10/31/11 Report - A Few Cut Beaches - Continued Level 2 Beach Conditions Rating

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

Ye Olde Pirate Dog.


On stormy moon lit nights you can hear him howl when someone draws near his master's treasure.

Happy Halloween!



Today I found a couple of beaches that were cut. Below is one of those.

One Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

Both beaches were cut about the same. Three foot and sometimes four foot cuts.

They weren't extremely long. And neither were on primary treasure beaches.

In the above photo, you can see the new seaweed, indicating that the beach has added a little sand since these cuts were originally created.

At low tide I was finding coins and things. Many were modern coins (mostly quarters) but not recent drops. You could tell that from the extent of the corrosion.

Unfortunately I got chased ouf of a coin hole by the incoming tide before I could clean it out. I coudn't get to the best part of that hole yet.

Although I found two cut beaches this morning, the other beaches I saw were not cut. In fact they were very sloppy - mushy and junky.

These cut beaches, I might have mentioned, were not located on any of the most well known and productive treasure beaches.

I got a variety of reports from various beaches yesterday, and they mostly confirmed what I said and showed yesterday.

The seas are not going to slacken for a while. In fact the surf web sites are predicting seven foot and higher seas for later tomorrow. So that will be another chance for improvement.

So far, there hasn't been much additional improvement at all. Just a few spots looked better today.

Even though the wind is coming from the north and northwest, the swells are hitting almost directly from the east.

The better spots are few and scattered. That means you have to hunt for them.

I'm sticking with a 2 rating on my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Scale.

To remind you, it is a five point scale with 1 being poor and 5 excellent.


The following signs were posted at various St. Lucie County Beaches.




If any you know what this is about, let me know so I can share it.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/30/11 Report - Upgraded Beach Conditions

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

The wind was blowing pretty good last night. I decided to see what was happening on the treasure beaches on the Treasure Coast. The following will give you a good idea.

Beach at John Brooks Park Before High Tide This Morning.

It doesn't look much good, but after high tide the cuts anc scallops were gone. It was mushy too.

It is surprising sometimes how quickly cuts can disappear or appear. Sometimes you only have a window of a couple of hours.

Anyhow, around noon today this beach looked poor.


Corrigan's Looking South Before High Tide This Morning.

Looks pretty much like John Brooks at about the same time.

I wasn't impressed.

Seagrape Trail Looking North Before High Tide This Morning.

About the same, but in my opinion a touch better than Corrigans.

This beach has been a bit better than Corrigan's for a while now, in my opinion.

OH, by the way, Rio Mar didn't look any good at all. Just a mushy beach.

Wabasso in Front of Disney This Morning.

You can see the high cliff well enough. At the bottom of the cliff, it was pretty mushy.

It looked like it might be OK when low tide came. Worth a look anyhow.

Maybe also check along the bottom of the cliff, as well was down by the water at low tide.

Sebastian Inlet State Park Looking South Towards McClarty.

I thought the best bets were here, Wabasso, and then third, Seagrape.

Up here, the water was getting back close to the cuts near the face of the dunes that occurred earlier in October. I'd look for new cuts close to the dunes and close to the old cuts and detect in front of that.

Also up by the inlet.

I'm predicting that there will be some cobs found this week. That is the second time I predicted that this month, and the last time I was right.

I don't know yet if it will be just a few or more. That depends upon how things develop through the week.

I'm giving a Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions rating of a 2 - up from a 1 (poor).

That upgrade is based partly on what I've seen so far and partly on what I expect as a minimum the next couple of days.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/29/11 Report - Forecast Looking Promising

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

Bronze Anchor Chain Links.

These two big links are bronze. They are from a ship that sank in 1800, and sold for $180 in the Sedwick Coins auction.

Yesterday I showed some other items that a detectorist might find and easily pass up. Who would think that two chain links could be worth that much? They could easily be mistaken for modern junk, but have value.


One of this blog's readers was hunting a vacant lot and almost ran into a rattler. I thought it might be a good idea to remind you all that we do have poisonous snakes on the Treasure Coast, so be cautious. Watch for rattlers and coral snakes. I've seen more of the brightly colored coral snakes, but hear of ratters often enough. The rain water sometimes chases them into new areas.


A 122 year old 2 ton copper church bell was stolen, but found by detectives before it was melted.

Here is the link to the story.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/27/BAE71LMMSV.DTL


Here is a treat for you today. It is a history of Sebastian as compiled by George Keyes.

http://www.irclibrary.org/sebastianlibrary/george/intro.html

There are a lot of interesting facts in that history and a lot of good leads. It mentions everything from the Ais to the first Spanish visits, to steamboats, Civil War blockaders, railroads, ferries, the Ashely gang, etc.

Nice job George.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions

This is looking pretty good.

Sunday the seas will build to six feet and more and remain for a few days. And, the wind will be out of the north/northeast much of the time.

All of that is good. Not only will we have high seas, but the wind will be right, at least some of the time, and it will last for a while.

Having more than one day of high seas gives a good chance of something happening, and it could happen long enough to get really good, if the other factors are right.

I'm expecting to be able to increase my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Rating up to a 3 or so. I won't do it until it actually happens, if indeed it does.

The north part of the Treasure Coast, as usual, will be a few hours behind the southern part. The storm is coming from the south, as is often the case.

The most important thing in forecasting beach conditions is not so much a highly accurate weather forecasts, but it depends upon how things come together. For example, it really doesn't matter much if the seas are going to be six or eight feet. A lot of things have to happen together.

And detecting conditions are not determined simply by how much sand is lost. The sequence of events is important, and the composition of the layers that are exposed is also important. And the position of any cuts.


Halloween might bring some treats this year.


Happy Hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/28/11 Report - Other Types of Finds

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

Meg Tooth.

The last two days I showed some of the items that brought high prices in the recent Sedwick Coins auction. Included was a gold 8-reale, gold bar and gold and emerald cross. Those are the types of items that people hunt and would identify almost immediately if they found them, but there are other items that are interesting and valuable but which might not be identified when found. In fact I don't doubt that some of you have found these other items and tossed them aside thinking that they were nothing interesting.

I've made my mistakes in the past and know that it is easy to not take some finds seriously enough.

Today I'm showing some items that you might not realize the value of or might not correctly identify if you dug them up.

Above is a Megalaodon tooth. Megalodon is an extinct shark that was one of the largest and most ferocious predators to ever live.

Meg, and other shark teeth, are collected. The value is determined partly by size and condition.

The one shown above is about five inches long, in good condition, and sold for $380 plus premium. That isn't something to throw away.

Sharks teeth are found on Treasure Coast beaches.

Some of the best hunting for Meg teeth is on the west coast of Florida.


Copper Hull-Pin.

Here is a hull-pin that sold for $80 plus premium.

You could easily find something like this and think that it is nothing more than a piece of trash. You might even dig it up and throw it away.

My wife almost threw away the first piece of silver that I found from the 1715 fleet. I still remember it clearly. I dug it up and she took it out of my scoop and was about to toss it. I told her to keep it and took it home.

I wasn't sure what it was until I cleaned and tested it and found it to be silver. It turned out to be a piece of a silver chalice or cup but was entirely black when dug.

It is easy to misidentify some types of items in the field - especially when they are corroded or encrusted. Some artifacts are difficult to tell from modern items. That is another problem.

I once dug an enameled gold ring on a shipwreck beach and at the time thought it was modern. I didn't know then that they used enameling back hundreds of years ago.

So my point is, be aware that artifacts and different things can be as valuable as coins. You will be more successful if you learn to identify a lot of different types of items and know the value of things.

I'm not just talking about economic value either. Artifacts can tell you something about the beach and where you are hunting. They can tell you that a shipwreck or other items might be nearby.

Cannon Raised From Queen Anne's Revenge.

The clipped photo here comes from JDNews.com. Here is the link to the article and additional photos.

http://www.jdnews.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=96613






As you know, I like to recognise first finds, below is one.

Daniel B. found his first shipwreck spike. Congratulations Daniel!

Broken Iron Spike.



Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The prediction is still for something for around 6 foot seas Sunday and staying pretty high for a few days.

6 to 8 foot seas are about what I consider the minimal height for a good chance for improving conditions, although it can happen with less.

The fact that it is predicted for a few days is good. That gives it a chance to be high when the wind shifts to just the right direction.

Hopefully we'll get north/northeast winds sometime during that period.

The beaches are improving a bit, but not enough to significantly improve the changes of finding cobs. The cuts are in the wrong places and are generally in areas where there has been an abundance of mushy sand. That doesn't mean that nothing will be found. Conditions are good enough for a cob or two to be found, but the probabilities aren't good enough to raise my beach conditions rating to a 2 yet. It wont' take much more though. Maybe Sunday if the waves hit our treasure beaches just right.

Rina is a tropical storm now and headed back south towards South America. We'll still be getting some rain this weekend, and there are a couple other tropical disturbances to watch. It looks like this year might be better than last.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/27/11 Report - Big Bucks for Gold Shipwreck Artifacts.

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

Sold for $190,000.

This 1832 Serro Frio gold ingot with its original guia sold for nearly $200,000 in the Sedwick Coins treasure auction that was concluded Wednesday.

That would make one nice find, wouldn't it?

I'm showing some of the big glitzy stuff today even though I think it is just as important to learn about the miscellaneous things that you could actually dig up and throw away. They have value too, and are a lot of fun to research.

Here is a gold and emerald cross that was originally found on the beach in the same area as the famous "dragon whistle" between Sebastian and Wabasso in 1984 after the Thanksgiving Day storm.

The photo comes from the recently concluded Sedwick Coins auction.

Sold for $37,500 Plus Premium.

With the premium, the total was $43,125.

The Thanksgiving Day storm of 1984 is legendary as far as treasure hunting on the Treasure Coast goes. Many big finds were made. Swells were up to 20 feet, and there was a lot of erosion caused by four days of high wind and waves.

It is not uncommon for us to get a good storm in October or November, or sometimes December to junp-start the winter beach detecting season.



Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The most recent predictions say that the next two days will be relatively calm, with 2 or 3 foot seas, and then beginning to build on Saturday, reaching 6.5 feet or more on Sunday. After that the next few days we're predicted to have seas in the area of nearly six feet for a few days.

The prolonged period of five foot or more seas sounds good to me. When you get higher seas for a number of days, you have a good chance of getting some good erosion on one or two of those days when the wind shifts to hit the beaches from the right angle.

It seems Rina is lingering down around the Yucatan. Another low pressure area is just to the east of Rina.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/26/11 Report - $25,000 Lima 1715 Fleet Escudo & Rina

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

1714 Lima 8-Escudos From the 1715 Fleet.

This rare coin sold for over $25,500 in the Sedwick treasure auction yesterday. That is the highest price I remember seeing for a coin in the auction yesterday.

It would be nice to dig up something like that, wouldn't it.

It is possible.

The ocean was rough this morning and the water had been up pretty high - almost to the toe of the dunes in some places. I didn't expect it to be that high.

Most of the beaches that I saw were mushy and not cut at all, like the one shown here.

I did, however find one that was cut. That happens sometimes. One or two beaches will cut when no others do. It is largely a matter of angles.


Typical Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.


The one beach that I found that was cut (see below) had been cut a few days ago, and then cut some more last night.

When I give a beach conditions rating, it is a average rating for the Treasure Coast treasure beaches.

The beach that was cut was cut from 2 to 4 feet for a few hundred yards. There were wash-overs, as you can see in the following photo.

Since the cuts were rare, poorly placed on the beach, and not on any of the places where cobs are frequently found, I am not changing my treasure beach conditions rating from poor yet. That might come in the next few days.

The beach is showing some improvement as it transitions from a summer beach to a winter beach.


Cut Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.


The big news today is Rina. Rina is headed to the Yucatan, then to Cuba and possibly South Florida.

By the time it reaches South Florida it will be no more than a tropical storm. It still might bring us some improved hunting conditions.

There is another tropical disturbance to the east of Rina. Maybe it will help us too.

The prediction is for the sea to decrease for a couple of days and then build up to about seven feet Sunday and Monday. That sounds interesting.

Maybe this winter season will be better than last year. It couldn't be much worse.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/25/11 Report - Haunting New Places to Hunt

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

Looking for a new place to detect? Considering the time of year, maybe you're thinking a ghost town or some haunted place? You can find a lot of good treasure hunting leads by searching the internet for haunted places and ghost towns.

Stories of hauntings usually are places with a dramatic history - often violent. While you might sometimes find that the stories are not entirely accurate, there will often be some basis in fact.

You will find stories about buildings or towns that no longer exist. Sometimes those stories will tell about massacres by Indians, pirates or crazed killers or bank robbers. Those stories can provide perfectly good leads even when the stories are not 100% accurate.

Here is one place to start. I bet you'll learn something about Florida history that you didn't know when you read this.

http://www.hauntedflorida.com/haunted.htm

And here is a list of Florida ghost towns with their GPS coordinates.

I'll bet you'll see some that you didn't know about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Florida

You probably knew about Eden and Oslo, but do you know about Picture City or Dymond City?

Do you know the legend of Oak Hammock? It was the subject of a TV program and is a local place surrounded by stories of crime and hauntings.

You might want to look into some of those.

There are many creative ways to find new detecting sites these days.



I've mentioned using Google Earth to discover clues and detecting sites. Here is a good article describing how archaeologists have made discoveries by using Google Earth.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/story/2011-10-23/google-earth-satellite-ancient-structures/50857592/1

You can find a lot of interesting new places to detect if you use the resources that are now available on the internet.


The Sedwick Coins Treasure and World Coin Auction # 10 starts today and runs through Wednesday 26. Make sure you get approved for bidding on iCollector before it is too late.

For any last-minute technical questions, please call iCollector’s support line at 1-866-313-0123 (weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Pacific time and during the auction). Note we will NOT be able to take your calls during the auction, but iCollector will.

Here is the link for additional details.

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=imkgftcab&v=001xWuk4iGwEaI9dh14uG4Wx-nPQeXCh4bFGo-Q26Y3tNHUMjo5iV7JQre4A8e40ZnzYu3ZjJaDeynskYhnza4Vkoz5r4W7DnkJcpBOd5OYMEz1BsrbQt70Ug%3D%3D


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

Rating beach detecting conditions takes a lot of different factors into account. It is not simply a matter of if there are any cuts or not. It also involves the location of the cuts, layers that are on the beach and layers that have been exposed, and other things.

Today the seas are running about 4.5 feet. That is just a little less than predicted earlier. But perhaps the most important news is what is coming Sunday.

The surf web sites are predicting 7.5 foot seas again, and with north/northwest winds and swells. The direction is very important in my opinion.

After today, the seas will be decreasing a little for a few days and then increasing again next weekend.

It is good to see some nice high seas again.

We actually have a hurricane - Rina down below Cuba. And another low pressure area just off of South America that might also develop.

It looks like next week could be interesting. I certainly hope so.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/23/11 Report - Real Eight Company 1977 Auctioned Lots

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

February 1977 Auction Catalog.

I've been talking about the upcoming Sedwick Coins auction, but here is a catalog from an auction held back in 1977. Among the coins auctioned were a large number from the Real Eight Company. They also sold artifacts and bars.

The auction catalog also gives some of the history of the early 1715 Fleet salvage efforts.

Auction catalogs can be very useful for research. I recommend browsing as much material as you can about treasure items. That information can be very useful in a variety of ways.

This auction catalog also has the list of prices realized for each of the lots. It is good to have such a list, but very often you will not find the list along with the catalog.

It is interesting to see the prices that things brought 34 years ago. But if you want to see how things have appreciated in value, you also should take into account the value of the dollar. Today's dollar does not have near the value of a dollar back in the 1970s.

Just as an example here is how some of the coins were being sold and the prices realized.

Catalog Illustration.

There were seven lots of five coins like those shown in this photo. Here is the description for those seven lots.

Each of the following lots contain 8-reales with some portion of the crown detail visible, with a partial upper shield.

As I said, each lot contained five cobs. Those lots brought from $125 to $85 per lot.

That seems cheap today, doesn't it? Eight-reales in decent condition for under $25 per reale! Again, you have to remember that those were 1977 dollars.

Anyhow, old auction catalogs can be very good research tools. And it is fun to look through the photos of items and whatever additional information might be included.

I remember one time when some guys came along and were hunting cobs for the first time. When I showed them where to look, they actually found a half reale. They were shocked at what it looked like. I think they might have thrown it away if I didn't tell them what it was. Their image of what they were looking for was a big shiny piece of eight. What they found was much smaller than what they expected and totally black. I still remember their look of amazement as they looked at each other wondering why it looked so different than what they imagined.

People don't expect silver to be as black as it sometimes is when it has been in salt water for a long time.


Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.

Tropical depression 18 is down by Central America, and there is another disturbance over by the windward isles. I don't think they'll affect us too much real soon.

On the Treasure Coast, the wind is still mostly out of the north. Monday the seas will be relatively calm. The surf web sites are still predicting higher seas, up around five feet, on Tuesday.

That might cause some improvement. I'm still rating the Treasure Coast conditions as poor.

I need to remind you that my conditions rating is based upon the likelihood of finding old treasure coins on the beach. It does not tell you anything about the probability of finding other types of artifacts or items on the mainland.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/22/11 Report - How to Stay in the Detecting Game

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

One Treasure Coast Beach Friday.

Here are some cuts I found yesterday. Sometimes there are spots where there is a kind of delayed reaction where coins and things show up several days after the beach really gets stirred up.

And there are always a few beaches that are a little out of phase. They cut when the others are not. The beach is not a straight line. There are curves and bends, and when the angle of the waves is just right, that one beach might cut when most of the others are building.

Dips like that shown below often have nothing but aluminum and other light materials, but occasionally they can hold good targets. It is always worth checking out features like that.

A Nice Dip on a Treasure Coast Beach Friday.

The fact that this dip was below a decent cut makes it especially worth checking.

Do you have treasure dreams?

Last night I did. I was sitting on a bank by an old gas station. We don't have those types of banks down here. The bank was a hill with a retaining wall by the road. Anyhow, I just picked up something when my hand was on the ground when I felt it. That item turned out to be a button off of an old gas station. It was nice and ornate. One thing led to another. I picked up more buttons and a shoe shaped ink bottle.

You probably don't care about my dream. I don't know why I do. It reminded me of some of the other treasure dreams I have. Some are pretty frequent. Like the one when treasure keeps falling out of an excavation on a creek bank. Those kinds of dreams make you want to go out and hunt.

I was wondering how many other people have treasure dreams.

It also made me think about how important the mind is. I'm sure that it is the mind, not the detector, that determines how successful you will be.

Some characteristics are very important in determining success. I think that maybe the most important is optimism. You need that "Today is the day" optimism to keep you going so that you'll stick it out during the dry spells.

Perseverance is very important. But I think that is the result of optimism. If you tend to be pessimistic and get discouraged, there is a good chance you'll give up before being successful.

I think the vast majority of detectorists give up and quit after a while.

Curiosity helps a lot to. It keeps you interested and motivated. Even little finds can be important. They can be clues and tell a story. They can tell you that you are on the right track or that there are other things to be found.

I once got a Chinese fortune cookie that said, "Be cheerful and optimistic." I think that is some of the best advice I ever got. Your attitude will color everything.

So I guess I have two main messages today. First, be cheerful and optimistic. And second, follow your dreams.


I've mentioned Odyssey Marines finding the Gairsoppa, which was sunk by a German submarine when carrying millions of dollars worth of silver. Here is a good link to that story along with some nice underwater photos.

http://www.history.com/news/2011/09/27/silver-laden-world-war-ii-shipwreck-discovered/

Gold has dropped a few hundred dollars per ounce lately, and silver is way off of its highs too.

The wind is still from the north/northwest. The predictions are holding steady. Seas will be increasing to a peak of 5.5 feet in the Fort Pierce area late Tuesday and then decreasing again.

As I showed, there are still a few cuts and dips to be found. Hopefully the higher seas Tuesday will hit the right spots at the right angles.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/21/11 Report - Lesson Learned

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

Gold Band Found by Bernie C.

I don't know how many times I've said to dig all signals on a beach. I've explained why more than once too. I don't repeat it as often as I feel like repeating it. Some people just don't like to dig junk, and others, I think, don't really believe me until they learn for themselves.

Anyhow here is what Bernie had to say.

I dug a pull tab signal and out popped a 18 kt gold wedding band. I learned a lesson today, I won't be passing up pulltabs anymore.

Bernie, John G. and Captain Gary found a bunch of bullets the same day. The photo below shows some of those.

Thanks for the photos Bernie.


Similar objects are often found in bunches. Sometimes its coins, sometimes sinkers, sometimes pulltabs, sometimes iron and sometimes even gold. That is the way it is on a beach. And that is one more reason to dig everything. If you are in pulltab heaven, you might be better off looking for a better spot, but you'll never know its pulltab heaven until you dig a few.

With the sifting and sorting done by the waves, you can hit pockets of similar items. Bernie said several bullets were found in some of the holes.

Of course, sometimes things are dropped or buried together.

And sometimes dissimilar items are found together, but what you want to look for are those pockets of good items or items that usually are found with good items.

It is not a black and white thing where you can say always or never. There are too many factors involved. It is relatively complicated. I realize that some things I say sometimes must sound contradictory, but that is mostly because one thing applies under one situation and something else under another situation. There are too many factors for me to spell all of them out in each of my posts.

Again, what you most want to find are the pockets where good old items are accumulating. That doesn't mean you won't ever find anything in a pile of pull tabs. It can and does happen - but rarely. If I can find an area where heavy old things are accumulating, that is where I'll spend my time. Things do accumuate over time according to density and other characteristics.

I've picked up five Rosey dimes in one scoop. They had collected under a fallen palm tree on the slope of the beach. I don't know if they were originally dropped together or not.

I've seen fifteen rings dug in four hours of detecting. They were found along with a bunch of older coins. A lot of that time was digging, and a lot of that time was spend digging coins.

Similar but different types of items can cluster. I always rememeber one time when a big class ring weighing almost exactly one ounce was dug out of a hole after four or five sinkers of the same weight had been removed from the same hole. If I had used discrimination, I might have passed up the ring because of the signal from the sinkers.

Good targets can hide under less valuable targets. It is better to remove the junk targets.

On dry land you can tell a lot about the age of finds by how deep it is. There are levels that remain pretty much unchanged over time. Old layers will generally be under newer layers and objects unless the area was disturbed by man, or running water, such as a creek, flood, or whatever.

Beaches are so transitory that the layers are all mixed up and intermingled. You can frequently find new layers on top of old layers. Near the water, the sand and objects are constantly washed in or out.

And things aren't found in context. Things can travel miles, especially over long periods of times - especially small and light objects.


Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.

There are still a few cuts out there. They aren't fresh, and some have been partially refilled, but you can still find some.

You can also find a few dips to explore.

The wind is out of the north/northwest. Five and 5.5 foot swells are predicted for Monday and Tuesday. That could help, especially because the predictions are showing north winds a lot. That could be good if it actually happens.

Some of the areas that cut in the past few weeks might get cut again.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/20/11 Report - Rainy Days, Junky Truck & Signal Finds

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

Cast Iron Toy Truck.

There are all kinds of things you can find. Different people hunt and like different things.

I showed this truck to a guy that has found 6000-year-old Folsom points and some very important finds, and he said this truck was a real find. I was surprised. It is funny what some people like.

If you generally watch prices on collectibles, you'll notice that a lot of items from the 50s and 60s are worth more than a lot of items that are much much older. People like vintage items because they relate to them. There is the nostalgia factor. They might remember playing with toys like that truck when they were young.

I like the truck - not because it is valuable. It isn't. But I like it anyway. The area it came from is an area that has a personal connection in my family history. And the truck is similar to the old truck that my mother and father rode around in when they were expecting me.

Cast iron toys are very collectible. This one is in very poor condition, as you can see, but there is a reason that I decided to show it. It was eye-balled after a rain. And it was found in an area that I decided to look at more closely because of the glass and ceramics that were uncovered by the rain.

I often mention that you should keep your eyes open when you detect. Pay attention to any clues.

Glass and ceramics tend to stay on top of the ground for decades or longer. When you see ceramics littering an area, take a look and see if you can get any clues about their age. If the ceramics are older, look for other items of the same age in the same area. And detect the area thoroughly.

That is how I found the truck. I saw broken glass, including mason jars and other things that were recently uncovered, and eye-balled the truck, which had also been uncovered by the rain. After detecting, 19th century coins were also found in the area.

You might not be interested in old junky trucks like this one, but I mention it primarily to remind you to keep your eyes open for signal finds, especially after it rains.



The first extensive archaeological survey of the Scuppernong River and Bulls Bay near Columbia has been completed, and a number of of new shipwrecks were discovered.

One of the wrecks surveyed was the Estelle Randall, a passenger steamer that sank near Columbia in 1910.

Here is the link for more of the story.

http://outerbanksvoice.com/2011/10/17/survey-uncovers-shipwreck-clues-near-columbia/


Here is a link to the catalog for the upcoming Sedwick Coins treasure auction. I find this catalog very easy to browse.

http://www.sedwickcoins.com/treasureauction10/catalog.htm#ecat

If you aren't interested in buying, the catalog is still good for research purposes.


Bathtub Beach reopens today, complete with piles of new sand.


Treasure Coast Beach Conditions and Forecast.

The wind is from the west today. Seas are down around two feet, and will remain around that level for a few days.

Next week the seas will be increasing. The surf web sites are predicting swells up to 5.5 feet on next Tuesday. That isn't bad, and could improve beach conditions, depending upon other factors.

It has been rainy the past couple of days, so keep your eyes open for clues like I mentioned above.

There are a couple of low pressure areas still out there. One is down in the Gulf, pretty much like the one of a few days ago, and there is also one out in the Atlantic. They might create enough weather to do us some good in the next week or two.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/18/11 Report - Gorget and Clay Pipes

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

Five inch drilled slate gorget with shell necklace.

The cord had disappeared.

This a great find that has been studied by the Smithsonian.

It is a rainy day on the Treasure Coast. Watch for items that have been uncovered by the rain.

The seas are a little rough today, but nothing that would really improve conditions. And tomorrow the sea will become even calmer, lasting for a few days.

Maybe I'll be able to get too a few items that I wasn't able to recover down by the waters edge when the sea calms down a little more.

That low presure area in the Guld that I mentioned yesterday is working its way up over Florida. We might have a few more rainy days.

There is a cold front due in Wednesday night.

The cut that I showed yesterday has partly filled in.

The south wind usually piles more sand on the beach front.

At least a few things got stirred up lately. I think we'll have some more good detecting weather and very possibly improved detecting conditions in the near future.

Right now I would call conditions generally poor.

As I often remind, my conditions rating scale starts with a 1 instead of a zero because their is always a chance that something good will pop up.

Even though conditions are what I would call poor, they are still better than they were before the big waves.


Florida Governor Rick Scott wants to stop funding for college majors such as archaeology that do not create skilled candidates for the most needed jobs.

Here is the link.

http://search.aol.com/aol/search?query=governor+scott+archaeology+degrees&s_it=keyword_rollover

A nice collection of clay pipes found on a a river bank near an old US city.

I understand that these were purchased with the tobacco in them.

Clay Pipe Collection.

There is a high correlation between time spent hunting in the field and finds. I often see the guys that are making the finds out there on the beach. Of course, if you've had some luck, it tends to motivate you to hunt more. On the other hand, when you haven't been having much luck, you can get discouraged and not bother hunting as much.

One of those Treasure Coast shipwreck maps is now listed on ebay. I think it might be handy for snow birds who plan to visit the Treasure Coast treasure beaches this winter.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/17/11 Report - Some Erosion This Morning

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

Couple Detectorists Trying To Remove a Big Deep Target Near Water's Edge Saturday.

I think they came away from that hole without the object. It has been there for at least a couple of years and no one else removed it either. They gave it a good shot though.


Here is a great video showing the recovery of a cache of silver US and Spanish coins in a river.

Really fun to watch. Thanks to Bill P. for sending me the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDC3SUK3axM&feature=player_embedded


A “ship’s knee” found in the mud of the Connecticut River may have come from the wreck of an American ship that was run aground by the British Navy some 200 years ago, marine historians say.

Here is the link to that story. I think you will find it interesting.

http://www.shorelinetimes.com/articles/2011/10/12/news/doc4e959ae32eaf1939012101.txt?viewmode=fullstory

James F. sent in the following link to an article which talks about Oregon's laws against metal detecting.

There is a facebook site that people are joining to fight regulations like this and remind agencies that detectorists are voters, tax-payers, and part of the public that they claim to serve. You might want to look it up.

If you read this article and don't want to take the next step to help rectify the situation, I'll be surprised.

Caution: Don't read this if you can't afford to get your blood pressure up.

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20071118%2FNEWS%2F711180323


Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.

You probably noticed the wind yesterday. It actually caused some erosion and scalloping on some of the Treasure Coast beaches.


One Treasure Coast Beach Monday Morning Showing Cut.

Here you can see what happened yesterday or last night. There was some erosion even though the wind was coming mostly out of the east.

It looks like we'll have three of four foot seas for the next couple of days and then maybe a reduction.

The disturbance down in the Gulf seems to be moving north and has a good chance of getting stronger.

We have a cold front that is coming Wednesday, I think.

Another disturbance is still out in the Atlantic. Too early to tell what it might do.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/16/11 Report - Pot Shards and Mystery Object

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

Mystery Object Found This Weekend on the Treasure Coast.

I'll start with the whatzit first. It looks like it might be a seed. About three inches long it has one hole on the side you can see. If I turned it over, you would see two more holes spaced so that they look like eyes on the other side.

Maybe the three holes are something like the three spots on a coconut. It is unusually hard and might be fossilized. It sounds more like stone when tapped, but has the look of wood. It is not metal.

I've never noticed anything like this before, so I am curious, especially since it seems to be fossilized.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I always encourage detectorists to keep their eyes open for non-metallic items when they detect. As I've pointed out in the past, they can indicate where there might be other old items. I therefore call them signal finds.


In the photo below, the top shard looks more like those that I usually see - the coarse red-orange type. The bottom one is a cream color and has the remains of glazing where it was not worn off by tumbling in the surf. I think you can see the glazing in the photo.

The bottom of that pot would have been about 14 inches in diameter by my guess.

Two Pot Shards Found Yesterday on the Treasure Coast.


I'd like to locate any photos of other cream colored shipwreck pots or shards.

See my 3/31/11 post for some good references to shipwreck pottery.

I don't think people use the search box on this blog enough. You can search through three years of posts quickly and easily.

In the past I posted links to some pretty good references on Spanish Colonial shipwreck pottery.


You might know that objects were often buried with cornerstones. Here is a story about a missing cornerstone of one very important building that among other things probably contains historic documents.

Here is the link to that story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/nyregion/nobody-can-find-cornerstone-of-st-patricks-cathedral.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2

If you want to read more about cornerstone traditions, here is a link for that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone


It seems that a lot of uninformed people want to lump detectorists in with looters and grave robbers. That is very misleading. My most recent poll shows that.


The fact is, that of those who reported in this blog's most recent poll that they have found treasure artifacts, less than one in ten sold any artifacts.

And of those who reported finding treasure coins, less than 15% sold any treasure coins.

That is hardly the picture you get of the media and academic publications that would have us believe that detectorists are looting graves of tons of gems and gold to make big profits.

The fact is that the more common finds are pull tabs and clad coins. But of those who do find treasure, their motives seem to be much the same as the professional archaeologist who is interested in uncovering a piece of history. Too bad archaeology seems dead set on making enemies when they could just as easily make good friends of the people in this society who most share their interests and would be glad to support and participate with them in adding to the body of knowledge that would benefit all mankind.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

The wind is fairly strong this morning and coming out of the east. Seas will be around four feet. Conditions are now poor again, but may change soon.

Next weekend might bring higher seas again.

It seems the summer weather conditions are gone. That should help. We are now having fairly normal fall weather - as far as wind and waves go.

The combined effect of a few fronts coming through might result in better hunting conditions this winter.

There is a tropical disturbance down by Yucatan and one coming off of Africa again. Neither will impact us very much real soon.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/14/11 Report - More Cobs & Hunting Rough Water on the Beach

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

Cobs Found by Dean C.

Here is the same eight-reale that I showed the other day,but this photo shows the other side. It was found in the Jupiter area.

Notice that the cross is the type used by the Mexican mint. That matches what I thought I saw of the mint mark in the previous photo.

Included in the photo above are two smaller cobs, also found by Dean.

Congratulations Dean!

And below are some spikes he found in the same general area.

There are still some spikes being found on the Treasure Coast beaches even though conditions there have deteriorated since last weekend.

I might show you some of the recently discovered Treasure Coast spikes someday soon.

Spikes and cobs are often found in different areas. Not always, of course. But I would say more often than not.

Spikes Found by Dean C.

Don't forget about the club hunt at Oak Hammock Park tomorrow at 7 AM. Contact Bernie at twiprod001@att.net for info.

I heard on the radio that $23 million has been obtained for more beach renourishment on the Treasure Coast. I believe much of this will be in the more southern parts of the Treasure Coast. We might not have enough money for social security or anything else these days, but we can sure pay to dump sand on the beaches.

The poor endangered sea turtles will be building their nests in more of that fake sand - if they can stomache it. Then the eggs will get washed into the ocean when that sand gets eroded away - which it will just like any other sand dumped where Mother Nature wouldn't have it.

I don't know where the environmentalists are on that one? Must be sleeping.

One lady who has a time-share at Disney sent me an email and asked if I knew if there would be a time she could visit the resort when there wouldn't be some big steep cliff between the resort and the ocean. She recently visited the resort and was very disappointed that it was so hard to access the beach with that eight foot cliff created by the last renourishment project.

There were some nice surfing waves yesterday morning and I suppose still this morning on the Treasure Coast. And there were some really big shell piles

If you aren't into collecting shells, you should still inspect the shell piles to see if there are any pot shards or other things. You can also often find encrusted old iron artifacts in or around big shell piles. And sometimes fossils too.

Its hard to detect in rough water on the beach. I've given some clues about how to do that in the past. If you are in front of a shell pile where the waves are crashing, don't let your coil get hit hard by the crashing water. That can destroy a coil.

Also, it is good to have something to protect your feet and ankles from flying shells and rocks. They can really hurt.

A long handles scoop can help as a crutch to support yourself in the rough water and to fend off flying objects being moved by the water.

Lean heavily on your long handled scoop to give you added stability. If you don't lean heavily on it, the scoop can fly up and take a piece out of your shin.

When you detect a target in rushing water on the beach, be ready to put your foot on it so it won't get washed away before you can pick it up.

Detecting in rough water on the beach is not easy and can be dangerous. Don't try it if you aren't up to it.


I received an email from a person that has a Nokta Golden King NGR for sale. It is a Deep Processor Radar Plus! It's once used. Original cost is around $6000. The seller says they'll take a thousand less. If you are genuinely interested I'll give the seller's email address. I don't know the system or the seller, so it is up to you from there. I can't give any recommendation or assurances. I thought it would be worth mentioning since it seems to be an interesting system that someone might want to look into.

This blog recently blew through a quarter of a million hits a few days ago and I didn't even notice.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

Yesterday on the Treasure Coast.

This is the same beach that a couple of days ago was cut back up to fifty yards or so. Now you can see the new sand that accumulated in a single day on the front of the beach replacing a good part of what was lost.

Those south winds generally pile up sand and shells.

I did see one place yesterday where the water was nearly reaching the dunes. I didn't expect to see it get so high.

Like I said, there were some nice surfing waves.

The wind has shifted again and is now coming out of the north. Slightly rougher seas are expected this weekend, peaking at about four feet on Sunday. I don't expect an upgrade in conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/13/11 Report - Beach Rating Change & More On Reading a Beach

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

Dip On Treasure Coast Beach Yesterday.

This is the same beach I showed a few days ago (9/98/11 Report) when it was really cut. Very little of the cut remains. In fact, none of the original cut.

This beach is a little deceiving though. It looks like it has not eroded at all since the time when it was cut. The way it looks, you might think that it filled in since then, but that is not what happened.

This beach, at the spot shown in the photo above is actually back towards the dunes fifty yards or more. There just is no steep cliff. There is a lot of erosion though.

I showed an illustration of a beach not too long ago (9/26/11 Report), and there were a lot of different layers and points shown on that diagram. I was trying to show that to know a beach, you have to know how high it is a different distances from the water or dunes.

A beach can be eroded and not look like it, because not all erosion results in a steep cliff or cut.

In the photo above, just above center and a little to the left, you can see a dip - actually two dips. You can also see how the first dip slopes steeply up the slope towards a small cut. That would be a good place to check. In this case, the slope was mushy and it wasn't much good.

Again, remember this dip is far west of where the front beach was a few days ago. You have to know that beach and what it was like before or you wouldn't likely realize what happened there. That is part of really learning to read a beach. You have to know the depth of sand at different points at different times before you can really understand how the sand is moving.

Photo Showing Area Just North of the Dip Above.

What do you see? You see where the sand went. You see a sand bar and a dip in between the bar and the beach. Look at the left side of the photo. The waves are breaking on the bar,and then immediately to the right of that is a small dip. What happened is that the sand that was the front beach a few days ago, is now in the water.

The following photo shows the same beach, just a little further north than the other two photos.



Notice the sea oats at the top of the slope. If you knew how far the berm was from the sea oats before, you would now know how far back the beach moved.

Also notice the recently exposed roots. That tells you that this erosion moved sand that hadn't moved since those roots grew.

It is always a good sign to see newly exposed roots. That tells you that sand that has been stable for a while has recently been moved. It is a good idea to check areas like that where objects that have been buried for a while could have been washed out.

That was just a little additional information about learning how to read a beach.

I got to spend some time on the beach yesterday. Even though conditions have deteriorated since Monday there are still enough targets out there to make it interesting.

There was some shipwreck stuff such as spikes to be found at some spots even though the beach was heavily detected over the past few days. There is always more. I was finding deep objects and some that were simply missed. And the water was coming up high enough to freshen some spots.

Good finds are often made a number of days after you would think that everything has disappeared.

I am reducing my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Rating back down to 1 though. That doesn't mean there are no artifacts left to be discovered, and there still might be a few more cobs to pop up.

Speaking of cobs, I received a photo of the other side of Dean C's eight-reale and a couple of smaller cobs that he found in the Jupiter area.

Bathtub Beach was the most eroded beach on the Treasure Coast it would seem. By Sunday afternoon, most of it was gone again. You might remember that it was renourished very recently. They'll soon spend another 23 thousand dollar to dump and on it again real soon, so you might want to take a look before they do that.

The wind is from the south again and the swells down around three feet for the next couple of days. The waves, though were nicely formed for surging yesterday at some locations. Expect shell piles at some locations. It is always good to look through the shell piles.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/12/11 Report - Eight-Reale Found

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

8 Reale Found by Dean C.

Here is a great recent find. I told you before last weekend, I think it was, that there would be some cobs found. This is one photo of a find that was submitted to me a day or two ago.

It is reported to have been found "north of Jupiter inlet."

I don't know if the photo shows all of the detail that actually shows on the cob or not. Like any cob, some of the design is undoubtedly not present.

Anyhow, it appears to be something like the eight-reale below, which you can use as a guide.



The find appears to be a Mexican mint something like this example.

The mint and assayer mark is to the left of the shield in the photo. It appears that it might be an OMP.

If the assayer is "P" it would be an unidentified assayer that worked at the Mexican mint from 1634 to 1665.

The "8," indicating the denomination, seems to be a blur to the right of the shield. And is often the case, you can't see much of the information around the edge of the cob.

A photo of the other side of the cob showing the cross could quickly verify the Mexican mint.

I think it is always handy to have a good example of similar coins to show you where things should appear.


Do you know how sometimes the world seems like nothing more than a conspiracy to get in the way of you doing something you want to do? Well, it has been that way for me lately. I can't complain though. No big deal. But I wanted to get out to the beach to detect and take a look at conditions, yet things got in my way and I didn't get out very much at all.

I did manage to get in some beach time the past few days, but very little. It was so little that I couldn't do this blog the way that I expect to or want to. I just didn't get a chance to look around as much as I wanted and didn't get as much chance to detect as much as I wanted. And then when I tried to do my posts, google was giving me some trouble.

If I was able to get out more the past few days, I would have given more detailed condition updates, and even though I had some technical difficulties, I did manage to get a little done. I'll try to catch up some. It looks like I'll have a little more time and the technical problems seem to be solved.

I'll leave this for now and try to get back with more details information soon - maybe later today.


Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/11/11 Report - Sedwick Coins 10th Treasure Auction

I'm going to have to sum up what happened this past weekend and today some other time. I got busy with other things and will have to catch up some other time.

I have some finds to clean and photo for a later date.


I received a press release from Sedwick Coins so I'll just post it as I received it today.

Here goes.


SEDWICK ANNOUNCES TENTH AUCTION

Winter Park, FL--Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC has just opened their Treasure and World Coin Auction #10 for bidding, closing live on the Internet in four sessions on October 25-26 (Tuesday-Wednesday), viewable online at www.Auction.SedwickCoins.com. The coin lots for this auction will be available for viewing at the A.N.A.’s National Money Show in Pittsburgh, PA, October 13-15, with private viewing at Sedwick’s office in Winter Park (by appointment only) before and after the show.

Of the 1400+ lots in Sedwick’s latest auction, more than 240 lots are gold coins from around the world. Over 100 of these are gold cobs, most of them comprising The Santa Fe Collection of dated Bogotá cob 2 escudos, a landmark reference collection of over 50 different dates, showing changes of styles and assayers over the 130 years of their production, including several “first and finest knowns.”

“The Santa Fe Collection was carefully formed within the past decade with an emphasis on clearly visible dates,” says firm owner Daniel Sedwick. “Misreading partial dates has created much confusion in this series, which this educational collection will serve to clear up.”

But the single most important gold item in the sale is a Brazilian gold monetized ingot of 1832, cast at the Serro Frio foundry under Emperor Pedro II, a very late and exceptionally rare example with its original foundry certificate (known as a guia).

“Every time one of these Brazilian ingots comes up for sale it is a major numismatic event, and ours has reason to be even more so,” says Sedwick’s assistant Agustín (Augi) García, emphasizing that less than 10% of the known ingots still have their original guias.

Other significant pieces of gold in the auction include: a gold bar from the “Tumbaga” wreck (ca. 1528), one of only a handful known, cast from the first spoils of New World conquest; a high-grade emerald cross from the Spanish 1715 Fleet; a filigree devotional scapular from a ca.-1800 wreck (unidentified); and the ornate gold ring embedded in debris from the Spanish 1733 Fleet that was featured on the cover of Flash of Gold, a classic treasure-hunting book written by Marty Meylach in 1971.

The auction will also feature a large number of silver ingots, including “tumbaga” (ca. 1528) bars, large Atocha (1622) bars, neatly cast Dutch bars (early 1700s), and a handful of others, all from shipwrecks. Shipwreck coins in this auction include a significant offering of dated and rare cob coins from the São José wreck of 1622 and countermarked Potosí 8 reales and 4 reales from the Capitana (1654) and Maravillas (1656) wrecks.

Non-shipwreck cobs are well represented in this auction also, with more non-wreck 8 reales than have ever been offered in any of Sedwick’s previous sales, including several date-runs and big wholesale groups of chopmarked Mexican 8 reales and Panama-hoard (ca. 1629) Potosí 8 reales. There is also a significant date-run collection of Lima and Potosí cob 4 reales, as well as Hearts, Royals and a unique machine-made trial-strike Guatemala 2 reales of 1742.

Ancient coins and world silver coins in this sale include Chinese ingots, some very rare early Colombian issues, important French coins, and Mint State Mexican pillar dollars, in addition to medals and tokens and banknotes.

As usual, Sedwick features a wide range of artifacts, many from shipwrecks, among which are several large cannons as well as flintlock guns and cuphilt swords.

Printed catalogs (288 pages, full color) will be available starting Monday, October 10. For more details go to www.sedwickcoins.com.



Here is a story about a VMI class ring being found and returned by a detectorists after being lost for eleven years near Virginia Beach

http://www.fox43tv.com/dpps/news/local/va_beach/man-finds-gold-ring-returns-to-owner_3956522

Thanks to Bernie C. for submitting the link.

The seas are now backing off and that will give you a chance to get into the low tide zones and maybe pick up some left overs.

There are probably some of the more out of the way places that didn't get worked too well during the weekend. Most people tend to work the same old spots. It might be a good time to look for spots that are a little harder to get too or that often are over looked.

I'll be looking forward to receiving photos of your recent finds so I can post them.

Also, don't forget to respond to the latest poll that is on this blog.

I got busy with other business and couldn't keep up with the reports the way I would like to for the past couple of days. Sorry about that.

I'll try to catch up soon.

I did this blog so quickly the last few days that I can only hope that I didn't make too many mistakes.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/10/11 Report - Seal of the Admiral of the 1622 Fleet Found and Identified

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


Bronze Seal From the Atocha Identified.

You might remember when I posted news of this bronze seal being found not too long ago. Research has been done and the owner positively identified.

Here is part of an email that I received from the Fisher organization about the seal.


Our Historian and Archeologist have positively identified the owner of the recently-found bronze seal. It belonged to the Admiral of the entire 1622 fleet, Don Pedro Pasquier y de Esparza. There is no doubt that he had his quarters on the ship near the Captain’s quarters in the sterncastle section of the ship.

This is exciting news! It gives more credence to our working theory that the other 3 gold and emerald artifacts we recently found were also from the sterncastle. The 4-foot gold rosary (found in March, 2011), the 2-pound gold bar (found in April, 2011) and the 9-carat emerald ring (found in July, 2011) all line up on our recovery chart. The Admiral’s bronze seal continues that line on our chart, and now, we have identified the actual person it belonged to – the most senior officer in the fleet!


A 200 year old cannon was discovered in the Detroit River. Here is the link for that story.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/dive-team-pulls-cannon-from-bottom-of-detroit-river-after-centuries-below-the-surface/2011/10/05/gIQAfaBsNL_story.html


Well the wind is still blowing on the Treasure Coast and the sea is rough. It might be a good time to get out there when you can in between rain storms.

The next few days as the seas back off should provide some opportunities too.

A lot of guys have been hitting the beaches this weekend, especially around Fort Pierce.

I expect to have some photos of recent finds to post in a few days after cleaning etc.

Of course, I'd also like to show what others found this weekend, so send me a photo and description.

I'm impressed by how accurate the surf web sites were this time. In the past their predictions were often off.

Photo From Wabasso Beach Looking North Saturday.

Hope you had some fun and success this weekend.

I didn't have a chance to get out today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/8/11 Report - Big Seas Expected Today

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

Beach at Turtle Trail Yesterday - Looking South.

I only saw small cuts and some scallops here yesterday. The bad thing was that all you could see was that beach renourishment sand that was trucked in.

It would still be worth checking. Either north or south would be ok, but you might want to take a good long walk to the south from here.

As I mentioned yesterday, Seagrape Trail looked worth checking too.

As of Saturday morning, I'm going to upgrade my Teasure Coast Treasure Beach Conditions Rating to a 3. If it wasn't for all of the beach renourishment sand and the easterly direction of the waves, I would undoubtedly be going to a 4.

I'll keep that rating until further notice, and most likely through Monday or Tuesday. Things are often found after peak seas when many people think they would be gone.

The surf web sites are now actually predicting slightly higher seas for Fort Pierce and Sebastian on Sunday than before - only a half foot more, and that is only for a short period, but it is more.

Beach at Seagrape Trail Looking North.

As you can see in the photo below, the beach at John Brooks Park was cutting. The day before it was only about a two foot cut, then yesterday around four foot. I don't know what happened last night yet.

As I said yesterday, there was everything from beaches that weren't cut at all, to some scalloped beaches, to some beaches that had cut.

You are going to have to scout around a little to find the best spots.

I'm betting that there will be places that will open up this weekend for a few hours and then shut down almost as fast.

Four of my best bets for the weekend would be Seagrape Trial, Turtle Trail, John Brooks and Frederick Douglas parks.


Beach By Nieves Site Yesterday.


I can't be everywhere, and I haven't seen all of the treasure beaches and can only give my opinion on what little I have seen. Things change rapidly too. That is why it is good to scout around. Some of the more remote places might open up and you can have it all to yourself.

Bernie C. sent in the following photo from yesterday and said, Bathtub beach again lots of very crusted coins.( Don't know where they are all coming from.) 8 to 9 ft cut at the north end of beach with lots of black sand near the water. South end has two 4 ft cuts one higher on the beach and one 6ft closer to the water. Lots of black sand closer to the Sailfish point beach.

That looks like another good place to check out.

Photo Looking South From Bathtub Beach Yesterday. Submitted by Bernie C.

This area has been producing a lot of corroded clad coins for a while now.

Notice the tree stumps.

Thanks Bernie.


On another subject:

The site of the Queen Anne's Revenge weathered hurricane Irene very nicely. Archaeologists working the site found minimal scour and at the same time little new coverage.

http://www.jdnews.com/articles/carteret-95774-county-expedition.html

One of the interesting things in this story is the use of aluminum rods to stabilize or conserve cannon while still underwater. It is hoped that that will minimize the amount of time required to conserve the item after it reaches the lab.


Happy hunting and be safe.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/7/11 Report - Treasure Coast Beach Conditions & Correction

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

Wabasso Beach This Morning Looking Towards Disney.

There was a lot of hard rain and lightening on parts of the Treasure Coast this morning. I don't mind the rain, but prefer to avoid the lightening.

I took a look at a variety of beaches to try to get a good idea of what was going on around the Treasure Coast. Early, travel was hazardous. There were places with a lot of standing water in the road, and there were a few fender benders.

I started detecting one spot but decided to move on when the lightening started getting hot and heavy.

You can hear lightening in your ear phones a good distance off. And it can sound like false signals at times. There is nothing on the beach worth getting struck for.

Anyhow, what I found was a lot of variation. Some beaches showed no erosion, some had some scalloping, and some were cut, but mostly the erosion was into new beach replenishment sand.

The photo above shows some erosion, but mostly into beach renourishment sand. You can see the newly planted sea oats above the big cut towards the back of the beach. Most of the erosion there is not new.

It might be worth checking the low tide zone there, and the bend just south of Disney. The beach front is relatively low, and there were a lot of people playing in the surf at Disney.

Amber Sands Beach Access Looking South This Morning.

As you can see, there were no cuts at Amber Sands. Looking north towards the museum I didn't see any evidence of erosion up that way either.

Of the beaches that I saw in that area, Seagrape Trail and Turtle Trail looked the most promising to me, even though there was still a lot of beach renourishment sand protecting the back dunes and in front of the beach.

There might be some beaches up there that look better than these, but I didn't see them.

I also looked at Rio Mar. It didn't look very good at all.

I didn't take any long walks this morning, so my observations are all from close to the beach accesses.

Rio Mar This Morning.

Like I said, there is a lot of variation from one beach to another, so if you look around enough you might find a good spot or two.

The Green Turtle beach was developing nicely yesterday and today, but the cuts there are into newly accumulated sand too.

The surf predictions are holding nicely. We can still expect eight foot seas around the Fort Pierce area Saturday and Sunday and twelve foot seas around Sebastian.

As I mentioned a day or two ago, I don't like the predicted wind directions. They are predicting wind and waves which are too easterly for my liking. I'd like to see the wind coming from a more northerly direction.

Nonetheless, from what I've seen so far, I do expect that a few cobs will be found.

I'm sticking with my two rating for now even though there is a spot or two that would rate higher if I was to rate individual beaches. My rating is an average over the Treasure Coast.

From what I'm hearing, you can also expect more rain through the weekend, so remember your rain gear.


On another topic:

As I said yesterday, I learned that Rucks' Pit is still open. I got emails from a Daniel B. and Fred D. about that.

Fred spoke to Eddie Rucks, who owns Rucks'Pit. It seems that all of the material from the original site, which is thousands of tons, was moved to the property across the road from the original mine. The property that had the original mine has been sold, but the new site of over 100 acres will be mined in the future. Until then the the thousands of tons of moved crystal bearing material will be accessible for collectors to mine for a fee.

Fred said you can call Eddie Rucks at the Fort Drum Crystal Mine for more information.

To follow up on the fossil clams, Daniel B. sent in the following information about how the crystals are formed.

He said,


I was surprised to learn that the calcite crystals formed inside the clams found at Rucks when some sudden natural disaster either buried the clams alive or poisoned them with fresh water. Then the organic material trapped in the cavity formed beautiful calcite crystals. Interesting to think what could have caused this. Here is the link

http://www.apalachee-minerals.com/calcite_pages/Calcite.htm


Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net