2/28/18 Report - Button ID in Process. Great Web Site for Identifying Fake Coins. Big Surf Predicted.

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

Found on Internet by Alberto S.

The above button is VERY much like the button I asked about yesterday (Shown below for your convenience.).  The differences are very small.

As you can see the button above was conjectured to be either WW I or WW II English/Canadian or from the Royal Italian Navy and rumored to be found at a Civil War site.  Lot of confusion there.  I'm still thinking good possibility of being modern decorative.  The back of the above button is missing while mine is obscured by encrustation.  When the back is cleaned, that should help narrow down the age of the button.  At this point, I'd guess maybe 20th century.

Mystery Button.

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I've been tumbling a lot of coins and cleaning some things lately.  When I was in Harbor Freight the other day I noticed they had a good variety of tumblers.  I'd never think of looking there for tumblers.

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Here is a super web site for identifying counterfeit and fake coins.  It is really exceptional and think you'll want to take a look at it.  It tells how to identify counterfeit coins of all types.  I mentioned it once some years ago.

Here it is.

http://www.coinnews.net/2008/02/01/archaeologists-find-old-gold-coin-worth-45000-in-latrine-at-construction-site-3899/

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"The original idea of the internet was a very decentralized system and a democratic space where everyone could have a place to talk," said Taplin. "The big three online: Google, Facebook and Amazon, are more and more becoming monopolies, so it is a winner takes all business."

We are all internet users and this is something you should know about, The internet is used for commerce communication and influence. Whether you want to sell a coin, do some research, or stick up for your hobby, you should know about the power of the internet. It can change markets, culture and who wins elections. If any of the tech giants throws their weight ever so slightly in one direction or another it can influence the world.

Here is the link to read more about that.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/silicon-valley-faces-make-or-break-moment-amid-big-tech-n847301

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The big news for me is the prediction of a bigger surf starting Sunday.  The predictions seem to be holding steady.  Still a few days left to see if it really happens.

Surf Predictions for Fort Pierce Area
Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

The moon is getting fuller and the tides are getting bigger.  We'll have some pretty good tides today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/27/18 Report - 700-Year-Old Ring Found by Gardener. Shipwreck Survivor Camp Found. Bigger Surf Coming Soon.

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

700-Year-Old Ring Found in Garden.
Source: SeeTimesOfIsrael link below.

A Galilee gardener dug up a 700-year-old bronze ring which bears the image of St Nicholas, the patron saint of pilgrims.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/galilee-gardener-digs-up-medieval-ring-bearing-smiling-st-nicholas/

A lot of interesting discoveries are made in gardens.

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Now, in the dense rainforest on a remote part of Kruzof Island, archaeologists have finally identified the campsite used by those who survived the wreck of the Neva, an ill-fated ship that was once an important vessel in the Russian navy.

When the Neva wrecked in January 1813, 54 years before the Alaska purchase, 32 people perished and 28 made it to shore, where they camped in midwinter conditions. Two of those in the camp died, but the other 26 were rescued after about three weeks.

The exact location of the wrecked ship and the survivors' camp was a longtime mystery — until now. An archaeological expedition confirmed that an ocean-facing site of Kruzof Island was where the Neva wrecked and where the survivors held out until their rescue.

"The Neva's one of those sagas that's almost legendary in Alaska and folks have been looking for it for 200 years," said Dave McMahan, a former Alaska state archaeologist and the chief investigator on the National Science Foundation-funded expedition.

Here is the link for more of that article.

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/science/2017/03/04/archaeologists-say-theyve-found-the-campsite-used-by-survivors-of-legendary-doomed-ship-the-neva/

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Gaylen C. asked one day about any 1715 Fleet burials that anyone might know about.  I've mentioned one or two things sent by readers but haven't heard much about that.  Here is what Gaylen said he learned about that.

    Regarding my curiosities about the burial of the 1715 fleet dead, I found in chapter 5 of Florida's Golden Galleons, by Burgess and Clausen, a statement by Admiral Salmon that almost immediately some of the surviving seamen, and "lower class passengers" were seen looting the dead bodies on the beaches. No doubt some of the bodies of  wealthier passengers, and opportunistic sailors, possessed coin and artifacts of great value. That could account for no burial type of artifacts found " At daybreak the beach was strewn with wreckage and bodies. Other bodies tumbled grotesquely in the waves........The bodies were laid in rows below the dunes and covered with torn sails.....In the first few hours after the worst of the storm had passed,  they were unable to do much more than care for their injured and bury their dead, scratching shallow graves in the white sand to be blessed as a matter of course by surviving priests." Later that evening they suffered another violent storm which appearantly washed away much of the provisions that they had been able to drag up on the beaches, and most likely any who were buried in a shallow beach sand grave. Still leaves the question of what happened to those who died later. If they have not been found already perhaps they will be one day. 

I have some thoughts on that too, but I don't have any evidence and don't want to say what I think might have happened until I give everybody else a chance to offer their thoughts or findings.

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The big bump in the surf has been moved a day closer.  It is now predicted to start on Sunday.

Source: MagicSeaWeed. com

The tides are getting bigger too.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/26/18 Report - Mystery Button. Old Metal Detecting Records and Finds. Big Surf Predicted for Next Week.

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

Dug Unknown Button for ID.

Here is a button that I haven't researched.  I just found it in a jug of old crusty pennies.  Any ideas appreciated.  Below is the back of the same button.  Unfortunately it is obscured by crust and needs cleaned.

Button Back.

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I always tell people to keep records of their metal detecting finds.  I often regret not having kept more detailed records and have never felt like I kept too much.

My wife was cleaning out a closet and found some old records.  They seem to cover part of 1989.  I was especially glad to see that on a few occasions I put down the year in addition to the day and month, which I always recorded.  When making the records I guess I didn't think it was necessary to record the year, but a few decades later it really helps.  I have some old records that I have to guess the year and don't know if my guess is right or not.

Metal Detecting Records From 1989 Discovered.

I've talked about some of my earliest records from the first year or two when I started metal detecting.  Those records did not have a year and I can only guess now when that was.  At that time I kept track of the coins I found.  The records that were found today only record gold and silver finds.  I quit keeping track of coins when I was targeting jewelry.

Beside the date, detector used, short description of finds, I also included the beach and specific areas of the beach, such as "just north of rocks" or "on far side of sand bar."

Back then my records were useful for keeping track of hot spots.  Now when I read those old records they help me remember the finds and experiences.

There were some pretty good days.  On the page I am looking at, I see that on 9/15/89 I found an 18K garnet ring, 14K blue sapphire ring, 14K man's gold nugget ring, one small hollow 18K medallion with small ruby.  I do not remember that day.

On 7/4 there was a small diamond man's ring, a 10K high school class ring, a 14K lady's diamond baguette and sapphire ring, 14K nugget ring with three small diamonds  and 18K medallion.  I do remember that day.  I remember telling the guy that made my detector about it.  That is probably why I remember it.

5/18 I definitely remember even though I found only one ring that day.  It was a nice national championship ring.

Not only did the records tell me where a lot was found, they also told me where the better stuff was found.

I think if you keep good records, some day you'll be glad you did.

By the way, in the back of the closet my wife found a jug full of crusty old pennies.  The button was in with the pennies.  Most of the pennies are totally encrusted or destroyed.  I guess that is why I didn't spend them.

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The weather has been the same for a few weeks.  It looks like there could be a change in beach conditions.

Source: MagicSeaweed.com.

That is a big bump predicted for next Monday.

Feel

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/25/18 Report - The Problem With Archaeology: The Perspective of a Supportive Citizen.

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

Not long ago I posted an irresponsible quote by an adjunct in the TAMU Nautical Archaeology program about treasure hunters being no better than ISIS. Unfortunately that nonsensical quote is symptomatic of a larger problem. even though I'm assured by blog readers that have had personal contact, that full-time faculty members of that institution are more reasonable. I would expect that to be the case.  You can get away with radical statements in a classroom of young people who have to put up with all kinds of craziness to get their academic degree, but irresponsible statements can damage the reputation of a university and the cause of a noble profession. 

Today I'll start by taking a look at a chapter written by Wilburn "Sonny" Cockrell (deceased 2014), a pioneer maritime archaeologist who served as the Florida underwater archaeologist and taught at FSU.  The chapter was published in the book Maritime Archaeology: A Reader of Substantive and Theoretical Contributions, edited by Lawrence Babits and Hans Van Tilburg.  (See link below)

Here is an excerpt from the chapter in which Mr. Cockrell pondered why a treasure hunter's position was better received by the public and host of a TV show than the argument presented by an archaeologist's that appeared on the same show.

This post could go on for a long time but I'll try to keep it short and to the point.  I think it was Mark Twain that said something like, "I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn't have time."  It takes time to boil things down and present a point concisely and clearly.

The Society of American Archaeology web site says, "An archaeological site is any place where physical remains of past human activities exist." (See link below.) That is almost everywhere! Can we get some sanity from the archaeological community? When we hear archaeologists say that treasure hunters are no better than ISIS and the whole world is an archaeological site, it is not difficult to see that there is a problem. And those statements, whether they come from one extreme adjunct or an entire society, tell a lot. 

Archaeology needs to make realistic and practical distinctions. If you read Mr. Cockrell's chapter, you will see that he realized that archaeology was not winning the public debate and he was trying to come up with some realistic boundaries to define the limits of what was considered to be "acceptable" archaeology. He listed several criteria. Those criteria included the age of the shipwreck or submerged site, provenience, legality, professionalism and disposition of the artifacts. You can read that for yourself if you wish.  To give just one example, older wrecks were considered to be more properly the subject of archaeology than recent wrecks.  That is not surprising.  What is surprising is that it needs to be stated because of the feeling given by archaeology that nothing less than the entire world of man-made objects belongs to them.  No reference to age, one of the easiest of all distinctions to make, was included in the SAA statement  I know it is just one sentence and you can't include everything you might want to say in a single sentence, but wittingly or not, the statement represents an underlying attitude.  No one can reasonably claim that every place where there are remains of past human activity is an archaeological site, yet archaeologists, whether they say it or not, act and talk as if it was true.  The Society of American Archaeology came very close to saying it straight out and probably didn't realize the far reaching implications, including alienating the public who they claim to serve and at the same time rely on for support.

Archaeology claims to save the past for the public, but continually demonstrates that they do not trust the public.  Instead of saving the past for the public, they act as if they are saving the past from the public.  Archaeological sites are off limits and kept secret from the public.  Site files are not published and research reports are published only in academic journals and expensive books rather than being made easily available on the internet for the public.

If archaeology really wants sensitive sites to be protected, they should widely inform and involve the public.  Then they would have thousands of caring eyes watching over those sites.   

If archaeology wants to make discoveries, they would work with the public.  The vast cloud of informed eyes (not to mention metal detectors) would make new discoveries.  That has been demonstrated by England's Portable Antiquities Scheme.  An informed participating public would provide the best protection as well as the discovery of many important new sites. 

Here are some of the results of a poll that I conducted.

Of the 117 respondents, only 6 (5%) indicated that they had ever seen items that were in the Florida Collection.  The Florida Collection, as the Division of Historical Resources states, is to preserve Florida's history for the public, yet only a small percentage of the most interested citizens have seen it.

I also found that about ten times more blog readers have seen the privately owned and operated Fisher treasure museums than have seen the items in the Florida Collection."  This suggests that "treasure hunters" actually better serve the public than academic archaeology and our government agencies.  

Archaeology mistrusts and alienates the public.  On top of that, some of their group makes very irrational and extreme statements, which does not help their cause.

Not all the world can be treated as an archaeology site.  As Mr. Cockrell's chapter suggests, there are bounds in practice and reason.  There are more sites and shipwrecks than can ever be studied. 

Archaeology needs to better define what sites are important and worth studying.  As it is, some would have you believe that every site, every shipwreck, every nail, every thing that could possibly be studied should be studied and protected, and every study yields something immensely important. The fact is that much of the evidence of the human past is not in a meaningful context, highly redundant, and most importantly, will never add any new knowledge of significance.  Archaeology needs to complete the job that Mr. Cockrell started and define boundaries.  They need some well defined goals and priorities, and to get over their paranoia.  They should also alienating the public that would eagerly support them if they were more reasonable and inclusive.


References

Here is the web site of the book in which Mr Cockrell's chapter appears.

https://www.amazon.com/Maritime-Archaeology-Substantive-Theoretical-Contributions/dp/0306453312


Here is the web site of the Society for American Archaeology.
http://www.saa.org/Default.aspx?TabId=1346



Have a blessed Sunday,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/24/18 Report - Numismatic Tokens. Sight Finds. Detecting Dangers. Lost Time Capsule.

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

Two Identical Tokens Showing Alternate Sides.

The first side reads: TRADE DOLLAR DE COMMERCE - MONNAIES COINS - SERGE HUARD- C. P. 402 POINNTE AUX TREMBLES QUEBEC HIB 5K3 CANADA.

The other side reads: REGINA COIN CLUB - CNA ANA.

The diameter is 1.5 inches.

I mentioned these in the last post.  They are the "some kind of big coins" the kids yelled about.

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After finding a clay pipe yesterday, I took a another little walk this morning to see if I might find something else.  Not much luck, but I did find the following antique porcelain dolls arm.  I've found others in the past and like to find them because they sell quickly.  I showed some of those before.

Antique Porcelain Doll's Arm Found During Walk.

Also found three marbles.  No good old clay ones though.

Three Found Marbles.

Objects from various time periods get mixed together.  That is what it is like where I walk.  The vast majority of items are from the20th century, but items are definitely from way before that, even going back to fossilized bones from thousands or even million of years ago.

The non-metallic items suggest that there might be coins from the same spread of time periods, but the modern trash makes it very difficult and time consuming to detect.

Its amazing how much stuff people leave behind.  There is stuff almost everywhere.  You don't even need a metal detector or shovel to find it if you just look around where either water or man has moved sand or earth.

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My post from yesterday prompted Bill P. to send the following message.

After reading your blog today about being aware of what and who is around you, a memory of my early detecting days resurfaced. I usually detected the dry sand area at Clearwater Beach at night. It was much cooler and considerably fewer people to deal with. However, weekend nights always had drunks, showoffs and all manner of other crazies out and about. One particular night a young man approached me and said something really strange..."I think I've been shot, could you please check me for any blood." I was immediately suspicious and as I looked him over(from a distance) I saw a stun gun in his right hand. I believe his intent was either to rob me or just watch me twitch on the ground after he used his new toy. I told him if he stepped closer to me that I would use my shovel on him. Well he finally left but it was an eye opening experience for me. I overheard later that night that the police caught someone using a stun gun on people at the beach. We call "being aware", situational awareness, and it should become a constant routine throughout the day and night. There are too many criminals out there to not be constantly vigilant. Bill P.

That is a good reminder for everybody.  It is a good idea to hunt with a partner, especially if you are hunting at night or in bad areas.

Bill's story reminded me of one time when I was metal detecting in the ocean at night.  It was totally dark and there was no one to be seen anywhere when I got bumped by something big in the water.  That was exciting enough to start the heart of a dead man.  I wouldn't hunt in the water alone at night anymore.

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Here is a Feb. 22, 2018 newspaper article about a time capsule that was buried in a park in Follansbee WV in 1969.  It can't be located.  They involved archaeologists and metal detectors but still can't locate the time capsule.

http://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2017/06/search-continues-for-time-capsule/

I mentioned the Lions Club eye-glasses program yesterday, and coincidentally it was the Lions Club that gathered items to be put in this time capsule.

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More beautiful weather.  On the Treasure Coast beaches more two to four foot surf and moderate tides.  The MagicSeaWeed web site is predicting a big bump in the surf for a week or two  in the future.  The long range predictions aren't real good, but there is some reason for hope.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/23/18 Report - Three Ring Finds. Treasure Coast Clay Pipe Sight-Find. One Method of Dating Colonial Sites.

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

Three Rings in Three Days

Finds and photo by DB

The good Lord opened Davey Jones locker for me a little at a time this week with a three day progression. First day Tungsten Carbide, two days later with this silver and today's gold. Maybe a platinum is out there for me tomorrow, here's to hoping anyway.

Congratulations and thanks DB.

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I don't think I've detected at all this February.  If I did it was very little.   I always liked eye-balling and took a little walk along the banks of the Indian River yesterday.  I probably walked a hundred yards or so, but was amazed to find the worn remains of a broken clay pipe.  Even though it is broken, it is a wonder that it survived in as good condition as it did for all those years.

Broken Clay Pipe Find.

I was mostly looking for bottles, but didn't find any old bottles that were whole.  I did find a couple necks and tops of some cork-top bottles, but that was about it for the bottles.  Its amazing what you can find without a detector if you check out areas things get uncovered by moving water.

Archaeologists sometimes attempt to use the diameter of the hole to get a date for a clay pipe, but that doesn't always work well unless you have a number of them, then you might be able to date a site by using the average hole diameter.  The hole in this pipe measures 3/16.

I've seen a lot of old things around there, including fossils dating back thousands or millions of years old and some really old indigenous pot shards but this was a surprise.  There was also plenty of modern junk laying around too.

The world is covered with evidence of the past.  It is everywhere. And more is being made everyday.

Here is a paragraph from a great web site about clay pipes ( See link below.).

In the archaeological studies carried out on clay pipes (and believe me there are many!) mathematical formula's have been applied to explore the possibilities of dating them by the size of the hole in the stem. While these have been proved to work fairly well where large groups (usually dozens-hundreds) have been found it is not always possible to date a random piece of broken stem by the size of the hole because there are many other factors that come into play. The thickness of the stem, surface finish and porosity, alignment of sides, tool marks, junction at base of the bowl etc. are just some of these. However, the larger thick more weathered pipe stems that are often found with a bigger hole in the middle tend to be earlier from the 17th-18th Centuries, whereas thinner stems with even sides, smoother surfaces and much smaller holes tend to be from the 19th Century. It is worth mentioning also here that Dutch pipes of the 18th Century have very long narrow stems with smaller holes whereas English pipes of the same period tend to have larger holes so this is another thing to be considered according to where finds are made. During the Victorian period some pipes were made in such a hurry and without thought for the smoker that the hole in the stem was not always practical or even joined with the bowl.

http://www.dawnmist.org/gallery.htm

Pipe Stem.

A web site by the National Parks Service gave the following hole sizes for English colonial sites of various time periods.

If you are wondering how to measure such things with any degree of precision, I used these bead calipers.  They are useful for measuring gem sizes or anything small and are inexpensive.

Bead Calipers.

Below is the link for the National Park Service web site about dating sites.

https://www.nps.gov/archeology/afori/howfig_mar4.htm

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I'm still working on a post with recommendations for archaeology.  I hope to have it ready soon.  It is taking a little time and I've had a lot of other things to post.

Between 7 PM last night and 8 AM this morning, this blog had over three thousand page views, many from foreign countries, with France in the lead.

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The Treasure Coast beaches have been a holding pattern for a few weeks, and there is not immediate change in site.  Hurricane season will be coming around again before you know it.

I plan to post some on a Florida treasure ship claimed by France someday soon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/22/18 Report - Little Known Danger and Secret Technique for Working Crowded Swimming Areas. Mystery Solved.

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

Identified!

Ding! Ding! Ding!  Yesterday's mystery item was identified by Mitch King.  He said,

Its Plate money from Sweden. Fredrick the 1st 1720 to 1751.

You can see other similar examples by using the following link.

http://www.swedishcoppers.com/PlateMoney.html

Thanks Mitch!

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I'm going to add to what I said the other day by giving some other examples of items found and returned and also a technique that I developed and refined over the years for working in crowded swimming areas. 

In my previous post on that subject, I mentioned things like keys and eye-glasses.  Today I'll give some jewelry examples.

It is always easier when you see someone looking for something just after they lost it.  They probably have a good idea of where the item was lost.

Class rings are common jewelry finds.  On one occasion I was hunting in the shallow water at a South Florida swimming beach and two young girls approached me.  One said she lost her sister's class ring, and she wasn't supposed to have it.  It didn't take me too long to find it.  The younger sister sure was happy.

On another occasion when I was shallow water hunting, I came to an area where kids were obviously trying to find something.  One of them said somebody lost their class ring and offered them $20 if they found it.  It didn't take me long to find that one either.  No mention was made of the reward.  None was offered.

The same thing happened at another location in more shallow water.  Kids were diving and making a lot of commotion looking for something.  In this case it was a gold emerald ring that  a young lady lost.  There are times when you have to get people to clear out so you can detect an area properly.  I got the kids to move back and out of the way so I could use my detector without them getting in the way.  Again I found the ring pretty quickly.  This was one time when I received a reward.  That was very unusual in my experience.  There were plenty of times when I didn't even receive a thank you, which amazed me.  But on this occasion, after I presented the ring to the young lady, she ran up to where her blanket was, and then back down, she stuck a twenty into my shirt pocket.  She just as quickly ran off again, so that was one reward I kept.

It is always a good idea to clear people out of the search area and explain that you need room to conduct a proper search.  You want to be able to swing your coil without anyone in the way, but there is another good reason to make everybody get back. Mark out boundaries and ask people to stay outside those boundaries while you hunt.

You also want to recover the item and inspect it before anyone else sees it.  I have on multiple occasions had people attempt to claim a ring that did not belong to them, and it is not uncommon to find something other than the specific item you are looking for.   That is why you must have a good description of the item before you hunt, and why you should inspect the item for identifying information before you return it.

When I was in the water and dug an item while people were close by, I had a method of keeping the find hidden until I had a chance to take a look at it.  Immediately after getting the scoop up out of the sand but while the scoop was still under water, I vigorously shook the scoop.  That created a cloud of sand that made it impossible to see the object in the scoop.  I would then quickly stick my hand in the scoop and by feel remove it.  Of course you can quickly tell by feel if it is a ring or coin.  With the item still in your closed hand, quickly slip the item in your pocket, turn your back and distance yourself from onlookers.  When you get a chance, take a look at it, but not before you are sure no one else sees it.  It is important to get the item returned to the just owner instead of some crook.

One time when I was not yet so experienced, I was hunting in shallow water and was being followed by some kids who saw me dig what turned out to be a couple of big tokens.  They yelled at the top of their lungs so everyone on the beach heard, "He found some kind of big coins."

I actually liked nice kids being interested and would show them what I was doing and would even let them participate to some extent, but there are also obnoxious unrestrained kids that can be a problem.  You have to judge the situation.

Those are just a few examples.  I could give many more, such as the young man who did a handstand in shallow water and lost his gold chain, which was quickly detected and returned, but I wanted to give some tips.

Always be aware of your surroundings and who is around you.  The only thing I don't like about using a snorkel when hunting in shallow water is not being as aware of what is going on around me.

I've heard of some detectorists being harrassed onlookers, but that wasn't been much of a problem for me.  I avoided people to a large extent, often hunting when there weren't many people around.  I also had a stainless steel scoop that looked like it was capable of making melon balls of human flesh.

Of course there were also times when I failed to find items that were reported lost.  A New York fireman told me where he lost his NYFD ring.   He was going back to New York and gave me his address.  I looked for it several times, but never found it.

I should also mention that there are finds that the owner might not want to acknowledge for one reason or another.  One New York Yankees World Series ring was found on the Treasure Coast.  The name was in the ring.  When the player's phone number was called, the wife answered and asked where the ring was found.  When told, she said she thought to fellow lied to her and went to St. Lucie to see his girlfriend.  There are times when the owner doesn't want to acknowledge or claim an item.

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The weather is beautiful and there are lots of snow birds on the Treasure Coast beaches.

The surf continues to run in the two to four foot range.  The tides are moderate and the wind is east/southeast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/21/18 Report - Mystery Item. Magnetometer Repair Help Needed. Sedwick Consignment Deadline. Deep Sea Cold War Submarine Search.

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

Mystery Item
Photo submitted by Al C.

Al C. said, 

Hello! I was visiting a buddy of mine down in the Keys this weekend and he had this displayed on a shelf. He bought it years ago from a Fort Pierce guy who used to sell shipwreck items occasionally. He couldn't remember exactly what the guy told him this was used for so I thought maybe you or your
readers might have an idea.

I asked Al about the back, and this is what he said.

It seems like bronze. Dark copper color and very dense, heavy. The back side has no markings at all.

It looks like the four corner circles have FRS in big letters and small numbers 1738 one way.  I looked at it upside down at first and the numbers looked like 8021 that way..  I don't know what is in the middle circle.

If anyone has any ideas what this might be, send me an email.  Thanks much.

---

Information on Magnetometer Needing Repair.

Need to find someone who is able to fix a handheld magnetometer (Aqua-Mag). The photo above shows the label on the mag.

The owner says he searched the internet with no luck. The company that made this unit is no longer in business.
If you can repair this item or have any leads on someone who might, send an email to.Robert P. at the following email address.

abacoparadiseproperty@gmail.com

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Time to consign to the next Sedwick auction is running out.  Here is a message from Sedwick Treasure Auctions.

Now is the time to contact us for consigning to our Treasure, World, U.S. Coin & Paper Money Auction 23, which is already shaping up to be another great sale. The consignment deadline is February 28, 2018, so there is plenty of time still to include your consignments. Click here for more information on how to consign. Then, call the office at 407.975.3325 or email us at office@sedwickcoins.com. Read to the bottom of this email to see the big highlight for this sale!

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Here is an interesting article about the cold war and the search for a deep sea Russian sub that was conducted under the guise of deep sea mining.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/deep_sea_mining

---

I have plenty more to talk aboutbut that is all I'll get done for today. I'll pick up on some topics that I started and didn't finish. I'll also be telling archaeology why they don't get the public support they should.  I have a chapter from a book in which a Florida state archaeologist discussed that problem.  I'll answer his questions.   
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/20/18 Report - WW II Ring Found in Saipan Returned to Surviving Family Members Located by Treasure Hunter 20 Years After the Find.

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

James Clooney's 1943 Maine Maritime Academy Ring 
Found by Dan C. in Saipan and Returned to Surviving Family Members.

 This is what we do.  The treasure hunters that I know do great things.  I've reported before on how this blog's readers have reunited lost objects with the people that owned them, and sometimes with  surviving loved ones.  It can take a lot of time and effort before the reunion takes place.  I posted about how the ring of Fairleigh Dickinson Jr. was found after being lost for many years and then was returned to the surviving family members.  What I am going to tell you about today is similar in some ways.  Dan C. from Orlando told me about finding a 1943 ring that was lost in Saipan during the war, and after many years and much research, he was able to return the ring to the family and provide them with some family history they never knew.  I'll let that fellow tell you in his own words.

Below is the email that I received from Dan C. describing how the ring was found and returned.

Your article on returning lost items was a good read and reminded me of my “best” find returned, but it took 20 years to locate the owner:

I located a class ring from Maine Maritime Academy, Class of 1943, with the owners name inscribed inside the band.  (See photo above.).

The ring was found at the island of Saipan where one of the most massive WWII battles was fought. The 10k gold cleaned up OK, but the synthetic Onyx dye had leached out of the stone after 51 years or so underwater.

I re-dyed it with a black sharpie pen.

That was in 1996. In 1997 I got my first computer and one of the first things I did was look up Maine Maritime Academy and found that it was still in operation. The academy trained merchant marines and prospective Naval officers during WWII, so my thought was the ring was lost by a Navy officer during the war. I was excited to get it back to its owner or surviving kin. I emailed the academy looking for information on the gentleman whose name was inscribed on the ring, telling the story of how it was found.

I never got a reply back. I put the ring away in a small box of mystery items and other finds and forgot about it for years. Then in 2016 on a whim I decided to rekindle my search. By this time the internet had matured and I was able to find some MMA yearbooks posted online, and sure enough, there was Mr Cooney’s photo. Now I had his full name. From there I searched the internet using his name and found his obituary – he had died in about 2006- but it listed his surviving kin. From there I learned from further searches that his younger son had also died but that he had another who was a doctor in New York. Knowing the doctors name led me to a website for a hospital where he was the head of surgery, and the one thing I needed - his office telephone number. I called and spoke with a secretary and pleaded for her to listen carefully, to not hang up on me, as I was not crazy. I asked her to please tell Dr Cooney that I had found his fathers ring which had been lost at Saipan, proving the validity by naming MMA class of 43 and his fathers full name.

An hour later she dialed me back and said the doctor would speak to me. I spoke to him excitedly telling him the whole story. He told me that his father never spoke of his WWII experience, but only that he was an officer on a ship during the war in the Pacific theater. He had made his sons swear to him never to enlist in the military. His widow was in assisted living at that time, so the plan was for her to be presented with the ring during her Christmas visit with the family. The letter below was sent via email to Dr Cooney shortly after our phone call, and the ring was sent to him a few days later along with an aerial view with the exact spot where the ring was found marked on the map. I later received a card and a small box of edibles as a thank you but never heard how their reunion went. I suppose that in many ways it’s none of my business.

“ DR Cooney,

It was great talking to you today !

This brings closure to something that started 19 or 20 years ago. 

As I mentioned, shortly after finding the ring, I had contacted Maine Maritime Academy seeking their assistance in locating your dad. I received no reply from them. Recently I decided to rekindle the search and after some time scouring the internet, here we are.

The ring was found about 200 feet offshore of the present day Hyatt Regency Hotel at Saipan.

Of course, the hotel was not there in 1944 and 45 when the USN was using the island as a staging area for further attacks on Japanese held islands.

The town of Garapan and nearby Tanapag harbor at that time were bustling with activity with warehouses being built, floating docks for offloading the battle supplies, a field hospital for the injured, ships being repaired out in the harbor anchorage, and Navy and Marine forces getting a little rest between deployments on Saipan's beaches.

The ring was found in about 1996 shortly after a typhoon moved some sand out of the area, exposing the long buried ring.

It was in about 4 feet of water, and probably under 2 feet of sand before the typhoon.

I found it with my submersible metal detector which I still own although it is undergoing repairs at this time.

As I recall, the ring was under about 10 inches of sand and coral debris.

My hobby at that time was finding lost jewelry from the Japanese tourists that now frequent Saipan.

So, by my estimation, the ring was buried in the sea bed for 51 years.

Your fathers name is as clear as the day it was engraved inside the ring.

He could have been part of USN Task Force 58, which was responsible for the capture of Saipan in June of 1944.

It would be great to learn which ship he was on.

But Saipan was also used as a staging area for the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as far as I know.

So there may have been another Naval Task Force there after the initial capture of the island.

I will be sending a map and a detailed statement similar to this one in the upcoming days, and wish that the ring will be in your hands by Christmas, and that your mother will be in a lucid state to receive same.

You will hear from me soon !

It has been an honor speaking with you,"

Thank for sharing Dan.  Great work!

It is one thing to rescue an item like that and wonder who lost it and under what circumstances, but it takes it to another level entirely when you learn more about the owner and can return an item to those to whom it means the most.  It is very fortunate when an item is so clearly marked with a name or other identifying information.

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I'm working on a couple other posts and will address one archaeologist's article on why they are unable to convince the public.

I will also post some more personal detecting experiences.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/19/18 Report - Examples of the Lost and Found Service Provided by Detectorists. Lions Club Eye-Glass Program.

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

Nearly Five Gallons of Lost Keys.

Have you ever lost your keys?  If so, you are not alone.  I've found tons of keys.  Those shown above are a small portion of those that I've found.  Today I'm going to talk about just a few of the things that were found and returned to the original owner.  People don't hear about many of the items that are found and returned by detectorists.

People often ask detectorists what is their most valuable find.  One answer I give is this one about the time I found some keys.  I was in the Florida Panhandle doing some consulting for the Naval Air Station and after work went out to a remote beach to do a little metal detecting.  I encountered a family just leaving the beach.  No one else was around anywhere.  When they got to the car, they discovered they had lost their keys.  I won't tell the whole story because I told it before.  But they told me they lost their keys, and I followed their tracks to where they had their blanket and found their keys in short order.  This is in the days before cell phones, and if I wasn't there to find their keys, I don't know how long it would have been before they could have got a locksmith or whatever.

I remember only two times that I received a reward for finding an item for someone.  I never asked for a reward and usually don't accept a reward even if it is offered, however there was this one time when I was offered fifty dollars if I could find the keys for the beach concession business at the Fountainbleau hotel.  The fellow lost the keys before he opened the business that morning.  It was a big bunch of keys.  He was out of business until the keys were found.  It didn't take me long to find them, and I received the fifty dollars.

Many of the hotel keys have been replaced by magnetic cards, so there aren't as many keys out there to be found.

Of course there are other kinds of things that I've found for people. Over the years I've found buckets  of eye-glasses too.

I was metal detecting in the shallow water in front of another resort one day when a fellow told me he lost his eye glasses.  He was a tourist staying at the local hotel.  I looked for the glasses and found them.  The surf was rough, and it took some time though.  The fellow offered to buy me a drink, but I thanked him and declined.

Tourists don't realize how easy it is to lose their glasses to an unexpected wave.  And glasses are light enough that they'll drift along the bottom in a rough surf.

Here is something you should know about.  Eye-glasses can be recycled.  The Lions Club has boxes at various locations where you can leave used eye glasses that they will pick up and recycle.  I dropped the eye-glasses that I found into a box at a local hospital.  They have a web site that tells how they can use your old eye-glasses to provide sight for people in need.  Here are a couple sentences from their web site.

If you have used eyeglasses you no longer need, you can donate them now. Lions accept prescription and reading glasses, sunglasses and plastic and metal frames. Children's glasses are especially needed. 

You can use the following link to learn more about the Lions Club program and how you can donate used eye-glasses to help someone in need.

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/how-we-serve/health/sight/index.php

Sometimes the lenses will be scratched up from the sand.  I don't know if they can regrind those or not.  It doesn't matter if the frames are messed up.

I've been asked to help find a lot of things.  One day I was asked by young girl if I could find her dental retainer that she lost in the water.  That is something I knew nothing about.  I asked her if it had metal on it and she said yes, so I gave it a shot but was unsuccessful.

As you know, people also lose coins and jewelry.  I'll talk about some of those some other time and give some additional tips.

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With the beautiful weather and snow-birds in town, there is a good chance you'll be able to find something for someone.

The surf remains around two feet.  There will be a moderate low tide.  The wind is coming out of the east/southeast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/18/18 Report - Faculty Member Says, "Treasure hunters are no better than ISIS, except they do not film themselves."

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

I must come to the defense of higher education and archaeology today because of the comments made by one person.  I'm never in favor of judging a group by one person.  

"Treasure hunters are no better than ISIS, except they do not film themselves."  That is a quote from an email written by the person that seems to run a TAMU web page to fight treasure hunting.  I  gave the link in my previous post.  Joe D. forwarded the email containing the quote to me.

The quote equating treasure hunters (however defined) with ISIS fails to appreciate that treasure hunters don't kill, maim, enslave and rape thousands upon thousands, as does ISIS.  What shocked me the most about the comment is the gross insensitivity to human carnage and suffering inflicted by ISIS on thousands and thousands of victims.  When I originally read the web site I thought the author might be using the term treasure hunting as a synonym for looter or something specific, but after reading the email, I wouldn't be surprised if he is actually lumping every one that goes out to the beach for a little recreational metal detecting in with looters - and ISIS.  I hope not.

I do not believe that this person's attitudes reflect the vast majority of those in archaeology, otherwise we would not have people such as Eugene Lyons, E. Lee Spence, or Robert Marx who contribute significantly and are accepted and honored by both academia and treasure hunting.  And we would not have a long history of permits issued by states to treasure salvage companies.  The Florida Collection obtains items every year from Treasure Coast treasure salvors.

I have cited studies in which amateur detectorists worked with archaeologists to survey sites.  The Portable Antiquities Scheme, which began in 1996, has resulted in thousands of finds being made by amateur detectorists that have become a part of the PAS database.  Dr. E. Lee Spence, who credits Robert Marx with being the father of underwater archaeology, worked under permit with Intersal Inc. to locate Queen Anne's Revenge, which I've posted about quite a few times.  Those are just a few of many examples.

The people that read this blog are very much interested in archaeology and would support archaeology any way they can.  They include doctors, attorneys, teachers, etc.  Some have made contributions to the field of archaeology. Most do a little detecting on the beach and have not found anything that would be of interest to an archaeologists but are still enthusiastic about archaeology and are much more interested in our common past than the average citizen.  They are a part of the public for whom the past should be preserved and also the supporters of archaeology.  It is sad to see them lumped in with ISIS.  Mud slinging doesn't accomplish anything.  It would be better to have rational discussion.  I was hoping that the author of the ISIS quote was perhaps using the term "treasure hunter" differently than many casual detectorists and not knowing how many friends of archaeology might be offended.  The gross insensitivity to the suffering of the victims of ISIS is really hard to overlook.

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Just so I won't be accused of taking the quote out of context, below is the text of the email Joe D. received in response to his email to the author of the "stop treasure hunting" web site, which I referred to in my previous post.

Precisely because I am in academia I have the moral obligation to give my informed opinion on treasure hunters or anybody that destroys the world's cultural heritage or the world's environment. I do not talk lightly about treasure hunters. I have been around for many years and when I say that treasure hunters are no better than ISIS, except that they do not film themselves, I know what I am talking about. I have seen treasure hunters destroy amazingly important testimonies of our common past to get a few artifacts that shine.

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Don't forget the Robert Marx lecture at FIT on Feb. 20.

2/17/18 Report - The Very Real Threat to Treasure Hunting That You Need to Know About.

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

I just ran across a web site that you need to see. It is described as follows: "This website is intended for people fighting treasure hunters all over the world. It is the website I wish I had when I was fighting the treasure hunting legislation passed in Portugal in 1993 and repealed in 1995, fortunately before the government could issue any salvage permits. I hope you enjoy it."

The same web page leads with the following quotes. "Treasure Hunting! Always shallow, no matter how low treasure hunters sink." and, "You can say Expert Treasure-Hunter instead of Burglar if you like. Some of them do. Its all the same to us."  

(See http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/index_treasurehunters.htm.)

A lot of different things are all the same to them.  They seem incapable or unwilling to make important distinctions.

The web site does not generally make clear what they consider a treasure hunter to be other than evil. They do acknowledge two categories of treasure hunter. They say, "There is a small, silent minority who really finds and rescues precious cargoes, and that goes largely unnoticed by the general public."  They describe the other group as, "The large, noisy majority who advertises its activity in the press, on the internet, and through PR agencies in search of ignorant investors rarely rewards its investors."  Overall, their simple-minded cartoonish characterizations are more suited to propaganda than education, even though the web page is published on a state university site.

Definitions are critical for clear communication.  Here is a Merriam-Webster definition of "treasure" that I found on the internet.

Definition of treasure

1a (1) : wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded 

• buried treasure

 

(2) : wealth of any kind or in any form : riches

: a store of money in reserve

2: something of great worth or value; also : a person esteemed as rare or precious

: a collection of precious things

I'm sure there are detectorists that would consider their activities to be a type of treasure hunting, and  there are treasure hunters that do not hunt artifacts at all, such as gold miners and nugget shooters.  Maybe I don't really know what a treasure hunter is, but they definitely do not use the term the same way I do.  For them it seems to boil down to treasure hunting is not what they do and is evil.  

You'll find the link to the page I'm talking about below, and I highly recommend that you take a look at it.  I'll summarize a number of their statements in this post, but I'll give you the link and hope you check it out for yourself.

First, the author says that treasure hunters can not "do archaeology with high standards."  He says that treasure hunting companies depend on investor money and can not follow good standards and make enough money to survive.  That would be no problem if treasure hunters were funded by the tax-payers like these academicians.  They would have plenty of time to sit around drinking coffee in the faculty lounge and still have time to linger over each and every grain of sand when they feel like wandering out to the site.  I spent years in academia myself and know the torrid pace.

Second, he says that archaeologists and treasure hunters can not work together.  Basically he says that treasure hunters have no ethical code and sell artifacts for profit, while archaeologists have an ethical code, and I assume, perfectly adhere to it without exception.  Of course I disagree with both of those propositions.  The common view is that treasure hunters are motivated by greed and profit, while archaeologists don't care at all about fame or fortune.  It sounds like archaeologists donate all of their time, would not advance their career by taking credit for discoveries and make all of their findings freely available to the public, who they claim to serve.   I'm appalled by the tax-payer funded projects that are only published in expensive books instead of freely on the internet.

He says treasure hunters and archaeologists can not work together because archaeologists are bound by an ethical code and treasure hunters have none. Again, treasure hunter bad, archaeologists good.  That is what it comes down to.  That is why they can not work together.

He says that archaeology can be conducted by private organizations and give one example of such an organization. Their primary virtue of that company is that they never sold one artifact. I wonder if those artifacts that went unsold were ever seen by the public or if they are sitting in an office or dusty basement.

He then gives four reasons that archaeology collections should be kept together. I won't disagree with any of those, but I will say that museums sell artifacts and artifacts are deaccessed.  This actually raises some good questions that deserve to be explored in more detail some other time.

I'll skip to his last two points now.

He says that treasure hunting is not a profitable investment. He would have us believe that treasure hunting is done only for greed and profit, but that treasure hunting is not profitable.  I guess that is why treasure hunters have to cheat investors.

Is there a future for treasure hunting?  Here is his answer.  No. More and more countries are forbidding this activity in their national waters. Also, most museums have adopted a ban on the purchase of items salvaged from shipwrecks.

Here is the link if you want to read the rest of that page.

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/treasurehunters_04faqs.htm


Here is the link for the profile of the author.

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/academic/FACULTY/castro.shtml

It was difficult for me to not go on at length in response to each and every item, but that would take forever.  I will perhaps address some of it more in the future.

I have never believed that universities should hire their own students as instructors.  That type of academic incest results in the kind of simplistic and extreme thinking you will see when you visit these web sites.

As part of the public for whom archaeology claims to be working, and as tax-payers, who support public universities and archaeology, and being among those most actively interested in the our past, I hope you will take a look at these web sites and judge for yourself. If this type of thinking goes unchallenged by good common sense, there will be no more treasure hunting or anything closely resembling treasure hunting.  That means the end to the metal detecting hobby.

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Before ending today, I want to express my deepest sorrow to the families, friends and acquaintances of those killed or injured in the recent school shootings.

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Appreciate the important things in life,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net