6/13/20 Report - Treasure Coast Beaches Building. A Morning On The Beach. One More TG Mistake.

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

John Brooks Beach This Morning.

I went out to take a look at a few beaches this morning.  My first stop was at John Brooks.  As you can see above there was a lot of seaweed.  There was a flat front beach that was building.  You can also see a small cut in the photo.

John Brooks Beach This Morning.

Frederick Douglass Beach This Morning.

Frederick Douglass, as usual, was very much like John Brooks.  Notice the waves breaking right on edge of the front beach. 

The difference at Walton Rocks is the bar about 75 yards out and the small dip in the water in front of the beach.  The waves are breaking on the bar.

Unlike John Brooks and Frederick Douglass, you don't have the flat front beach at Walton Rocks.

Walton Rocks This Morning.

I did about twenty minutes of detecting in the dry sand this morning and found a handful of coins and a silver shepherd's hook earring and small turtle.  I don't know what that is mounted in the center of the earring.   No good finds, but I enjoyed spending a little time before it got real hot.

Morning Finds.

I was actually surprised by the number of easy finds this morning, even if they aren't much good.

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Captain Jonah says he is off to a slow start but will be sending photos when good finds are made.

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I've been listing some mistakes I've made.  Here is another.

Yesterday I posted some fossils.  I was looking for a dire wolf tooth that I found near the water's edge one day all by itself.  I precisely remember finding it and where, and I remember the research I did on it, but I couldn't find it when I wanted to.   I have one box of fossils and some of them are stored in bags with their labels, but I have fossils in other places too.  The mistake is pretty obvious: I wasn't organized enough in how I stored things.  Some were just thrown in a box together.  Some were in different places.  Right now I don't know where the dire wolf tooth is and there are probably a number of others that I couldn't find right away if I wanted to.  That doesn't apply to just fossils.

You might think you'll remember where things are and there is no reason to take the time, but if you are like me, the years will pass and you won't be able to locate finds when you want to.  That is an easy enough problem to solve, but you have to decide it is worth taking the time.  It might not seem like it now, but it will later.

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Here is the link.

https://www.amazon.com/Alex-Berenson/e/B001JRVEO4%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

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Don't expect beach conditions to change much for at least a few days.  There is no tropical activity on the NHC map right now.

The surf is running around two or three feet, and the surf is small.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/2/19 Report - Markings on Gold Ring. Bottles and Plastic Crate Finds.

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

Date Inscribed in Recently Found Ring.

The above ring is inscribed with the date 5 - 20 - 87, presumably the wedding date.  You'll occasionally find rings that are not from the U. S. that have the day before the month and year.  For example, if you see 20 - 5 - 87, you might think something is wrong unless you realize it is probably from a country where they put the day first.  Of course if the day and month are both small numbers, such as 1 and 2, you don't know if it is January 2nd or February 1st unless you know which system is being used.

You'll also find other things that are marked different from the way we usually do it in the U. S.  This high karat ring, for example is marked 90%.

Same Ring Marked 90%

The ring acid tests to over 20k gold, and I presume the 90% is the purity, which, if true, would be about 21.6k.

Rings from some places, such as India or China, are often higher karat than we find common in the U. S.

The name inscribed in the ring is Kwong, which is a name that seems to derive from Central China, but is also common in various places in the U. S., most especially California, as well as other places, such as Korea.

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Three Found Green Bottles.

These aren't new finds.  I've posted at least one of them before.  I just like the different shapes.  I especially like the round one on the right.  The photo doesn't do it justice, but it might look good catching the light in a kitchen window.

As you know some old and rare bottles can be sold for a nice price, but these ones aren't worth much of anything.

If you collect bottles, you'll quickly discover that they take up space.  That is why I always like to find a plastic crate.  Here are a couple of the crates that I've found along with a few of the bottles.

Found Coca Cola Bottles with Found Plastic Crates.

The bottom crate contains a variety of Coca Cola bottles.  One of the nice things about the plastic crates is that you can stack them six or seven high to save space.  Another nice thing is that you can see through them, which makes it can make it easier to find what you are looking for.

Notice that the bottles are stored bottom up.  There are two reasons for that.  If your bottles are outside, you don't want water and gunk to accumulate in them, and secondly, especially with Coke bottles, the bottom provides much of the identifying information so you can quickly scan them.

I always like finding things I can use while I'm looking for coins or other metal treasures.   Here are some of the other crates and bottles I've found.

More Found Crates Containing Found Bottles.

If you buy plastic crates, you'll quickly discover that they are not cheap, so I'm always glad to find one.

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Yesterday we were supposed to have some high water.  I haven't found out what it actually did yet, but according to the predictions it looks like we'll be having a more common 3 - 5 foot surf for a few days.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

That doesn't look to exciting.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/3/18 Report - Protecting Cherished Finds. Ornate 1715 Fleet Silver Gun Side Plate. More Big Surf.

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

Section of Ornate Silver Gun Sideplate Dug From 1715 Fleet Wreck Beach

After decades of hunting, I've made a lot of mistakes.  Some of the most disappointing are the result of not properly storing finds.  Some things, like glass or pottery are fragile, but there are also some things that you would think would never break that will.  That includes silver and gold.

It is very disappointing to find an item that survived hundreds of years in nature, perhaps even rolling around in the surf, and then have it break in the safety of your home.  It happens.  You might be surprised by how often it happens.

Proper storage is important.  Time takes a toll.  The heat of Florida does not help.  Glass cracks with no apparent cause.  Or you can drop an item on a ceramic tile floor.  Ceramic tile floors are the absolute worst.

Thin pieces of ornate silver such as the gun sideplate shown above can break if stored under weight or pressure.  If you want to keep them nice, don't stick items like that in a box of coins or other items.  There is already a crack that you might be able to see in the photo.

Gold can break too.  You'll occasionally find gold rings that have a cracked band, but some of the old gold and tumbaga items had a lot of copper, which makes them more brittle and susceptible to breaking.  Carefully store old silver and gold artifacts so that they are not under weight or pressure.  Put them in separate containers that will protect them.

It goes without saying that old bottles can break.  The older bottles are thicker than modern bottles, but they also can have bubbles and other imperfections that make them especially vulnerable.  Just a couple days ago I found that I broke a nice amber strap flask.  I had it in a container with some other bottles.

Even fossils that survived thousands or millions of years can easily break.  That can be very disappointing.

My main point here is to store your cherished finds very carefully.

Security is another issue.  In the past I've recommended keeping valuables in a bank safe deposit box.  But even in that case, make sure that your box is large enough that you don't have to jam things in.  Put individual items in boxes or containers that will protect them.

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Leslie is heading north and away from us.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

We're still supposed to get some nice high surf.  I'm not expecting much though, due to the direction of the swells.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Wednesday the surf is predicted to be 6 to 9 feet.  You don't get that real often.

Although you see little or no erosion, that doesn't mean that sand isn't being moved.  When it accumulates on the beach, it is obviously coming from somewhere.  Anytime sand moves, you want to know where it is coming from.  When the sand builds on the beach front it is coming from submerged areas in front of the beach.  That is significant.  If it moves from the right areas, objects can be uncovered so that they are exposed.  They can then be moved onto the beach when conditions are right.  If, however, the sand is pulled back into the water, those items can be covered again.

There is another system developing in the tropics that looks like it will move into the Gulf over the next week or so.  I don't think the Treasure Coast will get much from that one.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/16/17 Report - A Recent Relic Hunt. Memorable Mistakes.

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

Finds and photo by Dan B.

When the salvage season is over and Dan B. isn't working on the Capitana bringing up gold coins from the 1715 Fleet, he does some relic hunting. Here is a group of finds he made very recently at a railroad site.

There are some neat things in there. Notice, for example, the eagle button and the strap buckles.

I visited an old RR spot today. Since I have already picked the area clean of easy hits, I spent some time hunting the most difficult and messy areas.  Nails and iron are usually enough to deter people including myself from detecting thoroughly. These are usually old structures and hold some goodies if you can differentiate the quality hits. Well worth the time today, but rarely so lucky. 

A lot of people would be scared off by a bunch of nails, but they can protect good finds for the more patient and persistent hunter.

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People often think that you have to be at a site the day it cuts or it is too late.  That is the case sometimes, but not always.  Some really great finds have been made days after people think it is over.

When Turtle Trail recently cut and produced some nice finds last week, most was found in the first couple of days, but not everything.  In fact an eight reale was found Friday - days after the very best hunting.

A lot of things can be found when a site hits its peak, but time after time  great things are still found when most people have given up and think it is over.

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I did a post one day on some of my memorable finds.  They were finds that I always remember for some reason - often because they were firsts of some kind.

Some of my memorable finds were memorable because I made a mistake that I continue to regret. Those are the kinds of things that make you wish you had known better at the time.

One that always sticks out in my mind was a musket hammer.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't pay much attention to the hammer when I found it.  I wasn't sure what it was.  Then I found the flint nearby.  The rusted hammer was my first musket hammer, and I wasn't sure what it was right away, but as I always say, keep anything if you aren't sure you know what it is.  Well, back then I made the mistake and didn't keep the hammer and not even the flint.

I found the musket flint after digging the hammer.  That confirmed to me that it was a musket hammer, but why I didn't keep the hammer or the flint, I don't know, and I still regret it.  I was hot on a trail of some good buttons and things at the time and that might have something to do with the fact that I didn't pay them much attention.

Another regret is an 18th century medallion that was so encrusted when it was dug that I didn't know what it was.  It looked like it could be a coin.  It went into the tumbler with a bunch of coins, and when I took it out, I saw what it really was.  Fortunately it wasn't badly damaged, but it should have been treated better.  It lost some gilt and a little detail in the tumbling  process.  What an idiot!  Hopefully, I wouldn't make that type of mistake today.

As I think about some of the regrets, they were often also firsts.  That is part of the reason the mistake was made.  I didn't recognize or appreciate the item, and as a result didn't save it or properly treat it.

Other regrets came from not properly cleaning and storing items. I can think of couple of very nice items that were not stored carefully enough and broke while in storage.  Store your nice items carefully. Don't have one type of metal touching another.  That can result in discoloratation.  It can happen to reales, for example.  Don't keep a reale touching another type of metal.

Store nice items separately and so they won't be under too much weight.  Coin holders help.  It is also a good idea to keep artifacts in separate plastic boxes or bottles.  You can't be too careful if you don't want any accidental damage.

Another type of regret to avoid, is damaging items during recovery.  Some very nice items can be damaged or destroyed by careless digging.  You might not know what it is until you dig it up, so be careful.  Remember, it might be something precious.  Even metal items can be fragile.  I've made that mistake too.

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The surf will be decreasing for a few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/25/16 Report - Things I Wish I Knew Then. Be Aware Of Your Surroundings When Detecting.

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

Old Silver Key Charm Corroded and Discolored
by Contact With Other Metals During Storage.

Another item from the  IIOKTWIKN (If I only knew then what I know now) department.  It looks a little like Greek.

I've been thinking of those kinds of things lately and mentioned one yesterday.  Yesterday I mentioned that I learned how important it is to store items, even metals, carefully.  Today I'll mention a few other things I wish I had known sooner.  Actually there are some things that I knew about but didn't take seriously enough to take the best precautions.

In the picture at the top of the post is an example of what can happen when a silver item is stored with other metals.  It looks like the one shown in the picture was actually fowled by at least two different types of metals.  Notice the white corrosion and the rust colored corrosion.  All that happened during storage.

One of the things I wish I knew before is how to identify various types of items.  In the early days I probably passed up a lot of things that were important and I didn't realize it.  It can be very helpful to identify the things you see.  Anything from a pot shard to a piece of metal in a heavy conglomerate can tell you something important about the site you are hunting.

I highly recommend reading broadly.  If you are a coin shooter, you probably won't miss many coins, but you might miss other things that you'll someday wish you had.

If you want to hunt a treasure beach, do a lot of reading.  Know what other kinds of items besides pieces of eight might be found.

I remember one person that I helped on a beach one day.  They found their first cob that day, a small black half reale, and they didn't know what it was.  I am sure that if I wasn't there they would not have know what they found.

Even coins might not be easy to identify,  Don't expect them to all look like those nice cleaned coins you often see.  In this blog, I often post how they look as found, and then how they look after they are cleaned.  You might find a totally encrusted coin and throw it away because it looks more like a stone than a coin.



There are a lot of things I know now that I wish I had known before.  A lot of things don't catch up with you right away, and you'd never guess the long term results.  You just don't want to fool with a bunch of stuff when you younger, and you think it would never happen to you.  Well, one thing that I never wanted to do is use sun tan lotion.  Kids sit out and get sun tanned and sun burned and never think about it.  I did.  But in time the strong Florida sun will take its toll, especially if you are a fair skinned person.  I know detectorists who have had a lot of trouble with skin cancer.  I hate to mention that, but it is a reality, and supposedly it can be prevented to some extent by proper care.  I doubt that many people who have not had the problem will want to take it very serious until the damage is done, but I felt I should mention it anyhow.  And even if you don't have that serious of a problem with it, it will dry out your skin and make you look older.   Now that that much of the damage is already done, I do protect my skin better, mostly by using SPF clothing, and some sun tan lotion.



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I received some emails about an incident at Juan Ponce De Leon in Melbourne Beach,  

Always be aware of your surroundings.  If you have ear phones on and are focusing, you might not e aware of various types of danger including but not limited people.  Look up once in a while.  I usually know what is going on around me because I'm always scanning the area even if I appear to not be paying attention.  

It is also a good idea to hunt with a partner, especially if you are on an isolated beach or hunting at night.  I'd especially advise that of women, not because they can't take care of themselves, but because other people might think they are more vulnerable.

You might want to be aware of this fellow or others like him.  Check it out.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100738567177822&set=pcb.10100738576074992&type=3

In the past I've also received a few emails about nudists on Treasure Coast beaches.  There are places where they congregate.  South Hutchinson Island has a couple of those areas.

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I've been meaning to give a plug to Lindquist Plumbing of Fort Pierce.  They installed a hot water heater at a great price and did a super excellent job.  If you are looking for a plumber I can recommend them.

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I've had back problems and had to cut down on my field time for a while.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net