4/10/15 Report - To Clean Coins Or Not. Places Where Coins Are Lost. SAR At Battle of Okeechobee Reenactment

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

Yesterday I talked about marginal signals.  Marginal signals for good targets are often confused with noise.  What I wanted you to know is that with practice you can learn to tell the difference between many of those marginal signals produced by good targets and most noise.

I really liked the linked articles I gave you about coin patinas and toning in recent days.  They really contained a lot of good information.

A lot of the time it is hard to decide if you want to clean a coin or not.  My best advice is when in doubt, don't.  You can always put it off, but once you clean a coin there is no going back.

The good thing about waiting is that while you wait you might learn more about how to do it properly and safely and you might be more informed to make a better decision about if you should do it at all.

Dug coins are a little different than non-dug coins.  Many dug coins have been through rough treatment in the natural environment or have accumulated a good bit of surface dirt or corrosion.  Those that are heavily corroded can't be damaged much by a little cleaning.  Yet I'm not advising that.  It is a case by case decision.

As one of the articles pointed out, value is partly determined by the coins attractiveness, and beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.  Some like their coins one way, perhaps as found, and others might like them clean and shiny.

There are also those rare times when you find a coin in excellent condition.  I've dug coins in the water that were near mint and still in a protective plastic case.  Others that must have been dropped very recently were still in lustrous condition.

I really like some patinas.  The nice gun-metal blue of silver coins found in Northern fresh water lakes is one of my favorites.   I also like some rainbow patinated old silver coins.   For silver cobs, I like enough of the patina left to highlight the details.  I like some of that on old silver jewelry too.

Anyhow, to sum it up, when in doubt, don't clean.   There is no harm in waiting until you are better informed to make a good decision and better equipped to do a better job. 

Practice on old junk coins that can't be done any harm.

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The St. Lucie County Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution  participated in the reenactment of the Battle of Okeechobee.  The reenactment was held February 28th and March 1. 

One of the many interesting things you could see were the U.S. soldiers wearing large leather caps which were used to feed and water horses.  The Seminole tribe also participated in colorful Seminole costume and provided horses.

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You've been there.  Taking off your shoes, emptying your pockets, lap top in one bin, tooth paste, cosmetics, liquids in a plastic bag.  Air port security is a mess. 

...the Transportation Security Administration, which last year collected almost $675,000 in spare change left behind by travelers... While 2014 represented the biggest lost-change haul for the TSA, it's collected several hundred thousand dollars in unclaimed money during each fiscal year since 2008. All together, forgotten loose change at American airports has amounted to more than $3.5 million in the past seven years.

Coins are always lost where there is chaos and confusion.

From the same article...

One dedicated coin hunter told The New Yorker magazine since the iPhone rolled out in 2007, he's picked up an average of $95 per year from New York's sidewalks, or 63 percent more than in the two decades before that.

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/No-chump-change-TSA-netted-675K-in-lost-coins-299034311.html

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It looks like the Treasure Coast is in for a week or two of very calm surf.

The Lagoon has some white water this afternoon.  Waves from the Southeast. 

I have some neat photos for you, but didn't have time to upload them today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net