

Throwing the sand holding the item onto the coil is one way to find invisible targets. Another way, and the better way I think, is the following.

This method works best when you are working in wet sand but can be used with dry sand too.

Dig a good full scoop where the target seems to be but instead of sifting the sand take it to where the water is just barely reaching when the waves come in. Dump the sand near the high water mark. Spread it out a little with your foot. Wait for the water to hit the dumped sand. When the water washes down, most of the time you'll be able to see the item. Even very thin wires, fragments of needles, etc. will usually be apparent in the newly washed sand.

It might take some practice to perfect this technique, but when you do, it works as quickly and well as anything.

If the water happens to come up harder than expected and threatens to wash the sand and the item away, quickly put your foot on top of the target, and perhaps just a little to the down slope side. That will normally be enough to hold it in place.

It helps to have some experience with the technique and be quick footed.

I can usually tell from the signal whether I should sift or dump and wash.


I got word that pieces of pennies or other items are being scattered at some locations to discourage detectorists. That's actually funny to me.

Some time ago I got word from one salvor that another salvor threw a bunch of pennies on the beach to discourage detectorists at one location. I guess it might have discouraged somebody, but I was grateful. I used those pennies as an indicator for some time. I could go to the spot, which is one of the better spots on the Treasure Coast, quickly scan the area, and I would quickly tell if things were washing up onto the beach at the time. It also quickly told me if anyone else had recently detected the area or not. I will use most anything on a beach as an indicator.

I've even been known to place various distinctive metal objects on a beach to use indicators. If someone else wants to contribute, I'll just say "Thank you." I can tell how things are moving, and if I should spend much time at a particular spot by the presence or absence of indicators like that.

Almost everything that is found on a beach can tell you something. And almost everything can be turned to good use.


Today I found a very worn wheat penny and a few other coins on the slope just above the dip that I showed in the photo. The penny, of course, is no big deal but it tells me something. It tells me that older items are washing up there. There was no cut of any significance above the dip, and all of the sand above the dip had accumulated relatively recently.

It is worth checking more thoroughly when older items are appearing - even if they aren't real old.


Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.

Most beaches have deteriorated some since the time I issued the 2 rating. Nonetheless, I still think they are too good to rate less than a 2. But the big news for me is the high seas coming Sunday and next week. It now looks like we'll get eight foot and higher seas. Combined with the action we had the past week, that could be very promising. Hopefully it will hit us for a day or two at a good angle.


Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net