Sunday, May 13, 2012

5/13/12 Report - Bent Penny, Drowned Watch & Great Cross


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

Bent Penny Beach Find
 
I mentioned the other day that beach finds sometimes show evidence of undergoing extreme force.  I've found a lot of coins that are bent, many more than this penny which I just happened to run across.  Good example of what I was talking about.

I have my own theory about how this happens.  I'd like to hear your ideas on that.



Happy Mother's Day.


Despite the less than ideal conditions for finding shipwreck cobs and treasure coins, things are being found. From the modern jewelry to other types of old artifacts, there are individuals that are making good finds. That is always the case.

Although most detectorists on the Treasure Coast are interested in old shipwreck coins, you can always find something.  Sometimes good finds are more difficult, but with time and patience, you can find something of interest.  When you hit a spot that is producing, stick with it.  Clean it out.

One thing I do in this blog is show a variety of types of treasure.  I believe that the more different types of treasure you are familiar with the more consistently successful you will be. 

Some people have the patience to stick with one target relentlessly through long dry spells.  Others do not have that amount of patience and might have to switch from one type of target to another just to keep finding enough to remain interested and motivated.

When you can't find one type of target, you can almost always find another type. There are times when one type of treasure will be showing up and times when another entirely different type will be showing up o the beaches.  It depends upon beach conditions and what the surf and sand is doing.

When old coins are not showing up, other things like pot shards or fossils might be.  And there is the constant replenishment of modern items on any busy beach.

If you are one of those who do not have endless patience, invest some time in learning about other types of treasure hunting, and try some new locations.   The learning that is required to do that can test your patience too, but if you try to learn from your experiences and realize that what you learn is as important as what you find, you'll stay interested and learn something that will lead to more future finds.

St. Augustine is America's is not only the site of America's oldest city but also it's first mission.   The Mission of Nombre de Dios goes back to 1565 when Pedro Menendez de Aviles planted a small wooded cross to claim the site for Spain.  A 70-ton Great Cross stands on the site.  It was constructed in 1966.

Here are two links that tell will provide information about the mission and the Great Cross.
http://www.missionandshrine.org/

http://www.missionandshrine.org/great_cross.htm


Here is a link that gives the value of Lincoln pennies for the various years and conditions.

http://www.coinstudy.com/lincoln-penny-value.html

You can find the values of other US coins if you browse around that web site.


The most recent blog poll has concluded and the results are in.  I didn't get around to writing about it before now.

From the poll results it appears that this blog's readers vary widely concerning how frequently they actually get out to detect.  That is not surprising.  Detectorists come in all varieties.  Some are arm-chair treasure hunters, some are very casual about the hobby, and some very radical.   There is the whole variety, and it appears that all varieties read this blog.

23% of those who responded to the poll indicated that they did not get out to detect at all in April.   There are a variety of different reasons for that.  I suppose some are out-of-state and only detect when they come to Florida where they can detect the beaches, some are arm-chair treasure hunters, some were just too busy with other responsibilities and some only detect when conditions are good for finding shipwreck treasure.  I've talked to some who have no interest in finding modern coins and jewelry.  It is a diverse group.

The largest category of respondents said they detected 1-5 times, or roughly once a month for that particular month.  That would be something you could do if you devoted one weekend day per week to detecting.  

23% said they detected 6-10 times in April.  For many, I'm sure that would be weekends.  Although you will see detectorists on the beach any day of the week, you will typically see more on a weekend.  Although there are a lot retired detectorists, obviously many are still busy with work and families.

Then there are the hard core detectorists.  18% said they detected more than 10 days in April, which is obviously more than twice a week.   That kind of frequency will keep you in touch with what is going on on the beaches and the daily changes that occur. 

Of course April might have been atypical for some detectorists.  For example, it might have been a time when they were on vacation and detected more than normal, or it might have been a time when they were out of town or been unusually busy with other things. 

Overall, I'd say that the poll shows that this blog's readers includes both ends of the spectrum and everything in between, from the arm-chair detectorists to the everyday detectorist.


Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.

Drowned Watch

This is the type of thing that is often found in dips in front of the beach when there is still a lot of loose material in the dip.  Watches tend to ride high in loose sand due to a couple of factors.  One is that they are hollow.  Another is the relatively large surface area they present.  That goes back to the discussion on weight, density, shape etc.

The most productive dips won't have a lot of sand or shells in them, but will have a hard packed bottom of rock or clay.

The watch has obviously been submersed for a while.  That is always something to take into account - how long an item has been lost.  An item that has been lost longer is a getter sign than a recent drop, which will be closer to where it was originally lost.

Always look for any signs that you are getting closer to older accumulations of items.

I  mention the watch here because it is the type of item that you will often find in the kind of dips we have now.

The wind is from the East and the seas running around four feet.  The tides aren't as big as they were a few days ago. 

Most beaches are very sandy.  As I've been mentioning, there are some dips in the shallow water in front of the beach.   They are mostly still pretty sandy though.

No change in beach conditions is expected for a couple of days.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net