12/17/11 - Some First Observations on the Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II & ROV For Sale

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

Deep Water ROV For Sale

Have you ever watched the guys from Odyssey Marine on TV and wishing you had an ROV.  Well this one is on sale on eBay, with a starting bid of $6500.   Just in time for Christmas too.   Wouldn't it be fun?  Too bad it won't be showing up under my tree.

Bernie C., who started the St. Lucie metal detecting club, got a chance to try out his new detector.  I asked him if he would send me his observations on the new detector after he had used it.   He did just that after using the new detector yesterday.

Here is what he had to say.

Here's a quick review of the Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II. I hit the beach with the Sea Hunter at 7 am today didn't find anything valuable just some clad. I was digging coins at 12 + inches in wet sand with no falsing. I dug with zero discrimination just to test the machine and to see how the different signals sounded, I dug part of a fishing hook at close to 20 inches. The headphones are extremely loud with no volume control and this is great if you are detecting in the surf. The machine is built very well, Heavy Duty. There is a little instability when swinging the coil due to the way the rods connect together but it can be fixed easy, and it doesn't affect the machines operation. I also did some air tests on gold and silver, here are the results: 10kt- 11.5 inches from coil. 14kt 13 inches from coil, 18kt 13.5 inches from coil and silver 12 inches from coil. I did notice I was digging alot more targets with the Sea Hunter than I was with my White"s IDX Pro machine. So it looks like the White's will be the inland unit due to the salt water falsing and the Garrett will be for the beach. I'll be doing some discrimination tests tomorrow.

Thanks Bernie!  Those are two detectors that I have not used.
As you might remember, Hurricane Irene was a disappointment on the Treasure Coast, but she did uncover some things up north.  In New York, for example, Irene uncovered part of an 18th Century fort.

Here is a nice article about that.

http://www.fox23news.com/content/irene/story/Flood-waters-unearth-18th-century-fort/yYJAl-fdI0u69T50S3NqEw.cspx

If you are around a historic area, always check out any eroded areas.  Even little gullies created by rain run-off can uncover old items.

Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The wind is from the East, and the seas are down around five feet now.  That isn't enough to improve conditions for finding cobs but it is enough to keep stirring up the front beach.  I would expect some new secondary targets on the beach fronts - mostly iron and other lighter materials.

The seas will be decreasing over the next few days and down around one or two feet near Christmas.  That will make it easy to get out in the low tide zone, further than maybe than has been convenient the past couple of weeks.

I sure wish I had my camera with me one day about a week ago.  I saw some things uncovered at one spot that I haven't seen for years and probably won't for again for another couple of years.  It was one of those things where an isolated area just happened to get hit just right while most of the surrounding areas had no erosion at all.  That kid of thing happens occasionally .

12/16/11 Report - A Bit About Detectors

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


Detectorist Finds Viking Hoard

Here is one item of that Viking hoard, which is thought to be worth five figures.  

Thanks to Joan T. for sending the link to that story.  Here it is.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/15/amateur-treasure-hunter-unearths-ancient-viking-king/?test=faces

Photo from source story.

I recently received a few emails more or less asking what is the best detector.  I haven't written much about that lately but if you have been reading this blog since it began, you probably know my stance on that.  I guess it might be time to repeat because even if you have been reading this blog for a few years, I don't think most people will remember posts that are more than a year old.  That would really be expecting way too much.

I don't put much emphasis on detectors.  You might have noticed that.  There are some people that will swear that their detector is best, and there are some people that spend a lot of time searching for the best detector, and some that try to squeeze the last ounce of performance out of their detector.  That isn't me.

I've used a good number of detectors but feel that most detectors produced by the major manufacturers will do a good job.  I think detectors are something like golf clubs.  You pick the one wouldn't say that a putter is better than a driver.  There are circumstances when one is better and circumstances when another would be a better choice.

I guess you could also compare detectors to fishing lures.  One might be good for one type of fish and another better for catching another type of fish.

I still use one detector that I've had for 25 years or so.   Obviously it isn't the latest or greatest but it works well and is the best choice under certain circumstances.  It is very good at detecting small gold rings like those I mentioned in my most recent post.

I've owned and used Whites, Garrett, Fisher, Tesoro, Minelab and a variety of custom made detectors.

Despite the advances in technology, it doesn't seem to me that detectors have improved much in the past twenty or thirty years.  Most of the changes that have been made are not that important to me.  I don't need or use much discrimination or target ID or things like that.

There are improvements that I'd like to see, but the manufacturers don't seem interested in doing the things that I'd like to see.

Different detectors do have different operating characteristics.   As do detectorists.  Some detectorists go out and wander around, some are very methodical, some are interested in finding one type of obect and others want to find something else.   Some have patience and some don't.   There are a lot of ways that detectorists are different, and those differences will have more to do with what you find than the detector you use.

In order to recommend a detector for one person, you have to know where they are going to hunt, what they want to find, and something about the detectorists operating characteristics.

I often recommend using no discrimination -  especially when hunting on a beach.  But there are some people that simply have no tolerance for trash.   They might need some discrimination just to keep going.  Or if you hunt vacant urban lots, discrimination is more important.  Those are examples of how the detectorists' personality and the situation can affect the detector that you use.

Since the blog is mostly about beach and shallow water hunting rather than hunting more trashy sites, that is part of the reason I recommend using no discrimination.   In my opinion, using the least discrimination possible, is always best unless you simply don't have the enough time to remove all the targets and are willing to miss a few good items.

Despite the advances in detector technology, in my opinion detectors have not improved much in the last 30 years.  As I said, I still use an old detector from time to time.   It has a lot of features that make it good for certain situations.  That particular detector does not, however, ground balance well in wet salt water sand.  But for dry sand and inland hunting, it is often my choice.

I won't go on with that any more today except to say that it is good to learn how to use your detector.  I don't think mot detectorists experiment with their detector enough.  I recommend using a variety of test targets to practice with whether it is on the beach or in your back yard. 

Take out some objects and see what your detector sounds like when passing the coil over thma at different depths and speeds.  Learn your optimal sweep speed.  Learn to know what your detector is telling you.   See what happens when you change the detector settings.  Practice, practice, practice.

I haven't been on the beach much this week.  I've been inland for a few days, but it looks like the beach remains in poor condition.

It looks like conditions will not improve over the next week or so.  

The wind is from the east and the swells coming from the east/southeast.   That is not very promsing.

Use your time well.   When conditions are poor, do a little exploring.  Try some new places and new things.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/14/11 Report - Diamonds in the Sand

A Couple Beach Finds.

These aren't the biggest or fanciest looking rings in the world, but they hold good diamonds.

The one on the right has a very small band.  Not a lot of gold there.  But the diamond is a good one.

When I first started detecting, it seemed to me that women didn't lose as many rings as men.  I was finding a lot more men's rings.  I later learned that I was missing the smaller rings, and that was why I was finding more men's rings.  As my detecting improved I found more small rings, and more good diamonds.

One thing that is better than a gold ring is a diamond ring, but remember, it is only the gold that you will be detecting.

Not too long ago I talked about the markings that you might find on gold rings.  Today I'll talk about some things you'll want to know about diamond rings.

First, they are measured in carats.  The weight of a carat is 200 milligrams.

The abbreviation "ct" is a shortened way to write carat, and refers to the weight of a single diamond.  The abbreviation "ct TW" means carat total weight, and is used to express the total weight of multiple diamonds used in a piece of jewelry.

Carat weight is used as a measure for other gemstones as well as diamonds.
The weight of smaller diamonds is often expressed as points, not carats. There are 100 points in a carat.
 
On good jewelry you'll often find the weight of any gemstones inscribed inside the band along with the karat of the gold.
 
Quality diamonds are now often marked by a laser on the diamond itself.   You can not see the laser marking unless you use 10X magnification.
 
Diamonds are often laser marked with a certificate number or a brief message such as "Marry me."
 
It is a good idea to get a jewelers loop with at least ten power magnification.
 
Not all rings or diamonds will be clearly marked, especially vintage or older items.
 
Using a jewelers loop, you can often tell the difference between a zircon and a real diamond.  I think it takes a little training or experience though.
 
Zircons will often appear too perfect at first glance.  It is harder to tell the difference between a zircon and a high quality diamond than between a zircon and a lower quality diamond.
 
When viewed  with a loop, lower quality diamonds will show inclusions - little black spots.
Higher quality diamonds will be flawless, or nearly so.
 
A diamonds value will be heavily determined by the quality of the diamond, much like a coin's value is determined by it's condition.
 
If you lower your discrimination, you have a better chance of finding small ladies bands with good diamonds.
 
I recommend getting a jewelers loop.  You'll find it useful for inspecting coins and jewelry.
 
Another little tip - a broken gold band might only give a little whisper or a signal.
 
And platinum rings will often give a nice soft but steady signal. 
 
When targeting small gold or platinum rings with good stones, I'd recommend a something like a seven or eight inch coil at most.

Beach conditions pretty much unchanged.  There are a few cuts around, but they are scattered and minimal. 

The seas continue to hit from the east and not much is happening.

After today, the seas will start to decrease a little.   That will be a goo time to check a little further ut during low tide.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
 
 
 
 
 

12/13/11 Report - Gold Ring Symbols, CT Scanning & Teething Dollars

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

Beach Find.

The gold ring shown above appears to have some interesting symbols on it.  At the base of the heart inside the intersection of the two circles is a cross.  If anyone recognizes the design, I'd like to hear from you.

Wouldn't it be nice to take a good look inside all of the conglomerates and other mystery objects that you find?   The scan man at the Smithsonian has a job that allows him to do just that.

He's scanned many of the Smithsonian's holdings.  

I'd love to have either an x-ray machine or a CT scanner.   Looking into old finds could keep a person busy for a long time.

Here is a link to read more about the new CT scanner at the Smithsonian.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/smithsonians-scan-man-in-high-demand/2011/11/25/gIQAxNujpO_story.html

The price of gold is now in the mid $1600 range.   That is down about $250 per ounce since it's high around $1900. 

I once stumbled onto a bunch of Susan Anthony dollar coins in the shallow surf.  I could never figure out why or how anyone would dump a roll of dollar coins in the ocean, or even on the beach. 

The Anthony dollars still show up once in a while.   Better than a penny, but I don't know that I've ever seen one in circulation.  Some people must hold on to them.

Post offices across the country passed out large quantities of the dollar coins, and the Defense Department tried to force service personnel stationed in Europe to use the coins in place of paper dollars, but the experiment collapsed because most foreign countries will not exchange their currencies for coins.

I just read the following about the frequency of early holed dollars and don't think I buy it.

Here is what an article on a numismatic web site said.  One credible reason given is that the coins were used as “teethers” for babies, since they were too large to be readily swallowed. A rather expensive toy back in the days when a dollar was a dollar. Of course, after the baby had outgrown the need, the string was removed and the dollar went back into circulation, little the worse for wear, other than the hole, which didn’t detract from its face value.

That just doesn't sound believable to me. 

On the way to the beach the other day I noticed a newly cleared lot that I wanted to check out.  As a result I won't be on the beach today to give a report of current beach conditions.

Just watching the weather and looking at the surf web site predictions, I wouldn't expect anything much different from what we've been having for the past few days.

I'll leave it at that for now.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

And silver is down to around $31 per ounce.  That is down about 25% since hitting it's recent high.

You never know where it will go next, but a lot of people are thinking the down trend will continue for a little while.

12/12/11 Report - Lots of Rain and a Little Scattered Erosion

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

Nieves Site Sunday Morning

It has been very rainy on the Treasure Coast the past two days.  I got soaked Sunday.  When I started detecting it wasn't raining, but when I got a good distance from the car, it poured down.

You need to take your rain gear on days like this.   If you don't have a water proof detector, you need to take something to cover it.

It is also a good idea to have a water proof container for your wallet and any small items that might need protection.  Even when it is not raining, water proofing can be helpful.  You never know when you might get hit by a surprise wave.

Did you ever notice how the ocean likes to hit you when you least expect it.  You can turn your back or put your detector down thinking that you are far enough from the water, and then here it comes.  Splash!

And those deep targets near the water's edge.  You can get almost down to it and then the water then the water decides to come up and fill the hole.

Anyway, it has been very wet all weekend.  As you see in the photo above, there were a few breaks, but then it would rain again.

I don't mind the rain.  At least there wasn't any lightening.

The worst part about the rain for me, is the reduction in visibility.  I like to eye-ball.  Yet, at the same time, the rain does uncover things.

I didn't see anyone else detecting where I was yesterday. I guess they picked a dryer time to get out.

I've mentioned before that the waves are not the only cause of erosion. Yesterday there was some nice rain erosion in the dunes too. I watched the front layer of the dunes sink onto the beach when the dunes got soaked.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The wind is from the east today and the seas are expected to be up around seven feet. That is pretty good, yet lately it hasn't been enough. Most of the beaches are not eroded, but there are some scattered spots where you can find some erosion. Most are where it has been eroded before in the last month or so.

I did find one beach that was eroding yesterday morning. The cuts were small though. I don't know if they continued to erode or not. And, like I said, there was some good rain erosion on some of the dunes.

Unfortunately the angle of the waves is not very good. Mostly hitting the beaches at near a ninety degree angle.

Overall I'll keep my beach conditions rating at a 1 (poor) even though there are a few interesting spots to look at. 

As you might know, my beach conditions rating is based upon the likelihood of finding cobs.  It isn't as poor for finding modern items.

High tide is around 9 o'clock.

It is cloudy this morning, and the forecast is for a 40% chance of rain. I'd give it a better chance along the coast. Take your rain gear.

I'll show some found diamonds tomorrow or soon.


Happy hunting,
Tmailto:TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/10/11 Rain, Gold Ring & Gold Monkey Head

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


It has been raining on the Treasure Coast this morning.  Heavily since the early hours around Fort Pierce.  Not as much Vero and north.

Rain will actually calm the seas a little if there isn't a lot of wind to offset the effect.

I'll always remember the eerie calm one time when I was shallow water detecting on a  morning when the sea was flat and and it was raining so that I couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction around me.   That was beautiful.   It almost seemed like the small bubble that I could see around me was all that existed.  No other sound and nothing to see except the calm water and the rain around me.   I can't explain it any better.  I really wish I had a video of that.

Anyhow, if you are going to detect this morning, rain gear would be a good idea. 

Here is a ring that was found on a beach.  It is rather big and heavy and tests 18K. 

Obviously something is missing from it.  You can see a little extension on both the top and bottom.  It looks like something was attached there.  I think it once had a cover, sort of like a locket.  I would guess it held a picture or some small item.  

Maybe it was a mourning or memorial ring.  But it has no engraving on the inside.

Here is a good site that shows a lot of examples of 18th and 19th century mourning rings.

http://artofmourning.com/rings.html

That is a good web site for reference purposes.

I'm not convinced this was a mourning ring, but that is one possibility. 

If you have seen a ring like the one in my photo, maybe  with the missing part still attached, I would love to know what it was like. 

If you have any ideas about it, please let me know what you think.




A gold monkey head from around 300 AD has been repatriated to Peru.

Here is the link to that story including a photo of the gold head.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/peruvian-artifact-repatriated



Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

It looks like it might continue raining today.    When you do get out, check for erosion caused by rain, and keep your eyes open for any targets that might have been  uncovered by the rain.

The seas are running around five feet.  Expect a little stirring on the beach fronts. 

Conditions for finding cobs remains poor.

The seas will pick up, peaking late Monday or Tuesday up around 7 or more feet.  That is getting close to what it often takes to improve conditions.  It could work if the wind is right. 

High tides have also been relatively high lately, so you might want to recheck those areas where there has been cutting back close to the dunes.


Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

12/9/11 Report - Markings on Gold Jewelry Finds

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

Beach Find.

It is nice when a found item is marked.  The clasp on this bracelet is marked  "Italy 14K  .585."

Don't accept markings without verification though.   They are occasionally wrong.

This item tests 14K.

And I'll have to give the Italians credit for making a fine band.

You can be fooled by markings even when they are correct.  Sometimes different conventions are used, and it can get a little confusing.

Often wedding rings will be inscribed with a date.  Did you know that 8-10-11 does not always indicate August 10, 2011?   It sometimes indicates the 8th day of October.  Some countries or regions use a different ordering and/or format.

So if you see something like 20-10-2011 and are wondering how the month can be the twentieth month, it is probably the day rather than the month.

Gold purity is often given in either K (karat) or as a three digit decimal.

Karat purity is measured as 24 times the purity by mass, or in other words 24 times the mass of gold divided by the total mass of the item.     24-Karat gold is fine (99.9% Au w/w), 18-Karat gold is 18 parts gold 6 parts another metal (forming an alloy), 12-Karat gold is 12 parts gold (12 parts another metal), etc.

14k is approximately .5833% gold, but jewelers increase it to .585% for easier mixing.

I used to see KP on some items and thought it meant Karat Plated.  That was wrong.  KP stands for Karat Plumb, where "plumb" indicates "exact."   It is a good thing instead of a bad thing.

Look for and make good use of any markings but don't blindly accept them.


Bernie C. told me that the trucks are bringing the sand for South Jetty Park from an area just down the beach a few miles.  I've observed the trucks coming out of there too.

And I mentioned a barge that I saw bringing sand in from off shore.  Bernie said that sand is coming from three miles off shore and will be used on the beach later after this temporary "fix" is done.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

Shipwreck finds have been pretty hard to come by lately.  More than lately actually.  The past couple of years have been among the slowest that I can remember for finding cobs.

We've had a lot of rough seas lately, but it just isn't doing much.   The angles haven't been good - that is for sure, but I'm thinking that part of the reason is all of the sand piled in front of the beaches.   There is a sand bar along most of the coast and it just isn't being moved much.   Yoiu can see where the waves are breaking - generally out there quite a few yards.

I stopped at one beach south of Vero and north of Fort Pierce not long ago and was amazed by how far out the beach was.   I can remember when it was way back near the dunes.

While many beaches have more sand than they've had for many years, the same old beaches that keep getting replenished keep losing their and and are  getting replenished every few months.   Dumping sand on a beach that is eroding doesn't stop the erosion.  In fact, I believe it increases the erosion, because the renourishment and is in an unnatural position, sticking out there with nothing much either to the south or north to protect it from the normal currents and water movement.

I was observing all of the turtle nests that were recently exposed and ruined as the renourishment sand disappeared.   That renourishment sand tricks the turtles into laying their nests where the nests will wash away with all of the new sand.

The surf web sites are predicting gradually increasing seas that will peak around Tuesday when we are scheduled to receive six or seven foot seas.   Hopefully we'll get north/northeast winds for a while during that time.  I'm not real hopeful though.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast