2/6/18 Report - Mystery Find. Regulated Joseph Edwards Lima Eight-Escudo. Surf Moderate.

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

Mystery Object Along With Eight-Reale Included for Size Comparison.
Photo by Steve in Sebastian.

Steve sent the above photo showing a mystery find (darker object) along with the following description of how it was found.

... So Ann and I hit the wet/dry divider line down on one of the Galleon Beaches. Get a fair but leaning toward weak signal on my CTX 3030. Pulled a big scoop, nothing still there. Did another, same result, (and I run a very big scoop with a feather light handle). 3rd pull, she’s out. Detected all 3 piles with no results, I flattened them down with my foot, nothing, carefully scanned the whole works for what I figured by then was a dime sized piece of “can slaw.” Nothing...enough, 3pm already, rain off to the South. Move on. I’m poor at moving on and cutting my losses. Must learn to “move on!”

Repeat the above “to a tee” about 30-40 feet along. Same wet/dry line. This time got down with my “Garrett Carrot” right away. Bingo...good signal but acted like can slaw. Finally had the scrap or “script” in my hand. What stood out was no magnetism, and a very, very low gold level 100% reading of only #12.2, the gold Italian 14 karat bracelet that was featured here was #12.4. Same kind of reading I had at the last spot. Had I considered the reading, I would have stayed put and found it! Period!

So...some alloy gold, took a Dremel knife to shave an edge and a thin curl rolled off that felt like butter. Very soft.

Now the perforations....??? The snips. I have seen and even believe that I have in the past recovered/discovered something similar. “Boss”, ever see that pattern of a trim shears before???
One of the other edges looks like it to was shaved or sheared with a plain conventional knife. Thin, easily bendable, but not magnetic. No discernable pattern on either side. Lucky me...don’t need in the least another Cuban 2 Centavos!!! Hee! Hee!!! (;

See pics and weights. Ideas appreciated. The pic with the 8 Reales coin, just for size comparison. About 7/8” of an inch long, 1.3 grams. •THANKS AND GOOD HUNTING•.

Same Mystery Item
Photo by Steve in Sebastian

If you have any ideas on the mystery object, sent me an email.

---

Below is a coin that will be featured in the upcoming Sedwick auction.

You can see the mark of Joseph Edwards in the bottom left quadrant of the cross. Since coins were in short supply in the colonies, foreign coins were often used. This is an excellent example. How it got to Boston is anyone's guess - undoubtedly a fascinating journey.

I found the following notice by Joseph Edwards.

---


I was told of a fellow that said he doesn't think much of this blog but he still checks it regularly to see what finds and reports there might be. That to me is high praise, since the original purpose of the blog was to issue such reports, and it has evidently achieved that goal, but while providing a little something for everybody, the blog has become something that even people who don't like it have to read. Being useful might be even better than being liked. The google stats say that the blog is getting very close to two million page views. I don't know exactly how that differs from the hit counter, but it does.

---

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

As you can see, the surf looks like it will be running around 2 - 4 feet for a while. The tides have also moderated. No more big negative tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/15/18 Report - Metal Detecting Videos. Factors For Metal Detecting Success.

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

I watched football this weekend.  Maybe you've noticed that when I miss a day it is usually a football day.  I love the strategy part of football. I enjoy figuring out how to get things done, whether it is win a football game, develop computer software or find things.

Saturday I started a discussion of the factors that lead to successful metal detecting. Today I'll address a few factors,but leave discussion of some of the more complex and interesting ones such as skill for later.

Before I really get started on that I wanted to briefly talk about something else.  I don't often watch YouTube videos, but I was looking for something specific and watched a few metal detecting videos a couple days ago.  The first thing that struck me was something that I commented on before.  It drives me crazy when they take several minutes to retrieve a target.  They pass the coil over the target I don't know how many times to pinpoint and get a good reading on the meter or whatever, and then they spend a lot of time on top of that probing around with a pinpointer.  If I took me that long to dig a target, I'd have time for about two targets per hunt.  If my wife did that I'd be screaming at her to dig the thing and get on with it.

In one video a fellow was comparing a CTX 3030 with an Ex Deus.  He detected an area first with the Ex Deus and found some things.  Then he took the CTX and found some more things "that the Ex Deus missed."  Then he detected the area with the Ex Deus again and found some more things that the CTX "missed."  In my opinion that was no comparison of the two detectors, as the detectorist suggested.  It was more a test of the detectorist.

I'm not exactly sure of the order.  Maybe he used the Ex Deus first or maybe it was the CTX first.  I'm not sure now, but it doesn't matter.  That was not a very good comparison of the two detectors.  I've posted some notes on how to really compare two detectors, but even then it would be a comparison of two detectors using a specific set of settings under a specific set of circumstances.

The detector that was used the third time, obviously found items previously missed by the other detector, but also items missed by itself.

Now I'll continue with my discussion of the factors that result in successful detecting.

Using my old rough formula as a starting point, one of the most important factors that determines metal detecting success is location.  That one is obvious enough.  You can only find things where they are.  If you want to find Spanish shipwreck treasures, you are better off on the Treasure Coast than in Arizona.  You'll find a lot more gold jewelry in South Florida than the West  Virginia hills. That might be obvious, but that isn't all that needs to be considered.

Site selection is not what I'm talking about when I talk about location. I'm talking about where you live and where you can hunt on a regular basis without lengthy or expensive travel.  Site selection is a different matter and is a component of the factor I call skill (S).

One option is to travel, but another option would be to take advantage of what the local area has to offer. SuperRick, for example, does both.  He lives in Arizona and hunts meteorites and gold nuggets there and also travels to Florida and the Treasure Coast to detect.  If you are trying to maximize success defined in economic terms, then take into account the time and expense lost in travel.

I show a variety of types of treasure, including things such as sea glass, shells, fossils and bottles.  Besides the fact that I like all of those things, it is easier to be successful if you are aware of a wide variety of types of treasure..  If you can't find one type of treasure on a beach, you can usually find another.  That expands the range of opportunities.

The other important factor I'm going to talk about today is time (T). It is actually the amount of time spent detecting and does not include things such as research, which is also valuable, cleaning finds etc.

You will find more if you hunt more. I'm sure of that.  But it is not only because you cover more ground.  When you are out in the field detecting areas, both good and bad, you learn a lot.  You learn more about the beach or area that you are detecting.  You learn more about your detector.  And perhaps most importantly, you are there to see what is going on so you'll be Johnny on the spot when the widow of opportunity opens.  There are many ways that spending more time detecting will help you.  I've only mentioned a few.

When I originally posted the first draft of my crude formula for success, some people said perseverance should be included.  I think it is included to some extent in the time factor.  It certainly helps.

I'll get into the skill factor soon.  It is a very complex factor, because there are so many different skill areas.
---

Tomorrow the surf is supposed to be up to five to seven feet.  I might not get out to take a look, so would appreciate any reports.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/15/16 Report - Finding Shipwrecks Using Satellite Images. Target ID Issues.

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

NASA Satellite Photo Showing Plumes From Two Shipwrecks.

Researchers have found that shipwrecks near the coast can leave sediment plumes at the sea’s surface that help reveal their location. Using data from the NASA/USGS Landsat 8 satellite, researchers have detected plumes extending as far as 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) downstream from shallow shipwreck sites. This discovery demonstrates for the first time how Landsat and Landsat-like satellites may be used to locate the watery graves of coastal shipwrecks....

While airborne lidar (which uses light pulses to measure distance) can be used to detect shipwrecks close to shore and multibeam echosounders and other sound-based methods can be used anywhere deep enough for a survey vessel to sail, the former method requires clear water and cost prohibits both methods from being used to conduct exhaustive coastal surveys.

A new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science by authors Matthias Baeye and Michael Fettweis, from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences; Rory Quinn from Ulster University in Northern Ireland; and Samuel Deleu from Flemish Hydrography, Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services, aims to change things. The authors have found a way to use freely available Landsat satellite data to detect shipwrecks in sediment-laden coastal waters...

The two plumes coming from the shipwrecks marked by the two red dots are not easy to see in the above photo.  You might be able to see them more clearly if you use the link to go to the original article.

Here is the link for the entire article.

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/landsat-spots-shipwrecks-in-coastal-waters

---

They say that ignorance is bliss.  It might be bliss and a lot of other things, but it is still ignorance.  I never make mistakes in my posts - at least not until I go back and check them, use spell checker, or post them. Then I find tons of mistakes that up until that point I didn't know I made.

The same thing is true in metal detecting.  You never know what you miss.  You never know for sure until you dig.  You might think you know.  You might be highly accurate, maybe even 99.9 % accurate, and that might be good enough for you, but for me, I get surprised from time to time, and the surprises are very valuable.  The surprises might be few, but it is the surprises that I learn from.  And it is the surprises often turn out to be rare artifacts or especially valuable items like Rolex watches.

I'm not trying to convince anyone.  I know that there are people who can not be convinced.  I learned long ago, that you can seldom change someone else's mind.  I'm just telling how I see it.

I might be the only one that has to actually dig a target and see it to be absolutely sure what it is. Everybody else might be 100% accurate with their target signal identification.  They might be absolutely certain that the target they just passed up was a pull tab or penny.  And they might never make a mistake.

I'm just not that good.  Every time I dig up a Rolex or some unusual artifact, I'm surprised.   Some of my most valued finds were complete surprises.

For a few years I wasn't digging iron and I wasn't digging big stuff.  I was focused primarily on coins and jewelry.  As a result, it took me a long time to find shipwreck spikes.  That was a conspicuous absence from my list of finds.  Now I don't like to miss shipwreck spikes so I change my decision strategies.  Now I usually dig things like that when I am in an area where they might be found.

That word "usually" is an important word.  I don't always dig those types of things - just when I am in the right places and when it fit my goals.

To optimize success it is important to take in to account a variety of factors.  I'd be an even bigger fool than I am to hunt the same way everywhere no matter what the situation or what I am trying to accomplish.

A lot of my strategy is to hunt areas where the types of things that I am targeting are concentrated. These days I seldom hunt where there are lots of the kinds of items that I want to skip.  So when I am successful in doing that, discriminating those items does not save a lot of time because they are simply not there in great numbers.  And when I run into a lot of them, I am in the wrong kind of area, and I move.  As I've explained before, junk provides information too.

I  can't get into that in any more detail now.
\
The other day when I was talking about some of the most popular detectors as indicated by the Kellyco People's Choice Awards.  I gave some of my positions on target ID.  One of the things I mentioned was that target ID is not perfect.  Just a few minutes ago I went to YouTube and the first video I looked at illustrated what I was saying.  The title of the video is Target Issues With the CTX 3030.  The guy, who seemed to be very thoughtful and competent, was running into a lot of twist off caps which gave him something like a 1242 reading. so he was bypassing them as would be natural. He didn't know what he missed on the first pass when he passed up items that gave that type of reading.  He decided to go back and check some that he passed on the first pass.  He ended up being surprised and thought maybe he should go back and check some of the other signals that he passed on.

Take a look a the video.  I highly recommend going through the entire thing.  It illustrates many points that I have mentioned in the past.

Here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzXUhou_maE

If you want to skip over targets, and everybody does to one extent or another, (there are definitely times to skip things) there is nothing wrong with that, but I want you to be aware of what could be happening.

I never have to tell people to use discrimination.  People will naturally do that.  Judging from my experience they are more likely to discriminate too much rather than too little.  And I will never convince anyone to dig more even though that is a lesson I've learned for myself.  Maybe I'm the only one that occasionally makes a big mistake when I don't dig.

Digging also has other benefits that I like.  I like removing junk from places that I hunt a lot so there are fewer junk signals when I return.  I don't like getting any kind of signal from the same pull tab day after day so I remove a lot of them.  It doesn't really take long to make a place you hunt frequently much less junky.  You can do it bit by bit.

---

I'm expecting to receive a report on a home site that was thoroughly sifted that will show how much is really there and how much is usually missed.  I can't wait to see the final report.

---

On the Treasure Coast expect a couple of days of one-foot surf.  The wind will be mostly from the west.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net