4/25/18 Report - Understanding Factors Involved With How Coins Move in Sand. Archaeological Detecting. Emeralds and Silver Bars.

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

A couple days ago I talked about how coins move on the beach.  Evidently a lot of people were interested in the topic and followed up by visiting previous posts on the subject.  As a result I decided to show something that clearly illustrates some of the main factors involved.  It isn't simple because it depends upon a variety of factors - the force and direction of the water being a couple of the most important.  The complication is that the water force can change from near zero to very high.

First, here is a question for you?  Will a coin always move in the same direction as the current.

Here is an illustration.

The illustration shows a coin lying on a sand slope.  The current is moving towards shore and up over the slope very much like it would with a surge.

What do you think will happen?   It depends upon the how strongly the current is moving, but if the current is very slight it can move sand in and pile it up on the slope and eventually cover the object.
However, if there is enough current, but not too much, the current will move the sand from around the coin, especially the that part of the coin that faces the current.  That would be red area shown in the next illustration.

When a sufficient amount of sand is moved from that area, the coin will slip down the slope a notch and remain there until enough sand is moved for the same thing to happen again.  Of course the current would have to remain about the same and the coin would be in the same orientation on the sandy slope.

I've seen this actually demonstrated in a tank filled with water and sand and a controlled current.  This is a case in which the object moves opposite the direction of the current,  If the current is either too weak or too strong, it won't happen the same way.  If the current is strong enough, it can push the coin along in the same direction as the sand.

The important factors are the characteristics of the objects to be moved, including both the density and shape, as well as the force of the current.

When an object like this coin is on a slope and the supporting sand is removed, gravity moves it down the slope.

One of the important characteristics of a coin is the shape.  Coins tend to lie flat against the surface and present a small and rounded edge towards any modest current.  The current then speeds a little as it is forced around the stationary object.

A variety of things can destroy this entire scenario.  Just think of a wave crashing right on top of the slope and coin.  In that case, sand will be thrown around and the coin moved rather abruptly.

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The Society of American Archaeology web site lists a variety of projects involving detectorists.

Here is the link.

http://www.saa.org/ForthePublic/Resources/MetalDetectingInArchaeology/MetalDetectoristsParticipatinginArchaeologyRe/tabid/1030/Default.aspx

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There are several 1715 Fleet emeralds up for auction in the current Sedwick auction.  They have starting bids of around $100.  I've posted about people who have found emeralds on the Treasure Coast beaches.  Some of those emeralds are not the greatest, but one exceptional one was a 68 karat emerald found by a lady that was collecting shells at Golden Sands beach.  Watch for green in the shell piles.

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Crude-natural-emerald-from-the-1715-Fleet-8-5-carats_i29836856

The big silver bars seem to be bringing in really good prices.  I think one is up to about $29,000 already.

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The surf is pretty small now and won't start increasing again until Monday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/18/17 Report - 19 Tons of Silver Bars. Some Erosion on Some Treasure Coast Beaches.

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

Eroded Treasure Coast Beach As Seen Early This Afternoon.

I noticed a good southeast wind once yesterday and suspected there might be some beach erosion.  I got out today and did find some.

The above cut is about two feet high.  As you can see, there is a lot of seaweed.  The sand in front of the cut was mushy.  The seaweed undoubtedly washed up after the wind changed direction and the erosion was done.

The quick erosion and refilling happened a number of times during a few weeks a month or two ago.  No cobs showed up then either.

Another Beach With Some Erosion. 

There was not quite as much erosion here.

No Erosion at The Third Beach.

The third beach had even more seaweed.  You could also see where the sand was accumulating on the front of this beach.

Overall, I'd say beach detecting conditions are not good despite the erosion at some beaches.

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I previously talked a little about the S. S. Gairsoppa, but did you know about the SS Mantola?

Odyssey Marine Explorations has filed to claim salvage rights for the SS Mantola, a ship that was carrying nearly 19 tons of silver bars when it was sunk by a German torpedo in 1917.

On May 1 an court order was issued giving Odyssey exclusive rights to salvage the wreck.  The order in part reads,  ...IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction temporarily enjoining and restraining any and all interference by any third-parties with Plaintiff's rights to salvage the shipwreck site located within the area defined by the center-point coordinates is hereby GRANTED; it is further ORDERED that nay and all third-parties are hereby enjoined from conducting search and/or recovery operations, or conducting activities which would disturb the shipwreck site in any manner or that would interfere with Plaintiff's rights to continue its recovery of the cargo and artifacts at the shipwreck site;...

Here is the link for that source.

 https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/21218790/Odyssey_Marine_Exploration,_Inc_v_The_Shipwrecked_and_Abandoned_SS_Mantola# 

Any other parties have the right to submit their claims.

The coordinates for the wreck were kept secret, but it is known the the Mantola was discovered not far from the Gairsoppa.

The company ( Odyssey ) estimates 536,000 ounces of silver could be on board the ship. Under a 2011 salvage agreement with the UK government, Odyssey was to keep 80 percent of the cargo.

However, that agreement lapsed in September 2015 and the government no longer makes such deals, the suit says. Odyssey is staking its claim for ownership.

Here is the link to that source, where you can find some additional information.

http://nypost.com/2017/04/22/salvage-company-wants-rights-to-shipwrecks-treasure/

And here is the link if you want to find out more about Odyssey's Mantola project.

http://www.shipwreck.net/ssmantolafaqs.php

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/25/13 Report - Storm Dorian, Tons of Silver Bars, Old Mine Tailings, Abandoned Florida and Blog Poll

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

Track of Dorian?
National Hurricane Center

First, there is a storm that is forming in the Atlantic named Dorian.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/tropical-storm-to-approach-lee/15685176

It is too early to say where it will go.  Here is a possible track as shown by the National Hurriane Center.

Here is a stack of silver bars from the Gairsoppa just up from the ocean floor.



A new source of wealth is being found in old gold mine tailings.  The tailings contain valuable rare earth elements that are being extracted.


Here is the link about that.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/rare-earth-elements-mine-tailings/story?id=19739320


I don't believe our legislators and officials have any idea how valuable metal detecting and treasure hunting is to Florida and the Treasure Coast area.  They don't know how many people read about the Treasure Coast when the gold coins were discovered right off of Sebastian beach.  That story made national news.

They don't know how many people come to the Treasure Coast from other states to metal detect.  I know.  At least I have a good idea.   I meet them all the time.  I receive questions from them via email.  I look at the google statistics that tells how many people from other states and even countries read this blog about metal detecting and treasure hunting on the Treasure Coast.  This blog, itself, has over 600,000 hits.  And all of that without any effort or anything to publicize the blog on my part other than writing the posts.

They don't know how much money is spent on boats, diving equipment, metal detecting equipment and how much people spend when they come to the Treasure Coast to detect.

They don't know how many people move to the area or buy second houses because of treasure hunting.  I, for example, first came to the Treasure Coast to metal detect the shipwreck beaches.  That was a lot of years ago.  That was my only familiarity with the Treasure Coast.   When I decided to move out of South Florida, I moved to the Treasure Coast because I knew about it from my detecting trips.  And another member of my family later bought a house on the Treasure Coast.  That would never have happened if I didn't first come to the Treasure Coast to metal detect.

I'm sure I'm not alone.  Other people hear about the Treasure Coast because of the famous treasure that the area was named for.   After they hear about it, they visit for vacation and possibly move to the area eventually.  In both cases. it means a lot of economic activity for the area.

The poll that now appears on this blog will give us some good data that can be used to let our officials how important treasure hunting and metal detecting is to the Treasure Coast.

I hope you'll respond to the poll so that we have good data to share.


Last night I ran across an absolutely fascinating web site that lists a large number of old abandoned Florida tourist attractions.  Did you know that the Orlando area had a future world other than Epcot?   There are many attempted Florida amusement parks, museums and other tourist attractions that are now abandoned.  If you are like me you'll enjoy reading about these abandoned Florida locations that include things like Ancient World, Pirate World and Treasure Land.  It is interesting enough, but you might even get a few metal detecting leads.  Of course, most of these sites are not accessible now, but some of the abandoned sites are.

The story of Ancient World is interesting.  The developer dug into an indian mound in the Boca Raton area and has glass windows installed so you could see into the mound.  He also had a museum.  It never worked out for him even though he tried a few different locations.  Interesting story.

Take a look.  Here is the link.

http://www.lostparks.com/index.html


On the Treasure Coast this morning, the breeze is out of the west.  The surf is still smooth.  That won't change until Dorian gets closer - maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.

We'll have a nice low tide this afternoon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net