3/8/19 Report - High Tech Tools For Scouting Metal Detecting Sites.

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

Turtle Trail Area.

Photo by Alberto S.

That is a great photo. Alberto S. took these beach photos. Here is what he said.

Flew my drone yesterday at Turtle Trail, one detectorist was hunting south of the entrance and another one was going north. Before I left I had a chance to talk with the fellow that was hunting south and he said he didn't even dug a single hole. More were arriving, I guess the expectation was that the beach would show some erosion based on the recent front but that did not happen. I flew the drone along the coast going south since there was no one on the beach but did not see any conditions that were different from where I was. It was a beautiful day!

South of Turtle Trail Access.

Photo by Alberto S.

North of Turtle Trail Access.

Photo by Alberto S.

Thanks for the report and super photos Alberto!

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Dale J. has been using Google Earth in a way that you might want to consider.  Here is what he said.

This is new to me but I use Google earth to figure how far I need to walk to some areas. So I use the Line Measure tool. But found if I save the line, then right click it, a menu appears. One choice I never noticed is called “Show Elevation Profile”.

I shows the profile of what is under the red line, in this case the beach profile when the most recent photo was taken. These two [ I only posted one. TG ] were in Jan 2018.

Not real time of course but interesting to compare beaches. Too bad it won’t work going back in time... It really would be nice to be able to see the changes in elevation.


Here is an example that Dale sent.

Image Showing Line Tool and Elevation Using Google Earth.

Submitted by Dale J.

In this example the elevation from dunes to the end point is a decrease of 15.4 feet. Thanks Dale. That could be real useful. There are two types of beaches we have on the Treasure Coast. There are those with a cliff at the back of the beach, such as Wabasso or Turtle Trail, and those that have lower dunes, such as John Brooks. Those with a cliff at the back tend to be narrower beaches. The narrow high-dune beaches can be replenished with old items that wash out of the dunes. The dunes on the narrow wider beaches seldom erode. That means that the old coins that appear come from the water or layers of sand that haven't been exposed for a while. Both of those can happen at the narrower beaches too, of course. Since our Treasure Coast beaches generally move west, as the wind blows sand back and builds new dunes. the dunes move back and fill in the marshes. --- When guys submit good information like Alberto and Dale did today, they are helping you. It isn't something they have to do, but they are being generous. When you benefit from their work, let them know. --- There are no significant changes in beach conditions. Just another beautiful day. Happy hunting, TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/7/19 Report - Some Sand Moved By Yesterday's Front. Huge Historic Hoards. Big Artifact Database.

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

John Brooks Beach Today Near Low Tide.

I didn't get out to look at the beaches yesterday, but I did today.

The cold front moved a little sand.  At John Brooks there was a little erosion in front of the old bigger cut.

John Brooks Beach Thursday Near Low Tide.

There were a couple detectorists at John Brooks today.

There were lots of people down by the water in Fort Pierce.  It was an absolutely beautiful day.

Another View of John Brooks Beach Today.

Frederick Douglas Beach Thursday Near Low Tide.

The sand was not firm until you got close to the water line.

Frederick Douglas Beach Near Low Tide Thursday.

There was one detectorist in south of Frederick Douglas.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Thursday Near Low Tide.

There were no parking spaces at Fort Pierce South Jetty.  The snow birds are in town.

They also had some heavy equipment and large rocks at the nest entrance to the south.  I don't know what they are getting ready to do now.

I didn't get to any other beaches so have no idea what the cold front did to any of those beaches.

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Location of One Hoard Discovery.

Source: See the GovMint.com link below.

I found an article on the GovMint.com web site that summarizes seventeen hoards that were discovered from around the mid nineteenth century up until near the present.  These are large hoards and are probably not representative of the average hoard, if there is such a thing. Some of them are huge.  None of these hoards were discovered by a metal detector.  Most were discovered before metal detectors were used.

I went through the summaries and tried to see what I could learn from that.  The areticle doesn't provide a lot of detailed information, so it would require more research on each hoard to do a thorough study.

The hoards were large.  One consisted of six tons of bullion and 100,000 coins.  Another was 600,000 coins, and another was 100,000 coins.   One was wooden boxes full of coins.  Some were in kegs or bags.

Two were associated with railroad stations.  One of those was under a loading dock. One was in a specially constructed underground vault.  Two or three were in old bank vaults. Some were in basements.  One was dug up in a farm field.  The Saddle Ridge Hoard, as you know, was exposed by erosion.

You might want to visit the web site and do more research.

Here is the link.

https://www.govmint.com/coin-authority/post/discovered-buried-treasure/

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I received this email from Scott S.

Not sure if you have seen this database on artifacts, but here you go. I use it sometimes to try to identify a mystery object or just to see other finds from our friends across the ocean. Takes a little time to go thru all they have but its pretty helpful. Just thinking you might enjoy.

https://finds.org.uk/database

This is a super database published by the Portable Antiquities Scheme.  I think I mentioned it some years ago and I thought I put it in my reference list, but I couldn't find it there, so I I just added it along with the manual for cataloging buttons that I mentioned a few days ago.

Thanks Scott!

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It looks like we'll have a two or three foot surf for a few days.  The tides are moderate.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/6/19 Report - Dangers and Precautions for Metal Detecting in Flordia. Increasing Surf Today.

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

I woke up this morning thinking of the dangers that you might encounter while  metal detecting in Florida.  The list grew as I thought about it.  While some are truly life-threatening, others are only inconveniences or minor irritations. You can minimize these problems if you are aware of them and take some precautions.  Even though it is a long list, either by dumb luck or the protective hand of God, I've personally had very little serious trouble.  Still, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

One of the most dangerous things you'll encounter is rough water.  When the surf is big, like after a storm, there will be all kinds of debris floating around, including lumber and trees.  It can easily catch you off guard and knock you into the surf.  That can be real dangerous.  I knew of one lady that lost her metal detector to the rough surf.  It could be worse.

Probably one of the most dangerous things that I used to do is work the area in front of a big eroding cliff while a big surf was banging away at it.  The water will hit you when it is coming in, but worse yet, it will then bounce off the cliff and hit you from the other direction..  I used to detect in water like that up to my waist, which isn't easy.  That could have easily turned into a bad accident.  You have to resist the water one way, and the get yourself set to stand against it coming the other way.  Sometimes you get it from both directions.  There was also the falling sand to watch out for.  Not a good idea.

Everybody in Florida knows about lightning.  There are more lightning deaths in Florida than any other state.

I only knew one fellow who had been struck by lightning.  He got struck twice and while it didn't kill him, he suffered from it all his life.

He wasn't from Florida.  I met him when I was doing consulting for Federal Express in Memphis.  He worked at the airport and was struck on the tarmac.

Accidents are always a possibility.  I recommend some type of foot protection.  I used to always go barefoot and while working in shallow water once had my foot cut by glass and another time got a fishing lure stuck in my foot.  I was doing what I call foot fanning when I got the hook in my foot.  If you do any foot fanning, footwear is highly recommended.

Depending upon what you are doing, you might also want to wear protective gloves.  If you are recovering items that are covered with barnacles, wear gloves.  Picking up and throwing a barnacle-covered bottle WILL cut your hands.  That is just one example.

Another time I got a bad ankle sprain.  I was working in the shallow water where a lot of larger round coral rocks had accumulated.  I'm sure you imagine how walking on that could end up causing an ankle sprain.

If you are from Iowa or someplace you might not know about rip tides.  The first time I wandered into one, I didn't realize what was happening.  If you don't know about rip tides and aren't a good swimmer they can be dangerous.

The Florida sun is a real danger too, especially for those with light skin.  I know some detectorists who have had very serious problems with skin cancer.  So protect your skin as well as your feet.

Florida, like every other place that has people, has crime. In the Miami area my car was broken into a few times.  I have not had that problem in at least twenty years on the Treasure Coast.  It does happen though.  Cars at the beach accesses and other locations are occasionally broken into. I've seen the broken glass and talked to police about such events.  Worse yet, I once read of an armed robbery taking place at Pepper Park.  You should be vigilant and take precautions.  Working with a buddy is never a bad idea.

Florida also has its share of animals that can be a danger.  Perhaps the most obvious is sharks, which inhabit the ocean and lagoon.

I once nearly stepped on an alligator.  It was buried in muck, and I was just walking along.  That was a surprise.

Years ago I used to detect alone in the ocean at night.  I would not not do that today.  It just seems like a very stupid idea to me now.

In my younger years I was detecting in the ocean at night when I was bumped by something large.  That was exciting!

Barracuda  have sharp teeth and can be attracted by shiny objects.  One large barracuda was always hanging out at one of my favorite water detecting spots.  It seemed like he would watch me for hours.  He never attacked, but after a while he would get on my nerves.  

Sting rays can also put a barb in your foot.   I've walked around a lot of those and stepped on some in my bare feet yet managed to escape unharmed.  I guess I've exceeded what anyone has any right to expect from dumb luck.   See http://www.beachhunter.net/thingstoknow/stingrays/index.htm. 

Jelly fish can also be a problem.  Snow birds often do not realize that those blue Portuguese Man-O-War that you see washed up on the beaches can sting. One time I got the tentacles of a large one wrapped around my bare leg while I was water detecting.  It was pretty painful.

You have to be careful on land too.  When I was new to Florida and before I knew anything about fire ants, I dug into a mound while trying to retrieve a target.  I quickly learned about fire ants.  It seems I've had so many fire ant bites that I've developed some degree of immunity to fire ant venom.

Of course there are the more dangerous venomous animals in Florida than that.  We have rattle snakes and coral snakes.  In some parts of Florida you also have cotton mouths and others.

An aggressive cotton mouth once chased me out of a swimming hole in North Florida.

Not too long ago I wrote about one detectorist who survived a life-threatening rattle snake bite.

There are plenty of animals in Florida that can do harm.  We also have some dangerous spiders, such as the Brown  Recuse and Black Widow.  Watch for them especially in sheds with old storage boxes and places like that.  Gloves and boots are advisable.

I've seen a few scorpions in the Fort pierce area.  Florida Scorpions aren't life threatening, but they can sting.  They also like cardboard, paper and rotting logs.  I've also seen what I think is called a bullwhip scorpion.  In fact I've seen those about four times.  They aren't dangerous but will spray you with an unpleasant acid.

I wouldn't call it a danger because it is so rare, but I once saw a large Florida Panther crossing A1A the road between Wabasso and Ambersands near dawn one morning about twenty years ago.  That was an amazingly beautiful animal that was moving at a high rate of speed without seemingly any effort.  I also saw a small panther near the Savannahs once.

This isn't the type of thing I most enjoy writing about, but that is what I thought about this morning, and it might actually do somebody some good.  Some of these things can be life-threatening while others are just annoyances.  In either case, you might be able to avoid them by simply being aware and taking precautions.

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The wind is coming from the northeast today.  The tides are getting a little bigger and the surf is supposed to increase up to about three feet.

I'd like to get a chance to check out the beach today, but might not be able to.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/5/19 Report - Piano Gold Coin Hoard. Contemporary Counterfeit. Cold Front Coming.

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

Package of Gold Cons Hidden in Piano Being Unwrapped.
Source: See CoinWeek.com link below.

Back in 2017, hand-stitched packs of gold coins were found under a piano keyboard.

... the British public–along with the rest of the world–was invited to help solve the mystery of a 913-piece gold coin hoard hidden inside a vintage piano donated to a local community college in 2015.

The 91.7% pure gold coins, 633 sovereigns and 280 half sovereigns dating from 1847 to 1915, were carefully stacked under the keyboard in hand-stitched cloth pouches. The previous owners of the Broadwood and Sons piano were unaware of the bounty inside for the entire 33 years it was in their possession. A piano tuner hired by the college to fix the newly acquired instrument made the surprising discovery. The six kilograms worth of gold coins were moved to the school’s safe and held there while the Shrewsbury Coroner’s Court determined whether the hoard qualified as treasure under the highly-successful 1996 Treasure Act, which many in the coin collecting and metal detecting communities see as a sensible compromise with government authorities...

Here is that link.

https://coinweek.com/editors-choice/british-museum-exclusive-video-of-piano-gold-coin-hoard/

What struck me most was how meticulously and neatly the coins were wrapped.  And the bags were hand-stitched.  That might provide a clue about who concealed them.

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... In ancient times, one counterfeiter’s imitation of a gold aureus of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius mixed designs intended for two different rulers. In addition, lettering on the contemporary fake does not match what appears on genuine examples. These problems and the coin’s status as a counterfeit do not damage its collectibility, however.

The counterfeit in question realized a $4,250 hammer price in Classical Numismatic Group’s Sept. 13 mail bid/Internet auction. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee of 19 to 21 percent, depending on bidding method. With this fee factored in, the coin topped the estimate of $5,000...

Here is that link.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/world-coins/2017/10/contemporary-counterfeit-ancient-aureus-sells-in-auction.all.html

The author of the article thought person who made this counterfeit didn't makethe aureus accurate b to avoiud

The author concluded the article saying, According to CNG: “Contemporary counterfeits of Roman coins are often hybrids; perhaps counterfeiters did this intentionally to provide themselves with a potential defense that their products were not actually copies of genuine coins. The blundered legends would further support this theory.”

I think people often fail to realize how different the world was in the past.  I wonder if this is not the case here.

In my mother's lifetime things were very different.  She grew up without electricity, a phone and indoor plumbing.  She didn't know much about what was going on when my dad was overseas in World War II.  They didn't get nightly news on TV.   Maybe they heard a little on the radio about places they only saw in photos in books or magazines.  And letters from dad took weeks to get back stateside.  She still watches TV programs about the war and says how little she knew about what was going on at the time.

Not too many years ago a friend of mine received a counterfeit twenty dollar bill in change at a store.  It was terrible.  It looked like it was made by a kid.  Yet it was passed.  I suspect that it was in with some other bills and was not inspected at the time it was passed.  It didn't have to be good.  How many people don't even look at their change when they receive it?

Centuries ago I doubt that most people had a lot of contact with gold coins, and without the information glut (or should I say noise glut) we live in today, how many would know what the most recent and various other coin issues should look like or say.  Consider literacy rates too.  I just wonder if they were really trying to avoid counterfeiting charges or if it might be something else.  No matter what the reason, I think it is good to make a real effort to imagine how different it might have been in times past.  We too often interpret other times as being much like our own and as a result judge people of the past unfairly.

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Notice the increase in surf and wind change that will be occurring.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/4/19 Report - Manual For Cataloging Old Buttons. Shipwreck Finds. Searching Paper Money for Valuable Serial Numbers.

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

Some Finds (Front and Back) By Joe S.

Photos by Joe S.

I just received the following email message and photos shown above.

Hello, I live in southern NJ and follow your blog all the time. I am retired and have been detecting for about 8 years. This is the first time I've decided to send you some of my finds. These pictures are some recent finds from a local beach known for shipwrecks just off the coast... 

Nice finds Joe.  Thanks for sharing.

Looks like the fronts of a couple ornate two-piece buttons, a flat button and an old nail that looks just like some of those we find on the Treasure Coast.

I get emails from around the world, even as far away as Australia.

Here is a link to an archaeological cataloging manual for buttons.

https://www.daacs.org/wp-content/uploads/buttons.pdf

Here is a part of a table from that document just to give you some idea of the type of information you can find there.

Part of Table from DAACS,org document referenced above.

You could use this table to identify the type of shank on the flat button shown above, for example.

I might add that link to my reference link list.

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Yesterday I mentioned hunting paper money.  Some paper money is worth more than face value.  It doesn't have to be old either.  I've mentioned before about what are called "fancy serial numbers."

For a few months now I've been checking the serial numbers on the paper money that passes through my hands looking for fancy serial numbers and low serial numbers that can be worth some extra money.

So far the lowest serial number I've found has four leading zeros.  Here it is.

I found a very good web site that gives good information, including approximate values for bills with low serial numbers.  Here is what it says.

Low serial numbers are really a lot of fun to see. The more leading zeros you have on a currency, the higher the value will be. However, this rule does need to be explained:

Serial number 00000001 – 00000009, most valuable
Serial number 00000010 – 00000099, always carry a premium
Serial number 00000100 – 00000999, could carry a premium
Serial number 00001000 and higher will rarely be worth more than face value

So my dollar with four leading zeros didn't quite make it, but I'm getting closer.

You might want to check out the web site. It provides a lot of good information. Here is the link.

I've seen 00000001 serial numbered bills listed for tens of thousands of dollars, but the odds of finding one are very long.


http://oldcurrencyvalues.com/low_serial_numbers/

I highly recommend the web site.  It also has information on old paper money, foreign paper money, star bills, counterfeit bills, etc. etc.

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On the Treasur Coast we haven't had much surf lately.  In a few days we'll get a bump in the surf, but only a small one.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/3/19 Report - Saddle Ridge Hoard Article. Treasure Coast Coin Club. A Find. Dealing With Laws, Technicalities and Inconsistencies.

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

I gave a link to the Coin World article entitled Who Buried the Saddle Ridge Hoard.  If you went to the web site, you found out that you had to sign up to read the article.  (Sorry about that.)  The Coin World article is very good.  You seldom see that depth of research on a hoard.

I actually read the article in the print version of the March 18, 2018 Coin World Weekly, which I received from the friendly people from the Treasure Coast Coin Club that were at the recent Vero Coin Show.  Members of the coin club were giving out old issues of various numismatic magazines.

I much enjoyed the magazines I received, including the one containing the article on the Saddle Ridge Hoard, and so I'd like to give the coin club some free publicity.  See the banner above, and visit http://treasurecoastcoinclub.org/ or facebook. for more information.

There are yearly dues, but they were handing out coupons at the Vero show good for one year's dues.

You should be able to get the March 18, 2018 issue through your library.  If they don't have it, you can request an interlibrary loan.

Dean and Marie R. sent me this link for a little info on the Saddle Ridge Hoard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_Ridge_Hoard

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Dale J. was checking out some of the renourishment sand being pumped out of the Sebastian Inlet and found these bones.

Finds and photos by Dale J.








The one is definitely bone, and maybe the others too.   I'm pretty sure the large one is a joint.

If someone can give more information, let me know.

Dale said others were also checking out the renourishment sand.

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Someone asked me where you can metal detect in the water along the Treasure Coast.  Unfortunately that is a very difficult question to answer for a variety of reasons, so I won't even try, except to say that you are not supposed to detect in the water in leased areas.

It is not easy to say where the lease boundaries are or to know where there might be new leases.  I have given information on the location of some of the leases in past years.  You can still find those posts if you search the blog.

There are federal, state and local laws.  There are a lot of legalities and technicalities, but there are also often inconsistencies.  There are some areas where you will be told that you can't even detect on the dry beach, but at other times you will be told that it is ok.

On occasion life guards or others will simply decide that they will not allow people to metal detect a beach or area without any specific legal authority.  Generally, I advise simply cooperating.

There are some places where it is technically illegal to metal detect, but where it is routinely done and no one really seems to care.

Some places you can legally detect but can't dig or recover old items.  It is really too tricky to summarize.

You also have to be careful to not harm protected plants or animals too.  Sea oats is one protected plant that covers much of our dunes.

I was once told by a lifeguard that I could not detect a specific area.  I just moved on, but later called the county officials so I would know what I legally could and couldn't do, and they told me that I could detect there.  Subsequently I did detect there numerous times, but not when the lifeguards were present.

On another occasion I started metal detecting in the water at a county park and was told by the lifeguard that I couldn't detect  there.  I simply put my metal detector away, but later called the county officials who said that there were regulations against metal detecting in that park, but they were going to be changed soon.  As a result  I was one of the first to know when it became legal to detect in that park.  It turned out to be very worthwhile.

There are simply too many technicalities and inconsistencies to simply say where you can and where you can't metal detect.  Sometimes it is legal but you won't be able to do it without conflict, and other times it is illegal but is done routinely (within limits) with full knowledge of the authorities.

I might have said something that isn't 100 percent accurate above, but what it comes down to is being smart and exercising good judgment.  Some people tend to create problems for themselves when they don't have to.  Don't be one of those.

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On the Treasure Coast we still have a few days of one-foot surf.  The tides remain small.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/2/19 Report - Saddle Ridge Hoard of Gold Coins. New Inventory of Old Shipwrecks. Extinction of Coins and Money and Metal Detecting.

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

Part of the Saddle Ridge Hoard: One Can of Gold Coins.

Source: CoinWorld.com

Dan Owens published an interesting article in Coin World.  The title is Who Buried the Saddle Ridge Hoard.

Mr. Owens did some very extensive research and names a variety of possibilities but ends without being able to answer the question concluding, "Perhaps in the end, the story was not about the burier of the hoard, rather, as Kagins described it, about John and Mary discovering the fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Then he quotes Prentice Mulford saying, "It is mysterious Providence that impels any poor fellow to dig his pile, bury it for safe keeping, and then go off and die in some out of the way place without being able to leave any will and testament as to the exact hole where his savings lay."

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... Led by archaeologist Carlos León, the team has logged 681 shipwrecks off Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the US Atlantic coast.

Its inventory runs from the sinking of the Santa María to July 1898, when the Spanish destroyer Plutón was hit by a US boat off Cuba, heralding the end of the Spanish-American War and the twilight of Spain’s imperial age...

It found that 91.2% of ships were sunk by severe weather – mainly tropical storms and hurricanes – 4.3% ran on to reefs or had other navigational problems, and 1.4% were lost to naval engagements with British, Dutch or US ships. A mere 0.8% were sunk in pirate attacks...

Archaeologists have located the remains of fewer than a quarter of the 681 vessels on the inventory to date...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/mar/01/spain-logs-shipwrecks-maritime-past-weather-pirates

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I heard somebody say that fewer people carry change these days.  I think he was talking about coins, but I think people are carrying less paper money too.  They simply don't pay with cash very often.

If people are carrying less money, it only stands to reason that they would lose less money.  That mean fewer easy targets for the coin shooter and require some changes in detecting strategies.  It might mean focusing on older coins rather than coins that were recently lost.

I suspect it won't be long before people quit carrying money altogether.  They can pay with a card, smart phone, or some newer way.  The end of money won't mean the end of metal detecting though.  There will be older coins that haven't been found yet, but as the numbers of those dwindle, detectorist will probably focus more on relics or other kinds of targets such as nuggets, meteorites or lost smart phones.  The reduction or elimination of physical money definitely has implications for detectorists as well as metal detector designers.  Another change might be increased targeting of non-metallic objects, including paper money.

I enjoy eye-balling, which is mostly about non-metallic targets.   Many years ago when I was in school, one day our gym class went out to pick up trash on the football field.  I found a dollar bill under the bleachers.  That is my earliest memory of finding paper money.  I still occasionally target paper money, and as with metal detecting, there are strategies.

One thing I've successfully done is visit fair grounds or other busy event locations early in the morning and check the fence rows on the down-wind side of the site.  I've done that several times with some degree of success.

One place you can find paper money on the beach is in the sea weed line.  Also I know where there is one place in the water in front of a busy resort where there is a shallow water dip that collects paper money.  There have also been several times when I was detecting in the water and seen a bill come floating by.   So far my biggest paper money finds have been twenties.

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I happened to see an old episode of the TV show River Monsters, and the fellow was catchting Bull sharks in the Indian River Lagoon at Fort Pierce.  He also seemed to spend a lot of time down by the power plant.

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The Treasure Coast is having a one foot surf and very small tides.  Those conditions make for easy water detecting.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net