8/7/18 Report - Diamond Ring Find. Important Bottle Dates. Good Links for Good Info.

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

Beach Find.

There are always good things to be found on the beach.  I've said this before, but there is always some place to hunt and something to find.  

I've been talking a lot about Spanish shipwreck treasure and other old finds lately, but the beaches are always being replenished with new items.  Here is one nice 14K gold and diamond ring find.  While I know very little about diamonds, this one seems to be cut very nicely.  There are a lot of facets and they seem to work very well together.

Not only is the central diamond nice, but the surrounding diamonds aren't bad either.

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I have three different threads going lately.  For a while I'll be on one, and then I'll jump to another.  I might be on one topic for a day or two or three and then change.  One of my recent topics has been how to determine the age of items.  My list of factors is general and can be applied to almost any type of find.  That, of course, includes bottles.

One type of mark you'll find on many bottles is “FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR REUSE OF THIS BOTTLE.” This law went into effect in 1935 and was repealed on December 1, 1964.  So that gives you a fairly specific date range, although the mark can be found on bottles that were distributed later than that date.

Here are some other important dates that can help you determine the date of a metal detecting site.

• 1934: Colored labeling makes its soft-drink-bottle debut. In the original process, the coloring was baked on the bottle.
• 1952: The first diet soft drink—a ginger ale called "No-Cal Beverage" produced by Kirsch—was sold.
• 1957: Aluminum cans for soft drinks were introduced.

• 1959: The first diet cola was sold.
• 1962: The pull-ring tab was invented by Alcoa. It was first marketed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 1963: In March, the "Pop Top" beer can, invented by Ermal Fraze of Kettering, Ohio, was introduced by the Schlitz Brewing Company.
• 1965: The resealable top was invented.
• 1970: Plastic bottles for soft drinks were introduced.
• 1974: The stay-on tab was introduced by the Falls City Brewing Company of Louisville, Kentucky.
• 1979: Mello Yello soft drink was introduced by The Coca-Cola Company as competition against Mountain Dew.
• Those and other dates can be found by using the following link, which will take you to a site about soda pop and other carbonated beverages.
• 
  
• https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-soda-pop-1992433

Here is a link to a great web site for information about beer and soda bottles.  It will ask you a bunch of questions about your bottle to come up with a date range. It does requires some previous knowledge of bottle terminology.

http://www.sodasandbeers.com/SABDateGlassBottles.aspx

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Here is a nice little web site about the basics of archaeology.  It talks about a lot of the same type of stuff that I've been discussing lately such as the difficulty of evaluating artifacts.

Here is a brief excerpt.

After establishing all of the scientific data about an item, the archaeologist must begin to direct higher level questions at the object such as: who made it? Why? How was it used? Who used it?

Deductive reasoning rather than laboratory analysis better answers these questions. Once the archaeological eye leaves the university microscope, it quickly refocuses on scanning an overview of all of the hard, physical evidence in order to deduce answers to the philosophical questions. Here is where interpretation begins to become mistily subjective...

Here is the link if you want to read more.

http://www.archaeologyexpert.co.uk/ArchaeologicalInterpretation.html

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Time Travel.

There are no weather systems of special interest right now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/4/19 Report - 15th Century Anchor Found. Copper Bracelet. Vintage Bottles. Backyard Gold Mine. This Is The Year.

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

Source: Mexico News Daily (See link below.)

A search for Cortés’ ships turned up a 15th-century anchor off Veracruz.  Here is an excerpt from the Mexico News Daily article.

This week, that project, headed by archaeologist Roberto Junco Sánchez and anthropologist Chris Horrell, made its first significant find — an anchor dating back to the 15th century with wood still attached to it, identified as being a type of oak found only in northern Spain...

Preliminary analyses of the wood have been used to date it, narrowing it down to two periods of time, either from 1417 to 1492 or from 1450 to 1530.

The data is still not enough to link the anchor to one of Cortés’ ships, explained Junco, or with the ships of other Spanish explorers...

Here is the link.

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/search-for-cortes-ships-turns-up-anchor/

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Concerning Terry's copper bracelet, Troy T. sent the following thoughts.

I read somewhere that Florida natives liked to use copper acquired from Europeans either through trade or from shipwrecks. They would re-work it into ornamentation and jewelry. I wish I had a good source to point towards but I don't remember exactly where I read it. I've made similar things before out of copper and brass wire.  The markings are crudely punched and maybe also etched and could have been done with pretty simple tools so it could have easily been made by a native with stone or shell tools. Of course it just as easily could have been made by a bored sailor.

I added Troy's message to yesterday's post, but it was late and you might have missed it so I posted it again.

I seems to be the consensus that the workmanship on the design is somewhat crude or primitive.

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Once again I was painfully reminded of the need for organizing finds and collectibles.  Just yesterday I went to get out my strap flasks and couldn't find them.  I knew where they were for a long time, but evidently I moved them at some point.  I'm sure I'll find them, but it drives me crazy when I thought I knew where they were but can't find them.

Categorize, label, and store your finds in an organized fashion.  Store them carefully too.  It is disgusting when an antique item that has survived years or centuries gets broken.

Brian B. sent me a link to a video about bottles.  That is what got me started on the hunt for my strap flasks.

I think you'll also enjoy the video.  It talks about the values of some vintage bottles that aren't extremely rare or difficult to find.  They are the kind of thing you might have found at one time or another.

Here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U514TaZCPyA   

I've found a lot of the bottles shown in the video - including the flasks.  Many of the ones shown in the video are vintage soda bottles worth five or six dollars.

...

A homeowner was shocked when he found a gold mine in his backyard after buying a new house. 

Anthony Doolin purchased the Brisbane property three years ago but was not aware of the gold mine until after he explored the 16.5 hectares of land...

Here is the link.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/australia/homebuyer-literally-strikes-gold-after-he-finds-a-mine-in-the-backyard-of-his-new-house-in-brisbane/ar-AAzyU3N?li=AAgfYrC

Now that sounds like a lot of fun.  I'd love to have a gold mine in my back yard, whether it was worked out or not.

But in a way, I guess I almost do.

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How do you remember the important times in your life?  Some events are big and they become markers in your life.  You can quickly say something like, "That is the year I started high school," or, "That was the year I got married," or, "That was the year our first child was born or graduated from college."

There are years like that which are remembered as milestones.  You might find that there are other years that are difficult to link to a specific memorable event.  As I thought about it, it seemed for some reason that many of those years occurred later in life.  If they are remembered at all, they are too often remembered something like, "That was the year dad died."  I don't think a person ever expects that until well after it happens and they look back over the years.  I didn't realize it until I just thought about it.

That might not seem very encouraging, but there is a fix.  No matter if you are young or old, it is up to you to make your own memorable events.  Today is the day, but this is also the year.   Find a way to do something you will remember with a smile for the rest of your life. 

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It looks like nothing but a small surf for the next five to seven days.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/1/13 - Fort Capron Treasure Coins, V Nickle, Old Bottles & Bigger Surf Predicted

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

Seated Liberty Halves From the Fort Capron Treasure
Photo from SedwickCoins Auction Catalog.

Here are some encrusted coins from the Fort Capron treasure that sold in the Sedwick Coins auction Wednesday.

The Treasure Coast has shipwrecks and treasures other than the famed 1715 Fleet.

You might know the story of the Fort Capron treasure that was found by some fellows diving for lobsters near the old inlet north of what is now Pepper Park.

If you don't know the story of this treasure, you should look it up.

Here is the description of the lot from the SedwickCoins auction listing.

Lot of 3 USA seated Liberty 50c coins in conglomeration (one separated), as found, from the "Fort Capron treasure" (1857). 27.11 grams total. Clumps of silver coins are typical for shipwreck finds, but this provenance is anything but typical, as it was simply a payroll lost in the surf when Major Dashiell's launch boat from the ship William and Mary. In fact these are the first silver coins we have ever offered from this find, and as uncleaned coins in natural conglomeration they have to be considered very rare from this source. Both parts (the separate coin and the two-coin sandwich) are black and loaded with coral and oxidation, lots of white and green color, with minimal coin detail still visible. From the "Fort Capron treasure" (1857).


What I am most excited about today is the predicted period of bigger surf  expected for the Treasure Coast next week.

The peak is predicted for November 5 and 6, but it is a prolonged period.  That is what we need.

Hopefully the wind and waves will hit the beaches at a good angle.  And hopefully the predicted higher surf will really happen.

There is a lot of sand to be moved.  And much of the coast has a sand bar in front of the beach.

This could be a real transition.  At least that is what I'm hoping for.  November is often the time when the beaches begin to change.

Surf Predictions From Magic Sea Weed

I'm glad to see that it is expected to be more than one or two days of higher surf.

Finds an Photos by Dan B.

I recently showed some other finds by Dan B.  Here are some bottles he found.

There is a variety there, including different ages and types.   You probably can't see it too well in the photo, but there are some embossed bottles in there.

Surprisingly the newer painted soda bottles often sell for higher prices than the older embossed bottles.  They are more colorful and many people remember those from their childhood. 

 Unfortunately the colors often fade of come off.  Of course, bright bottles in good condition are most desired.

I 'been showing old coins lately.  There have been gold finds too, but I'll continue with the old coins for now.

Here is one more worn coin that was found at the same site as the other two that I recently showed.

It is a V or Liberty Head nickle.   No silver.   Struck from 1883 to 1912.

 

The photos are good.  The coin is just worn.  It is in a little better condition than the two other older coins that I showed recently.  They were really worn down.

I still remember the first V nickle that I found many years ago.  It was on a beach just above a new sharp cut where it appeared it had been flipped.   Other older coins were below the cut.


An internet-only session of the SedwickCoins auction starts this morning at 10 AM.


The main thing is to watch for new erosion as the surf increases.  I'm really hoping that I will be issuing an upgrade on my beach detecting conditions rating scale.  Conditions have been so poor for so long that I haven't even bothered with my rating scale very much.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/30/11 Report - 7 Foot Seas Predicted!!! & Treasure Coast Vintage Bottles

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

Vintage Soda Bottles Found Along the Banks of Treasure Coast Waterways.

Something a little different today while we're waiting for the beaches to improve.

I'll go left to right.

First a Pepsi bottle embossed Pepsi Cola. This one doesn't show where it was bottled. The bottles that are found on the Treasure Coast come from all around Florida and all around the world.

Second, a soda bottle embossed Red Rock Co. Jacksonville FL. Its nice when the bottle tells you where it came from.

Third, as you can see a vintage 7-UP bottle. No location.

Fourth,a bottle embossed Stuart Bottling Works. I don't know what the bottle contained. It looks like a soda bottle to me, but I don't know. I'll have to find out where the Stuart Bottling Works was and what they did. Maybe someone out there can help with that. I sold another one like this before.

I especially like the local bottles.

Fifth, a Coca Cola soda water bottle. On the bottom it is embossed Fort Pierce Fla. Another local bottle telling a little about our local history. I've sold one or two of these before. Vintage Coca Cola items are usually easy to sell.

These are just a few examples that have been eye-balled along the Treasure Coast.

As I've said before, items like these, while having some value of their own, give you information about people and locations of the past.

One Treasure Coast bottle was sold to someone in Australia. Another was sold to a guy that was writing a book on Florida pharmacy bottles

There are all kinds of things to be found. When you are looking for cobs keep your eyes open for other things.

I've mentioned before that my introduction to bottle hunting came after Hurricane Andrew. I was detecting for coins and found some old bottles washing up on the beach. I found some bags and started picking up the bottles, which turned out to be worth more than the old coins I found that day.

I think about starting a site just to display various types of Treasure Coast finds but never got around to it.


Dropping lake levels in Texas exposed native American archaeological sites. Many looters have been arrested.

http://www.kwtx.com/news/headlines/Dropping_Lake_Levels_Expose_Ancient_Artifacts_And_Looters_Have_Noticed_130746858.html?ref=858

I'm not aware of Native Americans using concrete thousands of years ago. If looters were digging under concrete, it would seem that the site had already been disturbed, so any disturbance done by the so-called looters would be secondary at best.


Here is a nice article about recent archaeological discoveries in the historic Hudson River Valley.

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Dig-under-way-at-historic-Saratoga-battlefield-2188054.php


As you know, both gold and silver prices have dropped significantly lately. Gold has gone from around $1900 to around $1600, and silver from around $40 an ounce to around $30. It's any body's guess where they'll go next.

After a big drop and bounce, OMEX stock seems to be dropping too.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

Philippe seems headed west. It might be coming our way.

And the surf web sites are now predicting 7.5 foot seas for next Thursday. That is the big news today. Seas that high could really improve conditions for us. As you probably know, it depends upon other factors as well, but seas that high give us a good chance for something good to finally happen.

Today the wind is out of the north/northwest. Seas are relatively calm, and the surf web sites have decreased the level of the seas expected this weekend.

We do finally have something hopeful to look forward to.


Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net