5/8/15 Report - First Named Storm of Season. Jacksonville Beaches Ripped. Making Coin Rings. Dig Site You Can Join.

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


Gold Found by Shannon F.
Photo by Shannon F.

Shannon F. wrote the following.

I'm not sure if you are familiar with my area. My local beaches back in the 70's experienced a full dune replenishing project adding 15+ft of sand to the ENTIRE area. As far as old things go there were none to find. Period. It was all hidden out of range of a detector. This past weeks storm finally changed that by digging a river like cut 10ft below the high sand. After detecting the area for years with no luck for "older" finds this cut made a brief window. I found 3 1940's nickels and out popped some old gold. Moral of the story is that it's all there hiding under the sand. Just out of reach 99% of the time.

While the recent storm didn't do much for our Treasure Coast beaches, it evidently did the beaches up north some good.   That is a great tip.

What Shannon says is true anywhere.  Although we haven't had good beach conditions locally for quite a while, there is still plenty of stuff hiding under the sand just waiting for the right conditions to uncover it all. 

I know some of you will lose patience, but it will pop out again. 

Thanks for sharing Shannon.  Nice find.

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1905 Barber Half For Sale on eBay.

Yesterday I showed an old coin ring that I discovered after cleaning it off.  After looking at it in various lighting, I discovered a date on it.  The ring was made from an 1905 half dollar.  I can barely see the date, but looking at other parts of the design, I can match it up with a Barber half dollar.  Notice the leaves overlapping the word TRUST in the photo.

Russ P. spotted the Barber half quicker than I.  He could see the signs from the photos that I showed yesterday.

Good eye Russ!

Here is a picture of a 1905 Barber half like that used to make the ring.  Not only can I see where the leaves overlap with the word TRUST on the ring but also the stars and other features of the coin.

There are plenty of youtube videos showing how to make rings out of coins.  You might like to give it a try if you have some old silver coins you are willing to sacrifice.

Here is one to get you started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo_wUYktz-U

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Trying to think up something new for a different and exciting for a summer vacation?  How about digging a Mayan archaeological site?  You can!

Archaeologists of the Maya Research Program (MRP) plan to field a crew beginning in June 1, 2015, to excavate an ancient Maya elite residential complex and other sites in northwestern Belize. Though less than a month away, the team leadership still has some available positions in the opening session to fill with willing students and volunteers to help them investigate large residential structures and a large shrine north of the site core of Xnoaha a medium-sized Maya center in Belize not far from the border with Mexico.

Here is the link if you want to learn more.

http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/spring-2015/article/archaeologists-offer-special-deal-to-dig-at-ancient-maya-site

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We now have the first named storm of the season off of South Carolina - Ana.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/ana-tropical-system-atlantic-us-east-coast-north-south-carolina-rough-surf-rain/46764807

On the Treasure Coast we're back down to a two-three foot surf again.  It is going to be down to a one foot surf in a couple of days.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

4/8/14 Report - Drone Used to Discover Archaeological Site, Treasure Coast Beach Conditions & NOT 1715 Fleet Kang Xsi

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

Below is a picture of the beach at Pepper Park in the morning.  I finally managed to get a video uploaded into blogger.  It wasn't quick though.  Maybe I'll be able to do more videos now.

NOTE:  It appears that there may be some problem with the video.  It seemed to work when I first put it on, but now it seems that it is not always loading for some reason.

That doesn't look very promising.  You could tell that the dry sand had been kicked up by plenty of beach goers though.   I didn't bother detecting there. 

That beach usually gets covered well during the winter by snowbirds who park their trailers there.


A drone equipped with an thermal camera was able to find signs of a 1000 year old village in New Mexico.

Here is the link to that article.

http://westerndigs.org/hidden-architecture-of-1000-year-old-village-discovered-in-new-mexico/

There are a lot of new techniques these days. 

Have you heard about the Pocket Drone.

It is a small drone that can be folded up into a small package and then opened for use.  It costs less than $1000 and can be equipped with a good camera.  

Pocket Drone.

Quite a few have already been sold to hobbyists and people who want to get another angle for their photos.

My concern is how stable it would be on a breezy day on the coast.

I saw the creators showing it on the business channel.

Here is a link for more information.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/airdroids/the-pocket-drone-your-personal-flying-robot


Yesterday or the day before I showed an ancient Chinese "chicken cup" which is expected to sell for millions.  I showed it because it was an example of fine ancient Chinese porcelain. 

In the Sedwick auction they have a couple pieces of Chinese porcelain.  This one

The upper estimation on this one is $375.

The graphics on this one didn't appeal to me when I first looked at it and didn't look like the K'angxi I've seen from the Treasure Coast.

It does have a couple of the typical characteristics.  The shade of blue is similar and it is a nice thin and very white piece of porcelain.

This piece was once evidently confused as being from the 1715 Fleet, but when I saw it, the graphics were definitely not like what I had seen of 1715 Fleet Kangxi.  It just didn't look like what I had seen.  And I didn't find it as appealing.

It is still very different from the more common domestic 18th century pieces you will see.

I was pleased that my opinion of the piece had some basis and that I was able to recognize the difference.

Here is the auction description.

Small, blue-on-white Chinese porcelain teacup, K'angxi period, ex-Ullian. 44 grams, 1-3/4" tall and 2-1/4" in diameter. Completely intact, with some glaze remaining, traces of red overglaze too, simple exterior design of three cloud-like panels with diagonal stripes. With original Real Eight Co. certificate signed by Lou Ullian, which says this cup was "recovered in 1963 by the Real 8 Co. from the Almiranta of the 1715 Fleet. It was one of 11 small cups found." Recovered from: Spanish 1715 Fleet, east coast of Florida. UPDATE: It has come to our attention that this piece was actually recovered from a suspected pirate wreck of the 1720s-30s in the Red Sea during an archeological expedition in the 1970s. The pattern on this cup is distinctive for the Chinese market and would not have ended up on the 1715 Fleet. The salvager subsequently sold it to Ullian, and we surmise that it simply got confused in Lou's estate.

So this piece was not from the 1715 Fleet.  I am totally surprised that my gut reaction actually had some basis.


The best way to learn to identify items is to look at many examples, preferably in person.


On the Treasure Coast we still don't have good detecting conditions.  Take a look at the video.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/20/13 Report - Erin, 17th Century Shipwreck, Erosion, Gold & More on Beach Site Selection.

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


It looks like Erin disappeared.  There are now no tropical storms or weather systems to watch.

The surf on the Treasure Coast has increased up to around three or four feet for a day or so.  That might help refresh some of the beach fronts a little.  Otherwise no significant change in beach detecting conditions.


Flooding is causing erosion along the Missouri River and exposing artifacts from ancient Native American artifacts to 19th Century pewter toys.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/19/3116729/corps-archaeologists-study-missouri.html

As I always say, be alert to erosion where ever it is.  Erosion can provide a nice window into the past.

Secondly, as the article points out, the same places drew people over the centuries.  People find the same things attractive now as they did in the past.  Whenever you see a particularly nice location, even if it doesn't show any signs of being used in years past, there is a good chance that it was.


An unidentified 17th Century Dutch trading ship is being excavated.

Here is the link to that story.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/archaeology/10249793/The-riddle-of-the-400-year-old-shipwreck.html


And here is a great story on changing gold prices, its impact on individuals to international banks and indifidual miners to investment companies.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-13/losing-faith-in-gold-from-ghana-to-vancouver-proves-rout.html



A few days ago I talked about how different beaches vary in the quality of finds they produce.  Some beaches produce a higher average value find.  And of course some beaches produce more good targets than others.  My previous illustration proposed a hypothetical beach that produced finds averaging $500 and another lower quality beach that produced finds that average $50.

I discussed how you would have to dig ten times as many good targets at the lower quality beach to equal the value of finds that you might expect from the high quality beach.  Looking at it the other way around, you only have to find one tenth the number of finds at the high quality beach to equal the value of finds that you might expect from the lower quality beach.  One additional consideration is the changing beach conditions that I want to talk about now.

For illustration purposes, let's say it normally takes ten  hours to make a  find at the beach that produces high quality finds.    Maybe there are fewer people that visit that beach and they might be more careful with their jewelry.  And if you average one find per hour of hunting at the lower quality beach, that means that the two beaches are equal in expected value.   10 finds of $50 average value = $500 total at the low quality beach, as compared to 1 find of $500 at the high quality beach.

Those numbers might not be realistic for the particular beaches you work, but they are easy numbers for illustration purposes.

You also need to take changing beach conditions into account and adjust your expected value of finds for each beach. If beach conditions really improve at the high quality beach so that you estimate that your chance of making a find at the quality beach doubles, that makes your expected value of finds for the high quality beach twice as great as for the low quality beach ($1000 compared to $500).

I know that it is difficult to precisely estimate the change in probability of finds as a result of changing beach conditions, and you don't really need to be that precise, but by looking at it in this way think you will be more clear about your decision making processes and make better decisions concerning site selection.

It also takes a good amount of time to get good records so that you can get a good average of the value of finds for different beaches.  That brings me to another consideration.   Here it is.  High quality beaches are much more likely to produce individual finds that can dramatically change your average value of finds.  One Rolex watch or one $50,000 diamond ring might not be found very often, but when it does happen, it will dramatically change your average expected value for that beach.  That is something that is difficult to factor into your decision making precisely.   If an extremely good find like that occurs at a high quality beach it might correctly affect your expectations because there is some chance it will happen from time to time, though rarely.

If on the other hand, something like that pops up on a lower quality beach, you never expect it to happen there again.  That means that you might factor it in to your decision making differently.

I won't make it any more complex.  I do recommend keeping very good and detailed records so you know the average value of finds at a beach.  When making decisions you don't have to use a formula and do the calculations.   Thinking of it in terms of a formula will help to make your decision making more clear though and help you to consider the relevant factors and how they enter into site selection.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/5/12 Report - The Overgeneralization Trap

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

Gold Nugget Crucifix Pendant Beach Metal Detector Find.

I was talking about nugget jewelry the other day, and pendants.  Here is another one.  I think you would call it nugget.  Maybe abstract.

Computers result in, or should I say create, data.  I was looking at google analytics, which I do almost daily, to see how many people read the day's blog and noticed that you can view how many people viewed the blog hour by hour.   I looked mostly out of curiosity - just because it was there.  What I noticed is that there are two peak periods of  daily activity.   One is around 6 to 8 AM, and the other around 6 or 7 PM.   They are about equal in usage.  And the time when hardly anyone is reading the blog, as you might expect, is after midnight and into the early morning hours.

Being a data junky and enjoying the process of theorizing and learning, naturally I thought about it a bit.  That is what I do - observe and try to make sense out of the world.  Passing along my observations and thoughts is secondary to that but gratifying when it seems there is someone on the other end of the computer that is paying attention and benefiting from my efforts.

Anyhow, the data supported what I had previously heard.   People have told me that the blog is the first thing they look at in the morning.  It seems there is a group of people that do that on a regular basis.   Then there appears to be another group that reads the blog after coming home from a day of work.  And of course smaller numbers at most hours of the day.

People are creatures of habit.  That can be a problem when it comes to detecting.  If you always hunt the same parts of the same beaches, those hunted spots can become cleaned out.  And if you are hunting the same beaches and spots that most other people are detecting, your efforts can become less productive.

If you have success at one spot, you'll tend to return to the same spot.  It is like the Skinner box.  You know - reinforcement.  Or you might call it reward and punishment.   But unlike a Skinner box, a beach is a complex and dynamic system.  It changes.  Constantly.

Just because you had success at one spot in the past and no success at other spots, doesn't mean that things won't change.  You might have been hunting for years, and had a lot of success in a specific range of the beach.  As a result you might very well start to spend almost all of your time on the part that was productive in the past.  That will pretty much guarantee that you won't find much in the areas that weren't productive in the past.  You aren't spending your time there so you won't find much there.  It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  You don't believe you'll find anything there, so you don't hunt there, and you don't find anything there.  That is the trap.

I advise busting out of your preconceptions every once in a while to simply test your theories.  I'm not saying spend a lot o time where you don't expect to find anything, but check out those areas once in a while.  You just might be surprised.  I've often been surprised, and as a result had to reconsider my beliefs and had to adjust my thinking to take into account new discoveries.

Instead of falling into the trap of hunting the same spot or two over and over again to the exclusion of all the other possibilities, one thing you can do is rotate the locations that you hunt.  After cleaning out one beach, move to another the next day or week.  Move from one to another on a regular cycle.  Five or six spots in your rotation might be a good number.   But don't be afraid to bust the cycle.  Site rotation works best on beaches that have a lot of activity and are replenished on a regular basis - not as well on most treasure beaches. 

Even if you have a system, break out of it once in a while.  Check other areas once in a while just to check you thinking.   And  if you want to continue to learn, you have to occasionally try new things  And you have to test your old ideas.  Things change.  Don't get stuck in a rut.  Especially an unproductive one.

If you find rusty artifacts such as shipwreck spikes, you know what happens to iron after it has been immersed in salt water.  I've talked about how to treat iron in the past and given some helpful links.   Here is another link if you want to learn more about rusty artifacts.

http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2012/may/story67592.html

The beach conditions and forecast haven't changed.   It is still beautiful weather, with calm seas and very low low tides.  It is a nice time for wading or snorkeling.   And there seem to still be a lot of iron and other metals on the beach fronts.  Still some dips in front of the beach.

 

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide @comcast.net