6/25/19 Report - Musket Gun Barrel Mold. Cleaning Coins. Benefit of Metal Detecting. Gold Prices. Way to Remove Rust.

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

Encrusted Musket Barrel as Found.

Find and photo by Will R.

If you saw yesterday's post early, maybe you didn't see the link I added later in the day.  That link was to a old post in which Will R. talked about some nice finds and how he made a mold of the gun barrel shown above.  Here is what Will said.

I love your last post. I ran into a similar situation last year. I was detecting a private site on the intercoastal when I found a brass butt plate, then the side plate and one of the ramrod tubes. Then it hit me... where's the barrel? Soon I found the barrel because it had one of the ramrod tubes stuck in the EO chunk. I took it home and did as I do with most EO's and put it in a tub of fresh H2O. The next day I noticed the end of the EO was oozing sludge. I figured this was the end of the barrel. I gently flushed the end of the EO with water and then I knew I had rare opportunity. This was a perfect mold of the metal barrel that once was there. I carefuly flushed the rest of the mud and sludge out and made sure it was clear of all metal. Now here's where the fun began. I used fiberglass resin and made a perfect mold of the barrel. Here are some pics of it. You're welcome to use them if you like.

Finished Copy Made From Mold.

By Will R.

If you used the link yesterday, you might have already seen this, but I thought it was worth posting again for those who might have missed it.

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Surfaces on Recently Dug Dime and Quarter That I'll Be Cleaning.

I'm going to use diluted Muriatic acid.  I'm doing four dimes and three quarters, all having a black patina very much like the dime and quarter shown in the photos above.  Some are a little worse than others, but all are similar.

You hear that you should never clean coins.  There is no danger with these coins since they have no collector value other than the melt value.  They are already damaged beyond what any body would pay a premium for.  Therefore there is no danger of actually hurting the value.

Make sure you know that is the case before you clean any coin.  In the case of possibly valuable coins, definitely don't clean them until you know for sure.

I hope to have some photos for you as things progress.

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I heard another way to remove heavy rust from iron objects.  On the Antiques Roadshow it was said that a fellow found a clump of rust and buried it in his barn in horse manure.  It looked like it did a good job of removing the rust from what turned out to be a medieval key.

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The price of gold has been really flying for the past week or two.  It went up another $28 per ounce in the past couple of days.  That puts it close to $1430 and moving.

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I've commented about some of the fake elements of some of the "reality" treasure shows.  I realized the other day that I actually hope that some of the other so-called reality shows are fake.  It would be sad to think that people are actually like that.  I could list a number of shows that I've seen enough of to actually hope that they are really fake.

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It's been established that people who spend more time in parks and other natural settings tend to report higher levels of health and happiness, but new research shows there's actually a magic number for it.

According to a study published this week in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, spending 120 minutes a week strolling a tree-lined street or sitting by a lake can greatly enhance a person's overall sense of well-being. Less time didn't yield any significant benefit, the research showed...

Here's the link.

https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/People-who-spend-more-time-outdoors-lead-more-14025910.php

As always you can quibble with the conclusions and details of the article, as I'm so prone to do, but isn't that one thing we all like about metal detecting or treasure hunting.  You have to be out there.

There is something about feeling the sun, wind and rain.  I like being barefoot.  I like feeling the grass or sand beneath my feet, and will accept the risk of fire ants or other dangers.  I like when it is stormy and nature is getting a little frisky.  You feel nature even more.

On the other hand, there is the garbage and pollution littering the out doors.

Millions of tons of plastic enter the oceans every year, polluting our seas, littering our beaches and endangering wildlife.

Plastic can take centuries to break down, and instead of quietly disappearing beneath the waves, it has a way of coming back to haunt us.

Almost 1 million shoes and over 370,000 toothbrushes were among more than 400 million pieces of plastic recently found washed up on a remote group of islands in the Indian Ocean.

Great chunks of plastic have been found inside the stomachs of everything from seabirds to whales, while tiny microplastics are eaten by fish and other sea creatures, ending up as part of the food chain...
See https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/24/health/plastic-pollution-rivers-oceans-scn-intl/index.html

The litter makes me a little sad.  It intrudes on nature, and makes it a little less "natural."  Litter seems to intrude upon nature and removes some of the healthy-giving and aesthetic benefits.

One of the side benefits of the dig-everything and take-everything philosophy that I encourage, is that it leaves the environment a little better than you found it.

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The price of gold continues to rise, going up another $28 per ounce in the past couple of days.  That puts it close to $1430.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/16/19 Report - One Way To Accelerate Your Learning Curve. Beaches Where You Can Find Fossils. Finds. Trash and Treasure.

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

Fossil Finds by DJ
Photo by DJ.

I received these photos and message from DJ about his first fossil hunt.  The photo above shows the finds of DJ's first fossil hunting trip.

I had read some past blogs on fossil hunting and Peace River. Saw some finds you posted from Bill and Dan.

I went with a guide since I believe if time is limited, that may be a good way to find things until you learn the ropes.

Our guide was very sharp and explained a lot of things, in the picture you can see many shark teeth, part of a broken mammoth tooth, several DuoGong rib bones, fossilized shell ‘molds’, stingray teeth plates and a claw from a giant tortoise.

Others found parts of Megladon teeth, horse teeth.

I like to hear the explanations and hunting techniques.

Like you have said, the story behind the find is fascinating, there is always something to find and most importantly (for me) don’t throw anything away until you get an ID.

And the places to look have to be learned, gravel holds the smaller stuff and deeper gravel holds larger better finds. Some people use a golf club with the head cut off as a probe to see how deep the gravel is. And the gravel moves and builds up over time like sand on the beach!

Learning where not to hunt is important as well, people have to throw out the stuff from their screens and it is easy to find yourself digging in someones spoil pile.

Here are a couple closer views of some of his finds.

Photos by DJ

Can anyone identify the unidentified bone?

I went with a paid fossil hunting guide on my first trip to the Peace River too.  It does save time on the learning curve.  They put you on some good spots so you don't waste hours trying to figure out where to hunt.  If you go with a guide, you will definitely find some fossils.  In my opinion, it is definitely worth the money if you are interested in fossils.

You'll do some sifting.  That might be a good introduction to a technique that can be used for other things.

Guides for some other types of treasure hunting and other locations may not be such a good idea, but for Peace River fossil hunting, I think you'll find it worth the money.

It is a lot like metal detecting.  It helps to know where to look and how to identify the good spots.  Find identification adds to the fun.

Nice finds DJ.  Thanks for sharing about your trip.

You can sometimes find fossils on Treasure Coast beaches, but it depends upon beach conditions.  There was a time a few years ago when they were plentiful.  One area was very rich with fossils, but they can be found form time to time all along the coast.  I've seen them at Ambersands, Wabasso, Seagrape Trail, Turtle Trail and along South Hutchinson Island down as far as Jensen Beach, and probably farther.  I also have seen some found at Rio Mar.  Some of the Indian River spoil islands also have fossils on them.

After some very high rough seas there were some large fossil bones, from mammoths, whales, etc. on the beaches.  Fossils have been scarce on the beaches for the last few years.

Native American artifacts can also be found on the beaches at times too.  They are more common when the fossils can be found, and I've seen them at some of the same beaches.

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As part of RR Auction's The Fine Autographs and Artifacts Featuring JFK’ collection, the rosary beads used by Father James Thompson on the fateful day of President Kennedy's death were sold for $13,401.25...

https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/rosary-beads-used-in-jfks-last-rites-auctioned-for-over-13k

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On the deepest dive ever executed into the Mariana Trench, an American investor-turned-explorer discovered what appeared to be plastic bag and other litter nearly seven miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Victor Vescovo, a retired naval officer from Texas, broke the record for the deepest dive into a part of the Mariana Trench known as Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed. His dive went 52 feet lower than a 1960 dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench completed by U.S. Navy lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard in a vessel called the bathyscaphe Trieste...

https://www.foxnews.com/science/plastic-litter-discovered-deepest-dive-pacifics-mariana-trench

We all know how much junk there is out there.  We can all remove a little of it.

Removing junk metal can help you find good targets, and removing old worthless bottles can help you find good bottles.

I remember way back to high school when one day our gym teacher sent us out to pick up the junk on the football field.  I found a dollar under the bleachers.  Guess I liked eye-balling way back then.

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The surf will be slowly increasing over the next few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/26/18 Report - Mysterious Tunnels Discovered. Treasure Hunter Can't Present Coins to Court. Florida Shoreline Change Database. Plastic in Whales.

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

More evidence has emerged of a mysterious network of tunnels beneath the historic neighborhood of Ybor City in Tampa, Fla.

Earlier this week, architect Gerry Curts was on site showing pictures and offering descriptions of one of the tunnels, Fox 13 reported. He said that a new opening to the tunnels was revealed during demolition work by developers planning an office building./..

Mormino speculated that the tunnels may have been part of a network that transported Chinese prostitutes from Cuba to the Port of Tampa to Ybor City in the early 1900s, but added that we may never discover their real use. "The tunnels of Ybor City represent one of the great riddles and mysteries," he said...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/mysterious-tunnels-discovered-in-florida

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COLUMBUS (AP) — A treasure hunter has taken back a pledge to turn over 500 missing coins just days after he promised to deliver the coins minted from gold found in a shipwreck off the South Carolina coast.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Tommy Thompson agreed on Wednesday to deliver the coins to a court-appointed receiver by Sunday to settle a lawsuit brought by an investor.

The paper says the deal fell apart Friday when Thompson said he has no idea how to obtain the coins.

Thompson found the S.S. Central America in 1988 after convincing more than 100 investors to fund the voyage for nearly $13 million.

Thompson never repaid the investors. He became a fugitive and fled...

Here are a couple links.

https://www.limaohio.com/wire/state-wire/329120/treasure-hunter-flip-flops-over-returning-missing-gold-coins

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181114/tommy-thompson-agrees-to-surrender-gold-coins-in-tentative-settlement

You might remember when a fugitive Tommy Thompson was apprehended in a Boca Raton hotel.

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Here is a link that you can use to find some information on Florida shoreline changes.  Not all of it is up-to-date.

https://floridadep.gov/water/beaches/content/historic-shoreline-database

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A dead whale that washed ashore in eastern Indonesia had a large lump of plastic waste in its stomach, including drinking cups, bottles and flip-flops, a park official said Tuesday, causing concern among environmentalists and government officials in one of the world’s largest plastic-polluting countries...

Santoso said researchers from wildlife conservation group WWF and the park’s conservation academy found about 5.9 kilograms (13 pounds) of plastic waste in the animal’s stomach containing 115 plastic cups, four plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags, 2 flip-flops, a nylon sack and more than 1,000 other assorted pieces of plastic...

For more - 

http://www.startribune.com/dead-whale-had-115-plastic-cups-2-flip-flops-in-its-stomach/500897282/

I'm always amazed by the number of flip flops and other plastic that washes up on the beaches on the Treasure Coast.

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I've been busy with holiday activities already.  I always like the holidays.

Cooler weather is on the way.  The Treasure Coast surf is down to two to three feet, but the tides are still big.

We'll be getting more west and northwest winds, so I'm not expecting any improvement in beach detecting conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1 of 3

In this undated photo released by Akademi Komunitas Kelautan dan Perikanan Wakatobi (Wakatobi Marine and Fisheries Community Acad

emy or AKKP Wakatobi), researchers collect data of the carcass of a beached whale at Wakatobi National Park in South

4/12/18 Report - Storing Coins and Other Finds: A Few Tips. Dinosaur Tracks.

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

Four Walking Ladies

I was looking at some older coins the other day and noticed some things that I wanted to pass along.

Once you have found an item, cleaning is the next step, and then comes storage.  Record keeping is something that should be done at different times and for different reasons.  I keep records of finds that will help me keep track of how I'm doing and what is found at different areas.  But there is another kind of record keeping that you might find helpful.

When you store finds like those shown above, it can be helpful to label them well.  I didn't do enough of that for the coins shown above.  Only one of the four tells where it was found and only one tells when it was found.  I'd recommend putting having that information on your finds.  It is always nice to have good labels to help revive your memory.

Below are a couple silver dimes that were stored in a clear plastic envelope.

Two Proof Silver Dimes.

I think I won these two silver dimes at a metal detecting club meeting.  That isn't clear though, and I'm not perfectly sure.

The plastic container once had a paper label in it that is now falling apart.  You can see that.  The heat and humidity of Florida is not easy on things.

The plastic container was stapled for some reason.  You can see the rust from the staple on the left side.  You would not want a proof coin, or any nice coin, stored touching a staple or any other piece of metal.  Keep nice coins away from other metal objects.

Below is what numismaster says.

Next come the plastic 2x2 coin flips. Make sure that you get rid of the PVC plastic. Mylar flips will replace them, but can damage coins if they are moved in and out frequently, as always, be careful, especially if you are storing valuable gold or silver coins.

Plastic and paper flips should not be used for long term storage of more than six months. Under exceptional conditions they will protect your coins over a longer span, but the big problem is that they are not airtight.

The same is true of the cardboard 2x2 holders. They have a Mylar window so that you can see both sides of the coin. These can be stapled shut, again with the warning not to get the staples or the stapler too close to the coin. To keep the coin safe the 2x2 needs to be stapled on the three open sides. Again the reminder to use your pliers to flatten the staple legs so they don’t damage an adjacent coin. Staples will rust, but there are stainless steel staples on the market.

Next come coin folders and coin boards. These have holes for each date and mint, and in some cases the outstanding minting varieties, such as overdates. These are what you most likely will use to start your collection. Most folders have a paper backing, so you can see only one side of the coin. They expose the visible side to the atmosphere and any pollution, contamination or fingerprints. My recommendation is that you use them for circulated coins that will not show problems. Your uncirculated coins need special protection and proof coins should be left in their packaging. This is especially true for questions on how to store gold coins, if the coin is a proof coin, it should stay in the packaging it came in..

Here is the link for more about that.

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/inside_numis.jsp?page=how-to-store-coins

For common inexpensive coin finds I like the Whitman coin folders and plastic prescription bottles with the original labels removed.  The folders are convenient and fun.  You can easily see what is missing from your collection and upgrade the collection as you find better examples.

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Rare prehistoric dinosaur footprints discovered in the UK have shed new light on the middle Jurassic period, according to a new report.

The study, published in the Scottish Journal of Geology on Monday, was carried out by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who unearthed 50 new dinosaur footprints left 170 million years ago in the Isle of Skye, northwest of Scotland..

Here's the link for more.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/03/europe/dinosaur-tracks-scotland-intl/index.html

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The wind picked up yesterday and changed direction.  The surf today is to be bigger.  Some sand should get moved.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/7/17 Report - Sebastian Fisher Treasure Museum Admission Free Sunday. Analyzing Cut Marks. Coastline Angles.

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

I just received an email announcing the open house yesterday.  Admission free Sunday.

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John C. sent his thanks for helping to identify his USMC ring and wanted to especially thank Sherry, who came up with the answer.

He sent the following picture and said, Here is What happens with discarded fishing line ,This turtle washed up at wabasso beach in 2010 ,It looks like heavy test 80 or a 100 pound ,I think it's from long liners, But I'm not sure .

Turtle On Wabasso Beach Back A Few Years Ago
Photo by John C.

I just happened to see a TED talk where they showed small pieces of plastic in a fishes gut.

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You probably know about Vero Man and what that is all about.  It all started when a local collector noticed carvings on an old fossilized bone.  I've found what appears to be shark bite marks on Dugong and other bones, but just the other day I picked up a vert and later noticed what appears to be bite marks on it (See below.).  Of course that is nothing scientifically significant.  It was just interesting to me, and goes right along with an article I was going to post today anyhow.

Large Vert With Cut Marks.

By the way, if you can identify what this vert is from, let me know.

The International Business Times reports that scientists have developed a method to analyze the marks on animal bones recovered from archaeological sites. The shallow marks left by stone tools are often “V” shaped, while those made by trampling animal hooves are usually “U” shaped. The new technique, which employs 3-D imaging, shape analysis, and Bayesian statistics, was shown to identify butchery marks made by volunteers with stone tools 88 percent of the time.

Here is the link.

http://www.ibtimes.com/how-smart-were-prehistoric-humans-their-knives-tell-scientists-lot-2624672

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Source: Google Maps

I was talking to somebody about beach and wave angles.  I often talk about the beach like it runs north/south, which is seldom the case.  As you can see from the map above, the Treasure Coast runs more to the northwest, while south of Palm Beach it is more north/south.

On the Treasure Coast it takes more of a northerly direction to get that slicing action that causes erosion.  If it is just a little to the north, it will actually be hitting most of the beaches pretty straight on.

Of course the coastline is not straight and there are many curves or bends.  That means that the waves will be hitting at a different angle as you go around a bend.  Before you get to the bend you might see accretion, but when you get around the bend you might see erosion.  The angles change.

Beautiful day.

I'm planning some experiments that will demonstrate some important things, but I don't know if I'll get it done by tomorrow.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net