11/30/17 Report - British Museum Acknowledges Contributions of Detectorists. Beaches on the Treasure Coast. Its a Small World.

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

John Brooks Beach Yesterday.

Frederick Douglas Beach Yesterday

Both beaches were pretty sandy.

Darrel S. sent the following beach photos, which were also taken yesterday morning.

Wabasso Beach Yesterday.
Photo by Darrel S.

Between Seagrape and Wabasso Yesterday.

Between Seagrape and Wabasso Yesterday.

Thanks for sharing Darrel.

---

The British museum recently unveiled archaeological finds made last year by detectorists.  Among those finds is an very rare Iron Age Celtic helmet from the time Julius Ceasar first invaded Britain.   Below is a link to the article about that helmet.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/dec/03/detected-amateur-treasure-troves

---

I got a very late start on the blog today so I'm going to keep it short.

I have the identity of the USMC ring and another new find to look at.  I'll post more about both of those tomorrow.

I heard from a lot of people that said they really enjoyed reading about Clint's experiences during the 1984 Thanksgiving Storm and the 1991 hunt.

It is a small world.  I think I know exactly who the fellow was that found an 8-escudo on the beach right beside Clint.  That fellow did find an 8 escudo on the beach there at that time, and he also told me the same story about the guys on the beach with a machete.  The machete story is what jogged my memory.

I'll wrap it up for now and be back with more tomorrow.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/29/17 Report - Help Identify and Date Ring Find. Tuesday Beach Conditions Report.

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

Finds From 11/14
Find and photo by John C.

In the middle of the finds shown above you can see a special find.  It is a very flattened ring.  That ring is shown below.

On the left side is "USMC" and the Marine emblem can be seen on the near side of the ring as shown below.

Marine Ring
Photo by John C.

This is what the Maine emblem looks like.  The two-color one shown below would be an officer's.

Marine Emblem.Source: www.hqmc.marines.mil 

The question now is what is on the top face of the ring (See below).

Setting on Same Ring.
Photo by John C.

John says he can't make this out and would very much like to identify the ring and the timeperiod it comes from, and return it to the owner or his survivors., if possible.

There was a Marine emblem back in the 1700s, but the eagle, globe and anchor emblem dates back  no farther than 1868.  

The face of the ring probably shows a regiment, battalion, or group insignia.  Seebees is a common one, but I don't see that here.

Hopefully someone will be able to determine for Clint what is on the face of this ring.  Let me know if you have any ideas.

---

Darrel sent the following report and photos from his Tuesday morning hunt.

7:30-10:30am. Low at 9am. Turtle Trail to Johns Island. No good hits. 1 nail, and some fragments. Ton of sand and seaweed. Surf and surge kept me from getting closer to the water. Heavy scallops, but too much dirt!

Portuguese Man-O-War

The Portuguese Man-O-War has tentacles that can give you a painful sting.  The tentacles can be long.  The long tentacles of a big one got wrapped around my leg years ago.  That didn't feel good.  I started wearing a wet suit when they were around.

---

I showed some copper items found by Eric H. a couple days ago.  Here is the other side of one of those that I pointed out the other day.

Find photo by Eric H.

---

The surf on the Treasure Coast is supposed to be around three to five feet today, but it doesn't look like the wind is favorable.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/28/17 Report - Ole Timer Talk: Clint. Amazing Beach Finds of the Legendary Thanksgiving Storm of 1984 and More.

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

Today I'm going to post an email I received from Clint.  I might do a series of similar posts from ole timers who are willing to share.  I'll call it Ole Timer Talk (OTT).  There is no specific age or time period I'm looking for.  I'd say at least before the 21st century, as a minimum.  I've done a few of these in the past, but just decided to make it a regular thing if I can.

One thing that was different when I started metal detecting is that there was a lot less communication and a lot more secrecy.  There were clubs, but no one was going to tell you much unless you were their trusted treasure buddy.  It is so much easier to get information today and the metal detecting community is much more informed because of it.  Ole timers could be just as skillful and successful in the past, but they generally had to learn a lot  more on their own. Even though they were very skilled, I don't think they were generally as broadly informed.  Maybe that is just my own perception, because I was a lone wolf and thoroughly enjoyed experimenting and learning on my own, but I know I made a lot of mistakes and still regret some of them.

Times change, and that is one reason that it is good to record the experiences of the past, especially those that were never widely shared before.  Anyhow, I'm thinking I will start a series of posts like this if their are enough ole timers that are willing to share their favorite or not so favorite experiences. I don't know if there will be many or few or if they'll be often or rare, but I'll start it off today.

If you want to know what it was like, here is how one man experienced it..

Hi.

I would like to relate to your audience remembrances of hunting the treasure beaches of Treasure Coast in 1984 and 1991.

In 1984 near Thanksgiving, I left sunny mild Sebring for a day of fishing at Vero Beach…I also carried my Whites PI1000 as a alternate in case fishing was lousy.

Halfway to Vero, It became windy and cloudy. Two miles from Vero and the Palm tree fronds were almost horizontal from the wind.

I decided to heck with fishing…headed to Turtle Beach Access. Upon arriving, I was blown away by the number of people who were trying to get down to the beach but the waves were crashing into the Berm and you could see debris ( dock parts, palm trees, large wooden boat trash) just flying south in the current as the tide rose and the waves got higher. Then some guys made it into the water but were being slammed into the berm and some were hit by debris. That ended hunting for a few hours.

Later that day, people could hit the beach but not really sure what was found. I do know that the berm was 4 feet high before I left to find a motel.

Next day, I made it to the beach and the berm was 8 feet high and the beach was flat. People were searching and I found my first Spanish coin…a 1/2 reale in very good condition. I will never forget the feeling when I turned it over and saw the cross.

No real finds yet so I returned to the Motel. Police were turning away people that did not reside on Johns Island but I had the motel info and I was allowed to pass.

The third morning, I made my way to Turtle Beach access again. It was a retreating tide but winds still avg. 57 MPH. tide was way out and there had to be 100 people on the beach.

My PI1000 suddenly stopped working (later found out the coil was soaked inside). I watched people scooping up all kinds of stuff and others digging up cannon. The beach had all kinds of ship wreck artefacts laying there. The Berm was now 12 feet high and possibly 20 feet back.

I cannot remember his name but I stood by a fellow with a Seahunter XL500PI who was trying to retrieve a signal in ankle-deep water. His second scoop netted a pair of pliers from the wreck. Following up on that signal he received another from the same hole and came up with a beautiful 8 escudo coin. I remember we both exclaimed an expletive at the sight of it.

Suddenly a wretched guy carrying a machete came up to us and said something to the effect that "a guy could get hit with a machete for that"… and we both made a retreat …fast!

I was bummed out because people were finding stuff everywhere and I had NO DETECTOR. I was watching two guys dig out a small cannon and someone named "Bull Durham" came buy swinging a detector and found a gold coin in the sand pile created by the two cannon retrievers. I finally decided to go home. As I was leaving, I saw three big lumps of concretion at the base of the berm. They must have weighed 80 lbs each. About the size of a beer keg.  I decided to take one home and struggled to get it to the car. Thought if it was something maybe I would come back in a few days and get the others (yea, RIGHT!LOL).

I took the "keg" home, soaked it in Muriatic Acid for 3 days and washed the material left in the plastic trash can. I Freaked out…there were 270 hand wrought ship spikes, 4 - 4escudo gold coins, and a handful of silver 4 and 8 reales. I made a gorgeous display of the ship spikes (some were in circles and some were S-shaped). This was the ships carpenter"s keg of nails. There were pieces of American Cedar and two pieces about 6 inches long of metal Banding. I went back to Vero 4 days after the storm and …yep…the other concretions were GONE!!

Since 12 feet of beach was washed out to sea, anything left at that level was covered over in 2 weeks. The only way any remaining treasure that was on that beach and out past low-tide could now be found is for the beach to erode further than 12 feet down which would probably be near rock bottom according to some old-timers I talked to.

I moved to Lake Worth in 1987 and started learning about beach and wave patterns. Watched how people reacted to waves and patterns of swimming and horseplay. I studied wave interaction at the tideline. and then I started finding lots of lost jewelry and coins. I even was able to find $20 bills floating just under the surface of the water, which led to me finding the metal bill holder in several instances.

I searched Jupiter Beach and Lake Worth beach exclusively and learned all the patterns there. I walked along the beach one winter day searching with my Seahunter XL500 and could easily recognize the sound of gold, but while I listened, my eyes roved. I spied a 6 inch portion of a pencil thick gold chain sticking up and moving about halfway between low and high tide mark. People were walking by it, oblivious to it. I pulled it up and it had a gold Maltese Cross as a pendant. I found gold nugget rings at the base of berms just laying there exposed.

In Winter 1990-1991, I met an old retired guy at LW beach and he was there every day. We were basically the only two working that beach on most days. In that particular time frame, a longshore current must have cut through from LakeWorth through to Jupiter Beach and for a month, He and I each filled a box with hundreds of old WWII era coins and (of course) modern coins. BUT…a case in point, one day we met at LW beach and the tide was rising with wind blown winter waves. We would meet at the beach center and walk in opposite directions for the length of the beach at the waters edge where the waves washed up, turn around and walk back to the center and show each other our finds, then turn around and repeat…for at least 10 times. I found at least 15 gold rings with stones and 5 wedding bands, 2 necklaces. He found near the same but I think he found more.

That easy picking abruptly ended when the cut out further finally filled in. One thing I noticed was on a sloping beach, sometimes I would see what looked like a yellow pencil rolling up the beach with a wave and rolling down the beach following a wave. I would grab these items (3 in my time in Florida - 3-1/2 years) and they turned out to be gold Herringbone necklaces. Apparently, the nature of a herringbone lends itself to be straightened out by tiny grains of sand filling in the spaces (joints) and then the necklace can follow a wave. Also, I learned that when there is seaweed in the surf on a rough day, that as the wave crashes into the beach carrying seaweed, any necklace that gets roiled in the wave- weed combo gets caught up in the weed and winds up at the high tide line as sea wrack. Always run your detector (and eyes) over the wrack line.

As for the coins I found…I sold them in Maryland to get funds to buy a home.

I retired from the VA in 2010 in SC and drove to all my favorite beaches to detect. I was shocked to discover that I could NOT search in the water within 3000 yards of a shipwreck. Most beaches were sanded with renourishment sand. I went to LW beach and searched in the water. I could not understand why the beach out in the water was full of potholes (thousands it seemed), then I realized that with gold prices so high, people had descended on the swimming beaches and wrecked havoc out in the water.

I left and never returned. I will soon relocate to NC and be closer to Virginia Beaches and DelMarVa (Coin Beach). I then can use my MineLab CTX 3030 and even search rivers in inland areas for lost stuff at river crossings (will require Library and Historical research).

Best of Luck to all who endeavor to the refrain of…"Today's the DAY" !!!

Thanks for sharing Clint!

---

The surf tomorrow will just a little bigger - something like two to four feet.  The wind will be from the east.  Beautiful beach weather.

Send me your Ole Timer Talk.  I can't guarantee I'll post every one that I get.  I'll just exercise my own judgment, which can include a lot of different factors.   Its nothing personal if I don't post a particular submission.  I just post what I feel like talking about.  Remember this is just a fun volunteer activity for me.  Maybe I won't even get another submission.
.
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/27/17 Report - Ambersands Report. Renourishment Sand. Copper Finds. Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach.

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

Ambersands Beach 11/26
Photo by Eric H.

Eric H. sent in a report with photos.

... I am relatively new to metal detecting but you can’t say I don’t work hard at it. I went to Turtle Trail at dawn this morning but it looked sanded in, so I went to Seagrape Trail but it looked the same. So I went to Ambersands and it looked better- some shell lines and low spots- so I got out my Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II (I incorrectly referred to it as a Garrett Surf Master in my last email). It’s a PI machine which explains all the junk targets I dig but I’m there to dig targets, not walk around lol. I hit it hard for several hours and found a great shell line right in front of the mcLarty museum but it only produced junk targets. I’ll send some pics in another email.

Thanks Eric!

You can see the erosion at the back of the beach.  I can't tell for sure from the photo, but that could all be renourisment sand.

If it erodes down to the renourishment sand that came from the Sebastian Inlet swimming area, there were some silver U. S. coins in that sand.  As I recall it was a darker sand than what was put on the last time.

I like Eric's attitude of being out there to dig - not walk around.  As you know I encourage people to dig everything.  I've gone over the several reasons for that in the past.  One reason is to see what is there and to identify the different zones. 

Similar types of items tend to be found in different areas.  There can be some intermixing, but if you find aluminum in one area, you might find denser items such as lead sinkers in another.  There will also be times when you find older items in one area and newer items in another area.  It is good to know where those items are.

I mentioned sampling not too long ago.  By sampling different areas, you can tell what types of items are accumulating in those areas, and that can tell you where to focus more of your time.

Very often the older items are associated with a particular type of sand.  You might find that the older sand is a more brown/red sand.  That is often where the real old items are found.

Most of the renourishment sand spread on the Treasure Coast in recent years is a light color - almost white.  It is good if you know where it came from.  That can help you tell if something old might be in it.

So pay attention to the sand and the different layers as well as the types of objects that are being found in different areas.

Eric also said, ... is a small shell line north of McLarty. I found a few better lines but didn’t pull out my camera until I had dug targets. I also forgot to mention that I met a nice young German couple on holiday here. They had purchased a cheap $80 detector and were asking me about the area. Oh yeah, one more thing- I did see a refurbishment bag exposed slightly south of Ambersands.

Targets Dug by Eric
Photo by Eric

Here are the targets dug by Eric.  As you can see there are lot of nails, some sinkers, a fish hook, aluminum, etc.

Among the more interesting items are the following copper items.

Copper Items Found by Eric.
Photo by Eric.

The copper finds look to have some age.  The bottom one looks like a lid.  The smaller round item is interesting.  Don't know what it might be.

Thanks for the report Eric.  That should certainly help everyone assess that beach.

---

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach.
Photo by SuperRick.

SuperRick was at Fort Pierce South jetty beach and found it cleaned out.  It gets detected frequently.  If you catch it right after it erodes you can find modern items there.

There are also a few fossil pieces being found with the larger pieces of gravel and shells.

Thanks for the report Rick.

There is a wreck in shallow water near the area shown at the top of Rick's photo, but it has been well picked over and whatever is left could be buried under renourishment sand.

I've also found WW II items on that beach in the past.  A lot of training exercises were done there.  One nice hat badge came out of the renourishment sand a few years ago.  If you get down to the older sand you might find dog tags, shells etc.

---

Today the surf will be small.  It will increase to about three feet during the middle of the week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/2/17 Report - Beach Materials Recycle Zone. Furniture Leg. Luna Fleet Wrecks. Scientific Method.

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

Normally the  sand is either being washed up onto the beach or down into the surf.  In the past I've talked about that quite a bit.  One day the net result might be more sand on the beach and the next day or week sand might be removed from the beach and deposited in the shallow water.  Cycles can be long or short and the recycling zone changes with the tides and surf.  A small surf means a smaller recycling zone, and a large surf a larger recycling zone.  A cycle can last for months or quickly change in a matter of hours as the wind and surf changes.

Above is an illustration of a relatively normal recycling area created by relatively calm seas.  The exchange of sand and other materials to land and back into the water is confined to a relatively small area.

Below is another illustration showing a much expanded recycling zone.

When water cuts the dunes, as shown in the second illustration, sand and other objects can be washed onto what becomes the flat beach or they can be drawn down all the way into the water.

Of course, items get washed up onto the beach at times too.  It gets pretty complex and is way too much to address all at one time.

These illustrations are far from perfect.   Maybe it helps some.  I'll find ways to better illustrate the process in the future.

---

Concerning the unidentified copper item I posted the other day, a Alberto S. and Brian M. said it might be a furniture leg.  That is something I never would have guessed, and it looks like it could be right.  Here is a picture sent by Alberto.

The one on the left looks very much like the one I found.  Thanks guys!

---

This is an older link, but I wanted to post it because I think future wreck discoveries will be managed by the state more like the Luna Fleet wrecks discussed in this article.

http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/pensacola/2016/10/21/third-shipwreck-luna-fleet-uncovered/92487848/

Here are a few excerpts.

The UWF team discovered ballast stones, iron concretions, an articulated hull of the ship with frames and hull planking, and remnants of ceramics carried on the ship. Graduate student Stew Hood, one of the field school directors, recalled divers coming back up to surface with artifacts in their hands...

I know this is a newspaper article instead of a scientific article, but it doesn't make it sound like they did everything the way they were supposed to.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit for the UWF team to conduct test excavations through March 2017 to determine the extent of the shipwreck and the type of wood used to build the ship.

“We hope it is la Salvadora, which was built in the New World,” said renowned 16th century Spanish historian John Worth, UWF associate professor of anthropology and principal investigator of the Luna land settlement. “We’ll take the wood sample soon and see what it’s made out of. Is it a New World species or Old World species? If it turned out to be that particular one that would be really exciting, because that would be the earliest ship built in the New World that’s documented.”

If you hope for anything as a scientist it is that your methods are appropriate, your data good and your conclusions warranted.  Hopes influence perceptions.  I'd prefer more objectivity.

---

I thought some people might disagree with my post about the golden age of Florida treasure hunting being over.  I expected to get some email about that, but I didn't.  There is a lot that could be discussed.

I do think the state will make it will very difficult or impossible to get new salvage leases.  I'm judging by recent actions.  Let me know if you disagree.

---

The tides are small, as is the surf.  Very nice calm water with good visibility.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/24/17 Report - Florida's Golden Age of Treasure Hunting is Over: My Opinion. Aku Aku. Garrett AT Max Review.

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

The Gold Age of Florida treasure hunting is over.  That's my opinion.  I'm not saying that there isn't anything left to find, because there is a lot left to find.  And I'm not saying there won't be much found, because a lot will be found.  What I am saying is that the days when a bunch of regular guys could get together, form a company and get a salvage lease is over.  In theory the laws haven't changed to prevent that; but the state will be putting up more walls and making applicants jump through more hoops.

I don't believe that Florida will be giving new salvage leases unless you have really big money, a lot of inside influence and can get law-makers to go to work for you.  It might be possible to win, but most applicants will be stalled and stalled until they either give up or find that it is no longer practical.   I might be wrong about all of that and hope that I am.  I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

I don't have a lot of insider knowledge or connections, but I do know about some things that are going on and that you might not expect a guy like me to know.  If you think you have found a new wreck and want to get a salvage lease on it, the state will expect you to jump through all kinds of hoops.  They are asking more of applicants than ever before, including additional research and expanded reports.  Maybe you can bust through if you have high-level connections, but that is not what I'm talking about today.  I'm talking about new guys wanting to work new projects.  In those cases, the state will probably let you go through the first step or two and string you along.  They'll take the data you collect, use it and maybe get you to do some more work for them, but in the end, make it an archaeological site.  That is what I'm betting.

Maybe you remember back in 2012 when they proposed SB 686.  The treasure hunting community got together and fought that.  The big guys did their thing, while the reader's of this blog contacted their representatives and wrote letters.  The treasure hunting community won that one, but what I'm talking about today isn't the state making new laws, though that is likely too.  What I'm talking about today is very much like what you see with the establishment in Washington, D. C.  Government officials can make things difficult without changing the law.

If I'm wrong about any of this, let me know.  I'll be glad to post additions or corrections.

---

Mike F. sent me the following message.

It was nice to read the Easter Island story and see the pictures. If your readers want to learn more about Easter Island I recommend a book I read, and loved many, many years ago called 'AKU AKU, the secret of Easter Island by Thor Heyerdahl. He wrote the book after his famous KON TIKI adventures. He also, way back then, realized the statues on Easter Island had bodies and did some excavation.

Thanks Mike.

---

Steve from Sebastian sent this report on his new Garrett AT Max.

Have about 15 hours on the new Garrett AT MAX…no toy. Amazing machine, I have targets about every 3 feet in my yard, as it powers down through a foot of fill to the original 30 year old lot underneath. LOVE the wireless headphones too with their own volume control. Machine WATERPROOF TO 10 FEET. Bought the wired waterproof headphones right away. ..

Thanks for the resport Steve.

---

Hollow Heavy Copper Item

I thought this item looked a bit like an old hose nozzle, but it has screw threads at the top and bottom.  It is heavy, but hollow.  Don't know what it is.

I was 1.5 pounds heavier today.  It could have been worse.  I don't think I'll ever be able to get into my old wet suit.

The last time I went to the beach I saw a lot of snow bird cars.  I saw Alaska, Colorado and of course the more common ones such as New York.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/23/17 - Another Kind of Treasure Coast Treasure: Fossils. Easter Island Stones. Sampling. Happy Thanksgiving!

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

Vintage Post Card OriginallyReceived by My Grandfather in 1909.

---

Did you notice that this Megalodon tooth fossil received a winning bid of $550 in the recently concluded Sedwick treasure auction?

Auction Listing From Sedwick Auction 22

I showed that to remind you that there are other types of treasure on the Treasure Coast besides coins and artifacts.  You can find fossils all the way along the Treasure Coast.  I've seen fossils on most of the beaches.  Some beaches provide more fossils than others, of course, but you can find fossil shark teeth, as well as rhinoceros, giant sloth, camel and even mastodon bones on the Treasure Coast.

This meg tooth is more valuable than the vast majority of what you might find, but there are valuable fossils to find, and if you like finding old stuff, you should know that Treasure Coast fossils can be millions of years old.

Below are a couple of fossils I picked up the last time I was at the beach.  Beach conditions were not good for finding fossils, but I noticed them along the way.  They aren't really worth anything, but it shows that fossils are out there.

Matrix Containing a Few Pieces of Fossil Bone.

On the left bottom of the photo above is a vertebra.  At the top is larger piece of fossil that I have not yet identified.

Larger Piece of Broken Fossil Bone.

This one is larger and a little unusual because of the two colors.

Keep your eyes open.  You never know when you might see a nice shark tooth or something else nice.

---

There is always more than meets the eye.  You've seen the huge stone heads of Easter island. but they are actually more than heads.  They have bodies too.  The bodies were buried over a period of about 500 years by natural processes. They didn't sink - at least not much.  They sit on rock foundations where they were originally carved and then raised from horizontal to vertical.

Here is the link.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/07/26/famous-easter-island-heads-have-hidden-bodies/#220cb45af804

People wonder how huge stone blocks like these could have been moved.  In this case they weren't moved - at least not far.  They were carved on location and then flipped up.

Use your head and save your back.

Speaking of which, I was glad to see on a recent episode of Oak Island that the fellows FINALLY decided to do things a bit more systematically and methodically.   They finally drilled a grid of holes to do some testing and sampling.  I've been screaming at the TV for them to do that for at least a couple of years.  I felt the same way when the Hoffman's ( I think) finally had Tony Beets (sp) do some serious core sampling.

In the past I've done a few posts on sampling.  Sampling can save a lot of time.  Very important concept.

---

Here is a sad article.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/18/wwii-veteran-calls-for-help-and-dies-as-nurses-laugh-video-shows.html

While you are being thankful, express your gratitude by being kind, especially to those who need it most.

---

Today we'll have a three to five foot surf.  The next few days the surf will be decreasing.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/22/17 Report - More Reales Found On Beach Last Week. Mystery Item and Miscellaneous Finds. Treasure Coast Beaches.

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

John Brooks Beach Yesterday.

The beach at John Brooks was firmer than it looked.

Walton Rocks Yesterday.

You can see the dip in front of the beach and course materials (small shell pieces) along the beach.

Turtle Trail Yesterday
Photo by Darrel S.

We had a pretty good week last week.  The beaches aren't that good now.  Darrel says that the only the tops of some bags are now showing at Turtle Trail.

Some of Darrel's FindsPhoto by Darrel

Notice the cut penny in the upper right corner of the photo.  This isn't the first one that people have shown me lately.  It seems someone is doing that again.

Below is a mystery item found last week.

Front of Item
Photo by DB

Back of Same Item
Photo by DB

DB (not Dan B.) who found it said, I was wondering if you could help ID this object. Found it during the last set of north winds that came through. I put it next to a tab for size reference. It's lead.

I'm surprised it is lead. It appears to be attached to something by iron. The person said the bottom part sticking down is round and not broken off.

I can't place it. Any ideas? Let me know what you think.


They were found around the same time this one real and half real were found by the same person.

One Real and Half  Real Last Week
Found by DB

I posted what looked like might be a heavily encrusted bracelet last week.  It was found by Scott in the Cape Canaveral area.  It turned out to be the badly corroded earring shown below. 

Earring Find After Cleaning.
Find and photo by Scott

I picked up some fossils yesterday.  I'll talk more about that some other time.

When you submit reports or photos, please include your first name and last initial.  That is generally what I post.  If you want me to post your full name, just let me know, or if you don't like any of those options, please provide a unique pseudonym as an identifier.  It  will help me if you do that with each message.  I get a lot of email and don't always remember how each person wants to be identified.

Happy Thanksgiving.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/21/17 Report - Gold Pendant. Hallmarks. Thanks Guys. Seagrape Trail Monday.

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

Here is a find made by John C. back some time ago.   Like the Pelican in Piety ring found by Dan B., this pendant shows hallmarks - but on the front.  Below is what John said about it.

This piece was found north of Sebastian   Inlet.  Noticed similar markings to Danny's ring. Crown  on the top and the leopard head on the bottom signifies London.  Much lower carat gold. I think 375 is 9 kt.

Shown before and after cleaning.

Photos by John C.

You can find a lot of good information to help you decipher hallmarks.  First you might check out wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallmark#England

And here is a very detailed document on British hallmarks.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.britishhallmarkingcouncil.gov.uk/publications/hallmarks2.pdf

You can learn a lot when you research finds.  That is half the fun of finding old and interesting things.

Dan B., who found the Pelican in Piety ring that I showed on 11/8, had the following to say.

Wanted to thank you for the recent excitement pertaining to the ring.

I was thinking what is crazy is that until the notorious find of the pelican of piety in Fort Pierce in 2010 it would have been an obscure Spanish religious symbol only well known to the few who had in-depth knowledge of the fleet and its items!?!? Uncanny

I am actually considering contacting LW and G for our records of sales in 1962 and 1963. Also have a few strings out to some old hunters who may have seen it on someone. I'm enjoying this. Thanks again. Hope you are well.

Ps. Loved "what is grass for"


Thanks Dan.  As you suggest, the cool thing is how it adds to the awareness of those who are interested.  That might seem like a small thing, but the effect is multiplied many times.  The effect can multiply without being recognized while raising awareness and the general level of knowledge having an impact far into the future.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Captain Bonnie Schubert, who literally uncovered the gold pelican artifact after it had been concealed for hundreds of years in the ocean, and to Laura Strolia, who conducted research and published the  historical background and helped us understand the significance of the artifact and the Pelican in Piety icon.   She raised our awareness and increased our knowledge.  That is obvious to me from the comments and responses of the readers of this blog. We can not tell what long term impact that might have. This is Thanksgiving week so it is an especially good time to thank those who have contributed so much to our understanding and the enjoyment of our hobby.

(For those of you who don't know, What is Grass For is a post I did not too long ago.)

---

Seagrape Trail Monday
Photo by Darrel S.

Darrel said, Went back to Sea Grape with CZ21. Detected from 1:30-4:00pm. Low was 2:45pm. Nice low sand and hundreds of hits! Mostly nails, scrap iron, space debris, tiny washers, and older coins. Only detector out on beach or parking lot!

Seagrape Trail Monday
Photo by Darrel S.

Thanks for the report and photos Darrel.

---

While I'm giving thanks, I want to say thanks to all of you who read this blog, and especially those of you who contribute and respond.  The responses I get encourage me to keep going.

The surf will be a little higher today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/20/17 Report - Beaches Filling For Time Being. Interesting Theory on Ring. Miscellaneous Finds. Another Front Coming Through.

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

Seagrape Trail Sunday
Photo by Darrel S.

Last week we had some decent beach detecting.  Some nice old things were found at a few locations.  A lot of beaches produced nothing good, but a few did.  That is pretty much over and I'm going back to a "1" rating on my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Scale.

Darrel S. was at Turtle Trail Saturday and reported that it had filled in and the bags were covered again.  According to the reports I received, it seems like the best conditions were earlier in the week.

There was still a nice cliff at the back of the beach at Seagrape Sunday, as you can see from the above photo.

Below are a couple photos from the Jupiter and Carlin Park beaches from Saturday, I think it was.

Jupiter Beach by Inlet Saturday.
Photo by Joe D.

Carlin Park Area
Photo by Joe D.

Thanks for the photos and reports guys!

In my Saturday post I said the Pelican in Piety ring was 14K.   The 750 mark indicates that it is actually 18K.  That was brought to my attention by a couple of readers, and I made the correction in the previous post.

I got an email from Peter H. concerning that ring.  Peter offers an interesting theory.  Here is what he said.

I'm certain many others will help identify the hall mark on the ring . Its 18carat, London hallmark and the date letter appears to be from 1962-1963 . London is represented by the leopards head ,the crown and 750 is the carat mark and the style of the letter g appears to be date  it to 62/63. ( Jacksons Hallmarks, UK)

What I find intriguing is that its defiantly the pelican in piety ( you can see the blood from the pelicans  chest feeding the young) which is a rare unusual  symbol and it appears to be made in London . Could it have been commissioned  and lost by one of the 1960 -70's treasure hunters who possibly found something similar on the treasure coast and subsequently  sold the original? It just seems too much of coincidence that such a modern ring and symbol appears on a 1715 treasure  beach which is known for producing the same religious iconography What are the chances of that ? The plot thickens!  or maybe its just me being too fond of conspiracy theories !! .As you often say " the find is only the beginning of the story" 

I really appreciate your posts - thank you   Peter H.

I don't think the ring was found on the same beach as the Pelican of Piety artifact, which, if I correctly recall, was found on the Nieves site, but that isn't important anyhow.  If it was commissioned by a treasure hunter who found something similar in the past, we might find out about that.  It isn't a huge fraternity and word gets around.  Interesting thought anyhow.

I saw photos of finds from earlier in the week from beaches that were producing much of any shipwreck treasures.

Miscellaneous Finds From Ambersands Last Week
Finds and photo by Eric H.

That is quite a variety of finds made by Eric H.  Looks like a bunch of mangled aluminum from the renourishment sand as well as a ring and some other things.

Thanks for the report Eric.

Maybe we'll get to see photos of other good finds from last week.  I know there were some more cobs and other interesting things found both on the Treasure Coast and to the north.


There is another TV show you might want to check out;  Finding Escobar's Millions.  So far it is been Not Finding Escobar's Millions, which I wouldn't have minded if it was more reasonable.

They told how Escobar buried barrels of money and killed whoever was forced to bury the money, yet the first field they checked was a vacant lot in the middle of a bunch of multi-story buildings where whatever happened would undoubtedly be seen.  That is the last place I would bury a barrel of money and a murder victim.  Unsurprisingly they found nothing but junk there.

The best thing that happened to me last week was that I was able to do a little detecting. Not much, but some.  Although it was a small fraction of the amount of time I used to spend, at least it was something.


The last couple of years, I haven't been able to detect much at all. There were two reasons for that. One was because of other responsibilities, and the second was because of an injury. Sometimes the injury made it impossible, and other times  when I could have tried, I was afraid of aggravating the injury. I think it was less than a week ago I actually told my wife I think my metal detecting days are over. I'm glad things improved and I was able to do it for a while without any problems.

Looks like we are going to get a four to six foot surf Tuesday.  That isn't bad, but the wind doesn't look as favorable as it was last week.  We had a few days of continuous north wind last week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/18/17 Report - Modern Ring With Old Symbol: Pelican In Piety. Encrusted Bracelet.

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

Interesting Modern Ring Find.
Find and photo by D. B.

This ring found on a 1715 Fleet beach is a modern ring but seems to have an interesting connection to one well known 1715 Fleet artifact.

I was asked what the image on the ring is?  As you can see, it is a bird feeding baby birds.  The question is why that would appear on a ring.

Do you remember the Pelican in Piety artifact and author Laura Strolia's research concerning that.  If not, you can use the following link to read about it.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2012/11/11412-more-revealed-on-pelican-in-piety.html


I'm pretty sure the image on the ring represents the pelican in piety.  Here are just a couple images of a pelican in piety to illustrate that.

Two of Many Varieties of the Pelican in Piety Image.

You can find many more by doing a quick internet search.

Here are the marks on the inner band of the ring.

Hallmarks.
Photo by D. B.

First is a crown, then 750, then a shield and then 9 or 19.  I can't see the crown and shield real well from the photo.

I assume the crown indicates that the item is gold.  The 750 indicates 18 karat.  I don't have a good guess about the last two marks.

Author Laura Strolia says that the Pelican in Piety image was more rarely used after the 40s.

Cool find DB.  Congratulations!

---

Bracelet?
Find and photo by Scott.

This item was recently found in the Cape Canaveral area.  Currently in cleaning, we might find out more about it soon.

---

Some good items were found on the Treasure Coast last week.  I heard of quite a few.  Some nice items were also found in the Melborne area.

The beaches that were producing were scattered.  Many were not.  That makes it difficult for me to issue a beach conditions rating.  A few beaches were good, but many of them were not good at all.  

We'll have nothing greater than three to five feet for a few days.  It looks like the wind will be switching a lot.  That is not like what we had recently with days of north wind.

The weather is beautiful for the snow birds.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net