2/9/14 Report - Storms Hitting the UK, Treasure Coast Finds and Conditions, and Identity of Recent Whatzit.

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

I went out to the beach this morning to see what was going on.  There were a number of Sheriff cars at one beach access.  I suppose they were looking for signs of the plane that recently crashed.  As I understand, it is thought that the pilot's backpack and maybe a boot has been found.

Mushy Treasure Coast Beach This Morning Near Low Tide

The beaches that I looked at this morning were mushy.  Here is one.

I did find one place where there was a one-foot cut that ran for about fifty yards.  (See below) There were shells below the cut.

All along that beach were a lot of iron flakes near and in the wet sand.  That was the predominate target type on that beach this morning except for a small number of small pieces of copper.  There were also a few pieces of fossil.

I often get questions about iron flakes.  Many of them come from renourishment pipes and equipment.  Some can be from something older though.

Overall, beach conditions remain poor.

Notice the black sand right below this cut.


Detectorists are often mischaracterized and misunderstood.  The many contributions  made by amateur archaeologists as well as the salvors that contribute so much to the Florida Collection are very much overlooked.

You might be surprised by the level of experience, expertise and contributions made by those who read this blog and who send me emails.  Among those that read this blog are some who work on the salvage ships along the Treasure Coast, but I often hear from experts in a variety of fields.

For example, I often hear from those who collect fossils.  They hold permits and report their fossil finds according to the terms of those permits.

I also hear from some who have published articles in professional archaeology journals and others who have worked with archaeologists.  And there are some who have contributed their finds to museums.

As I showed through a poll that I conducted in this blog, the average age of the detectorists who reads this blog is in the fifties.  They don't dress like Indiana Jones and swing across canyons on ropes.  There is a very small group that is younger.  Certainly many of the divers are younger, but overall detectorists are mature, accomplished, law-abiding people who have rasied families and now have the time to pursue other interests.


Here is a neat video sent to me from Peter H., a detectorists in Wales who reads this blog.  The video shows an animation graphic of significant wave heights that have been banging the UK for the past couple of months.  Really fascinating.

http://magicseaweed.com/news/an-extraordinary-winter-of-north-atlantic-storms/6066/

Thanks for the contribution Peter.

I think you can see that what they are getting over there is a continuation of the winter storms coming off of New England.

In Florida we don't get the huge tides that they get farther north and the beaches are what I'll call lower profile.

The principles I describe in this blog were largely derived from personal observations from the East Coast of Florida yet apply to beaches everywhere.  

Peter said, "Your posts have helped me immensely to find the spots particularly high up on the beaches where the dunes have been cut and washed away." 

I'm glad to know that I'm helping people well beyond the Treasure Coast.  I'd guess that my most long-distance email concerning this blog came from a detectorist in Australia. 



The other day I posted a whatzit.   It was a toy pirate piece, in case you couldn't tell.

Here are pictures of similar fantasy pieces sent in by Clint L., who correctly identified the whatzit.

 
 


 
 





I recently posted some finds by SW.  Below are some more, including a musket ball, old token and a few other items.

Finds by SW.

Token Found by SW.

SW said, On the subject of tokens. Here is a token just dug yesterday, right in the middle of my war site. It is a George Junior Republic 50 cent. Most likley early 1900. My best find ever was a 1776 token found at a Morman Battalion Camp. To bad it was stolen from me about 35 years ago. The other photos are a .49 call musket ball, a Carlton Silver Plate spoon. (age not known yet). the fired round and the white metal button were in my trash bucket, the button looks like an early bottle cap. 

Congratulations SW.  And thanks for sharing.

SW gave two good warnings.  One is to keep your good finds safe.  I recommend a bank safe deposit box.

Second, be careful what you throw in our trash bag.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net