4/30/18 Report - Odyssey Marine Filing For Ownership of SS Mantola. Cookout Big Success. 1715 Fleet Artifacts In Auction.

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

A US marine salvage company that discovered a sunken World War I ship years ago wants to be named owner of the vessel — and the nearly 19 tons of silver bars worth millions of dollars that went down with the ship.

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. contends in a new Manhattan lawsuit it used “sophisticated sonar equipment” in 2011 to locate the SS Mantola -- a 450-foot British flagged steamer torpedoed by a German submarine in 1917 as it sailed from London to Calcutta...

The company estimates 536,000 ounces of silver could be on board the ship. Under a 2011 salvage agreement with the UK government, Odyssey was to keep 80 percent of the cargo.

However, that agreement lapsed in September 2015 and the government no longer makes such deals, the suit says. Odyssey is staking its claim for ownership...

Here is that link.

https://nypost.com/2017/04/22/salvage-company-wants-rights-to-shipwrecks-treasure/

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By all reports, everybody had a great time at the Treasure Hunter's Cookout Saturday.  SuperRick had the following to say

Yesterday, My wife and I got to go to the treasure hunter's cookout.  I missed it last year by a few days. When I saw your post on it this year I wasn't going to miss it! The one thing I love about your blog is that you put out a lot of good information that anybody that wants to hunt the beaches can use! Of course, the one person that I wanted to meet was not there so I could personally thank him for all of the great work that he does on your Blog.

But I did get to meet Terry Shannon and Ed Huffman along with the owners of Booty Salvage with so many others that I can't remember all of their names. The food was great and so was all of those that were there. I know that next year I won't have any problem getting my wife to go there again!

It's been an interesting three months here in Fla. hunting the beaches in south Fla. I never even hunted the treasure beaches because the conditions were not right. The one thing that I've learned from your Blog is that you don't want to waste your time if the conditions are not right!

The funny thing was that I met the owners of Booty Salvage the last time I was in Fla. at Turtle trail park and he remembered me from our meeting!

We are leaving to head back to Vegas on Tuesday so until the next time I hope that you find many treasures whatever they may be!

Thanks again
Rick

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If you want to know what kind of things you might find on the Treasure Coast if you are real lucky, you can see a number of 1715 Fleet artifacts that are listed in the current Sedwick auction.  They begin with lot number 1599 and extend through lot number 1616.  The series begins with a small section of a gold olive blossom chain, a silver coat-of-arms seal and a gold leaf snuff box.  Also included are several emeralds and other artifacts.

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SpaceX launches rockets and can now land them so they are reusable.  They can land them on land or on a barge at sea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEr9cPpuAx8

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One fellow told me that he is planning a big experiment.  He'll mark items and ask people to report where and when they find them.


The treasure Treasure Coast salvage season is ramping up and will get into high speed before long.


The biggest surf we'll see in the next several days is a three - five foot surf that is predicted for Tuesday through Thursday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/29/18 Report - Gilded Royal. Silver Bar. Meteorite Gun. Buried Treasure Imaged by Radar.

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

Gilded 8-Reales.
Source: Current Sedwick Auction ( See link below.).

Here what is described as a Royal.  It is a Potosi 8-reales, but what I found interesting in the lot description is the "faint glint of gold color from old gilding."  See the entire lot description below.

If you found it while the gilding was still full, you would be faced with a silver reale that looked like gold.  I know how that can be confusing because I once found a fake treasure coin that looked gold but had the design of a reale.  I knew very little about cobs at that point, and it was confusing.

The interesting thing about it to me is the question of when and why it was gilded.  Sedwick's once said that it is unlikely that Royal's were made for royalty because there were too many made and many of them never left the New World.  It was not unusual for Royals to be holed and gilded.

This one has something else that caught my attention.  The assayer mark looks very much like a bulls-eye.  I've pointed out that little symbol on Potosi cobs before.

Here is the Sedwick auction lot description.

Potosi, Bolivia, cob 8 reales Royal, 1650O, NGC XF details / holed. S-P35; KM-R19b; CT-400. 28.20 grams. Die match with Lazaro #111 (R3), with choice and 100% full details on both sides enhanced by contrasting toning but inevitably holed (left of crown / right of cross), faint glint of gold color from old gilding. NGC #4690085-001.

And here is the link.

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Potosi-Bolivia-cob-8-reales-Royal-1650O-NGC-XF-details-holed_i29836099

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Among the higher bids in the auction so far are the bids for two big silver bars.  Both have current bids of $29,000.

Silver Bar Listed in Current Sedwick Auction.
Source: See link below.

Here is one of the two similar bars.

And here is the lot description for the one shown above.

Large silver bar #510 from Potosi, 74 lb 3.5 oz troy, Class Factor 0.9, with markings of mine/date Po1621, manifest IIIIUCCCCXCI (4491) and fineness IIUCCCLXXX (2380/2400) followed by cartouche of assayer Mexia, plus various owner/shipper marks and tax stamps, from the Atocha (1622). 13-1/2" x 5-1/2" x 3". Very well-marked and well-preserved specimen of slightly less than average size, with bold manifest and owner/shipper monograms (C. Sanchez and P. Morera), clear but weaker marks of fineness, assayer, tax stamps, date (to left of manifest number) and silvermaster (V), prominent double-scoop "bite" in center. The assigned Class Factor indicates that the Fisher organization must have missed the date on this piece, which should merit a 1.0 Class Factor. From the Atocha (1622), with Fisher photo-certificate.

Here is the link.
https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Large-silver-bar-510-from-Potosi-74-lb-3-5-oz-troy-Class-Factor-0-9-with-markings-of-mine-date-P_i29835491

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Here is a nice but older article about using radar to get images of buried objects.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3923-satellites-hunt-for-buried-treasure/

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How about a $4.5 million gun made out of a 4.5 billion year-old meteorite?

That would be a nice and rare collectible.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/04/26/holy-grail-guns-made-company-sells-4-5m-pistols-made-from-4-5-billion-year-old-meteorite.html

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Tell me about your day at the Treasure Hunters Cookout.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/28/18 Report - Metal Detectors I've Used Over The Years And My Impressions of Them.

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

 Today I'll give my history and progression with metal detecting, including my impression of the various detectors that I've used.  

The first metal detector I used was a Radio Shack metal detector that my grandmother bought a long time ago.  I would guess it was in the 1950s or something.  I can't remember how old I was, but she got it and we went out to her childhood home where not much more than the stone chimney was left standing.  I recall finding some relics - but only iron and bigger things.  As I recall, correctly or not, that metal detector wouldn't detect a coin.  Maybe we didn't know how to use it.  I'm very vague about all of that now.

Years passed and I moved to Florida and bought a White's metal detector out of a Sears Roebuck catalog.  I took it to Hollywood beach and found coins.  For some reason I returned it.  I thought, again correctly or incorrectly, that something was wrong with it, but I had found enough that I was hooked.

I think my next metal detector was a Fisher Aquanaut 1280.  I found a lot with that metal detector and eventually moved from targeting coins to targeting jewelry.  I found my first ring at Hollywood Beach in the wet sand with that detector.  My parents were visiting and I took them out to show them the metal detector and quickly found that ring.  They were amazed.

That was the metal detector that got me into shallow water detecting.  It was also the metal detector that I was using when I learned the down side of discrimination.  I turned down the discrimination and started finding more small gold rings.  Discrimination on that metal detector was set by using a single knob.  There was no notch or target ID.

My impressions of the 1280 are very favorable.  I found a lot with it.  It was very reliable.  I sold it years later for almost what I paid for it new.  It paid for itself in face value coin finds in the first year.

I did have trouble with one thing on it at first.  The arm rest holder was plastic.  I broke the plastic arm rest about three times in short order and then they replaced it with a metal one.

Around this time I tried a Garrett pulse induction metal detector.  I used it a few times and noticed how hot it was to iron.  I didn't find much gold with it and thought it wasn't working well.  After getting it looked at, they said there was nothing wrong with it, and I decided to sell it.   Now I think I just didn't understand pulse induction metal detectors back then.

I got a Tesoro Royal Sabre while I was still using the 1280.  It had some interesting new features.  One was notch discrimination.  Another was what they called surface blanking.

I used the Royal Sabre mostly as a backup and on junky dry sand sites.  It was not water proof and didn't work very well in wet sand.  It worked well for years, and they had what they advertised as a life-time guarantee, so it was repaired a couple of times under warranty.  However, as I've said before, the advertised Tesoro life-time warranty is not really a life-time warranty.   When they declare a detector obsolete, they no longer will repair it.

Somewhere around that I got a two-box metal detector.   It was a Fisher Gemini something or other.  I used it some, but not much.  The best thing it did for me was find my septic tank.

At some time I got a Tesoro Stingray as a back-up for water detecting.  They didn't have it grounded right and I sent it back to them about three times without being fixed.  They eventually sent me one that had a fix.  They said it was "Jack's detector."  It worked right, so I kept it, but the fix eventually came back to bite me.  After a few years, when I sent it for warranty repairs they said it had been modified so was out of warranty, even though they were the ones that modified it.   The Stingray that one that they originally sent me never did work right.

My impression of the Tesoro detectors is that when they were right they worked ok.  They were good on small gold and I liked the notch and other features, but I wouldn't buy one today considering the type of detecting I do, and the fact that they did not honor their advertised "life-time" warranty.

My Tesoro detectors were always more of a back-up or special situation detector for me anyhow.  My wife used the Royal Sabre occasionally.  It was light and had a fast response.

I basically transitioned from the 1280 to a modified Nautilus that was modified and put in a Nikolite case and sold by Steve Noga.  That was my favorite metal detector and I found a lot with it.  That was also the time when I did my most intense and productive metal detecting, mostly in South Florida.  That was sometime in the 1980s and 1990s.  I was hitting it heavy then and doing very well.

After I got my first modified Nautilus from Steve, I used it about two or three days and called him up and asked me if he'd give me a deal on a second one.  If anything went wrong with that one, I wanted to have another one ready as a back-up.  That was a great detector for what I was doing.  It nulled on iron, so you could tell that an iron object was there, but you didn't really get a signal from iron.  Really good and deep on small gold.

I found a small hollow gold bead at Turtle Trail one day that I could barely see in the course brown sand even after I threw it onto my coil.  I moved it around on the coil and the detector would respond, but I still had a hard time seeing it.

I don't know what happened to Steve, but Herb McDonald then made a very similar home-made detector that I used after that.  Very similar, but involved more tuning.  Herb is deceased.

After that I used Excaliburs and a Minelab Sovereign detectors.  They were decent.

I also tried a White's Pulse, but was never impressed by it and didn't use it much.  The plastic parts broke down a lot.  I don't think they were made to stand up to Florida heat and sun.

My most recent detectors are a Garrett Ace 250 and a Garrett ATX.  They are at opposite ends of the spectrum.  The Ace is a light little inexpensive detector with some discrimination and target ID.  For the price, very good.  The ATX is more expensive, but very good sensitivity.  It is not for most people.  It is heavy, detects deep, including on small iron, and takes a good while to master.  It took me a long time to learn to use it well.

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The surf this weekend is down around two feet.  It will just be a foot or two higher next week.  Not much change.

Enjoy the Treasure Hunter's Cookout today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/26/18 Report - Treasure Hunters Cookout Saturday. Art McKee in the Florida Memory Project.

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

Art McKee Being Suited Up
Source: Florida Memory Project (See link below).

... In 1937, a commercial fisherman showed McKee a pile of ballast stones and cannons off Plantation Key, and McKee began to find Spanish silver coins, including one gold escudo coin dated 1721. Curious about his find, he wrote to the Archive of the Indies in Spain and received a packet of documents relating the fate of the 1733 Spanish treasure fleet that was wrecked in the Florida Keys during a hurricane. From translations of the documents, McKee learned that the wreck off Plantation Key was the Capitana, El Rubi Segundo, flagship of the fleet. During the next ten years, he and his partners searched up and down the Keys, exploring more than 75 shipwrecks...

Art Riding the Anchor.
Source: See link below.

I ran across this section on Art McKee in the Florida Memory photo collection.  

I ran into Art when I was down in the Keys years ago.  He was a friendly fellow and often gave personal tours through his museum.

Here is the link for more on Art McKee.

https://www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_exhibits/archaeology/archaeology5.php

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Don't forget the picnic this Saturday.

That is Saturday.

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My Comcast phone and internet connection has been terrible for weeks now.  I lose the service almost everytime I really need it.  I called up to have a billing adjustment because of the poor service for weeks despite reports to their technicians and they wouldn't give me a credit like one of their representatives said they would because they didn't have many calls from me.  They didn't count the calls when I got a recorded message saying that service was out in my area and the other reboots I did over the phone I guess.

Any body else having daily problems with Comcast phone and internet?  If so, make sure to report everytime and keep a record of it because if you don't have it all documented, it seems they won't credit you.  Very poor service and exasperating response from them!

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According to my Google Blogger Stats I passed 2 million page views yesterday.  I don't know exactly how those stats are different than the hit counter on the first page of the blogger.  Anyhow, 2 million seems like a lot.

I expect to have more on cache finds to post soon.

The surf is only about 2 - 3 feet for the next couple days, so enjoy the picnic.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/25/18 Report - Understanding Factors Involved With How Coins Move in Sand. Archaeological Detecting. Emeralds and Silver Bars.

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

A couple days ago I talked about how coins move on the beach.  Evidently a lot of people were interested in the topic and followed up by visiting previous posts on the subject.  As a result I decided to show something that clearly illustrates some of the main factors involved.  It isn't simple because it depends upon a variety of factors - the force and direction of the water being a couple of the most important.  The complication is that the water force can change from near zero to very high.

First, here is a question for you?  Will a coin always move in the same direction as the current.

Here is an illustration.

The illustration shows a coin lying on a sand slope.  The current is moving towards shore and up over the slope very much like it would with a surge.

What do you think will happen?   It depends upon the how strongly the current is moving, but if the current is very slight it can move sand in and pile it up on the slope and eventually cover the object.
However, if there is enough current, but not too much, the current will move the sand from around the coin, especially the that part of the coin that faces the current.  That would be red area shown in the next illustration.

When a sufficient amount of sand is moved from that area, the coin will slip down the slope a notch and remain there until enough sand is moved for the same thing to happen again.  Of course the current would have to remain about the same and the coin would be in the same orientation on the sandy slope.

I've seen this actually demonstrated in a tank filled with water and sand and a controlled current.  This is a case in which the object moves opposite the direction of the current,  If the current is either too weak or too strong, it won't happen the same way.  If the current is strong enough, it can push the coin along in the same direction as the sand.

The important factors are the characteristics of the objects to be moved, including both the density and shape, as well as the force of the current.

When an object like this coin is on a slope and the supporting sand is removed, gravity moves it down the slope.

One of the important characteristics of a coin is the shape.  Coins tend to lie flat against the surface and present a small and rounded edge towards any modest current.  The current then speeds a little as it is forced around the stationary object.

A variety of things can destroy this entire scenario.  Just think of a wave crashing right on top of the slope and coin.  In that case, sand will be thrown around and the coin moved rather abruptly.

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The Society of American Archaeology web site lists a variety of projects involving detectorists.

Here is the link.

http://www.saa.org/ForthePublic/Resources/MetalDetectingInArchaeology/MetalDetectoristsParticipatinginArchaeologyRe/tabid/1030/Default.aspx

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There are several 1715 Fleet emeralds up for auction in the current Sedwick auction.  They have starting bids of around $100.  I've posted about people who have found emeralds on the Treasure Coast beaches.  Some of those emeralds are not the greatest, but one exceptional one was a 68 karat emerald found by a lady that was collecting shells at Golden Sands beach.  Watch for green in the shell piles.

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Crude-natural-emerald-from-the-1715-Fleet-8-5-carats_i29836856

The big silver bars seem to be bringing in really good prices.  I think one is up to about $29,000 already.

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The surf is pretty small now and won't start increasing again until Monday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/24/18 Report - 1715 Fleet Lima 8-escudo. Changing Times of Life. Walk Like a Man. Mystery Object.

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

Lima 8-Escudo from 1715 Fleet
Source: Current Sedwick Auction (See link below.)

Sedwick Treasure Auction number 23 is proceeding and some items already have very nice bids.  I like to see how much things are selling for.   The escudo above already has a bid of over$15,000 and will undoubtedly sell for higher.

Here is the lot description. Lima, Peru, cob 8 escudos, 1711M, from the 1715 Fleet. S-L28; KM-38.2; CT-22. 26.92 grams. Choice strike, well centered, with bold full pillars-and-waves and cross-lions-castles on a 100% round flan, clearly UNC (>62) but with a couple very minor rubs on edge as from being previously mounted. From the 1715 Fleet.

And here is the link.

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Lima-Peru-cob-8-escudos-1711M-from-the-1715-Fleet_i29835262

Auctions provide some of the best information you can find on coins and artifacts.  You can learn a lot by browsing.  I'm often surprised by how much someone will pay for some of the kinds of things that I've found.  I simply didn't know the value and didn't appreciate the item as much as I should.  I look through the auction listings, particularly the artifacts, and too often remember the similar item that I found and didn't appreciate or worse yet, didn't even bother to keep.  That happened in the old days more.  These days I seldom leave or throw away an item that is in any way questionable.  I've learned to not throw anything away until I'm absolutely sure about it.

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Another thing that continues to surprise me is how much there is out there in the world to be found.  It might not seem that way if you are narrowly focused on one particular type of target or keep hunting the same place all the time, but if you are interested in different kinds of things and are willing to look around at different kinds of places, there is always something interesting to be found.  I like finding everything from fossils, to seaglass, to indigenous artifacts, to coins an bottles, and all of those things I've found on Treasure Coast beaches.  But you don't have to stay on the beach.  There are other places where all kinds of things can be found.

Over the years I've changed a lot.  I've detailed how when I began I was focused on coins and tried to find as many coins as I could.  Before long I changed my focus and began hunting gold jewelry.  I then kept extensive records on that and worked hard to improve my jewelry finds.  Next I moved to the Treasure Coast, and although I hunted old coins and artifacts occasionally before moving to the Treasure Coast, my focus changed again after moving there.  More recently I had some back trouble and took on some other family responsibilities that kept me from hunting as frequently or as intensely as I once did.  I'm embarrassed to admit that now I take the easy way much of the time.  In the old days, and it doesn't seem that long ago, I'd spend a lot of time and work really hard.  You might say I'd leave no stone or bolder unturned.  That has changed.  Now I am much more selective and know that I leave things that I could get if I was only willing or able.  I now also have more interest in the story an object tells.  That makes the precise location and context of the find more important.  Now it seems I'm as interested in the story of the finds as much or more than the value of the finds.  That might go along with moving from a time of life dominated by working to make a living to another time of life, and moving from a time of life in which I was trying to test and prove myself to a time of life in which that is over.

I just remembered what Popeye the sailorman said.  He said,  "I am what I am, and that's all that I am."  That's what I found too.

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3.6 million-year-old footprints show that those early humans walked upright like modern humans.

... David Raichlen, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Arizona, has studied the Laetoli footprints and compared them to footprints made by human volunteers in laboratory settings. He examined footprints of individuals walking normally and also those walking with bent knees and bent hips. (Scientists who study locomotion use the acronym BKBH). The Laetoli footprints more closely match modern human footprints.

“Upright, humanlike bipedal walking goes back 4 to 5 million years,” Raichlen told The Washington Post in advance of a symposium on the evolution of human locomotion, which took place Sunday at the Experimental Biology conference in San Diego...

Click here for more of that article.


It was just a day or two ago while on one of my little walks along a beach strewn with glass shards that I was thinking about how fortunate it is that are eyes point the same direction as our feet, yet it would still have been nice if over the millions of years evolution (if you believe in that sort of thing) we would have been gifted with a set of eyes in the back of our head too.  While the paranoid might  really appreciate such an extra pair of eyes, I could imagine an actual survival for those in danger of being eaten by sneaky predators or clubbed over the head.

I always find humor in evolution.

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I found this item a couple days ago.  I don't know what it is and don't have any idea how old it is.  Seems to be the same kind of clay they make flower pots out of.

Any ideas?



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It seems that a lot of people went back and looked at the older posts on how coins move.  I remember most of my posts, but not all of them, and find myself often going back to check older posts.  I don't remember everything I've talked about or that I've posted in the past and find the blog search box very handy.

The surf will continue to decrease a little every day until next week when there is supposed to be another increase in the surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/23/18 Report - Beach Reports. How Coins Move On A Beach. Tips For Cache Hunting.

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

Beautiful Fort Pierce Beach Monday Morning.

Dumping More Sand and Money In The Big Black Hole. 

I went out to see what the higher surf did this weekend.  The answer is, not much.

Below are two photos of John Brooks Beach.

John Brooks Beach Monday Morning Near Low Tide.

There were some small scallops and peaks here.  You can see that in the photos.

The beach down near the water was pretty firm and flat.  Even zinc pennies were down a few inches.

The sand bar was out in front of the beach some thirty or so yards.

Notice the sea weed.

John Brooks Beach Near Low Tide Monday Morning.

A little farther south where there were some decent cuts back not too long ago, a lot of sand had accumulated and filled the cuts.

Blind Creek Beach.

There were good numbers of modern clad coins in the dry sand and a few in the wet sand this morning.  Those in the wet sand were at least a few inches deep.

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I don't generally post YouTube videos, but it has been a while since I talked about the movement of sand and other objects, and SuperRick made this video that shows how a coin can quickly move in the shallow water near the water line.  I've observed the same thing and talked about it before, but this shows it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttcQacW3F90&feature=youtu.be

Thanks Rick.

A coin that has just been uncovered so that it is on the surface can move quickly.  There are times when I'll throw a coin in the surf and track it just to observe how things are moving, particularly in front of a cut where there is a concentration of coins.

Back some time ago I did an experiment to determine what factors determine how much items are moved by the water.

Here is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2013/08/8513-report-what-actually-determines.html

Everybody talks about weight, but as I've explained many times, it isn't weight.  A ton of styrofoam still floats.  It is more about density and the shape of the object.

And here is a post about five ways coins move on a beach.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/07/7115-report-five-ways-coins-move-on.html

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A couple people offered good suggestions for hunting in an area like the area where the ten dollar gold coin was found in a canning jar.

Dan B. suggested tuning into the canning jar and looking for more.  Since the jar was found under a piece of concrete he also suggested probing for concrete.  Good ideas.

You'll also recall the sifting experiment done by one reader that showed that only a small percent of the coins buried in one lot were found by repeated metal detecting sessions.  I featured that post for a while.  That reader also suggested that there were most likely much more buried at that site.  That is something I believe too.  There will be more on that in the future.

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My Comcast has been out more than it has been working for several days now.  Really a pain.


The surf will be decreasing gradually for a few days.  I don't expect to see any improvement in beach conditions any time soon.

I'd really love to see some good cuts into old sand.  They have been very scarce the past couple of years.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/22/18 Report - Beach Conditions. Sight Find of Old Brewery Bottle.

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

John Brooks Beach Near the Saturday PM Low Tide.

After the higher surf Saturday I went out to see what the beaches were doing.  The first beach I checked was John Brooks.

As you can see above, there were some small scallops and peaks, but the water had not been back very far and it was still pretty sandy.

I skipped Frederick Douglass because I figured it would have been about the same as John Brooks.  For the last year or more those two beaches have been staying about the same.

Blind Creek Beach Saturday PM.

I then took a look at Blind Creek, which was eroded back a few weeks ago.  Where there were substantial cuts back then, there were now only slight dips.  Overall a lot of sand accumulated on this beach in the last few weeks.

I also checked Walton Rocks, but it didn't look very interesting yet.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Saturday PM.

Fort Pierce South Jetty was cut a little.  I think you can see that in the photo above.  But you might also be able to see that they are dumping sand up by the jetty.  Looks like they barely got started with that.  The small cut ran for a hundred yards or more south of where they were working.

So far the higher surf hasn't done much good to these beaches.  The water didn't get very high yet.

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Thursday I took a little walk to see what I could see at first.  I didn't see much interesting so walked a little farther than normal.  Eventually I found an area where a lot of bottles were buried in the sand.  They were barely visible, but they were there.  I could see tufts of sea grass or moss sticking out of the sand.  That is how I spotted the mostly buried bottles.

It got dark, and I had to give up, but I saw enough that I figured I could find something nice if I came back the next day.  Friday when I got a chance to go, the water was higher and dirty, making visibility very poor.  I could make out a few bottles, but couldn't see them very well, and had to spend a lot of time investigating individual bottles because I couldn't see them good enough to tell if they were junk right away.  If visibility was better, I could have moved much more quickly.  I did find the above old embossed brewery bottle from Rosslyn, Va.

A little research revealed that the Consumer's Brewery Company, as it is embossed, existed from 1895 until 1902, when it became the Arlington Brewing Company.  That makes it older than I originally thought.

I did pick up a couple other things on that walk.  Below is another old bottle that I picked up on that walk.  You can see how it is covered with barnacles and green vegetation.

Old Bottle Covered with Barnacles and Vegetation.

In most cases, the bottles were mostly covered, but I could see the clumps of green that told me something was there.  I already removed part of the vegetation from both of the bottles so I could see them better.  In the water the

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You might enjoy browsing MainStreetFortPierce.org, which gives some nice history and pictures of old Fort Pierce.

Here is the link.

http://mainstreetfortpierce.org/pdf/MSFocusApr06Web.pdf

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We're going to have some higher surf.  Here is the chart.

As I said the other day, it looks like neither the wind nor tides will be favorable for beach improvement.  Anytime you get some good surf, there might be some location that improves enough to be worth checking.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/20/18 Report - Cobs, Ingots and Artifacts Available in Latest Sedwick Auction. Prohibition and Rum-Running In Florida. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

The 23rd Sedwick Treasure auction is now online and available for registration and bidding.  There are already a number of bids, including one bid of $29,000 for a large silver ingot.

The artifacts section has a little bit of everything it seems including some items you might not expect to see in a Sedwick auction including an antique book and a 1950s Tiffany pill box.  As you would expect there are the usual musket balls, cannon balls, candle stick holder, fork, etc.

There were also non-metallic artifacts that seemed more typical of an archaeological dig than a treasure salvage operation, such as Spanish Colonial glass jewelry fragments, jet beads, and a stone bird shot mold.  Sometime not long ago I talked about jet and glass Spanish jewelry items and mentioned how common they appeared to be in documentation and archaeological digs, but how uncommon they are as beach finds.

Of course there are the seemingly endless lots of cobs that are good for study even if you are like me and prefer to find things rather than buy them.

Here is the link if you want to register, bid or just browse.

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Treasure-World-U-S-Coin-and-Paper-Money-Auction-23-May-15-16_a34033_p8?m=all

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For drinkers and those who surreptitiously supplied them during Prohibition, the thrill of obtaining smuggled liquor was a quintessentially American custom bringing to mind the rebellious streak of the nation’s founders and their defiance of the oppressive laws and taxes imposed by a tyrannical monarch. Floridians were not immune to the lure of smuggling.  Freckled along the state’s Atlantic seaboard and extending out among the islands of the Bahamas and the Caribbean lay bays and inlets ideal for the trade, which would famously become known as rum-running. It also helped that in the 1920 Census, the Florida counties along the 250-mile long stretch of coastline from Titusville in northern Brevard County to Florida City near the southern border of Dade (now Miami-Dade) County, had a combined population of only 82,843, with more than half of the population clustered in the Miami area. (Today, incidentally, the seven counties along that stretch of coastline have a combined population of 7.9 million. The proximity of so many people hasn’t brought smuggling to a halt, but nowadays the illicit cargo is more likely to be drugs than booze.)

Also helping the smugglers was the fact that the southernmost portions of Florida’s Atlantic seaboard were not far from the Bahamas, then a British colony. Most of the rum and other illegal booze of all kinds entered Florida through the Bahamas, where the sale of liquor remained legal. Nassau, on New Providence Island, further cemented its historic reputation as a hub of piracy and crime by becoming the bootleggers’ paradise during the 1920s. Nassau served as the depot for alcohol shipped there from all parts of the world. From Nassau, rum runners would transport their illegal goods to the infamous Rum Row, which was created by one of Prohibition’s biggest celebrities, William “Bill” McCoy. Rum Row was a stretch of ocean that lay just beyond the U.S. territorial limits along the Eastern seaboard. At that time, the territorial limit was a mere three miles off the coast. Long chains of vessels carrying liquor of every sort tossed their contraband to contact boats assigned to deliver the smuggled cargo to accomplices on the mainland, all the while avoiding the interference of customs officials and other lawmen...

Here is the link for more about that.

http://floridaverve.org/prohibitionists-domain-and-smugglers-paradise-floridas-peculiar-status-during-prohibition/

You've heard the expression, "Real McCoy" and you probably know how it is used, but do you know where the expression came from?

Rum-running also saw a revival as a trade in the United States. Liquor was smuggled in station wagons, trucks and boats from Mexico, Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. The term “The Real McCoy” came out of this era. It’s attributed to Captain William S. McCoy who facilitated most of the rum running via ships during prohibition and would never water down his imports, making his the “real” thing. McCoy, a non-drinker himself, began running rum from the Caribbean into Florida shortly after the beginning of prohibition. One encounter with the Coast Guard shortly thereafter stopped McCoy from completing runs on his own. The innovative McCoy set up a network of smaller ships that would meet his boat just outside U.S. waters and carry his supplies into the country...

Here is one link for more about that.

https://www.metrojacksonville.com/mobile/article/2011-oct-bootlegging-and-rum-running-in-jacksonville

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The low tides have been nice and low lately.  That can be a big help at times.

The surf has been small lately but will increase up to around 4 - 7 feet this weekend.  I'm eager to see that.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/19/18 Report - Historic Maps For Research Online. Sound of Gold Coin. Famous Nazi Sub Found.

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

Part of Master Map for 1915 Fort Pierce.

I found a very good website where you can find old maps.  The one above is a 1915 Fort Pierce map.  Below is a closer view of part of one of the sections.

Detail View of A Small Section of Downtown Fort Pierce.

This section shows The Crystal Theatre, which is where the Sunrise Theatre is today.  Notice also the old Fort Pierce Hotel.

You can find this old map and many more by using the following link.

http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/1622568/Sheet+001/Fort+Pierce+1915/Florida/

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What does 1915 Ten Dollar Gold sound like on an Ace 250?  Here is the answer.

I know you can't see the coin with the glare, but it is on the napkin.

It sounds like a coin, but how does the ID meter read since the meter does not have a Ten Dollar Coin reading?  It rang up as between a penny and dime, which is the lower level of the coin range on the meter.

By the way, I think you can see a Walking Liberty half off to the side in the video.  It was correctly identified as a 50 cent piece by the inexpensive detector.

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Source: FoxNews.com link below.

A German submarine from World War II-- rumored to have been used to transport Nazi leadership to South America following the war-- has been located nearly 73 years after being lost at sea.

Denmark’s Sea War Museum discovered the U-3523 roughly 403 feet below sea level. The submarine was found off the coast in Denmark’s northernmost town of Skagen, nine miles west of where it was reportedly sunk by Britain, according to the paper.

The front of the vessel was buried in the sand and the stern jutted out, according to a report by The Sun published on Tuesday.

The depth of the sub’s final resting place, however, makes it difficult for researchers to reach.
Gert Normann Andersen, the museum’s director, told the paper that the discovery dispels rumors of a potential escape that stemmed from the failure to locate the vessel after it was sunk by a British B24 Liberator attack on May 6, 1945..

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/04/19/missing-wwii-german-submarine-found-after-nearly-73-years-lost-at-sea.html

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

We'll have a day or two of smooth surf before an increase comes.  

I'm always happy with both.  The smooth water is good for hunting in shallow water, and the rougher surf is good for shifting things around a bit.  

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/17/18 Report - Bluetooth Hoard Found By 13-Year-Old Detectorist. More On Beach Access Legislation. Older Paper Money In Circulation.

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

Source: TheGuardian.com link below.

A 13-year-old boy and an amateur archaeologist have unearthed a “significant” trove in Germany which may have belonged to the Danish king Harald Bluetooth who brought Christianity to Denmark.

René Schön and his student Luca Malaschnitschenko were looking for treasure using metal detectors in January on northern Rügen island when they chanced upon what they initially thought was a worthless piece of aluminium.

But upon closer inspection, they realised that it was a piece of silver, German media reported.
Over the weekend, the regional archaeology service began a dig covering 400 sq metres (4,300 sq ft). It has found a hoard believed to be linked to the Danish king Harald Gormsson, better known as “Harry Bluetooth”, who reigned from around AD958 to 986...

Here are two links for more about that.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/16/treasure-of-legendary-danish-king-bluetooth-unearthed-in-germany

https://www.livescience.com/62323-king-bluetooth-treasure-found.html?utm_source=notification

Another good archaeological find made by a young detectorist.

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Here is what FlaglerLive had to say about the beach access bill signed by Governor Rick Scott and how Flagler County is responding.

Your free access to many beaches in Flagler County is not so free anymore. A new law that easily passed both of Florida’s legislative chambers and that Gov. Rick Scott signed in March bars local governments from unilaterally enacting ordinances that protect the public’s “customary” use of beaches in front of private property.

Starting July 1, governments that want to adopt such ordinances much go through a laborious process and essentially have a legal action involving every beach-front private property owner, proving to a judge that the public has customarily used every one of those parts of the beach for a long time...

Here is the link.

https://flaglerlive.com/120856/beach-access-florida/

If you've been trying to figure out what the bill will or won't do from the articles that appear in the press, this on might help clarify a few things.

Thanks to Brian B. for that link.

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A lot of people check their change for older coins, but it might also be a good idea to check your paper money as well.

I cashed a check the other day and got a couple fifty dollar bills, and they turned out to be older bills.  They were 1990 series, which doesn't seem old for coins, but it can make a difference in paper money.

1990 Series Fifty Dollar Bill.

I found these are offered on eBay for $65 or $75 dollars.  I don't know how well they sell at that price.

The first thing that stuck out to me and told me these bills were older is the small 50 within the circle.  There are other differences, of course.

A couple things to look for are low serial numbers, and star bills.  Star bills are sold for a more.  The last letter in the serial number would be a star rather than the "B" you see above.

As with all collectibles, condition matters.

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We are having a small surf and some good low tides.

Expect the surf to increase a bit Thursday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/16/18 - Report - Indian Ten Dollar Gold Coin. Opportunity To Work On Salvage Boat. Diving For The Navy.

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

Stars Around Edges of 1914 Ten Dollar Gold Coin.

I think there should be more where this one came from, so I'm holding off on discussing it until I find out.  

Here are the basics on the coin.

Category: Indian Head $10 (1907-1933)

Mint: Philadelphia

Mintage: 151,000

Obverse Designer: Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Reverse Designer: Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Composition: Gold

Fineness: 0.9000

Weight: 16.7200g

AGW: 0.4840oz

Melt Value: $651.03 (4/16/2018)

Diameter: 27mm

Edge: 48 raised stars

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Captain Jonah said he hasn't finalized his crew for 2018 yet, so I'm publishing this again.

It's about that time a year 2018 Treasure season is here. We are looking for people who want to join the adventure and salvage on the 1715 wreck sites. I hear a lot of people always tell me they never know how to get involved on a boat diving for treasure ,here it is. We are looking for a couple good metal detectorist. Even if you're not dive certified we have a place on the boat for you. Our prime treasure hunting season starts June 1 and ends September 1. If you hunt 1715 Treasure and want to learn more about these wreck sites and how they broke up and the way they scattered their treasure this is also a good opportunity to join for the summer and learn more than you can read about. Thanks. (772)215-4366. Jonah

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Here is an email from Sebastian Steve telling how he made one great find.

In the early 90s, I had a contract with The U.S. NAVY to locate with sonar and identify with diving, WW2 Warbirds lost in Lake Michigan during training off the deck of the "Sable". These planes were to be recovered off the bottom of the Lake, shipped down to the U.S. Navy Museum in Pensacola and restored.
Simply put...these were beginner pilots for the most part, training in all types of conditions, landing on the pitching deck of the Sable. Many simple missed, and the planes ended up on the bottom of Lake Michigan.

Let's just say the weather off Chicago is not a walk in the park, like Sebastian. The old saying up on The Great Lakes was... "If you don't like the weather, just wait ten minutes!" So very true... the fronts came in hard and fast out of the west, even in the middle of summer. These fronts could be, and often were ferocious! You could feel the dead calm all of a sudden, the water would get inky black and oily calm, and then you look up and see the jet black wall decending down upon you. Next thing you knew... you were battling 40-60 knot winds and white cap waves in less than a minute. Hopefully you were near the Lee shore, and not much "fetch" to build the waves in the short distance.

We received documents from the Navy stating the last rough known position that the Air Birds were lost. But these coordinates were very rough, taken only off radar. So plenty of sonar work was required. Contrary to what many think... even on a $50,000 Klein Towfish Sonar... the image of a small plane laying flat against the bottom, was not much of a sonar target. All we could get for an image, is a small "U" shape, about 2 times bigger than this "U" right here. That was it.
I was looking for this particular SBD Douglas Dauntless for the Navel Air Museum in Pensacola. The depth was not an issue at all, as it was lost in only about 70 feet of water. Must of been rough that day when the SBD was lost, for its odd that a big flat-top steamer like the Sable was in so close to shore! She was after all 518 feet long! Drawing probably half that 70' of water...that is without any obstructions!

Speaking of obstructions... I did have a lot of strange bottom on the sonar. Very hard to differentiate the plane from nearby rough bottom. Not the flat, open sand you would expect. That "strange bottom" became a feature unto itself!

I was successful and did locate this particular SBD Douglas Dauntless! She was sitting upright on the bottom in quite good condition, preserved in the fresh, cold water of Lake Michigan. I could even by lightly brushing off the powder silt on the wing, read the fueling instructions! The cockpit top was gone, giving me a sign of relief that this pilot was in fact rescued. And he was. I slid down just behind the cockpit and laid out on the plane, transporting me back in time as I reverently grabbed ahold of the stick, or yoke. The hardwood handle was in perfect condition. Steering was a little tight however. (;

I did notice the engine had separated from the plane, and was laying on the bottom about 100 feet ahead of the plane. I was very happy to locate the engine as now the plane was complete. But as I swam out to inspect the engine...something another 100' feet ahead caught my eye!!??? What was all that? Piles and piles of beautiful city street heavy bricks by the hundreds, wood beams, some burned, sticking out of piles, and I spot an absolutely gorgeous silver spoon with the owner's name in script on the handle.

And then I realized what I had.... Readers...have you figured it out??? Just by one in a million...the wind must have been strong that day out of the west, so the Sable was conducting flight opps closer in to land than normal, to keep the landing deck more stable, and this SBD crashes into gigantic Lake Michigan, landing 200' from one of the --DEBRIS PILES FROM THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE!!!-- After the fire, barges were used to haul massive load after load out into Lake Michigan off Chicago and dump the debris. The bricks were clean, and ready to use again, no mortar on them, must of been from streets just bulldozed up, and the bricks had been just set in sand. Think of the value today...??? I'm sure they are still there, if not that pile...another. These were like double the thickness of a regular brick...H/D paving bricks, each one with the name on. Sweet. THAT kind of TREASURE... really floats my boat!!! I regret to this day not grabbing one of those bricks for a souvenir of -The Great Chicago Fire-. But I did bag that pretty silver spoon! (:

Sebastian Steve

PS: If you would like to see the pic of the actual SBD Douglas Dauntless WarBird that I located go to:

http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits/item/?item=sbd_sunkentreasures

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Don't forget to check the Featured Post.

I need to get out and check a few things.  More later.

Happy hunting, TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/15/18 Report - Ten Dollar Indian Gold Piece. Older Coca Cola Bottle.

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

1914 Ten Dollar Gold Coin Find.

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Yesterday I showed some vintage Coca Cola bottles from Fort Pierce.  Here is an older Coca Cola bottle from Fort Pierce.  This would be called a straight-side bottle.  You can easily see why.

Straight-Side Coca Cola Bottle.

Around the top of the shoulder it reads, FORT PIERCE, FLA., then below that, REGISTERED 7 OZ.

Notice the bubble in the glass.

I assume it had a paper label at one time.  They don't very often survive, especially if they rolled around in the water like this one did.

Around the bottom edge it reads, PROPERTY OF COCA-COLA BOTTLING CO.

Bottom Edge of Same Bottle.

It wasn't easy to get good photos of this one.  On the inside was iridescent residue and the outside was rough, between the flea bits and irregularities in the glass.

Still I like this bottle.  It is a good example of an older bottle, even if it is beat up.

This bottle is close to the same age as the coin shown at the top of the post.

In early 1916, a committee composed of bottlers and Company officials met to choose the bottle design. The Root version was the clear winner and The Coca-ColaCompany and the Root Glass Company entered an agreement to have six glass companies across the U.S. use the bottle shape. The contract called for the bottles to be colored with “German Green” which was later called “Georgia Green” in homage to the home state of The Coca-Cola Company. It also called for the name of the city which was placing the glass order to be embossed on the bottom of the bottle... The weight of glass was to be no less than 14.5 ounces, which when filled with the 6.5 ounces of Coca-Cola meant each bottle weighed more than a pound! 

Even though the bottle had gone into production in early 1916, not all bottlers immediately jumped to change out their glass stock... 

(See http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/collectors-columns-collecting-bottles )

Here is a good link for some fine details of dating older Coca Cola bottles.

http://www.fohbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/DatingEarlyCocaColaBottles.pdf

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I have to unravel some more of the puzzle of the gold coin before I have more on that.

Back of the Same Gold Coin.

Better than average circulated shape for sure.  It must have been removed from circulation very early.

I don't know the story on that but am trying to get some clues and put it together.

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At the top of the first blog page I added a Featured Post.  There are times when I think a post should get more visibility than it got.  That is the case with this Featured Post.  You can click on it and view it from the first page.

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Just a two to three foot surf today, with decent tides.  The surf will decrease the next couple of days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net