8/31/18 Report - Mayan Ritual Mask Discovered. Finally Some Activity in the Atlantic. Circus World Token Find.

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

Circus World Token.

The big news for me today is the activity in the Atlantic.  After a very long quiet summer with very little other than calm seas and building beaches, we now have to areas to watch.  The first is southeast of the Bahamas, and the other is still closer to Africa than us.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

The disturbance to the southeast of us is not expected to become a cyclone in the next 48 hours.  After checking Ventusky.com I don't expect it to affect our beaches much at all.

The other system is expected to become a hurricane, but it looks to me like it will stay far out in the Atlantic.

As you know, any of this could change, so it is worth watching.

Although the beach conditions haven't been good, there have been some nice shipwreck finds, as you've seen.

I haven't detected much at all this summer due to a variety of factors, and much of my detecting was on an inland site that produced some very nice finds.   I've posted some of those in the past.

I spent a good bit of time catching up on cleaning and inspecting finds.  The token above is one that I finally got around to cleaning.  I couldn't see what it looked like until I cleaned it off.

I expect to get back out to do some beach hunting in the near future.

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Archaeologists have discovered a ritual mask in Mexico which is thought to represent the face of one of Mesoamerica’s most important historical rulers.

According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the mask was found inside a building known as “House E” in the palace complex at Palenque—an ancient Mayan city in the south of the country and one of its most precious archaeological gems...

This is a good article that includes a video of underwater artifacts.

Here is the link more.

https://www.newsweek.com/1500-year-old-ritual-mask-longest-reigning-ancient-mayan-king-discovered-1093287

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I'm not expecting much soon, but hopefully we'll get some weather that helps beach conditions before long.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/30/18 Report - Pillars and Waves Example. Native American Fort. 400-Year-Old Clan Artifact. System Coming Off Africa.

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

Reproduction Eight Reale After Cleaning.

Other Side of the Same Coin.

Not long ago I posted what appears to be a reproduction escudo with the plating corroded off.  I thought I might have one just like it, so went looking for that one.  I didn't find it, but located the one shown above, which I dug up some years ago.  If I correctly recall, it was found near Jensen Beach.

Anyhow, I cleaned off much of the encrustation.  It was heavily encrusted when found.  It is fairly heavy - 22.2 grams.  Not too far off the real thing.

As you can see the Pillars and Waves side still has some plating on it, but some has come off, revealing the copper underneath.

The other side is still encrusted, and the cross can barely be seen.

This one is particularly chunky and although it gave some excitement as it came out of the sand, it really isn't very realistic when you see it cleaned.

Even where the plating is still intact, it looks strange.  When new, it would still have been an obvious fake.

The Pillars and Waves side doesn't look like a genuine silver cob at all.  A genuine old silver coin that has spent time in salt water will be grey to black.

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... Not only did experts recently find the remains of the 17th century fort, they discovered some artifacts including arrow and spear tips that date back an estimated 3,000 years, indicating Native Americans were active at the site for generations. No evidence of human remains has been found...
He said it appears the Norwalk Indians, a tribe that historians know little about, had a fort at the site from about 1615 to 1640 and used it to trade goods with early Dutch settlers. The site is on a small sliver of land next to railroad tracks that carry Amtrak and Metro-North commuter trains. A 19th century history of Norwalk mentions an old Native American fort, and a road near the site is still named Fort Point Street.

The site was found during preliminary archaeological surveys ordered as part of the state's upcoming replacement of the 122-year-old Walk Bridge, which spans the Norwalk River and swings open to allow boats to pass. The bridge has gotten stuck in the open position several times and caused massive rail service delays. Construction is set to begin next year...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/native-american-fort-connecticut-1.20709914

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A 400-year-old clan artifact was uncovered near ruins in Scotland.

Artifact Discovered Near Ancient Ruins.
Source: HeraldScotland.com link below.

Site Where Artifact Discvoered.
Source: HeraldScotland.com link below.

Here is the link if you want to read about that.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16601818.ancient-clan-artefact-uncovered-after-being-hidden-for-400-years/

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It has been a very quiet summer.  There have been no storms of any effect.

There is now one developing, but it is just coming off of Africa, and it will be a while before we know what it is going to do.  If it does eventually come our way it will take several days.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

In the mean time...

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/29/18 Report - Another Conglomerate: X-ray Says... Standard Oil Token Info. Taking Time To Learn The Story of a Find.

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

X-Ray Image of  Conglomerate Found by Fred B.
Photo submitted by Fred B.

Fred B., who found the conglomerate containing a cannon ball, had another conglomerate that he wanted to have x-rayed so he could decide whether to open the conglomerate or leave it how it was.  He could see  that there was a piece of lead and a spike in the conglomerate, but he didn't know what else might be in it.

One of this blog's readers offered to have the item x-rayed.  Above is the x-ray image of that conglomerate.  The bright white object is the lead.

It appeared that there were no coins or other items in the conglomerate other than the lead and spike, so Fred decided to leave it how it was found.

Fred offered a big thanks to this blog for hooking him up and to the reader who made it happen.

Thank much J. Y.

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One thing I like about writing this blog is that when I make a mistake, I am quickly corrected.  Hundreds of people read this blog daily, and that readership includes experts and hobbyists that are knowledgeable about all kinds of subjects.  That helps me a lot because and I write about a lot of different types of things.  I don't think anyone can be really expert in more than one or two subjects, so I certainly need and gladly receive the help of my readers.

Just yesterday I posted a Standard Oil advertising token that I didn't know much about and asked if anyone might help me narrow down the date.  Well, as usual, some one came through.  Ben M. did some research and was able to add valuable information.  Below is what Ben said.

Hi Treasure Guide -

I enjoyed reading your blog for today regarding the Standard Oil token. Tokens in general are a favorite metal detecting find for me - in my opinion, they are more intriguing than coins. Local merchant and trade tokens can often be researched to reveal interesting individuals or unique local history which just isn't possible with coins. 

Anyway, I did a little poking around on the internet for your Standard Oil token in an attempt to narrow down the date a little. The best I could come up with so far is this website, which shows the same design listed along with a second design for the Standard Oil Company (Indiana) used from 1882-1931:

http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Standard

The website obviously isn't official, so the credibility of the info is somewhat suspect. The first design appears to be the logo for the top of an old service station gasoline dispenser, and maybe not used company-wide as a letterhead style logo. I've confirmed from other sources that the second logo in that date range was used by Standard Oil (Indiana) starting in 1926, and apparently was the first "official" logo used by Standard Oil according to wikipedia (again, not necessarily definitive information): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoco (see the logo section).  

Looking at newspaper advertisements from the 1920s, there were absolutely no logos used in Standard Oil (Indiana) ads until early 1927, and then suddenly every add included the "Service" logo referred to in each web page link - that sort of confirms the info from the wikipedia page. Anyway, all of this might imply that your token may pre-date 1926, otherwise I think it would have used one of the "official" Standard Oil logos from one of the later time periods.

Anyway, I hope that helps...it certainly was fun to do the research, especially since I haven't had a new token find of my own investigate lately :) 

Thanks Ben!  Excellent research and report.  I appreciate your help and I'm sure others do too.  

Ben not only provided information about the token, but he also provided a good link about logos that you might find useful in the future.

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I often tell people to take their find to a jeweler or pawn shop to have it tested.  That is a good way to find out what metal your find is made of, but don't expect the jeweler or pawn shop owner to be able to tell you much of anything about your coins.  They have testing equipment for metals, but they probably won't know a lot about coins - especially treasure coins.  We all have our limits, and as I said above, you can know something about a lot of different things, but you can't be a real expert on a lot of different topics.

I've been finding out how complicated coin collecting can be.  If you get into collecting even just modern varieties and errors, there is really a lot to learn.  I was really surprise to find out how complicated it is.

I haven't yet mastered identifying doubled die errors.  Doubled die errors looks to a novice (me) very much like a lot of other types of doubling.  I have a hard time telling the difference between machine doubling and doubled die errors.  One problem is that true doubled die errors are pretty rare, which means you most often see them in books, which, of course, only show two dimensional pictures, which make them all look pretty flat.

Despite how much there is to learn, I'm enjoying what I am learning.

There is also a lot to learn about treasure coins.  There are so many of them and they were produced for so many years and there are so many different designs.  To make it more difficult, if you find one on a beach, it can be covered by a lot of corrosion or encrustation, and half of it might not even be there.

The complexity can be confusing, but doing the research and learning can also make it that much more rewarding.

Don't just look for a coin and then ask how much it is worth.  Even if it is difficult and takes a long time, do your research, learn more about the coin, and enjoy the process.  You will then have something that has a whole story to go along with it.

As I always say, Keep an item until you learn its story.    It might not look like much, and you might not think it is worth anything, but wait until you are sure.  It might not be worth anything, but I am often surprised by what I eventually learn about an item.

---

There are still no storms or big changes in beach conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/28/18 Report - An Old Advertising Token Find. Early Elongates. Excavation of a 17th Century Site.

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

Old Standard Oil Company Token Find.

One of the better things about getting older is that you learn a few things.  I was a totally different person as a youth, and a real fool for a long time.  I can see that now.

I'm probably still a fool, but just haven't reach the point that I fully appreciate it yet.  If I live long enough, I'll probably realize how big of a fool I am.

As it relates to metal detecting, you can find things and have things around that aren't very interesting or don't mean much to you, and then you learn a bit more of the story and they become more interesting to you.

This token was one such find.  It is not worth much, but probably worth something to a collector of petroliana.

It is an advertising token of the Standard Oil Company - a fact I recently learned.  I don't have an date or age on it, although a token collector told me it is probably from before the 1940s.  I suspect a little research on the logo might narrow down the age

Maker of Standard Oil Company Advertising Token.

It was made by the Bastian Brothers Company. That company began in the late 1800s and are still in the business of manufacturing tokens.

It was found years ago up north on my family's land and could have belonged to a great grandfather that was an auto mechanic or my father who worked for a while at a gas station.  Both of those fellows are now gone, so I'll probably never know if it belonged to one of them.

Back of Same Token

The back reads, "I BRING GOOD LUCK, CARRY ME."

I'd appreciate it if some one can help me identify the age of this token.

I don't know if anyone carried it for good luck or not.  If you detect much, you've probably found a few good luck tokens.

The reason I posted this is to illustrate how if you hang on to things over the years, you might learn more about them and with the new found story, something that was very interesting can become more meaningful and interesting.  It is amazing how you can have an item for a long time, and then the item becomes more interesting when you learn more about it.

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I posted the tecnews.org link that will take you to The Elongates Club newsletter.  People to collect those elongated coins that you can make at various tourist locations, such as DisneyWorld.

I just ran across an illustration from a company that sells or lease the machines that make elongated pennies.

The illustration above shows some early elongates (left) that were made in 1892 - 1993 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  Those must be some of the earliest.  I didn't know they were made that long ago.

There are a lot of different things like tokens or elongates that can make a nice collection if you accumulate a few and organize them.

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CHATHAM -- A team of archeologists is taking a big step backward, to 1656, with a big dig in Chatham on land that was once home to English setters William and Anne Nickerson, and their children.

That was the year William Nickerson bargained with the Monnomoyick tribe to acquire a parcel of land at Monomoit (now Chatham)...

Here is the link for more about that.

http://chatham.wickedlocal.com/news/20180824/big-dig-in-chatham-finds-17th-century-settlement

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There are no storms to now and none are expected in the north Atlantic for at least the next 48 hours.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/27/18 Report - Fake or Real: How To Tell. 14-Year-Old Detectorist Makes Exciting Find. Coastal Erosion Uncovers Historic Cemetery.

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

Fake or escudo - that is the question.  Can you tell the difference?  Test yourself and improve your skill.

Fake or Escudo?

If you metal detect much, chances are you'll find a fake treasure coin sooner or later.  In fact there is a good chance you'll find several of them.  They aren't all that rare.

It's always disappointing when you look in your scoop and see that hoped for glint of gold, but then find out it isn't gold at all.  Sometimes the realization and disappointment comes quickly, but if you are new to the game, it might take a long time before you realize that you have a fake.

 If you are experienced, you'll learn identify most fakes quickly.  Others might not be so easy.

If you are looking at a photo, you are at a disadvantage.  You can't pick up the item, feel the weight or turn it over and look at it from different angles.

If you look at enough genuine coins, many fakes will just not look right at first glance.  But what are the tell-tale signs?

Many fakes will have a mold seam.  Look at the edge of the coin to see if there is a mold seam.

The details of a coin made in a mold will generally have a less "sharp" look.  The metal may not flow into fill the small details or corners.  That gives a different look than a coin struck with a die.

Weight is another tell-tale sign.  Most fake coins are lighter than they should be because they are made of a metal other than silver or gold.

If you've looked at enough sea water seasoned silver or enough gold coins, you'll be able to identify many fakes at first glance.

If you've looked at enough gold, when you look at electroplated fake gold coins, they will often look too hard or glassy.  They'll be too reflective.  Real gold is fairly soft and doesn't reflect light as much as most electroplated fakes.

A silver coin that has been on the beach or in the water for many years will show obvious signs of corrosion.  If you pick up a really old silver coin on the beach that looks like it just came out of the mint, you have reason to be suspicious.

Time and corrosion can complicate the task by removing surface detail.  Corrosion and encrustation can hide the actual surface of both fake and real coins.

Of course there are tests you can use.  I've talked before about using a magnet to test a coin.  You can also weigh the coin to see if it is the right weight.  One great thing you can do these days, is take the coin to a pawn shop or jewelry store to be tested.  They have good testing equipment these days.

By the way, the coin shown above is a fake.  It is much easier to tell that in person.  It is one of those coins sold as a souvenir.

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A 14-year-old Danish boy doing research for a history class found the wreckage of a German World War II plane with the remains of the pilot in the cockpit.

Daniel Kristiansen and his father, Klaus, discovered what's believed to be a Messerschmitt fighter plane buried in a field on their farm near Birkelse in northern Denmark...

Here is the link if you want to read more about that.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/08/europe/denmark-wwii-plane-trnd/index.html

Good research can lead to good finds.

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They can’t speak, but human remains unearthed from a Fortress of Louisbourg cemetery continue to provide clues to as to what life was like in the French outpost in the 1700s.

Threatened by sea rise and coastal erosion, the burial grounds at Rochefort Point are the focal point of an ongoing partnership between Parks Canada and a team of students led by University of New Brunswick bioarchaeologist Dr. Amy Scott...
And here is that link.

http://www.capebretonpost.com/news/local/fortress-of-louisbourg-dig-unearths-human-history-235242/

---

No storms or anything of note.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/26/18 Report - Photos To Keep Your Treasure Memories Alive. A Few Examples of Mine.

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

Mine In Colorado.

I took the above photo when I was out west some years ago.  I often talk of the importance of keeping good records.  The years pass quickly and memories tend to fade.  Good records will help you remember your finds and the experiences, but photos are very helpful.

I take photos of finds, and then if the finds are worth anything, I put them in a safe deposit box in the bank.  I print the dates and locations and any other important information on the photos and file them away at home.

I have an external hard drive on which I stored many photos and other things.  I just took a look to see what I had on that drive.  There were many photos, including the one above, which I took on a trip out west.

I also found the photo below.  It's not the best photo.  In fact it is poor, but it is good enough to remind me of one particularly good hunt.

Big 18K Ring.
Personal Photo of Mine, Improved by John R.

I was at one of my favorite spots down south in shallow water in front of a resort hotel.   The sand was eroded back to a white clay.  In the dip in front of the beach a few pieces of gold were found.  The above ring was the biggest.  I don't recall all the others.  Maybe I can find photos of them too, but I remember one of the others was a very small gold medallion.  All the gold finds that day came from an area probably no bigger than ten square feet.

A lot of my best modern jewelry finds came from in front of that same general area.  I only saw another detectorist there once.

There was a barracuda there that would keep an eye on me.  After a while he would make me kind of nervous.  Of course, my scoop would reflect sunlight occasionally, and I never knew if he might decide to go after me.

On another occasion, I was detecting among a crowd (something which I almost never do) of swimmers in a dip at the same location, and a fish or something about five or six feet long swam right through the crowd.  I don't know what it was, but the funny thing is that nobody else seemed to notice it at all.  It startled me.

Well, that is how photos can set off a string of memories.  Once again, I highly recommend keeping records, including photos of finds.

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I found a person that is going to hook Fred B. up to get an x-ray of his second conglomerate.  That s the conglomerate showing a piece of lead and a spike.

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Wabasso Beach In May of 2009.

I also noticed this and other beach photos on the external drive.  This picture shows Wabasso Beach as it looked nine years ago.  That was obviously before more recent beach renourishment projects.

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There are no storms in the Atlantic.

The surf is just a touch rougher and running around one to two feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/25/18 Report - "Copy" Treasure Coins, Iron Conservation, Hunger Stones Appeared.

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

I was researching a token and ran into a forum where a lady from Florida posted these photos and said her grand daughter found the coin on her way to school and wondered what it was.

To the right you can see the word "COPY"  on the coin (upside down).

Many reproductions or fakes will be marked like that, but many will not.  Sometimes the mark is small, inconspicuous or worn off.  I've shown examples of that in the past.

On the same topic, the coin that I originally showed on 8/21/18 and again yesterday, the person who found it took it to a pawn or jewelry shop as I suggested and had it tested.  It was found, as we suspected, that it did not test to be either silver or gold.

Concerning the cannon ball that was recently found by Fred B., it should be properly conserved.  Iron that has been in salt water will need to be soaked in pure water until the salts leach out.   I neglected to tell Fred that.  Thanks to Scott C. for reminding me.   I sent Fred an email right after I got Scott's email.  Hopefully Fred knew to do that, but for all of you, if you don't properly conserve iron objects, they will fall apart.

The best resource on how to conserve objects is the TAMU Conservation Manual.  Here is the link.

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/CRL/conservationmanual/ConservationManual.pdf

I know it is long and detailed, but it has all the information you will need to conserve almost any type of object.  No body wants to see a favorite find fall apart.  It is worth doing it right.

You saw the cannon ball, but Fred has another conglomerate that shows parts of a lead sheet and a spike.  Would anyone be able to do an x-ray to see what else might be in there.  Fred is considering not opening this one, but doesn't know what else might be in it.

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Just yesterday  I posted about an old path that was revealed by a severe drought.  Here is something even more interesting that was revealed by a drought.

Hunger Stones Revealed by Drought.
Source: See Apnews.com link below.

Due to this summer’s drought in Central Europe, boulders known as “hunger stones” are reappearing in the Elbe River.

The low water levels in the river that begins in the Czech Republic then crosses Germany into the North Sea has exposed stones on the river bed whose appearances in history used to warn people that hard times were coming.

Over a dozen of the hunger stones, chosen to record low water levels, can now be seen in and near the northern Czech town of Decin near the German border.

The oldest water mark visible dates to 1616. That stone, is considered the oldest hydrological landmark in Central Europe, bears a chiseled inscription in German that says: “When you see me, cry.”

Here is the link.

https://apnews.com/9512be71cc8f40a7b6e22bc991ef2c6c

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No storm or big changes in beach conditions yet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/24/18 Report - On The Beaten Path. Clues To The Mystery Coin.

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

Source: See dunmowbroadcast.co.uk link below.

I always look for erosion or earth removal that occurs as a result of construction, but there are other kinds of changes that can reveal good old detecting areas.  Here is an excerpt from an article that tells how an old pathway was discovered because of draught.

... Visitors will be able to see the excavation of the newly-exposed path, which follows a route walkers still use today, performed by a small team of archaeologists and volunteers on September 20 and 21.

The exceptionally hot and dry weather this summer caused scorching on the grass which led to the discovery of the path which could provide an insight into the history of the 2000-year-old forest, a former royal hunting forest....

The above photo shows a part of the path.  Notice the more compact and lighter color earth towards the bottom of the photo.  (I added the arrows.)

Here is the link if you want to read more of that article.

http://www.dunmowbroadcast.co.uk/news/visitors-at-hatfield-forest-have-the-chance-to-see-a-newly-discovered-ancient-path-1-5662568

If you want to find good new metal detecting spots, you should realize that they are all around you.  If you are a keen observer, you'll notice things that others won't.

Almost everywhere you go, people have been there before.  They were there a few decades ago and centuries ago.  If people spent much time in an area, the area will be permanently changed in some way.  In the story of the newly discovered path, the earth was compacted, which also affects vegetation.

Sometimes the signs are hidden, and as in this story, it takes a change of some sort to reveal the signs. Very often it is erosion that exposes signs of the past.  In recent days I also posted a article telling  how the wildfires out west uncovered ancient camps.  It doesn't matter if the changes are caused by man or nature, there might be good metal detecting clues exposed.

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You know those elongated coins that you can make out of pennies at Disney World or other tourist locations?  Well, like with many things, there is a collectors club for them; TEC or The Elongated Collectors.

The web site is http://tecnews.org.  They have a quarterly newsletter for those who join and also a new Facebook page.

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Coin For ID.

I posted this on 8/21/18 and asked if you could identify it.  I said I wanted to see who would get the answer first.   The winner is... Mitch King.

Mitch King was the first to offer a guess on the coin I posted on 8/21/18.  He said, A real quick guess without any research is it's a copy of an 8 Escudo and was probably plated gold at one time?

That is the consensus.  Congratulations Mitch!

You can clearly see two things on this coin - the mint mark and the denomination.  The mint is Lima, and the denomination is 8.  You can also see a P in the first column of the second row and an A in the last column.  You can't see the date, but here is the trick.

A reale of that type should show the letters PLV SVL TR in the second row.  An escudo would show P V A.  Therefore, the design is that of a escudo - not a reale.  But it doesn't look like it is gold.  As Mitch suggests, the plating probably wore off.

The first fake I ever found was like that.  It had the design of an escudo, but was not gold.  On top of that, it was very heavily encrusted.  I painstakingly removed the crust and and it took me quite a while to figure it out.

I should see if I can find my first fake.  It might be the same.

This was many years ago and I didn't have the experience or reference resources that I have today.  If I had only had it tested and found that it was a base metal, that would have answered the question more quickly, but I still had to free it from the crust.

---

No storms or big changes in beach conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/23/18 Report - Big Surprise Found in Conglomerate: Cannon Ball.

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

Cannon Ball Partially Uncovered in Conglomerate.
Find and photo by Fred B.

You know how it is when you get a signal that reads out as iron and it sounds big and deep and you pass it up?  Just junk, you think to yourself.  Or maybe you had iron discriminated out and didn't hear it at all and wonder why your not finding anything. This is the kind of thing you could be missing.

Fred B. dug this conglomerate about three weeks ago.  He is what e said about it.

A very heavy conglomerate that was about 12 inches down at low tide. After driving around with it in the back of my car for a while, I decided to start dissolving the shells and sand with muriatic acid to see what was there. Well did I ever get a shock when a cannon ball started to appear, which just goes to show, you never know what you are going to find in those conglomerates.

Conglomerate As It Was Dug.

And here is the cannon ball after it was completely removed.

Cannon Ball Removed From Conglomerate.

Super find Fred!  Congratulations, and thanks for sharing.

There is still a lot to be found.  This is one fine example.

---

On 8/21 I posted a coin and wanted to see what you thought it was.  I'll give you one more day to send me your comments.

---

There aren't any storms yet, and there are no big change in beach conditions yet.  

You can see from today's post that if you are willing to work for it, there are still good finds to be made.

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/22/18 Report - Interesting Numismatic and Treasure Story All In One: Henning Nickels. Alligator Deaths.

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

Source: See numismaticenquirer.com link below.

Did you ever hear of the Henning Nickel?  Francis LeRoy Henning, of Erial, New Jersey created a bunch of counterfeit nickels.  As counterfeits go, they were pretty good.  About 100,000 were thought to have been put into circulation.  There was one problem with some of them that resulted in their discovery.

Genuine 1944 nickels have a big Philadelphia mintmark (P) above the illustration of Monticello.  Henning's 1944 nickels did not have that mintmark.

Henning also made 1939, 1946, 1947 and 1953 nickels.  They aren't as easy to identify, but if you weight them, you'll find out that they weigh more than authentic nickels produced by the U. S. mint.  The genuine nickels will weigh around 5 grams, while the Henning counterfeits will weigh closer to 5.5 grams.

There are also other signs that will help you identify a Henning nickel.  The "R" in Pluribus will have a tell-tale depression in the verticle bar, for example.

You can look into that more on your own if you want to.

Henning nickels commonly sell for $10 to $30, but to me it is an interesting bit of history, and I'm going to take the time to scan some of my nickels, particularly the war nickels to see if I have one.

According to various sources, about 100,000 Henning nickels went into circulation, but it is said that 200,000 were dumped by Henning into Copper Creek, and another 200,000 were discarded in the Schuylkill River.

If I were in the area, I'd do a little research and hunt for those.  I like hunting creeks and waterways anyhow, so I'd do the research to try to narrow down where Henning might have dumped them and look around a little.

That is an numismatic story that provides a good treasure hunting lead.

Here is a source link.

http://www.numismaticenquirer.com/TNE/Henning%20Counterfeit%20Nickel.html

There is another reason I mentioned Henning nickels.  It tells you something about how to identify fakes and counterfeits.  The weight of a coin can sometimes tell you if it is fake or real.

Many fakes will be made of metals that are less dense than silver or gold so they will weigh less than a genuine coin.  Remember, though, that if you find a silver cob on the beach, it could weigh much less than when it was made. Silver beach cobs can be half their original weight due to corrosion.

Another easy test that is too often neglected is the magnet test.  A silver or gold coin will not stick to a magnet.  If a cob sticks, it is not a genuine cob, but if it does not stick to the magnet, that does not tell you that it is a genuine coin.  Some of my fake treasure coins are magnetic and others are not.  I have one made of lead that, of course, is not magnetic.

I've explained in the past how a silver coin can be influenced by a strong magnet even though it will not stick to the magnet.  That is also a good test, if you know how to do it.

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.A woman was killed in South Carolina by an alligator.  That story follows.

I also read one telling of a lady in Florida that was killed by an alligator but I lost track of that link.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/08/20/south-carolina-woman-killed-by-8-foot-alligator-while-walking-dog/23505782/ake

Not long ago I warned of the danger of rattle snakes and other poisonous snakes in Florida.  I once had a close call with an alligator.  I could only see one yellow eye sticking up out of the muck.  I was nearly on him when he suddenly thrashed and gave me a good scare

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Concerning the mystery item found by G.J. that I posted a couple days ago, Brian M. said, , Hard to say but to me it looks like it could be out of a thermostat. The small hole lets water pass through till it gets warm enough to open.

Thanks Brian.
That seemed like a difficult item to identify.  I only got Brian's response about it.

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No storms at this time.  Summer conditions continue.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/21/18 Report - Atocha and Margarita Finds. Treasure Coast Coin Find to Identify.

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

Palmander.
Photo from Pinterest.

Do you know what a palmander (also pomander) is?  

It is a container, often a ball, made to hold perfumes such as ambergris. They were worn as ornaments but had the function of a deodorizer but were also thought to protect against other evils. They were often hung from a neck-chain or belt and were perforated and made of gold or silver.   An example is shown above.

Captain Andy and the crew of the Margruder had been finding EOs and pot shards on the Margarita site but switched over to an old productive area where diver Bill Reighard found a gold pomander.

They also found a gold garment mount piece with a missing jewel that might have been either emerald or quartz.  They also found a faceted crystal (See photos below.).

Garment Mount and Crystal.
Photos by the Fisher Organization.

The Dare has been working on the Atocha and found numerous EOs, post shards, a silver plate and numerous silver coins.

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Here is a test.  

J.G. found this doin on 8/19/18 on the Treasure Coast. 

Find and photos by J.G.

What is it?

What can you tell about it?

Let me know what you think and why.  We'll see what the consensus is and who got it first.

Thanks for sharing J.G.

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It has been a very calm summer.  We haven't had any storms, and it seems like the entire summer we've had southeast winds and a calm surf.  That allows the salvage boat to work but doesn't help the beach hunting.

There is still time for a storm though.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/20/18 Report - Gold Nugget Recently Found on Treasure Coast Beach. Mystery Find. Reported Reale Find.

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

Gold Nugget Beach Find.
Find and photo by Duane C.

Here is what Duane said about his find.

I wasn't sure what I had a first thinking it may have been dental gold. Actually is a gold nugget., 23-24k. Very heavy 3.8 grams for its relatively small (pea) size. Maybe from a broken piece of jewelry?

Congratulations Duane! Nice photo too.

As you probably know, gold nuggets have been found on the wreck beaches. I've shown one or more that I found.

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Mystery object found by Peter G.

Here is what Peter said about this find.

I found it on the low tide line at John Brooks Park. It is light in weight and about 3/4 inch diameter. 

You can’t bend it at all with your fingers. It seems to have a hole thru the center but is plugged with hard marine growth. It also has 2 very tiny holes evenly spaced around the center hole. The top outside does appear to have threads for a cap with a tiny hole in the threads. All tiny holes are inline as if they were drilled. 

Help Peter out if you can. Send me your ideas on what his find might be, and we'll see if there is any consensus.

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I also received a report of a beach reale find. I hope to have more on that later.

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There are no storms in the Atlantic to follow right now.  The surf is still around one foot, and the tides are moderate now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/19/18 - Really Old Stuff That Can Be Found On the Treasure Coast Beaches. Fossils.

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

Great White and Megaladon Tooth.

I've always encouraged people to keep a keen eye on the beach while they metal detect.  You can find so many interesting and potentially valuable things.  As I've said before, you can find almost anything on a beach, and if you are out there enough and look around, you will find a lot.

I recently did a few posts on my all-time favorite finds.  For some types of finds, it is easy for me to pick out a clear favorite.  That was the case with sea glass.  There was one piece that really stood out from all the rest.  For modern jewelry it was difficult to pick a favorite.  It was the same way for fossils.

I don't go out to look for fossils, but I did once.   I went with a fellow who had a permit and takes people on fossil hunting ventures to the Peace River.  It has been quite a few years now, and I don't know if he still does that.   I just picked up a few fossils over the last thirty or so years while metal detecting.

Fossils can be valuable, but of course, most aren't.  Value depends upon the usual factors; including rarity and condition.  I've never sold any fossils, but I've seen megalodon teeth offered for sale in some of the Sedwick auctions, and there are many web sites where you can find all kinds of fossils for sale.

On the beaches you find more when there are big new shell piles.  We haven't had much of that for several years now.

If you like old things, fossils can be very old - even millions of years.  Its amazing to see something that while just walking along a beach.

One of my favorites is the Great White shark tooth on the left in the photo above.  It was found on the Treasure Coast.   I was just walking along, and there it was.  I never saw another one in the same area even though I've been there many times.

It is in great condition.  You can see the sharp serrations in the photo.  They show up even better in person.  I don't think it is my favorite fossil find, but it is my favorite shark tooth find and ranks right up there.

On the right in the above photo is a megaladon tooth.  It is one that was found on my trip to the Peace River.  The serrations on that one are gone.

On the Treasure Coast beaches, it is more common to find smaller shark teeth, like those below.

Tiny Shark Teeth.

You can find fossils on most beaches along the Treasure Coast when conditions are right.  Just a little north of the Seagrape Trail access is one good place to find small shark teeth when there are a lot of shells.  One of the fellows that lives by the beach in one of the condominiums hunts shark teeth there a lot.

But shark teeth aren't the only fossils of marine animals you can find on the beach.

Small Fossil.

The small fossil show above is the first fossil that I found and kept.  I didn't know that it was a fossil for probably twenty years after I found it.  I was in the water hunting jewelry and saw the unusual item in my scoop.  I didn't know what it was, so I decided to keep it.  I kept it for many years until I finally had a fossil expert tell me what it is.  It is a fossilized grinding tooth from a fish such as a red fish.

Fossilized Inner Ear Bone of a Whale.

I found this larger fossil near the waterline on a Treasure Coast beach when there were a lot of big shell piles.  It is a fossil of an inner ear bone of a whale.

Large things will wash up when beach conditions are right, and some of them won't make your detector beep.

Fossil Dolphin Vertebra.

Back a few years ago there were more fossils on the beach.  They'll return again some day.

Among the most common Treasure Coast beach fossils are turtle shell and horse teeth.  I just wanted to talk about marine animal fossils today.

Not much new with beach conditions to report.

Keep looking down.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net