8/31/17 Report - One Very Strange Dug Coin. Hurricane Irene. The Most Popular TBR Metal Detector Brand is...

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

What is this dug coin?  Find out below.

I made a mistake the other day that I corrected.  I originally posted that the year the gold box was found was 2001.  It was actually 2003.  I went back and corrected that after Bruce B. brought my attention to the error. 

I make more than my share of mistakes.  But it isn't all bad.  I often learn from my mistakes, and sometimes what I learn is totally unrelated to the original mistake.

Just the other day I was hoping to run across a particular ring  to illustrate the rapid rate of silver corrosion.  I didn't run across the ring, but ran across some Jefferson nickels and noticed one that was very thin.  I thought I might be able to use it to illustrate how quickly things can corrode, so I chose another nickel for comparison and took the following photo.

Edge of Thin Nickel Shown Beside a Normal Nickel

I was too quick once again.  After looking at the thin qnickel a little more, I don't think it showed normal beach corrosion.  Here it is.

Very Thin Jefferson Nickel.

I've seen dug coins that were corroded this much and more, I just don't think this is normal beach corrosion.  If it is not from one of my experiments, I'd say it came from some highly acidic soil like that found among rotting mangrove leaves.

Remains of Date Found on Quarter.

You can see the date of the thin quarter at the upper right of the photo.  It is 1962.

But here comes the surprise.  After I looked at the comparison nickel I noticed that it is even more strange.  Here it is

Very Strange 1956 Nickel.

That big lump by Jefferson's chin looks to me like it has to be a mint error.  But that isn't the worst o it.  The photo at the top of this blog shows the reverse of the same 1956 Nickel.  Now that is a real mess of a coin.  There is only the faintest shape of Monticello.

After doing a little research, my opinion is that this nickel is a die cap strike error.  What do you think?

I know you might not be able to tell from a photo, but my opinion is that there is no way that the globs are added to the planchet after minting.

The JimsCoins web site (see link below) says, When a die cap error is occurring, the dies continue to strike more coins even though a coin is capped around one of the dies. If the coin is capped around the obv. die, the coins stuck with that die will appear blank or have varying degrees of mushyness on the obv. due to the obverse die being obstructed. If the cap stays on indefinitely, eventually it will wear through the planchet and the coins struck by that die will become less and less obstructed causing a "late-stage" capped die strike where the image is less distorted.

Here is the example that the web site shows.

Below is the link to Jim's error coin web site.  Seems very useful.

http://www.jimscoins.com/error_coin_examples.php

If there are anyone that can offer an informed opinion on the possible error coin, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

So what is my message?  1.  Research can lead you to many unexpected interesting ideas and facts.  2. It might be worth taking a good look at your old dug coins.  I don't know how I skipped over this one.  I probably just though it was a badly corroded coin before I looked at it a little better.  3. Even modern coins can be interesting.  4. Metal detecting is a great hobby that always presents something new for you to learn.

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The most recent blog poll has concluded and the results are in.  The brand of metal detector that is most used by the 106 people who responded to the blog poll is Minelab.  The question was, "What metal detector brand do you use most often these days."

As you can see from the above chart, 40% reported using Minelab, 26% Garrett, 16% Whites, 9% Fisher, 4% Ex Deus, and 1% Bounty Hunter, Teknetics, Tesoro, and Other.

I"m not surprised that Minelab is the leader.  That is what you see a lot on the beaches - mostly Excaliburs and CTX 3030s.  Garrett is a strong second, with Whites and Fisher following.  I've used all four of those brands at one time or another.  I also used custom made detectors as much.

My first serious detecting was a Whites, then I started doing a lot of water detecting after that with a Fisher 1280, then used some custom detectors made by Steve Noga and then Herb MacDonald for a lot of years.  I don't know what happened to Steve, but I know Herb is gone.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Harvey is going away after doing a lot of damage down around Texas.  The one to watch now is Irma, which is already a hurricane and expected to be a major hurricane before long.

They don't usually get that strong that far out.  The times I visited St. Lucia, the natives always told me they never get hurricanes.  This might be different.

Hopefully that one will stir some sand but not do anybody a lot of harm.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/30/17 Report - U. S. Geological Survey Web Site That Shows Areas Expected To Undergo Coastal Change Events. Harvey and Tropical Storm Ten Coastal Change Area Maps.

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

U. S. Geogloical Survey Coastal Change Hazards Portal
Source: See link below.

Here is a great tool for identifying coastal areas likely to significantly erode.  It is the U. S. Geological Survey Coastal Change Hazards Portal.  The above picture shows the areas identified for coastal change due to Topical Storm Ten.  The bright red shows a high (97% probability of storm-induced collision and specific areas of South Carolina.  A good portion of the South Carolina beaches is marked.  If you go to the site, you can zoom in for a more detailed map and more specific information.

Here is the link

https://marine.usgs.gov/coastalchangehazardsportal/

Texas is obviously going to have a lot of erosion - both coastal and otherwise.  I hate to think of the disaster as a metal detecting opportunity because the human loss and suffering is the highest priority, but this is a metal detecting/treasure hunting blog.  I'd encourage everyone to think of the human needs in Texas first and perhaps contribute to the relief effort in some way if you can.  I always end up passing up some of the best metal detecting opportunities during hurricanes because I think there are more important things to do.  There are people that need help.  We can, however learn a few things from the unfortunate event.  Earth and sand will be moved and historic items will be exposed that should be recovered before they are lost.  Despite what some would have you believe, they won't last forever and in many cases the archaeological context has been destroyed.

Using the U. S. Geological Survey Coast Change Hazards Portal, here is a look at the Texas coast.

U. S. Geological Survey Coastal Change Portal Showing Texas Coast.

As you can see, much of the Texas coast is in danger of inundation or overwash.

Below I zoomed in on an area near Corpus Christie Bay.

Area Near Corpus Christie Bay
Source: U. S. Geological Survey Coastal Change Portal

I'll added the link to my reference list.  You will find on the first page under the poll, surf and tides, and followers.  

This is one very useful tool.  You can watch it for future Florida coastal events.  

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Unfortunately Harvey hasn't moved much yet.

The system out by the Canary Islands has a 90% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours. It could be headed our way.


On the Treasure Coast we have a one to two foot surf.  The wind will be from the north this morning, shifting back to the south later in the day.  The tides are small now.

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The blog poll is progressing nicely.  Almost 100 people have responded so far.  It would be nice to get that number.  Only a short time left to respond.

You might want to play around with the Coastal Change Portal a little.  I had some other things to post today, but decided to put them off for another day.

I was looking for an old find and ran across what appears to me to be a strange error coin.  I also found some other good web sites.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/29/17 Report - Treasure Coast Beach Conditions. Civil War Submarine. Peru's History. Snooping. Tropical Storm Situation.

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

John Brooks Beach This Morning Just Before Low Tide.

I took a look at a few beaches this morning to see what was going on.  As you can see from the picture above, the surf was near flat.

High Tie Line Showing Shells Pushed Up By Recent High Tide.

Mushy Beach Front North of John Brooks.

John Brooks Looking North.

The beaches in the area of John Brooks were mushy.  In the above picture you can see the old cut and the new lighter colored sand that accumulated in front of the cut.

Detectorist This Morning At Fredreck Douglas.

This detectorist got caught by the Treasure Guide Cam this morning around low tide.

Overall, beach detecting conditions remain poor.

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Researchers say they’ve solved one of the most enduring mysteries of the American Civil War: what caused the puzzling demise of the H.L. Hunley, the first combat submarine in history to sink an enemy warship...

It looks like the explosion that sank the USS Housatonic could have also been responsible for the sinking of the Hunley.

Here is the link for more about that.

http://www.nature.com/news/scientists-solve-mystery-of-us-civil-war-submarine-1.22447

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Archaeologists exploring Peru’s pre-Colombian past recently unearthed a glimpse of a less prominent chapter in the Andean country’s history - the remains of 16 Chinese labourers who toiled in the country over 100 years ago...

Here is that link.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-peru-archaeology-idUKKCN1B504L?il=0

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Google’s trademark mobile phone may be appropriately named, the “Android.” Some privacy experts warn that consumers are being spied on, fleeced by intrusive advertisers, and their whereabouts tracked, all through cell phones.

Android phone users beware.

Google has effectively turned millions of its users’ smartphones into listening devices that can record and store conversations not meant for Google’s ears...

Here is that link.

http://www.wnd.com/2017/08/how-google-secretly-records-your-private-conversations/print/

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Harvey is going to go north, as is Ten.  The one that has the best chance of affecting us is still over by the Canary Islands.

There is one day left to respond to the most recent poll.

Come together to support relief efforts in Texas.  

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/28/17 Report - Famous 1715 Fleet Find From the Past. More on Silver and Gold Rings. Silver Corrosion and Wear. Storm Situation.

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

Famous Find From the 1715 Fleet
Photo submittted by Darrel S.

Darrel S.sent the above and following photos, about which he said, I remember when Capt. Jon Wilson found the gold box with these items inside near the Cabin Wreck. Steve Hancock received one of the rings, Jon got the necklace, state got the box, AND TAFFI GOT THE CROSS (displayed in their Sebastian Museum.)

It isn't a recent find. Darrel also said, The gold box with cross, necklace, cross, and rings was found 6/1/03.  [I originally posted 01, but the correct year is actually 03.]

 The photos are Darrel's personal photos, which he said were originally taken in the Fisher lab in Sebastian.

In the past couple of posts, I've been talking about intertwined or interlinked rings.  That discussion started with a couple of silver rings found by John C. along with a couple of cobs.  

The rings shown in the above and following picture have a very common design that I might describe as a twisted rope design.  Three gold twisted rope bands make one ring that has a gold setting with emeralds.  

Here is a closer picture of that.

Gold Ring Found by Captain Jon Wilson.
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

The twisted rope design is a very common design still used today.  You'll see that type of ring in silver and gold and other metals.

Thanks much to Darrel S. for the great pictures.


John C., after sending me the photos of the intertwined rings that were found with a couple of cobs, also sent me the following picture of a very thin silver ring and said, Some may be thinking, a silver wire ?  No it's what's left of a very badly worn silver ring .I guess it depends on the original size, but how many years does it take for a ring to become so badly worn ?

Thin Silver Ring.
Find and photo by John C.

Of course gold is not subject to the same type of corrosion as silver.  Some silver cobs found on the beaches are worn very flat and thin - by my estimation, sometimes to less than half the original weight.  The above ring is certainly worn down a lot, but I suspect was originally fairly thin to begin with. You can often find a joint on rings like that where they were cut and soldered together.

I think this kind of silver wear and corrosion can take place surprisingly quickly.  I think that kind of corrosion can take place in a matter of a few decades.  If I remember, and I run across the examples I'm thinking of, I might post them in the next few days.

Not long ago (8/3/17 post) I showed a paper thin silver Roosevelt dime that was found on a beach.  It is shown below.  I have others that are literally paper thin, and when I say literally, I mean it.

Paper Thin Silver Dime.

My first possible reale find was what I would call a razor.

Obviously, some silver coins and rings are not as worn.  Some show very little silver loss.  The amount of corrosion and material loss depends to a large extent on exactly where it has been, how much the item as been tumbled in the sand and rough surf and how much air and salt water it has been exposed to.

I still don't know why divers almost never find silver rings on the 1715 Fleet.  I have shown one example attributed to a 1715 Fleet source by our state archaeologist, who also has documented silver rings to Spanish colonial archaeological sites.  I suspect that more than one factor is involved.

Some jewelry found on the Nieves site suggests the presence of a jeweler on board.  Incomplete pieces, as well as materials and jeweler's tools, have been found on that site.

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I hope I didn't make too many mistakes in this post.  I kept finding them, but I hope I got most of the typos corrected.

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Maybe in the near future I'll post more examples of the kind of thing I was talking about today.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

The low pressure area that has been hanging over Florida looks like it will become a tropical storm and skirt South and North Carolina.  We'll have a small surf for most of the week.

Havey looks to be headed towards Arkansas rather than going back out into the Gulf.  He won't affect us much.

There is still time to respond to the blog poll.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/26/17 Report - Intertwined Rings and Mixing of Old and New Metal Detecting Targets.

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

Gold Intertwined Rings Found by John C.
Photo by John C.

Yesterday I was discussing a couple silver intertwined rings that were found by John C. along with some cobs on a shipwreck beach.  He also sent the above picture showing gold intertwined ring finds. The ring on the right is marked Cartier, which didn't have a U. S. office until 1909.

I'm afraid I made no progress in determining the age or source of the silver rings shown yesterday, although I did find that such rings have been used long enough that they could be of such an early date.  I also mentioned the extreme rarity of silver rings found by divers on 1715 Fleet shipwreck sites.

The difficulty of determining the age of unmarked items on a beach should be no surprise.  That is exactly why archaeology can not be conducted on a beach.

A beach is a dynamic environment.  Nothing stays in place.  Things get mixed together - even things from different centuries.  The same thing applies to shallow water sites.

There are a variety of ways that items from different time periods can get mixed together.  I'll try to describe one of those ways today.

Things lost in the dunes get buried as the dunes sand blows back and the dunes build.  Older things will naturally be deeper.  In the illustration above, the three colored lines represent layers from three different time periods that can be decades or even centuries apart.

Three Layers of Old Items In Dune Eroded Down to Beach Level.

When the dune face erodes, the items from various layers and age periods fall to the level of the beach, where they are then shuffled around when the waves come up to the bottom of the dunes. Items from different time periods get mixed together.

Something similar happens on the beach slope, but to a lesser extent because the beach slope gets stirred more often.  Still, when the beach gets cut, older items are mixed together with newer items, including those that were recently dropped.  The age range of items deposited in the mixture will probably not be as large as the various ages represented in the layers of the dunes.

Once the items of various ages get mixed together, the water distributes them primarily by shape and density.

Silver rings on a salt water beach corrode. That could make any markings difficult or impossible to find.  And silver was not always marked.  Silversmith in England and France began stamping sterling silver objects in the 14th century, but there was no requirement for marking silver in the United States until 1906.  That leaves a large gap of 191 years between 1715 and 1906.

The number and variety of older silver rings found on the beaches is huge.  I'm left with a lot of unanswered questions and my recent investigations have not answered any of them.  I am a little more informed though, and I hope you are too.

I wonder if large number of silver rings might have been used at some time as trade goods or might have something to do with later salvage efforts, either large scale or undocumented small scale efforts.

It is my opinion that a lot of the silver ring finds, even some that look quite old, are 20th century.  Are there exceptions?  Definitely!  But it seems difficult or impossible to identify the date of many of the examples we see with the information available.

There are other related questions that I'll discuss in future posts.

Couple Intertwined Rings Found by Author.

I wanted to go back and find a particular example - a triple ring composed of gold, silver and another metal - I think platinum.  I didn't find that one right off, but ran across the two examples shown above while looking.  The one on the left has three intertwined rings and the one on the right, five.

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I'm hoping that everyone will respond to the blog poll.

On the Treasure Coast we're going to have one and two foot surf for a week or so.  I'll be watching our low pressure area for any developments.

As you undoubtedly know, Harvey hit Texas hard.  It could go back out into the Gulf again.

You can check out the live webcam from Galveston.

Here is the link.

http://www.galveston.com/seawallvideocam/

Thanks to GoSports for that one.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/25/17 Report - Up To 14 Foot Surf From Hurricane Harvey To Hit Texas Coast. Shipwrecks of Padre Island. More Intertwined Silver Rings.

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

Intertwined Silver Rings Found by John C.
Photo by John C.

John C. said, Both these rings were found in the same cut. maybe 20' feet apart..no markings.

Thanks much for the pictures and emails John.

These are really worn very thin and show the characteristic patina and corrosion of rings that have been on the beach a good while.

If these were found on a shipwreck beach, it would seem the evidence of a shipwreck source for some of these types of rings would be building.

I've asked John and expect to hear from him soon.

I've found intertwined rings before.  I think one set had one ring of gold, one of silver, and one of some other metal.  I'll have to look for my records and see if I can find where they were found.  I'm pretty sure it was found down south rather than on the Treasure Coast though.

If others can add to this discussion, especially if they've found similar rings, that would be helpful.

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Harvey is now sitting off the Texas coast creating havoc.  The surf, according to MagicSeaWeed will be up to possibly fourteen feet at Matagorda.  I feel sorry for those people.  Harvey could remain stationary as a major hurricane for a matter of days.  Pray for the safety and welfare of the people.

Below is a MagicSeaWeed chart showing the predicted surf for the Matagorda area.

Hurricane Harvey almost died a couple of times before he even got started but then ended up being one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the Gulf Coast in years.  It just goes to show how quickly things can change.

You probably know about the Padre Island shipwreck treasures and coins.  Harvey will undoubtedly bring some of that treasure to the surface.  Here is a bit of an introduction from the National Park Service.

In April 1554, three Spanish naos (a type of cargo and passenger ship similar to Columbus’s Santa Maria) went aground on Padre Island following a storm that had blown them across the Gulf of Mexico from the coast of Cuba. At the time this was the greatest disaster to ever befall the Spanish fleet in the New World. Tons of treasure bound for Spain was lost in addition to the lives of approximately three hundred passengers and crew who died from hunger, thirst, and attacks by natives as they attempted to walk back to the port of Vera Cruz. 

But the story of the 1554 shipwreck does not end there nor does it end with the conclusion of the salvage operations that took place later that year. As with any important historical event, its effects resonate through the centuries and can still be felt today—if one looks for them.

First of all, the wrecks were the first documented occurrence of Europeans on the island and one of the first occurrences of Europeans in what was to become Texas. The salvage operation was the first documented instance of Europeans intentionally coming to the island and staying for an extended period.

Second, the three ships that wrecked (the Santa Maria de Yciar, the Espiritu Santo, and the San Esteban) are the oldest shipwrecks ever found in North America (excluding the Caribbean and Latin America)...


Here is the link to that web site.

https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/historyculture/1554-1.htm

And here is link to a good article on the same subject by the Texas State Historical Association.


https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/etpfe

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We have a good start on the blog poll about what brand metal detector you all use.  It seemed like the Minelab users showed up as a block very suddenly last night.  Strange!

Hoping for the safety and welfare of the people of the Texas Gulf Coast.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/24/17 Report - Hurricane Aiming At Texas. Intertwined Ring. Silver Rings and the 1715 Fleet. New Blog Poll.

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

Texas Might Get Hurricane Harvey
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Looks like Harvey became a hurricane and will hit Texas.  As you can see from the map, there is another area off the West Coast of Florida to watch, but it will probably not become a cyclone anytime soon, but it might bring us some more rain.  It probably won't do much more than that.

We still have some good tides along the Treasure Coast, but the surf won't be much for at least a couple of days.

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Intertwined Silver Knots
Submitted by Al C.

Al C. sent the above photo of a ring he found along with the following eamil message.

A while back you talked about silver rings not being found on the 1715 wrecks much. I found this years ago right near the stairs that used to go up to the old Chuck’s Steakhouse building. There was a tropical storm going by at the time. I cant remember which one, but that same day I found a couple ½ reales in the same area and no junk to speak of. There are no markings at all on this. Just thought it might be something of interest if that subject ever comes up again.

Thanks for your picture and email Al.

Those kinds of rings have been made and used for a long time.  It could be old.  It is similar to a design known as  the Trinity Knot, which, according to Wikipedia was "designed to honour the Mother, Maiden ad Crone of the Neo-pagan Triple Goddess, which represents the three life-cycles of a woman in relation to the phases of the moon.  In modern times, it has come to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.."  I've also seen similar rings referred to as a Celtic Trinity knot.

Similar intertwined rings are still made today.  You can find quite a variety on the internet.   I've seen them and found intertwined rings with both two and three loops.  I think they are sometimes referred to as Russian rolling rings.  In mathematic terms such a ring might be referred to as a Borromean ring (See Wikipedia again.).

Intertwined rings can't be dated by the design alone.  Similar rings have been used from ancient times to the present.  You certainly might expect a modern silver ring to be marked.  Al's is not.

One of the top 1715 Fleet treasure hunters, who undoubtedly knows as well as about anyone in the world, says that silver rings are not found on 1715 Fleet wreck sites.  Kathleen Deagan, in her book Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean 1500 to 1800 does show a silver Claddagh ring, which in her book is said to be from the 1715 Fleet.  It could be from the 1715 Fleet, but you can't be sure of that without additional evidence.  Context is not always enough.  It wasn't long ago that I showed a 1968 class ring found by a Capitana diver searching the 1715 Fleet this year.  Obviously it wasn't from the 1715 Fleet.

My personal conclusion is that there might be a few (very few) silver rings from the 1715 Fleet, but they are evidently rare.  Deagan's book shows many more copper alloy rings from the colonies, along with gold rings and numerous rings made of other substances, including glass and jet.  Only a very few are silver.  One silver ring that Deagan shows is from a mission site.  Although it appears there are some examples, it seems to me that the vast majority of rings in Spanish colonial America were not silver.

There is still a lot left to learn.  That is part of the fun of it all.

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I heard that after reassigning a sports announcer named Robert Lee who was going to work a Virginia game, they are now going to remove a duck named Donald from all the parks.  Just kidding, but that isn't much more crazy than the Robert Lee thing, which is real and was followed by a decrease of more than a dollar per share for Disney stock.  No wonder ESPN is going down the drain.

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I posted a new poll on the blog.  I hope you'll respond.  We'll find out what kind of detector people are using these days.

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I also heard from people that were glad to see the YouTube videos that I made.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/23./17 Report - What Some Treasure Coast Beaches Look Like. Microsoft Co-Founder Finds Sunken Ship.

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

South Hutchinson Island Looking South Towards John Brooks

I took a look to see what was happening with the beaches since 92L was just off-shore and we also had some high tides.  I looked at a few beaches along South Hutchinson Island a little before low tide.

Cuts began north of John Brooks up by the condos.  They weren't big cuts and there was seaweed, which means that they were starting to refill already at that point.

Looking North From John Brooks.

These cuts look bigger than they were.  They were about one foot and did not vary much anywhere.

Between John Brooks And Frederick Douglas.

 The cuts continued for what I would think was a mile or more about the same height all the way.

Walton Rocks.

 There were no cuts at Walton Rocks.  The beach front there was low and flat.  There was a scooped out area just north of the main access.  The rocks were mostly covered near with and at low tide when I was there.

Jensen Beach.

At Jensen Beach there was also a very flat front beach that extended well out from the slope.  Still some swimmers and sun bathers out, but not nearly as many as before school started.

At least there was some movement of sand.  I'd like to see a lot more, and it is going to take a lot more movement before most of the beaches become very productive again.  Don't know if it is going to happen this summer.

92L is giving us some rain and thunder this morning, while the remnants of Harvey is forming again and heading towards Texas.

The surf is going to increase about a foot today but the tides are still going to be nice and big.

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What do you do after you become a billionaire?   Go find sunken ships!

That is what Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen did.


"We've located the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis in Philippine Sea at 5500m below the sea."

That tweet from entrepreneur and billionaire Paul Allen around 12:20 p.m. Saturday confirmed what many have been searching for since the ship was sunk on July 30, 1945...
Here is the link for the rest of that story.

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/08/19/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-finds-lost-wwii-ship-uss-indianapolis/583334001/

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A 200-plus year-old statue of Christopher Columbus was vandalized by protesters.  I think they must be protesting the first undocumented Italian or Spanish ( both seemed to claim him when it seemed like a good thing ) immigrant to the New World.  They probably think he fought in the Civil War.  Or are they protesting the atrocities of the Spanish conquest, looting and slaughter.  Who knows? Trouble with knowledge is that things are not as simple as they might have seemed before the facts got in the way.

Here is a link about the vandalism.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/08/21/oldest-christopher-columbus-monument-in-the-us-vandalized-in-baltimore/23156167/


Happy hunting,
TresaureGuide @comcast.net

8/22/17 Report - Increased Surf and Tides Today. Thoughts About Finds: Keeping or Selling. Atunement.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

We're being influenced by the weather you see on the map above.  If you look at MagicSeaWeed you'll see that today (Tues.)   It isn't likely to be a cyclone, but it is enough to increase the surf a bit- slightly more than predicted earlier.  The surf today for the Treasure Coast is supposed to be something like three or four feet.  On top of that we'll have some big tides.

There are some small cuts around the Treasure Coast today.

You probably didn't notice the eclipse yesterday unless you had the glasses or were able to catch a glimpse of it through the clouds yesterday.  I used a sun filter that I've used to take photos with my telescope and could see the shadow covered a good bit of the sun - I'd say 80 percent or more - even though the day stayed fairly bright.

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When talking about a particular find, you sometimes hear treasure hunters say they'd never sell the item.  You  often hear the same thing about certain items on Antiques Roadshow.  Maybe the item is never sold, but the item still changes hands at some point. It gets passed on to someone else eventually - if it is not broken, lost or stolen before it gets passed on.

It is true that you can not take it with you.  At some point, if the item survives, someone else will own it even if you don't pass it on.  They may or may not appreciate the item as much as the original owner.  Family members are not always interested in the things that were always around.

I've seen many times on American Pickers, for example, that a collector decides to sell his collection because he doesn't want his family to have to deal with the collection when he goes. They will often not have the knowledge to know the significance of the items, and will not be able to sell them well.  Too often they are sold for a small fraction of their value. There will seldom be someone that has the same appreciation and knowledge about a collection as the person that put it together.  I don't suppose anyone else could possibly have the same appreciation as the person that actually went out and found the items.  The hunter or collector was motivated.  There was something within that person that drove them to find those items that were so special to them in some way.  That person experienced the hunt and the find.  They have that cherished memory.  The cost, whether it was effort, time or money, became part of them, as well as the reward.  They alone had that experience.  And it became a part of them.

A relationship with an item isn't nearly as much fun unless it is shared.  I don't know many families that actually share treasure hunting as a family activity.  You don't see many husband and wife teams in the field, or many mother/daughter teams out metal detecting.

I occasionally see a parent and child metal detecting, but not often.  Usually the child is a boy in the area of maybe ten to thirteen years of age.

It is not often that you see a teenage treasure hunter or even someone in their early twenties.  I know there must be exceptions, but mostly when I'm out I see people that look like they've been in the sun for at least a few years, if not decades.  But that isn't my point.

There are some people that have hunting partners or buddies, but the ones I see are mostly hunting alone.  If there is another family member present, one is usually swinging the detector, while the other sits and watches, or in some cases carries the scoop or maybe does a little digging.

I've seen a good number of husband/wife teams trying out a new detector while on vacation or something.  That usually doesn't seem to last very long.  If it sticks for one, the other tends to become less involved.

My feeling is that for a lot of hard core detectorists, metal detecting is a quiet, deep, meditative, and perhaps spiritual experience.  It is savored.  All the senses are alive, but the mind is focused on the activity.  Then there is the find, which becomes a new center of attention, study, and finally sharing.

I think the word "atunement" might describe it.  Not only is the detector finely tuned, but so are the mind and senses.  They are focused on that one objective.

You might also notice on American Pickers how the owner enjoys sharing his or her appreciation for an item.  Many don't want to sell their cherished items, but that can change when they discover that someone else appreciates the item like they do.  They know they can't hold onto the item forever and they'd like it to go to a good home where it will be cared for and appreciated.

Personally I would rather sell an item if that means finding the best home for it.  You never know what will happen to an item.  Too often they are neglected, broken, lost or sold for a very small fraction of their worth.  It will not own it forever, and selling it might be the best thing in some cases.
Items that are sold through good auction houses are studied and publicized.  That is a good thing. Auction catalogs provide great reference works.  And the item has a good chance of ending up with someone that really appreciates it and passes it on well again.

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Keep good records of your finds and what you learn about them.  That can be important in many different ways.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/21/17 Report - 92L Still Headed Towards Treasure Coast Area. Some Lima Escudos From Sea Reaper. Solar Eclipse Stamp and Pin-Hole Projector.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

The cone shown in red is Harvey.  The orange cone is 92L, the one that has been headed our way.  At this point it is not a cyclone and has only a ten percent chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.  I'm thinking it won't change our beach conditions much unless it strengthens and hangs around off-shore for a while.

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Coins Found by Sea Reaper.
Photo submitted by Captain Jonah

Thought I'd take a little closer look at some of the escudos found by the Sea Reaper.

Here is the picture I posted yesterday, but I put a letter by three of the coins.

The ones marked A, B and C are from the Lima mint.  If you look at the upper left section of the tic tac toe, you can see the "L" mint mark on those three coins.  To the right of that you can see the "2" mark for the denomination.  The escudo labeled "D" is upside down in the picture.

Escudo A, looks like it might be 1710.  I think I see the 7 in the bottom far left, and the 1 in the middle bottom section and then the 0 in the bottom left section.

B looks like it could be 1711, but I'm not sure of that.  And C 170 something.  I don't think the last digit of the date is readable.

Jonah says they've found coins from Bogota, Cusco, Lima and Mexico mints. 

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As you undoubtedly know, we'll have a partial solar eclipse today.  If you don't have NASA approved glasses, you can make a pin-hole projector.  It is easy and it works.  You can look it up.  You don't need much more than a cereal box and some foil.  I've done it before.

Here is something related to the eclipse that I thought was neat.  You can get Solar Eclipse stamps from the U. S. Post Office that change.  When cold, the stamp shows a total eclipse, but when warmed it changes.

Below is the stamp as it looks when it is cold.

And the next picture shows a stamp on the same sheet after it warms a little.

I didn't get the greatest picture, but you get the idea.  A pretty neat collectible, especially if on an envelope post marked today.

They are still available as of about noon Monday.

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If the surfing web sites are correct, it looks like we'll get a little surf from 92L.  The are predicting a 3 - 4 foot surf for Tuesday.

We're going to have some big high tides today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/20/17 Report - Crew of Sea Reaper Recovers 1715 Fleet Gold Coins Off Treasure Coast. Shipwreck Treasure of Rooswijk. Weather Watch.

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

1715 Fleet Gold Coins Found by the Crew of the Sea Reaper
Photos submitted by Captain Jonah Martiez

Captain Jonah sent me the above photo of the gold coins found by the crew of the Sea Reaper.

Those are some beautiful two escudos.  You can see the denomination on a couple of them.

I'll take a closer look at some of these later and maybe have a few comments about them.

Thanks to Jonah for sharing and a big congratulations to the crew of the Sea Reaper!

It isn't everyday that you get piles of gold.  Sometimes you have to work your way through some hard boring days to get there.  I always figured that the longer the dry period got, the closer I was getting to the next big hit.

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Treasure and intrigue: scientists unravel story of 1740 Kent shipwreck.

Excavation has brought up silver dollars, pewter jugs and a mystery chest from Rooswijk wreck in Goodwin Sands...

Here are some of the coins.

 Photograph: Zeeuws maritiem muZEEum/PA

And here is the link for the rest of the story.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/18/treasure-and-intrigue-scientists-unravel-story-of-1740-kent-shipwreck

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Yesterday I posted what I thought was a really useful video that shows a helpful trick that I learned only after a lot of years of detecting. The video didn't get nearly as many views as I expected and am wondering why.  I guess I didn't successfully make the point about how useful it is.  Maybe I told everything in the text, but the video adds a lot - in my opinion.

[UPDATE:  I got word that people were having trouble with the link to the video I posted yesterday, so I just went back, and I think I got it fixed now.  Thanks to those who let me know about that.  Hopefully it is now working for everybody.  I think this link will work.
https://youtu.be/Mu7sbkrLC1k ]

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I watched a couple episodes of the first season of Mine Hunters on the National Geographic channel Saturday.  Not my favorite, but an ok show.

Not treasure hunting related, but I watched some of Fifth Wave, a movie about how citizens were made to appear like enemy invaders and their own children tricked into killing them.  It was an interesting movie plot that made me think how the establishment could turn the right and left against each other so they can maintain power.  Might seem far-fetched, but with the media fed frenzy of today, totally imaginable and worth thinking about.

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The systems I've been watching on the National Hurricane Center map decreased in strength over night.  I"ll be watching and reporting on the one that might come our way.  Right now it looks like it won't be much, but there is still time for things to change.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/19/17 Report - New Video To Show How To Identify Target Shape From Audio Signal Alone. Tropical Activity and Predictions.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Harvey is going to cut across the Yucatan and then back out into the Gulf again.

L92, which is the next one to the east of Harvey is headed towards us.  The question is how strong it will be.  It did not strengthen last night.  It has a ways to go yet though.

Right now the surf is only one to two feet on the Treasure Coast.  Nothing big is predicted at this point.

The tides are pretty big.  There are some nice negative tides.

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ATX Coil Over Broken Iron Shipwreck Spke.
Source: See link to video below.

I've talked a lot about how much you can tell about a buried target from the audio signal alone even if you are using an All Metals or Pinpoint mode.  The audio signal will tell you a lot about the target's shape, size and depth if you really understand your detector.

I made a video that demonstrates how you can tell something of the shape of a buried object from the audio signal alone.  In the video I used a quarter (just for comparison), along with a fairly large bolt, smaller screw, piece of an iron shipwreck spike, and an odd shaped piece of metal that responds a little bit like a fish hook.  I usually can identify fish hooks by the sound of the signal.

I used a Garrett ATX, although you would get the same type of results with many other metal detectors.  I used this same technique to identify target shapes before I ever got the ATX.  It worked exactly the same when using an Excalibur, for example.

I put the items on a board so you could see them well.  I also cut the sensitivity of the Garrett ATX down to less than half, just to temper down the signal, and used Motion mode, although the results would be similar using the Non-motion mode.

When you run your coil over a long straight object you will get a different type of signal depending upon the direction you move the coil.  You'll see that clearly in the video.

When you move the coil over the long object from one end to another, you'll get a double signal.  One towards each end of the object.  And if you move the coil over the object at 90 degrees to that, the signal will sound very much like a coin-shaped object.  So if you swing in one direction and get a regular signal and then change the direction of your sweep 90 degrees, you'll get something like a double signal.  You can also get an idea of the length of the object something by the amount of time between the double blips.  There will be more time between the blips when the object is longer.

Here is the link to the video.  There is really a lot of good useful information in this video if you really study the objects and signals they produce.  If you don't want to dig nails, you don't need a target ID meter on your detector.

https://youtu.be/Mu7sbkrLC1k

If you move the coil too fast, you might not always catch the double blip.  You can gather additional information by varying how fast you move the coil too.

All of this is does not have to take extra time.  You can do it while pinpointing.

If you dig all targets, you don't have to do it at all, but if you are at a site littered with nails or other long narrow objects, you might want to be more selective.  This is a type of target ID that does not require a ID meter or any particular metal detector mode or function.

Notice that on the last object, there is a break.  I don't know what to call that thing right off, but you get what I'm calling a double blip when you sweep the coil in both directions.  The latch on the object is open.  You get the double blip in both directions, instead of just one direction like you would get with a bolt or nail or other long thin object.

My main point is that if you learn to analyze your signals, you can get a lot of information from just listening to the audio signal.  I always say that the human brain is a better processor than the detector's circuitry.  You can also learn to get a good idea of the targets depth and size from just the audio signal.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/18/17 Report - Developing Storm Headed Our Way. Metal Detecting and Electrical Interference. Sand Transport Prediction Model.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Harvey is now a tropical storm.  It is headed towards Yucatan and Mexico.  There was another one not long ago that took about the same track.

The one behind Harvey (red) is the one that looks to be headed towards Florida.  At this point it has a 70% chance of developing into a cyclone in the next 48 hours.

As you can see, the third will probably head north and out into the North Atlantic.

There is a good chance that the one behind Harvey will affect out beaches.  We haven't had much of anything to stir up the beaches all year.

MagicSeaWeed predicts an increase in the surf up to three or four feet by Tuesday.  We'll see.

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If you've done much detecting around the Treasure Coast, you might have noticed that there are some places where your detector becomes very erratic or noisy.  There is a place like that south of Turtle Trail.  There is another south of the Rio Mar beach access.  There is another north of Amber Sands beach access.  And there are times when Pepper Park can produce some electrical interference, but not as consistently or as much as the other sites that I mentioned.

Wikipedia says, Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electrostatic coupling, or conduction. The disturbance may degrade the performance of the circuit or even stop it from functioning. In the case of a data path, these effects can range from an increase in error rate to a total loss of the data.  Both man-made and natural sources generate changing electrical currents and voltages that can cause EMI: automobile ignition systems, mobile phones, thunderstorms, the sun and the Northern Lights. EMI frequently affects AM radios.  It can also affect mobile phones, FM radios and televisions, as well as observations for radio astronomy.

You can also get electrical interference from electrical lines, underground utility cables and train engines.  The interference can be significant enough that you won't be able to detect some locations. Some metal detectors will be more sensitive to a specific source of interference than other detectors. Some detectors will allow you to detect much closer to overhead electrical lines or other sources of electrical interference than others.  That can be an advantage.

Some detectors have adjustments you can make that will allow you to work around various sources of interference.  Just the other day I took my Ace 250 and ATX to a yard that had overhead electrical lines as well as underground cables that caused interference.  Without making adjustments, the Ace could work much closer to the cables than the ATX, however the ATX has a Frequency Scan function that helped with that situation.

When working in the middle of the yard, the ATX was very noisy and sensitivity was severely reduced, but he ATX Frequency Scan function was able to find a frequency that eliminated much of the noise.  It then worked very well where there was previously way too much interference.

On the ATX you hold the searchcoil steady and away from any metal, and push the button to activate the Frequency Scan function.  It takes 35 seconds for the ATX to complete the scan and select a quiet operating frequency.  It worked well.

At the beach I've seldom used the Frequency Scan function, except a few times at some of the locations mentioned above.  There aren't as many sources of interference at the beach, but you'll find a good number in urban areas or residential neighborhoods.

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Darrel S. said the weight found by Grant of the Capitana a few days ago, Matches the weight found on Green Cabin Wreck several years, ago. It had 6M on it, and this one 4M.  

Thanks Darrel.  I didn't remember that.

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I noticed that in my videos and previous posts I kept typing Ace 150 when it should have been Ace 250.  I made those corrections.

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Here is a scientific article on cross-shore suspended sand and bed load transport on beaches.  It is very technical and difficult to read.

Here is the link.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2007JC004203/full

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Keep watching for weather news and a possible change in beach detecting conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net