Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| How old do you think this is? |
Today I’ll start with a three items that I hope you will help identify and date. They were found together in an area with a lot of history.
John L., who is a good friend of this blog and who has provided answers to other mystery items in the past, found these items. All thoughts as to age and identify are appreciated.
First is a cross made of nails. These are very popular today and have been made for a long time. It has been cleaned by electrolysis. Note the three holes, where I think a figure of Christ was probably once attached. The object does stick to a magnet.
Similar crosses made of nails are still made today. In fact you can find YouTube videos on how to make them. That does not mean this one is not old.
The second object is a two-sided medallion. It is not magnetic, but the specific metal has not yet been identified.
The medallion is a little taller than a penny but not as wide.
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| One Side of Medallion |
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| Opposite Side. |
And a third item found at the same site is the ring below. It is marked silver and marked .925 with the initials JLW.
A couple more rings, including a 14K enameled ring were found at the same location.
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| Rings found at same site. |
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| JLW .925 Ring |
Please send in any and all thoughts on the age and identify of these finds.
Yesterday, I did a post giving some clues on how to identify items. Today I’ll add some more information that will help with identifying silver items.
The 925 mark was used in England and the US in the late 1800s up to the present time. Other counties used other standards and marks.
Here is a web site that will give you more information about that.
http://www.modernsilver.com/MYSTMARKS.html
Sometimes people ask me if a sterling silver item is from one of our Spanish shipwrecks. That would not be the case.
There is a lot to learn about markings that can help you narrow down the age and identity of items. There is no substitute for handling a lot of different found items and getting a feel for what items of different ages and sources are like.
I recently received another inquiry from a TV production company that wants to do a reality TV pilot. That happens every few months now. It seems that metal detecting is now a popular topic for TV.
I have my own idea of the type of show that I would be interested in. It would be nothing like American Digger. If you have an interesting find, have done some good research on it, with or without a lot of success, and might be interested in presenting how you did it and what you learned, let me know. Put TV first as part of the subject heading.
The kind of thing I’m thinking about is typified by Ian’s coaked sheve. (If you are new to this blog, search “coaked sheave” or "coaked sheve" in the blog search box.) I’m as interested in the research process and history that is learned as I am in the find.
Florida’s steamboat history would be a great topic too, as well as the more common Treasure stories.
This might not go anywhere. We’ll see.
I took a look at a couple of beaches yesterday. Nothing much has changed. Still poor detecting conditions, but there are still shell piles and miscellaneous items to be found.
The seas will run 2 to 4 feet today. North winds are predicted for early.
That is it for today.
Happy hunting,
