1/31/19 Report - Detectorists Thoroughly Cover South Hutchinson Island Wreck Beaches Today Without Much Luck.

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

First the important business: Sebastian Steve has some health issues and can use your prayers.

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John Brooks Beach Wednesday.

Photo by Joe K.

I received these two photos from Joe K., who has been reading this blog regularly, but this is his first attempt at sharing photos.  He wondered how they came out.  My answer is excellent  They are better than the ones I posted.  He also provided the necessary info such as where and when.  It seems they were taken a little before the ones that I posted yesterday.  You can compare these with those and see what happened in a short amount of time.

There is a lot to look at in those two photos.  The bottom one is very dramatic.  

John Brooks Beach Wednesday.

Photo by Joe K.

And here is another photo from Wednesday.  It is of Pepper Park, and was submitted by Dale J., who has contributed several photos lately.

Pepper Park Wednesday.

Photo by Dale J.

That illustrates how different beaches vary.  Pepper is not nearly as cut as John Brooks.

Thanks much guys!


John Brooks beach was very thoroughly detected on Thursday, starting in the early morning hours.

John Brooks Early Thursday Morning.

Photo by Joe D.

Joe D. arrived at John Brooks this morning before sunrise and was soon joined by two other detectorists.

That beach already looks like it has deteriorated since yesterday.   Looks like I was overly optimistic about the level=-four beach conditions rating I issued yesterday.

Near 10AM Joe  sent me this message:  Only a penny so far, zero trash! Cleanest beach around, im sure! Used my silver wedding ring to test a few times just to make sure it was not me or detector error!! Six others besides me by 9:30! Interesting to watch the different equipment and techniques used, but not much digging by anyone!

John Brooks A Little Later.

Photo by Joe D.

I heard that twelve or fourteen detectors could be seen at John Brooks and Frederick Douglas once today.

At the end of the day Joe reported a few pieces of aluminum that were buried 4 to 9 inches deep.  He was using an AT Pro with a 8.5x11 DD coil.

I didn't get an reports from Vero and north today, so I don't know what was going on up there.

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I don't know of anymore finds being made today on the Treasure Coast.  I haven't yet received the photos of the finds made earlier, and some people wait a while before reporting.

I any case, at this point I think I should have gone no higher than a level-3 beach conditions rating.  That is the way it seems now.  We'll have to wait to get a better idea of what all was found.

It looks like we'll have a two to four foot surf for the next several days.  At this time I'm not expecting any further improvement.

Thanks to everybody for all the reports.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/30/19 Report - TreasureGuide Beach Detecting Conditions Rating for Treasure Coast Increased to Level Four. Finds Being Reported.

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

John Brooks Beach Wednesday Afternoon.

Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Conditions rating increased again.  Yesterday I said the rating on the my beach detecting conditions rating scale was a three.  I'm now upgrading that conditions rating to a 4.  That is an increase from "good" to "very good."  The rating is for the Treasure Coast in general and will vary from beach to beach.

John Brooks Beach is cut deeper and farther back than it was a day or two ago.  I think you can see that if you compare this picture with the last picture I posted.

Some interesting small shell areas began to show up.  

There were finds that were already made.  I expect to receive photos before long.  But there will also be more finds being reported in the near future.  I'll start posting photos of finds as I'm able.

John Brooks Beach Looking South Wednesday Afternoon.

Notice the pallets just behind the cut.  A couple days ago, they were far back from the cut.

South of the Access At John Brooks.

The highest cuts are down by the bend.  Some great finds have come from that area in the past.

Frederick Douglas Beach Wednesday Afternoon.

The cuts at Frederick Douglas were not as big as those at John Brooks.

Thanks to the help of my friends who send in reports I've been able to keep up with things pretty well even while I've been under the weather and unable to detect for myself.

As I said, a number of finds have been reported already.  There were even a few made the prior week

Here is some info I got from Scott C., who has also been having some health problems.

...But, last week the winds were kicking up pretty good and on tuesday thru thursday especially on wed. switched to the S.E. and 25 steady...I know of a area that you know very well and it cuts with a SE wind. So Wed I was too sick to go but thursday I did make it there at low tide, there was a 3' -4' cut in that 50 yard stretch...found some Spanish but all musketballs, lead sheathing, small copper stuff...and a huge sand poured lead ingot, maybe 2.5lbs haven't weighed yet. It was fun just to get out and pretty much had the area to myself, 2 guys worked close by but left. Went back out Friday but it sanded in....

This week the winds blew again but this time took more sand away...I had to work most of the week so was only able to get out yesterday late and again with success with shipwreck stuff. But the difference this time was there were a lot of guys working the area. Stay tuned for photos hopefully of some of the finds.

Thanks much Scott!

I also heard from others who said they would send find photos.

When I looked out today and saw the strong north wind, I knew I had to go check the beaches even if I wasn't up to detecting.  I thought I had become very casual about metal detecting, but this experience has been extremely frustrating and aggravating.  I've experienced years and decades of good health and good metal detecting, and this makes me appreciate it even more.

Excellent beach conditions can be few and far between, so it is hard to miss it when it happens.

It looks like the wind will be shifting before long and will take on a more southerly direction.  The surf will remain about the same, with not very big tides.

Keep watching as the find photos come it.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.new

1/29/19 Report - UPDATED: Spanish Finds Being Made. Report From Bonsteel and Turtle Trail.

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

Continuing my efforts to give you the best information first, I'm going to go ahead and post an email I got from Ron J. last night.  I might have more to post later today.  If so, I'll add to this post.

John Brooks is the only  beach I visited and showed yesterday, but there are other areas on the Treasure Coast that eroded.  Here is  what Ron had to say about a couple other beaches you might be interested in visiting..

I went to Bonsteel Park and Turtle Trail today [Mon.].

Bonsteel going North past "Chucks Stake House had a fresh cut knee high or more in places. Going to the South the cut was less than knee high.  I was there almost at high tide and the water was approaching the cut. The last tide had washed over the cut in a lot of places. The replenishment sand from the newly planted sea oats to the cut was 10 to 15 ft. to the cut. I detected in front of the cut then on the way back detected the wash over on top of the cut. The sand in front of the cut was both sort of firm and mushy with black sand in the firm areas.

Found one rusty screw below the cut.

Turtle Trail had a fresh cut over knee high and the tide was in with water washing over the cut.  I did not detect there.

Sorry I did not take a camera.

I was using a Whites Dual Field detector....

Thanks for the report Ron.  That is good information for everybody.

If any of you have additional reports, feel free to share.

I'll probably have more later.

Until then,
Happy hunting!

Late PM UPDATE:

I said I would probably be back.  Well, I'm back, but I didn't expect it to be so late.   I just have time to give you the bottom line.

As I predicted: SPANISH FINDS WERE MADE.  More details and perhaps photos will follow, as soon as I can provide them.

That's all for now.

1/28/19 Report - Beach Conditions Alert - Treasure Coast Beach Conditions Best Seen In A While. Bronze Spike Find.

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

John Brooks Beach About 1 PM Monday.

Yesterday looked like what I would call a "beachy" day even thought I was under the flu and didn't get out to take a look at the beaches.  It was the kind of weather that I always went out to detect, but yesterday I just couldn't do it.

I did get out to take a look at the beaches today, even though I wasn't well enough yet to do any detecting.  It proved my instincts correct, even though I didn't do anything about it.

It's official now: I'm hopelessly over the hill.  There was a time when I wouldn't keep a little thing like the flu keep me from detecting this beach.  It would have taken a team of horses or an ambulance.  At least you get the report sooner, otherwise I'd still be out there.

So I got to the beach and saw a long cut that was at least five feet high.  That was the best cut I've seen in a long time.  It is what I've been waiting for - and wouldn't you know, that is exactly when I had to have the flu.

I'd rate these beach conditions as a three on my five point rating scale. A "1" rating indicates that conditions are poor for finding old shipwreck coins.  A "2" rating is a transitional rating, meaning that conditions are improving.  A "3" rating means that some old shipwreck coins will likely be found, but probably not a lot of them.

I didn't get down to check out the beach firmness or anything.  It looked granular and soft.  Still, I believe that somewhere on the Treasure Coast there will probably be some shipwreck coin finds.

John Brooks Beach Tuesday Afternoon.

Sorry I didn't check things out better, but it bugs me probably more than it does you.

Face of Cut at John Brooks.

You'll notice that there are no shells in the side of the cut.  It is barely a level three from all appearances.  I would have liked to check it out better.

I would guess that there are other beaches around the Treasure Coast also showing some erosion.

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Adam D. found what appears to be a bronze spike (nicely shined), and he wondered what the age range might be.  It was found in the water close to a beach in Jamaica along with some other items.  I told him what I thought the age might be

Let me know what you think

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As you can see from the following MagicSeaWeed chart, the surf will be decreasing tomorrow and the wind will be shifting a little.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

1/27/19 Report - More On Melborne, Florida Artifact Find Reported In Some Sources As An Ican Funerary Mask. More Surf Tomorrow.

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

Find Reported As Incan Funerary Mask.

A couple days ago I reported on what was said to be an Incan funerary mask found on the beach somewhere near Melborne, Florida.  As I said then, a lot of it didn't seem to make sense to me.  It turns out that I was not the only one that felt that way.  The ancient-origins.net web site also found the stories confusing and offered some corrections.  It seems that the artifact is not as old as reported and is does not included metal from a meteorite.

The ancient-origins web site reports You are immediately forgiven if you have watched the News 6 video and are in a state of utter confusion, as was I. Sparvero’s introductory scene in the video confidently states the mask is “possibly 10 or 12,000 years old.” But in reality, the Inca formed in the Cusco area of modern Peru in the mid-12th century AD. Going with professor Torres’ suggestion that it’s an ‘Inca funerary mask’ it was forged no longer than 800 years ago, but other archaeologists claim “a native civilization smelted the mask possibly thousands of years BC” according to an article in Florida Today …

While Torres says the mask is Inca, right after that he says “it might be the first evidence of smelting” in South America. But that was thousands of years before the Inca formed. Searching for hard facts, clarity can be found in an excellent research paper, Metallurgy in Southern South America , written by three of the world’s leading scholars on ancient metallurgy; Colin A. Cooke, Mark B Abbott, and Alexander P. Wolfe. The scientists state , “The earliest evidence to date for smelting activity in southern South America comes in the form of copper slag from the Wankarani site in the highlands of Bolivia dating between 900 and 700 BCE (Ponce 1970).”

Thanks much to Dale J.. who sent me the ancient-origins link, which is probably closer to the truth than much of what has been said and reported about the mask.

Here is the link.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/inca-artifact-0011370

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Today was the first day this year that made me want to run out to the beach.  The weather was what I consider excellent metal detecting weather, as long as you have a metal detector that can take the rain.  It was exactly the kind of weather I love for metal detecting - too bad I caught the flu and decided to stay in.

I don't know what happened to the beaches today.  I heard there was both an on-shore and long-shore currents, making it even the more tempting.

As you can see, it looks like we'll have a four to six foot surf tomorrow, along with some north wind.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

If any of you went out Sunday, I'd like to see any photos you got of the beach.

That is all for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/26/19 Report - Bigger Surf Coming Monday. Search Pattern Selection For Dry and Wet Sand Areas.

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

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The surf is supposed to be only about one to two feet today despite the north wind, but the surf will increase tomorrow and get up to five to seven feet on Monday.  That is a decent level of surf.  Maybe it will help some.

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Some of what I'm going to talk about today will seem obvious to many of you.  It is something like the discovery of gravity.  It didn't take Isaac Newton to notice that apples fall, but he took it to another level.

On a beach, there will often be a flat dry beach and a wet-sand slope.  Some guys hunt the flat dry beach more, and others the wet-sand slope.

There are significant difference between those two parts of the beach, and they present different types of targets and call for different strategies.

To begin with, the flat dry beach has a lot of items that were recently lost, while the slope very often presents targets that have been lost for a while but have been either washed in from the surf or washed out of the beach. 

In general the dry beach presents more new targets while the slope presents somewhat older targets.  The dry beach, though, can turn into a part of the slope when the water had been unusually high or rough.

Two ways for old items to end up on the flat dry beach is either by being washed up from the surf or down out of the dunes.  Much less frequently old items are dropped on the dry sand.   Detectorists have done that without knowing it.  All it takes is a hole in a pocket or something like that.

Different search strategies will often be used on those two different areas.  What I call recent-drops will dominate the flat dry sand, while there will often be more seasoned targets on the slope.  The distribution of recent drops is determined by human activity, while the seasoned older items of the slope will be redistributed by the forces of nature.

One search pattern, if you can call it a pattern at all, is random.  Some people will use a random pattern on both the dry and wet sand areas.  I doubt that it is really a random pattern.  I believe there is usually something that draws a person one way and then another, even if they aren't aware of what it is. 

Some people might think that they are being guided by intuition or by some unseen force.  In that case they might not feel like it is a random search even though it would look random to an outside observer.

To repeat, targets in the dry sand area are mostly distributed by human activity, while those in the wet sand are influenced more by forces of nature.  Targets will therefore often be distributed differently in the two areas.  In the wet sand you'll often find coin lines or coin holes.  (I've described those in this blog before.)

Besides random or intuitive searches, running a grid can be effective in both types of area.  When you use a grid search, a lot of time is spent covering a relatively small area thoroughly.  My opinion is that a tight grid should only be used when you have reason to believe there is a concentration of  targets in that area or there is a high value target in that area.

In the dry sand, a grid might be used in areas such as in front of concession stands, or in front of a beach access, or any place where there are a lot of people doing things that would result in good targets.  Volleyball courts or where beach chairs are put out can be good places to grid.

In dry sand, you might also choose to go from hot spot to hot spot, going wherever it is apparent that people were active.  People leave a lot of signs.  You can see the churned sand where there was a football game, or the smoothed sand left by a beach blanket, or the trash left by beach goers.  It isn't difficult to tell where people have been and what they were doing.

In the wet sand, a grid would be very advisable when you run into a area where items have accumulated and are being uncovered or deposited.  You might have already found a few targets in the area, and think there might be more.

Instead of tracking people like you might do in the dry sand, you might want to run a looser pattern in the wet sand to see if there are any coin lines or coin holes where nature has dumped good targets.  For the wet sand I often like zig-zag pattern running roughly along the beach between the waterline and high tide mark.  

Just like in the dry sand, you will see signs that some areas in the wet sand might be better than others.  Cuts are one good sign.  You might just sample the area below a cut before committing to a tighter search pattern, zig-zagging first and then if it seems like it might be worthwhile, gridding.

One search pattern I introduced a number of years ago is a linked-spirals search pattern.  I originally developed it for working rough shallow water with little or no visibility, but it has also proved very effective for working the wet sand.  It will help you quickly  determine if there is a coin line, and if so where it is located and the direction it runs.  I won't describe the pattern in detail again.  You can find that by using this link.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2016/03/3316-report-linked-spiral-search.html

The linked spirals search pattern can begin as a zig-zag or straight line search and then change into a linked spirals pattern when the first target is encountered.

While I described the dry sand flat beach and wet sand slope as being different types of areas, they can overlap.  The dry sand can be hit by high water and turned into a wet sand slope.  And it is not extremely uncommon to find old objects washed up over the berm and onto the flat sand.  In my experience, they are most often on the first few feet behind the berm, and often in or in front of a something of a shell line.  Those are usually smaller targets such as half reales.

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I have my batteries charged and and am eager to see what happens Monday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/25/19 Report - Surprising Modern Clad Coins Without Mint Errors Worth Good Money. What You Should Know About Full Bands Designation.

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

Reverse of 2018 Dime.

Did you know that a modern clad Roosevelt dime can be worth tens or even hundreds of dollars even if it doesn't have some rare mint error?  I didn't.

I was looking through the latest issue of Coin and Currency Market Review and noticed some pretty good prices listed for modern clad coins, including Roosevelt dimes.  That is something I don't think most detectorist know about.  They simply throw their clad finds in their pocket and spend them without looking for coins that could be valuable.

Some coins are minted with errors, such as the double die error coins.  Error coins can be worth a premium - sometimes a large premium, but there are modern clad coins that can be valuable even without any rare errors.

A coin die will be used to stamp many coins.  Dies wear as they are used.  That means that the first coins struck with a new die will tend to show a clearer image.  Coins struck later will be less clear.

Here is an image of a dime showing the results of a lot of die deterioration.

Dime Showing Die Deterioration.

That is not corrosion, damage or wear from circulation.

Notice the lines radiating out from the center and how the letters are spread out.  That is the result of an old worn die.

The dime has a very rough surface.  Other than some error coins, coin collectors prefer coins with a surface that is near perfect - unlike this one.

You probably know something about coin grading, so I won't get into that.

What I noticed is that in the most recent Coin and Currency Market Review, for Roosevelt dimes they have an additional category beside the regular coin grading categories.  That category is Full Bands.  

As you know, Roosevelt dimes show a torch on the reverse.  The torch has two pairs of horizontal bands.  One at the top and another towards the bottom (See top photo.).  Full Bands means that each band in both pairs is completely clear and separate.

Roosevelt dimes showing "full bands" are more highly valued.  For example, a Full Bands 1992-D dime in MS66 condition is listed as being worth $21.  Some recent dimes without errors or anything special like that, if they are in excellent condition are worth much more.  Condition is extremely important.

A regular circulation issue modern coin in exceptional condition can be worth a good amount - even hundreds of dollars.  A 1993-D Full Bands dime in MS66 condition is listed as being worth $416, for example.

See https://www.pcgs.com/News/Mercury-Dimes-With-Full-Bands for additional explanation.

Another similar designation is Full Torch.  That designation considers the vertical bands as well as the horizontal bands.

There is a good article in the March 19, 2018 issue of Coin World entitled In Search of Full Torches.  If you want to learn more about his topic, that would be a good start.

The article describes why there are very few Full Torch examples for certain years due to hubs and dies becoming worn.  Since they are rare, they are also valuable.

Some guys do quite well getting rolls of coins at the bank and picking out the more valuable coins.  Of course, you have to be able to recognize the coins that are more valuable.

You won't find tons of valuable modern coins in your detector finds.  Most coin finds are not in great condition, but you can find an occasional nice example that is worth a premium.  If you find coins with your metal detector, you might as well learn something about how to identify those that might be valuable.

If you detect in the water, you will find fewer coins in good condition, but if you detect on land you can find more coins in nice condition, and a few in excellent condition.  I've found a few that grade very well.

In recent years I've learned to take a good look at modern coins as well as old coins.  Modern coins can be valuable too.  Too bad I didn't learn that years ago.  Maybe this blog will help you avoid some of the mistakes I've made.

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I had a dream last night that I was at the beach but my metal detector batteries were dead.  Seems like it was my subconscious mind reminding me to recharge my batteries.  I haven't done that for quite a while.

I've been meaning to talk about search patterns, but didn't get it done yet.

Another cool front moved through, but it didn't create much surf.  We are still having some decent tides.

It looks like we will be getting north winds for a few days, but nothing higher than a three to five foot surf.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Let me know if you find out anymore about the Inca funerary mask find that I reported yesterday.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/24/19 Report - Found on Florida Beach by Metal Detector: Inca Funerary Mask Made of Space Metals Thought To Be From La Conception.

Written by the Treasure Guide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Ancient Metal Death Mask Reportedly Found on Florida Beach by Metal Detector.
Source: FoxNews.

Archaeologists have discovered a rare death mask dating back thousands of years on a beach in Florida, a sign that more treasures may be nearby.

A team of researchers with Seafarer Exploration Corporation found the artifact made of precious metal on Melbourne Beach and believe it served as part of a funeral headpiece from a pre-Incan civilization in Peru, Fox 35 reported...

“This is some of the earliest evidence of man’s ability to metal-work and to use iridium,” Dr. Michael Torres, who found the mask, told Fox35.  "That changes things, and may change the way we perceive ancient Peruvian cultures."

Torres is working with a team to discover artifacts from the 1715 shipwreck of the La Concepcion. Researchers believe the mask was taken by Spanish tomb raiders and washed up after the wreck.

The discovery of the mask hints that more precious items could be nearby.

Torres told Fox 35 that he hopes to give the mask to a museum as a gift.

Thanks to Tony S., who sent me the following FoxNews link containing the above information.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/ancient-funeral-mask-uncovered-at-florida-coast

That is all the information provided by the link so I tried to find out more about it.  I did find some sites with information on the find.  The most helpful being the immediatley following link.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/ancient-death-mask-may-point-to-billiondollar-florida-treasure-haul/news-story/6e5561eb696dfd022ea08f3d76f96768

Putting what I read together, and it doesn't all seem to stick together very well.  It sounds like Seafarer Exploration Corporation found the mask on a Florida beach with a metal detector.  The mask  is thought to be an Incan funerary mask made of space metals (iridium was mentioned somewhere), looted by Spanish and transported on La Conception, which wrecked, leaving a debris trail, which included the mask.  The mask was said to be paper thin. (See photo above.)

Iridium is a very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group. It is the second-densest metal.  Being so brittle and dense, I'm surprised that if it washed up on the beach and was covered by sand that it was as whole as it was.

It is not clear to me why Seafarer Exploration Corporation, a public traded company, was searching the beach with a metal detector, or why they concluded that the mask was part of the cargo of the La Conception.  Maybe beach detecting is part of their operation.  And maybe the artifact was found in the general area where they expect to find La Conception.  That is all possible, but the connections are not strong in my opinion.  Of course, I only have a very little information about it all.

I'd like to get more information on all of this.  I'm not confident that it is all correct, but that seems to be what has been reported.

I looked up Seafarer Exploration Corporation and found their web page (link below).  One of the things I found is that after eleven years of searching, in Oct. 2018 they received their first revenue.  It was not anything to do with salvage, but a dividend check for $1,500 which they received from a company they bought.

Here is that link.

http://seafarerexplorationcorp.com/

The stock symbol of the company is SFRX.  The stock price at the close of 1/24/19 was a small fraction of one cent per share.

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I was out of town yesterday and haven't been to the beach in a couple of days so that is all I have for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/23/19 Report - Current Beach Conditions and Development.

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

John Brooks Beach Tuesday Afternoon.

This is the kind of weather the snow birds come for, but it isn't exactly what detectorists hope for.

This worked about the same way as several other fronts that came through in recent months.  They're quick.  You get a north wind for a day or two and some small cuts, but then the wind shifts and it fails to develop any more.

As you can see, there were some cuts at John Brooks beach, but they were two feet at most.  The sand was mushy.

Detectorist at John Brooks Tuesday Afternoon.

This nice fellow was learning to use his new detector and quickly picked up a couple of coins in the small shell line.

The high tide didn't get as high on the beach as I expected.

Waves At John Brooks Yesterday Afternoon.

The waves were hitting the beach straight on when I was there.

Looking North From Frederick Douglas Beach.

The erosion at Frederick Douglas was less than that at John Brooks.  The sand was a little more firm though.

L

Looking South From Frederick Douglas Beach Tuesday Afternoon.

I then moved south a little to see how those beaches were doing.

Blind Creek Beach Tuesday Afternoon.

Blind Creek had been one of the better looking beaches in the area, but not today.  At least the wind kept the nudie birds covered.

Looking North from Blind Creek.

Blind Creek has become a busy beach.  Both nudist and tourist seem to like it.  Tuesday it didn't look much good at all.

I also looked at Fort Pierce South Jetty Park.  Evidently I forgot to take photos.  It didn't look half bad.  There were some fresh cuts, but they weren't as big as they sometimes are at that beach.

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Wednesday the surf is expected to be around four to six feet.  The tides remain big, but the wind will be more southerly.  I'm not expecting much, but we'll see.

On my beach conditions rating scale I would consider this a two on my five point scale.  That means its transitional, but, like I said, I'm not expecting much more.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/22/19 Report - Google Maps and Changing Landscapes. Lunar Eclipse. Columbus Verboten. Bigger Surf.

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

Eclipse As Seen From Treasure Coast

and Captured by Alberto S.

I missed the eclipse, but Alberto sent me the beautiful images that he captured.  He said the last image was from about 12:10 AM.  He said it felt like it was freezing outside.

Great images Alberto!  Thanks!

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I've talked a lot about using old maps and the benefits of knowing the history of a place.  I'm amazed how seldom people reference old maps to check out shoreline and other topological changes.  Targets that were once on land might now be either in the water or more deeply buried under sand that has accumulated.

Recently I was talking about the advantage of having personal knowledge of changing landscapes.  Now it is possible to get GPS positions and compare those to images to see how things have changed.

Here is one example of what I was talking about yesterday.  The satellite map is from Google Maps.  It shows some of the changes I mentioned yesterday and illustrates how having a knowledge of the past can help you locate old treasures.

A View of An Area That I Was Very Familiar With Back a Few Decades Ago.

This area has changed a lot since the 1950s.  Where you see the bull-dozed dirt, there was an old barn (big rectangle) and a corn crib (little rectangle beside it).  

The house across the road with two cars out front was a small wash house, where several young local families got their start with housekeeping before getting their own house.  The rectangle behind that, was an outhouse, that later was filled with great old cork-top bottles, many with paper labels.

Across the road from that was a small dump in a little ravine by the current telephone poll.

The two blue arrows point to the winding creek where we threw bottles and shot them with BB guns.  Funny how toxic masculinity was fostered back when there was so much less crime.

Across the creek were no buildings or roads up until more recent decades.

The good old dump is the area indicated by a circled X.  It is right across the road from a three story farm house.

There is much more that I could show on this and neighboring maps, but that is enough of an illustration for now.  There were locations where arrow heads were routinely found and many other things.

I think you can see how knowing the history of the place would be a huge advantage for a detectorist.  There are many good detecting sites that would not be apparent to those who don't know the history of the place.

Although I haven't been able to spend much time, I have had a few short hunts there and quickly dug up some of the old metal toys that I played with as a child as well as some silver coins around the old ball field that is now hidden by weeds and trees, so I know those things are still there if only I was there and had the time to work them.

The same thing applies to the beaches.  I was not raised on the Treasure Coast, but I have been here long enough to observe some of the changes.

Here, for example, is the Blind Creek area.  The access road to the south of the lake has been closed for some time.  There was a parking lot where I drew the blue rectangle.  It washed over in the 2001 storms and kept filling in.  I think they eventually gave up on keeping it open.   Anyhow it has been closed now for quite a while.

Blind Creek Area As Seen With Google Maps.

Where you see the blue semi-circle, the beach was eroded back close to the lake.  Just a little more erosion and it could have opened to the ocean.  I don't doubt that it was at some time an inlet, although I don't know that for sure.

There is a lot more to know about just that little area, for example the Native American habitations, or where the WW II observation tower was, or the WW II dump to the south.  You can still find evidence of all of those today

Landscapes change and beaches change.  Some changes are rapid and permanent.  Knowing about those changes can help the detectorist in many ways.

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SOUTH BEND, Indiana - The University of Notre Dame will cover murals in a campus building that depict Christopher Columbus in America, the school’s president said, following criticism that the images depict Native Americans in stereotypical submissive poses before white European explorers...

Here is that link.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/01/22/notre-dame-to-cover-up-murals-of-columbus-in-the-new-world/

I have so much to say about that but I won't.  It is just too much.

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Google Maps and similar web sites provide a convenient method for checking out sites that you haven't been to for a while or comparing to older maps.

The wind is out of the east at about 15 to 20 mph this morning.

I hope to get a chance to look at the beach some time today.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The tides are still nice and big.

Looks like the Treasure Coast surf will be a bit bigger tomorrow, but the wind will shift to the south.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net