5/21/20 Report - Treasure Auction To Go Live May 27. Near Million in Cash Found. Cunneform Tablet. Christogram Medallion.

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

Less than a week left.   For more information see https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/auctionlist.aspx

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A family in Virginia trying to escape the boredom of coronavirus lockdown on Saturday did exactly that when they happened upon two duffel bags of cash totaling almost $1 million.

David and Emily Schantz, residents of Caroline County, Va., were out for a drive with their children when they ran over what they thought were trash bags in the middle of the street.

It was only after putting the bags in their truck and driving home that the family realized they were full of cash. According to the family, there were “plastic baggies” inside the duffels that read “cash vault.”...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://justthenews.com/government/local/virginia-family-finds-nearly-1-million-cash-duffels-road

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I just received the following email from a Connecticut person concerning a post I did in 2015 about the Christogram shown above.  I thought it was interesting that people from around the country are responding to posts that are five years old.


Hello,

Regarding this post: http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/12/122415-report-christogram-pendant-find.html

I have an exact duplicate of this medallion that was given to me by my ex-step mother in law. She purchased it in the Vatican and attended a ceremony in the presence of Pope John Paul ii where he blessed the crowd making this medallion the relic of a Saint.

The medallion might very well have more value than its weight in gold.

Susan C.

Stamford, CT

That would certainly make it more valuable to those who appreciate it.  That is the way it is with value.

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NEW YORK – Pursuant to ongoing Cultural Property, Arts and Antiquities investigations by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, a civil complaint was filed Monday to forfeit a rare cuneiform tablet bearing a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian epic poem considered one the world’s oldest works of literature. Known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, it originated in the area of modern-day Iraq and entered the United States contrary to federal law. The tablet was later sold by an international auction house (the “Auction House”) to Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (“Hobby Lobby”), a prominent arts-and-crafts retailer based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for display at the Museum of the Bible (the “Museum”). Despite inquiries from the Museum and Hobby Lobby, the Auction House withheld information about the tablet’s provenance. The tablet was seized from the Museum by law enforcement agents in September 2019...

Here is the link to the Customs and Immigration Enforcement site for more about that.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/civil-action-filed-forfeit-rare-cuneiform-tablet-hobby-lobby

Of course the ICE website has a lot of info about counterfeits and smuggling.

As I've said before, you can't separate politics from treasure hunting or much of anything.  You have to wonder how much the politics of Hobby Lobby had to do with the enforcement.  As you probably know Hobby Lobby is religious/conservative and in September 2012 filed suit in federal court in Oklahoma based on its First Amendment Free Exercise of Religion right and the RFRA.

Anyone near the top of federal agency is by definition political.  You can be a government scientist, for example, which means that you are a bureaucrat as well as a scientist.

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Surf Prediction.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

It looks like the surf will build today.  The swells are supposed to be northeast, but I don't know if they'll be enough from the north.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

4/22/20 Report - Sedwick Treasure Auction No. 27 Lots. Researching A Wood Handled Fork Find. Openings.

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

Sedwick Treasure Auction 27 Ad

Treasure, World, U.S. Coin and Paper Money Auction 

Live on the Internet: Wednesday-Friday, May 27-29, 2020

The Sedwick Treasure, World, U.S. Coin and Paper Money Auction #27 will go live on the Internet Wednesday-Friday, May 27-29, 2020

Below are some of the lots that will be auctioned as described by Sedwick.

Gold Cobs features a variety of choice Mint State coins from the 1715 Fleet including the very scarce Lima, Peru, 1703H 8 escudos graded NGC MS 62, a date that is missing in the State of Florida collection. We also have an unprecedented pair of Seville, Spain, cob 2 escudos from the Atocha and Santa Margarita shipwrecks graded PCGS AU50 and MS61 respectively.

Shipwreck Ingots boasts yet more treasure from the Atocha in the form of two long gold “finger” bars and three large silver ingots. Our usual wide selection of Shipwreck Coins features many dated silver cobs from the Concepción (lots 169-208) and Capitana (lots 209-243) as well as an assortment of choice pieces from the ever-popular Atocha (lots 77-158) and 1715 Fleet (lots 291-342).

Be sure to check out the Potomac Collection in Mexican Silver Cobs, which contains some key “Early Series” Charles-Joanna assayer-Rincón rarities like an ever-popular 3 reales (lot 439), a 2 reales plated in both Guttag’s and Nesmith’s works (lot 440), and a very choice ½ real (lot 443). A 2 maravedís from this collection (lot 460) is the first of its kind we have offered. Also don’t miss the very rare Royals (galanos): 8 reales 1727D (lot 478) and 2 reales 1715J (lot 491).

The Lima and Potosí Silver Cobs sections are packed with many 8 reales from a fresh collection, including several nice Potosí Royals (galanos), like a 1654E 8 reales discovery piece struck with previously unknown dies (lot 578).

In Other Silver Cobs we feature one of the largest selections of Colombian cobs we have ever had, a key being a very rare billon cob ¼ real of 1622 (lot 662), the first one we have offered. Here you will also find the first coins of the Nueva Granada Collection, an expertly crafted assemblage of the very best Colombian coinage from the Spanish colonial era into the Republic period. This collection continues into the World Coins section where we have such rarities as: the finest known Bogotá 1770VJ pillar 8 reales graded PCGS MS65 (lot 821); a Popayán 1814/3JF bust 8 reales of Ferdinand VII graded PCGS XF40 (lot 823); and the highly sought and finest known Medellín 1868 medio peso graded PCGS MS62 (lot 854); all of which are plated in Jorge Emilio Restrepo’s Coins of Colombia (2012). Also note the 1888 “Cocobola” 50 centavos (lot 874) and several other choice and rare Colombian “half dollars.”

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Fork Find.

I found three of these a number of years ago and did a lot of work to get them cleaned up.  This one is by far the nicest.  It cleaned up fairly well even though it took quite a while.  They were wrapped and stuck in a hollow space in a rock wall.

I recently decided to see what I could learn about the forks.

Here are some other older silverware that I found over the years.  The pewter spoon on the bottom is in bad condition but is probably one of the older ones.

Some Other Silverware Finds.

Of course the first thing I did, after getting the fork cleaned up, was look for a maker's mark or any other marks.  I looked it over carefully with magnification, but couldn't find any marks.

So I went to the books.  The one that seemed to have the closest thing was A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America by Ivor Noel Hume.

In the book I found the following illustration.

Figure 63 in A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America by I. Hume.

Notice the three tined fork at the bottom.  Below are the descriptions.

The fork at the bottom of the illustration (no. 9) is described as an American iron fork with bone-plated handle held together with pewter mounts, circa 1850-80?

The handle on my fork is wood, not bone, but how do the other parts match?

I got out a handy little magnet and tested the tines and tang.  They are ferrous.  The rivets are ferrous too.

Next I tested the arrow and metal around the bottom end of the fork.  They are not ferrous, but I do not know what they are.  Pewter is a possibility from the look.

According to Hume, the earliest recorded English silver fork is two-tined and has a mark that dates it to 1632/33.  He also says that silver forks did not become popular in England until the end of the 17th century, and at that time they had three tines.  By the mid eighteenth century English forks had four tines.

Spanish silver forks, in contrast to English forks, had four tines by the early eighteenth century.  Some of those have been salvaged from 1715 Fleet wrecks.

Four-tined French forks have been found in contexts of the 1730s and 1740s in Nova Scotia.

Hume notes that silver forks are seldom found in excavations in America, but  those in steel are common, and they range from two-tined from the last quarter of the seventeen century to the beginning of the nineteenth century, though three tined forks became common in the second half of the eighteenth century.

So it is quite a complex and mixed mess, but with the exception of the wood handle, my find seems to be similar to the one listed as number 9 in Hume's figure 63.  It has three tines, ferrous tines and tang and rivets, and possibly pewter parts.  So I'm unsure, but am thinking it could be mid 19th century.  Perhaps I'll learn more eventually.

\

One thing I want to point out is the usefulness of a small refrigerator magnet that allowed me to easily test the parts to determine if they were ferrous or not.   A large magnet would not have allowed me to test small parts independently.


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I've been hearing from people who are eager to get outside and would like to know of any beaches or parks have opened or any parks.  I'd like to hear form you when you learn of openings.

I read online that Jonathan Dickenson State Park is due to open today, but also heard that Palm Beach was not ready to open.  They have more cases than the Treasure Coast.

Georgia and South Carolina are opening retail establishments.

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I'm concerned about the ability of a population stressed economically, healthwise and psychologically to be able to respond well to hurricane season with the store shelves depleted and supply system disrupted.  Imagine having to ramp up to hurricane preparedness if an early threat emerged.  Even though we can shut down the economy, the world will not stop and there could be more events that we need to be able to respond too.  While some express delight in the crashing oil industry, if we are too weakened we will be more vulnerable to natural disasters or other bio threats or any of variety of forms of terrorism.

[ Less than an hour after I posted this, it is announced that Iran is causing trouble.  Pompeo scheduled to make announcement soon.]

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Here is a touching video showing a WWII vet serenading his wife in a long-term care facility through a window.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peopleandplaces/wwii-veteran-serenades-his-wife-through-window/vi-BB12ZUKS?ocid=spartandhp

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Beach-side residents are allowed on the beaches now.  I was surprised to learn that some condos had the residents restricted for a while.

I am making some changes.  You might not see them for a while though.

The surf will be small for the next week or two and the tides moderate.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/20/20 Report - Sam's Town Casino Token Find. Upcoming Sedwick Auction. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

Sam's Town Casino Token.

I've found a number of casino chips or tokens in the past.  Some were in great condition, seeming to be recent drops.  One was in a plastic case and like new.  That one was found in the swash on an ocean beach.

Here is another.  It is from a land site and is beat up.  It is a favorite of mine even thought it shows a lot of wear.  I tend to like things that show wear.

Obverse of Sam's Town Casino Token.

I haven't done the research on this one yet, and haven't even tested it to see if it is silver.  I want to have an XRF analysis rather than an acid test because I don't feel like doing a rubbing on it even if it is already beat up.

Just a short section of the edge reeding remains, which clearly shows the heavy use before it was lost.

Whats Left of Edge Reeding on Sam's Town Token.

It weighs .75 oz.

See https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2012/05/52212-report-found-casino-chips.html for more casino chip finds.

Thanks.

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If you want to consign items to the upcoming auction, there are only two weeks remaining for you to do that.

Among the lots that will be sold are the following:

       The Nueva Granada Collection of Colombian Rarities Part I

       An extensive date collection of the finest and rarest Lima 8 escudos recovered from the 1715 Fleet

       Ingots and artifacts from the Spanish Fleets of 1622 (Atocha and Santa Margarita) and 1715

       Large variety of important Spanish colonial cobs and Latin American coins

This year's Spring Treasure Auction will be held at an historic art-based venue: the Germaine Marvel Building at the Maitland Art Center, just minutes from Orlando, FL.

Even if you do not plan to buy or sell anything, the Sedwick auctions provide an excellent opportunity to view fine coins and artifacts in person.

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A winter storm has moved into parts of the south and will be affecting the Treasure Coast before long.

The surf predictions have been holding pretty steady the past few days.  Seven to ten feet is predicted.  Here is the latest.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/6/20 Report - Beach Conditions Sunday. Mystery Find for ID. Time to Consign.

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

Turtle Trail Sunday Morning,

Photo by Steve M.

Steve M. visited Turtle Trail Sunday morning and sent these photos and the following report.

Beach had some cuts down near the water about 2 foot.   Beach above that was still high.    About a quarter mile south of the walkover, the green bags are still visible for another quarter of a mile along the middle of the beach.   Just junk and one dime.   Several sharks teeth. Surf was 2 to 3 foot.   Very windy.   Glad I did a great modification to my headphones...   

Turtle Trail Sunday Morning.

Photo by Steve M.

Turtle Trail Sunday Morning.

Photo by Steve M.

Turtle Trail Sunday Morning.

Photo by Steve.

Finds by Steve (left) and his wife (right).

Thanks for showing the types of objects that were found Steve. That helps a lot. Steve also had a good tip on a modification that can be made to your earphones. Here is what he said about that.

I bought some headphones from Harbor Freight that have very good springs.   They keep out the wind and underwater they stay on tight.   Good modification to do.

Earphone Modification As Implemented by Steve M.

Thanks for the great photos and report Steve.  Also I think the earphone modifications is great.  I found the submersible Minelab Equinox earphones loose and noisy.  I think this will help.

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Captain Jonah sent me the following.

My daughter and I were doing a little river hunting. Finding some neat broken bottles and glass and she dug this up. Not sure what it is or age but thought maybe you could help her ID it with years of knowledge. Thanks for any help.

Mystery Find for ID

Photo by Captain Jonah.

I haven't done any research yet, but I'm thinking the "MADE IN JAPAN" marking puts it in the 1920s or 1930s. If the normal position is as shown on the left, I'd guess maybe something like a restaurant tooth pick or condiment holder. I'm sure somebody can some up with this. Let me know what it is. --- April 29-30 will be the next Sedwick auction. Time to consign.

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The surf will be decreasing for a few days but increasing again towards the end of the week.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

rare and infrequent events have the largest effect.

11/24/19 Report - Viking Hoard Stolen by Detectorists Mostly Still Missing. The Grandissimes by George Cable. Time to Consign.

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

Part of Viking Hoard Stolen by Detectorists.

Two metal detectorists stole a £3m Viking hoard that experts say has the potential to "rewrite history".

George Powell and Layton Davies dug up about 300 coins in a field in Eye, near Leominster, Herefordshire, in 2015.

They did not declare the 1,100-year-old find, said to be one of the biggest to date, and instead sold it to dealers.

They were convicted of theft and concealing their find. Coin sellers Simon Wicks and Paul Wells were also convicted on the concealment charge.

Here is the link for more about that.  (Thanks to William K for the link.)


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-50461860


I hope you'll read the rest of the article, but today I wanted to comment on some of the statements and issues raised by in the article.

First and foremost, I want to say that the dectectorists made the wrong decision by deciding to conceal their find and sell it for whatever they could get on the market.  They did the wrong thing and will pay the price.  Their actions also hurt the hobby and will give those who are against metal detecting ammunition to blast and additionally regulate the hobby.  The detectorists would have been better off to properly report the find.  They would have been compensated for the objects and would have received additional opportunities and been able to share in the process of discovery and knowledge produced by the finds instead of becoming criminals.

All that said, I believe that the claims made the archaeologists are, as is commonly the case, exaggerated.  Can you really rewrite history based upon a group of related coins like that?  I don't think so.  My standards are more demanding.  Are they absolutely sure about their conclusions?  I believe it would take more than one grouping of coins showing something to which there was previously no evidence.

When you watch the video you will see that they show a lot of pictures of the treasure, including the coins and gold, however the video barely goes into the evidence and conclusions.  Why is that?  Why is the newly rewritten history and the evidence not featured?  I'm afraid the fact is that the "new" knowledge ( if it qualifies as such ) is tenuous at best, being based upon a surprising juxtaposition of two kings on one group of coins - the one king being unknown to the vast majority of the people on this earth.  While the new knowledge might seem monumental to those few people who make their livelihood out of trivia that most others would never encounter in a lifetime, how earth shattering is the conclusion if it is found to be correct?  If this is the only evidence of the newly rewritten history, I'm still skeptical.  I'm sure there are other possible conclusions that should be considered.

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A few days ago I mentioned a book I was reading. I just finished it and highly recommend it to anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of history, culture and the human condition.  The book is The Grandissimes, by George W. Cable.

George Washington Cable was born in 1844 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to George W. Cable, Sr., and Rebecca Boardman Cable; his parents were wealthy slaveholders, members of the Presbyterian Church and of New Orleans society, whose families had moved there after the Louisiana Purchase

In 1880, Cable published his first novel, The Grandissimes, A story of creole life portraying multiracial member and different classes of society in the early 1800s shortly after the Louisianna Purchase. It had first been serialized in Scribner's. The plot follows the adventures and romances of several members of the Grandissime family, a French Creole family with mixed-race members. He used this historical romance as a way to explore society and its racial injustice, as he addressed European Creoles, the mixed-race class, placage, slavery and lynchings, In the same year, the United States Census Bureau commissioned Cable to write a "historical sketch" of pre-Civil War New Orleans for a special section of the 10th United States Census' "Social statistics of cities". He submitted a well-researched 313-page history, which was greatly reduced for publication in 1884.  Source: wikipedia.

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The recently concluded Sedwick auction realized over $2.3 million dollars.

You can now consign for the March 2020 auction.

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Minions.

The impeachment hearings could provide the basis for a new Minion movie in which Sondland, Taylor and Yavonovich join Bob in Revenge of the Minions.

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It is a rainy Sunday morning.  The high tides are nice and high, but the surf is small.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/22/19 Report - Heart Shaped Cobs and Featured Treasures. Auction Details. Photo Records.

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

Heart-Shaped 2-Reale

Source: Sedwick Auction Catalog For Current Auction.

I received an email from Sedwick concerning the current auction.  The email included a photo of several featured lots including the one shown above.  Below is the lot description.

Potosi, Bolivia, cob 2 reales Heart, 1685VR, unique. S-P40; KM-24; CT-615. 7.14 grams. A very fat Heart enabling lots of visible legend (including a third date), with small (holed) stem at top, aligned axis, full details on an evenly thin flan (no doubling), VF with nice toning, in fact the earliest known date of (genuine) Hearts of any denomination. These special presentation pieces are the sole product of the Potosi mint and relate to the Sacred Heart symbol in Catholic faith. Pedigreed to the Aureo & Calico auction of April 2016 (lot #1293).

I've posted about the Sacred Heart image and heart-shaped cobs a number of times, including the original research on the heart-shaped cobs by author and researcher Laura Strolia.  Below are some links.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/11/11515-report-more-on-heart-shaped-cobs.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/11/11x15-report-dug-silver-christ-figure.html

https://aleteia.org/2018/06/08/explaining-the-strange-symbolism-of-the-sacred-heart/

See also

https://aleteia.org/2018/06/08/explaining-the-strange-symbolism-of-the-sacred-heart/

A previous Sedwick auction included a number of the hear-shaped cobs.

Here are some of the other featured lots from the auction.

Some of the Featured Lots in the Current Sedwick Auction.

The following information was also included in the same email. World, U.S. Coin and Paper Money 

Auction 26

Friday-Saturday, November 1-2, 2019

We are just 11 DAYS out from our live floor and online Treasure, World, U.S. Coin & Paper Money Auction 26. This must-attend sale starts at 9:30 AM EDT on Friday, November 1 for Sessions I, II & III, and 9:30 AM EDT on Saturday, November 2 for Sessions IV and V. Session VI, the express, online-only session, follows at 10:00 AM EST (note the time change!) on Monday, November 4.

Now is the perfect time to register for the auction, as any registration issues can certainly be accommodated more easily in advance. Please don't wait to register on the day of to avoid missing out on some desirable lots!

Even if you already have an iCollector account, you still must Get approved to bid for each auction by entering and confirming your information for this auction, like reviewing your shipping information and choosing your preferred way of payment. Registration and bidding online are always FREE (no extra fees or percentages for bidding online).

Remember, tie bids go to the earliest bidders, so don't wait for the live closing to bid on anything for which you have a strict number in mind.

This week is also your LAST CHANCE to order a printed catalog, schedule to bid by phone, or mail/fax your bids. If you'd like to do lot viewing ahead of the sale, please contact us now to set up an appointment. Otherwise, lot viewing will be available at the auction site beginning at noon on October 31.

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Yesterday I posted two old photos.  I received some nice emails concerning  that post.

One photo was from the early 19th century, and the other from the mid 19th century.  You might have noticed that in the older photo the children are dressed in their best, and in the other photo they were wearing whatever would keep them warm on a cold day of play outside.

The difference suggests something I think is significant.  In the early 19th century, photography was more of a big deal, especially for rural folks.   By the mid-19th century cameras were more common.  Photography had become more casual.

With cameras in the phones that everybody carries around, these days people take thousands of photos.  You don't need to buy film and pay to have prints made from negatives.  People take so many photos they are no big deal.  In fact they take so many photos that the vast majority will be forgotten and lost in a very short time.

I'm glad I have the old prints.   In addition to photos of about six or seven generations of family members, I have photos of many finds that I made years ago.  I'm glad I made those photos.  They provide good records and remind me of the time I made the finds.

Unfortunately a lot of the digital photos that I've made are on some old floppy disc that can no longer be used, or some dead computer or USB drive that no longer works.  I'm so glad I have the old photos and that my grandmother kept them over the years.  She made a lot of them with her Brownie Box camera.  I'm glad she kept her photos along with those that were passed down to her.  And I'm glad my mother kept them too.

My first recommendation is to take photos of your finds.  My second recommendation is to get prints made of those you want to keep.  The digital world changes so much that I've had bad luck trying to keep photos in a digital form.  And good luck to anyone from future generations that might want to access them unless they are maintained on a web site such as ancestry.com, which is a good way to share your generational photos.

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Yesterday I received a 1953 wheat penny in change at Walmart, so there are still some showing up in circulation.

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The National Hurricane Center map shows nothing of interest for the Treasure Coast.

Here is the surf prediction.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

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The more I learn, the more I don't know.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/9/19 Report - Mystery of the Strange Looking Coin. Sedwick Auction. Observations on Several of the Metal Detectors I've Used.

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

Interesting Lot in the Current Sedwick Auction Catalog.

Take a look at the above item.  What do you think it is?  Looks strange, doesn't it?

I was looking through the current Sedwick auction catalog and noticed the item shown above.  It is referred to as an "imitation cob."   Below is the lot description.

Caracas, Venezuela, 2 reales "imitation cob," date as 142 date (early 1800s), struck over a Spanish bust 2R (milled edge), rare, NGC XF 40. ,KM-C13.1. Well-centered pillars, off-center cross (with often off-the-flan M visible to right), faint toning around details, but most important aspect is that the edge shows traces of the rectangle-circle milling from a bust 2R (first we have seen). NGC #4841431-006.

So it looks like somebody for some reason turned a milled Spanish 2 reale into a fake cob, and didn't do a very good job of it.  The elements on the coin are very crude.  Was it made to fool people?  Maybe it was just somebody fooling around.  The date doesn't make sense at all.  There is a story behind that, but I can only wonder what it is.

Here is the link to the imitation cob.  

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Caracas-Venezuela-2-reales-imitation-cob-date-as-142-date-early-1800s-struck-over-a-Spanish_i34624997

There is another imitation cob in the catalog that is very much like the one shown above.

Here is the link to the Sedwick auction site.  

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/auctionlist.aspx

You need to register to bid.

Among the more interesting pieces, in my opinion, were the gold finger bars.  The finger bars had some of the highest auction estimates of the entire auction.  They were in the third session.   Look around lot 80 or 81.

I really think there will be a lot of reales that don't sell.    There is something for everybody though.

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I wanted to rank the metal detectors that I've owned and used over the years.  I found out it wasn't easy to do that.  There are a lot of factors.

This isn't an objective ranking or comparison.

My favorites though are the Noga and MacDonald modified Nautilus detectors.  They were excellent at finding gold on the beaches and in the water.  That is what they were made for.  They nulled on iron, which I liked.   If I'd been hunting relics instead of gold at the time, it would have been a different story.  But they worked very well for what I was doing at the time, and back then I was doing it a lot and had a lot of success with it.  One story that I recall and that illustrates how those detectors worked, was when I detected a small gold bead very near the access at Turtle Trail.  I could easily detect the bead, but I could find it.  I put a handful of sand containing the bead on the coil and still couldn't see the bead.  I moved the sand around and the detector gave a signal.  The sand was course and a color that matched closely to that of the bead, but I eventually found the bead.

Herb claimed his detectors were better than the Noga ones, but I'm not sure that was true.

I know some of the coils for those detectors were hotter than others.

They were very easy to set up and use because they were made for one type of hunting and didn't require or allow much adjustment.

The reason it is so difficult to rank the detectors, is that most of them have things that I like and find very effective, but also negatives.

I'd tend to rank the Garrett GTX second among those I've owned, but it is very heavy, difficult to learn to use well, and loves iron.  Those sound might sound like serious problems, but when you learn to use it and if you aren't bothered much by trash, it is a powerful detector.  I have confidence that I won't miss much of anything with that detector.

Of course the best detector for you always depends upon what you want to do with it, and your style and even your personality.  There are some people who would never ever use the GTX.

In the middle of the pack are many others.  High in the middle of the pack I'd put the other Minelab detectors that I've owned, including the Excalibur and Sovereign.  

I used the Excalibur for several years.  It worked well, but I used it differently than most people.  I always used the pinpoint rather than the discrimination mode.  If I'd been able to get either the Noga or MacDonald detectors at that point, I would have been using them.

I'd rank the Fisher 1280 right up there with the Excalibur.   I used the 1280 a lot and found a lot with it.  It was a good detector and very reliable.  I eventually sold it for about as much as I bought it for.  Long before I sold it, I found enough coins to more than pay for it, not counting any jewelry.  I was keeping good records at the time and knew exactly when my coin finds went over the purchase price, which, if I correctly recall, was about $640.

The 1280 was also the detector that found my first silver and gold rings.  One of the things I learned while using that detector is the danger of using too much discrimination.  Overall, it was one of my favorites.

Maybe I rank it higher because it was the detector that I learned a lot from and it found me a lot in my early days of metal detecting.

I'd rank the Royal Sabre after that.  For such an old detector, it has a lot of nice features, but it I'd use it in dry sand or dry land only.

Then maybe the Stringray.   I had trouble with the Tesoro Stingray from the beginning.  I sent it back about three times and it was returned with the same problem.  They wanted to blame it on underwater cables or something in the area, so I told them to send me another one to try in place of the original one to see if it was the location or the detector's fault.   The replacement detector worked fine.  The original Stingray had a grounding problem and the replacement was hardwired.  

When I eventually sent the replacement in for repairs years later, they said it wasn't under warranty because it had been modified.  That is one way for them to get out of their Lifetime Warranty, but they should have had records showing it was the detector as I received it from them. 

When it worked, it was not the deepest seeking detector, but was good at detecting small gold.  It was never anything other than a back-up detector for me.

After that I can't say much good about the other metal detectors.  I probably didn't know enough about the White's CoinMaster to rank it fairly.  The same might also be the case for the Garrett pulse detector.  So I won't say much negative about them.  I know the CoinMaster didn't get a fair chance.  I just didn't know much about metal detectors or metal detecting when I had that one.

I know there metal detectors out there that might be better.  I'm just reporting my observations and feelings on some that I've owned and used.  The ranking is scientific and it isn't objective, but some of you might find my observations somewhat useful anyhow.

I didn't include anything about the Equinox today.  I plan on doing more precise testing on it.  So far I like it a lot.  It seems like an effective detector that could be useful in many situations.  Right now I'd rank it above the Excalibur and in some ways above the GTX.  I don't want to say much more about it yet, but it looks like I will be using it a lot in the future.

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The surf is going to be about 3 - 4 feet for a couple days.  I'm not expecting much change to the beaches for a while.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

Minelab Equinox.  I'm just leaning the Equinox, but it appears to be an easy to use and adequate metal detector for a variety of situations.   I expected the visual displays to be more useful, so that was a bit of a disappointment.  You can avoid trash, but in the process can miss a lot of good targets.