10//31/12 Report - Beach More Trick Than Treat - Beach Conditions Downgrade

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


I had something else planned today but am getting such a late start that I'm just going to do a short post today.

Turtle Trail From the Beach Side - Closed.

First and foremost I'm downgrading my Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions rating to a 1.

I should remind you that I use a 1 rather than a 0 on my rating scale to indicate poor conditions because there is always some chance even if it is very slim.

The beaches are starting to build a little already.

I heard from one person explained that the Seagrape Trail and Turtle Trail access are opened and closed by the local town police.  I guess each little locality must control their parks.  I just assumed, incorrectly it seems, that they would be controlled by Indian River County.

The Seagrape Trail access is still closed.  See photo for a view from the beach side.  Doesn't look like a big problem there.

Wabasso and Turtle Trail are open today.

I saw no cuts today.  The beaches seem to be back to more trick than treat.

I didn't see hardly any detectorists out today either.



Disney Resort This Afternoon From Southeast.





14 crew members were rescued and two are still missing from a tall ship sailing off of North Carolina.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20121029/US.Superstorm.Ship/

Could you imagine being on a sailing vessel in a storm like that?  Think of how those masts must have swayed and the wind whipping those sails.  It's amazing to think about what the seamen of old had to do.

I couldn't believe I actually saw a sailing vessel out in the ocean Monday morning.  Not a tall ship of course, but you couldn't have dragged me out there for anything.


A ship carrying over 7 million dollars in gold sunk.  It was carrying gold ore.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/ship-laden-with-gold-ore-disappears-in-storm/


A bomb report in Boyton Beach turned out to be a geocache.  It did look a little like a pipe bomb.  I lost track of that link, but am sure you can find it if you really want to.


Sorry for the short post today.  I'll try to catch up tomorrow, and possibly post a poll later today.  I have a lot to post today, just not the time.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/30/12 Report - Pre Columbian Tumbaga, Benefit Cookout & Sandy Find

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

 

Tairona Tumbaga.  Photo Submitted by Aquanut John

Aquanut John sent in some exciting updates concerning the treasure hunter’s benefit cookout coming up this Saturday at the Pennwood Motor Lodge. If you haven’t heard about it, look at the poster in my 10/9/12 post for more information.

I know a lot of people will see this today because yesterday this blog had over 1000 hits.

I was going to continue with my reporting on Sandy and various recent finds, but I need to interject the exciting news about the cookout. It looks like the biggest event on the Treasure Coast this weekend and for quite some time. Wait til you see some of the exciting raffle and auction prizes. And all for a good cause!

Here is what John had to say.

The cookout may turn into a monster! The food will be a prize by itself, but we're going to have live entertainment with a well known singer/Steel drummer from the Bahamas and a disc jockey to give him a break. We'll also be supplying beer and soft drinks. Kellyco is donating 4 new metal detectors plus 250 backpacks with accessories and there are going to be one or two more from elsewhere. The White's people are sending something I haven't seen yet, but they're supposed to have a rep here. There are a few cobs from various ships, one 8 reale from Taffi Fisher valued at $800, ship artifacts, signed copies of new books such as "The Practical Book Of COBs" and many others, two Tairona Tumbaga pieces, two Chinese rice bowls from a shipwreck of the Tang Dynasty (circa 900A.D.) and a bunch of other stuff too. We're going to have some sort of a treasure hunt and experiment with the dowsing/ LRL stuff. Ray Walker of Kellyco is bring stuff down to test some of these guys out. It should be interesting. Of course the live and silent auctions along with the raffle and voluntary donations for the Benefit are the most important part of this whole event. I hope no one loses sight of the fact that we're doing this to help one of our own (Tom Gidus) overcome his bout with cancer.

 

Aquanut John sent the two photos showing Pre Columbian Tairon Tumbaga pieces. Tumbaga is a mixture of metals containing less than 40% gold content. Tairona is a region. Expect to see them at the cookout along with the raffle and auction prizes, and maybe take home some fantastic treasures.

You can’t see those at WalMart.

John also said my questions about the wreck beach closings in Indian River County were posted in some other forums but no one seemed to have the answer, except that one person said it was because of a ten foot drop off at Turtle Trail, which of course, does not account for why flat wreck beaches such as Ambersands and Treasure Shores were closed.

　

I heard from local detectorists that said last weekend was the most fun they had treasure hunting for quite some time. I heard of more cob finds and more silver US coin finds as well as some neat artifacts.

Like I said yesterday, very soon I’ll post a poll or two in this blog to try to get some good information about finds from Sandy, who by the way, is dumping snow on some areas up north.

I have a lot of great info that I’ll be posting soon. It is one of those times when I have a backlog. With all of the excitement over Sandy and now the cookout, I’ve been putting plenty of great information off for a few days. I will get around to all of it though.

　

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecc 3:1

Talking about timing. Timing is so important in beach detecting. Things are found at one spot one day and gone the next. Or vice versa. Or one minute and gone the next.

Heavily Worn Cob Found Friday

That is something relatively unique about beach detecting. Things come and go so often and so fast that you have to be there at the right time.

I was at a hole digging all kinds of US coins including silver one day and two days later at the same spot the sand had filled and there wasn’t anything to be found. About a foot of new sand was there. I’ll post more about how that happens in the near future.

Here is a photo of a cob that was found Friday.  You can tell from the style of the cross alone that it was minted in Mexico.

From the edges that show the silver underneath the black patina, I would say it was washed around in the sand quite a bit just before I found it.  I would say therefore that it is not a cob that was just washed out of the bank.

I am not sure now if the assayer mark is an F or a P.  I haven't done any cleaning on it yet.



I'm sticking with a 2 rating on my Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions scale. 

That's all for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

10/29/12 Report - A Couple Finds From Sandy and Beach Developments

2-real Found Friday

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

　

　

This appears to be a Mexican 2 real assayed by Francisco de Morales. Francisco was the assayer at the Mexico mint 1589 - 1608 and 1610 -1618.

The cob is not dated. The assayer mark appears to be an F. And a “2” indicating the denomination appears at the right of the shield.

Sorry about the photo.  I got too close for good focus, and also it needs cleaned.

The style of shield matches those dates. And the dates fit with the wreck at the location of the find.

I need to do a little more research to confirm the details.

The coin is very worn and underweight. It has obviously been tumble in the sand for quite a while, and especially very recently. The edges are silvery instead of black where the black patina has been worn off.

The other side shows a clear Florenza cross, as is seen on cobs minted in Mexico.

This cob was dug before noon Friday





Remnant of Silver Coin
Found Saturday

　
In a few days I’ll do a poll to figure out how many coins were produced by this storm.






And here is another silver find. It is so worn that it is impossible to tell what type of coin it is or how old it might be. It was found Sunday.

　

The water is still very high. There was a full moon this morning. At high tide the water was still coming up over the dunes and in some places down into the parking lots.

Joan T. said that Walton Rocks and Normandy Beach were closed yesterday and today. 

Here is a photo of Normandy Beach.  Notice the sand and water in the parking lot.

Normandy Beach This Morning
Photo by Joan T.

The water came up over the dunes by the House of Refuge and washed out the road. I think they are keeping the road open though.

I also heard that one of the basements of a house near there washed out, and two cars ended up in the ocean.

Despite the high water, there are still virtually no cuts on the Treasure Coast beaches other than whatever erosion occurred to the face of any back dunes where there was a cliff.

Some beaches seem to be building already.  One spot that was producing a lot of clad Saturday produced virtually nothing today.  (I talk more about that coin hole some other day.)  It appeared to be one of those beaches that was building.

I'm changing my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Rating to a 2.

　


I was looking at the Sedwick auction results for silver reals. There were a lot of very nice dated eight reals that brought in the area of $250 - $300, such as those from the 1715 Fleet. The reals that were bringing much higher prices were from wrecks that produced fewer cobs.    Some reals with a rarer provenance were bring up around $1000 or more. One example is an eight-real from the Whydah - one of few pirate ship wrecks that have produced a number of treasure coins.

I would have covered the auction more thoroughly if it wasn’t for Sandy getting all of the attention. It is always interesting to see what prices things are bringing and what objects came from where.


I still have some important things to post, including Laura Strolia's update on the Pelican of Piety and some explanations and illustrations of beach dynamics that I've put together, but Sandy has been keeping me busy.  I will get to the other topics before long.


　
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
　

10/28/12 Report - Hurricane Sandy Delivers More Than Sand

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

Water Up In the Dunes Yesterday

I'm pleased that I made so many correct calls this time.   One thing I said is that Friday would be the key.  And it was.


The high tide on Friday got up into the dunes.  That is when we had the dune banger.  Actually the water hit the back dunes in some locations today too, but yesterday was the peak.

Above is a photo of one of the Treasure Coast beaches were the water got to the walkover and back dunes.  That hadn't happened for quite a while.

Some of our wreck beaches are broad and low like the one shown in the photo, and some are narrow and have a steep cliff at the back.  On beaches where there was a steep cliff at the back of the beach, it got hit and eroded to some extent.

I still have not seen a beach along the Treasure Coast that I would say was cut.  The only erosion was around the dunes, on beaches like that above, including John Brooks and Sebastian Inlet.  The reason we had high waves but no other cuts is that the water came directly up onto the beach and ran back down the same way it went up.  The cuts that bring cobs are caused by waves that hit the beach from and angle and create and arch, slicing away sand as it goes.  This up and down stuff doesn't do it.

Eroded Dune

Again, it takes more than high waves to create erosion.

The only time waves with out an angle will cut a beach is when there is an obstacle to the flow of sand like rocks or a jetty.

The shipwreck beaches in Indian River County were all closed this morning, from Amber Sands down through Turtle Trail.   It was only the wreck beaches that were closed.  Funny, isn't it?

There were cars waiting at all of those beach accesses this morning, including Wabasso etc., waiting for the access to open. 

A lot of people ended up going to the beach at the state park at Sebastian because they couldn't get in anywhere else.  I talked to locals as well as people that drove a long while to visit the wreck beaches and they weren't happy about it.   What a shame!

The story I hear is that the wreck beaches are closed so one person who works for the county can detect it himself.  I find it hard to believe that the county would allow that.  I'd like to find out for sure so I can put the rumor to rest.  If you can have details on the real story, let me know.

St. Lucie County beach parks remained open normal hours the entire time.  I don't know of any exceptions.

Tom Gidus sent me a couple of photos showing erosion down at Jupiter from the Carlin Park/Civic Center area.  See photo below.   Thanks Tom!

Hurricane Sandy, despite the lack of cuts, did deliver.  There were Spanish cobs that were found.  I know that for certain.

There were also other finds, some not cleaned and identified yet.  Plenty of clad coins, and even some silver US coins.

The wind is now out of the west and will continue out of the west for a few days.

The swells are decreasing, only being about five feet tomorrow and decreasing daily until they are down to about one foot by Tuesday.

As you know, it has been difficult to get out in the low tide zone lately.  As the swells decrease the next few days that should become easier.

Jupiter Area -  Photo by Tom Gidus

If you watched the waves crashing yesterday, you know that a lot of sand had to be stirred up.  And who knows what else.


I'm leaving my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions rating at a 3 for now.

It will be interesting to see what happens the next few days.

Sandy is well north of us now and headed towards the nations capitol.   Outer Banks get your equipment ready.

Sandy shows that it doesn't require a direct hit.  Sandy was pretty quick though.  A storm that just sits out there and churns can cause a lot of erosion.  Again, angles are important.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/27/12 Report - First Dune Banger in Years & Another Conditions Upgrade

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


I've had tons to write about lately but not tons of time to write.  I've been putting a lot of news and information on the back burner to keep you informed about Sandy.  There couldn't be a more appropriate name.  When I came in yesterday afternoon I had sand and salt water in my eyes, ears, nose and every place it could possibly be.

Yesterday afternoon we had the first dune banger we've had for some time.  I think it has been at least two and maybe three years since the last one.  What I mean by a dune banger is the ocean hitting the back dunes with force.

A lot happened since I wrote yesterday's report, which was based upon my experiences that morning.  The water got a lot higher at the next high tide.  It hit the dunes almost everywhere, and in many places with force, pealing away sand or knocking the face of  off the dunes.

There still weren't many cuts on the front or mid-beach.  Those areas were still sloped and sandy on most beaches.  However, the back dunes were getting hit and eroding.

Coins can be washed up onto a beach, or they can be washed out.   Of course they won't be washed out of the back dunes until the water gets back that far, and it did yesterday afternoon.  When the back dunes erode, especially from dunes where there is a steep cliff face of significant height, layers and layers of material from different time periods can be washed down and onto the beach.  When that happens, there is a also lot of water moving up over the front and mid-beach and things can get washed up too.

I have a diagram and explanation drawn up that I was planning on showing some time soon, but that is one of the things that will have to wait now.

Anyhow, the very high tides and water hitting the back dunes resulted in another beach detecting conditions upgrade.  Yesterday I issued an upgrade to a 2, and now I am upgrading my detecting conditions rating to a heavy 3. 

I mentioned some time ago that we often get a good northeaster in October or November, and it certainly happened this time.

These dune bangers are dangerous.  Be very careful.   When the water is hitting the back dunes, you can easily be knocked over or lose your equipment.  I've also seen some big logs washing in and out.  Watch out for floating debris.

Don't get caught in front of a cliff when big waves are hitting the cliff.    If you are in front of a cliff when a wave really hits it, the backwash can be stronger than the incoming wave.  It can catch you off guard and easily knock you off of your feet.

Be very careful.

I wanted to get this written and posted this morning, so I'm keeping it short for now.  I did want to issue the rating upgrade and tell you about the dangers.

I told you yesterday that some of the beaches were being closed.  Bathtub beach was closed yesterday too.

This is sort of an unusual level three conditions rating.  Most level threes are based upon cuts on the front or mid-beach.  This one is based primarily on the back dunes being eroded.

You'll see places where there was very high water, but no cuts.  I often tell you that it takes more than high water to create cuts.  You can observe that for yourself now on some beaches.

That is all for now.

I'll have to find time to post a lot of the other stuff when Sandy calms down.

Happy hunting,
Be safe,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/26/12 Report - Little Erosion At Most Wreck Beaches This Morning So Far But Minimal Beach Conditions Upgrade Issued

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

Escudo Sold Yesterday
in the SedwickCoins Auction.

Before today’s beach condition update, here is an escudo that did particularly well in the Sedwick Coins auction, finishing with a bid of about three times the starting bid. It was one three of three escudos that performed particularly well in relation to the starting bid. All three were Lima 8-escudos.

This one is from the 1715 Fleet and is dated 1707. Very nice escudo.

You can see the Lima mint mark in the upper left corner and the last three digits of the date along the bottom row over the waves.

One of the stars of the auction yesterday was a 1098 gram 21K Colombian gold bar salvaged from the Atocha. It sold for the nifty price of $75,000.

You can see the prices realized for the lots sold yesterday by going to the auction web site.

Today (Friday) the wind is from the north, reaching up to 50 mph along the Treasure Coast.

And the swells are supposed to increase during the day, starting out at about five feet, and ending the day with what are expected now to be eight foot swells.

The combination of north winds and eight foot swells gives a good chance for beach detecting conditions to improve. As always, we’ll have to see exactly how that actually turns out as the day progresses.

I received an email from William M. who reported that the beaches he visited yesterday all looked pretty much the same at that point. Although I only visited a couple yesterday, I looked at others by using web cams.

Don’t forget that you can do that. If you are trying to decide which beach to visit, that is one tool you have. Look at those beaches that have live beach cams. Not all of them will give you the detail that you need, but you can sometimes tell if a particular beach is promising or not from the web cam.

Friday night looks like it will be the key time. If the beaches don’t improve more then, the chances will be reduced as the swells decrease through the weekend and continuing to decrease until close to the end of next week.

Of course, things do often show up days later. Sometimes because the beach fronts only become accessible after the seas calm down.

Friday evening and night is the key time period though. Late Friday the wind will shift as the storm passes. Then the wind will be coming from the West.

It looks like Hurricane Sandy will stir up some sand and maybe some goodies on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and even the New Jersey area after it leaves the Treasure Coast area.

This morning I visited a number of beaches to see what was happening. Overall this morning there was very little erosion.

I heard that the Bathtub Beach area was eroding. I didn’t see that first hand, but did visit a number of beaches.

John Brooks had no erosion this morning around 9 AM. There were a number of people there taking a look, but that was about it.

Turtle Trail showed no significant new erosion.

Seagrape Trail had a very little new erosion with a few spots where the latest high tide had produced small (less than 1 foot cuts) near the old cliff.

Wabasso wasn’t cut much either, but the area down South of Disney did look a little interesting.

Amber Sands had no cuts, nor did the area south of Sebastian Inlet.

Overall, I saw very little erosion this morning, and only a few small cuts in some spots.

I am however, upgrading my beach conditions rating from a 1 (poor) to a 2.  I use a five point scale.

After looking at about six beaches, I only took my detector out to detect one and had a little luck. I do say luck, because conditions were only a touch better than poor this morning.

The winds and waves are picking up. There is enough force coming in that I would expect a few very thin cobs to show up on the beach. More about the find after I get a photo.

Some of the beach accesses are being closed. In Indian River County Treasure Shores park was closed, and they closed the Seagrape Trail access already.

I don’t know if they are going to close others or not.

There were a lot of people watching the waves at Wabasso, as is usually the case when the water gets rough.

That is my morning report. Tonight should be the key time for things to improve more if it is going to happen.

I might be back later with photos.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/25/12 Report - 7 Foot Swells Now Predicted for Friday

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



From magicseaweed.com for Fort Pierce area.

I need to take some time to correct and clarify.  I've used some terms inconsistently and incorrectly.  Sometimes I've used the term "seas" when I should have used the term "swells."

To clarify, here is an explanation from an article on how to measure waves.

Seas refer to short-period waves that are still being created by winds or are very close to the area in which they were generated. Swells refer to waves that have moved out of the generating area, far from the influence of the winds that made them.

In general, seas are short-crested and irregular, and their surface appears much more disturbed than for swells. Swells, on the other hand, have smooth, well-defined crests and relatively long periods. Swell is more uniform and regular than seas because wave energy becomes more organized as it travel longs distances.

Here is the link to the article that explains all of that and more.

http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=documents&sub=index&xitem=waves

As I said, I've used the term "seas" at times when I should have said "swells."   The boating reports are reporting 18 to 20 foot seas while the surf web sites are reporting swells of around eight feet on the Treasure Coast.  That is certainly a huge difference and could cause a lot of confusion.

I pay more attention to the surf web sites than the boating reports.  I'm much more interested in the water next to the beach than what is going on out in the Gulf Stream.  It is the water in the few yards next to the beach and the water that hits the beach that determines erosion and detecting conditions on the beach.

I'll try to be more precise in the future.   I generally go by the surf web sites rather than the boating reports.  You'll find a link to the magicseaweed.com web sites on my blog to the left of the posts.

Cuts that I showed a couple of days ago almost disappeared here.
Photo taken this morning.

I'll be more careful and precise about the use of those terms in the future, but when it comes down to it, it isn't an exact science.  I use the predictions but go out to check the beach frequently to get a first person view.  The predictions give you some idea of what you might expect to see, but there is nothing like first hand observation.

I took a look at the beach this morning and it hasn't improved yet.  The beach wasn't any better than it was two days ago.   At least that is what I saw on South Hutchinson Island.  The waves were hitting the beach directly instead of from an angle that would wash sand away.

You can see the photo of one wreck beach here.  Not much erosion at all.  Maybe the slope was a little steeper, but the slope was still very mushy.  

There was some erosion at Fort Pierce South Jetty where they piled up all of that new sand not too ong ago.  The jetty interrupts the normal flow of sand.

There very well could be some better spots that I didn't see today.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Park This Morning.

There are a few lightly eroded spots, but generally Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions have not improved significantly yet. 

Sandy, now a hurricane, is expected to pass a little closer to the shore than was once predicted.  The surf web sites are predicting around seven foot swells, peaking Friday.  You can see that in the graphic at the top of this post.

Friday and Saturday will be the key times for determining if Sandy will improve beach detecting conditions.   There is a good chance for improvement, but if it doesn't happen then it will be a bust. 

As I've explained before, high seas don't automatically mean erosion.

I saw some other guys out scouting the beaches this morning, but not detecting.

I have a lot more to talk about, but right now Sandy and beach conditions take priority.  I'll get to those other topics in the future.


The remains of a civil war era building and civil war artifacts were discovered in Fredericksburg where a new courthouse was planned.

Here is the link to that story.


http://news.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2012/10/23/courthouse-dig-reveals-house-destroyed-in-battle-of-fredericksburg/


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/24/12 Report - Eight Foot Swells Predicted for Friday

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





Predicted Track of Sandy (NHC Map)

It still looks like Sandy will be crossing over Cuba and going north through the Bahamas.  That will send some waves our way.

Today seas are three to five feet along the Treasure Coast, increasing into the evening and continuing to increase until a peak of about eight feet on Friday.

With eight feet seas that is getting up there into a range where detecting conditions could definitely improve.  Couple that with wind from the north on Friday, and there is a very good chance of a significant improvement in beach detecting conditions.

I took a quick look at the beach this morning and saw a lot of sea weed and sand accumulating on the beach.   So at this point there isn't any improvement in conditions yet.

Oh, by the way, Senator McCain will be at the Seal Museum either today or tomorrow, I forget which, at 3:30.  If interested, I'm sure you can find the right date and time.


I then visited one location where the water had been hitting a cliff and washing some sand out even while the front beach was filling.



Pepper Park Beach This Morning.

Targets close to the base of the cut were close to the surface, while the farther you got from the cliff and closer to the water, the sand got deeper and the targets were giving only faint signals.

All the coins I got there today were clad, but heavily encrusted.

Maybe tomorrow I'll make an illustration of how the targets fell out of the cliff and then got covered by the incoming sand.

It seems that I have a lot of lengthy topics to write about but am having trouble getting it all in.


I also have some more research on the Pelican of Piety and the ampulla that is currently listed in the Sedwick Coins auction to post.

By the way, the auction will be ending on Thursday and Friday, so there is little time remaining to get approved for bidding.


The annual Orionid meteor shower is on  (Sunday Oct. 21 was the peak, producing an average of 25 meteors per hour).   You might go out and watch tonight but I doubt one will hit your home. 

Here is the link to the story about the met that hit a roof in California.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/Space-rock-hits-Calif-womans-suburban-home/4743235856/Comcast/TopVideos/


More Pre-Columbian Viking sites in the New World have been excavated.

Here is that link.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/10/121019-viking-outpost-second-new-canada-science-sutherland/


A gold watch was returned to a sailor decades after it went missing.

http://wtkr.com/2012/10/22/watch-returned-to-retired-navy-sailor-decades-after-it-was-stolen/


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/23/12 Report - Tropical Storm Sandy & Researching Finds

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

One Treasure Coast Beach This Mroning

The surf web sites are predicting increasing seas through this week on the Treasure Coast.  There is a good chance of improved beach detecting conditions later this week.

There has been some movement of sand but not enough to significantly improve conditions.  One beach I saw had no erosion while another had broken one foot cuts with a sloping sandy front beach.

Here is a photo of the beach that was a little eroded.  
For Friday through Monday they are predicting six foot seas.  That is about the minimum swells that I would expect to produce improved conditions but much depends upon the direction and strength of the wind, which seems to determine how the waves hit the beach.

The surf web sites are predicting north winds during Friday through Monday.  That is a sustained period of fairly good swells coupled with north winds and gives a very good chance of improved beach detecting conditions over the weekend.

Tropical Storm Sandy is now below Cuba and predicted to head north, crossing over Cuba and then then continuing north through the Bahamas.  Being on the west side of that storm, we'll get north winds from Sandy as she passes.

The other tropical disturbance that is in the Atlantic will not come close to us.



The readers of this blog are fantastic.  They are very informed and helpful. 

Recently I posted a couple of pewter button finds from St. Lucia and asked if anyone could help determine when the British 76th Foot was on St. Lucia.    Thanks to Scott Bonnette my question was answered.  Not only did he find the answer to the question, but also gave me a link to a book about the 76th containing tons of detail.   Thanks Scott!

Before I go on, the answer is 1834 - 1835.  That goes right along with other items found such as musket balls, musket flints, etc.

He found the answer in the following scarce book.    Historical record of the 76th "Hindoostan" Regiment : from its formation in 1787 to 30th June, 1881 / compiled and edited by F.A. Hayden. 

Here is what the book said about the 76th..

Thence the Regiment proceeded to Fort Charlotte Barracks, Morne Fortune, one company being detached to Pigeon Island. 1835. The Regiment remained in St. Lucia and Dominica until the end of 1835, when the headquarters moved to Richmond Hill Barracks, Grenada, and the left wing to Bar…

So...  one company of the 76th was detached to Pigeon Island, and that is where the button was found along with the button from the 54th Foot.

I've said before that the find isn't the end of the hunt.   It is more like the beginning.   Then you do the research to find out more about the find.You also need to clean, preserve, document and perhaps display the item.  There is a lot to do after an artifact find like this.

You also need to think about how the items ended up where it was found.  Think about how the item got there, who had it, what they were doing, and why was it lost?  

Not only will the answers to those questions help bring the item and the associated history alive, giving the item new significance and meaning, but it will also help you find more items.

Items aren't distributed randomly.  They were lost in the course of human activity, not randomly.   The more you understand about what was going on when the item was lost and how it ended up where it did, the more prepared you will be to find more items.

I barely got started on that topic today and will have to get into it more some other day.
I'll just go on to say, when you find an item, mentally construct various scenarios that explain how the item got to be where it was found.   Use those scenarios as hypotheses.  Collect evidence, and try to figure out the most likely explanation.  As you get closer to the truth, you'll have a better idea of where to look next.

Thanks Scott!  I really apprecaite the research.

I have a lot more to talk about today but will have to pick up on it some other day.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/22/12 Report - Storms in the Atlantic & Great Research Tips

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

Storm Map from www.nhc.noaa.gov.

The Atlantic is becoming more active again.  There are two storms to watch.

The first has an 80% chance of becoming a cyclone very soon.  It is below Jamaica.

The second is east of the West Indies and has a 40% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.  We'll need to watch those.

On the Treasure Coast the wind really picked up this morning and is now coming from the northeast.   The surf web sites said that the seas would only be about two feet today, but I'd be very surprised if it isn't pretty rough out there.  I'll have to get  out to take a look before long.

The surf web sites are predicting increasing seas today and through the week, gradually increasing up to about six feet by Saturday.

That could possibly lead to improved detecting conditions by then.


Research is important.  I've been receiving emails from people asking for good detecting sites. If you do your research not only will you get some new clues on where to hunt, but you'll also be better prepared to interpret what you see in the field.

One good source of research these days are the collections of university theses and dissertations.  They used to be published in Dissertations Abstracts International but now can often be found on the internet where anybody can find them.

Of course many dissertations are very technical and will be of no interest to detectorists, but many in  fields such as history or anthropology  will provide a lot of good information.

I found an interesting chapter of a FSU anthropology thesis about submerged archaeology sites in Franklin county.  The chapter talks about shipwrecks such as the HMS Fox and Le Tigre and fifteen other ships that were anchoring at Dog Island when a storm destroyed the area   The chapter presents a lot of good history and some nice photos.

But one thing in particular that I wanted to point out is what they say about the changes in the size and shape of the island and the forces that caused those changes.  The same forces work on the Treasure Coast to change the coastline.  That has something to do with where old things will be found.  Some things will be buried by the changing coastline and others exposed, depending upon whether that area is eroding or accreting.

Here is the link to that chaper.

http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-03252005-125704/unrestricted/013CHAPTER_5.pdf

.
Did you know that the House of Refuge in Martin County was moved back 35 or 40 feet in 1935 because of erosion?  It was.  The Treasure Coast coastline has changed and will continue to change.
Some big changes occur around the inlets.   I've talked about that a little in the past.  And also, I've mentioned before there are short term and long term changes.

Talking about the House of Refuge, you might not know that there was also a House of Refuge in present day St. Lucie County and one in Indian River county.

The one in St. Lucie County is thought to have been at the north end of Pepper Park.

The one in Indian River County is thought to have been near Jaycee Park.

I found out about those and others in an FSU anthropology thesis.

Theses and dissertations, like I said can be very technical and have sections that are of little or no interest to the detectorist, but they also usually have a good bibliography at the end.  You might want to check any relevant bibliography. 

The illustrations are often concentrated near the end, so sometimes you might want to quickly skip over some material to find what you are  interested in.

Here is the link to the FSU theses and dissertation collection.

http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/ETD-db/ETD-browse/browse?first_letter=all;browse_by=department

Browse through the history and anthropology departments for anything of interest.

It seems the Mars rover may have found trash on Mars.  Actually they haven't determined yet what it is.

Here is that link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/18/mars-shiny-particles-curiosity_n_1981298.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D223186


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/20/12 Report - SedwickCoins Auction Items & 54th Foot Button

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

Ornate Gold Chain in Sedwick Coins Auction

This eleven foot long Mel Fisher Atocha gold chain is in the SedwickCoins auction. It currently has a bid of $65,000, but I expect that to multiply before the auction closes.

A few days ago I mentioned the British 74th Foot button discovered in St. Augustine and also mentioned a couple of British buttons found in the West Indies. I showed a photo of a 76th button. Below is a 54th Foot button from the same batle site in St. Lucia.




The 54th Foot does not seem to have as much history judging from the relative lack of documentation on the web as the 76th.

Here is what wikipedia says about the 54th.

Pewter 54th Foot Button Found on St. Lucia

The 54th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Originally formed in 1755 as the 56th Regiment of Foot it was renumbered as the 54th when the 50th Regiment and 51st Regiment were disbanded. It was renamed as 54th (the West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot on 31 August 1782. As part of the Childers Reforms it was united with the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot, to form The Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881.

So it didn’t become the 54th until 1782.

Here is that link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54th_(West_Norfolk)_Regiment_of_Foot

I’m trying to find exactly when the 76th and 54th were on St. Lucia. My best guess now is during a battle that occurred between the French and British in December of 1788.

That hunt on St. Lucia also turned up some other items, including a few that I have not yet been able to identify.


One thing you want to remember if you ever hunt on any of the volcanic islands in the West Indies, some detectors won’t handle the volcanic soil and hot rocks very well. You will want to consider that when deciding what detector to take.


There was a safe deposit box coin liquidation auction on icollector.com that closed on the 18th. They had a lot of inexpensive coins and a few gold bullion coins. Generally good prices. You might watch icollector.com if you are interested in catching other auctions..


I received an email from Dan Sedwick reminding that the most recent Sedwick Coin auction will end soon with live bidding on Oct. 25 and 26. You must register to bid, so if there is something you must have, do it now.

There is a good selection of gold Lima 8 escudos from the 1715 Fleet in the auction.

The 1715 Fleet gold ampulla in the auction, which I showed a couple of weeks ago, now has a bid of $25,000, asking $27,000.

You can see a picture of the ampulla by going to the Sedwick Coins auction catalog or going back to my Oct. 4th post.


I recently ran across a archaeological guide that you might find useful. Although it was written as a guide to an area in Central Illinois much of the information applies to almost anywhere. If you are interested in learning to date glass bottles or ceramics, I found those sections especially interesting.

Here is the link.

http://virtual.parkland.edu/lstelle1/len/archguide/documents/arcguide.htm


I’ve learned that people are lifting my posts and using them on their pages without any attribution again. If you see my posts used without attribution, you can be sure it is a copyright violation and the site is not to be trusted. I don’t know why they won’t at least attribute the source that they copied from.

There are people who have asked to quote me or use a part of a post and do provide attribution to this blog.  That is fine.



The Atlantic seems to be getting more active. The tropical wave I mentioned yesterday now has a 20% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next day or two. It is still way east of the West Indies though.

Another low pressure area just below Hispanola has a 30% percent chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.

I took a look at the beach this morning and the water is rougher than what you might expect for 1 foot swells, which is what the surf web sites are reporting for today. There were even some surfers out. The surf is expected to increase through the day.

The wind was from the north this morning. No sign of erosion anywhere.

Beach detecting conditions remain poor.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/19/12 Report - Detecting Newbie Hits Gold Coin Hoard, Pulling Teeth & Safe Cracking

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

Gold Coin Hoard Found. 
(Photo from ABC story linked at left.)

$160,000 cache of Roman gold coins was found by a new metal detector user who had recently purchased a basic machine.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/first-time-treasure-hunter-discovers-trove-roman-era-123747420--abc-news-topstories.html

Thanks for the link to this story Stan.
As my dad always used to say, sometimes its better to be lucky than good.  That is what he said when something I did turned out well.  Old school dads weren't big on encouragement, not like today.

First timers sometimes hit it big.  I once told about the lady that found a gold escudo on her first detecting trip to the beach.


The Supreme Court is considering a case that some say might make it illegal to resell items that you have purchased and now own. That is how it sounds in this Oct. 19 Wall Street Journal Market Watch article.

In the past, once you bought an item it was yours to sell but this case might change all of that.

Here is the link.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-right-to-resell-your-own-stuff-is-in-peril-2012-10-04

I can’t understand how that could possibly work, but the way things are going these days, who knows.


Not too long ago I showed some dug old railroad box car seals. I guessed that they went back a few decades. Here is a photo of the modern version so you can see what they look like today.




Modern Box Car Seal


Joan T. saw some turtles hatching the other day, so keep your eyes open for hatchlings on the beach.


Captain Andy and the crew of the Magruder recently returned from the site of the Atocha with a piece of silver that appears to have been broken off of a silver bar and the instrument for pulling teeth shown below.

Dental Instrument from the Atocha.
(Photo from Mel Fisher organization via email.)

Bernie C. sent me an email in which he described a nice hunt from last year in which he found a site along the intercoastal yielding a lot of quarters. One day he dug $16.50 in almost all in quarters from an 8 foot by 8 foot area. About four months later he returned to the site after some rough weather and dug an additional $12.25 in only quarters. The third time he returned and about fifty feet away found a rusted safe that looked like it had been broken into with an ax and thought maybe the quarters were from the safe.

An event like that can look like a coin hole, but as I recently discussed, if it was created by a single event rather than by the forces of nature over a period of time, would not be what I would refer to as a coin hole. I’ll have to come up with some better terminology to make the distinction.

Thanks for sharing Bernie. Cool.



There is only one tropical wave in the Atlantic now. It is out in the middle of the ocean and only has a 10% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next day or two.

The wind is from the west this morning and seas on the Treasure Coast are down around two feet.

Low tide this afternoon will be close to 6 PM.

Saturday and Sunday we are supposed to have good calm seas.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/18/12 Report - Big Treasure Raffle and Prizes & British Military Button Finds

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



British Pewter 76th Regiment Button Metal Detector Find



Yesterday I mentioned a British military button found at St. Augustine that was thought to be associated with the wreck of a British ship that sank after the British fled Charleston. That reminded me of a find that I made that is remotely related.

The button found at St. Augustine was worn by members of the 74th Regiment British Army which was raised in Scotland by Archibald Campbell in 1777 (or 1787 according to another source) to fight the rebels in North America. The regiment was also known as Cambell’s Highlanders. I’ve found records of them being in many locations, including Canada, Niagara, New York, Virginia, Charleston, Bermuda, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

Years ago I found a pewter 76th Hindoostan Regiment British button (not 74th) in St. Lucia along with a variety of things, including grape shot and musket parts, musket balls and flints, as well as other buttons including one from the 54th foot.

The 76th button is shown in the photo here.  The bottom of the button is actually to the left, where you can see the "76."  Not the best photo.  The button also shows an elephant with carriage and has the words HINDOOSTAN PENINSULA around the top of the button.

I’ve been trying to find out when the 76th and 54th were on the island of St. Lucia. That is my primary question at this point. I’d like to find out if possible which battle the two buttons came from.

By the way things were scattered about where the 76th and 54th buttons were found in St. Lucia, it did appear to me that the buttons and other items were from a battle.

It seems the 76th and 74th were in a lot of the same places, but do not know when they were together and when not.

The 76th (Hindoostan) Regiment of Foot was raised in 1787 by the East India Company.

I have one source suggesting that the 76th was involved in a battle with the French on St. Lucia in 1788. I also have a source saying that the 74th was stationed in St. Lucia in the 1840s. I don’t know if the 76th was there at the later date or not, but it could be as I think the 76th was also under the leadership of Archibald Cambell.

Here is a link to a detailed chart showing the dates of the various regiments of foot if you are interested.

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

It is a good reference for British military regiments.

And here is a link if you want to learn more about the 76th Regiment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/76th_Regiment_of_Foot

I sure would appreciate any help in finding exactly when the 76th or 54th were on St. Lucia.



The Nov. 3 treasure hunter’s benefit cookout is becoming a really big affair - probably one of the biggest treasure hunting affairs of it’s kind that you’ll ever find. And with lots of prizes and goodies that you won’t find anywhere else.

If you missed the flyer with all the details, go back a few posts in this blog.

Here are new details sent in by Aquanut John.

I talked to Taffi Fisher today. She's going to donate a 1715 Pate Fleet or Atocha 8 Reale cob coin to be auctioned off at the benefit. Also she will be there for a short time to visit.

Also, Elle has sent me her last copy of her book "The Marigalera of the 1715 Fleet" that will also be available! This may go on auction or in the raffle!

I will also offer 3 rice bowls dated around 900 AD from the Vietnam wreck of the Tang Dynasty era which I got from Treasure Hunting' Tom.

Additionally, I'll put up for auction, out of my personal collection, an original Tairona Indian Pre-Colombian Tumbaga figurine of unknown age to generate interest.

I'll post pictures of my stuff and Elle's book next week when I get back from the Keys. BTW, Elle is also known as Laura Strolia, a wonderful researcher, so you don't want to miss what she has to say!

Additionally, There will be other limited addition treasure books, cobs, displays, treasure items and more available to everyone that attends.

Aquanut



The wind has shifted. It is now out of the South. That means the seas will be smoothing out.

The surf web sites are predicting around three foot seas today. Look for smooth seas this weekend. That might be a good time to get in the water and check out the low tide zone.

The south winds might also wash up some shell piles in some locations.

Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions for old shipwreck cobs or treasure coins remains poor.



Metal detecting is such a great hobby. And you can tell from what is being done for the cookout that really great people are involved. They come from all walks of life, young and old, male and female. They are different in any ways but have a lot in common.

No matter who you are, metal detecting has a lot to offer. You can learn so much. You can discover history on your own. You can make new friends. I can’t even begin to list all the benefits for those who do it, but there are other benefits too, such as the millions of coins that are returned to circulation and the discoveries are made.

And the web has helped. There are a lot of good sites for research now - a lot more than a few years ago.

As I looked for information on the button yesterday, I found several photos of 76th Regiment button finds, some posted by detectorists.

And when I was looking for information on the FEC box car seal, it wasn’t the railroad association that was able to answer my question, but I found the answer by looking at other metal detector finds.

We contribute a lot to the public knowledge base. And that benefit should not remain unappreciated.

The web is changing how knowledge is accumulated and distributed.

Passion motivates people - young or old.

Amateurs have always made contributions, but academics protect their place in the ivory tower. The public now has the ability to put their knowledge out there for the world to see.

I’ll leave you with one thought that is very important to me. Nothing in this country needs reformed more than our educational institutions.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/17/12 Report - More on Coin Lines and Holes, Revolutionary War Shipwreck & The Eyeball

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

Eye Ball Found on Pompano Beach
From FloridaToday.com.  See link below.

A Jacksonville Times-Union story reports a British military button was found in the mud near the St. Augustine lighthouse.  They believe the button came from the wreck of a British ship that sank in 1784 as the British were fleeing Charleston.

Here is the link.

http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2012-10-03/story/button-found-st-augustine-shipwreck-smoking-gun-its-identity#1

They say that the button may be indisputable evidence that the shipwreck was from the fleet leaving Charleston.   They evidently have a far different standard of proof than I do if they can take one button and say that it proves the identity of a particular ship, fleet or event.

Below is a  the link to a blog post on the same subject.  It is worthwhile even if they do get carried away.  They might eventually be proved right, but they are putting way too much weight on a single button.  Also, it was a button that got sucked through the dredge instead of found in context.

http://www.blogstaugustinelighthouse.org/blog/lamposts/day_of_discovery.php


The eye ball would have made my Halloween post, but it came a little too early.  I mentioned the eye ball find a few days ago.   They think it is a swordfish eyeball that was removed and discarded by a fisherman and found by a beachcomber one morning on Pompano Beach.  I erroneously mentioned that it was a glass eyeball.  It was not.

http://www.floridatoday.com/viewart/20121016/NEWS01/310160014/Eye-found-Florida-beach-likely-swordfish-s-experts-say?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CLocal%20News

It goes to show once again that you can find almost anything on a beach.


I've been talking about coin lines and coin holes.  By those terms I mean to refer to accumulations of coins that occur on a beach over time as a result of the movement of the waves, sand and other objects, resulting in a dense patch.  In the past few days I've given a few examples. 

Those terms as I've been using them are not meant to refer to concentrations of coins that occur during a single event, for example a cache being buried.   That is different from the coin lines and holes I've been talking about.

I once found nearly a roll of Susan Anthony dollar coins close together in the shallow water of the surf.  They were found individually and close together but were not part of a coin line or hole, as I've been using those terms.  I believe they were dropped together rather than accumulated together over time.   I want to make a distinction between a coin line or hole and any other concentration of coins.

Any concentration of coins on a beach, whether dropped all at once or accumulated over time can be periodically covered and uncovered.  It might seem that the collection is washing in and out as it disappears and then appears again when it is actually being covered and uncovered instead of moving.

Sometimes people will say that shell piles get washed away when if you really inspect the beach, you'll discover that what really happened is a layer of sand was deposited over the shells.  Of course shell piles do sometimes get washed away, but that is not always what happens when they disappear.  You can learn a lot by carefully observing the movement of sand and other objects as the waves and tides come and go.

Genuine coin holes (and lines) can move, but sometimes the apparent  short-term movement of a coin hole can be due sand covering one part and uncovering another part.

When you find a genuine coin hole or line, you will often be able to see where erosion has occurred.  Sometimes there will be an obvious cut, but sometimes not so obvious, and sometimes the signs of erosion are very subtle and can easily be missed.

In summary, the main thing I wanted to do here today is make a distinction between what I've been calling coin holes and other concentrations of coins that do not occur over time as the result of the forces of nature.  Genuine coin holes and lines, as I've been using those terms, are (1) accumulated and concentrated by forces of nature, and (2) are accumulated and concentrated  over a period of time instead of dropped or deposited in a very short time period or as a single event.


I understand that several members of the St. Lucie Metal Detecting Club are going to attend the Nov. 3 benefit Treasure Hunter's cookout.  That is great.



I'm dropping my Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Conditions rating back to a 1 (poor).

Rafael has moved well away from us now.

The seas on the Treasure Coast will be around 3 to 5 feet today.  Low tide will be around 4 PM.

The seas will be down to around 1 foot by Saturday.  That will be a good time to check out the low tide zone.

Happy hunting,
TreaureGuide@comcast.net

10/16/12 Report - Emanuel Point Wreck Report & Diamond in a Well

 

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

I tried to get a video to show what the waves were doing to the beach yesterday.  I didn't succeed as well as I hoped, but it does show how the water wasn't moving much sand.  Of course, I didn't catch the big waves hitting.  Every time I got my camera out, they refused to come, and then when I put my camera back, they would hit again.

Anyhow, you can see that the water is hitting the beach here at a ninety degree angle.  When that happens, there is little erosion.  The water just comes up the beach and then washes back down without removing much sand. 

More erosion occurs when the water hits at an angle and slices the sand from he cut.  North and northeast winds are the best for creating erosion and productive cuts along the Treasure Coast.

The cut shown in the video is only about a foot high. 

You can also see in the video where the waves are crashing on the sand out in front of the beach.  That sand is protecting the beach from much of the wave energy.

I ran across a very good report on the Emanuel Point shipwreck, which is a 16th Century wreck in the Gulf near Pensacola.  The report is 244 pages long and discusses the ship construction and artifacts, including wood, fasteners, ceramics, copper utensils, copper arrow points, etc.

A very good report covering a lot of topics.   Here is the link.

http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/archaeology/projects/shipwrecks/emanuelpoint/epsAI9798.pdf

Here is a litte trick that will help you tell if an item is silver or silver plated when there are no marks.  Use a magnet.  If the magnet sticks, the item is silver plated.  A magnet won't stick to silver.

Wisconsin man found a diamond while panning for gold in the dirt dug for a well.  You never know what you find if you keep looking.  Sometimes you won't find what you are looking for but something just as good or better.

Here is the link for more on that story.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/wisconsin-man-finds-diamo_n_1967156.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D220294

I'd still like to hear more about coin holes you've found. 

One that I worked day after day was just to the north of a sea wall.   It would refill everyday for a while.  Then it finally disappeared.  I would stand and work a small area for a couple of hours at a time.  Unfortunately it filled mostly with coins and silver, a lot of silver and turquoise, mostly from the seventies I would say, but very little gold.


Rafael is now a hurricane, but far east of the Bahamas and headed towards Bermuda.


The wind is from the north and we have 2 to 3 foot swells on the Treasure Coast.   The wind will stay pretty much the same for the next few days, and the seas will become even a little calmer.   No improvement in conditions is expected soon, and I'll soon be issuing a conditions downgrade.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net