2/16/19 Report - Button Find Partially Cleaned. What People Don't Know. Tips for Evaluating News Sources.

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

Small Button Uncleaned.

This is a small button I found a week or so ago.  It is shown on a dime.  It was found along with some copper and a lead shot.

Encrusted Back of Same Button.

I wanted to see what the shank looked like, so I decided to clean the button.

Another View of the Button Back.

It looked like the shank was there, but covered by corrosion, but after I cleaned it some, it was apparent that the shank was not present.

Partially Cleaned Button Back

After some cleaning I could see that the shank was completely dissolved.  In the photo above, you can see the vacancy where the shank was.   It is the hole extending from about the 8 o'clock position towards the middle of the button.

I was sorry that the shank was no longer there, but I could see what it would have looked like.

The button was copper or copper alloy, but the shank was iron.  I don't think I'll clean it any more than that.

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The latest edition of the SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) magazine reported some interesting poll numbers that were originally published in the Washington Post.  Here are some of them.

More than one in three people could not  name a single right protected by the First Amendment.

Only one in four people can name all three branches of the government.

One in three cannot name a single branch of the U. S. government.

77 percent of students in public high schools in Oklahoma couldn't not mane George Washington as the first U. S. President.  A poll in Arizona got similar numbers.

In another poll it was found that the majority of millennials (58 percent) would prefer to live in a socialist, communist or fascist nation rather than a capitalist nation.

I don't have more specific information on the poll or sample.

I knew things were headed that way, but was surprised by these numbers.

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One important skill for any treasure hunter is the ability to evaluate sources of information.  Some sources are misleading.  I've recently posted reports on finds that were filled with inaccuracies.  When you see those types of reports you have to wonder what is going on.  You need to evaluate what you read.  That is why I try to always post my sources.  You can usually go to the original source and check it our for yourself and then conduct additional research if you want to.

There are a number of signs that alert me.  One of the most obvious is wild unsupported assertions.  Some people are cautious about what they say, and some make bold pronouncements with little evidence, and as a result, often turn out to be clearly wrong.

In social media, it doesn't much matter how often you are right or wrong, as long as you get attention.  Some people work harder for attention than getting things right.

It seems to me that nothing has been a bigger failure in education than the Critical Thinking movement.  I won't get into that here even though it is a hot topic for me.

I've made my fair share of mistakes, but one thing I have going for me in this blog, is if I make a mistake, someone will usually point it out to me.  That is always helpful even though I don't always agree with every comment I receive.

Here are some good tips for analyzing news sources by Melissa Zimdars (2016) - Merrimack College assistant professor of communication & media


Avoid websites that end in “lo” ex: Newslo. These sites take pieces of accurate information and then packaging that information with other false or misleading “facts” (sometimes for the purposes of satire or comedy).

Watch out for websites that end in “.com.co” as they are often fake versions of real news sources

Watch out if known/reputable news sites are not also reporting on the story. Sometimes lack of coverage is the result of corporate media bias and other factors, but there should typically be more than one source reporting on a topic or event.

Odd domain names generally equal odd and rarely truthful news.

Lack of author attribution may, but not always, signify that the news story is suspect and requires verification.

Some news organizations are also letting bloggers post under the banner of particular news brands; however, many of these posts do not go through the same editing process (ex: BuzzFeed Community Posts, Kinja blogs, Forbes blogs).

Check the “About Us” tab on websites or look up the website on Snopes or Wikipedia for more information about the source.

Bad web design and use of ALL CAPS can also be a sign that the source you’re looking at should be verified and/or read in conjunction with other sources.

If the story makes you REALLY ANGRY it’s probably a good idea to keep reading about the topic via other sources to make sure the story you read wasn’t purposefully trying to make you angry (with potentially misleading or false information) in order to generate shares and ad revenue.

If the website you’re reading encourages you to DOX individuals, it’s unlikely to be a legitimate source of news.

It’s always best to read multiple sources of information to get a variety of viewpoints and media frames. Some sources not yet included in this list (although their practices at times may qualify them for addition), such as The Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, and Fox News, vacillate between providing important, legitimate, problematic, and/or hyperbolic news coverage, requiring readers and viewers to verify and contextualize information with other sources. 

Here is the source link, which also provides some other possibly helpful information.

https://library.nwacc.edu/fakenews/evaluating

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It looks like we're going to have a few days of small surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/21/18 Report - Haunted Ellis Island 2017 Quarter. Instructions for Creating a Coin Display Plaque. Ancestry Tests and Group Membership.

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

Halloween Coin.

Many people say that Ellis Island is one of the most haunted places in America.

See https://maps.roadtrippers.com/stories/ellis-island-is-one-of-the-most-haunted-pieces-of-american-history.

I saw something interesting when viewing a 2017 Ellis Island National Monument Quarter. Look in the doorway at the top of the stairs.

I don't know how well the above picture shows it, but there appears to be a ghostly skeleton figure in the doorway.

I didn't do any editing or anything.  That is an unaltered photo.

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It seems that the series of posts on treasure displays had the desired effect.  I've heard from some readers who said that as a result of those posts they decided to start organizing and displaying their finds.  I wish I had done that a lot earlier than I did.

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Today I'm going to show my favorite method of creating displays for coins and other small objects.  As you know, there are a lot of things to be considered when mounting coins.  Valuable coins should not be mounted in any way other than encapsulation by a grading agency, but other coins can be mounted if done correctly.

I'm just going to quickly run you through the process of creating a coin display.  I'll give the basic instructions, but skip many of the options and fine details.

For coins that can be mounted, you don't want them to touch other metals and you don't want to glue them or anything like that.  Below is the TreasureGuide method for mounting coins and other small items.

1.  Once you know what coin or coins you want to display, the next step is to select a suitable piece of wood for the project.

Wood Cabinet or Flooring Samples.

Scrap wood or samples like those shown above can be considered.

Those wood samples were given to me by a neighbor who just built a new house.  I don't know why they gave them to me, but I guess they knew I would find a use for them.

2.  Design the layout.  Put the coins or other items on the wood and move them around until you decide how you want them displayed.  See how items show with different pieces of wood.

Five Pennies on a Sample Piece of Wood.

3.  Once you know what wood you want to use and how you want the items laid out, sand, stain, or otherwise prepare the wood.

For this illustration I decided to use a simple piece of scrap plywood and a single Eisenhower dollar.  I didn't treat the wood since I just wanted to quickly illustrate procedure.

Eisenhower Dollar I Chose for the Illustration.

4. Select a drill bit that will drill a hole the size of the coin.

1.5 Inch Drill Bit.

This is the one thing I think you might not have on hand and might need to buy.  You can get a good set of bits like this without spending much money.  They work with any regular electric drill.

A 1.5 inch bit will create a hole that is just the right size for the Eisenhower dollar.

1.5 Inch Drill Bit With Drilled Hole.

5.  Drill the hole.  For a coin, you might not want to drill all the way through the wood unless you want to be able to see both sides.

See how the coin fits the hole.  Try to make the hole as neat as possible.  Sand the hole as needed or desired.

I went through the entire illustration in about 20 minutes from start to finish so I wasn't real careful.

6.  Cut a round piece of soft cloth and place it in the hole as backing so the coin does not rub against the rough wood.

The coin should fit snuggly at this point.

7.  Get a piece of Plexiglas and cut it to the size of the wood.

I had an odd piece in the garage left over from when I cut one for a picture frame.

8.  Drill two small holes in the Plexiglas.  I actually used a Dremel tool that already had a small bit in it rather than changing the bit in the drill.

9 Insert two carpet tacks into the wood through the holes.

Tacks Holding Plexiglas Over Display.

10.  Print a label.  Very nice labels can be used - even gold foil.  I just laid a small sample label on the Plexiglas to give the idea.

As you can see I didn't bother to cut the Plexiglas to size for this illustration.

Arrowheads, shark teeth or any of a wide variety of small objects can be displayed like this.

It is a very good way to display suitable coins.  Display a single object or an entire set.

You can make the display as nice as you want.  I just did a quick and sloppy job for illustration purposes.  I didn't measure one thing - just eyeballed it, and it shows.

The main things I would do differently is finish the wood, be more careful and precise with the cuts, and make a nice label.

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Millions of Americans are using DNA test kits sold online to research their ancestry, either out of simple curiosity or to find answers about their identity.

But some academics warn the craze could reinforce racial stereotypes and divisions...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-craze-for-dna-heritage-tests-may-bolster-racism-critics-warn/ar-BBOCZVx?ocid=spartandhp

I think it will do the opposite.  Most people will find out that they are not entirely one thing or another.  Many people will be surprised by the test results.  Some racists will find out that their ancestry is not so pure.

Knowledge generally does not support stereotypes.  Of course there are real questions about the test and anything can be misused.

On the same subject, I heard that the Cherokee tribal leader that spoke up in response to the Elizabeth Warren claims said that tribal membership requires one to be able to trace their ancestry back to a specific tribal ancestor.  That is similar to the requirements for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution.  To be a SAR member, genealogical records have to show that your ancestry includes can be traced to a specific person who fought in the Revolutionary War.

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The National Hurricane Center Atlantic map shows no activity.

The tides are not as flat as they have been recently.

The increase in surf that was predicted for the Treasure Coast earlier, is now predicted to be only around two to four feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/10/15 Report - To Clean Coins Or Not. Places Where Coins Are Lost. SAR At Battle of Okeechobee Reenactment

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

Yesterday I talked about marginal signals.  Marginal signals for good targets are often confused with noise.  What I wanted you to know is that with practice you can learn to tell the difference between many of those marginal signals produced by good targets and most noise.

I really liked the linked articles I gave you about coin patinas and toning in recent days.  They really contained a lot of good information.

A lot of the time it is hard to decide if you want to clean a coin or not.  My best advice is when in doubt, don't.  You can always put it off, but once you clean a coin there is no going back.

The good thing about waiting is that while you wait you might learn more about how to do it properly and safely and you might be more informed to make a better decision about if you should do it at all.

Dug coins are a little different than non-dug coins.  Many dug coins have been through rough treatment in the natural environment or have accumulated a good bit of surface dirt or corrosion.  Those that are heavily corroded can't be damaged much by a little cleaning.  Yet I'm not advising that.  It is a case by case decision.

As one of the articles pointed out, value is partly determined by the coins attractiveness, and beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.  Some like their coins one way, perhaps as found, and others might like them clean and shiny.

There are also those rare times when you find a coin in excellent condition.  I've dug coins in the water that were near mint and still in a protective plastic case.  Others that must have been dropped very recently were still in lustrous condition.

I really like some patinas.  The nice gun-metal blue of silver coins found in Northern fresh water lakes is one of my favorites.   I also like some rainbow patinated old silver coins.   For silver cobs, I like enough of the patina left to highlight the details.  I like some of that on old silver jewelry too.

Anyhow, to sum it up, when in doubt, don't clean.   There is no harm in waiting until you are better informed to make a good decision and better equipped to do a better job. 

Practice on old junk coins that can't be done any harm.

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The St. Lucie County Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution  participated in the reenactment of the Battle of Okeechobee.  The reenactment was held February 28th and March 1. 

One of the many interesting things you could see were the U.S. soldiers wearing large leather caps which were used to feed and water horses.  The Seminole tribe also participated in colorful Seminole costume and provided horses.

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You've been there.  Taking off your shoes, emptying your pockets, lap top in one bin, tooth paste, cosmetics, liquids in a plastic bag.  Air port security is a mess. 

...the Transportation Security Administration, which last year collected almost $675,000 in spare change left behind by travelers... While 2014 represented the biggest lost-change haul for the TSA, it's collected several hundred thousand dollars in unclaimed money during each fiscal year since 2008. All together, forgotten loose change at American airports has amounted to more than $3.5 million in the past seven years.

Coins are always lost where there is chaos and confusion.

From the same article...

One dedicated coin hunter told The New Yorker magazine since the iPhone rolled out in 2007, he's picked up an average of $95 per year from New York's sidewalks, or 63 percent more than in the two decades before that.

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/No-chump-change-TSA-netted-675K-in-lost-coins-299034311.html

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It looks like the Treasure Coast is in for a week or two of very calm surf.

The Lagoon has some white water this afternoon.  Waves from the Southeast. 

I have some neat photos for you, but didn't have time to upload them today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net