4/3/20 Report - Alternatives to Metal Detecting. Putting Treasure Back. Hoard Uncovered. Seeking and Finding: The Necessity.

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

Tool - Possibly Paleo.

Photo submitted by JamminJack

4/4/20 correction: I originally described the above item as an archaic point, but JamminJack tells me it is close to six inches long so could be an axe or something else and may be paleo.  Also, it was found by Jack's buddy.


Some people have been doing other kinds of hunting since the beaches have been closed.  I received the following message from JamminJack.

I have been getting back into arrowhead hunting. The field was plowed last week, and was able to find two bags of flint and two archaic period points during one day visit.

Crockpot Shard.

Find and photo by JamminJack.

Today my buddy was already out and found the scraper (not shown) just as he was going back to his car. The scraper is close to 5 inches. 

Small Bottle.

Find and photo by JamminJack.

I found the ceramic crockpot piece and small bottle. Bottle about 2 inches...

Good signs for metal detecting too.  This is obviously a site that was populated or visited by different groups for quite a while.

I know I have that exact same bottle somewhere.

---

Underwater archaeologists have returned 52 pre-Hispanic ritual objects to the place where they were found: the bed of one of the two crater lakes of the Nevado de Toluca volcano.

Members of the underwater archaeology team at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) deposited the mostly spherical and conical resin objects on the bed of the Lake of the Moon earlier this month.

The objects, believed to have been made by the Matlatzinca people between the 13th and 15th centuries and placed in the lake by pre-Hispanic priests, are stored in a specially-made container that allows water and sediment to flow over them. As a result, they are protected from deterioration.

The trove of objects is the first in situ underwater archaeological archive in Mexico, according to an INAH statement. The decision to preserve the objects in their place of origin complies with recommendations in the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/archaeological-objects-deposited-in-lake/

---

While removing the floor of the church in Obišovce near Košice, the foundations of the old church were uncovered. After this discovery, the archaeological company Triglav conducted research that took place at the beginning of February 2020, the Regional Monuments Board Košice reported.

During this work, the archaeologists discovered a unique treasure trove of coins, kept in a ceramic mug and covered with a small stone slab, under the original stone floor close to the western entrance of the church.

The hoard consists of more than 500 coins, most of them mining salary plates. The silver coins were wrapped separately, probably in linen clothing. The coins date the treasure to 1702 at the earliest...


Here is the link for more about that.

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22359500/archaeologists-unearth-treasure-in-obisovce.html

---

Even when they don't yet see it, treasure hunter's know there is something good out there to be found.  Treasure hunter's by nature must be optimistic.  Not only do they believe that there is something good out there to be found, they also believe that it can be found, and they can do it.

You might have misinterpreted something I said.  It happens, but I never meant to imply that we should not take the threat seriously or that any individual should not be responsible in every action.  It is just the opposite.

I believe that men are not only created with inalienable rights, but they are also created with  minds capable of finding wonderful solutions.  Humans are creative.  That is how they have survived and thrived.

Yes there is evil - great evil, but eventually, through great vision, effort and hardship, mankind generally wins.  Innovators do not blindly accept authority.

You might call me an optimist.  I am a treasure hunter in some small way, although my seeking is not always limited to objects.  Sometimes my seeking is in the stars, or in the thought-ways of the mind.  I like astronomy, and I like thinking.

Some may think we will fail.  I think there is a better way.  I believe that there are ingenious solutions waiting to be found.  I believe in tirelessly seeking those solutions and, remaining open to alternatives ideas, always believing that we can do it, and knowing that we have not only survived in the past, but also improved.

I encourage striving and seeking the smarter and better way.  Thinking is the ultimate weapon.   We can not simply accept fear, sloth, inertia and blind dependence, but must always seek the better solution - the better way.

I seldom believe that what I am told or where I am is the end of the matter.  I  tend to believe that there is usually another and better way to be found, and I believe that it can be found, but only if we believe and strive.

 ---

The Treasure Coast surf predictions have changed a little.  Now Sunday should see something like a 4 - 6 foot surf and Sunday, a 5 - 7 foot surf.   That isn't quite as much as was predicted a few days ago.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/5/19 Report - Other Kinds of Treasures You Might See On Florida Beaches. The Official Florida Stone and Arrowheads. First Find of Dinosaur Eggs.

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

Arrowhead Found on Treasure Coast Beach.

I recently posted a broken spear point that was found on a Treasure Coast beach and decided to post some more Native American artifact finds.

The above arrowhead was found in a shell pile on a Treasure Coast beach.  I was told that it looked like it was made of agatized coral, which is Florida's state stone.

Agatized Coral specimens are collected and are sometimes sold for nice prices.  Here is a web site where you can see some specimens and learn more about agatized coral.

https://www.spiritrockshop.com/Agatized_Coral.html

The site says, In 1979 the Florida Legislature designated agatized coral as the Florida State Stone.
It is described in the statute as “a chalcedony pseudo morph after coral, appearing as limestone geodes lined with botryoidal agate or quartz crystals and drusy quartz fingers, indigenous to Florida.”

Continuing, Much of Florida’s natural foundation is composed of soft, highly-fossiliferous limestones intermixed with sand and clay. This is known as the Early Miocene Tampa Formation. There are several distinct exposures of this formation which produced silicified corals and mollusks; the best known of these is Ballast Point on Tampa Bay in Hillsborough County. Six Mile Creek on a nearby Tampa Bay exposure of the same formation produced only calcareous specimens.

Wondering if the arrowhead might really be agatized coral, I took a closer look.  Here is what I saw.

Magnified Surface of Arrowhead.

Despite my overwhelming ignorance of geology and such things, it looks like it could be coral to me.

The image was enhanced somewhat to show the markings.

Below is an interesting translucent arrowhead that I found online somewhere.

The one I posted at the top of the post is not translucent.

I've talked to a few tourists that have found arrowheads on Treasure Coast beaches.  I remember, for example, one lady that came up to me near the Disney Resort and showed one she found.

Here are a few more arrowhead finds.

Three Arrowheads.

Arrowheads are not really rare finds on the Treasure Coast beaches, but they seem to be found more by shell collectors than detectorists.

If you know about Native American artifacts, you might be able to provide additional information on the ones I showed today.

I talked about Native American artifacts made of metal in previous posts,  but most of those found on the Treasure Coast are made of stone, shell or other materials, and are not sought or often found by metal detectorists.

As you know, I often recommend keeping your eyes open for other types of items while you metal detect.  There are many different kinds of treasure that you can find on Florida beaches and you never know what you might see.

---

Riley Black, from Smithsonian Magazine, points out that the first naturalist to discover and describe dinosaur eggshells was, in fact, the Roman Catholic priest Jean-Jacques Pouech. Father Pouech was the head of Pamiers Seminary in southern France, but in his free time he explored the geology and paleontology of the Late Cretaceous rock preserved in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.  That was in 1859.

Here is how he described his find.  The most remarkable are eggshell fragments of very great dimensions. At first, I thought that they could be integumentary plates of reptiles, but their constant thickness between two perfectly parallel surfaces, their fibrous structure, normal to the surfaces, and especially their regular curvature, definitely suggest that they are enormous eggshells, at least four times the volume of ostrich eggs.

Here is the link to learn more about that.

https://aleteia.org/2019/06/29/how-a-catholic-priest-was-the-first-to-discover-dinosaur-eggs/\

----

Its amazing how people can see things so differently.  If you are a five year old, you might have seen the Macy's fireworks last night as little more than a bunch of sparkling lights and noise.  If you are an environmentalist, you might have noticed all the smoke and pollution.  If you are a left winger, you might have thought of the waste of such an extravagant display put on by a capitalist organization to increase profits at the expense of the poor against the backdrop of city built on the backs of immigrants. If you are on the other side politically, you might have seen a celebration of the country and opportunity and success. You might have thought about the invention of gun powder and the millions killed, or the evolution of rocketry and going to the moon.  A person could easily write hundreds of pages about the events, history and conflicting views represented in that single fireworks display.  Rather than responding emotionally to the first things that you hear of that catch your attention, if put it all together, add a large dose of facts and sift through it all, you'll end up with a more realistic, pleasing and well-balanced view of the world.  That's my opinion.

I hope you enjoyed Independence Day and gave some thought to it

We should be seeing some more treasure salvage finds before long.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/28/18 Report - Native American Artifacts From Treasure Coast Beaches. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

Artifacts Found On Treasure Coast Beaches.

A few days ago I wrote about what I called a "complete beach hunter."  I explained what I meant by that three-word term and how it means going beyond being just a detectorist.  It includes being aware of and finding all kinds of beach treasures - not just metallic.

Above is an example of one nonmetallic type of beach treasure that can be found on the Treasure Coast beaches.  On the left is a shell celt.  In the middle is an arrowhead made of agatized coral.  And on the right is a rounded shell object, and below that is a gaming piece.  All of those have been examined by experts.

Here is what the myflorida.com site says about agatized coral.

Coral is the outside skeleton of tiny ocean animals called polyps, which live in colonies attached to hard underwater surfaces. When alive, polyps combine their own carbon dioxide with the lime in warm seawater to form a limestone-like hard surface, or coral.

Agatized coral occurs when silica in the ocean water hardens, replacing the limy corals with a form of quartz known as chalcedony. This long process (20-30 million years) results in the formation of a "pseudomorph," meaning that one mineral has replaced another without having lost its original form. In 1979 agatized coral was designated the official state stone.

Agatized coral is found in three main Florida locations: Tampa Bay, the Econfina River, and the Withlacoochee/Suwannee river beds.

(See https://dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-stone/)

So the agatized coral arrowhead or the stone that was used to make it came from somewhere other than the Treasure Coast even though the arrowhead was found on a Treasure Coast beach.

Small Discoidal Artifact.

You'll find a lot of written about discoidals (disc-shaped gaming pieces).  The one shown above is deeply concave on both sides.  It is my uninformed opinion that the one shown above is too small to have been used in the game that is described below.

Many surviving discoidals are both beautiful and durable. Quartz and granite were often used in the making of these popular game stones. Both materials are extremely hard, and they had to be. Discoidals were continuously used in sporting contests over generations, so they had to be durable. A very few discoidals are made from colorful flint. Discoidals are very popular today with collectors because they come in many styles and colorful materials. Many are so finely made that today they are seen as works of sculptural art...

Here is the link for more about discoidals.

http://www.arrowheads.com/index.php/discoidals/632-mississippi-discoidals-ancient-sports-collectibles

I've seen other people find arrowheads on the beach.  One day after some good erosion a lady staying at the Disney Resort in Wabasso approached me and showed me one she found.

The first one I found was on a South Hutchinson Island beach.

These types of artifacts aren't found often but you can find them.  Like other types of treasure they appear once in a while - mostly after a rough surf that has piled up larger shells.

You can develop eye-balling skill just like you can develop metal detecting skills.

---

The big news for today is the big surf predictions.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

This chart shows a five to nine foot surf on Sunday, then several days of big surf.  That could bet interesting.  At some time during all of that, the angles should be right.  There is not telling how long the angles will be right though.  It could be too quick for anything good to come of it.  We'll have to wait and see how things develop.

Kirk has been hard to call.  He was stronger then weaker and then stronger again, and he turned north, then south, then north again.  It appears he has turned towards the north again.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/9/14 Ancient Glitter Covered Tunnel With Artifacts. Beach Gold Prospecting and Mining In Alaska. 10,000 Year Old Arrowhead Found By Ten Year Old.

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



Not Indiana Jones
Source: Telegraph.Co.Uk link below.

An interesting 2000-year-old tunnel below the Temple of the Plumed Serpent is coated with powdered glitters so that when a torch is lit it appears to sparkle like the night sky.  The 340-foot tunnel has yielded thousands of relics.

Here is the link to the video.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/archaeology/11198329/Mexico-powder-glittered-tunnel-reveals-ancient-relics.html

Source: Nevada-outback-gems.com web site linked below.

Maybe you've watched the TV show Berring Sea Gold.  Don't you love to see those guys dredging under the ice?  

Prospectors have worked the beaches around Nome with a variety of types of equipment.  I've never seen anything about anyone nugget shooting with detectors on the beaches there.  I'm sure they so if it works.

Anyhow here is a web site with a lot of great information about gold mining in that area.  Included is information about old creek beds that are now under water off shore and a lot of other good information.

It is worth remembering, that like up there, our beaches were once way out from where they are now.  There is a lot of archaeology to be done under he water.

Here is a link to that jam-packed site about gold mining along the beaches of Nome.

http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospecting_info/nome_gold.htm


A 10 year old boy found a 10,000 year old arrowhead on a New Jersey beach. 

Here is the link for the story and video.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/26/boy-finds-10-000-year-old-artifact-on-beach/20952328/


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comast.net

1/8/14 Report - Cold Front Causes Little Erosion, Upcoming Coin Shows & A Closer Look

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

 One Beach Beginning to Cut Yesterday After High Tide.

I went out to see what the beach was doing yesterday afternoon just after the high tide.  As I suspected there was a little erosion beginning at the same beaches that eroded when the last cold front came through.  We were having a strong North wind.

The erosion wasn't very pronounced when I looked at it and it didn't look like it would do a lot more.   The cut that I saw was less than a foot even though it ran a good distance.

Another beach that I looked at was not cutting.  The sand was mushy at both beaches.

It was cold yesterday out there in the wind.  I didn't see anyone else on the beach.  The wind was blowing the sand.  It looked a little like snow drifting.  It feels a good bit warmer today.  Less wind too.

The wind was so similar to how the previous cold front started, that is why I expected the beaches to erode the same way.  I'm not expecting as much today.

Tomorrow the surf will be a touch higher.  Things are not coming together real good.  I'm not expecting to be able to upgrade my TC beach conditions rating.

Targets were scarce where I was.  Didn't see any shell piles either.

Here is a quick video clip showing the surf and beach yesterday afternoon.

I received the following news by email from SedwickCoins.

Sedwick Coins will be at the FUN show in Orlando beginning Jan. 8 and at the New York International Numismatic Convention beginning January 9.

FUN (Orlando, FL), at the Orange County Convention Center, Hall NB, North Concourse, 9899 International Drive, Orlando, FL. The largest show of the year and a huge draw for treasure material (January 8-12).

NYINC (New York International Numismatic Convention), at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 301 Park Avenue, New York, NY. The most prestigious show of the year for world and ancient coins (January 9-11).

They will also be at the Treasure Coast Coin Club's 48th Coin and Currency Show, January 18-19 at the Vero Beach Community Center, 2266 14th Ave., Vero Beach, FL.

So there will be some good chances to see what they have or show them anything you might want to consign.


Did you look at the video from James F. in the 1/4 post about the competition hunt?    I thought that one little guy was a hoot.


Joan T. thought the white chalky looking stone in the silver charm that I posted recently might be mother of pearl.  I think that might be right.  The surface layer was probably deteriorated.

Close Up View of Arrow Head Surface

In my 7/3/13 report I showed a white arrowhead that was found on the beach.  Somebody mentioned that it might be coral.  I think it might have been William M.  Anyhow since I got some equipment that takes very good closeup photos, I think I've confirmed that it is coral.  Take a look at this close up of part of the surface of the arrowhead.

Looks like coral to me.

I think it is worth taking a really good look at your finds.  You might be surprised to learn what you have.

A jewelers loop is one thing that will come in handy.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net