9/9/16 Report - Two Systems Hurricane Trackers Are Watching. Deep Sea Fishing Effects On Shipwrecks. Cobs With One Good and One Bad Side.

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

Two Atlantic Disturbances To Watch.

As you can see there are now two systems that we need to watch, both of which seem to be headed to the east of the Treasure Coast.

The second (red) has a higher chance of becoming a cyclone in the next couple of days.

Both of these could bring us some north/northeast winds.  There is no big increase in surf predicted yet.  In fact the predictions are showing mostly a two-foot surf for the next few days.

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You might think that deep sea wrecks rest undisturbed.  That is not usually the case.  Various types of fishing trawlers and things rake through wreck sites, scattering the remains and breaking artifacts.

Many pictures and examples are shown in an Odyssey Marine study.

One of Many Pictures Showing Effects of Deep Sea Fishing.

Here is the link.

http://www.shipwreck.net/pdf/OMEPapers4Final_000.pdf

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In recent weeks I've talked about cobs found as a cache that were in remarkable condition.  Many cobs found on a beach will be very much corroded and some will be so corroded that it is difficult or impossible to tell for sure what they are.

In the past I've found some cobs that were in very good or excellent condition on one side and very poor condition on the other side.

Below is a grading system used in one Odyssey Marine paper.

Grade One coins display little or no visible ocean wear, show little or no roughness or pitting, and, therefore, look much as they did when new. Both sides are in Very Good to Excellent condition and the obverse and reverse features resulting from the original strike are defined and easily identifiable.

Grade Two coins were partly exposed to the elements. The coin may not be completely intact or it may look more ‘sand-blasted’ than a Grade One, but the quality is still Good and most of the features resulting from the original strike are easily identifiable.

Grade Three coins are in Fair overall condition, but ocean wear is very apparent. Many Grade Three coins were typically located on the outer layer of a shipping chest and, therefore, the side of the coin that faced into the chest will be of Grade One or Grade Two quality. The opposite side, exposed to the elements following the wooden chest’s deterioration, is completely worn away. Other Grade Three coins might incorporate ocean wear distributed across both sides of the coin. On Grade Three coins, obverse and/or reverse sides will still offer easily identifiable characteristics that have definition.

Grade Four coins are still identifiable as Spanish Colonial coins, but they have been subject to much wear and tear and the markings are faint and have little or no definition.

Grade Five coins are just above a fragment in quality, but can still be identified as a coin taking into consideration factors such as shape and provenience. • A Fragment is a piece of silver recovered among concentrations of coins, but with no markings to identify it as a coin.

Here is the link for that source.

http://www.shipwreck.net/pdf/OMEPapers30-2013_001.pdf

They talk about one way that cobs end up being good on one side and poor on another side. They are referring to cobs that were salvaged from the sea and probably never spent any time on a beach.

One cob I'm reminded of was found on a beach and appeared to have been just washed out of the dunes.  It had a sand and shell crust covering one side.  That side was not visible at all because of the crust when it was dug.  The other side was not covered and displayed fairly good detail.

When the sand/shell crust was removed, that side then showed remarkable detail - much better than the exposed side.  The crust protected that surface of the cob, while the other side was worn down by washing around on the beach.

I'm not certain why one side was covered with a crust while the other side wasn't.  I do believe that that cob spent many years in the dunes.

How a cob corrodes can depend upon what it is next to.or touches.  I once did a couple of posts on surface analysis of cobs and talked about galvanic corrosion.

You can go to the following post to read about that.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/search?q=surface+analysis

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/7/16 Report - Initials On 1715 Fleet Gold Ring? Vintage Sells. Golden Age Hollywood Jewelry. Two Weather Systems To Watch.

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

Letters on Clasped Hand Ring Ponted Out By Dan B.

Here is one of the gold rings found by the Capitana guys not long ago.  I posted a picture of the same ring not before.  Dan discovered that the ring has two sets of letters on it, one set below each hand. The red arrow in the picture points to the initials on the left hand.  You can see where those letters are if you look closely.

On the one hand is "ai" and on the other is "ie."  They could be initials.  One set could be for the owner and one set for a close friend.  Let me know what you think.

Dan also sent the following additional view of the two recently found rings and said that the "life ring" appears to have a volcano on it.

Two Rings Recently Found by The Capitana Guys
Photo submitted by Dan B.

Additional 1715 Fleet items are being found daily.

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Sometimes things are worth more than you might think.   You might remember the copper thunderbird pendant that I showed not long ago (6/26/16).  I found it up at the old Chuck's Steakhouse when it was still standing.  I didn't pay any attention to the find at the time.  It wasn't the kind of thing that I was looking for and it didn't impress me at all.

Although I don't sell much of anything, somebody wanted it, and it sold for a nice price.

A lot of the items I found years ago are now vintage. Some of those had some age on them when they were found.

There are collectors for all kinds of things out there, if you can find them.  The items don't have to be silver or gold.  It is largely a matter of connecting items with the people that will most appreciate them.

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Sometimes it isn't the precious metals or gems, or even the fine craftsmanship that makes something valuable.  Sometimes it is the story.

Collectors Weekly had an article about Golden Age Hollywood jewelry made by Eugene Joseff. Joseff made many of the most iconic movie pieces.  You've undoubtedly seen some of them.

Here is one paragraph from that article.

“This is where we keep the most famous pieces,” says Michele, pointing to a circular glass display case in the corner. There’s Elizabeth Taylor’s serpent belt from “Cleopatra,” Marilyn Monroe’s pearl earrings from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Scarlet O’Hara’s necklace, and Rhett Butler’s cigar case. Not to mention Jean Harlow’s glamorous “Libeled Lady” brooch, Judy Garland’s “Ziegfeld Follies” lariat necklace, and the exotic bird bracelets from “Desert Hawk.”

Here is the link to read more about that.

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/lost-hollywood-jewelry-trove-uncovered/

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Here are some valuable skills for any detectorist or treasure hunter.  They come from Martin Cohen's book, Critical Thinking Skills for Dummies Cheat Sheet.

Tolerance: Critical Thinkers delight in hearing divergent views and enjoy a real debate.

Analytical skills: Critical Thinkers don’t accept just any kind of talking. They want properly constructed arguments that present reasons and draw sound conclusions.

Confidence: Critical Thinkers have to be a little bit confident to be able to examine views that others present — often people in authority.

Curiosity: Critical Thinkers need curiosity. It may have killed the cat, but curiosity is the essential ingredient for ideas and insights.

Truth-seeking: Critical Thinkers are on mission 'objective truth' — even if it turns out to undermine their own previously held convictions and long-cherished beliefs and is flat against their self-interest.

Here is the link if you want to read more about that.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/critical-thinking-skills-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

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Two Tropical Disturbances Now.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Tropical Storm Earl has disappeared, but a second disturbance is now working its way northwest near the Bahamas.

Both disturbances have only a small chance of becoming a cyclone in the next few days.

Nothing but a one or two foot surf is projected for the Treasure Coast for a week or two.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net