Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
You will notice that both show a triangular center piece that are attached at holes on three corners.
The Miraculous Medal was created and approved in the 1830s after the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Catherine Laboure. Therefore the dug medallion that I showed the other day could not have come from an 18th Century wreck.
If you can't read the labels on the display in the photo, the inner rosary was made of cedar wood beads by the Yaqui Indians (1840), and the other one is a Mexican jet rosary, circa 1906.
Shipping contract show that many rosaries were shipped to the New World colonies. Wood, bone, glass, and jet beads were common.
A few days ago I mentioned carved jet and religious items and amulets were shipped to the New World colonies.
It is good to be familiar with the items that were common during different time periods. I regret that I didn't know more about identifying Spanish Colonial items earlier. I probably didn't pay attention to some nice artifacts simply because I misjudged their identity and time period.
There was a time when I thought screws were all relatively modern. I later learned that screws were being used back in the 1500s. Now I have a better idea of when different types of nails and screws were used. Something as seemingly insignificant as that can provide an important clue to the possible presence of a shipwreck or other old items.
And I didn't think enameling was that old, but it is. So don't take lightly enameled items found near shipwreck beaches.
The surf on the Treasure Coast was a little rougher than I expected this morning. Below is a video showing the surf just before low tide.
I took a shovel hoping to dig some big deep targets that I couldn't get a couple of days ago but was unsuccessful on those targets again today. I did, however, pick up nearly two ounces of silver. There were still modern coins and other items down in the wet sand today.
The surf web sites were predicting two to three foot surf today. I thought it looked a little bigger.
Low tide was around 11:40 AM.
Not much change is expected for a day or more.
There seems to still be a good number of miscellaneous items out there in some spots.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
