Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
Preserve the story. That is the topic that stuck in my mind the past couple of days.
I was watching Antiques Roadshow and they were talking about a chair that was owned by Ginger Rogers. The chair wasn't worth much except for the fact that it was owned by the movie star, which increased the value many times. The expert told the chair's owner to preserve the story and all the documentation that they could find because the documentation would add to the value of the chair.
Provenance can add to the economic value of a coin or other artifact. An item can be worth more when you can prove that it was owned by a famous person or it was a part of an important historic event, but the story surrounding an object can increase the value of a object in many ways - not just monetarily.
I was watching Antiques Roadshow and they were talking about a chair that was owned by Ginger Rogers. The chair wasn't worth much except for the fact that it was owned by the movie star, which increased the value many times. The expert told the chair's owner to preserve the story and all the documentation that they could find because the documentation would add to the value of the chair.
Provenance can add to the economic value of a coin or other artifact. An item can be worth more when you can prove that it was owned by a famous person or it was a part of an important historic event, but the story surrounding an object can increase the value of a object in many ways - not just monetarily.
Yesterday I decided to start this post, but I didn't finish it. It hadn't marinated long enough. Today I'll get it started.
The first question is what story? What is the story that should be preserved?
There is a story connected with every find - probably more than one. The story might not be obvious at first. You might have to do some research or study to discover the story. You might have to think about the find, how it came about and what it means to you.
The story might be about the history of the object, including things like why it was made, how it was used or how it ended up where it was found, or the story might be more about you and how you made the find or what the find means to you.
The story might be about the history of the object, including things like why it was made, how it was used or how it ended up where it was found, or the story might be more about you and how you made the find or what the find means to you.
Why preserve the story?
There are a lot of possible reasons. I've already suggested some of those. There might be an economic incentive. The story might be more about you than the object though. The story might be about a time and place in your life. It might communicate something about yourself. It might be something that is remembered by you and your family for years to come.
There are a lot of possible reasons. I've already suggested some of those. There might be an economic incentive. The story might be more about you than the object though. The story might be about a time and place in your life. It might communicate something about yourself. It might be something that is remembered by you and your family for years to come.
One thing I can tell you for sure is that I never regretted keeping records, but I have regretted not keeping better records.
I never guessed that thirty years later I would enjoy looking at my old metal detecting records. I still learn new things from old finds as well as my records.
I never guessed that thirty years later I would enjoy looking at my old metal detecting records. I still learn new things from old finds as well as my records.
Things that didn't seem important at the time, might seem important years later, and if not important, at least interesting.
It seems that older people, myself included, like to think back about the old days. You can look back and understand things in a way that you couldn't at the time. You have a new more complete perspective. It can be informative, and it can be funny or interesting. You might not guess that now.
I found a good post on the FamilySearch blog that you might find helpful. It gives some good tips on how to keep memories alive. The title of the post is Preservation Week—Helping Us Keep the Memories of Our Life Alive. Those memories are not just for you. They are also for your family, and possibly your friends, and maybe even generations to come.
The post gives some good suggestions on how to store and protect your collections. Paper deteriorates, especially in Florida. The hear and humidity takes a big toll. If you collect books, postcards, stamps or ephemera of any kind, you should be well aware of how paper deteriorates in hot humid weather. Bugs can also be a problem.
Don't rely on digital storage. Devices change rapidly. Those nice digital photos and records that you have on your electronic devices might not be accessible when those devices fail or become obsolete.
Here is the link. I think it is well worth reading.
https://familysearch.org/blog/en/preservation-weekhelping-memories-life-alives/
The post gives some good suggestions on how to store and protect your collections. Paper deteriorates, especially in Florida. The hear and humidity takes a big toll. If you collect books, postcards, stamps or ephemera of any kind, you should be well aware of how paper deteriorates in hot humid weather. Bugs can also be a problem.
Don't rely on digital storage. Devices change rapidly. Those nice digital photos and records that you have on your electronic devices might not be accessible when those devices fail or become obsolete.
Here is the link. I think it is well worth reading.
https://familysearch.org/blog/en/preservation-weekhelping-memories-life-alives/
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Back in June of 2013 I had posted a coupled brief notes relative to George Orwell's book 1984 and NSA hacking. NSA introduces vulnerabilities into cell phone networks worldwide so they can monitor them. A problem with doing that is that once the vulnerabilities have been introduced, others can make use of those vulnerabilities, including what you might call bad actors. It is therefore highly possible, if not likely, that the Russian hacking that has recently been the topic of endless news programs, if not made rediculously easy by the highly publicized poor security practiced by high ranking government officials, would have occurred through exploitation of vulnerabilities actually introduced by NSA.
For more information on those topics, I suggest the following.
https://theintercept.com/2014/12/04/nsa-auroragold-hack-cellphones/
https://nsa.gov1.info/dni/2017/index.html
https://nsa.gov1.info/utah-data-center/
Besides the need for treasure hunters to be broadly informed, they should also be aware that while treasure maps and codes were at one time a bigger part of treasure hunting, electronics now play a huge roll. Pirates once sailed the seven seas, now pirate surf the net.
As you undoubtedly know, every major commercial venture in the world wants your browsing data and major companies and other bad actors alike are eager to sell whatever data they can collect. Disney, collects tons of data on their customers. They can tell you the day and time that you entered any of their parks for years and years. Their magic bands do more than facilitate the customer experience.
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Back in June of 2013 I had posted a coupled brief notes relative to George Orwell's book 1984 and NSA hacking. NSA introduces vulnerabilities into cell phone networks worldwide so they can monitor them. A problem with doing that is that once the vulnerabilities have been introduced, others can make use of those vulnerabilities, including what you might call bad actors. It is therefore highly possible, if not likely, that the Russian hacking that has recently been the topic of endless news programs, if not made rediculously easy by the highly publicized poor security practiced by high ranking government officials, would have occurred through exploitation of vulnerabilities actually introduced by NSA.
For more information on those topics, I suggest the following.
https://theintercept.com/2014/12/04/nsa-auroragold-hack-cellphones/
https://nsa.gov1.info/dni/2017/index.html
https://nsa.gov1.info/utah-data-center/
Besides the need for treasure hunters to be broadly informed, they should also be aware that while treasure maps and codes were at one time a bigger part of treasure hunting, electronics now play a huge roll. Pirates once sailed the seven seas, now pirate surf the net.
As you undoubtedly know, every major commercial venture in the world wants your browsing data and major companies and other bad actors alike are eager to sell whatever data they can collect. Disney, collects tons of data on their customers. They can tell you the day and time that you entered any of their parks for years and years. Their magic bands do more than facilitate the customer experience.
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The surf is smooth and the tides are moderating. The water should be pleasant.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
