Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.
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| Old Florida Tourist Brochure |
I found a good research resource the other day. It is the State University of Florida library archives. They have a lot of old miscellaneous stuff.
One example is this brochure which appears to me to be from the twenties or thirties.
Below is one page out of the brochure which states, Caches of pirate gold are still found occasionally on Amelia Island, where buccaneers of old careened their ships and held their revels.
This is a tourist thing, yet there is probably some truth in it, and might be worth a little further research.
Here is the link if you want to read the brochure. It is pdf and takes a little time to load.
http://digitool.fcla.edu/R/KSLA4HA2YKM8VSJKLU12BFQSC8PR811K71KQFLBY9F1MQ92H18-01054?func=search
You can also find other kinds of things in the archives, including detailed academic papers. One that you might find interesting is a history thesis for the Univeristy of North Florida by Cormac O'Riordan, The 1795 Rebellion in East Florida.
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Reading is one good way to get new detecting leads. Another is to be alert while driving. I mentioned a couple of small beaches near a causeway bridge the other day. I'm told those two beaches are hit regularly by detectorists.
A couple of things caught my attention as I drove by. First was two models trying to do handstands at the water's edge while being photographed. It looked like a professional shoot.
The activity caught my attention because that is the type of behavior that causes a lot of losses. Some beaches attract older and more sedentary crowds that don't lose a ton of stuff. Younger and more active crowds tend to lose more. As a detectorist I am always alert to things like that.
Another thing I noticed right away was the situation of one of the beaches. There were concrete blocks at the edge of the beach where the beach was steep and eroding. Sometimes while most of the ocean beaches are not doing much, you can find other spots that are situated differently that are eroding.
Good timing can lead to good finds even when a beach is over-hunted. If you are at the right place at the right time, it doesn't matter. If you are there right after something is lost or if you are there right after something washes out of the bank, you have a good shot at it.
I've seen people lose valuable items. I've been here when it occurred. I've also seen people on their hands and knees hunting newly lost items. You can help those people.
One fellow that I knew, would sit where he could see out over a busy beach and watch what type of activities took place at different beach locations. He would often see someone lose and item and offer to find it for them, but he got a good idea of what type of activities took place at different locations. When you see it done once (such as the photo shoot), it probably happens at the same location at other times.
I used to frequently hunt a couple of beaches that you will often see in TV advertisements or other TV programs and movies.
If you ever wondered why the sand along the Florida East Coast travels south when the Gulf Stream travels north, here it is. Sorry I lost track of the source after I clipped it.
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Well I think the mystery item that I've been posted has now been identified with remarkable specificity. I'd say it is a Khukuri tie pin.
A Khukuri knife is a curved Nepalese knife. Here is a link.
http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/catalog/product.php?id=313037fe4d5
Thanks to Ian A. for that link. Looks like the item might have had a chain and/or a scabbard at one time.
Ian's British coaked sheave is still one of my favorite finds and mystery items.
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Nothing exciting about Treasure Coast beach conditions. We'll have about a two-foot surf.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net
