3/31/20 Report - Some Very Old New World Spanish Reales. A What? Sunken Submarine Found. The Importance of Good Questions.

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

Early Mexico Four-Reale Displayed by McLarty Museum.

Submitted by JamminJack.

Not long ago I did a post on some of the oldest coins found on the Treasure Coast.  The one shown above is from the period of Juana and Carlos.  It is a Mexico minted four-reale.

Monedas Espanolas Desde Juana y Carlos a Isabel II: 1503 a 1868 by Calico, Calico and Trigo, 1985, shows a lot of early coins from both old world and new world mints.

See if you can tell the denomination of the one shown below..

Three Reale Shown in Calico et al Book.

Look between the two pillars above the banner and letters that run across the middle of the pillars.  Do you see three dots?  That is the denomination.  Yes, it is a three-reale!

Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins by Sewall Menzel shows an illustration of the designs on a a three-reale.  Here it is.

Three-reale as shown in Menzel book, Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins.

This next one isn't real clear, but I think you can see the two dots between the caps of the pillars.  It is a two-reale.

Two-Reale Shown in Calico et al Book.

Menzel also presents an illustration for that type of coin.

Carlos y Juana Three-Three Reale as Shown in Menzel Book.

Similarly, the one-reale has a single dot between the pillars.  I won't bother to show that one.

Both the one and two-reale, as well as the three reales shown above were minted in Mexico.

Unfortunately coinage of this period was not dated so it is nearly impossible to determine the date, or even the order of the coins.

The Calico book contains many examples and variations even a ten-reale from an old world mint.

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The crew of the USS Stickleback didn’t expect things to end this way—rising from the depths on May 28, 1958, only to be broadsided by the hull of a friendly American destroyer, the USS Silverstein. The Stickleback sank to the bottom, an 11,000-foot journey to nowhere.

Now, 62 years since the sub disappeared from any radar screen—and became one of only four U.S. Navy submarines lost since the end of World War II—it’s been found again...

Thanks to Douglas, here is that link.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/stickleback-submarine-wreck-found

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Unfortunately you can't separate Covid-19 from metal detecting since it has resulted in the beaches being closed.

Checking the statistics this morning I find that there have been 3,170 Covid-19 deaths in the United States so far.

After looking at a sea of additional statistics, one of the things that sticks out is this Fortune Magazine report from 2018 -

The Flu is Killing Up to 4,000 Americans a Week

By 

Bloomberg

February 10, 2018 9:53 AM EST

So, if this headline is correct, and as far as I've been able to find, it is, then more people got killed by the flu in one week in 2018 than have been killed in the U. S. so far this year by the current Coronavirus.

Dr. Fauci, in the March 26 New England Journal of Medicine, gives a much less dramatic estimate of Covid-19 than he has been giving on TV lately, suggesting that it might not be much different than the normal flu.

CBS admitted the image they used to show an overcrowded U. S. hostpical was actually an Italian hospital.  I'm not saying that U. S. hospitals aren't crowded.  They usually are during flu season, but the media can be deceptive.

In another report I saw that the CDC said that up to 15 times more people die of the flu than is reported on death certificates.  Health statistics can be very unreliable.  You have to look at the details.

You always have to ask questions.  I once said that the question is more important than the answer, which seems like a stupid thing to say, but the question is important.  Asking the right questions is critically important, no matter whether you are talking about something like metal detecting or epidemiology.

I'm surprised by the high degree of compliance of the American people so far.  They've been conditioned by a deluge of threats ranging from the danger of riding a bicycle without a helmet and pads to the threat of monster plastic up to the apocalyptic threat of the climate killing us all.  Americans and citizens of the world have been drowned in a sea of experts and bad reporting and have surrendered their independence to those who are thought to know better.  An informed involved public is necessary.

I'm very suspicious of what is going on here.  It is time for a whole lot of good questions.  Not the type of questions that the media is asking, but penetrating questions that will put this whole thing in a meaningful context, resolve doubt and confusion and lead to good practical decisions.

Ask the hard questions.  Hold your officials accountable.  They aren't losing their jobs and businesses.  

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The Treasure Coast surf will begin to build Saturday night.  We are supposed to have some good high surf on Sunday.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/30/20 Report - Mule Error Coin Found. Top Florida History Stories. Predictive Models and Specializing.

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

Valuable Mule Error Coin Found in Piggy Bank.

Source: See ManOfMany.com link below.

Parents often employ piggy banks as a way to teach their children how to save money. That practice is paying off for one Melbourne mum. While helping her daughter count the coins in her piggy bank, the mum discovered a Mule dollar that is worth thousands.

“What’s a Mule dollar?” the mum wrote in her Facebook post chronicling the discovery. “It’s a small number of the year 2000 $1 dollar coins that had been minted using the incorrect obverse die (heads side) and released into circulation by mistake and only discovered a year or two later.” The Royal Australian Mint had mixed up the 10 cent die with that of the $1 die. It’s an easy mistake to make, as the two coins are off by just 1.4 millimetres, but it’s enough of a difference that you can clearly see a double rim circle going around the coin...

Here is the link for more of that story

https://manofmany.com/entertainment/mum-finds-mule-dollar-in-daughters-piggy-bank

Thanks to William K. for sending me that link.


And here is a link you can use to find more information on the Australian $1/10-cent mule error coins.

https://www.australian-coins.com/error-coins/2000-1-10-cent-mule/

One of the most prominent U.S. mule errors is has the obverse of a Washington state quarter and the reverse of a Sacagawea dollar.

One alternative you have when you aren't able to metal detect is search for error coins.  Maybe go back through old finds or those you have saved.

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DJ sent an interesting link.  It is the online Daytona Beach News Journal's article on the top 25 Florida stories of all time.

Florida History: Here are Florida’s top 25 stories of all time.  They include stories from the time of Juan Ponce de Leon up to some of our more recent hurricanes, and a lot of important stories from the various centuries.

Here is a link to a good article from the Daytona Beach News Journal online:

https://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20190110/florida-history-here-are-floridas-top-25-stories-of-all-time

You can click on each that you want to learn more about.

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We all use data to make predictions, manage risk and make decisions.  We have our own informal mental models of how things work.  Some people are more precise and statistical or probabilistic in their decision making than others.  In the past I did one or two posts on math for metal detecting that could help you with site selection.

As Florida residents we know a bit about the use of models.  Every hurricane season we consult models that attempt to predict the strength of hurricanes and where they will hit.  We therefore know that models are not always correct.

It wasn't long ago that we were all making preparations for a big hurricane that turned out for us to be not much of anything.   There was a huge cost to all the wasted preparations, and I talked about it back then.

Now everyday we are hearing about the coronavirus models, but I haven't heard or seen as much about those models as I saw and heard about the hurricane models.  In fact, on TV they are mostly giving us the predictions of the most extreme coronavirus model.  I'm not so sure that is wise.

The epidemiological models depend upon data and assumptions just like any other model.  We don't have much data on coronavirus specifically, and the models may or may not be very accurate.   I'd like to see how the various models compare and the range of predictions.

Every day I look at the surf report.  The surf predictions are the result of models.  A few years ago I noticed that they often predicted a big surf 10 days or so out, but very often the prediction of a large surf would disappear as the time got nearer.  Evidently there was a systematic error in the model, which it appears was fixed.

In a way, trying to determine when a beach will be productive for metal detecting is a bit like informal modeling.  Several factors go into it, and sometimes we are right and sometimes wrong.  We know some of the factors that seem to predict, and we try to improve our understanding of how it works.  I'm sure I will never be correct all the time, but part of the fun, for me, is studying things and improving my understanding.

Improving my understanding is a game to me that is almost as much fun as finding something.  I like to check myself.  Even if I don't think an area will be productive, I will often check it out anyhow just to see if I was right or wrong.  If I check and find that I was right, I gain confidence in my model.  But when I am wrong I try to figure out why so I can improve my model.

With the coronavirus models it isn't a matter of fun.  It is much more serious, but still the analysis and problem solving is very much the same.  And it is being done by people who spent much of their life on it.

There is a minor problem with being a specialist.  You have a focus and narrowness of thought and vision.  I believe that holds for treasure hunting or metal detecting too.  The more you do one thing, the more narrow you become in your understanding and approach.

In a recent post I said there is always a way.  I believe that, whether it applies to metal detecting or ways to maintain social distancing while getting businesses running again.  You adapt.

You can know more than anyone else about some narrow subject or type of endeavor, and partly because of that specialization lack the creativity and breadth of vision necessary for the most creative solutions.  There are trade-offs.  You can't be everything.   You have to make decisions.  It helps to know who you are and your strengths and weaknesses whatever you are doing.

Asking Tony Fauci if you need to collect more data and take more precautions is something like asking a car salesman if you should buy a new car.  I'm not minimizing Dr. Fauci's genius, only pointing to the fact that he is like everyone else in that he brings who he is to the decision making, but no matter who you are or what you do, there are times when you need to challenge yourself, your preconceptions and self-imposed limitations, be creative and change in new and productive ways.

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Oh, oh.

We have are going to have a couple of days of one foot surf, but in about a week they are predicting a five to eight foot surf.

Be wise, be well,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/29/20 Report - Beach, Sand and Water Movemnts. Treasures in Books. Coronavirus Migrations.

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

I've been thinking about presenting this topic for a long time, but it is difficult to present.  There are so many variables and it is so complex that it is hard to illustrate and explain.  Everything I am going to present is simplified, but that is the way it has to be.

It does NOT apply to steep areas or areas that the waves are breaking on.  It applies mostly to the mid and back beach areas that are only gently sloped.

If you talk about coins or things sinking at the beach, one way to visualize it is like objects sinking in water.  In other words, gravity would pull them down to a lower level without anything else happening.  That is not how it happens in sand.

You can set a coin or ring on the sand and it is not going anywhere unless the sand is agitated.  Try it for yourself.  It doesn't matter how long the object sits on the sand, it isn't going anywhere unless you stir things up.

Illustration A, which shows three objects on the beach.  They are going to sit there until the sand moves.  Assume the objects all have the same shape and size and density and the force of the water is enough to move the sand but not the objects.   If six inches of sand is removed from that area of the beach, the objects will then be down about six inches and on the new surface (NS), as shown in illustration B.

They will stay there on the new surface until more sand is moved from under them (again the assumption is that the water force is enough to move the sand but not the objects).

If more sand is moved while the force of the water is not enough to move the objects, the objects will drop down some more.  Remember, I'm oversimplifying here.  However if the sand returns (while the water force is still strong enough to move the sand but not the objects, the objects will get covered.  If six inches of sand moves, but this time in the opposite direction, the objects will be under about six inches of sand.

This coming and going of sand can happen many times.  If the amount of force is only great enough to move the sand, we will have some idea how deep the objects that started near the original surface will be.  If additional layers of sand are moved (without the objects being moved horizontally) the objects will find the lowest layer where the sand had vacated.  If, for example, three times six inches of sand was removed without any sand refilling, the objects will be down about 18 inches.  In actuality that would be unusual.   More commonly you would see sand eroding and then refilling to some extent in between erosion events.

My observations of local beaches seems to show that a foot or two is really about as much as you'll usually see, and that amount can put you into productive sand, and likewise cover it up when the flow of sand reverses.

More than a 100 times to 1 some amount of sand will be left covering the newly settled objects.  Only when a slight wash of water, most often during a descending tide, uncovers the items will the items be exposed and laying right on the surface.

I haven't even addressed when the water force is strong enough to move the objects too.  In that case, the objects, either a few or all of them will be moved some distance with the sand, but usually not as far as the sand.  And if the objects have different densities, sizes or shapes, they will also separate.

Another complicating factor is the fact that the water will be usually coming in and then reversing and going back out over the same area.  That means that in those cases the sand and any other objects can be moved in both directions.  The relative force of the incoming and outgoing water will determine which objects are moved how much, and the important thing - the net movement.  An easily moved object will can move a large distance in both directions, but one direction more than another.  Sometimes other factors come into play, such as the slope or other obstacles.

Objects that move less easily will remain closer to their original spot.  But there are also times such as when you have a good angle that the water comes in and washes out at more of an arc, which means a steady movement either south or north will be observed rather than only the back and forth of the up and down hill movement.

Back to the simple case in which we only consider a single sand moving wash of water.  The main point is that less easily moved objects fall into lowest layer and will tend to remain there, periodically being uncovered a little and then covered more deeply again.  They'll mostly stay at the same level until the sand gets moved and they reach a new lower level.  That might sound like sinking, but it is not sinking into a stable layer of sand.

When you can identify an old layer of sand that has been exposed, it likely has been relatively unmoved for a long time.  It will take an unusual event for it to be washed out - yet it does happened.  Usually when such a layer is near the surface it will get covered fairly quickly again and then most future movements of sand will be the coming and going of the one or two feet above that, but not much more.

If the objects are in deep layers that haven't been exposed for long periods of time, they will probably remain there for long periods of time.  It will take an unusual event to expose once again those deep layers.  And if items get down to bedrock and caught in crevices or whatever, they will stay there until some very dramatic event occurs or somebody removes them.  It will take a very unusual event, probably a sequence of events, to dislodge them naturally.

I started out trying to be specific, but couldn't cover much that way, so I got more general.  Like I said at the beginning, there are a lot of variables and it isn't simple.

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Carpintero was working as an intern at the Z.D. Ramsdell Civil War Home Museum in Ceredo, West Virginia, when she discovered the letter tucked in a book. The letter, dated June 27, 1862, was written by then Lieutenant McKinley of the 23rd Ohio Infantry to Ramsdell. Carpintero found the letter Jan. 7 while researching another artifact in the museum and said her internship supervisor was just as surprised by her finding the letter as she was.

Here is the link.

https://www.herald-dispatch.com/wcn/wc_news/student-finds-letter-written-by-former-u-s-president-at/article_fbef0ecf-4267-5fcb-84ae-87eb74b1ef3c.html

I've written before about the surprises you can find in books.  I once wrote an article about that for a treasure magazine.

I have many old collectible books (over a hundred years old) that have never been read.   How can I tell?  The pages have never been separated.  They were never trimmed.

Old books are one of my favorite treasures, but unlike back forty or fifty years ago, the collectible book market is not good except for the most desired books.

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Population migrations are interesting and often result in good places to detect.  Ghost towns are one good example.

Here is a link to an article about the coronavirus migration.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-great-american-migration-of-2020-on-the-move-to-escape-the-coronavirus/ar-BB11QAma?ocid=spartandhp

A few days ago I mentioned that people are escaping the high-risk New York area that has around fifty percent of the nations confirmed cases.  Instead of self-isolating that are spreading the risk.  There was some talk of stopping that, but it was those with means that were doing it, so it wasn't stopped.

Some local areas did take measures to stop it even if the governors didn't want to.

...From beaches and resort towns to mountain cabins to rural family homesteads, places far from densely packed cities are drawing people eager to escape from infection hotspots. But virus fugitives often are running into fierce opposition on their routes, including Florida’s effort to block New Yorkers from joining their relatives in the Sunshine State, a police checkpoint keeping outsiders from entering the Florida Keys, and several coastal islands closing bridges to try to keep the coronavirus at bay... 

...As the threat of the virus intensified last week, Danette Denlinger Brown, 54, hoped to relocate from Williamsburg, Va., to North Carolina's Outer Banks, where she and her husband own a second home. But as she prepared to leave, she learned that North Carolina police had blocked the Wright Brothers Memorial Bridge connecting the mainland to the barrier island. Only year-round residents could cross, a restriction county officials said was necessary to stop migrating families from overwhelming the area’s only hospital, a 20-bed facility...

They tell those who are moving to self-isolate for fourteen days, but who takes with them two weeks of supplies when they travel.  It's a farce.  Cuomo is happy to export his problem to another state, along the needs and statistics that go with them.

As per the TV news, there are so many private jets from New York now at the Palm Beach airport that there is no more parking space.

The blue state elites are now escaping to the culturally backward blue-collar red states for refuge.  Actually those who could always did.

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The surf will increase to 3 - 5 feet in a few days.



Act responsibly not selfishly.  Think of others as much as yourself.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/28/20 Report - 18th Century Shipwreck Dated. Archaeology and Detectorists. Closed Beaches Ideas.

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

Source: See SeaCoastOnline.com link below.

YORK, Maine — Findings from a study conducted on a shipwreck site on Short Sands beach indicate the vessel was built before the American Revolutionary War...

Claesson said he had records of the wreck’s unearthing in 1958, then 1978.

“Photos taken during that time indicate the mast was cut off,” he said.

Claesson asked for anyone with photos or artifacts to contact him.

“I’m not trying to be the archaeology police,” he joked. “But people have been interacting with the site for decades. I’d love to see photos or learn anything else about it to be able to tell the full story of the site.”...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20200325/york-shipwreck-predated-american-revolution-say-researchers


In the past year or two it has seemed to me that archaeology has not been bashing treasure hunters or metal detecting hobbyists as once as they once did.

A few years ago it seemed that at least every other article involving detectorists included the word "looters" or something to that effect.  I haven't been seeing that very often since around the time I did a piece entitled "The Problem With Archaeology."  I can't imagine that it had such an effect, but at the same time, it could have.

I mentioned some compelling facts including the notion that archaeologists claim to be "saving the past for the public" while acting in a very contradictory manner.  I pointed out that "treasure hunters" in some ways serve that goal much more effectively than archaeologists.  That is evidenced by a number of facts, including the fact that many more of the readers of this blog have seen shipwreck items in the Mel Fisher museums than in the Florida Museum of Natural History.  That is just a part of my argument and recommendation for archaeology.

Here is the link to the post in which I talk about that.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2018/02/22518-report-problem-with-archaeology.html

One point I made in that post is how the public can assist archaeologists.  Claesson asks for that assistance, but because of the mistrust created by archaeologists has to let the public know that he is not going to "try to be the archaeology police."

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With the beaches close you might be wondering where you can metal detect.  We've faced beach closings before, and there are always people who manage to get on the beaches one way or another.

I often say there is always away.  I am a person that enjoys finding alternative methods of doing things.  There are ways you can get on the beach even if it is closed without doing anything illegal.  You don't have to jump fences or do anything like that.  For example, you can go by boat or jet ski.  Maybe you have friends or acquaintances that have beachside residences or you might rent a room at a beachside residence or resort.  Some detectorists have passes through their jobs or do contracting that can get them on the beach.  There are things that I won't mention.  They are used by some detectorists every time the beaches get closed for hurricanes.  I'ts not that I'm trying to keep them secret, and I don't use them myself.  I just want you to know that there are ways to do it legally if you really want to do it.  .

Better yet, there are some good alternatives to the beach, which you should realize because the beach is not always the best place to hunt anyhow.  Let's think off-beach.

The first thing is to be alert to what you see as you go about your normal daily business.  You will see some decent sites.  I always have a long list of sites in mind that I plan to test someday when I get around to it.  When I think of beaches, I have my high and low priority beaches, but I also have a long list of off-beach detecting spots too.

You know how when you are driving along A1A and you see all of those spots where fishermen kayakers and others stop along the west side of the Indian River.  They've been doing it for many years, but those spots aren't detected much.  There is a reason that people don't detect those spots.  For one thing, there will be a lot of trash and sinkers and very little good treasure, but if you adjust your techniques, you might find a few interesting things.  I've done those spots before, and have found some nice things.  You might even find something old - maybe a nice old shell native American artifact.  There is more to be found in the river than you might think.  There are even spots where galleons or pieces of galleons washed over the island and into the river.  You'll have a better chance if you've done your research.

There is a lot of construction going on.  The railroad is adding tracks and roads are being widened and repaired.  In the process old ground is being churned up.  Don't try to detect an active construction site, but if you watch what is going on, you can identify some good metal detecting possibilities.  Work around the edges or after the work is done.  If you've been reading this blog very long, you've read numerous articles about archaeological sites being unearthed by construction projects.

The recent drought will open up some areas that were overgrown.  I know of one area that I've been watching for a while and the overgrowth is thinning out so I won't have to do so much work to make it detectable.  It was heavily covered by overgrowth, but you could see surface evidence of old glass and bricks.  You can open up new areas if you are willing to remove brush.  You might still need to adjust how you sweep your detector.  Maybe use non-motion mode.

You might ask for permission to detect private property.  Most beach hunters have never done much of that.  It never hurts to try something new.

You can hook up with other detectorists who might have access to good areas.

Remember the old silver coins that came out of the Peace River.  Waterways are good areas to metal detect and often have public access.  Search the banks or shallow water, or dive.

Watch for grass covered parking lots.  I know where there are a few of those.  They are often not closed off.

I always enjoyed working old carnival grounds especially just after the carnival picked up and left. I found mostly modern coins.  Sometimes there would be dollars of quarters laying on the surface and dollar bills blown up against the fences.

Generally, just keep your eyes open as you go about your normal daily business and notice any possibilities.

Try something new and different.  It might be outside your comfort zone, but you'll probably learn something new and improve your skills for when you get back to the beach.

Another possibility is do another kind of treasure hunting.  Maybe go look for some fossils.

There are a few ideas.  If you have others that you'd like to share, let me know.

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I just thought of this last night and thought I should post it.  I don't know exactly why.  I just have a feeling.

You'll remember it from 1985 if you are old enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M7c-JOnPdw

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The surf will be around four feet today and then decreasing for the next few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/27/20 Report - Ancient Gold Stater Florida Find. 18th Century Dugout Canoe. New Opportunities!

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

Gold Stater Circa 350 BC Found 
in Shallow Water Off The Florida Coast

Not long ago I had some posts on old coins found on the Treasure Coast.  I also mentioned that some very old ancient coins have been found in Florida, and I'm sure on the Treasure Coast as well.  One way that ancient coins are found in Florida includes those mounted in jewelry.  You'll find ancient coins that were once mounted or are still mounted in rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants, etc.  I've found a good number of those.

I went back to find some examples and in a very early post found this photo of a gold coin that I found.  It is an Alexander the Great gold stater from around 350 BC.  It was found in shallow water, if I correctly recall, in North Dade county.   It is still in the bezel, which is on a nice heavy chain, but I used the Paint application to edit the photo to show only the coin.

This is just one example of a pre Spanish-colonial coin that was found in Florida.  I never entertained the idea that Alexander the Great visited Florida, or the Knights Templar for that matter.

When I found this photo that I posted years ago, I realized how much more thoroughly I research, inspect and document  things today as compared to how I handled finds back then. For one thing, I have better equipment and take better photos now.   I guess I should get it out of the deposit box some day and do a better job on it.

I found a good web site with information about the Alexander the Great coins, although it only talks about the silver coins.

Here is just a little of what it says.

Alexander invaded Asia Minor to liberate the Greeks and drive out the Persians. Alexander’s armies swept down into Egypt and then circled back, taking territory the whole way to borders of India. Alexander’s armies defeated every army for 13 years. While traveling back home through Babylon, Alexander died at the age of 33 in 323 BC. The coins minted under his name from 336 to 323 BC are referred to as lifetime issues and command a high price today...

The value of the coin principally came from what it was made of, not who issued the coin. The weights of the coins were regulated by city officials called magistrates. It is often their official symbols and monograms that we find on the coins. Ancient forgers used to coat copper coins with silver and try to pass them off as pure silver coins. It is not uncommon to find an ancient banker’s mark or a test cut in ancient coins. By piercing the coin, the person could tell if the silver ran through the coin... 

Here is the link for more about the silver coins of Alexander the Great.

http://www.coinsoftime.com/Articles/Coins_of_Alexander_the_Great.html

I don't know that I ever heard of holes in coins being used to identify forgeries.  If I did, I forgot.

Here is a link to a site that lists some gold staters.

https://www.austincoins.com/ancient-coins/alexander-ancient-coins.html

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18th Century Dugout Canoe.

Source: See UnionLeader.com link below.

Testing reveals dugout canoe discovered 80 years ago dates to 17th century...

The canoe was discovered by three fishermen from Tilton in the fall of 1939 under 14 feet of water in Verrie Cove along Squam’s northwest shore. After failing to spark local interest, the canoe found its way to the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, where it was identified as Native American...

Here is the link for more of that article.

https://www.unionleader.com/news/history/testing-reveals-dugout-canoe-discovered-years-ago-dates-to-th/article_23a7f1d7-2dba-5ed7-b67a-c4c8f376cdd3.html

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I've often talked about obstacles as opportunities.  I remember once mentioning that it seems like big treasures always have a dragon to protect them.  That is why they are still there.  And it seems that the person that slays the dragon is the person that deserves the treasure.  Sometimes the dragon is in the world, and sometimes it is yourself.   Most of the time it is probably hiding in the cave of your being.  That is why slaying it is so transformational.

It is natural to want to take the easy path, but the difficult path can be an adventure.  No matter where you go you take yourself with you.  That is why some people are always unhappy and angry and others are just as often content.

Did you ever notice that every miracle starts out as a problem.  That is a part of the recipe.

Every major accomplishment begins with a challenge.

People are being challenged today.  There is disease, fear, illness and economic downturn.  Those things might always exist to some extent but some people are feeling it more intensely now.

There will be sorrow and loss.  There always is.  But there will also be miracles of love, comfort and strength where there is loss, along with miracles of healing.

The fuse is lit.  What are the opportunities?

There will be new cures, new understanding, new techniques and methods.  In short there will be new ingenious solutions and new ways of living.

There are new opportunities in new threats.  How can you help in some way to solve the large or small problems you see?

Solutions create businesses and fortunes, and provide aid and comfort.  Be a part of it.

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The surf tonight and tomorrow will be up to three or four feet.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

3/26/20 Report - Adapting and Innovating. Necessary Principles of Success In A Changing World.

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

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The general principles of success apply to metal detecting as well as other human activities.  You might not always see the application, but the application of those same principles are usually there, even when I talk about topics other than metal detecting.

I've written several times in this blog about the importance of setting goals.  Here are the links to two such posts.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/12/12417-report-focus-goals-feedback-loops.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2018/12/121518-report-how-to-become-more.html

If you want to accomplish something, you will have a much better chance if you set a specific goal.  You are not likely to make it to the NFL, if you don't have your mind set upon that goal.  That is just one example.

When it comes to metal detecting, what is it that you really want to accomplish?  Do you want to find a piece of eight or a gold escudo?  I know those goals are shared by many people who read this blog and write to me, and they have a much better chance of accomplishing that goal if it is something they set their heart on.  Your goals will focus your efforts and drive you on.

When I talk about other subjects that might appear to be off-topic, most often there is a lesson or a way that it applies to metal detecting. The principles of success are the same.

Recently, for example, the press has been going crazy about the President saying he wanted to open up the country by Easter.  Many of the journalist find fault with that goal, but it is a good ambitious goal that will focus the efforts of the administration and country.  The president would not be a successful business man or the President of the United States if he did not set ambitious goals.  I.m sure it is just a part of his nature and he set ambitious goals in his business life, being very much aware that it might not happen but also knowing that it would at least inspire a vigorous effort and result in progress.

If you don't set ambitious goals, you will likely not accomplish much.  Challenge yourself.  Strive.  But if you are not sure about it or if you have conflicting goals, you'll just be fighting yourself.  Your must commit to your goals, and they must be true to who you are.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:21) 

(Can you believe one source attributed it to J. K. Rowling?)

Many would like to find a treasure wreck like the Atocha, but they are not willing to focus their life on it.  I'm not.  If it would happen to me, it would be a lot of fun, but if it is something you really wanted to accomplish, you wouldn't wait for it to happen to you - you would aggressively pursue it.  You'd have a much better chance of making it happen if you made it your life's goal.

Goals should be challenging and ambitious.  They should be specific.  They should be true to who you are.  I wrote about that before.  Check the links above.

As I've said before, if all  you want out of metal detecting is a hobby that provides some enjoyment and maybe some exercise that is fine, but if you really want to find a 1715 Fleet coin, or a ancient coin, or a big diamond ring, or a bunch of gold nuggets, one of the first and most important steps is to set a goal that you can commit to, that will drive you, and that will sart you on the path to success.

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Metal detecting is very much like life in general.  The same general principles of success apply.

Dr. Spencer Johnson's book, Who Moved My Cheese, was top-selling business motivation book published in 1998.  In the form of a parable, it describes how in work and life individuals must anticipate and react to change.

Life will change, and you must be able to adjust and react.  Some will keep on doing the same thing.  They might expect the same beaches to keep producing year in and year out.  Or they might expect their old tried and true strategies and techniques to keep working forever, but the world will change, and you will have to change with it to be successful.

Doing the same thing over and over again is easy, but there are times when you need to make a change.  Someday you'll find that doing the same old thing doesn't work anymore.  Or worse yet, something might happen so you can't do the same old thing anymore.  But that isn't always bad.  Sometimes it forces you to employ new and better methods and techniques.

The coronavirus forced people to do things differently, whether they wanted to or not. We were already going in the direction of social distancing with the internet, smart phones and even to some extent telemedicine.

I began telecommuting in 1979.  It really isn't a brand new thing.  I worked from home using a a large international computer network that provided many of the communications capabilities that are taken for granted today.  That was when I moved to the Miami area and developed training and education software for companies such as Eastern Airlines and helped non-profit agencies in places like Liberty City use computer-based education.

Back around that time, one University of Miami professor leased a terminal with access to educational software for his children to use at home.  It was very costly at that time - something like over $400 a month in 1980 dollars, which would be the equivalent of about three times that much in today's money.  It was being done, but the time wasn't right yet.  It was still too expensive for most people and most organizations.

Telecommuting and distance learning have been around for decades but because of technological advances and changes in society, it has become more feasible and commonplace.   We have progressed, but there is more we can do.  

During this time of social stress, we really need to adapt and innovate.  We can innovate in ways that haven't been imagined yet and that will allow us to function safely without destroying our enjoyment and productivity.  We won't have to lock ourselves in our homes forever if we can adapt and innovate.

We don't have to use the same methods today that were used with the Spanish flu in 1918.  We should adapt and innovate.

Sometimes a crisis stimulates innovation.  Corporations like Wal-Mart are putting plexiglass between cashiers and customers, very much like the banks have been doing for a long time.  Its new but not new, and it isn't a huge change..

There are many things we can do to adapt and change without drastically changing our way of life.  It might take some thinking, but we can do that.  This crisis can be solved, and it can lead to innovations that will help us move into the future.

This is a good time for each person to think, adapt and innovate, not only because of the virus, but also because in whatever we do, there are times when it is necessary to change.

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The Treasure Coast surf will be up a little on Friday and Saturday, although my understanding is that all Treasure Coast beaches are still closed.  Let me know if that is not the case.

I heard that if you want to go to over the bridge to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, only cars with North Carolina plates are allowed over.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/25/20 Report - Ancient Florida Coin Finds. Screws and How To Tell How Old They Might Be.

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

Fake Ancient Greek Coin Find.

Not long ago I had a few posts on some very old Spanish coins found on the Treasure Coast.  Back then I was thinking of shipwreck coins and which might have been among the oldest.  I neglected to think of the silver and gold  ancient coins I found while metal detecting while I lived in South Florida, but I'm sure that some have been found on the Treasure Coast as well.

It doesn't mean that Florida was visited by the Knights Templar or King Arthur as some might conclude, but ancient coins are found in Florida, and I'm sure must have been found on the Treasure Coast.

The one shown above is a fake that was mounted in a piece of jewelry.  I saw it this morning and that is what reminded me of the real ancient coins that have been found.  I think I might have posted a few real examples before, but am not sure.

Of course there are those who collect ancient coins.  Occasionally they get stolen or are taken by children for show-and-tell and get lost somehow.  But just as often they are mounted in necklaces, bracelets, rings or earrings that get lost.  Often you can see marks on a coin that show how it was once mounted in jewelry.

When I started thinking of the ancient coins I found, I remember a "widow's mite" that I found and gave to my parents for a gift long ago.  I'm going to ask my mother, who turned 94 yesterday, if she knows where it is.

Anyhow, I was reminded of all of those ancient coins, and am sure some must have been found on the Treasure Coast.

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There was a time that if I found a screw on a beach I immediately assumed it was modern and  tossed it into the trash bag.  That was a mistake. I should have at least looked to see if it was old.

Screws have been made and used since the 1600s and earlier.  Screws were laboriously handmade until a machine was patented in 1780 for the process.   Experts use screws to help identify the age of antiques, such as furniture.  Despite my research I still find it very difficult to tell how old a screw might be.  You might ask who cares, but screws, no matter how small and inconsequential, just like any other object can provide clues for the treasure hunter.

Below is a little of what I've been able to put find on the sugject.  It is not easy to find photos of old screws that have been dated.  DJ did find some for me.  Thanks DJ!

Here are a couple of examples from an article, Observations on the Development of Wood Screws in North America by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  DJ sent me those.

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Source: Boston Museum of Fine Arts article.

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The screw shown above is one of the oldest I've seen.  It is circa 1780 but was handmade like earlier examples.

One sign of an old screw that seems to be the easiest to recognize is the off-center groove on the head.  It was simply cut with a hacksaw or something.

Another common characteristic of 18th century and earlier screws is evidence that the screw began as square nail stock.  That typically shows on the uncut area on the shank just above the threads which might still show a flat side or two.

The threads were cut made with a file or hacksaw or a cutting tool with some type of lathe, often treadle driven.  Filing or using a hacksaw to cut the threads often left easy to identify tell-tale marks.

Remember, early screws were handmade and vary according to the ingenious methods employed by the individual that made them.

Here is another handmade example from the Museum of Fine Arts article.  It dates a little later, but was still handmade.

One of the easier to identify characteristics of very old screws is a blunt point.  Here is a good example of that from Pinterest.

Can you imagine having to make a screw?

Here is another illustration I located, but don't remember where it came from.  That gives clues for dating.

Unfortunately, like every other item made of iron and found on a beach, the clues to a screws age can be erased by time and corrosion.  Here is a found screw along with a brand new screw.

The older of the two has very rounded rather than sharp threads.  I don't know if they were made that way or if they got stripped or corroded down.

I'm not always able to figure out the age of a found screw, but I learned a lot, especially how screws were made centuries ago.  I guess that one point to remember is that not all screws are modern.

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According to some sources, more than half of the confirmed coronaviruse cases are in the New York metro area.  But instead of being in lock-down, many New Yorkers are leaving and spreading the problem.  Many are coming to Florida, which will undoubtedly get a big bump in cases as a result.   If they won't stay in their own state, they are not going to self-quarantine.   You might say New York is now the US Wuhan, except it wasn't shut off in time.  It looks so much like the science fiction movies - the New Yorkers with means escaped to other areas and spread the disease while the poor are left at home unable to do much of anything else.

Indian River County, according to this morning statistics, has twelve cases, of which half are travel related.

You can track it on the Florida Surveillance Dashboard.

St. Lucie County, has six total, and Okeechobee has none.

Here is the link to the Florida coronavirus dashboard that will allow you to check the most current statistics for each county.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/96dd742462124fa0b38ddedb9b25e429

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Friday the surf is supposed to get up around three to five feet.  That will be a slight increase.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/24/20 Report - More On Beach Dynamics and How Various Objects Move On The Beach. Remembering.

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

I'm going to put some things together today.  Back in 2015 I did a post on five ways I've seen coins move on a beach. I listed the following five ways.

1. Fall out of an eroding cliff, cut or dune.
2. Slide down the face of a cliff or dune.
3. Move within a rush of water.
4. Roll down a slope.
5. Flip.

There is another I did not actually observe on the beach, but I've seen demonstrated in a wave tank.  Under the right conditions coins will do what I will call "step."

When a coin is on a slope and the flow of water is up the slope, sand on the downhill side of the coin will be gradually eroded until the coin slips down one step, stop, and then take another step when the sand erodes from the downhill side again.  A step is not more than a coin length. 

People often talk about the weight of an object determining how objects move on a beach, but weight is only one factor.  And coins seldom really sink.  Usually they fall into areas where the sand has left. That might sound like the same thing, but to me there is a big difference.  Normally coins are not drawn by gravity through stable layers of sand.

To illustrate something important, as I've said several times before, a ton of Styrofoam will still float even if it weighs a ton.  Its weight does not cause it to sink in water.  Density is more relevant.  But the density of the object is not the only characteristic that determines how much an object will be moved by a given force of water either.

Four Sinkers Used In Experiment.

I once did an experiment and showed that the shape of an object will have a lot to do with how an object is moved by water on a beach.  I took four different lead sinkers (See photo above.).  There.were three different shapes.  Two were disk-shaped.

I then used a bucket of water to simulate a wave hitting the them.  They all moved different distances.  As predicted, the oval shaped sinker moved the farthest, followed by the fish-shaped sinker, then the small disk, and the large disk moved the smallest distance.

Here is the link to that post.

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

When the density is held constant, weight will have some effect, but so will the shape of the object.  The larger disk moved less far than the smaller disk, but neither of those were moved as far as the fish-shaped sinker or the oval.

That experiment concerns horizontal movement - movement on a relatively stable surface of sand.  But when you have erosion, the sand is moving, and possibly other objects as well.  Most of the objects that we are most concerned about will not move as much as the sand, which will be moved by the water more easily and quickly than most of the objects.

Take for example the sinkers shown above.  If it was actually a wave, there would be a lot more water, and the sand would be moving too.  While the sand was being washed away, items that move less easily would not move as much as the sand.  In some cases, those items would remain in the area vacated by the sand.

In other cases, both the sand and other items might move, but some other items will not move as fast as the sand.  And some items will move farther than others.  It is a matter of the relative movement.

If you've ever noticed, fairly dense coin lines near the water will often show an ordering or classification of coins by denomination.  Quarters will be one distance from the water and define one edge and zinc pennies will be on the other side.  With the coins having a similar shape and more or less similar density, that is determined by the different weights.  However irregularly shaped miscellaneous objects of different metals will be scattered through in a more unpredictable order.

Here are some of the densities of common metals in kg. per cubic meter.

Aluminum  2712
Brass  8400 - 8700
Copper  8940
Gold  19320
Iron 7850
Lead 11340
Platinum 21400
Silver 10490
Steel  7850
Titanium 4500
Tungsten 19600
Zinc 7135

A gold ring is not only dense, it is also round and open.  I've seen gold rings roll down the slope.   The opening presents little surface area for the water to push against, which is one reason in addition to the density that gold rings tend to be low on the beach if they have been in the area affected by moving water.

Copper sheathing, on the other hand, despite the relative density, being flat and relatively thin will end up much higher in the sand and on the beach than would be predicted by the density alone.

That is all I'll do today, but there is a lot more to it.

How objects appear to sink over time is another fairly detailed discussion that is not as simple as it might seem.  While weight has something to do with it, it is a more about the movement of objects relative to the force of the moving water and the movement of sand.

You'll see a lot of people who will tell you to look one place or another for certain kinds of objects, but they won't explain how they got there,  I believe it will help if know how and why those objects ended up where they did.

Here is the link to the post on the five ways I've seen coins move on a beach.

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

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I am lucky - very lucky.  Long before sunrise I often wake up and smile.  It's not that a lot of really good stuff happened to me.  I think it is more that I remember good things.  They are little things - many from my childhood - when a neighbor kid said or did something nice, for example.

I felt rich, even though we didn't have a lot.  Back then I didn't know people who had a lot more.

It must be how you remember things.  Or what you tend to remember.  I remember the time one neighbor boy stood up for me.  The time another chanted my name as I sat on the bench at a high school football game.  The time another neighbor boy asked the gym teach to let me stay and play with the older kids.  I look back on those things as kind acts, and plan to look up those boys and thank them if I can.

You see, my fond memories aren't of really big things, as most people would judge, but they populate my memories like stars or Christmas lights on a silent night.  I'm lucky I remember those things.

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Concerning coronavirus -

Large numbers of people normally die from the flu every flu season, but from what I read, this flu season has been unusually light.  Could the unusually light flu season be due to the social distancing and other measure put in place for the coronavirus?  Possible, but those precautions have only been in effect for a very short time, and flu season began in Oct.

And the same source said that of the flu and coronavirus deaths, only about 2 percent were due to the coronavirus.  I assume that those statistics are based upon comparable time frames, but at this moment I am not sure.

Www.health.com says, While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-29 by the World Health Organization), there's an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu.

Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.

The CDC also estimates that up to 31 million Americans have caught the flu this season, with 210,000 to 370,000 flu sufferers hospitalized because of the virus...

Just some context, however statistics are not yet complete on this flu season.   

I'll try to get you good statistics and references on this.

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The predictions are for a small increase in the Treasure Coast surf - up to three or four feet this weekend.

Enjoy your quiet time as well as your metal detecting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net