3/15/20 Report - Metal Detecting on South Florida's Crowded Beaches. Thoughts on Mystery Find.

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

Source: See local10.com link below.

UPDATE: As of Saturday evening South Beach and the Miami beaches were closed.  Spring breakers from around the world were ordered off the beaches.  The following was written before I got that news.

From South Beach to Hallandale, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano, the South Florida beaches are absolutely crowded with spring break beach-goers ignoring the Coronavirus threat.

I did most of my metal detecting on the South Florida beaches.  It was not until after several years that I tried my luck on the Treasure Coast wreck beaches.

The South Florida beaches get a lot more crowded than the Treasure Coast beaches, and you can find a lot more.  You can often find items that were lost just minutes or hours earlier.  That makes it much easier.  You don't have to depend so much upon beach conditions, especially when there are rowdy crowds playing in the surf.

It was down south that I learned a lot about metal detecting.  Despite the fact that yo don't have depend so much upon beach conditions, it still helps to know how to find those holes where the gold accumulates.

Except for a few months, I always had a job when I lived down south and was only able to detect occasionally.  Still I was able to pick up 20 - 30 pieces of gold per month - mostly rings.

I specifically remember hunting the beach shown in the photo above and some of the finds I picked up there.  There was a near-mint silver Isle of Man coin, for example.  Also class rings and gold bands.

One day a couple young girls told me they lost their sister's class high school class ring in about three feet of water.  They weren't supposed to have it.  Luckily I found it for them in just a few minutes.

Hollywood beach was a good beach to hunt, but never had the very expensive jewelry you could find at South Beach.  I spent a lot of time at Hollywood beach when I just began metal detecting because it was close to my home.  I find it amazing how many finds I can remember very accurately, and could point out the exact spot where they were found.   My first ring find ever was made at Hollywood beach.  I remember that one like it was yesterday too.

Back in the day the Fort Lauderdale beaches were often so crowded with college spring-breakers that there was virtually no space to walk between the blankets.

I've talked many times before about metal detecting experiences in South Florida.

Well, as you can see, that photo brought back a lot of metal detecting memories.

Here is the link for more about the South Florida beach-going crowds.

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2020/03/14/south-florida-beaches-packed-despite-coronavirus-fears-as-spring-break-arrives/


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Not long ago I posted this photo of items that came spilling out of the dunes when TM was digging a target at the base of the dunes.  One person thought it might be shattered safety glass, and I originally thought t could be from a beach wedding.

Over the years I've found a lot of decorative items from beach weddings including small glass balls that are used in vases.  Tony S. evidently studied these items better than I and came up with something interesting.  Below is what Tony said.

The shape of the stones posted are called octahedron. Based on quick look as shown, they are most commonly in a gem/crystal called flourite, which comes in many colors including those in the picture. But, diamonds and quartz crystals can also take on those shapes and colors, but did not come up on searches as often and required deliberate search of “diamond” tied to the shape in search.

Tony also provided the following reference links and photos.

https://crystal-information.com/encyclopedia/fluorite-octahedron-properties-and-meaning/

https://www.gemselect.com/other-info/about-fluorite.php

https://geology.com/minerals/fluorite.shtml

https://www.qualitydiam.com/products/0-92-carat-exceptional-white-high-quality-octahedron-shape-natural-diamonds

https://www.amazon.com/100g-Blue-Fluorite-Octahedron-Crystals/dp/B01MT34JRM\

Tony continued with the following.

Fluorite is found worldwide in China, South Africa, Mongoliam, France, Russia and the central North America. Here, noteworthy deposits occur in Mexico, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Colorado

Blue flourite is fairly rare and much sought after by collectors. The brilliant yellow is also quite rare. The rarest fluorite colors are pink, black and colorless. Black fluorite is formed from exposure to radiation during the growth of the crystals.

Fluorite is an important industrial mineral composed of calcium and fluorine (CaF₂). It is used in a wide variety of chemical, metallurgical, and ceramic processes. Specimens with exceptional diaphaneity and color are cut into gems or used to make ornamental objects.

Fluorite is the second-most popular mineral in the world among mineral collectors next to quartz. Famed for its enormous range of colors, it is often referred to as "the most colorful mineral in the world." But fluorite is not just another pretty stone; it has a number of fascinating properties and some very useful industrial applications.

Flourite is interesting to mineral collectors because it has several different crystal habits that result in well-formed clean crystals. The cube is by far the most recognized habit of fluorite, followed by the octahedron, which is believed to form at higher temperatures than the cube. Fluorite has perfect octahedral cleavage.

Flourite Crystal.

Thanks for all of that information Tony.

That is a very interesting possibility that I never would have thought of. It is also a possibility that raises a lot of questions such as how they got there.

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Metal detecting is a Coronavirus-safe hobby.   If you don't maintain a safe distance, your detector will chatter.

No change in beach conditions again.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/14/20 Detectorists Find Record Breaking Hoard. Nice Artifacts. Green Cabin Coins. More Info.

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

Two Lucky Metal Detectorists Find Record-Breaking Iron Age Coin Hoard

Guinness has verified Jersey’s 69,347 coins – collectively named Catillon II – as a world-beating find. It happened in Jersey, largest of the Channel Islands, back in 2012 and has only now been recognized.

2 metal detectorists, Reg Mead and Richard Miles, tracked down the hoard on the eastern side of the island. Their search was far from brief, lasting an amazing 3 decades. It’s thought Catillon II, found a little over 3 ft under the soil, dates to around 50 BC...

The BBC notes that in addition to coins there were “a large number of gold neck torques and other pieces of jewellery, as well as glass beads, a leather purse and a woven bag of silver and gold work.”...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2020/02/05/iron-age-coin-hoard/

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A day or two ago I mentioned the late-18th century British camp just meters away from the Winter Beach salvage camp.  JamminJack sent in the following photos of the 60th Regiment of Foot buttons, which were on display at the McLarty museum.

60th Regiment of Foot Buttons.

Submitted by JamminJack

And here is another nice artifact.

Flintlock Pistol, Circa 1779.

Photo submitted by JamminJack.

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The reader's of this blog provide a wealth of experiences and information.

A day or two ago I also mentioned the Green Cabin wreck.  I Just received some good information about coins found on the Green Cabin wreck from Mike S., who dived for Roy Volker.

Here is what he said.

Hello, 

I love reading your blog, which brings me back to my days diving for Roy Volker from 1988 to 1996.

Roy was a living encyclopedia of the 1715 fleet and the salvage efforts from the 60s onward, having lived so much of that himself. it was an amazing honor for a kid like me to turn his dream of being a treasure hunter into actual experiences of working as a diver for that man.

One thing he always pointed out to me, and showed me examples from his collection, was that coins from the Green Cabin wreck were bowl-shaped. That's just a note about some of their defining characteristics, which I thought was very cool. I always wanted to find at least one of those coins, but we only worked one day on that wreck during the time I was with him, making our way back up from the Rio Mar wreck towards our usual location, being the cabin wreck. I did find some led sheathing and some white ballast. That is the only wreck I've ever seen white ballast on.

Keep up the great work.

Mike S

Good information.  Thanks for sharing Mike.

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I also received some information concerning the crystals found by TM.    I posted the photo below of the crystals a few days ago.

I asked for permission to post that information and hope to be able to do that soon.  It turned out that they could be something very different from what I initially thought.

As I always say, "Hang onto your finds until you know for sure."

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No change in beach conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/13/20 Report - Green Cabin Wreck: Wreck of the San Martin. St. James Religious Medallion.

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

Illustration in DisneyEveryDay.com Blog.

See link below.

Recently I did some posts on some of the older coins found on the Treasure Coast.  That brings up the Green Cabin wreck, which is thought to date to 1618, nearly a hundred years before the 1715 Fleet wrecks, and therefore the source of many of the oldest Treasure Coast coins.  I received emails from both Dan B. and JamminJack mentioning the Green Cabin wreck as the source of older coins.

The DisneyEveryDay.com blog presents an entertaining Disney-style discussion of the Green Cabin wreck, which is just south of the Vero Disney resort.  If not entirely accurate, the article is at least entertaining.

https://www.disneyeveryday.com/sunken-spanish-treasure-off-the-coast-of-disneys-vero-beach-resort/

By the way, if you've never seen it, the Vero Disney resort has, or had, a shipwreck artifact display.  If it is still there, you might be able to see it if you make dinner reservations.  All of the items that were in the display were not from the Green Cabin wreck.  There was, for example, a cannon ball and coins from the Jupiter wreck.

Here is a web site that gives a brief overview of the Green Cabin wreck.

Green Cabin Shipwreck (1618) - The Nautical Archaeology Digital Library (shiplib.org)

For a more detailed and historically accurate description of the Green Cabin wreck, see The 1618 Wreck of the San Martín, Almiranta de Honduras, by Dave Horner, edited by Cori Sedwick Downing.

Here is that link.

https://www.sedwickcoins.com/ta19/san_martin.pdf

Concerning the coins from the Green Cabin wreck, here is one paragraph from the Sedwick article.

In all, over 3000 silver coins and numerous artifacts were recovered. The gold ring was the only item of gold found. It was probably on the finger of one of those who perished in the storm over 300 years before. All the coins were from the reign of Philip II (1556-1598) and Philip III (1598-1621). Many of the coins were heavily oxidized, pitted, or worn from the abrasive action of the sand and many years on the bottom of the sea. Other coins were easily recognizable as coins, and a surprising number of them still retained their original design. A few of the prime specimens retained their dates, partial dates, and/or mint marks.

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One correction -  yesterday I gave an upper date range for one or two of the old coins as 1516.  While that is correct for Juana and Carlos coins, but for Carlos I coins the upper date range would be 1556.

I also noticed a Lima crowned-pillars style coin similar to JamminJack's holed one-reale listed in Monedas Espanolas desede Juana Y Carlos a Isabel II: 1504 a 1868 as a Fillip II coin (type 322, page 100).  It  seemed out of place to me, but I'm sure that the authors of that reference had reason for putting it where they did even though all of the other Fillip II coins are very dissimilar.

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Laura Strolia, author of The Marigalera of the 1715 Fleet and historian of the Spanish colonial period with a special interest in the religious history, had a few comments on the religious medallion that I posted yesterday.  Below is what she said.

I think Rome produced a good number of medals for the Catholic populations of English-speaking lands, such as Scotland and Ireland. The item should read “St. James Apostle.” My guess it was lost in the second half of the 18 ^th century. It is a unique specimen of history, suggesting there were Catholics in the British Regiment at St. Augustine.

Heavy corrosion obscured any sign of "St. James" on the medallion.  I assume it would be on the left side of the medallion opposite the word Apostle, which you can see on the right side.  

Author Strolia is nearing completion of a new book that you'll want to watch for.

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 The Treasure Coast surf is still in the 2 - 4 foot range, and the tides are still pretty big.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/12/20 Report - Found Silver Medallion. Winter Beach and British Camp. 60th Regiment of Foot.

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

Heavily Corroded Silver Medallion After Some Cleaning.

This silver medallion was heavily corroded, but after a lot of careful cleaning shows much of the detail.  The back is more heavily corroded than the front and unfortunately shows no marks or details.  

You can see the stub where the loop broke off at the top.

You can see some writing at the right side of the photo.  It says Apostle.

Silver Medallion Find After Some Cleaning.

It was found in an area with other items, including cobs, presumed to be from a 1715 wreck, but the spelling "apostle" is an English spelling.  "Apostol" would be the Spanish spelling, and "apostolus" the Latin spelling.  The conclusion might be that the medallion has nothing to do with the wreck or the cobs that were found nearby.  That conclusion could be correct, but it might not be either.

There are many ways that things from different countries or cultures and different wrecks can get intermingled.  Beach finds, in particular, get mixed around over the years and centuries, so items from different times and sources can end up in the same area.   But there are other possibilites.

Trade did take place despite attempts to prevent it.  When people are in need, they do what they have to, so trade is always a possibility.  But also remember that the wrecks were big events that drew native populations, pirates and others.  There are a variety of ways that items from various sources could end up together on a beach that has been churning for many years.

I said before that I was going to talk about the Winter Beach camp.  Douglas R. Armstrong wrote a book, The Winter Beach Salvage Camp (Signum Ops, 2012) in which explorations of the camp are decribed.  Here is a brief description from that book. "The campsite was found to run for nearly 125 meters along the beach dune line and extends westward into the woods for another 30 meters.  A second camp, slightly newer and apparently occupied by 18th cenetury British treasure hunters, is located some 90 meters to the south of the encampment area...."

The British camp was smaller and set back a bit farther from the beach.  It was created later - possibly somewhere around 1780.

The British camp contains items apparently salvaged from the 1715 wreck along with later items from the time of the British camp.  So you have items from at least two different times and sources or events intermingled.  That is not to mention earlier and subsequent native activities, and who knows how many more.  My conclusion is that the medallion could have been on the ship, although that appears less likely, or it could have come from the time of the British salvage effort or some other wreck-related events, but it could also have absolutely no relationship to the wreck at all.  The age and source is impossible to determine precisely, although judging from the amount of corrosion, it looks like it has been out there for quite a while.  Perhaps additional research will help narrow down the age or history of the item.

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60th Regiment of Foot buttons were found at the site of the British camp.  The 60th was stationed at St. Augustine around the time of the Revolutionary War.  The regiment was formed in 1757, so we can figure that the British camp dates to at least 42 years after the wrecking of the fleet and possibly as many as eighty or more years after.

The regiment was intended to combine the characteristics of a colonial corps with those of a foreign legion. Swiss and German forest fighting experts, American colonists and British volunteers from other British regiments were recruited. These men were Protestants, an important consideration for fighting against the predominantly Catholic French. The officers were also recruited from Europe – not from the American colonies – and consisted of English, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Swiss and Germans. It was the first time foreign officers were commissioned as British Army officers. The total regiment consisted of 101 officers, 240 non-commissioned officers and 4,160 enlisted men. The battalions were raised on Governors Island, New York. The regiment was renumbered the 60th (Royal American) Regiment in February 1757 when the 50th (Shirley’s) and 51st (Pepperel’s) foot regiments were removed from the British Army roll after their surrender at Fort Oswego.

Source of quote: https://www.revwartalk.com/60th-regiment-of-foot-king-s-royal-rifle-corps/

Now we know that the 60th Regiment of Foot included recruits and officers from many countries as well as the colonies, so that additionally expands the sources and types of items that might be intermingled around a wreck and camp site.

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Remember you can find Bill P's instructions for using Muriatic acid to clean silver items in my reference link list.  Also you will find instructions for tumbling items by using the same link.

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

It looks like the surf will be in the 2 - 4 foot range for a few days.  We are getting big tides now though.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/11/20 Report - Some of The Oldest Coins Found On The Treasure Coast.

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

Maravedi Found by The Capitana Crew During The 2019 Season.

On 3/7 I posted a photo of a find by Terry S. and asked if it might be the oldest coin found on the Treasure Coast.  JamminJack sent me a photo of this maravedi found by the crew of the Capitana during the 2019 salvage season.

From my research it seems to match a maravedi pictured in Monedas Espanolas Desde Juana y Carlos A Isavel II 1504 a 1868 by Calico et al.  From that, it appears to be a four-maravedi from the mint of Santo Domingo and from the reign of Juana and Carlos and would also be early 16th century, like the coin found by Terry.

I should say that as far as I know, Terry's coin has not yet been authenticated, but if it is authentic and my match is correct, then both the maravedi and Terry's find seem to be from the same general time period.

Below is the other side of  the maravedi.

Other Side of Same Maravedi Found by The Capitana Crew During the 2019 Season.  

And below is a scan of an illustration of a similar four-maravedi from Santo Domingo shown in the Calico book. (Sorry about the lack of clarity of the scan.)

Four Maravedi from Santo Domigo Shown in Calico Reference.

But that isn't all.  JamminJack also sent me a photo of a very old coin which he described as "found on the Winter Beach camp site before development covered the site."  It is in his possession.

Photo of Holed Carlos y Juana Mexico One-Reale

Find and photo by JamminJack. 

This type of coin is also illustrated in the Calico et al reference book on page 30.

Here is the tag coin's tag.

Tag of Above One-Reale.

Submitted by JamminJack.

My reference book, like the tag, dates that coin to the early 16th century.

On 3/7 I asked if Terry's find might be the oldest coin found on the Treasure Coast.  Without being able to put an exact date on any of these coins, they do appear to be from the same period.  Two examples were shown today.  Each one could be the oldest of its type.   If not the oldest, they appear to be among the oldest.

I intended to check out the coins in the Florida collection too, but haven't done that yet.

Isn't it interesting that one of these old coins was found during the 2019 salvage season and then another in early 2020.  Just coincidence?   Or could there be some connection?  Maybe a hole or area containing older items was exposed.  I don't know.

There are always new and interesting questions.

I've been planning on talking more about the Winter Beach camp for some time now, but there has been a lot going on.  Maybe I'll get to it soon.


Thanks to the expert readers of this blog for helping me to bring you such interesting content.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/10/20 Report - Treasure Coast Beaches and Miscellaneous Observations. Sunken Treasure on TV.

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

Detectorist at Frederick Douglass Monday.

The front came through and some beaches got cut by the north winds.  Then the wind shifted more to the east, and by Monday it was a little southerly.  By Monday there was filling on some beaches.  There was even sea weed on some beaches.  That is usually not a good sign.

Another View of Frederick Douglass Beach Monday.

There were detectorists out Monday.  I saw them working at both John Brooks and Frederick Douglass beaches.

John Brooks Near Low Tide on Monday.

You can tell from the footprints that the sand was soft.

John Brooks Near Low Tide Monday.

You can see the piles of seaweed in the John Brooks photo.

DJ visited some the Indian River County beaches.

Orange/Brown Sand at Base of Dunes at Turtle Trail.

Photo by DJ

DJ sent the above photo showing the older layer of sand showing at the base of the dunes.

 A lot of detectorists showed up a Turtle Trail today just before low tide Monday.

Bonsteel Monday.

Photo by DJ

Good steep slope on the dune face, however notice the soft sand and deep footprints.

Bonsteel Monday.

Photo by DJ

Notice the tell-tale sea-oats plugs on the renourishment sand.  Thank government for spending money on those.  Most of them have washed away.

From what I've seen and heard so far, there were more and better finds Saturday than either Sunday or Monday.  Beach conditions were starting to deteriorate Sunday and continued deteriorating Monday.

I did see and hear of some nice finds Sunday - both gold and silver.  I haven't received any photos from readers yet but hope to.  It appears there weren't nearly as many good recent finds as were made in February though.  The recent finds were mostly on the smaller side, ie. half reales and a piece of a corroded small ring that looked to be shipwreck.

I'm trying to get a few things cleaned and hope to get them photographed before long, but I have a lot of other things to do.

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Chris P. sent me the following email message.

Sitting here watching Drain the Oceans Sunken Treasure 2018 ch 197 Dish .They found a mother load of Spanish silver and mixed in were coins that predate the mint date by 150 years .They were being smuggled for trading in East Asia by the East India Tea Company. This brought to mind your recent article.  (Referring to the post on the old could found by Terry S.)  Hope that you can find this National Geographic episode 

Thanks Chris.

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TM was digging a target at the base of a dune near Seagrape and out came what appears to be blue and white glass.  He was wondering what you thought it might be.

Let me know what you think.

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The surf is predicted to continue decreasing for a few days.  Expect more beach building with the continuing ESE winds.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/9/20 Report - Recent Beaches and Finds. Tides Interacting With Surf Height.

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

John Brooks Sunday Near Low Tide.

Yesterday was National Women's Day, so I hope all you husbands were thoughtful enough to take your wives metal detecting in honor of that day.

It seemed to me from what I saw that there were more and better finds Saturday than Sunday.  But it is probably to early to say, and we might hear of more good finds as the reports come in.

These photos show how a couple of the beaches looked on Sunday.  John Brooks was one big gradual slope.  It was being thoroughly  gridded by multiple detectorists.

Turtle Trail on the other hand, had a few small cuts, but fewer than Saturday.  The cuts were mostly left over from Saturday and some were gone.

The wind shifted since Saturday.  Saturday's cuts formed when the front first came through and the wind was strong from the north.

John Brooks Near Low Tide Sunday

Turtle Trail Sunday.

There was a cut in front of the Turtle Trail access on Saturday but Sunday it was gone.

A beach can either improve, get worse, or stay about the same.  When you have a decent surf there will be changes, even though they might be small.

Turtle Trail Sunday.

I didn't see a huge number of finds Saturday, but I did see at least one very nice shipwreck treasure.  Maybe we'll get a photo of that one.   '

'I didn't see any interesting finds Sunday, although there could have been some.  Of course, I didn't see most of the beaches.

John E. sent in photos and had questions about his Saturday finds, saying Unusual group found today … modern coins, I have been fishing 50 years and never seen a lead weight like this one, the “Indian princess” rings up 29-30 on equinox, also a 1930-S wheat cent.... anybody have any ideas on weight and small statue ? 

Saturday Finds by John E.

Weight Found by John E.

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Below is the surf prediction for Monday.  The time of the tides can be important factors that interact with the surf.  For example, Monday's high tide is supposed to occur during peak high tide.

I drew the approximate high tide and low tide on the surf prediction.  High tide (H) occurs while the surf is near its peak, and low tide (L) occurs as the surf is decreasing.

Having high tide at the same time as the peak surf will have more effect than if the peak surf occurred during low tide.

The high tide will add to how high on the beach the water gets, while the low tide will take it lower.

The low tide will drop the water X amount but appear to have a greater effect when the slope near the water is less steep.  A drop of a foot can move the water line out many yards.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net