12/31/12 Report - Happy New Year!

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

14K Metal Detector Beach Find

The object shown here is 14K.  It is a very small tag with no inscription or any mark on it.  The bale, however, is marked 14K.  Why someone would wear this unmarked tag is beyond me.  Maybe the intent was to have it inscribed.


I looked back through my posts for the year.  There were two topics that really stood out for the  year.

The first was the proposed Florida legislation that posed a huge threat to treasure hunting, metal detecting, and the freedoms of the pubic in general.  Fortunately our community was alerted, came together and lobbied successfully to stop it.  The new and growing St. Lucie Metal Detecting club, along with many other individuals and organizations, effectively mobilized.

One lesson to take away from that is that it is necessary to remain vigilant and active.  Otherwise you will undoubtedly lose your freedoms.  Another lesson to remember is that you can make a difference.

Concerning detecting for old shipwreck items, we started the 2012 coming off of a couple of slow years.  The year started out slow, had a few slightly better periods, and then peaked with Sandy.  Sandy resulted in more cobs being found in a short time period than any other storm for the past three years or so. 

Of those who hunted on the Treasure Coast after Sandy and responded to the blog poll, 16% found a shipwreck cob or treasure coin.  Some of those found more than one.  So that is about what you can expect when I issue a 3 or higher rating on my Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Scale.

There were other lessons to be learned from Sandy.  Some cobs were found a couple of weeks or more after the storm.  Another lesson is that cobs are sometimes found on beaches that are not cut.  And high water should be weighted as well as erosion when estimating detecting conditions.

Overall, I would say Hurricane Sandy was our number 1 topic of the year.

There were a number of really great finds in 2012, including some eight reales that were found at times other than after Sandy.

A number of mystery items were identified, thanks to the knowledge and expertise of the blog's readers, and a number of mystery items were identified and a number of others remained mysteries.

Overall, it was a good year, perhaps slow, but helped significantly by Sandy.
What did you learn this year?  Let me know and I might pass it along to help everyone else.



There isn't much to say about beach detecting conditions today.  No change.  You have to work for it.


I hope you have a blessed New Year.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net