9/4/2017 Report - Watching Hurricane Irma. Happy Labor Day. Updated 5 PM.

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

Speghetti Model Tracks for Irma After the 11:00 AM Labor Day Update.
Source: Weather Underground web site.

Irma is still about a week away.  It is too early to tell where she'll go.

As you can see from the above, different models are showing very different tracks.  They have it anywhere from Virginia to the Gulf and Panhandle of Florida.

Overall, the track has been moving more to the west.  The Ventusky and Windyty web sites vary. One still has Irma passing to the east of the Florida Coast and passing very close to the Treasure Coast, while the other has it going in around Naples, like the white line shown above, and then proceeding up along the west coast of Florida.  It is just too early to tell when it is going to turn north.  On average, over the last day or two the projections have been moving more to the west.  

That is about all I have to say about it for now.  I'll update this post as more information comes in.

That is all for now.

Be safe,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

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MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE.


While there is still a lot of uncertainty, it looks more and more like the predictions are starting to settle more on the Florida East Coast.  The Weather Underground web site showed the predicted tracks based upon six different models.  One goes way east of us, three very near us, and two going over Cuba.

Three of Seix Models Showing a Track Over or Very Near the Treasure Coast.
Source: wunderground.com

Five of those six models were initialized at 2 PM, and the other one was initialized at 8 AM Monday.

The 5 PM nhc.noaa.gov cone of uncertainty is just a touch more to the north than the 2 PM update showed.

The following is the same map I showed at the top of the page, but it is the 5 PM update.

Source: https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/atlantic/2017/tropical-storm-irma

Notice how there is now one group going right over the Treasure Coast and another group going over Cuba.

There is still a lot of time for things to change, but there seems to be a definite trend with more tracks going over or near the Florida East Coast.

I forgot to mention that MagicSeaWeed is predicted something like a ten to twelve foot surf for Sunday, which is the peak.

Keep watching.
TreasureGuide @comcast.net

9/7/15 Report - Great Numismatic Study of Dug Pistareens. Tropical Storm Grace Headed This Way. Ring Beach Find.

Witten by the Treasure Guide for the exclusive use of TreasureBeachesReport.blogspot.com.

Found This Morning On A Treasure Coast Beach.

I went to the beach this morning.  Conditions had not changed at all.  I saw a couple of detectorists on the same beach.  One had done a good bit of the beach before I arrived.  The other arrived later.

People were arriving early for the Labor Day holiday.  There were a few distant showers and a little lightning and thunder.

When the holiday crowds are at the beach, they spread out a little farther than normal from the main gathering spots.

I had just switched from motion mode to non-motion mode, just to check it out, and hit the ring.  It sounded much larger.

I think it is a very good idea to be very familiar and practiced with all the modes that your detector offers.  There are times to use each one.

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Yesterday I posted Bernard Romans' statement about pistareens being found along the Treasure Coast beaches after Easterly gales.

The coins Romans referred to were not really pistareens.  Pistareens, as the term is more strictly defined, are Spanish coins minted in the old world. In the 1700s pistareens were commonly used in the American colonies along with a variety of other foreign coinage.  Of course, there was no U. S. currency yet.  It would be natural for Romans to refer to the Spanish cobs found on the beach as being pistareens, since they were commonly used in the colonies and had similar markings.

Pistareen 

Mint Marks.

1. Seville

2. Madrid

3..Segovia

4.Cuenca

I found a super study of dug pistareens recovered in the tobacco raising colonies of
America.  Pistareens found by both relic hunters and archaeolgists are included in the study.  Many of of those included in the study were found in Virginia.

This is definitely THE best study of a large sample of dug coins that I have ever seen.  The study was published in the April 2001 The Colonial Newsletter.  The title of the study is When Cross Pistareens Cut Their Way Through the Tobacco Colonies.  The author is Thomas A. Kays.  I posted the link below.

Here are some of the conclusions describing the typical dug pistareen.


It crossed the Atlantic westward as a 1721 dated pistareen minted by King Philip V at Seville.

The coin was used to make everyday purchases in Colonial America before the Revolution • 

It grades very fine having circulated actively for fifteen years and was saved for twenty five. • 

It was cut into quarters for frontier change at a tavern losing 25% by weight to the melting pot. • 

It would have gone to melt completely before the 19th Century had it not been casually lost. • 

It lay undisturbed (save for the pass of the plough) for over two centuries until it was dug up. 

The study includes many illustrations and a map showing where the pistareens were found and a lot of other really good information.  I think you'll want to read this.

Here is the link.

http://numismatics.org/wikiuploads/CNL/Pistareens.pdf

The mint marks shown to the left are from the same linked study.


I'll add this link to my list of reference links on the first page of the blog.


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t

Tropical Storm Grace.

Grace seems to be following about the same path as Erika.  She is still days away and supposed to decrease to a depression around the West Indies.  We'll just have to watch that one for a while.

The surf this morning was one to two feet.  It looked a little rougher than I expected, but won't change much the next few days.

Happy Labor Day,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net