9/22/19 Report - $30,000 Find by Detectorist on Melborne Beach. Another Tropical Storm. Other Finds.

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

Eroded Melborne Beach

Photo by Jerry P.

I received this message from Jerry P.

I had an interesting day on the Treasure Coast yesterday. I found the conditions much as you described them in your Friday Post. The Big surf had beaten up the dunes pretty good, but it was mostly renourishment sand that was knocked down. Then because the waves were hitting square on to the beach, that sand wasn’t moved off the beach. I didn’t find any shipwreck items but did find the most expensive item I’ve ever found.  It’s a one-kilo brick of cocaine (See below.) that washed up on the beach in Melbourne. Not my best find but definitely the most valuable. After turning it over to the local Sheriff deputy, he told me the wholesale value is about $30,000! My jaw hit the ground😎

  

Regards,

Jerry P.

$30.000 Brick of Cocaine

Photo by Jerry P.

That reminds me of the morning I arrived to see three huge bales of pot washed up on John Brooks beach.  Each bale was a cube of about five feet.

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Plaque Washed Up On Melborne Beach

Source: FloridaToday.com

Talking of things washed up on Melborne Beach -

Bobbing amid then-Tropical Storm Humberto's swells, a wooden wall plaque bearing Jesus Christ's image reached the beach just as former professional surfer Bryan Hewitson and his daughter, Olivia, approached carrying bags of litter.

"It was still wet. It had just washed up," Bryan recalled from their beach cleanup walk shortly after sunrise Saturday...

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2019/09/17/mystery-jesus-plaque-washes-ashore-near-melbourne-beach-tropical-storm-humbertos-waves/2343070001/

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My Friday Finds.

I've done more detecting in the past three days than I've been able to do in a long time.  I went out three times and spent an average of about an hour detecting each time.  I also spent time scouting beaches that I didn't detect, but I averaged about 25 modern coins per hour detecting by working eroded renourishment sand.  That is not what I'd prefer to hunt, but it was easy, and I was also getting to know the Equinox detector so I wanted to hit a good number targets.  If I had a lot more time I would have spent time detecting for shipwreck items too, but that didn't look like a good bet under the circumstances.

If you look at that ring shown above, you'll notice it is broken.  It gave a much weaker signal because of the broken band.

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Now a correction:  Yesterday I posted a photo of a watch that was like the one found by Joe D.  The way I mistakenly labeled the photo, you would have thought that the brand new watch was the one found by Joe.  It was not.  Joe's find was beat up.   Rather than taking the time make that clear in yesterday's post, I just removed the incorrectly labeled photo from that post.

Joe provided this handy link to a database on pocket watches, which provides detailed information on any watch that you can find in the database.  I've found a few pocket watches over the years that I have never researched, so when I get the time I'll be using that link.

https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/

And here is the link to the particular make and model found by Joe.

https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/hamilton/1752320

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John Brooks Beach Saturday Evening Near Low Tide.

Notice all the sand between where the waves are breaking and where the water is on the sand.

The beach is still mushy even though the water has been getting pretty high.

John Brooks Beach Saturday Evening Near Low Tide.

The coins I picked up Saturday were not the easy ones.  They were deep in wet sand where the water was still coming and going at low tide.  That makes recovery more difficult.


Now we have another tropical storm - Karen.  Looks like she'll pretty much follow Jerry.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

For the next few days the surf will be decreasing.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/21/18 Report - Haunted Ellis Island 2017 Quarter. Instructions for Creating a Coin Display Plaque. Ancestry Tests and Group Membership.

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

Halloween Coin.

Many people say that Ellis Island is one of the most haunted places in America.

See https://maps.roadtrippers.com/stories/ellis-island-is-one-of-the-most-haunted-pieces-of-american-history.

I saw something interesting when viewing a 2017 Ellis Island National Monument Quarter. Look in the doorway at the top of the stairs.

I don't know how well the above picture shows it, but there appears to be a ghostly skeleton figure in the doorway.

I didn't do any editing or anything.  That is an unaltered photo.

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It seems that the series of posts on treasure displays had the desired effect.  I've heard from some readers who said that as a result of those posts they decided to start organizing and displaying their finds.  I wish I had done that a lot earlier than I did.

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Today I'm going to show my favorite method of creating displays for coins and other small objects.  As you know, there are a lot of things to be considered when mounting coins.  Valuable coins should not be mounted in any way other than encapsulation by a grading agency, but other coins can be mounted if done correctly.

I'm just going to quickly run you through the process of creating a coin display.  I'll give the basic instructions, but skip many of the options and fine details.

For coins that can be mounted, you don't want them to touch other metals and you don't want to glue them or anything like that.  Below is the TreasureGuide method for mounting coins and other small items.

1.  Once you know what coin or coins you want to display, the next step is to select a suitable piece of wood for the project.

Wood Cabinet or Flooring Samples.

Scrap wood or samples like those shown above can be considered.

Those wood samples were given to me by a neighbor who just built a new house.  I don't know why they gave them to me, but I guess they knew I would find a use for them.

2.  Design the layout.  Put the coins or other items on the wood and move them around until you decide how you want them displayed.  See how items show with different pieces of wood.

Five Pennies on a Sample Piece of Wood.

3.  Once you know what wood you want to use and how you want the items laid out, sand, stain, or otherwise prepare the wood.

For this illustration I decided to use a simple piece of scrap plywood and a single Eisenhower dollar.  I didn't treat the wood since I just wanted to quickly illustrate procedure.

Eisenhower Dollar I Chose for the Illustration.

4. Select a drill bit that will drill a hole the size of the coin.

1.5 Inch Drill Bit.

This is the one thing I think you might not have on hand and might need to buy.  You can get a good set of bits like this without spending much money.  They work with any regular electric drill.

A 1.5 inch bit will create a hole that is just the right size for the Eisenhower dollar.

1.5 Inch Drill Bit With Drilled Hole.

5.  Drill the hole.  For a coin, you might not want to drill all the way through the wood unless you want to be able to see both sides.

See how the coin fits the hole.  Try to make the hole as neat as possible.  Sand the hole as needed or desired.

I went through the entire illustration in about 20 minutes from start to finish so I wasn't real careful.

6.  Cut a round piece of soft cloth and place it in the hole as backing so the coin does not rub against the rough wood.

The coin should fit snuggly at this point.

7.  Get a piece of Plexiglas and cut it to the size of the wood.

I had an odd piece in the garage left over from when I cut one for a picture frame.

8.  Drill two small holes in the Plexiglas.  I actually used a Dremel tool that already had a small bit in it rather than changing the bit in the drill.

9 Insert two carpet tacks into the wood through the holes.

Tacks Holding Plexiglas Over Display.

10.  Print a label.  Very nice labels can be used - even gold foil.  I just laid a small sample label on the Plexiglas to give the idea.

As you can see I didn't bother to cut the Plexiglas to size for this illustration.

Arrowheads, shark teeth or any of a wide variety of small objects can be displayed like this.

It is a very good way to display suitable coins.  Display a single object or an entire set.

You can make the display as nice as you want.  I just did a quick and sloppy job for illustration purposes.  I didn't measure one thing - just eyeballed it, and it shows.

The main things I would do differently is finish the wood, be more careful and precise with the cuts, and make a nice label.

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Millions of Americans are using DNA test kits sold online to research their ancestry, either out of simple curiosity or to find answers about their identity.

But some academics warn the craze could reinforce racial stereotypes and divisions...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-craze-for-dna-heritage-tests-may-bolster-racism-critics-warn/ar-BBOCZVx?ocid=spartandhp

I think it will do the opposite.  Most people will find out that they are not entirely one thing or another.  Many people will be surprised by the test results.  Some racists will find out that their ancestry is not so pure.

Knowledge generally does not support stereotypes.  Of course there are real questions about the test and anything can be misused.

On the same subject, I heard that the Cherokee tribal leader that spoke up in response to the Elizabeth Warren claims said that tribal membership requires one to be able to trace their ancestry back to a specific tribal ancestor.  That is similar to the requirements for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution.  To be a SAR member, genealogical records have to show that your ancestry includes can be traced to a specific person who fought in the Revolutionary War.

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The National Hurricane Center Atlantic map shows no activity.

The tides are not as flat as they have been recently.

The increase in surf that was predicted for the Treasure Coast earlier, is now predicted to be only around two to four feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/10/15 Report - Mystery Object Might Be Inscription From Crucifix. 233 Coins Detected In One Spot.

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



Item Found By Todd G.

I didn't know what I was going to post today.  I had a bunch of random thoughts, but nothing was coming together.  One topic was partially developed in my mind but it wasn't ready for posting.  I'll put that off to some other time. 

I received an email from Todd G.  Here is what he said.

 

I have been following your blog for several years and was on my annual trip to Florida a little over a week ago when I found this small metal bar where beach restoration is going on near Pepper Park beach, just north of Turtle Trail.  I took it to a coin dealer who said he has seen them before, but he only handled US coins and had no real knowledge of what it was.  Is this just a random item someone may have lost more recently, or could it have been from a shipwreck?  It was laying at the bottom of a 5 foot cut, near the wall of the cut, where a bulldozer had gone though and moved sand to create the cut.  It has not been cleaned other than with a brush and clear water.  It is heavy for its size and a magnet will not stick to it.  I found it with a new XP metal detector and am not familiar with the meaning of the numbers on that machine, and will have to check it out with my Minelab to see what kind of metal that unit believes it to be.

An acid test kit is a good idea for everyone, but you probably wouldn't have it along when you travel.  You can always stop into a pawn shop.  They'll usually test for gold and silver.   If they use the old acid test method, you might not want them to do a rubbing, but most use test pens these days.

Concerning the letters, I'm not certain but it sure looks like INRI.   That isn't a numismatic term or designation, it is religious.  Many depictions of the Crucifix will have those letters on a plaque above the head of Jesus.

 

 The Bible, John (19:19-20), says, "Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek." 

Latin for "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" is "Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Iudaeorvm" and the acronym for this title is INRI. Latin uses the letter "I" instead of the English "J", and "V" instead of "U" (i.e., Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum). Translated to English that would stand for "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."

That is a very appropriate find for the time of the year.  Good Friday and Easter are not far away.

I'm not absolutely sure those are the letters, but it sure looks like it.   And I can't say how old it might be.   Did it

break off of a Crucifix?  I don't know.  It doesn't have the characteristic dark color of old silver.

What do you all think?  Let me know. 

 

I did a post a few weeks ago on a variety of old items that were found in renourishment sand.

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233 of Coins Found Here By Joe D.

I received the following email from Joe D.

Started off the week with a bang! Had another search "First" for me; most coin's found in one spot!!

This morning, I tried another one of my "drive-by's"! A large empty lot near the city where old homes and buildings were torn down several years ago! I gravitated toward the large trees first, as I usually do at empty lots and parks due to the shade and potential finds they provide! Under the third tree I went under, there was a small round clearing under a lower part of the canopy about six foot across! It looked to me like a "camping" area for a homeless person, but did not have a lot of trash nearby as is typical in my area! (See pictures) When I swung my coil through the area, I got a lot of confusing chatter like aluminum coleslaw and many other "good" sounds! Upon bending down, I could see several coins on the surface! Using my pinpointer, I recovered these and found others partially buried and continued to expand my search area! Eventually the area spread to about 15 foot across! I had set my detector down and was using just the pinpointer for about 40 minutes! I finally resumed with my detector after the signals became more scattered and buried! And the total; (Drum roll please!!) 233 COINS!! $15.11 total! cents thru quarters, dated from 1943 to 2013! Most were newer ( only one wheat😢) but many were from 60's, 70's and 80's! Found from the surface, to about two inches deep! Very little trash among  coins other than a handful of foil gum wrappers and a few aluminum can pieces!

Sorry if this was a little long-winded, but had a lot to explain! Also, it was interesting to note the difference in the corrosion amount among pennies of different decades! But I will leave that for another entry!

That is one big spill!  Reminded me of a time when I found bunches of quarters on the surface the day after a carnival pulled out.   It was where a ticket booth was and it looked like rolls of fresh quarters broke and were left.

This spill appears to have been made over a long period of time though.  It could have been a gathering site for some type of penny pitch game or something, or maybe Voodoo or Santeria.  I've found some of those.  One time a circle of pennies was found around a dead bird.

What do you all think caused such a concentration of coins?  Let me know.

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On the Treasure Coast it looks like we're stuck with a small surf and southerly winds for a while.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net