3/31/15 Report - Peripheral Sensitivity And Metal Detecting Around Large Metal Objects. Spring Break In Full Swing.

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

Detectorist On Treasure Coast
Beach Yesterday Near Low Tide

The sand is still piled up.  The nice North wind we had recently didn't do anything good to the beaches.  There were some shells, sea glass and pieces of fossil on some beaches near low tide yesterday.

Bill P., who provided me and the blog with excellent instructions on how to use Muriatic acid to clean cobs back a few years ago was down in the Treasure Coast area and said how disappointed he was to see all the renourishment sand.  That is the way it is now.

I saw this fellow in the picture detecting on feet of newly accreted sand.  He got caught on the Treasure Guide's roving beach cam.

There were a lot of people at the beach yesterday.  It looks like Spring Break is in full swing.  There are a lot of snow birds on the beaches these days.

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Bill M. had the following to say.

While researching a ghost town on the west coast of Florida, I found the Florida Memory web site which is filled with old photos, maps and articles about places in Florida from by gone days.

Not sure if you've mentioned this on your blog, but thought I'd share it with you.

https://www.floridamemory.com/

I also found the ghost towns link below interesting, but not totally accurate.

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/fl/

Thanks Bill.

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Here is a quick video clip showing one Treasure Coast treasure beach from yesterday.

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In my most recent post I talked about the importance of knowing the area of target sensitivity for your detector coil and suggested doing air tests to determine the size and shape of the area of target sensitivity for your detector.  Today I'll discuss peripheral sensitivity a bit more.

The area of target sensitivity will be different for different coils and detectors.  The shape of that area will differ and is an important factor.  That is one thing I explained in my previous post.

What I want to talk about today is the far edge of peripheral sensitivity   By that I mean the farthest area out from the center of the coil where things can still be detected.

It might seem surprising to some, but an object doesn't have to be under the detector coil to be detected.  Most small targets do have to be under the coil, but larger objects do not.  You can prove that for yourself.   Try to detect close to a chain link fence, for example.  The fence will give a signal when the coil is inches or feet away from the fence.  The same thing will happen with any large metal object, whether it is a car, rebar in a driveway, lamp post, or whatever.  You can't detect close to those things because of the signal they will cause.

For smaller targets like coins or rings, you obviously don't get such a large signal when the coil is not over the object.   A good hot setup will detect small things under the edge of the coil or out from the edge of the coil just a touch.

Peripheral sensitivity for large objects can be an obstacle.  You won't be able to detect real close to metal lawn chairs or fences.  That provides an opportunity if you can figure out how to work close to those types of objects.  One way to do that is to select the right detector.  Some detector/coil combinations will allow you to get much closer to those types of objects than others.

Another method that will allow you to detect closer is to switch to a smaller coil.  Another is to decrease sensitivity or increase discrimination.

This is one of those situations when you might find that a less expensive or less powerful detector can work to your advantage.

Another thing you can do is to change your sweep pattern.  Sweep your coil parallel to such objects, instead of at and away from those objects.  Instead of walking along a fence, face the fence and sweep the coil parallel to the fence.

Another thing that often helps, is slowing down your sweep speed.

Those things can help you turn an obstacle into an opportunity. 

In a future post I'll talk about methods for making best use of peripheral sensitivity.

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On the Treasure Coast the surf is very small these days and the tide is moderate.   On Easter the surf is now predicted to increase to something like 4 to 6 feet.  The earlier predicted eight-foot surf has disappeared from the charts, as is often the case.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

3/15/15 Report - Florida Research Resources. The 1795 Rebellion. Things To Watch For.

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


Old Florida Tourist Brochure

I found a good research resource the other day.  It is the State University of Florida library archives.  They have a lot of old miscellaneous stuff.

One example is this brochure which appears to me to be from the twenties or thirties. 

Below is one page out of the brochure which states, Caches of pirate gold are still found occasionally on Amelia Island, where buccaneers of old careened their ships and held their revels.

This is a tourist thing, yet there is probably some truth in it, and might be worth a little further research.

Here is the link if you want to read the brochure.  It is pdf and takes a little time to load.

http://digitool.fcla.edu/R/KSLA4HA2YKM8VSJKLU12BFQSC8PR811K71KQFLBY9F1MQ92H18-01054?func=search

You can also find other kinds of things in the archives, including detailed academic papers.  One that you might find interesting is a history thesis for the Univeristy of North Florida by Cormac O'Riordan, The 1795 Rebellion in East Florida.

If you go to the archives and search "1795 rebellion" you'll find the thesis. Anyone interested in Florida history will find good information about daily life in Florida during that time period.  There are also some nice detecting leads and a great bibliography at the end for additional reading.

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Reading is one good way to get new detecting leads.  Another is to be alert while driving.  I mentioned a couple of small beaches near a causeway bridge the other day.  I'm told those two beaches are hit regularly by detectorists. 

A couple of things caught my attention as I drove by.  First was two models trying to do handstands at the water's edge while being photographed.  It looked like a professional shoot.

The activity caught my attention because that is the type of behavior that causes a lot of losses.  Some beaches attract older and more sedentary crowds that don't lose a ton of stuff.  Younger and more active crowds tend to lose more.  As a detectorist I am always alert to things like that.

Another thing I noticed right away was the situation of one of the beaches.  There were concrete blocks at the edge of the beach where the beach was steep and eroding.   Sometimes while most of the ocean beaches are not doing much, you can find other spots that are situated differently that are eroding.

Good timing can lead to good finds even when a beach is over-hunted.  If you are at the right place at the right time, it doesn't matter.  If you are there right after something is lost or if you are there right after something washes out of the bank, you have a good shot at it. 

I've seen people lose valuable items.  I've been here when it occurred. I've also seen people on their hands and knees hunting newly lost items.  You can help those people.

One fellow that I knew, would sit where he could see out over a busy beach and watch what type of activities took place at different beach locations.  He would often see someone lose and item and offer to find it for them, but he got a good idea of what type of activities took place at different locations.   When you see it done once (such as the photo shoot), it probably happens at the same location at other times. 

I used to frequently hunt a couple of beaches that you will often see in TV advertisements or other TV programs and movies.

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If you ever wondered why the sand along the Florida East Coast travels south when the Gulf Stream travels north, here it is.  Sorry I lost track of the source after I clipped it. 

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Well I think the mystery item that I've been posted has now been identified with remarkable specificity.   I'd say it is a Khukuri tie pin. 

A Khukuri knife is a curved Nepalese knife.  Here is a link.

http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/catalog/product.php?id=313037fe4d5

Thanks to Ian A. for that link.  Looks like the item might have had a chain and/or a scabbard at one time.

Ian's British coaked sheave is still one of my favorite finds and mystery items.

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Nothing exciting about Treasure Coast beach conditions.  We'll have about a two-foot surf. 

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

2/10/14 Report - Eight Foot Surf Predicted. Artifacts Saved From Destruction By Looters. Repurposed Artifacts. Great Research Resource.

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

Source; http://gemini.no/en/2014/05/viking-raids-protected-precious-artefacts-2/

This article discusses how these artifacts were possibly saved by Viking looters.  If the Vikings did not steal them, they would have been melted down.  It also tells how the items were repurposed.  Since the Vikings had no use for the religious artifacts, they took the parts and used them as jewelry.

The idea that looters saved the artifacts is interesting by itself, but it made me think of the many items that are saved by detectorists from one type of destruction or another,  Beach hunters, for example, save artifacts that would be lost to the sea through tumbling and corrosion over time.  The salt water surf is a rough environment where things can not survive forever without being damaged or destroyed.

Here is the link to that article. 
http://gemini.no/en/2014/05/viking-raids-protected-precious-artefacts-2/

Artifacts being recycled is another interesting topic.  One old emerald ring that I found seems to have a setting taken from an older piece and mounted on a newer band (See photo.). 

The band does not match the setting in style, and the gold on the top piece is of a different purity than the band.

Certainly things have been repurposed or recycled and reused over the decades and centuries, sometimes being used in an entirely different way or form than the original.


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JSTOR is a collection of scholarly works that includes articles from many disciplines including history and archaeology to name just two.

If you are doing research you might want to get access to JSTOR.  One way to get access is to take a class at a college or university.  You will then have access through the library when you get your card.  Some public libraries also provide access.

There is a program for individuals which will give you free but limited access if you register.  There are big limitations in this program.

Here is a link obtained through JSTOR to an abstract of an article that talks about the use of metal detectors in archaeology and discusses the source of the uninformed opinions of archaeologists on the subject.

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25616646?sid=21105829108923&uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739600

If you take a class as a part time student, your access will last only as long as you are enrolled in the class, but JSTOR can be worth the price of tuition if you really use it intensely during that period.

If you are doing research you might look into getting access to JSTOR through a school, library or try out the limited but free access for individuals.

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is very small today.  I'll be watching and hoping for the eight-foot surf predicted for Thursday.  I really hope that happens.  We sure do need it.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

10/1/13 Report - Poll Results, Florida's Treasure Resource & Beach Conditions.

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


Well, it is the first day of October.  Where has the time gone?

There are two disturbed areas marked out on the National Hurricane Center map right now.  One is Tropical Storm Jerry, which will probably not come our way and will probably not affect us at all.

The other area has a 30% chance of forming and is now down near Central America and possibly heading to the Yucatan and possibly eventually to the Gulf Coast.


A lot of people are interested in treasure.  This year people around the world have been learning from the national media about treasure discoveries made along the Treasure Coast.  That brought a lot of attention to the area.  I know that for a fact.  I personally heard from people up north who had no particular interest in treasure hunting but had learned about those discoveries through the national news.

Treasure is a very valuable resource for Florida.  That is one big reason that I posted the most recent blog poll.   I wanted to gather actual data.  And that data presents some important facts.

First of all, it is worth noting that on average each of the poll respondents made two or more visits to treasure museums.  Once was not enough.  Treasure enthusiasts are really enthusiasts, and they spend time and money on the hobby.

49% of the respondents have visited the Mel Fisher Museum in Key West.  As you know that museum is run by the Fishers, a private treasure hunting group that is funded by private investors.  The state gets their share of the finds and has built a huge collection of treasure coins and artifacts resulting from the salvage efforts of the Fishers and other salvage groups.

58% of the respondents have visited the Fisher treasure museum in Sebastian.  That is a significantly higher percentage than visited the museum in Key West despite Key West being a bigger town and more widely known as a tourist destination.

So why would that be?  First is the fact that a good percentage of those who read this blog on a regular basis live near the Treasure Coast or visit the Treasure Coast for metal detecting.  (I've given the statistics before on how many out-of-area and out-of-state people read this blog and visit the Treasure Coast for detecting.)

Although Key West is a big name when it comes to both treasure hunting and tourism, it is not a place that many people visit in order to metal detect.   They do not have extensive treasure beaches like the Treasure Coast down there.  Therefore despite the fact that Key West is much better known to people around the country and around the world, it is not a place that draws many detectorists who want to detect the beaches.

Sebastian, on the other hand, is close to the Treasure Coast beaches that are well known for metal detecting and treasure hunting and which draws tourists and residents who are interested in those activities.  As I recently pointed out, Sebastian Inlet State Park is one of the most visited of Florida's state parks.

People who learn about the Treasure Coast by hearing about the treasure discoveries made along the Treasure Coast, visit and spend their money on treasure related activities, museums being just one.   Of course they buy meals, stay at restaurants, buy metal detectors, fuel their cars, etc. etc.

The McClarty Museum, run by the state as a part of the Sebastian Inlet State Park, was visited by 76% of the blog's respondents.  The admission charge to the McClarty museum is only one dollar, and it is manned by volunteers.  As good as it is, it does not receive a lot of promotion, but people who are interested in treasure hunting and metal detecting do visit the area and visit the museum as well.  Admission is only $1.00.  I should also say that I've often mentioned the McClarty Museum to the readers of this blog.

Even with the minimum admission fee and a excellent location on the Treasure Coast, combined visits to the two privately run Fisher museums out numbers visits to the McClarty.

Our state collections would certainly be much smaller if it weren't for those who invest their time and resources to salvage the shipwrecks.

One of the top museums in Florida and perhaps in the United States is the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.  It is operated by highly trained academics and charges an admission fee of nearly the same as the two Fisher museums (Around $13 for adults).

Despite the size and tax-payer resources put into it, the FMNH was visited by only 10% of the respondents to this blog.  That is only a small fraction of those that visited the Fisher Museums and the McClarty.  I think that is very significant.

48% of the respondents to this blog had also visited "other" treasure museums, displays or shows.  One that I mentioned a few days ago is the St. Lucie County History Center in Fort Pierce, which has a display on the 1715 Fleet.  I've also mentioned others in the past, both private and public.

This poll is far from perfect, but it did make some things clear.   One of the most surprising for me is how few  of the respondents visited the FMNH as compared to the treasure museums.  This shows that "treasure" is of interest to many people and should be recognized as an important resource for Florida.

Unfortunately I didn't think to add a category for those that did not visit any museum, so the sample is not as large as it would have been if non-attenders were included.  That is one limitation of this poll.

The state has a huge collection of treasure coins and artifacts.  People that are interested in such things.  We know that because they pay upwards of $50 for books on the items in those collections.   Yet many have never personally seen a single coin from the state's collection.  That seems to me like a huge lost opportunity for Florida to capitalize on one of its huge resources.

We know that treasure brings attention to Florida and draws tourists.  We know that people are interested in the fantastic treasure that has been found in Florida and continues to be found in Florida. The national media knows it.  People visit museums, buy books, and visit the treasure beaches after learning about it.

Can Florida better use this resource?


I didn't take a ton of time to do this post.  Feel free to correct any errors that I might have made.


The surf today on the Treasure Coast is 2 - 3 feet.  That will be down to around one foot by this weekend.

The tides are still relatively flat.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net