4/16/20 Report - Detectorist Sells Find for $54,000. Toned 1932 Quarter Sells for $4,800. Test and Prove.

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

A metal detectorist’s find, a silver penny of Ludica, a virtually unknown Saxon king of Mercia, realized nearly three times its high estimate during a March 10 auction in London.

The coin was discovered by Andy Hall while metal detecting in Wiltshire. It realized £41,216 ($54,004 U.S.), including the 28.8 percent buyer’s fee...

At Coombe Bissett, in Wiltshire, in January 2016 during an organized search on farmland, the coin was found buried 3 to 4 inches deep in a rotted stubble field. Hall, using an XP Deus metal detector, found the coin in a ball of thick mud.

Hall had been detecting for two years when he found the coin. He saw that it was a Saxon silver penny and took it home before carefully removing the mud... 

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/rare-silver-penny-found-by-detector-sells-in-london-auction


Notice the word "detectorist" there.  It seems to be becoming mainstream.


---

Here is a 1932 Washington quarter that sold for $4,800, which is a much higher price than most  comparably graded 1932 quarters, which usually sell in the neighborhood of $700.

… The year 1932 marked the start to the series, and Pogue’s example, graded Mint State 66 by Professional Coin Grading Service, with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker, featured gorgeous toning described as “most vivid, varied and expansive on the obverse, where particularly impressive shades of sea green, olive-gold, lilac and salmon pink are seen.” 


So it looks like the toning helped the price a lot. For me it is too spotty.

Here is that link.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/market-analysis-final-pogue-presentation-generates-over-15-million-dollars

---

I have one silver coin that has developed some unusual toning (below).  It was found years ago.  I think the toning developed over time in storage.

The photo is realistic and has not been edited or anything.

The gold toning is the nice part.  I could do without the black.

---

I thought the 1944 metal detecting story I posted yesterday was cool.  Don't know if anyone else liked it.   

---

For a long time I've been repeating a few things over and over again in different ways.

Observe, theorize, hypothesize, test, then accept or reject, and repeat.  That is simple enough.  And I don't think it is asking too much of anyone that claims to be scientific.  Of course there are epistemological discussions we could get into, but I won't

You wouldn't believe how many times I test myself.  I take samples all the time.  I don't assume I am right.  I test it out.

And that is what I suggest you do.  Don't believe a thing I say without testing it out for yourself.

---

I got out of the car in the WalMart parking lot the other day, and over a loud speaker came some sort of message about washing hands and taking precautions.  It immediately reminded me of  George Orwell's novel Nineteen-Eighty-Four.

Now we have drones flying around warning people who get too close to other people and all sorts of Orwellian things.  People are tracked through cell phone data.  Neighbors report neighbors for being outside in the yard exercising.  A father and daughter arrested and handcuffed for being in a park.  And the beaches are closed!  Who could of imagined all that?

Well, here we are with all the beaches closed - at least to most of us.  My original purpose for this blog was to report on beach conditions.  After that I got into a lot more.

But with the beaches closed, and with the blog so big now, maybe it is about time to shut it down or do something different.  People have been asking me to do a book, but I'll consider some other changes, such as doing something similar by subscription or something.  The site is continually growing and getting more views, but it feels like its about time for a change.

Right now I'm thinking about a non-public blog for a small group of people or a blog-PLUS with extra info for a small group.

---

The wind has shifted and is now coming from the northeast.  Rainy too.  And the tides flat.

The surf is supposed to increase later today.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/12/14 Report - Inland Hunting Versus Beach Hunting, 2000 Year-Old Corded Pot Sherds Found

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

Find and photo by William M.

Here is a nice silver quarter find by William M.
He has been detecting off beach.  People do that more when beach conditions are not so good.

If you think about it, there is a lot more land in the U. S. than there is beach.  The beach is only a very narrow strip.

If you fly over the U. S. you'll see thousands of square miles of land that has not been detected or detected very little.

The main difference between beach hunting is the constant churn or turnover in the tidal area. 

There are a lot of differences between beach and inland hunting, but there are a lot of similarities too.

In future posts I'll talk about some of the differences and different strategies and techniques.  The biggest thing about working a beach is the sifting and sorting done by the water and waves.  The longer things are out there the more they will be sorted.  That means that you can hit it really good when you are able to get to where the gold has accumulated. 

When hunting dry land there can be accumulations too.  There are lakes, streams, etc. but there is erosion from rain too.  I hit one small area that held a good number of coins on an old path recently where the path narrowed.  There were steep cliffs on both sides of the path, and the path also got suddenly steeper and there were big tree roots sticking out.  I'd bet that a good bit of that concentration of coins was caused by people coming down the path slipping in rain or snow or tripping over the roots. 

In the near future, I'll probably be talking more about some of the similarities and differences between inland and beach hunting and the different strategies and techniques.



Pot Shards
 

Here are some finds from up north.  I said I'd show you some older stuff.  These are estimated to be up to between 2000 and 2500 years old.

You can see the chord marks.  They are all corded.  Some are tempered with limestone and some have bits of ground clamshells.



An Inside Surface.

Here are a couple of close-ups.

Keep your eyes open and be aware of non-metallic items that you might see.

These are from a large camp area on private property which has been investigated heavily by archaeologists.







An Outside Surface.

On the Treasure Coast it looks like we'll be having a one to two foot surf most of the time, with maybe a couple of days a foot bigger.  That won't really create good beach conditions.  It has really been a slow year for hunting older things on the Treasure Coast beaches.  It has got to change some time.  Don't fall asleep and miss it when it finally happens.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net





11/2/14 Report - Excellent Seated Quarter Found. More On The Hardee Hat Pin Find. 17th Century Hoard. Increasing Surf.

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

I always like to celebrate first finds, and I have a picture of one recently made by one of the friends of this blog.

He said, Wow!  I just found this Seated Liberty Quarter a few hours ago.  Can't say that I ever expected to find a US coin this old and in this condition in Florida.

It is my first Seated Liberty coin and my oldest US coin find.

You've said it before and I've found it personally to be true, that once you find something the odds improve on finding another.  I sure hope so in this case.

Great find!  Thanks for sharing.

---------------------------------

Here is a great little video showing a hoard of 17h Century artifacts that were found in a sealed space under a stone floor.

The video presents some good information and shows a lot of artifacts. 

Here is the link.   I think you'll enjoy it.

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/hoard-of-17th-century-artefacts-found-at-rathfarnham-castle-1.1982372

-------------------------------

This picture showing the Hardee Hat Pin as it would have been worn, was sent by Christopher P.

Jeff C., who found he dug Hardee pin that I showed the other day had his to say about he find.

When I found it i didn't know what it was .  It felt so light and tinny I thought it was from some kids toy.. Then one day while researching some buttons I had found I saw the exact eagle clutching arrows and realized it was a union soldiers hat pin... Just wanted you to know its story.

That happens.  Hang onto nice items when you are not sure of the identity.  It can make a big difference when you clean or sell or display them.   In time you might learn enough to completely change your opinion.

--------------------------

We're getting close to a time when I'll be able to tell you about one exciting project that I didn't have permission to describe yet.

Some of the snow birds are back.

We don't have any tropical activity to watch now.  For you Florida natives, you might be thinking more of Polar activity with this cool air.

The surf has begun to increase a little, but only up to about three feet today.   The wind is from the North.  The surf will increase a couple more feet the next couple of days.  Maybe that will help some.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net.

8/22/14 Report - Hunted Treasure Coast Inland Site Very Productive. 1924 Quarter. FEC Seals. Possible Storm and Increased Surf Heading Our Way.

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



Lots of Finds By William M.
Photo by William M.

 

 
 
 
 
 

William M. has been doing a lot of digging at a land site.

Just look at this picture.

Here is what William said.

I put in a very long day at a new to me..land site.

Several people told me it had been hunted many times... I couldn't tell.

Dug ALOT... wound up with a 1942 Washington.. A 1924 SLQ and several F.E.C. bale seals as well as a flat lead piece stamped J on one side and B on the other??

A few wheat pennies ... many many other targets.

Also..a huge lead object under roots of a large tree what I saw the tops of these I thought for sure I had found jars filled with coins boy was that a lot of work.
happy hunting and thank you



1924 Quarter

FEC Seals, Lead Item & Some Coins



 



Washington Silver Quarter.

These finds and photos are all by William M.

Congrats William!

That is a lot of work.

Don't give up on a site just because you think it has already been detected.

In fact, I recommend covering a site more than once if it is promising at all.

I did a post once of FEC seals.   You can use the search box if you want to go back and see that.

Thanks for sharing William.   I bet a lot of people have been sitting around thinking there is no place worth hunting.  

One factor in William's success is that he obviously didn't use much if any discrimination. 

By the way, I've been seeing some older and very unusual pull tabs this year for some reason.  I didn't know there were so many varieties.  Almost made me think of starting a pull tab collection. 

Source: www.nhc.noaa.gov

The tropical disturbance that I've been watching has become a little more promising.  It has not become a storm yet but now has a sixty percent chance in the next 48 hours.

You can see that it has turned to the north.

If it becomes a named storm, it will be Christobal.

If you check the surfing web sites, the surf will begin increasing a little by Sunday and will get up to 3 or 4 feet by Tuesday.

We haven't had that much surf in months.

I've been making needed repairs to some of my equipment.  I wish they would make things more sturdy.



Some new Mayan cities have been discovered.  Good article.

http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/three-ancient-maya-cities-found-in-jungle-140815.htm



On the Treasure Coast I'm waiting for the sand to get stirred up a little.   I'll be glad to see any movement of sand.  It has been so looong.

I showed the other day that there were a few spots where things were uncovered.  Hard to find them though. 

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.