5/30/14 Report - Quality Finds, Cash Hidden in Orlando and Saddle Ridge Hoard of Gold Coins Being Sold

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

Find and photo submitted by Robert H.

On June 1 clues will go out via Tweet for envelopes of cash hidden in the Orlando area. 

I previously told about the same thing happening in San Francisco, but those in the Orlando area have the chance to go on a hunt for cash Saturday.




Yesterday I showed a photo of a pile of trash picked up by Robert H.   People don't generally show that type of thing, but it is important. 

I often recommend picking up the trash.  Trash on a beach can tell you a lot.   It can tell you something about what other detectorists have been there before you and what they did or didn't do.   It can tell you how things are distributed.  In the wet sand it can tell you which way to go to find treasure.

From his picture of the trash he had picked up, I could tell that Robert had found some treasure.   If you are picking up trash like that you will find treasure.  Show me a man's trash and I can tell you something about how he hunts, where he hunts, and most importantly something about what treasure he has found.

I was right when I said that Robert had probably found some nice treasures.  He just sent me some pictures of his treasures.

Another find photo submitted by Robert H.

Robert said,  I have been looking at it  [ this blog ]  everyday for the last year and a half. Pretty much from when I started detecting.  

Robert has done exceptionally well for the short time he has been detecting. 

From the trash photo I could tell that Robert has taken my advice concerning picking up the trash, and he has some really great finds to show for it.  I'm just showing two of them today.

Robert has made some real quality finds.  You don't find those everywhere.  To find quality, you have to be hunting where quality is.

Trash usually comes before treasure no matter where you are.

Congratulations on the great finds Robert!  And thanks for sharing.

When it comes to rings, simple solitaire diamonds can be among the most valuable, often more valuable than bigger or more flashy rings.   They can hold expensive quality diamonds, but are not the easiest to detect, especially when deep.

I've told before about how when I started detecting I didn't think women lost as many rings as men.  That is because I was using discrimination and missing the smaller rings.  Women lose a lot of rings too.  I found that out when I learned to turn my discrimination off.

Analyze what you are finding or not finding.   That can tell you if you should make adjustments to your detector settings, especially if you are missing one type of desirable item.

Another type of mistake is focusing too much on one type of target.  If you are finding a lot of rings but never find watches, there is probably a good reason that you missed the watches - maybe discrimination.  Maybe you aren't picking up the watches because even some good ones can sound like junk instead of sounding like a coin or ring, which, of course, are smaller.

You should get an idea of what type and amount of different types of items you should be finding.  I once knew what proportion of rings to coins should be found on the dry sand, wet sand and water.   I was keeping good records and figured out the numbers.  Unfortunately I don't have those numbers now, but still know roughly in my mind what the proportions should be like at different types of beaches and know when I'm about due or overdue to find one particular type of item under different conditions. 


You might remember the headlines from back in April about the $11 million gold coin cache (the Saddle Ridge Hoard) found in California.  It is now being sold off.

 One 1874 $20 Double Eagle, which typically sells for around $4,250, sold for $15,000.

Here is the link for more of that story.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/themargin/2014/05/28/first-rare-gold-coin-to-sell-from-great-buried-treasure-ever-nets-for-15000/


After today the surf on the Treasure Coast will be increasing a little daily until it peaks at about three to five feet on Tuesday.   This is a good day to get in some water hunting before the surf increases.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/29/14 Report - Tomoka's Golden Cup, Florida State Parks, O'Leno, Millions of Dollars of Gold Coins To Be Sold

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

Removed Metallic Trash.
Found and photographed by Robert H.
 

Yesterday I wished I had a picture of all the trash that detectorists have removed from our parks and beaches.  Robert H. was quick to respond with what I'm sure is a very small portion of his share.

Pretty artistic, isn't it?  That is fit for a modern art gallery Robert.

That was fun, but I know Robert has treasure too, because if you remove all the trash you'll find some treasure and do a good deed in the process.



Here is more about the hunt for hidden envelopes of money.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/treasure-seekers-look-for-cash-filled-envelopes/269431875957/fanNews/newest/?cid=newsmod_sf_topic


I found this huge binder of Florida State Park information in a thrift store.  I bought it for a dollar.

Here is a map from one park.

Not only are there maps of the parks in the folder but also other information, including facilities and historical events that took place there.  And there is a lot of history at many of the State Parks.  Of course many are associated with forts, museums or battles.

Here is one paragraph found for Tomoka State Park.  

... This phenomenon occurred in the area of the last Timucuan stronghold as recorded in 1605 by Spanish explorer Alvaro Mexia. One folk story suggests a connection between the pink cloud and an Indian legend about Chief Tomkie who violated local religious practices by seizing a golden cup and drinking from a sacred spring that was said to have healing powers. Was this the Fountain of Youth? Anyway, this offense caused the surrounding tribes to attack Tomkie’s band. However Chief Tomkie was unhurt in the battle. Then a beautiful Indian maiden named Oleeta, drew her bow on the great Tomkie and put an arrow into his heart. She rushed forward and grabbed the golden cup from the Chief’s hand only to be struck down with a poisoned arrow. She was still clutching the sacred cup when she died. Legend has it that the golden cup is still in the possession of Florida Indians at the present time. Allegedly Chief Tomokie’s spirit was compelled to forever wander in the mists of the Tomoka River. I don’t know if the Pink Cloud has anything to do with this legend, but an unusual monument topped with a figure of Chief Tomokie can be seen at the Tomoka State Park in Ormond Beach.

Interesting legend!  I wonder if the golden cup can be found, or if it is fictional.

The maps in the binder were printed in 1972.  Some of the parks have changed since the maps were printed.  That is a good thing to look for on old maps -  where things used to be. 

Another good use for these maps, even though you normally can't detect in our State Parks, is to hunt the boundaries just outside of the parks.

One of the state parks is O'Leno State Park, which is where there once was a town that is no longer there.   If there was a town there at one time, undoubtedly there were areas just outside of the boundaries of the park where there was activity too.  Look for those areas.

Florida has a lot of things that you might not think of including, a waterfall, caverns, and a river that goes underground and then resurfaces again a good distance away.  The resulting natural bridge was used by Native Americans as long as they were there as well as the Spanish.

So keep your eyes open and you can find some good useful resources very inexpensively. 

Well, there are a couple of good hints and tips.



The California couple that discovered buried gold coins worth something like $11 million is up for sale.

http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/california-couples-buried-treasure-sale-23885665


After today and tomorrow the surf on the Treasure Coast will start to increase.  If you are planning on water hunting, you might take advantage of the small surf that we have now.  Nothing else has changed lately.  We still have the southeast winds.


If you want your name included on the letter asking for PSL parks to allow metal detecting again, send me an email with your first and last name and Petition in the title.

Thanks to those who have already sent their name.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/28/14 Report - Returned Rings, Butterfly Knife, Dangerous Items Found in Parks and Hidden Money

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

Returned Rings,
Found and returned by Michael E.

As you know, I've been talking about the Port St. Lucie Parks, which, it appears, suddenly began to prohibit metal detecting.  We first learned of this when one of the readers of this blog was told, after months of regularly detecting PSL parks, that he could no longer detect there.  

The detectorist I'm talking about is a fine fellow that is known for returning rings and other finds, including the rings shown here.  I covered that particular story in my 8/9/13 post.

I don't think the Parks Dept., or the citizens, realize how many cherished items are returned that would otherwise remain lost if detecting is no longer allowed.

In addition to the service of finding and returning items, much junk and many dangerous items are removed by detectorists.

I've personally found and removed three sets of brass knuckles (considered a deadly weapon) from one park.  I understand that it is illegal to make or sell brass knuckles in Florida.

I've also found a butterfly knife in a park. 

Butterfly Knife Partially Open

They are legal in Florida, but you are not allowed to carry them in public without a permit. 

Butterfly Knife In Closed Position.

It is sort of fun to learn to use them.   Pretty neat, but not the type of thing you want to be have laying around for kids to pick up.


I wish we had a picture of the tons of trash that we have all removed from the parks and beaches.  That would be amazing.




Joan T. said,

I have removed countless dangerous items from parks and playgrounds while detecting, most recently, a switchblade right under a swing, and it was not even under the mulch!

I have removed razors, nails, pins,  pens, broken glass shards, asthma inhaler, knives, glasses, push pins, nuts and bolts from sloppy repairs to the playground equipment - those are always fun to find. ... I would never let my children run barefoot in the sand or mulch of any park or playground. Too many dangerous items, and I find many of them.

When i lived south in Coconut Creek, my 3yr old son dug up a hand gun right next to a slide! That was scarey! ...

Thanks for your email Joan.  I'm sure we've all removed some of those items.
 

One thing I hate to find, but have, are syringes - some medical and some drug related, I'm sure.  Very dangerous!  I just received an email from John P. who indicates he has found them too.

 

John P. wrote and said, ... there have been many times that I have removed (carefully) hypodermic needles from beaches in the area along with lots of broken glass.

I've found crack pipes too.  It is all out there, and detectorists find it.

Maybe we should bring all of that to the attention of the pubic and parks personnel.  It is dangerous for anyone that visits a park.

Maybe we should start documenting this stuff with out cameras.

You don't need a detector to find a lot of it.  You can see much of it on the surface.

I don't know why any park wouldn't be glad to have all of that removed for free.  They just don't realize how much of it does get removed.


A successful real estate salesman has been hiding envelopes of cash and leaving clues about where to find the cash on twitter under @HiddenCash.   So far the envelopes have been in the San Francisco area, but he will be doing the same thing in other cities soon.

Here is the link to that story.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/millionaire-hiding-envelopes-cash-san-francisco/story?id=23871103

 On the Treasure Coast we have another day of smooth water, which will last two or three more days, and then if the predictions are correct, the surf will start increasing to a peak of 3 - 5 feet in a few days.  Otherwise, no change in beach detecting conditions.

 

If you are want your name on to be included on a letter to the parks department, send you full name and use the word Petition on the title.    That will make it a little easier for me to keep it organized. 

 

I don't usually post full names in the blog but it is better if I have a full name for the letter.

 

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

 

5/27/14 Report - More On PSL Parks Rules, Action Needed, Emails and More On Returned Ring

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

Crazy Bottle Opener Find.

As you probably know by now, last week one detectorists who had been detecting the Port St. Lucie city parks for quite some time was told that he could no longer detect in one of the parks.  He was told that if he was going to remain in the park he had to put away his detector. 

After some one called to ask about it, the Assistant Director of the Department of Parks referred to two ordinances which did not refer to metal detecting but did address actions such as digging and disturbing the grounds.  

Here are the specific ordinances.

The city ordinances say, (c) No person shall dig or remove any sand, whether submerged or not, or any soil, rock, stones, trees, shrubs, or plants, down timber or other wood or materials, or make any excavation by tool, equipment, blasting, or other means or agency.


Also , No person shall dig in or otherwise disturb grass areas, nor in any way injure or impair the natural beauty or usefulness of any area.

You can find a link to all of the city ordinances if you go back a few posts.

I hope detectorists in the city and around the state are planning to address this issue.   Freedoms are lost a little at a time.  They must be protected.  If no one takes action, Florida will lose a hobby valued by many of its residents.  the Treasure Coast will lose a lot of tourist revenue, and jobs will be lost by those working in the metal detecting and supporting businesses.  The State of Florida has one of the biggest metal retailers in the country, as well as numerous smaller ones, not to mention the treasure salvage business, museums, etc.

I am willing to collect names of those of you who wish to be added to a letter requesting that metal detecting be permitted in the St. Lucie County Parks.

This is not only important to those who live and detect in Port St. Lucie.  Other cities and governmental bodies will do the same thing.  I therefore hope that we get the support and action of detectorists everywhere, as we did when the proposed Florida Statutes were stopped a year or so ago.

If you participate in other detecting forums, let the readers of those forums know that their support and action is also needed.


I received a number of emails concerning the Port St. Lucie Parks decision to stop metal detecting.  Here is a small part of one email from Terry T. that expresses a common sentiment.

Here is what Terry said,

It is a total shame that this country has become what it is because of elected officials. The youth today will never be able to enjoy what the older, and past generation's have enjoyed. Last July 40,000 new law's went into effect. How many new law's will go into effect this year? How many new law's do we need to live under? How many new law's will the next generation have to live under? ...

 Here is a small part of an email from Joe D., who talked to Mr. Keen, Assistant Director of PSL city Parks, after hearing about the detectorist who was told that he could not detect in a PSL city park.

 I remembered a little more of my conversation with Mr. Keen that I didn't have time to write yesterday. While explaining to him how I "dig" targets, I mentioned "probe" or "probing". He said that there was no rule on probing in the ordnance....

 SW wrote the following,

...A little over a year ago I was hunting my small local park, the Park and Rec. guy pulled in, sat and watched me for about 10 min., he left and two minuets later a Sheriff pulled in, parked diagonal across several spots, ran my plates and proceeded to stair at me. It made me quite uncomfortable as I was the only one in the park. When I left he followed me the four blocks to my house, he parked 3 houses down and sat there for well over a half an hour before leaving. I have not been in any park after that. I know for a fact if you get caught in the Savannah's they will confiscate your equipment including your vehicle. I was hunting private property adjacent to the rail road tracks (with permission). A small plane buzzed me, shortly after cops were everywhere. Good thing I had a letter from the owner, and was able to contact the owner by phone. They did not ask me to leave, they told me to leave and never return. There were lots of threats, jail, taken equipment, loss of business license. They said I was in the wrong spot. I know where I was I had maps and GPS. In closing I go nowhere without permission. An old timer that said he has walked and hunted along the tracks, those days are long gone. You will be arrested just walking the tracks. Sorry, just a little angry.

There are horror stories when over zealous officials run amok, but there are also wonderful stories that show how important metal detecting is.

One of many such examples was provided by Warren D. (who goes by ROBOCOP as a tribute to his dad) and who recently searched and found a lost ring for a Chinese exchange student at FIT.

He provided this follow-up to illustrate a couple of points who was to be taken to dinner as a reward for searching for and finding the ring.
...
She told me when she lost the ring her college friends, all foreign exchange students said, Go ask that redneck over there with the metal detector maybe he can find it. I wear a straw cowboy hat on the beach, now I laughed.

I told her I was born in Brooklyn, New York. My dad was a NYC cop in Manhattan. I got my BS from FIT in 1972 and my MS from FIT in 1983 when I worked at the Space Center. I said tell your friends I have more degrees from FIT than they do. We both laughed. I told her about the old saying you can't tell a book by it's cover and it's probably been my motto going thru life. I said tell your friend's that they read me wrong and do they like to play poker?

She is a graduate student in Electrical engineering and she told me her major which I can't recall the exact technical terms but she said it is the technology they put in automobiles that senses nearby cars to have collision avoidance. I said that sounds like metal detecting. More laughs.

She was interested in the differences in my metal detectors. Why one worked better in the water than the other.

I told her about pulse induction versus VLF and multiple frequency and mineralization, etc.

Very pleasant person. A lot of misperceptions in this world. From all sides including me. At least we were able to talk ours away.


This is just one of many examples of rings and other valuables being found by detectorists, who also remove a lot of trash and even dangerous items.

Although people might judge people by appearances, detectorists are fine group of people who do a lot of good deeds but are often misjudged by those who do not participate in the hobby.

We need to educate the public and our elected officials.

Sephan, a detectorist who reads this blog, is an attorney.  He is the one that gave me the link to the city ordinances.  Here is his suggestion.

You might get a group together to do a petition to exclude metal detecting from these two provisions.

I am willing to put together a letter to send to the parks department if there are a good number of readers who will sign on to it.

Some have already called the city to indicate their support for allowing metal detecting in the parks.

If that is something you wish to do, please be organized, prepared and friendly and present your position concisely.  Remember, there are no provisions against metal detecting, even though that seems to be what is being enforced. 

I don't know how many tons of trash I've removed form parks in the past.  Also dangerous items such as knives and brass knuckles. 


On the Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions remain unchanged, but there is no question that gold will be found after the busy holiday weekend.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
 

5/26/14 Report - Memorial Day, Dug Fire Fighter Medal, and Prayer Medals Old and New

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

Fire Fighter Prayer Medal Dug Last Friday.

It is Memorial Day.  I was thinking of taking the day off.  It seems like a day meant for serious reflection.

I've learned a lot of history in the past year through genealogical research, and that has made history seem much more real and meaningful to me. 

This is one of the items that I dug Friday.  Obviously it is a Fire Department token or medal, but I have no idea if it is a local thing, where it comes from or how old it is.  I'd guess that it is not very old, although it was very encrusted before I cleaned it with acid.

Any ideas on this?  Let me know.

It is about the size of  silver dollar. 

The back of the medal has a prayer for fire fighters on it.  Not a bad fit for Memorial Day.

I think that people too often say that their "thoughts and prayers" are with so and so.  It has become too politically correct for my liking.  It is easy to say and sounds good in public, but I wonder how often the people that say it actually pray.  It has become so popular that I wouldn't be surprised if even atheist use it. 

This isn't the first prayer medal that I've found and shown.  I've found a few. 

You might remember a prayer medallion from a 1715 Fleet beach that I showed some time ago.   It was found back quite a few years ago.  I don't remember the date.






1715 Fleet Prayer Medallion.

That one is shown here.  It is a St. Francis of Assisi medallion, and the prayer on the back is known as the May the Lord Give You Peace prayer.

It still has faint traces of silver gilt on it.  

I've told this story before, but this medallion was so encrusted that I thought it was a coin.  It sat in a box of coins that needed to be cleaned for a long while before I discovered that it was not a coin.  Yes, it was that encrusted.

Inspect your finds when you get them home - even coins.

Translated from Latin the prayer reads, The Lord bless you and keep you, may He show His face to you and have mercy, May He turn His countenance to you and give you peace.

Thanks to Tom Guidus who originally sent me the translation of that prayer.

One medal that I found with a prayer on it is an AA medal which has the Serenity Prayer on it.  That one was found in a lake in Minnesota along with a variety of silver religious medallions.



I've heard from a number of detectorists lately, some from PSL and some from other areas.


Joe G. is one.  Joe has lived in Floridian for 5 years.   He said, I detect up and around Indialantic, Paradise, Melbourne beach. I used to detect up in New York when I lived up there, detecting a few parks at that time. When we were doing the parks, all of a sudden we were told we could not detect them by the park workers. So we stopped as soon as we were told this. But come to find out through the (GRAPEVINE), LOL. That the park workers were detecting it shortly afterwards, LOL. They wanted it all for themselves !

I've personally seen examples of that myself.   I have no evidence that is case with the PSL Parks personnel.  It does happen though. 

One time I was detecting a park just after a fair had just left.  The parks people turned on the sprinklers to both chase me off and uncover coins on the dusty fair grounds.  They were disappointed to learn that I had already done a good job of cleaning up.  There were literally rolls of coins in concentrated areas where the ticket booths were located.


Beach conditions have not changed on the Treasure Coast lately.  Still a calm surf.   There should be plenty of newly lost items out there as a result of all the holiday activities.

I think I'll quit there today even though I have a lot more to talk about. 

I hope there are others prepared to take action to preserve our freedom to metal detect.  

Remember,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/25/14 - Ring Found, Fishers Detecting Silver Bars at Five Feet, New Snorkel Mask and More on PSL Regulations

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


Before I really get started today, the lost ring in Ft. Lauderdale that I mentioned yesterday was found by a detectorist.  Thanks guys.  That is one more example of how detectorists benefit the public.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fisher organization has been testing a detector coil attached to Dolores, the remotely controlled underwater vehicle.  In tests the EM coil detected a test silver bar easily at 1.5 feet and could easily detect a silver bar at five feet.

They say their traditional hand-held detectors were only able to detect a silver bar about 24 inches beneath sand and mud.  Of course a magnetometer would not detect silver at all, so this is a big improvement.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

As I expected, the action on the part of one PSL parks worker to stop one detectorist has sparked considerable outrage.  I'm hoping, though, that we all understand that we are in the winning position, not only for ourselves but for society in general, and that all we need to do is educate to inspire the more rational motives of our public servants.

In doing my updates yesterday I might have deleted an important part of the original email that I received from Stephan.  Here it is.

...The detecting community better take action. Polite, respectful, and intelligent
explanations of our hobby are what will work the best. No diatribes or
anger. People are more willing to listen to reasoned arguments from
respected members of the community, so the more info given about your
profession, background, how you've helped people find lost objects, and
copies of such stories from the local papers, the more likely you will
be listened to.

At this point, I am recommending a brief cool-off period for reflection, followed by detectorists coming together for a concerted education effort.  I hope detectorists will come together like they did a couple of years ago to stop a proposed Florida statute.  I will be happy to use this blog for communication for any person, group or forum that wants to head up this effort.  This is not only a Port St. Lucie issue.  I have received emails from different areas of Florida where the issues are the same.

I underlined a few important phrases in Stephans email for emphasis.

The concern about detectorists digging is a common one that you will run into.  It is based upon the misconception that detectorists go around digging large holes.  People do not seem to realize that coins are detected only a few inches deep and that digging is not the preferred recovery technique, especially when detecting in lawns or parks. 

Probing is the preferred technique for those types of environments.  I, for one, use a screw driver, and rather than digging, I probe and plug, or simply pop the coin out of the earth.

I always have maintained that it is best to maintain a very low profile when detecting.  Shovels are not a good choice, and I don't know any detectorist that would use one in a park.  Don't use anything larger or more obvious than is necessary.  People will draw the wrong conclusion.

I don't dig in the water either.  I simply fan or scoop and sift.

If you don't dig, you are not likely to be in violation of any such  regulations any more than children playing in the sand with their sand shovels or a baseball batter who picks up dirt and rubs it on his bat (if they still do that now that bats aren't made of wood).  You get my point.

The city ordinances say, (c) No person shall dig or remove any sand, whether submerged or not, or any soil, rock, stones, trees, shrubs, or plants, down timber or other wood or materials, or make any excavation by tool, equipment, blasting, or other means or agency.

Someone walking in the park better not get sand or dirt on his shoes and track it into their car or truck and take it home.  That would certainly be "removing."  That phrase must mean "removing" from the park rather than simply "moving."  Heaven knows, my car floor shows that that happens simply from walking.  I have to clean it out almost every time I go to the beach. 

Blasting!? 

I don't want to sound ridiculous here, I just want to make it clear that there is always room for interpretation - and good judgment too!. 

Also the PSL ordinances say, No person shall dig in or otherwise disturb grass areas, nor in any way injure or impair the natural beauty or usefulness of any area.

I've already addressed digging, but when it comes to "disturbing" does walking on grass disturb the grass?  I'm sure that someone could make that case convincingly.  I'm sure that walking can contribute to killing the grass.  Otherwise, why do we have walks, they might argue.  Prairie dogs, as well as earth worms, aerate the earth and make it easier for plants to grow.  So is it harmful to loosen the earth?   I say not.  Then it is not disturbing, but rather enhancing.

Again, I'm not trying to be cute or ridiculous - just point out that a reasonable interpretation of the regulations is in order.   Some seem to think that detectorists dig big holes like dogs or kids.   Actually, for a detectorist, the less digging they have to do the better they like it. 

If these are indeed the ordinances being enforced, the detectorist that was not allowed to keep his detector with him should have been allowed to stay in the park with his detector as long as he did not "dig" or otherwise "disturb" grass areas or injure or impair the natural beauty of the park.  Dig or disturb seem to be two key words.

As we begin this Memorial Day holiday and remember the great sacrifices of our veterans, it is a good time to think about our freedoms and the need to continually protect them.  

Hitler started small, and you know where that went.

I spent a few hours Saturday watching WWII on the history channel.  Amazing and thought provoking.  Horrendous and unimaginable, yet real.

----------------------------------------------

Here is a new type of snorkel mask.  I'll probably have one of these before long.

Check it out.

http://www.hashslush.com/easybreath-snorkeling-mask/

 I hope swimming doesn't displace or disturb the water.  Sorry, couldn't resist.


There is no change in beach conditions on the Treasure Coast today.  Still a very small surf.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/24/14 Report - 4 PM UPDATE on PSL Park Detecting Prohibitions, Another Ring Returned, and Beach Conditions

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


First, detectorist needed in Ft. Lauderdale area to find lost ring on beach.   UPDATE 5/25: The ring has been recovered.

----------------------------------------------------------

I've updated this post a couple of times today.  Important developments were added about 4 PM on 5/24. 

-----------------------------------------------------------

I wanted to follow up on yesterday's post today.   Sometimes people think of detectorists as being the type of people they make fun of on TV.   People don't realize that detectorists are very different from that caricature.  There are many highly educated and very successful people involved in detecting as well as amateur historians and archaeologists that have made contributions to their field.  I am often impressed by the quality of people that I hear from.

The readers of this blog include engineers, attrorney's, teachers and experts from many different fields.  I have a Ph. D. and have worked in universities and provided consulting to fortune 500 companies, the US Navy, and schools and universities and have published in a variety of fields.  I just give that as one example.

As a result of yesterday's post, I heard from an attorney who read yesterday's post (Stephan S.), who looked up the city ordinances for us.

Here is the link to the ordinances that he provided.

https://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=13414

Thanks Stephen!


I also heard from one reader that goes by the moniker Joe Dirt.  Joe called  Mr. Keen, the Assistant Director of PSL Parks and Recreation.  Joe said that Mr. Keen was very courteous while I asked questions and explained my position on this new rule! He quoted Chapter 96.20 AND 96.21 of city code. He said it was news to him about excluding detectorists...

Thanks Joe!

At this point there seemed to be some confusion, however our friend Stephan took a closer look and found the following

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LATEST UPDATE: 3:55 PM 5/24/2014.

Here is what Stephan had to say after looking into it a little deeper.


Here are the two sections referred to by Mr. Keen. I've highlighted the pertinent subsections:

Sec. 96.20. Buildings and other property.

(a) No person shall willfully mark, deface, disfigure, injure, tamper with, displace or remove, any building, bridges, tables, benches, fireplaces, railings, paving or paving material, water lines or other public utilities or parts or appurtenances thereof, signs, notices, or placards, whether temporary or permanent, monuments, stakes, posts, or other boundary markers, or other structures, or equipment, park or recreation center property, or appurtenances whatsoever, either real or personal.

(b) No person shall fail to cooperate in maintaining restrooms and washrooms in a neat and sanitary condition. No person over the age of five years shall use the restrooms and washrooms designated for the opposite sex.

(c) No person shall dig or remove any sand, whether submerged or not, or any soil, rock, stones, trees, shrubs, or plants, down timber or other wood or materials, or make any excavation by tool, equipment, blasting, or other means or agency.

(d) No person shall construct or erect any building or structure of whatever kind, whether permanent or temporary in character, or run or string any public service utility into, upon, or across such lands, except on special written permit issued hereunder.

(e) Except for the city recreation center, no person shall expose or offer for sale any article or thing, nor shall he station or place any stand, cart, or vehicle for the transportation, sale, or display of any such article or thing. Exception is made as to any regularly licensed concessionaire, nonprofit organization, or recognized city league or organization when acting by and under the authority and regulation of the director with the approval of the city manager.

(f) No person shall paste, glue, tack, or otherwise post any sign, placard, advertisement, or inscription whatsoever, nor shall any person erect or cause to be erected any sign whatsoever on any public lands, highways, or roads adjacent to a park or recreation center without proper authorization by the director or chief of police.

(g) No person shall use any city park trash receptacle for the deposit of garbage or other refuse from their place of residence or business.

 

Sec. 96.21. Trees, shrubbery, and lawns.

(a) No person shall damage, cut, carve, transplant, or remove any tree or plant or injure the bark, or pick the flowers or seeds of any tree or plant; nor shall any person attach any rope, wire, or other contrivance to any tree or plant. No person shall dig in or otherwise disturb grass areas, nor in any way injure or impair the natural beauty or usefulness of any area.

(b) No person shall climb any tree or walk, stand, or sit upon monuments, vases, fountains, railings, fences, or gun carriages or upon any other property not designated or customarily used for such purposes.

(c) No person shall tie or hitch a horse or other animal to any tree or plant.

You might get a group together to do a petition to exclude metal detecting from these two provisions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks again Stephan.  So we cleared up the confusion.  There is no regulation against detecting, but there is a regulation against digging.

Stephan also provides a suggestion regarding a course of action for us.  We can take that up in the very near future.

I would be surprised if we can not make this work out well for both detectorists and the City Parks Department.

I'll be pleased to receive any communications from the Parks Department that they might want passed along.  They can also contact me to find detectorists to search for reported lost items.

In the past I've been able to find keys for a concessionaire that was totally out of business until the keys were found. 


Robocop wrote, This occurred last week in Melbourne Beach...

A FIT college exchange student from China lost her ring playing Frisbee in the water with friends.
She asked me for help, I tried but I had my dry sand detector with me, no luck.  I told her I would try again the next day with my Detector Pro Head Hunter PI detector and larger scoop.  I was able to recover it the next day at 6AM low tide.  She took me to dinner to repay me and she told me her mother back in China couldn't believe how caring and generous an American could be.
How's that for improving international relations.

Thanks Robotcop!  Excellent work!

That is the kind of thing detectorists do all of the time.  People need to know it.


On the Treasure Coast the surf is only one to two feet.  The beaches and shallow water conditions are generally poor, however there are a good number of targets.

It seems the beaches have been pretty busy lately and also the holiday weekend got off to a quick start.  There was a lot of recreational boating traffic already this morning, and I saw some recreational divers and fishermen. 

I saw good numbers of shiny new clad coins in the dry sand, and at one of those seldom detected hidden areas, also some green crusty clad and other things.

On the dry beach, I hit a gold ear ring less than a minute after turning my machine on at what I have previously described as a stop spot.

Where I was, the shallow water was pretty sandy.   The recent drops are the easiest right now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/23/14 Report - PSL Parks Halts Metal Detecting - Will You Let Our Hobby Be Banned

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

14K Ring Find
Mentioned
Yesterday.

Yesterday I talked about tracking down gold.  Here is the ring that I mentioned being found after following a path of older worn and crusted clad coins.


If we are not careful, metal detecting will not exist as a hobby in the future.  It seems it is always under attack somewhere.  Without a concerted effort by all involved, it will go extinct.

I understand that Brad Keen, Assistant Director of the City of Port St. Lucie Parks and Recreation, recently sent out an email to city park personnel indicating that metal detecting is no longer permitted in any area of the city parks.

One detectorists has been detecting the PSL city parks regularly for some time and is well known to many park personnel but Thursday was suddenly told that he could no longer metal detect in the city parks.  He was allowed to stay but was not allowed to detect.  It seems that there is either a new ordnance or they just decided to start enforcing an old ordnance.

I can not imagine why the city parks would not allow the recreational activity of metal detecting.  It can't be a safety issue because the parks not only allow but provide expensive facilities specifically for much more active and dangerous recreational activities.  Detecting is a favorite recreational activity of many law-abiding mature members of the community who provide many, perhaps unrecognized, benefits by their presence in the parks.

I hope that the city will learn more about metal detecting and the hobbyist who practice it and reevaluate their recent decision. 

Let them know what you think and how important this is to you.  Our governments need to be educated about the extent of the hobby and its many benefits to the "Treasure Coast" area and the state of Florida.   Always be kind, considerate and present and excellent image, if not for yourself, for the hobby.

If the treasure hunting/metal detecting groups can't come together, we'll be watching as our hobby disappears.

While looking into this a little, I ran across crime statistics for the PSL City Parks.  It isn't real up to date, but just a few of the parks were responsible for the majority of incidents.  (See chart.)  Always be aware of your surroundings while detecting.

You might remember the murder that occurred at Sportsman's Park back in 2012.

The last time I was at the beach I noticed broken auto glass on the ground.  Could have been a break in.  I haven't talked about that problem for a while, but as always, be careful.
























Here is an article about a pre Inca site in Peru.

http://www.peruviantimes.com/20/authorities-find-pre-inca-site-in-northern-piura-region/22181/

On the Treasure Coast we're going to have a few days one foot surf.  That will make water hunting easy.   Beach conditions will remain poor during that time.  Still, with the holiday and nice weather there will be some new losses on the beaches.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/22/14 - How To Track Gold On The Front Beach, Google Street View Beaches and Naples Florida Canals

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

Sample Google Street View Image Showing Beach at Rio Mar With Navigation Icons.

Memorial Day is coming up and people will be hitting the beaches.  In fact, there have been good numbers at some of our Treasure Coast beaches lately, but if you want to visit a new beach or two and want to get a preview of what it looks like before you make the drive, you can take a look at it by using Google Maps Street View.  That will give you a 3-D view of the beach and will allow you to use the navigation tools to look and move in all directions to get a good idea about what is there, including facilities, lay of the land, parking, etc.

Bill M. wrote and brought this to my attention.  He said,  Google just activated street view for every inch of beach in Florida.

This means you can now get a step by step view of any stretch of Florida beach.

For example, if you wanted to see what the beach in front of RioMar country club looked like, you can go to Google Maps, pull up Vero, zoom into RioMar, click the street view icon, and drag it onto the blue line at the beach.

It will show this: https://www.google.com/maps/@27.639677,-80.351071,3a,75y,95.47h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1scMeTCBCW-NPR5EgiQow2kw!2e0!3e5?hl=en-US

Then you can use your mouse to rotate, zoom, or move up and down the beach.

This isn't a real time view, but it is useful when doing research - especially for those out of the way or secluded beaches that may be difficult to reach.

Thanks Bill!

It is important to remember that Google Maps  is not a real-time view.  That means that you can not get an up-to-date idea about beach conditions, but you can get an good overall view.

I was talking about rut busters the other day, and this is a tool that can help you get an idea about some new beaches you might try. 


Here are some very up to date views of Treasure Coast beaches.

I visited three different beaches just yesterday around low tide.

The surf at this beach was down around two feet and the beach had filled more since my last photos.

I didn't bother to detect at this beach. It just didn't look worth it. 

There were a few shells here, and small sea glass.

Below is another beach a few miles away.   That is a more busy beach.

You can see the flat area below the slope.   I detected this beach briefly to give it a test.

There were a modern coins running for quite a distance near the bottom of the slope.  Not a huge amount of coins, but enough to keep it interesting. 

The modern coins here were a few inches deep. The signals weren't real loud and could easily be missed if you were moving too fast.

The first target I picked up was a fractional zinc penny.  It was so corroded only about half of it remained.  It obviously wasn't a recent drop.  Although totally worthless as a find, it was a quick indicator that helped me determine where I would continue the hunt.  By evaluating where it was found I got an idea of which direction to go to find better targets. 

Always try to determine if a find is part of a pattern.  If it is not a recent drop and is in the wet sand, it probably is. 

If it is a light target, such as a zinc penny, move up or down the slope slightly (most often down) as you proceed along the beach to see if you get into heavier or lighter targets.  (I've discussed the zig zaz pattern in the past.)

Make a mental map of where you are finding lighter and heavier targets, noting particularly the transition zones, both East and West and North and South.  Of course, moving from light to heavy target areas and continually evaluate and redefine the different areas according to what you find.

The next find was a green encrusted dime.  I was moving in the right direction.  Then a few more mixed coins.   I then know I'm in the zone and continuing to get a better idea of how things are distributed in the area.  Following the trail and moving towards where I would guess from an evaluation of the scatter pattern the heavier items are located, confirmation comes as a small gold ring pops up.

After checking for a possible cluster and not finding evidence of one, I moved on.

I showed the following beach a few times in the last few days.  It is the one that had some nice cuts that have been disappearing and which have now almost totally disappeared. 

I didn't bother detecting this treasure beach.

Overall, I'd say beach detecting conditions are poor for the treasure beaches, but some of the busier tourist and swimming beaches will produce a few coins and jewelry.  A little patience will pay off.


Naples Florida was the site of a network of canals dating back to around 1000 AD.

Here is the link to that story.

 

http://news.wgcu.org/post/tests-suggest-age-prehistoric-naples-canal

 

 

 On the Treasure Coast the surf will be decreasing down to around one foot.  We'll have a nearly flat ocean for a week or so if the surfing web sites are correct.  I'd try water or wet sand hunting at the swimming beaches.

 

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

 

 

 

5/21/14 - Lost and Found Rings, Super Bowl Ring, One Ring Not Found Yet, Sebastian Inlet History, and A Couple Rut Busters

 

 

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

A Tiffany engagement ring was lost in the water at Jacksonville Beach.  A year later it was found by a detectorist.  The detectorist noticed the serial number inscribed inside the ring and took it to a Tiffany store, which was able to identify the owners, who then got the ring back.



Rerturned Engagement Ring.
Source of photo and story: Link below.



Returned Super Bowl Ring
Source of photo and story: Link below.

A bottle of champagne was the reward given to the detectorist who returned the engagement ring.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/05/19/couples-engagement-ring-found-at-the-beach/20888344/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing11%7Cdl11%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D478272


One thing to notice in this story is that the ring was lost in the water and a year later found by the detectorist.  It is difficult to tell from the story, but it sounds like it was lost in the water but found on the beach.  That could man one of two things.  Either it was lost in very shallow water at high tide and found when the water went down, or it could have washed in from where it was lost.

Here is a story about a Super Bowl Ring that was lost AND found years and years before it was finally returned.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/05/19/couples-engagement-ring-found-at-the-beach/20888344/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing11%7Cdl11%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D478272

This one was originally found by eye while swimming.  I often remind people to keep their eyes open while detecting.  You can visually cover a lot more ground than you can cover with a detector coil.

Lost rings can be found a years or decades after they were lost.

Earlier this month I posted the description of a ring lost at Pepper Park.  I wanted to post that again since I have not heard that it has been found yet.

 It was lost Sunday, April 27, at Pepper Park.  The ring has 3 stones across the top, center stone is square and the stones on each side are round! White gold. If you find the ring please contact  crzy4stmpn@aol.com.


I heard a rumor that three gold coins were found a few weeks ago at Bathtub Beach.  That is all I know about that.


Here is a nice brief history of the modern-day Sebastian Inlet district.

http://www.sebastianinletdistrict.com/Inlet_History.html


One reader wrote and said they were in a rut. I suspect others are as well.  Conditions haven't been real good for quite a while.

Here is one rut buster.   Instead of going out to find the easy spots, go out and look for obstacles.   By obstacles I mean things that prevent most people from detecting a specific area and figure out how to overcome those obstacles.

I don't hold much back, but there are some tricks to this that I'm not ready to spell out just yet, but any beach has some small areas where nobody will detect, and those little areas continue to accumulate items day after day, year after year, while all of the other areas are cleaned out on a daily basis.  That is as much as I'll give on that right now.


Bruce Walking Turtle Nightingale?  It seems there were hermaphrodite nurses among the Native Americans in the 16th Century.  At least that was one early explorers interpretation.

http://floridamemory.com/items/show/254323?id=17

I've mentioned the Florida Memory Project before, but as I was recently reminded by one reader, it provides a wealth of interesting and useful materials.


Lights, Camera, Action!  Here is another but more obvious rut-buster.  When you are anywhere, especially at the beach, look to see where the action is.  The more extreme the action, the better.

Some of my best finds have come from places where there was concentrated extreme action, often of a commercial nature. 

For example, is there a place where jet skis are rented, and where inexperienced awkward people get onto and off of a jet ski for the first time and are doing all kinds of foolish things and falling all over the place.


That reminds me, I received another notice from a TV production company planning on doing a treasure hunting type of program.  I thought about possibly doing that one.  It is a bit different.


The surf on the Treasure Coast will be decreasing over the day and for the next couple of days.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/20/14 Report - What You Can Learn About Beach Detecting From Hunting Gold Nuggets, Great White and Magic Grapeshot

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


The higher surf didn't help conditions any.  It was hitting the beach straight on instead of at an angle, which resulted in more filling.  It wasn't that much higher anyway.

One Treasure Coast Beach Just After High Tide Monday Afternoon.

I showed this beach the day before yesterday.  There isn't much left of the cuts now.  Notice the sea weed, which indicates that the beach is filling.

Another Similar Treasure Coast Beach Monday Afternoon.

This one is filling in too.  Again, notice the sea weed.

It just goes to show once again that the direction of the surf is as important as the size of the surf.


I've often said how good it is to try different types of detecting.  Most people who read this blog detect beaches or shallow ocean waters a lot.  Although I know there are some, most of this blog's readers do not hunt gold in streams, however, if you ever get the chance or opportunity, try it out, because you'll have some fun, might find something, and perhaps most importantly, will learn something that will open your eyes to new opportunities and supply you with new useful skills.

There are many web sites dealing with hunting gold in or around a river or creek.   Here is a little one that in a few short paragraphs provides some helpful tips.

http://voices.yahoo.com/where-look-gold-streams-5724340.html?cat=11

I'll summarize a few of the key points from this article that apply to beach or shallow water ocean detecting.

1. Look around bends in the stream.  Why?   Because the water slows and gold will settle and collect there.  

Notice any familiar principles?   Yes, the same thing happens on a beach.  Where the water slows, gold and other heavy items will settle. 

Understanding the movement of water and where things will collect will help you on a beach too.

2.  Work the banks, not just the water.  Why?  The stream bed and water level will change over time and flood waters can drop gold on the banks.

That happens on a beach too.  The same basic forces are at work, the force of moving water, changing water levels, and don't forget gravity.

3.  Hunt around obstructions, such as boulders or cracks in the bedrock where gold will accumulate. 

Do the same in the shallow water or on the beach, especially in the wet sand or where the water has once been.

In the water or on a beach, rocks or other obstructions such as jetties or sea groins will also collect targets.

4.  The article also says, The most important step in panning a stream for gold is to develop a plan. Looking for gold in random place after random place can be frustrating and is an inefficient use of your time.

That is something I always teach here.  Randomly hunting is what many beginners do, but if you are going to become more effective, you'll develop a plan that guides your hunting.   As you hunt more, your plan should become more detailed and systematic.

I know the above web site is not the best site in the world for giving the details on how to find gold in a stream, but it quickly shows how one type of hunting can help you better understand forces and develop techniques that will help you become more productive no matter where you detect.


Here is a video of diver who encountered a Great White Shark off of Vero.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/Scuba-diver-takes-on-great-white-shark-in-Florida/260293699851/Comcast/TopVideos/?cid=sf_vidtray


Here is a web site showing the excavation of a 1700s pirate hangout up the Belize river called the Barcadares.   This is a new piece in LiveScience but is actually a rehash of previously published material.  Nonetheless, you might want to take a look.

http://www.livescience.com/15865-photos-pirates-caribbean.html


Magic grapeshot?   Archaeologists imagine that 18th century grape shot found buried in post holes under a foundation of a Caribbean plantation were magical in nature.  That seems unlikely to me.  What do you think?

Get the details here.

http://www.livescience.com/45696-artifacts-unearthed-in-caribbean.html


Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

5/18/14 Report - Carpet of Treasure and Rare Windows of Opportunity & Poll Results and Conclusions

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

There is an old saying that goes make hay when the son shines.  That makes an important point for metal detecting.   There are times when the window of opportunity opens and the conditions are just right and there is treasure everywhere.  The thing to know is that the same window of opportunity can slam shut just as quickly as it opened.  The window can slam shut in hours or even minutes.

I posted what Clint L. told about one of those times when there was a carpet of treasure in my 5/7/14 post.  He told about when the long shore currents uncovered hundreds of coins.  If you haven't been lucky enough to stumble onto one of those rare events, you might find it hard to believe.  I understand that, but there are times like Clint described, rare as they are, when it seems there are more targets than you can dig.  That is how thick the targets can be.

In my years I've run into about a half dozen times when there were so many targets that I couldn't recover them in a few hours.  I've told about at least one of those times when in a four hour period I picked up over twenty dollars in face value of quarters alone.  That doesn't count other coins or targets.  That was in the shallow water and I quit after four hours and came back the next day and worked the same area again for four hours with very similar results. 

It all came to an end though when I was working the water the second day and as I got ready to quit for the day, even though I was far from cleaning it all out, and the sky got dark, the wind changed, the waves picked up, and that changed everything.  When I returned the next day, it was all gone.  The carpet of targets had disappeared.  That is the way it works some times.

When I told the guy that made my detector, he said I shouldn't have quit until I got it all.  He was right.

There was much more to be found.  What I should have done is worked as fast as I could as long as I could until it was cleaned out.  I only put in two four-hour days, and I knew there was a lot left.  I know I didn't get near half of it.   I should have dug as fast as I could and worked as long as I could until it was cleaned out or the window closed.   I shouldn't have been so casual.  I should have known that the window of opportunity would close, and it did - way before I had picked up anywhere near all the targets.

That is the lesson I learned and want to pass along today.   There are those rare opportunities.  They might only come along every few years, but they do happen, and when they happen you need to be ready to make the most of it. 

Those rare events don't always come after a hurricane or big storm.  The one I just described above was not after a big storm.  That is something to remember.

Some of those that I've seen have been after hurricanes though.

I'd say I've encountered about six of those rare events over about thirty years.   Some are bigger and better than others, but it is truly something to experience when it does happen.

The carpet of targets that I just described I had pretty much to myself too.  I didn't see anyone else working that area at the time.  There was a big cut, but it wasn't the biggest cut I'd ever seen by far, but it was in the right place, and the results were amazing.  You seldom see a carpet of targets where the targets are so thick that you are temped to quit detecting and start scooping, but you need to realize that it does happen and it can all disappear as quickly as it appeared.

The thing that gives you the best chance of discovering one of those rare events, is being in the field a lot.  The more you are out there the better your chances will be.  You also need to be very aware of beach conditions.  That will help you to make the most of your time and give you the best chance of hitting those rare events.  That is one reason I do this blog.  If you keep on top of conditions as much as possible, you will be able to pick your times more effectively and be in the best position to be there when the window of opportunity opens.



The most recent poll has concluded and the results are in.

The most obvious thing is that for the first half of 2014, the most favorite find for most people has been modern jewelry (42%).   That isn't at all surprising given that we haven't had good beach conditions for finding older things. 

One thing you have to remember about my polls is that some people who live and detect outside of the Treasure Coast and Florida are included.

The second most favorite find this year has been US coins (19%).  I've shown some nice coins that have been dug this year.

Third was the "other" category (16%) which can include anything that isn't listed, such as foreign coins other than treasure coins, tokens, etc. etc. 

Next were US relics or artifacts.  I've posted some of those this year too.  A previous blog poll showed that a good number of readers have been working inland sites. 

Only two people reported finding a treasure coin as their favorite find, and two a shipwreck artifact as their favorite find this year.

One of the things I am most interested in looking at when I conduct a poll on finds, is how my beach conditions ratings match the finds that are made.  This poll seems to me to validate my beach conditions ratings.  The beach conditions ratings in 2014 so far have mostly been "poor."  Since the ratings are meant to give an idea of the chances of finding old treasure coins and artifacts, they seem to have been fairly accurate.  Conditions have routinely been poor and there have been few of that type of find.

I did a poll back after Sandy, and then we saw that good numbers of treasure items were found in a relatively short period of time -  much more than have been found all of this year.  Again, that supports my ratings, which were up to at least a 3 for a good number of days during and after Sandy.

Overall, I think the poll was very helpful and generally supported what I have been saying in this blog.  I'm pleased with the extent to which my conditions ratings are reflected in reported finds.  I'm still working to further refine my beach conditions rating system.  

You probably realize that when I don't post a beach conditions rating, that means that there is no significant change.  I get tired of posting "poor" ratings for weeks on end, and that has been how it has been this year.  If I see that there is sufficient reason to post an upgrade, I'll certainly do that.


The one thing I'm watching right now is the predicted six foot surf for Monday and Tuesday.  The high tides are still pretty high too.  The only problem is the predicted wind and surf direction, which I wish was going to be more from the North.


I noticed that the blog hit counter now shows over 3/4 million hits.

At the end of this post are the raw poll results.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

Modern jewelry.	33 (42%)
US coin.	15 (19%)
Shipwreck cob or treasure coin.	2 (2%)
Spanish shipwreck artifact.	2 (2%)
US relic or artifact	9 (11%)
Non-metallic find.	4 (5%)
Other	13 (16%)