Written by the Treasure Guide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Photo by Mel Fisher Organization |
A 3-carat emerald ring (shown at right) was recently found by the Magruder on the trail of the Atocha. A pot shard and musket ball were found in an adjacent hole in this virgin area about six miles north of the main pile of the Atocha trail..
According to an email from the Fisher organization, this is how it was found.
They discovered the ring during the rake out phase of the search. This is the final step in the systematic circle search. One of the divers manually uncovers the inside edge of the sand berm where larger rocks tend to settle. The other diver then scans the spread-out sand with the metal detector one last time. It was during one of these scans the detector rang out a welcoming “beep” as it passed over the emerald ring.
One reason I often talk about finds like pot shards, is that they can be what I call "signal finds" that indicate the possible presence of other things nearby.
Did you also notice that the ring was found six miles from the main pile? Shipwrecks items can be scattered over a large area.
Also notice how thoroughly and systematically they searched the area of the hole.
I often scan large areas very loosely at first, but as signal finds are made, then shift to more and more thorough search modes, moving very slowly and sometimes covering the same area multiple times. I'll have to write more about that some other time.
There are still blocks of Rucks Pit mineralized clam material for sale. I showed a photo of one such block a few days ago. Individual clams with calcite crystals can be removed from a block or the block preserved for display. Nice specimens can bring hundreds of dollars.
I understand that Ruck's Pit is now closed, so these blocks are getting harder to find. For more information contact adivinegift4life@gmail.com. He is in the Cocoa area. You can visit him there or have the blocks shipped in flat rate boxes. I don't know the fellow personally, but I'm sure he'll provide any information you might need.
I invite you to browse eBay using search term "Rucks Pit" and you will see what I am talking about.
Here are a couple of web sites where you can learn more about the fossilized clams.
http://www.treasurehuntingplaces.com/fossils/rucks-fossil-pit/
http://www.apalachee-minerals.com/calcite_pages/matrix_xl/matrix_xl.htm
Ernesto is about to hit the Yucatan, and Florence has decreased in intensity. There are two areas far east of the windward isles that now have a 10% chance of forming into a cyclone in the next 48 hours. Nothing certain or imminent.
The wind is from the south/southeast this morning, and the seas running around one foot. It doesn't look like we'll get an improvement in conditions soon. One of those areas will have to form.
Low tide this afternoon will be around 6:40.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
