11/3/18 Report - $100,000 Gold Coin and $70,000 Silver Cob. Old Auto Frame on Vero Beach Used by Detectorists in Years Past. Man Saves Whale.

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

Source: Sedwick Coins Treasure Auction # 24.

You might be surprised to learn that the coin that received the highest bid in the first session of the current Sedwick Coins Treasure Auction wasn't from the Atocha, Margarita, 1715 Fleet or any famous shipwreck: it was a 20th century 50-peso coin from Cuba.

Here is part of the auction description.

Cuba (struck at the Philadelphia mint), specimen 20 pesos, 1915, unique, NGC SP 63, finest and only known in NGC and PCGS censuses. KM-21; Fr-1. Struck on a special planchet with higher rims and smoother fields, the resulting (prooflike) luster a treat to behold, perhaps missing a higher NGC grade for a couple tiny rim-nicks on the reverse but at least recognized for its specimen status. NGC #4499455-006. 

The winning bid was $110,000, not counting the buyer's premium.

Other Cuba coins of the same period also did extremely well.

In the second session (silver cobs) there was one coin that stood out head and shoulders above all others.  The winning bid of that lot was $70,000.  The cob, shown below, is an experimental three reale in the Early Series.

Source: Sedwick Coins Auction # 24.

Here is the lot description.

Mexico City, Mexico, 3 reales, Charles-Joanna, "Early Series," assayer R (Rincon) at bottom between pillars, with waves, three-dots denomination, all-Gothic lettering except O, NGC VF 30, finest and only example in NGC and PCGS censuses, ex-Rudman. Nesmith-5b/5; CT-unl; S-M1. 9.74 grams. A classic and highly important issue, this is the first of the experimental 3-reales denomination (see article below), and it is arguably the finest in style, making for a very attractive and artistic design. It is also among the earliest coinage of this mint and the entire New World. The presence of water lines (“waves”) below the pillars is a feature that does not return until the “Late Series” a few years later. Exceptionally broad flan with full details, lovely toning and choice strike, one of only two problem-free examples known of this extremely rare and mysterious "with-waves" variety (the other impounded in the Banco de Mexico collection), worthy of inclusion in the finest of collections.

Some Boliva reales, a heart-shaped cob and some Panama cobs also did well in the same session, but nothing close to the above cob.

Some people aren't much interested in auction results, but I think it is good to browse the auctions so you know something about the various types of treasures that are out there in the world and what makes some more valuable than others.  You can learn a lot by looking through the auction catalogs and listings.

The final live sessions of the auction will conclude today.  You can watch the bidding online.

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Mitch King wrote concerning the picture at the top of yesterday's post.

I know right where that picture was taken. For years we used that car as 
a gauge for how much sand was on the beach. That car sank down several
feet thru the years. Then the car was visible the chance of finding
silver coinage was very good. The car remained there till sometime after
the 2004 hurricanes when I believe it was removed. The location is just
south of Humiston park in Vero beach. If you look in the back ground you
can see the street drain pipe that is extending into the ocean. The
reddish building at the top is where the old "Crab Shack" was. There is
a whole new building there now constructed after the 2004 hurricane season.

Thanks Mitch. I remember seeing the frames there myself. ---- I just saw a rerun of the Oak Island Curse TV show. I noticed once again that the spike given to Lori, the art historian, was clearly not the same one that she showed when she returned with her verdict.  If you want to compare them for yourself, take a good look at the head of the spike(s).

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Fisherman saves humpback whale.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Fishermans-Rescue-of-Entangled-Whale-Caught-on-Camera-499221291.html

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.

Another Fall front came through yesterday.  In my opinion, the nice cool weather is excellent for walking the beaches.  

We are going to have some nice high tides.  We have northeast winds now, and even though the surf is not supposed to be very big, I'm betting there are a few small cuts around the Treasure Coast.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/5/16 Report - Bon Steel to John Brooks. Gold Treasure Coin Worth Over $300,000 In Child's Play Coins. Bigger Surf Predicted For Tomorrow.

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

Bon Steel Today
Photo by Darrel S.

Most of the beaches along the Treasure Coast look similar.  Notice the sea weed in the dry sand area.  The front beach has a layer of new sand and small shells.

Darrel and friends also stopped at Turtle Trail and Seagrape Trail.  Not much was found.  Darrel reported that Seagrape is still closed.

Thanks much for the report Darrel.

John Brooks This Morning.

There was new sand and some small shells piled on this beach too.

Bunches of Small Shells at Water Line.

In the early morning there was a wind shift and according to the windyty site, there was supposed to be a more northerly direction to the waves.  It didn't do much though, as you can see form the photos.

I'm sticking with my "1" (poor) Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Conditions Rating.  It is a lot better than summer.  Shouldn't take too much to get rid of some of the new sand on the beach front and open up some holes.

---

A man, who as a boy played pirates with the foreign coins his grandfather brought him, was playing with one "pirate"coin that was actually worth over $300,000.

According to The Telegraph, the unidentified man from Hertfordshire, England received the coin from his grandfather who traveled all around the world for work. His grandfather would bring him sacks of antique coins from his travels, and he would use the coins while pretending he was a pirate as a young boy.

The valuable coin is "a Queen Anne Vigo 5 guinea piece, made of gold seized from Spanish treasure ships in 1702. It’s one of just 15 known to be in existence."  (See below).

Gold Guinea With Other Coins

Here is the link.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/toy-pirate-treasure-worth-more-than-300000

Thanks to Jorge Y. for the heads-up on that story.

Just goes to show once again, it pays to know what you have.

---

Today's surf was not as big as predicted earlier.  Tomorrow's surf is still predicted to be up to seven feet.  It still won't help much unless they hit at a better angle.

Happy hunting@

10/31/15 Report - $100,000 Eight-Reale. Ancient Shipwreck Cemetary. Sword Found. Ghosts of Treaures Past.

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

Lot 720 as shown in the Sedwick Coins
Online Auction Catalog.

This heart-shaped eight reale brought a winning bid of $100,000 in the Sedwick Coins treasure auction that concluded this week.  It is the best example known.

I held this reale myself and inspected it carefully.  It is beautiful.  Unlike many heart-shaped cobs, this one is not holed.

Potosi was the only mint to make cobs in this shape.  Heart-shaped cobs from other mints do exist, but they were shaped into hearts later instead of being struck on a heart-shaped flan.

The purpose of these special cobs is not known for certain.  There is an article about that on the Sedwick  Coins web site.





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Underwater archaeologists have discovered 22 shipwrecks around a small Greek archipelago, revealing what may be the ancient shipwreck capital of the world...

"Surpassing all expectations, over only 13 days we added 12 percent to the total of known ancient shipwrecks in Greek territorial waters," Peter Campbell, of the University of Southampton and co-director from US based RPM Nautical Foundation, told Discovery News...

Here is the link to that article.

http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/22-shipwrecks-found-in-single-greek-location-in-greece-151028.htm

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A hiker travelling the ancient route between western and eastern Norway found a 1,200-year-old Viking sword after sitting down to rest after a short fishing trip. Further studies of the area will take place next spring...


That sword was in really amazing condition too.

Here is that link for that article.

http://www.thelocal.no/20151021/hiker-finds-1300-yr-old-viking-sword

One more example of how amazing objects can be found without a metal detector.

---


A lonely beach can be as busy as Times Square on New Years Eve if you really listen to your finds and use your imagination a little.  Fossils tell of giant sloths, mammoths, tapirs and Megalodons. Treasure coins conjure up ghosts of pirates, missionaries, conquistadors, sailors, and half-drowned survivors. Arrow heads and shell artifacts echo early man hunting and going about the business of survival.  Badly corroded World War II dog tags announce in sad muted tones the names of young men who trained in Florida for a landing in Europe that would change the world.  Modern coins and jewelry items tell of those who played, grew up and raised families on the Treasure Coast as well as tourists who came to enjoy the sun, sand and surf.  It is all there.  You can feel it if you are quiet enough.  You can see it if you respect it enough.

---

It looks like we are in for a week or so of 2 to 4 foot surf.  Not very encouraging.

Please respond to the blog poll if you hunted the Treasure Coast beaches during the last half of October.  It will help me evaluate my beach detecting conditions ratings as well as tell us what was or was not found.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1. 
   

6/11/15 Report - Small Finds and Recovery Techniques. Book Treasures. A Little More On The Seminoles Wars.

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

Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

This is what the beach looked like this morning.  There is still sand accumulating on the front beaches.

The surf was calm, there were however some surfable waves.

Notice anything about that beach? No people!  And I'm showing one of the busiest beaches along a twenty mile stretch.

I heard one South Florida guy whining about all the competition down there.  There is a reason there are a lot of detectorists down there.  There are tons of people that lose good things down there. Even a monkey will quit pulling the a if he never gets anything for it. If you have enough people in the water wearing good stuff - especially active people or people not accustomed to or prepared for the water - there are always some recent drops to be found.  It doesn't take much skill to do that.

Here is a quick video clip showing the surf on the Treasure Coast today.

Most all of the people I did see on the beach this morning were kids trying to learn to surf, along with a few fishermen.

Just noting the differences.  You always have to analyze the situation and make adjustments.

Below are a couple of my small finds this morning.  Both are the type of thing that will slip right through the holes in your scoop.

Two Very Small Jewelry Finds Made This Morning
At The Beach Shown Above.

If you don't know what you are doing, you can waste a lot of time trying to scoop up small items like that.

It is important to first get a good estimate of size and depth.  Familiarity with your detector and testing can help with that.

Once you have pinpointed the item and know about how deep it should be, put the point of your scoop right behind it and try not to dig any deeper than necessary.  Try to get the scoop just deep enough to get the scoop under the target and no more.

I've talked about recovery techniques for deep targets and won't get into that again now.

Good visibility can help with targets like this.  Watch the sand as your scoop comes up.  Watch for any sign of the object as your raise the scoop.  You might see it fall out or off to the side.  Don't get too much sand in the scoop.  If it slides through the hole quickly and you have good visibility, give the sand a toss to the side and watch for any glint from the object on the surface of the sand.

A snorkel mask can be helpful.  Also, very small targets can often be found by feel if the sand doesn't have shells and the sand is pretty stable on the bottom.

In the wet sand today, there was a couple inches of fine sand over top of a layer of shells on the front beach.

In the shallow water, the wave period was long.  I think you'll see that when you watch the video.  The wave would break and then come in over the sand in the shallow water, hit the beach, and then flow back out, so the current would come in over the sand and a few seconds later back out again.  The result was that the top sand in the shallow water would move a little one way and then the other.

I won't get in to other details about how that affects using your scoop.  Some other time maybe.

Sometimes its easier in deeper water,  For one thing you sometimes don't get as much current on the bottom in deeper water.

---

I received a couple of great emails last night.  They were jam packed with good information.

Here is the first.  It is from S. W.

There are a couple of original copies of "War in Florida" on ebay. They are going for about $1200.00. There are not too many books that cover the Seminole War. Mostly a page or two in an old book here or there. Did you know one of the main reasons for the Second Seminole War was because the whites would not let the Indians take their slaves west with them and would not pay them for them when left behind. I have one of the best private collections of antique books from the war of 1812 through the Mexican War. Things from this era are not easy to find and are getting out of my price range. ...

I've always liked old books myself.  The market for old books has changed a lot in the past decade or so.  Before old books were as available on the internet as they are today, you could easily sell almost any book that was near a hundred.  Now most old books sell for very little if at all, however there are books that do bring higher prices, like the one S. W. mentioned.

I once was asked by a librarian at one of the local state colleges to look at a private collection that was once donated to them.  They were going to discard all of those books.  There were some very nice and valuable books in the collection, including things like a Mark Twain first edition, many 19th century books, and even an 18th century book.  They had no idea what they had.  I told them those books should be saved.

On the topic of books, here is a rare one.  A copy of The Hobbit (shown above) was recently sold at auction by Sotheby's for 137,000 British pounds, which would be around 200,000 U. S. dollars.

There are very very few fiction books worth that amount.  Most old books are not first editions and most authors do not have a cult following like Tolkien. 

Old non-fiction books can be valuable.  They can be valuable sources of information.
It is fortunate we can access as many as we can for free on the internet.  

Too me, old books, both fiction and non-fiction are loved collectibles.

The issue about the Seminoles owning slaves is very interesting to me because I hadn't heard anything about that until very recently.  Maybe I just missed it somehow, but it seems to me that we usually get a sanitized white-washed politically correct version of history in many modern history books and in our schools.  Only part of the story is told.  That is one reason why it is good to go back and read books that were written by the people that were closer to the actual events.  They have their own perspective, biases, etc. but seeing how they looked at things and wrote about them adds something.  Even the old style of language adds another dimension.

---

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/4/15 Report - $100,000 1715 Fleet Gold Bar. Charles Garrett Gone. More Palm Beach Renourishment.

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

Unique $100,000 1715 Fleet Gold Bar
Photo source: Sedwick online auction catalog.

This Peruvian 2148-gram 20K gold bar from the 1715 Fleet with tax stamp and other markings requires a starting bid of $100,000.

The really neat thing to me about this brick is the incomplete melting of the cobs or whatever it is made of.  You can see some of those in the photo.

It seems to date to the reign of Charles V and the early 1500s.

The item is lot number 252 in the current SedwickCoins auction.

Online bidding has begun.





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Photo Of Beach In Front Of Mar-a-Lago
Photo by Joe D.

Joe said, Yesterday I went on the beach in front of Trumps and the surrounding area, but finding beach access in this area is difficult to the say the least! This is one of the few areas that has not, as of yet, had beach renourishment! Lots of iron due to rotting groins, and the sand is building! There was some previous erosion (see pics), but nothing but some older encrusted clad! Had to be mindful of the "private" beach so I didn't attract unwanted attention from staff!

 Definitely favor beach hunting (less kneeling and bending), but with near eight foot depth by 200 foot width of renurishment sand being place, it looks like beach hunting will be about done here for a while! 

Notice the tops of the old groins showing. 

One of my best hunting spots was between some old rotting groins in South Florida.  They have now been covered up by tons and tons of sand.

That is one good picture Joe!  Thanks.

Renourishment Project
Photo by Joe. D.

----

A big name in metal detecting just passed away.   Any serious detectorist knows the name Charles Garrett.  If you don't own a Garrett detector, you've read his books and articles.

Mitch King sent me the following link to his obituary. 

http://www.garrett.com/charles_garrett_obituary.aspx

.---

There was a beautiful full moon out last night.  Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox.

That tells you something.   I suppose man has closely observed nature's cycles as long as he has walked the earth.  There are always some people who observe things more carefully.  Those that observed most carefully often won a special role, maybe as shaman, priest or elder.

Holidays punctuate the year and provide cherished memories.  I have many and you probably do too.

If you don't celebrate Easter at this time of year you probably celebrate something - maybe Passover, which is intimately connected with and foreshadows Easter.  It all ties together.  Even Easter bunnies and eggs hint of new birth. 

---

The most read post of February was the 2/22/15 Report - New Authoritative Research On The Gold Pelican-in-Piety Of The 1715 Fleet. 

That one contained the most recent research by author Laura Strolia.  If you missed it you might want to go back and read it.

The most Google Plused posts of Feb were the following.

2/25/15 Report - Florida Coin Shooter's Dream Come True!  Reader Of This Blog Finds 335 Silver Coins On One Small Lot!

2/16/15 Report - Strategically Selecting Discrimination Settings.   Rechargeable Batteries.

There are literally hundreds of posts in this blog now.  They are still available.  You might find the search box on the first page useful.

----

\The surf today (Saturday was only one - two feet.  Easter it will be more like three or four feet, and Monday just a touch higher.

Happy Easter,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

2/4/15 Report - A Very Good HuffPost Quest For Treasure Video. The Lanson Winery Treasure.

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

Kim Fisher Showing Gold Chalice.
Source: HuffPost link below.

The Treasure Coast only has about a two foot surf right now.  That is supposed to change by Friday when the surf is predicted to increase up to something more like five or six feet. 

A week from now another bump up in the surf is predicted to reach something more like eight feet.  Again we'll have to see if that prediction holds up.


I'm told the Turtle Trail access is now open but the Seagrape Trail access has been closed.

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In February of 2012, the Lanson Winery was undergoing the renovation of a long-vacant building. As told by Enguerrand Baijot, managing director of the company, “One of the workers was attacking an abandoned building's ceiling with a crowbar when gold coins started to rain down on him.”  Before the “rain of gold” ended, some 497 United States Double Eagles were lying on the floor.

Here is the link for that story.

http://www.monacorarecoins.com/rare-coin-news/article/ww-ii-gold-hoard-of-lanson-champagne/

---------

Here is the big one for today.  It is a video by HuffPost Live entitled The Quest for Treasure.    Various treasure hunters are interviewed including Kim Fisher. 

Also talks about other treasures and a treasure map and the Forest Treasure, which is still out there to be found.  Interesting stuff.

Take a look.  I think you'll like it.

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/modern-day-treasure-hunters/54ca9ef12b8c2a7e5a00088e

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That is it for today.  Short and sweet.  But the video will keep you busy a while.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

10/28/14 Report - Tropical Storm Hanna. LaSalle's Ship La Belle Being Reassembled. 1870 CC Double Eagle Sells For $188,000.

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

Yesterday (Mon.) afternoon I saw this fellow going along what remains of a cut with a Garrette Ace detector

This beach had a better cut a couple of days ago.  In fact all of the cuts that I showed you the other day are now gone again.

Below are a couple of pictures of one of the beaches that I showed two days ago.  You can see that the cut that was there a couple of days ago is now completely gone.


There is now a Tropical Storm named Hanna down by Nicaragua.  Doesn't look to me like she'll come this way.

There is another low pressure area just east of the West Indies.

Two Views of Treasure Coast Beach This Afternoon.

This beach was but two to three feet two days ago.   As you can see, now there is nothing left of the cut.

-------------------------------

The wreck of LaSalle's ship, the La Belle, was found in 12 feet of water off the Texas coast.  The hull has now be conserved and the ship is being reassembled.

The ship is gradually being reassembled and installed at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. La Belle was discovered in 1995 by Texas Historical Commission archaeologists, who built a dam around the wreck site and pumped it dry so they could excavate the nearly intact hull from six feet of mud.

http://archive.archaeology.org/9601/newsbriefs/lasalle.html

-----------------------


As you probably know the SedwickCoins auction online bidding has begun and many lots already have bids.   You can view or bid at iCollector.com.

--------------------------



1870 CC VF 30 Double Eagle
Source: CoinNews.net.

CoinNews.net reports that the Heritage New York US Coins Auction. held Oct. 8 - 13 brought in over $11.1 million.  Six coins sold for more than $100,000 each.

Taking top honors was an 1870 Carson City Double Eagle [shown here].  Graded VF30 by PCGS, the $20 gold piece sold for $188,000 and attracted "spirited bidding," according to Greg Rohan, President of Heritage.

"The 1870-CC double eagle is considered one of the keys to the entire Liberty double eagle series, and is by far the rarest double eagle struck in Carson City,"

Below is the link to that article.


http://www.coinnews.net/2014/10/24/heritage-new-york-us-coins-auction-tops-11-1-million/


Expect calm seas along the Treasure Coast for at least a few days.

Happy Hunting,
Treasureguide@Comcast.net

8/13/14 Report - How Objects Sink During Summer Beach Conditions. Valuable Antique Jewelry. H. L. Hunley Submarine. Titanium On Beach

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

Antique Diamond and Ruby Ring.
Source: See aol.com link below.

I'm often asked about those light pieces of melted metal that people find along the coast.   They look a lot like aluminum.  I believe that many of those are titanium.   I've posted about that in the past.  Since I still get questions about those finds, here is a little repeat of what I said.

If you've ever dug up a piece of metal that looks something like melted aluminum on a Treasure Coast beach, it could be titanium from a rocket or maybe the space shuttle Challenger disaster.

Here is a link to a web site that tells how to identify titanium.

http://mrtitanium.info/2008/03/17/how-to-tell-if-a-piece-of-metal-is-really-titanium/

As you might know, titanium is also used to make inexpensive jewelry these days and is much less expensive than platinum, gold or silver.



Below is a beach photo that I showed a few days ago.  I'm showing it again as an illustration.

Recent Treasure Coast Beach Picture.

A few days ago a lifeguard told me about a diamond engagement ring that was lost a few days earlier.  He said the lady was in knee deep water at the time.  He also said that even though the ring was lost a few days before, the water had been calm.  He was thinking it would still be about where it was lost since the water had been so calm.

 

What the lifeguard did not understand is the poor sandy beach conditions in that area.  Despite the generally very calm surf, things were not staying near the surface, but rather were quickly sinking our of detector range.

 

The wave in the above photo is not as big as it looks.  It wasn't much more than about a foot.  It is breaking nicely and from its form you couldn't tell it from a ten foot wave. 

 

What I want to point out is that where the red line is, the crashing water will churn the sand even though the surf is small.  Furthermore, the line of impact will move as the tide goes in and out so that the red line will move ten or twenty yards or more in and out twice a day.  Not only that but the area in front of the crashing wave, between the red and yellow line has surging water which will move the sand and keep it from settling.  That means sand will be accumulating from the red line to the yellow line and a little beyond.   That is what happens during a summer beach.

 

So even though the water looks very calm, it won't take long for an object like a ring to be buried.  It is partly a matter of the ring sinking and partly a matter of  it being covered.  The sand in this area is loose and the apparent sinking happens at a fairly rapid rate.

 

As I have pointed out in the past.   It takes more water force to move some objects than others.  I'm talking about horizontal movement now, not vertical.

 

It takes very little water movement to move sand, especially when it has been suspended, as it would be by the crashing wave.

 

The fact that it takes little force to move sand but considerably more to move something like a ring, which is more dense,but which also is shaped in a way that does not provide good surface area to the water to push against, what happens is that the sand moves faster around the curved object, letting the object sink through the loose sand while at the same time moving more sand in to cover it up.

 

There is what I call a trigger point for different objects.   The trigger point (amount of water force need to move an object) for sand is much lower than the trigger point for an object like a ring.   That is much of what accounts for objects like rings sinking quickly in sand when the force of water is slight.  That is what basically what happens during poor beach conditions.

 

The trigger point is determined not only by an objects weight or density, but also by its shape.  I've demonstrated that by experiments in the past.

 

Here is one link to reference.  You can search for others.

 

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/search?q=trigger

 

Above is a picture of an antique diamond and ruby ring worth $80,000.  Use this link to learn more about the ring and a matching $160,000 bracelet

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/12/antiques-roadshow-diamond-and-ruby-jewelry-worth-a-fortune/20945611/


The H. L. Hunley being conserved.

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140812/PC16/140819871/1177/scientists-to-begin-exposing-the-real-hunley

Nice picture and article.


There is no tropical weather to watch in the Atlantic.

On the Treasure Coast the tides are still fairly big, but the surf is still around one foot and will remain that small for several days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

7/12/14 Report - Some Views On Metal Detectors and Metal Detecting & Claddagh Ring

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

Gold Claddagh Ring Detector Find

As I've pointed out in the past, Claddagh rings are among the more common ring designs.  Claddagh rings have been made for centuries.  You'll find them in both silver and gold.  If you detect very long you'll find a few.


James F. has been detecting for around 45 years.  He started, like I did, down in South Florida.

Here are some of his intelligent and thoughtful views as expressed in a recent email to me.

I thought you might be interested in some of my views along the same lines. I agree that many of the high-end machines with all the bells and whistles are not for everybody, and it depends, a lot, on the type of hunting they are going to do and where they are going to do it. I, for one, still have at least one thirty-year-old machine still in use, but all things being equal, I have no love loss for the old machines, though they were the top of the technical ladder then, and we were quite mesmerized by their performance at the time. I run pretty much on all metal nowadays when searching any beach anyway...as the computerized E-Trac still gives you information on the target composition, (and runs on 28 frequencies simultaneously) thru both a digital value and audio, and the Excaliber, running on 17 different frequencies, gives you some pretty accurate tonalities along the same lines. My single frequency older machine goes bonkers near damp sand soaked with salty water...sure I can continually ground balance the thing, and set the discrimination way up so it somewhat ignores the mineralization, BUT I lose a good portion of my detecting range and thus the targets I seek. The old machine has one tone fits everything...just a beep on target acquisition...same beep on a gold ring, candy wrapper, bottle top, poptab, zinc, copper, silver you name it...thus you dig literally EVERYTHING. You can, of course, set the discrimination up high enough to blank out most of the trash, as well as blank out most of the jewelry. So I think the newer more capable machines are quite an advancement over the old days IF you take the time learn how to use their capabilities and practice a bit. At least that's my view...I do have friends that use some pretty old equipment and seem quite satisfied with the performance and finds they get in general, so there's that.

Thanks for sharing James.  

One of the key lines above is when James says it depends on the type of hunting they are going to do and where they are going to do it.    That is very true and very important. 

I don't disagree with anything that James says.

I had some exceptionally good detectors that were custom made for exactly my type of hunting.   Also I tend to use what I believe to be a fairly unique strategy, and that strategy has a lot to do with what I want out of a detector.

The metal detectors I used a lot back around thirty years ago were like those that I showed a couple of days ago.  They did one thing very well - detected small gold deep. Those detectors also detected coins and other things very deep in wet sand and salt water, as well as on dry land, but I specifically targeted gold.

They did null on iron, but that is the extent of the discrimination for those detectors.

I was not really interested in most coins.  I would give up bunches of coins for one piece of gold most any day.  That was part of my strategy and had something to do with how I hunted.  I'll elaborate on that in a future post.

I would quickly purchase either of the two old detectors that I showed the other day today if they were available at a reasonable price.  A more recent version of one of those is available today.  It is the successor to the Turbo, but it costs over $5000.  But that isn't the reason I don't buy it.  The problem is that only one person provides service for that detector, and I understand he is not good to deal with.  As a result I'll settle for a new major brand detector. 

If the guys that made my old detectors were still around, I would still be using one of their detectors today.

I remember back about twenty plus years ago I ran into a Treasure Coast detector dealer on a Treasure Coast beach.  He didn't know me at all.  He told me he would never use a detector made in a garage.  I just laughed and told him that is all I have used for the past ten or fifteen years.

I did own and on rare occasion use a couple brand name detectors for special situations back then, but 99% or more of the time I used those home-made or modified detectors.   I was targeting gold in wet sand and in the water and those old detectors blew away anything else that I had seen up to that time and were as good, or better in most cases, for that one purpose, in my opinion, than anything I've seen today. 

The thing is that those old detectors were constructed exactly for the type of hunting I did.  They suited how I hunted.  How I hunt, including the strategies I use, made those detectors a perfect fit for me.

I won't try to describe how deep they detected.  I didn't do precise measurements, and it wouldn't sound real to some of you anyhow.  Just let it be said that they did the job very well.  

The most important thing, however, that distinguishes my style of hunting, is my search strategy.  The search strategy that I typically use is the thing that makes discrimination and such features so unimportant to me. 

I'll try to explain my search strategy better some time in the future.


A statue purchased for two dollars is worth $150,000.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/08/antiques-roadshow-small-statue-sells-for-over-150-000-dollar/20926672/


On July 12 we will have what is called a Thunder Moon or Buck Moon.  The moonrise will be around 8:30 PM Easter Time.   There will be a 4-foot plus high tide that will occur around 8:41 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time along the Florida East Coast. 

Here is the link if you want to learn more about the Thunder Moon.

http://space.brevardtimes.com/2014/07/next-full-moon-is-super-moon-in-july.html

On the Treasure Coast we're still stuck with a 1 to 2 foot surf, but we will have a good high tide.


I've been working on what I think will be a very good post.  Hopefully I'll have it ready in a day or two.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/6/14 Report - Old Jug Sells for $100,000, 8th Century AD Mint Found, Coin Molds & Couple of Common Tokens

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

What would you pay for the jug shown here?  How much do you think it is worth?

Here are a few details that might help you.  It is a five gallon jug made in Alabama in the 1870s.   Did that help?

Here is some more help.

It was by the made by John Lehman and purchased in a junk shop for $12 dollars about 40 years ago.








Here is the link to the story with the photo.

http://mail.aol.com/38430-111/aol-6/en-us/Lite/MsgRead.aspx?folder=OldMail&uid=28895881&seq=1&searchIn=none&searchQuery=&start=0&sort=received&sortDir=descending#aolmail_L

A museum paid $100,000 for this jug.

The lesson is that it can really pay to do some research to find out what you have. 

Another lesson is that if you want to sell something, finding the person that will most appreciate it can make a huge difference.


Talking about auctions, an auction was halted when the auctioneer announced, “Someone in the room has lost his wallet containing $2,000. He is offering a reward of $500.00 for its immediate return.” After a moment of silence, there was a call from the back of the room, “$550.00”

Just a joke.  But maybe I should remind you that sometimes people will attempt to claim a lost item when it is never belonged to them.  That is why you should not show finds before a claimant can prove that he is actually the owner.


I recently mentioned that Odyssey Marine Explorations got a contract to work the SS Central America shipwreck site.  In the last month their common stock has gone from under $2.00 to over $2.25.

Here are coin molds and crucibles found at what appears to be an 8th Century AD mint in India.








Here is the link.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/salvage-operation-brings-to-light-1000yearold-mint-in-haryana/article5740619.ece


I've shown a few common tokens you can find.  Here are a couple more.

The one on the left says on one side, A Friend Doesn't Sell You Drugs and the other side has the skull and cross bones and says, Say No To Drugs, Crack Kills.

I associate the first with Nancy Reagan and the eighties, but don't know if it is from then or later.

The other is a token for an ice machine.  I don't know where it was or is used.


On the Treasure Coast the tides have smoothed out a little.  High tide is round mid day.

The surf is running around four feet with no significant change in he immediate forecast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net