3/3/19 Report - Saddle Ridge Hoard Article. Treasure Coast Coin Club. A Find. Dealing With Laws, Technicalities and Inconsistencies.

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

I gave a link to the Coin World article entitled Who Buried the Saddle Ridge Hoard.  If you went to the web site, you found out that you had to sign up to read the article.  (Sorry about that.)  The Coin World article is very good.  You seldom see that depth of research on a hoard.

I actually read the article in the print version of the March 18, 2018 Coin World Weekly, which I received from the friendly people from the Treasure Coast Coin Club that were at the recent Vero Coin Show.  Members of the coin club were giving out old issues of various numismatic magazines.

I much enjoyed the magazines I received, including the one containing the article on the Saddle Ridge Hoard, and so I'd like to give the coin club some free publicity.  See the banner above, and visit http://treasurecoastcoinclub.org/ or facebook. for more information.

There are yearly dues, but they were handing out coupons at the Vero show good for one year's dues.

You should be able to get the March 18, 2018 issue through your library.  If they don't have it, you can request an interlibrary loan.

Dean and Marie R. sent me this link for a little info on the Saddle Ridge Hoard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_Ridge_Hoard

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Dale J. was checking out some of the renourishment sand being pumped out of the Sebastian Inlet and found these bones.

Finds and photos by Dale J.








The one is definitely bone, and maybe the others too.   I'm pretty sure the large one is a joint.

If someone can give more information, let me know.

Dale said others were also checking out the renourishment sand.

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Someone asked me where you can metal detect in the water along the Treasure Coast.  Unfortunately that is a very difficult question to answer for a variety of reasons, so I won't even try, except to say that you are not supposed to detect in the water in leased areas.

It is not easy to say where the lease boundaries are or to know where there might be new leases.  I have given information on the location of some of the leases in past years.  You can still find those posts if you search the blog.

There are federal, state and local laws.  There are a lot of legalities and technicalities, but there are also often inconsistencies.  There are some areas where you will be told that you can't even detect on the dry beach, but at other times you will be told that it is ok.

On occasion life guards or others will simply decide that they will not allow people to metal detect a beach or area without any specific legal authority.  Generally, I advise simply cooperating.

There are some places where it is technically illegal to metal detect, but where it is routinely done and no one really seems to care.

Some places you can legally detect but can't dig or recover old items.  It is really too tricky to summarize.

You also have to be careful to not harm protected plants or animals too.  Sea oats is one protected plant that covers much of our dunes.

I was once told by a lifeguard that I could not detect a specific area.  I just moved on, but later called the county officials so I would know what I legally could and couldn't do, and they told me that I could detect there.  Subsequently I did detect there numerous times, but not when the lifeguards were present.

On another occasion I started metal detecting in the water at a county park and was told by the lifeguard that I couldn't detect  there.  I simply put my metal detector away, but later called the county officials who said that there were regulations against metal detecting in that park, but they were going to be changed soon.  As a result  I was one of the first to know when it became legal to detect in that park.  It turned out to be very worthwhile.

There are simply too many technicalities and inconsistencies to simply say where you can and where you can't metal detect.  Sometimes it is legal but you won't be able to do it without conflict, and other times it is illegal but is done routinely (within limits) with full knowledge of the authorities.

I might have said something that isn't 100 percent accurate above, but what it comes down to is being smart and exercising good judgment.  Some people tend to create problems for themselves when they don't have to.  Don't be one of those.

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On the Treasure Coast we still have a few days of one-foot surf.  The tides remain small.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/2/19 Report - Saddle Ridge Hoard of Gold Coins. New Inventory of Old Shipwrecks. Extinction of Coins and Money and Metal Detecting.

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

Part of the Saddle Ridge Hoard: One Can of Gold Coins.

Source: CoinWorld.com

Dan Owens published an interesting article in Coin World.  The title is Who Buried the Saddle Ridge Hoard.

Mr. Owens did some very extensive research and names a variety of possibilities but ends without being able to answer the question concluding, "Perhaps in the end, the story was not about the burier of the hoard, rather, as Kagins described it, about John and Mary discovering the fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Then he quotes Prentice Mulford saying, "It is mysterious Providence that impels any poor fellow to dig his pile, bury it for safe keeping, and then go off and die in some out of the way place without being able to leave any will and testament as to the exact hole where his savings lay."

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... Led by archaeologist Carlos León, the team has logged 681 shipwrecks off Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the US Atlantic coast.

Its inventory runs from the sinking of the Santa María to July 1898, when the Spanish destroyer Plutón was hit by a US boat off Cuba, heralding the end of the Spanish-American War and the twilight of Spain’s imperial age...

It found that 91.2% of ships were sunk by severe weather – mainly tropical storms and hurricanes – 4.3% ran on to reefs or had other navigational problems, and 1.4% were lost to naval engagements with British, Dutch or US ships. A mere 0.8% were sunk in pirate attacks...

Archaeologists have located the remains of fewer than a quarter of the 681 vessels on the inventory to date...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/mar/01/spain-logs-shipwrecks-maritime-past-weather-pirates

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I heard somebody say that fewer people carry change these days.  I think he was talking about coins, but I think people are carrying less paper money too.  They simply don't pay with cash very often.

If people are carrying less money, it only stands to reason that they would lose less money.  That mean fewer easy targets for the coin shooter and require some changes in detecting strategies.  It might mean focusing on older coins rather than coins that were recently lost.

I suspect it won't be long before people quit carrying money altogether.  They can pay with a card, smart phone, or some newer way.  The end of money won't mean the end of metal detecting though.  There will be older coins that haven't been found yet, but as the numbers of those dwindle, detectorist will probably focus more on relics or other kinds of targets such as nuggets, meteorites or lost smart phones.  The reduction or elimination of physical money definitely has implications for detectorists as well as metal detector designers.  Another change might be increased targeting of non-metallic objects, including paper money.

I enjoy eye-balling, which is mostly about non-metallic targets.   Many years ago when I was in school, one day our gym class went out to pick up trash on the football field.  I found a dollar bill under the bleachers.  That is my earliest memory of finding paper money.  I still occasionally target paper money, and as with metal detecting, there are strategies.

One thing I've successfully done is visit fair grounds or other busy event locations early in the morning and check the fence rows on the down-wind side of the site.  I've done that several times with some degree of success.

One place you can find paper money on the beach is in the sea weed line.  Also I know where there is one place in the water in front of a busy resort where there is a shallow water dip that collects paper money.  There have also been several times when I was detecting in the water and seen a bill come floating by.   So far my biggest paper money finds have been twenties.

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I happened to see an old episode of the TV show River Monsters, and the fellow was catchting Bull sharks in the Indian River Lagoon at Fort Pierce.  He also seemed to spend a lot of time down by the power plant.

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The Treasure Coast is having a one foot surf and very small tides.  Those conditions make for easy water detecting.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/22/14 Report - Gold Coin Found Nearly 3000 Years Old. Identifying Treasure Traps. Greatest U.S. Buried Treasure Ever Found. Joy of Problem-Solving.

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




Very Old Gold Coin Found by Diver.
Source: See link.

A diver saw a flash of a gold coin on the bottom while diving in shallow water.  The flash came from this coin, thought to be nearly 3000 years old.  It weighs only .63 grams.

Here is the link.

http://sofiaglobe.com/2014/09/09/diver-finds-2750-year-old-gold-coin-in-bulgaria/


Keep your eyes open.




Always be on he lookout for treasure traps too.  They can be found in a lot of different kinds of places and can collect items over long periods of time.   Not only can they collect items, but they often protect items from being found by other detectorists.

Lets start with sidewalks and roadways.   If there is a concrete walk leading up to your house, go out and drop a coin on the walk and see where it goes.   If it rolls, it might end up in the crack beside the walk.   Not only will things collect in the crack beside the walk, but they will likely not be found there.  For one thing, there is a good chance they will stand on end, and that makes it difficult to detect.   If the walk or driveway is concrete, it will likely have iron rebar in it that will keep many detectorists from detecting close to it.  So even if the site has been heavily detected, there is still a good chance that anything lost right beside the walk or driveway will still be there.

Some detectors can be operated closer to things like that than others.   With experience you can learn to detect around traps like that, getting at least some of those items.  Play around with your detector settings.   Also the sweep angle.  Maybe switch to a small coil. 

It could be an area where you can't use a detector very well but where you can dig and use a sifter.  Think of alternative methods for getting items out of spots that are difficult to detect.  

The key is to keep thinking about where there might be traps that will collect items and how you can detect or retrieve them.   A lot of detectorists will simply miss some of the best areas simply because an area is not well suited to their hunting style or techniques.

Tree roots can also trap items.   Not only can they trap items, but they will also protect items from other detectorists.  Some detectorists won't detect closely around obstacles or will give up digging when they hit a stubborn root.

Rocks can trap things too.  I've found gold rings under rocks on the beach. 

The currents will speed around rocks that are too big to be moved by the water, and that will move the sand and items will slip into the deepening depression.

I do not intend to give you an exhaustive list here, just a few examples to get you thinking.  I won't spoil all the fun of problem-solving for you, but as you scan a site always be alert to possible treasure traps and think about where things might be protected from other detectorists.

On a beach and in the water there various types of natural and man-made traps.

When I take a vacation or visit a new location, it seems that alarms are always going off in my head as I notice treasure traps and begin to drool over how much treasure has probably accumulated, and then my mind switches to thinking of different techniques for getting it out.  A whole lot of the fun for me is in the problem-solving process.


Coins from the famed Saddle Ridge Hoard, said to be the greatest buried treasure ever found in the United States, will be on display Oct. 9 - 11 at the PNG show in New York.  The display will include 50 of the found coins along with the rusty containers. 

One of the coins on display will be the finest known surviving example of a 1866-S Double Eagle without the motto.

Here is the link for more information on that.

http://www.coinweek.com/coin-clubs/saddle-ridge-coins-cans-coming-png-new-york-show/


There are no storms brewing in the Atlantic or Gulf.

The surf along the Treasure Coast today will be around one foot.  It won't be much bigger than that for a week or two. 

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

5/30/14 Report - Quality Finds, Cash Hidden in Orlando and Saddle Ridge Hoard of Gold Coins Being Sold

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

Find and photo submitted by Robert H.

On June 1 clues will go out via Tweet for envelopes of cash hidden in the Orlando area. 

I previously told about the same thing happening in San Francisco, but those in the Orlando area have the chance to go on a hunt for cash Saturday.




Yesterday I showed a photo of a pile of trash picked up by Robert H.   People don't generally show that type of thing, but it is important. 

I often recommend picking up the trash.  Trash on a beach can tell you a lot.   It can tell you something about what other detectorists have been there before you and what they did or didn't do.   It can tell you how things are distributed.  In the wet sand it can tell you which way to go to find treasure.

From his picture of the trash he had picked up, I could tell that Robert had found some treasure.   If you are picking up trash like that you will find treasure.  Show me a man's trash and I can tell you something about how he hunts, where he hunts, and most importantly something about what treasure he has found.

I was right when I said that Robert had probably found some nice treasures.  He just sent me some pictures of his treasures.

Another find photo submitted by Robert H.

Robert said,  I have been looking at it  [ this blog ]  everyday for the last year and a half. Pretty much from when I started detecting.  

Robert has done exceptionally well for the short time he has been detecting. 

From the trash photo I could tell that Robert has taken my advice concerning picking up the trash, and he has some really great finds to show for it.  I'm just showing two of them today.

Robert has made some real quality finds.  You don't find those everywhere.  To find quality, you have to be hunting where quality is.

Trash usually comes before treasure no matter where you are.

Congratulations on the great finds Robert!  And thanks for sharing.

When it comes to rings, simple solitaire diamonds can be among the most valuable, often more valuable than bigger or more flashy rings.   They can hold expensive quality diamonds, but are not the easiest to detect, especially when deep.

I've told before about how when I started detecting I didn't think women lost as many rings as men.  That is because I was using discrimination and missing the smaller rings.  Women lose a lot of rings too.  I found that out when I learned to turn my discrimination off.

Analyze what you are finding or not finding.   That can tell you if you should make adjustments to your detector settings, especially if you are missing one type of desirable item.

Another type of mistake is focusing too much on one type of target.  If you are finding a lot of rings but never find watches, there is probably a good reason that you missed the watches - maybe discrimination.  Maybe you aren't picking up the watches because even some good ones can sound like junk instead of sounding like a coin or ring, which, of course, are smaller.

You should get an idea of what type and amount of different types of items you should be finding.  I once knew what proportion of rings to coins should be found on the dry sand, wet sand and water.   I was keeping good records and figured out the numbers.  Unfortunately I don't have those numbers now, but still know roughly in my mind what the proportions should be like at different types of beaches and know when I'm about due or overdue to find one particular type of item under different conditions. 


You might remember the headlines from back in April about the $11 million gold coin cache (the Saddle Ridge Hoard) found in California.  It is now being sold off.

 One 1874 $20 Double Eagle, which typically sells for around $4,250, sold for $15,000.

Here is the link for more of that story.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/themargin/2014/05/28/first-rare-gold-coin-to-sell-from-great-buried-treasure-ever-nets-for-15000/


After today the surf on the Treasure Coast will be increasing a little daily until it peaks at about three to five feet on Tuesday.   This is a good day to get in some water hunting before the surf increases.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/26/14 Report - Ten Million Dollar Gold Coin Cache Found and The Amazing Success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme

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

Mint Condition Gold Rush Era Gold Coins in Container.
AP Photo:see links for more photos. 

Approximately 10 million dollars in Gold Rush era gold coins were found by a couple walking a dog.  The mint coins were buried in metal containers under a tree on the couple's property.


The amazing cache is now being called the Saddle Ridge Hoard.


Below are some of the links to that story.


Thanks to those who submitted the following links.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/25/california-gold-coins-buried-treasure/5817179/

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-25038001

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/25/california-couple-finds-10-million-in-rare-coins-while-out-walking-dog/

I don't post news about discoveries like this simply so you will be up on the news.  The reason I post them is because there is always a tip or lesson to take away.

In this case, note that the couple had been at this location many times.  It was on their own property.  And one container was brought into view when it was uncovered by recent erosion.  Each of those things provides a lesson, or at least a good reminder.

I've talked many times about detecting your own property, keeping your eyes open, inspecting any new erosion, etc.

Imagine a hoard like that.  If you didn't visually spot it first but rather detected it, imagine what the signal might have been like.  Were the containers iron?  Would you have dug it or passed it up?

If you saw a small part of the containers sticking out of the ground, would you have investigated it or ignored it?

This find was made about a year ago but is just going public before the coins are sold on Amazon.com.


Treasure is in the air, or should I say in the media.   Mike F. from NJ sent me the link to this great article from the BBC News.  Thanks Mike.

The article says, ... Amateur archaeologists with metal detectors found 990 items classified as treasure during 2012, according to figures from the British Museum.

All of the rare coins, rings and brooches contain gold or silver, and many date back more than 1,200 years.

The public reported more than 74,000 other historical items to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which experts say has "revolutionised archaeology".

More than 900,000 objects have been reported since it started in 1997.

The verification process takes several months, which is why the items submitted in 2012 are only being detailed now...

That's what can happen when the archaeological community works with the public.  They say it has "revolutionized archaeology."  Yet in the US we have nothing remotely similar.

Here is the link Mike sent.

www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-25748576

Thanks again Mike.


I have a lot more to post today but got a very late start and am going to have to continue with these and other topics some other time.

It seems a lot of people are reading the previous post on groins and honey holes and want more.   I'll have to continue that some other time too.


That is all for now.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net