12/14/19 Report - Treasure Coast Detectorist Returns 1970 Class Ring. Local Beaches. Huge Coin Hoard Goes on Display.

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

Ring Found by Jerry P.

Photo submitted by Jerry P.

Here is a story about a detectorist who found a 1970 class ring (shown above) from Auburndale Alabama on the Treasure Coast and was able to locate the original owner. 

Same Ring Found by Jerry P. After Cleaning.

Photo submitted by Jerry P.

Here is how Jerry told the story.

While detecting along the treasure coast I pulled a class ring or what appeared to be a class ring covered in green crud. It took two days of cleaning before the ring finally revealed the schools name, graduation date and three very hard to read initials KEB. Not being a social media genius I asked a close friend to post it of her FaceBook page. It spread like fire and before long Auburndale High School pick it up and started a post on their FaceBook page. A few hours later a man from the school said he had access to the Auburndale High School Alumni directory and could run the initials with the graduation date of 1970. Within 24 hours from the first FaceBook post the name Kenneth E. Board was identified and notified by answering machine. When he called me back he was in total disbelief. Mr. Board said he had lost the ring after diving his prom date over 100 mile to the east coast for a day at the beach. A storm came in and they grabbed the blanket and ran off the beach never to see his graduation ring again until almost 50 years later! Mr. Boards 50th reunion is coming up and boy will he have a story! Finding gold and silver on the beach is a thrill but being able to return a target and learn about it has been a rewarding journey. JP 

Jerry and the Ring's Owner.

Photo submitted by Jerry P.

Here is a link where you can read more about this story and more about Jerry's detecting finds and experiences.

https://weather.com/news/news/2019-12-03-class-ring-found-after-50-years-in-florida

Thanks for sharing Jerry.  Great story!  Congratulations.

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Do you recognize this Treasure Coast location?

Where the Walk-over to John Brooks Beach Used To Be.

I visited a couple beaches yesterday afternoon and found that the walkover to John Brooks beach had been removed.  That is undoubtedly why the park was closed when I last visited.

I don't know what they plan to do here, but East portion of the old walkover was continually getting covered by sand blowing off the beach.  

John Brooks Beach Friday Afternoon.

You can see from the weeds deposited on the beach that the most recent tide was not removing sand.

John Brooks Beach Friday Afternoon.

While neither beach looked really promising, Frederick Douglass beach looked a touch better to me.  The bottom third of half was fairly firm.

Frederick Douglass Beach Friday Afternoon.

I saw one detectorist working to the south of Frederick Douglass yesterday afternoon.

Frederick Douglass Beach Friday Afternoon.

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A six million dollar coin hoard found by detectorists will be going on display at the British Museum.

A pair of metal detectorists made the discovery of a lifetime when they unearthed a hoard of ancient coins worth around $6 million in a field in Somerset, in the West of England. The historic find, believed to be one of the biggest ever treasure troves uncovered in the UK, is due to be unveiled at the British Museum tomorrow.

Treasure hunters Adam Staples and Lisa Grace unearthed the 2,571 Anglo-Saxon and Norman coins in January when they were searching farmland with their trusty metal detectors. In an interview with Treasure Hunting Magazine, the couple described the hoard as “amazing” and “absolutely mind-blowing.” They reported their find to the authorities as required by UK law, and the coins were soon sent to the British Museum for evaluation...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/british-museum-treasure-coins-1636096

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

The surf will be running around two to four feet.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/23/18 Report - Carlos II Cobs From a Treasure Coast Beache and the Monogram. Good Artifact Database.

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

Holed Mexico-Minted Carlos II Beach Cob

The past few days I showed nine different Mexico minted half reales from one 1715 beach.  Most had the Philip V monogram.  The monograms changed from time to time.  You might have noticed some differences  in the photos.

The easiest way to tell the mint is from the cross.  Enough of the Florenza cross is usually visible on Mexico minted half reales to tell you where it was minted.  Sometimes you can see the mint mark too.

One of the cobs I showed from the December 1989 hunt came from the reign of Carlos II.  Below is a stylized monogram like the ones used on Carlos half reales.

Stylized Carlos II Monogram.

And below is a Carlos II half reale that I showed a few days ago.  You can see most of the A and the some of the C coming from the left and cutting through the left leg of the A.

The monogram on this reale is a bit different from the stylized monogram shown in the illustration above.  For one thing, the A is slanted to the right.

One thing you can often see on Carlos II cobs even when not much else is visible is what I call the fish hook.  The end of the C often shows a downward stroke that reminds me of a fish hook.

Carlos II Half Reale Found in 1989.

Below is another Carlos II half reale.  This one is from the same beach but was found decades later.  This is the other side of the same half reale shown at the top of the post.  Notice the little hole.

Carlos II 1715 Fleet Beach Cob
Same one shown at the top of the post.

This monogram is very much like the one on the other Carlos II cob. If that is a assayer mark right below the hole, as I think it is, although it looks like a C, it should be a G, which would be the mark of Geronimo Bercerra, and that would put the date between 1666 and 1677.

As I recall this one was found on the flat sand right behind the berm in a patch of small and broken shells.

Most half reales found on the beach will not be in very good shape, but most of the time you will be able to determine the mint and date range.

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Iguanas invading South Florida and causing electrical outages.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-reg-south-florida-iguana-invasive-damage-20180618-story.html

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Here is a good web site where you can view artifacts donated to the British Museum.  Good browsing.

http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/H/hoardandtreasure.htm 

Thanks to Brian B. for that link.

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If you want help with identifying finds, please send good photos taken from various angles and provide basic information such size and what it appears to be made of and anything else that you can make out that might be relevant.  It isn't easy identifying items from photos so provide any and all information that you can.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/21/16 Report - 3-D Printing and Scanning For Treasure Hunters and Coin Collectors. Virtual Tour of the British Museum.

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

3-D Printed Lion Ring
Source: ShapeWays link below.

There has always been counterfeiting.  It happens now, and it happened back in the day.  You might have noticed the contemporary counterfeit that was sold in the Sedwick auction for a good price.  Some people collect contemporary counterfeits, which are counterfeits made while the coin that was counterfeited was still in common circulation.  I'll talk about that more some other day.  Today I want to talk a little about some new technologies that maybe you didn't connect with treasure hunting or coin collecting.

Want to make a copy of your favorite coin or artifact?  You can use 3-D printing.  You can actually buy an inexpensive 3-D printer at Best Buy or Sams Club that costs less than five hundred dollars.  Those are low-end, of course, but they work remarkably well.

3-D Printer Offered On The Sams Web Site.

Sams offers basic, intermediate and professional 3-D printers.  They also offer 3-D scanners.

There professional level 3-D printers that can create very precise copies of objects in steel, aluminum, silver, gold or other materials.

I'm not talking about making a counterfeit coin to be circulated, but it might be nice to have a copy of a coin or artifact that you can carry around or display while the original remains safely stored.

I would be surprised if museums are not using 3-D printing extensively.  They often display reproductions instead of valuable artifacts.  You might remember that a few years ago a gold bar that was on display was stolen from the Fisher museum in Key West.

You don't have to do it yourself.  There are companies that will create reproductions for you.
Here is a link to one company that will do it.   http://www.shapeways.com/

I think you'll be impressed if you take a look at that web site.  They will make reproductions from originals or design something special for you.

Here is a 3-D printer buyer's guide.

http://3dprinters.3dsystems.com/printer-buyers-guide/?gclid=COjr1auS6MwCFQkfhgodC3kCzQ

A 3-D printer is a 3-D printer.  The printer can be part of the system.  You might also want a 3-D scanner to scan objects that you want to reproduce.  3-D scanners can be bought at a price that compares to a 3-D printer.

In numismatic circles, there is a discussion of 3-D printing being used to make counterfeits of valuable coins.  Some coin collectors feel that 3-D printed coins can be identified, but it might not be easy for someone that is not very expert.

3-D printing can also be used to create copies of the encapsulation holders used by certification companies.  Some people seem to be more concerned about that than the actual reproduction of coins.

Here is a link to one discussion of the problem.

http://www.ancients.info/forums/showthread.php?p=16791

A lot of coin collectors find the potential abuses of 3-D printing scary, but you might find some good uses for a 3-D printer.  Like I said, if you want a copy of a coin or artifact to carry around or display in a cabinet, you don't have to make it yourself.

Of course, there are other ways to create copies.  I'm sure you know that you can create molds etc., but 3-D scanning and printing offers one good alternative.

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While I'm on technology today, there is one more that I'll point out.  You probably know about Google Street View, and if you have been looking for a new house, you probably know that it is possible to create virtual tours.

There are some good virtual tours on the internet that you might want to check out.  Google partnered with the British Museum to create one very complete tour.  Give it a try.  Here is the link.

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset-viewer/AwEp68JO4NECkQ?location=51.5185519%2C-0.127216%2C1.58%2Ck4Hf6-SfnYiDVnQjvcP6bQ

It takes a little practice to learn how to get around, but once you master it, it can be a lot of fun.

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I have a lot of topics to talk about that I didn't get to today.

We're still having flat water and easy water hunting.  The only problem is the heat and afternoon thunderstorms.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net