10/24/17 Report - More Post-Irma Finds. The Meaning and Derivation of Names Such as Nuestra Senora de las Nieves. Preserving Iron Artifacts.

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

Lead Shot and Half Reale
Finds and photo by DB

I've shown a number of Irma finds, including a lot of musket balls and a piece of gold.  Here is another post-Irma find.

With the photo I received the following email from DB.

Hello,

I started reading your blog not too long ago. I've learned a lot from them and always like to see cool finds from the area. I found my first Spanish coin and wanted to share with you. A half reale and little musket ball from a beach in IR County...

Thanks and keep up the good work!

Congratulations on your first Spanish cob DB!  Thanks for sharing.

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The shipwreck off of John Brooks is commonly thought to be the Nuestra Senora de las Nieves

Nieves is a Spanish surname and a female given name from the title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de las Nieves meaning "Our Lady of the Snows."

Many of the names of Spanish ships refer in Mother Mary in one say or another.  Here is an article about various names and references to Mary.

It begins, Mary has many names, or shall we call them titles? The Litany of Loreto refers to many different titles of Mary, but not all of them. Some of her titles refer to a city name corresponding to an apparition location, for example, Our Lady of Lourdes or Our Lady of Fatima. There are also devotional titles of Our Lady such as Our Lady, Undoer (or Untier) of Knots. And then there are many variations of titles which all have a unique history. One such devotion is to Mary under the title of Our Lady of Good Help...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

http://catholicexchange.com/our-lady-of-good-what

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In my previous post I showed an an old anchor find.  Here is another smaller one.  It isn't as old.

Anchor Find Before Conservation and Coating.

I showed this anchor before, but what I wanted to say about it today is how I finally coated it.  I used clear Rustoleum after getting it stabilized.  Since coating it with Rustoleum, which I did five or more years ago now, it has shown absolutely no signs of deterioration.  It is very important to get it stabilized first before putting on any coating.

I like the clear glossy finish for some items, but you can chose any finish you like.

Here is what it looks like after it was cleaned and coated.

Anchor Coated With Clear Glossy Rustoleum.

It can take a good while to stabilize iron, especially if it has been in salt water.  I've talked about that before, but will refer you to the TAMU web site for tips on how to conserve iron items.

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The Treasure Coast surf is calmer now.  It is only a couple of feet, which will give you a chance to get a little farther out at low tide.

We're supposed to get some nice cool air, which I like a lot better than the 90 degree summer stuff.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/27/17 Report - Research From Laura Strolia On Old Spanish Medallion Find. Beaches Around the Treasure Coast. Bal Harbour.

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

I received some great information on Bart's medallion (See pictures posted yesterday.) from Laura Strolia, who has often contributed important research on various 1715 Fleet religious artifacts such as the Pelican of Piety to this blog.  You might also remember her book, The Marigalera of the 1715 Fleet.  Below is what Laura had to say about Bart's medallion find.

One side of the medal represents the Immaculate Conception with the words, “Virgo Sine Peccato Originale Concepta.”  It thus says the “Virgin Mary Conceived Without Original Sin.”

The opposite side shows the Blessed Sacrament or “Santisimo Sacramento.”

The early 17^th century began the period to push for the acceptance of the Immaculate Conception as dogma.  In 1621, the Franciscans pledged to teach and spread the mystery. Most of the Spanish missions in Texas were established by the Franciscans beginning in the 17^th century.

The Immaculate Conception and Sacred Sacrament were two very popular images seen together in Catholic art.  Along with clergy members, confraternities (religious organizations) greatly promoted what they believed.

The sacred piece discovered in Texas likely dates from the 17^th or 18^th century.  The chances are equal—it could have belonged to a priest (most likely Franciscan) or a faithful layperson.  For more history on this topic see the post,

2/5/16 Report - Laura Strolia's Historical Research Related To A 17th Century Artifact Found By A Detectorist In North Florida

I said I thought it might be Jesuit.  Forget what I said.  Listen to Laura.

Once again, thanks much Laura!

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The weather, although I actually preferred the rainy day we recently had, is nice but getting a little hot for my taste.  Here are a few photos from around the Treasure Coast.

South End of Walton Rocks Beach.

There was a small cut down by the condos.  There were a few fossils in the shells, including one fossil tooth.  There was also a little sea glass.

Directly in Front Of John Brooks Beach

John Brooks Beach Looking North.

The above photos were taken yesterday near low tide.  Up by the bend, the cut was a little more fresh and crisp.

The following photos were take a day earlier.

Treasure Shores Thursday.
Photo by Darrel S.

North of Ambersands Beach.
Photo by Darrel S.

The tide was nice and low recently and rocks were exposed at various beaches along the coast as far south as House of Refuge and Walton Rocks to as far north as the Sebastian area.

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Stanley Whitman, the visionary who built an open-air mall on the site of a former German World War II prisoner-of-war camp in Bal Harbour when everyone told him he was crazy, lived to see his grand idea become one of the world’s most successful luxury shopping centers...

Here is a good article on Stanley Whitman.who recently passed at 98.

http://bvtnews.com/business/bal-harbour-shops-founder-stanley-whitman-dies-at-98.html

I used to detect a good bit along the beach across the street from the shops.  It has changed a lot since then, and hundreds of yards of sand was added to the beach not long ago.  The old hotel that was there was replaced by a much larger resort.

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No change significant change in beach conditions to report.  Take advantage of the big tides, especially the nice low tides.  Take the sunscreen and water.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/16/14 Report - Recent Cuts on the Treasure Coast, Beach Analysis, Couch Cache, Religious Statue and Dry Beach Finds

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



Three to Four Foot Cut on Treasure Coast Beach This Afternoon.

I missed it, whatever it was.  I went to the beach this afternoon and saw some recent cuts.  I know it wasn't the last high tide that caused the erosion.  I could tell that the last high tide filled the front of the beach instead of cutting it.  So I don't know exactly when the new cuts occurred, but it wasn't too long ago, and it was before the last high tide.

I was out of town yesterday and not paying attention to beach conditions like I normally do.  I don't know if a front came through yesterday or if it might have been a local storm.  I've seen local storms cause cuts.  This isn't anything I would be concerned about missing anyway.  I doubt that it was enough to cause an upgrade in my beach conditions rating.  And, as I said, it has started to refill already.

Another View of the Cut Beach

I added some lines to this photo to show you some things.

At the right, notice the cliff face and then the slope at the bottom of the face.

The new sand piled in front of the cut is emphasized by the arced arrow.  Sand was in the little dip between the new refill sand and the slope down from the cliff face.

Another thing I noticed this afternoon is the beach behind that is starting to slop upward as it goes back.

The front hump created by the new fill contained some light targets on the front face.  Mostly aluminum junk but also some clad.   On the new hump, under a few inches of sand was a layer of shells. 

If we get more erosion before this fills all the way back in, this erosion could still be a help.

Where I scribbled the lines along the face of the hump is where there were a lot of targets.

Dry Beach Finds
Finds and photos by Dan B.

Dan B. said he tried out some of the tips I recently gave on hunting a dry beach and had some luck.

Here are some finds from doing that.

Thanks for sharing Dan.



Kovels Komments says, Forty-nine percent of Americans carry less than $20 in paper money and 9 percent go without cash entirely, according to a recent survey.

Fewer people conduct cash transactions these days and that of course means that there will be less to find on the beaches.  There was a time when many parks charged for entrance, and often the entrance fee was something like $1.50, which meant most beach goers would be carrying both cash and coins, some of which would be lost.  Not so much now.

There were some underwater dips next to some resort beaches where lost bills collected.  A lot of people only use credit cards at resorts now, so that will cut down on cash and coin finds.

Also fence lines along fair grounds after fairs were often good for producing a few bills. 

Bills also occasionally show up in sea weed lines on the beach. 


Students found $43,000 in an old couch they bought for $20 and returned the money.

Here is the link for that story.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/students-find-43000-cash-in-old-couch-return-it-to-owner/story-fnixwvgh-1226919577145

People hide things in different places.  Remember that.


A rare statue of the Virgin Mary, probably from somewhere around the 13th Century, was found buried under a church floor.

Here is that link.

http://cphpost.dk/news/rare-statue-of-virgin-mary-found-buried-under-church-floor.9554.html


Tonight's high tide is going to be pretty high.  It looks like the wind is supposed to be out of the North.  It looks like the swells will be pretty much out of the East until late tonight.  Unfortunately the surf is only supposed to be round two feet.  I don't think we'll lose much sand as a result of that and the sand in front of the cut, but I'm not totally sure.  Time will tell.

Not much time remaining to give your poll response.  Thanks!

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net