2/28/19 Report - TCAS Hunt Coming Soon. Mystery Items Identified. One Beach This Morning. Bill Picking.

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

The Treasure Coast Archaeological Society
 will be holding its 32nd annual Hunt

Saturday, March 9, 2019
at Kiwanis-Hobart Park, Wabasso, Florida

under the shade of the pines in Hobart Park.

The Park is located near Wabasso, Florida 

on 77th Street between US1 and CR613.

Just over one mile south of CR 510 and about 1 mile west of US1. 

YOU GOT QUESTIONS?  WE GOT ANSWERS!

For further information regarding the hunt, contact

Mitch King

Hunt coordinator 

 mking11@earthlink.net

Read about one man's fun time at the 2018 TCAS hunt by using the following link.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2018/03/31118-report-one-mans-winning.html

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Concerning the round lead object found by Dan B. and posted yesterday, I received a number of responses.  Jim M., Russ P., Joe R., Jeff M.  Mitch K., John H., Steve M. and Joe D., said the round lead object is a garment, hem or drapery weight.  If that wasn't enough, Joe S. sent a photo of a drapery weight (bottom right below).  That certainly matches. I think that one is pretty well settled.

Concerning Dan's other object, a couple people agreed with me that it could be a belt or strap clip.  Mitch K. said maybe a suspender strap tip, while Jason T. thought maybe a hair clip.

Thanks for all the responses.  Every one helps.  Considering various alternatives or possibilities helps.

I didn't receive any ideas on the other LM X marks on the other item I posted yesterday.

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As someone who came of age during the Viet Nam war, the recent TV images of Viet Nam were haunting.  I could not help but remember the fall of Saigon and the U. S. helicopters overflowing with those desperately fleeing as well as the desperation of those left behind. That was 40 some years ago.

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Pepper Park Early This Morning.

I was going by Pepper Park this morning, so stopped for a few minutes and took out my detector.  As is usually the case during snowbird season, it had been heavily hunted, but I picked up a few shiny clad coins.

It was pretty buggy this morning.  It rained last night, and I was glad I put on long pants and sleeves.  Beach conditions were not great.

Pepper Park This Morning.

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I got fifty ones at the bank to look through.  I found two star bills and a 1999 series bill, which was in better shape than the newer bills.  No good serial numbers of anything of much interest or value.

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The tides are pretty small now, and it doesn't look like we'll get any more than a two foot surf for a week or so.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/27/19 Report - Various Finds for Identification. A Very Valuable Penny. Consignment Deadline.

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

Two Pictures of the Top and Two Pictures of the Bottom of the Same Item.
Find and photo by Dale J.

Dale J. found the above item snd sent the following message.

Hi, found this some time ago. It appears to have a turned or machined end with a thin curl of metal that may have been part of a small cup. Your picture of a nested weight a while back made me think it is similar. A visit to McLarty showed another sample. That picture is included (below) but I cannot see the bottom clearly. One side is stamped LMX.

Anyway, for general interest, I am submitting these items in case you have any ideas... 

I found the following information on nested weights.

The copper-masters or "rotschmiedmeisters," who made nested weights began to stamp a unique "makers mark" upon their wares. Weight adjustments from various cities, whose jobs were to verify and adjust weights to local standards, also left distinctive marks upon the sets they examined. It is thought the use of these impressions identify both the manufacturer, and the place of use where a given set might be found.

And L.M. is found on some weights, though not specifically these type.

L.M.
These initials are seen on iron block weights. Both rectangular and oval shapes are known.

Let me know if you have any ideas or can find out anything about the markings.

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Dan B. also would like some help identifying a couple of finds.  These ones are land finds.

Here is what he said.

I have been researching a few items that I found in my local RR town today. I am coming up short my wording for the lead item (about the size of a quarter), and the "clip" with a distinctive reverse side but no markings. Any help with specifics would be appreciated. db

Quarter Size Lead Object
Find and Photo by Dan B.

Another Mystery Item by Dan B.

My guess is that the second one is an ornate tip for a strap - not heavy duty, but something more fashionable, maybe for something like a garment or purse.

What do you think?

I don't have any ideas for the first one.  If it wasn't lead, I'd think a large button.  Don't know what if anything is on the back.

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All 1943 cents were supposed to have been struck in zinc-coated steel so that copper could be conserved for more important uses during World War II. Nevertheless, a few were mistakenly struck in copper (its composition is technically bronze) and found their way into circulation.

... Still, only about 20 Philadelphia examples are known to exist...

The 1943 Copper Cent recently certified by NGC was found in a gumball machine in Philadelphia in 1976. It was then sold to a collector for the then-significant sum of $1,000.

The buyer passed down the coin to his children, who decided to submit it to NGC for certification after seeing that another NGC-certified 1943 Copper Cent — the Don Lutes, Jr. Discovery Specimen — had sold for $204,000 at auction in January. That specimen is named for the teenager who discovered the first 1943 Copper Cent in 1947 in his change.

Here is that link.

http://www.coinnews.net/2019/02/25/ngc-certifies-rare-1943-copper-cent-found-in-gumball-machine/

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From Sedwick Coins -

Now is the LAST CHANCE to contact us for consigning to our Treasure, World, U.S. Coin & Paper Money "Silver Anniversary" 25th Auction, which is already shaping up to be another great sale. The consignment deadline is March 1, 2019. 

Contact:

Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC

P.O. Box 1964 | Winter Park, Florida 32790, USA
Phone: 407.975.3325 | Fax: 407.975.3327
www.SedwickCoins.com | Office@SedwickCoins.com

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The surf is smaller and will be small for several days.  The tides are now small too.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/26/18 Report - Views of Some Treasure Coast Beaches. Underground Stone Vault Found in Nova Scotia.

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

Turtle Trail Afternoon of 2/25/19.

I was in the Vero area for an appointment yesterday and found time to stop at Turtle Trail.  It was about 2 PM.   There were a two detectorists already there.  You can see one of them in the distance in the photo below.

Turtle Trail Afternoon of 2/25/19 

Farther south from the access there were some shallow scallops.  You can see that in the photo below.

Farther South of Turtle Trail.

I didn't get to select the time for my visit, but was glad to get there for a little while anyhow.

Dale J. took the following photos of Seagrape and Wabasso yesterday.

Wabasso Yesterday

Submitted by Dale J.

Seagrape Trail Yesterday.

Submitted by Dale J.

This morning, I visited a few beaches on South Hutchinson Island.  Below are shots of Blind Creek, Frederick Douglas, John Brooks, and Fort Pierce South Jetty, in that order.

Blind Creek Near Low Tide This Morning.

Frederick Douglas Beach This Morning Near Low Tide.

The South Hutchinson Island beaches that I saw all looked pretty much the same this morning.  There were no new cuts.  All the beaches had seaweed. sloping and soft down to the wet area.  There were also some Portuguese Man-O-War.

John Brooks Beach This Morning Near Low Tide.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach This Morning Near Low Tide.

One detectorist was working South Jetty this morning.  You can see him in the photo.

I didn't see any other detectorists this morning.

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Mysterious underground vault discovered on grounds of N.S. legislature.

Archaeologist says the large chamber isn't mentioned in any records or maps.

Archaeologists expected the land surrounding Province House in downtown Halifax to be fertile ground for finding artifacts, but they never expected to uncover an underground stone vault roughly the size of a living room...

Here is that link.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/province-house-grounds-artefacts-archaeologists-dig-archaeology-1.5026834

I seldom look at the comments, but figured there would be some relating this to the Oak Island show - and there were, including one that pointed out that this is very close to where they went to look for a stone they wanted to find.

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This morning I took out my detector for a little while.  I only found clad, but I was reminded how important it is to spend time with your detector.  My pinpointing and target ID skills were a little rusty.  That is also one disadvantage of using different detectors.  It always take me a little while to make the transition.  I don't have trouble using the second detector, but I'm not quite as sharp.  There are a lot of subtle differences between detectors that you might not even notice unless you really focus on it.

--

The surf is supposed to be around two to four feet today and a little less tomorrow.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/25/19 Report - Mysterfy Find. Another Copper Button. Behavioral Tendencies and Metal Detecting. Site Selection. Increasing Surf.

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

Same Ceramic Find For ID

Ceramic Find for ID

I received the following email from Chief G. along with the above ceramic item.


I’m a retired CMSgt and live on Dover afb in Delaware I recently found this object on a beach where a trading ship went down in the 1700’s I have found broken pipe bowls and other objects over the years but never ran across an item like this it feels like old red brick like material but is shaped like a cork...could it be a stopper for used for mineral water the ship was carrying stuff like that it’s roughly the size of a quarter. Any help would be appreciated...by the way I enjoy your blog it is awesome.
Chief G.

I'd like to hear if anyone else has found a similar item or can ID this one.

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Copper Button Found by Fred B.

Copper Button Found by Fred B.

'
Fred B. found the same type of copper button that I showed a week or two ago.

His is generally more corroded than mine, but his shank is more intact.

Below is the one that I found and posted previously.

Thanks Fred.  He says the shank is copper.  I couldn't see much of the shank on mine and evidently mistook some of the shank for corrosion.

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Human behavior is somewhat predictable.  Some types of behavior have been thoroughly studied and are well understood.  Metal detecting involves some of those behaviors.

It is obvious enough that people tend to do what they are rewarded for.  If they are rewarded for something they tend to continue doing it.  On the other hand, if they never are rewarded for a behavior in one way or another, they generally quit.

None of that is surprising, but you can see it with metal detecting.  It applies in many ways, including site selection.  People tend to visit sites where they've found things and quit visiting sites where never have success.  Again, that isn't at all surprising.  But it can be a problem.

Just because a site did not produce for one period of time, does not mean it never will.  Beaches are very dynamic systems,  That means they change a lot.

A beach can be fairly productive for a day, week, year or more, or it can be unproductive for various lengths of time.  That is why it is important to be able to read a beach, and it is also why it is important to not get stuck in a rut.

Even if you have never had luck at a particular beach, that doesn't mean that won't change at some time.  And just because one beach has become your favorite, does not mean it should always be your favorite.

I've found most cobs at one particular beach.  It is no surprise that I have also detected that beach more than the others.  If you have luck at a particular beach, you will visit it more, and that in itself increases the chances that you will have more success there.

On the other hand if you never had luck at a particular beach, you won't like it as much, and won't check it as much, and as a result, your chances of finding something at that beach are further decreased.  It becomes a bit of what is called a self-fulfilling prophecy.

According to well established behavioral laws, if you have continual luck at a beach over a period of time, if things change and you start to find nothing there, it won't be too long before you give up on it.

If, however, you only have intermittent luck at that beach (find things occasionally), you won't give up on it as quickly if it starts to yield nothing.  That is typically what you have.   Very few of us have been lucky enough to find a beach that produces every time we visit for an extended period of time.  That builds up a level of tolerance for failure that actually will help you not give up on the beach so quickly during unproductive periods.

I've heard of people that had unbelievable luck when they begin detecting, then give up quickly when things aren't great.  If you get used to great finds right away, there is a tendency to quickly get bored with less productive outings.

I could give this explanation in the terms of behavioral psychology, but the laws translate very well to observable metal detecting behavior.

If you are aware of behavioral tendencies, you can monitor your own behavior and react more effectively.

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The wind is up this morning on the Treasure Coast and the surf will be increasing during the day, becoming higher tonight and tomorrow.

I might get a chance to check a beach or two later today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/24/19 Report - Box of Old Pistols Found in Erosion. Interesting Ship Fasteners. Found and Not Found. Another Resource.

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

Do You See What Was Exposed By the Erosion.

Look just below the grass and weeds near the center of the picture.  You will see a box of WWII pistols that was found by a German beach-comber after some recent erosion.

A German man and his father found more than seashells along the beach after a storm in their coastal Baltic Sea town last week. Alexander Ladwig, 23, was out for a walk with his pop when he found a recently unearthed box in the sand that contained 30 handguns, reports German news outlet Kieler Nachrichten. The find, near the town of Waabs in Schleswig-Holstein, was quickly collected by the notified local authorities and destroyed– but not before Ladwig had snapped a few images...

Here is the link that was submitted by Brian B.  

https://www.guns.com/news/2019/02/21/german-beachcomber-finds-box-of-30-wwii-pistols-after-storm-photos?avad=55963_a1521345d&utm_source=AvantLink&utm_campaign=41227&utm_med


That is a good picture that illustrates how things can be exposed by erosion.  In this case, the item was not deeply buried.

Thank Brian.

On some of the most popular Treasure Coast beaches, items in the dunes are often down a foot or foot and a half.  Of course that varies from location to location.

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Interesting Curled Spike Find

Find and photo by John C.

John C. found both of these interesting ship's fasteners north of Wabasso in the area of the 1800s wrecks.

Large Staple.

Find and photo by John C.

Thanks John!

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Yesterday I was talking about ship's fasteners and wondered why I hadn't found more clinched spikes considering how commonly they were used.  There are several disparities that I've wondered about.  Why I've found so few clinched spikes compared to straight spikes is one.  Why silver rings are not found by salvagers on submerged wreck sites, as reported by top salvage guys, while they are rather routinely found on the beach.  It could be that those found on the beach are not from the wrecks or the same time period, or there could be some other reason for the apparent disparity.  Or why so many small denomination reales are found on the beach as compared to the larger proportion  of larger denomination reales found on the submerged wreck sites.  In my mind that one is easier to explain.

Some things are simply easier to find.  And people tend to target some things more than others.  People are often not as interested in iron objects and often discriminate them out of pass them over, for example.

Some things break down in the salt water and surf and disappear over time as compared to other things.  The EOs that I've been talking about were iron and have almost dissolved.  All that is left is the crust.

Here is an excerpt from the McCarthy book that I mentioned yesterday.

When you are talking about long time periods, the accumulated record of what is found will not be a completely accurate representation of what was originally there.  Some things are dispersed, disappear, or for some other reason are disproportionately found.

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Here is another good resource on Spanish shipbuilding in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

https://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~cbaisan/Florida/A_Plague_of_Ships_Spanish_Ships_and_Ship.pdf

Thanks to Dale J. for that link.

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It looks like we'll have a four foot surf for a few days next week.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/23/19 Report - Shipbuilding Fasterners: Clinched Spike and Rove Finds. EOs.

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

Clinched Spike Find

I always recommend holding onto old finds, especially when you are not absolutely sure what they are.  I occasionally go back and look at old "junk" finds and discover something interesting that I never noticed before.  Sometimes things that weren't very interesting become interesting when I learn something.  That was the case recently.

I ran across some information on shipbuilding fasteners. The information is found in the book
Ships' Fastenings: From Sewn Boat to Steamship, by Michael Mccarthy.

That books shows many examples of how clinched nails or spikes were used.  I've only found a very few examples, on the beach and from my finds, guessed that they were not as common as the McCarthy book proves.

The clinched spike shown above evidently pulled through the wood.  Below you can see how the head was folded onto itself.

Folded Head of Clinched Spike.

Here is just one of many illustrations of clinched spikes that McCarthy shows in his book.

Now I know more about how clinched spikes were used and only wonder why I haven't found more of them.  

One of the other things I learned from the McCarthy book is how clinched spikes were used with roves.

I've found some roves, and it took me quite a while before I learned about them.  One thing I learned is that they were sometimes forced onto the clinched end of the spike.

Found Lead Rove With Musket Ball.

Below are some that I posted in my 2/5/13 post.  They definitely look the same even though the one above is filled with dirt.

Here we are years later and I just learned more about the roves I've had for some time.

You can continue to learn more about finds for years.  Some that might mean little or nothing to you today, might become much more interesting when you learn more about them in the future.

If you want to link to the McCarthy book, just click on the book title above.

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I've been asking for ideas concerning an EO that I found.  Here are a couple.

John L. said. Especially due to the shape of the piece above the round portion,

my GUESS is that it may be a "deck ring" from a ship's deck.

They were made of bronze or even iron.

Sebastian Steve said, ...all the above is dependent on the center piece having the 3 large holes for the line to pass through.  No holes, no DEADEYE.  

I have one other EO that is smaller, but similar in shape to the one I've been talking about.  Here they are together.

Two Hollow EOs.

They are both very hollow.  Could possibly be the same type of thing in different sizes.

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The dental cap that I recently found tests as 10K.

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It looks like we'll have a bigger surf Monday.  The tides are getting more moderate though.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/22/19 Report - Exploring and Finding Historic Artifacts in the Indian River Lagoon. Ancient Roman Coins Found on Tampa Beach.

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

Source: See kayakingksc.com link below.

Álvaro Mexía on orders from the Governor of St. Augustine created a detailed map while exploring and recording the people and towns along the east coast. His journey is still easy to follow to this day and makes for an interesting kayak trip.

From June 1605 to July 1605 (mosquito & hurricane season on the east coast) Mexía mapped the coastal area of East Florida from Matanzas Inlet south to Hobe sound...

That excerpt is from the blog of a kayaking enthusiast who is also a history buff, amateur archeaologist, historian, and explorer of the Indian River Lagoon.

I think you'll find his blog interesting.

Here are a couple links that you might want to explore.

https://www.kayakingksc.com/Spanish-Exploration-of-the-Space-Coast.html

https://www.kayakingksc.com/Ais-Native-Americans-of-Kennedy-Space-Center.html

It seems he has made a lot of really nice sight finds.

There are some other great sections too, such as the one showing the paleo channels.

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Barbara Ann wrote and asked if I heard about the ancient Roman coins found on a Tampa beach.  I hadn't, but then I looked into it.

It seems a detectorist in the Tampa area found seven ancient Roman coins on the beach.

Here is a link about that find.

https://www.lifedaily.com/story/tampa-treasure-hunter-unearths-rare-coins-on-florida-beach/

There was some speculation that the coins might mean that the Romans visited Florida before Columbus.  It sounds to me like this guy is trying out for a spot on Oak Island.

Without going through all the reasons why one could be skeptical of that conclusion myself, here is someone else's take on it.

http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/tampa-area-man-wonders-if-roman-coins-found-on-beach-prove-pre-columbian-european-presence-in-florida

I've been talking about the need to be skeptical of reality TV.  Social media is the same.

You might not need to use much discrimination on your detector, but you need a lot of discrimination when reading the news or the internet these days.

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If you compare the Kayaking the Indian River Lagoon blog with the suggestion of Pre-Colombian Romans in America, the first source seems very trustworthy, while the second (Pre-Colombian Romans) makes me very skeptical.

I started to write a bit about the characteristic differences between trustworthy sources and those that you should cause suspicion.  Although I think that is a very important topic, it turned out to be  too long and complicated for a blog post, and it would take me quite a while to refine it.

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I showed this encrusted object and asked if you had any ideas.  I received some good thoughts on the object, but one thing I thought it could be is a pulley.  Here is one example.

Tell me why I'm wrong.

Although pulleys come in different sizes and shapes, I've never seen one with such a bulging center but some might have a cover.

On the other hand, maybe it is just a wheel.  Take a look at the wheels on this wagon.  That is the closest I've found to the shape of the round part of the EO.

Well, I'm not sure yet.  All ideas and thoughts still appreciated.  Thanks.

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Looks like the surf will remain small for a few days while the tides remain big.

Happy hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net