5/18/19 Report - Exciting Treasure Found in Jensen Backyard. Beautiful Artifacts of the Atomic Age. Alchemy of Treasure Hunting.

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

Cannon Ball and Oyster Shells Found In A Backyard On A Jensen Ridge.
Find and photo by K. K.

I received the following email yesterday, along with some photos. Happy Friday, a few weeks ago we were doing some renovations to our backyard in Jensen beach and under neath an old line of bushes we found all kinds of fun treasures from the Ais Indians, which isn’t uncommon.... We routinely find mounds of discarded oysters, small pottery shards and all kinds of later years fun types of glasses. Well this day we came across a large oyster bed and a second section where they had been shaped into different shapes and what looked like a huge heavy ball of some sort.  We called around and finally a lady from the local museum at Gilbert’s House of refuge came over and said it in fact looked like a very old maybe 16th century Spanish iron cannon ball to her and it looks like we may have a bit of a mound in our backyard a place where the Ais Indian, would have a outpost for fishing and hunting trips and later on a place to be on the look out for the British or Spanish and their Indian collaborators who routinely traveled the area... I guess it’s still crazy a 450 year old cannonball was in my yard unsound until now! (My family has been in this house since 1979) I attached some pics for you to take a look at.

Exciting finds!  Thanks for sharing K. K.

While our beaches have been heavily detected, most of the inland areas have not.  There is a lot to find out there.

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Beautiful Beach Artifacts From a Horrendous Event.

Source: See Atlasobscura.com link below.

Wannier had been studying beach debris from different areas in order to compare the health of different marine ecosystems, when some particles from the Motoujina Peninsula struck him as unusual. Next to particles generated by plants or animals, these were “aerodynamic, glassy, rounded”—they reminded him of what he had seen in sediment samples from the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary, the geological marker of the mass extinction that erased the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago. 

But these particles from the Motoujina Peninsula were also notably different in several ways from the K-Pg particles: Some were rubbery, others had multi-layered glass shells. The variety reflected the wide range of materials present in the particles, identified under electron microscope at the University of California, Berkeley. X-ray experiments were also conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which proved useful in analyzing the formation of the debris.* The range of materials is just one indication that the particles formed as a result of the Hiroshima bombing. An urban center presents a wider variety of materials—such as concrete, marble, stainless steel, and rubber—than a desert test site like Trinity, in New Mexico, where the first-ever nuclear explosion was tested. The resulting particles from that test, called trinitites, are notably less diverse in their composition than what Wannier and his colleagues are now calling “Hiroshimaites.” The presence of anorthite and mullite crystals in the particles, meanwhile, suggested that they had formed in temperatures hotter than 3,300 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1,800 degrees Celsius...
Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/found-glass-fallout-from-hiroshima


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I lost interest in the Discovery Channel's Gold Rush TV show years ago, however I caught a few episodes of Gold Rush: Parker's Trail last night and was glad I did.

Unlike the History Channel's three "Curse" treasure shows, the Parker's Trail episodes, filmed in New Guinea, illuminated the human condition.

The alchemy of treasure hunting is the transformation and purification of the hunter.  That was made clear as Parker and his crew shared blood, sweat and tears with the native populations and were refined in the process.  Meaningful and worthwhile TV!

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The tides are big now, but the surf remains around two-feet.  The wind is mostly from the south.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/4/19 Report - 15th Century Anchor Found. Copper Bracelet. Vintage Bottles. Backyard Gold Mine. This Is The Year.

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

Source: Mexico News Daily (See link below.)

A search for Cortés’ ships turned up a 15th-century anchor off Veracruz.  Here is an excerpt from the Mexico News Daily article.

This week, that project, headed by archaeologist Roberto Junco Sánchez and anthropologist Chris Horrell, made its first significant find — an anchor dating back to the 15th century with wood still attached to it, identified as being a type of oak found only in northern Spain...

Preliminary analyses of the wood have been used to date it, narrowing it down to two periods of time, either from 1417 to 1492 or from 1450 to 1530.

The data is still not enough to link the anchor to one of Cortés’ ships, explained Junco, or with the ships of other Spanish explorers...

Here is the link.

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/search-for-cortes-ships-turns-up-anchor/

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Concerning Terry's copper bracelet, Troy T. sent the following thoughts.

I read somewhere that Florida natives liked to use copper acquired from Europeans either through trade or from shipwrecks. They would re-work it into ornamentation and jewelry. I wish I had a good source to point towards but I don't remember exactly where I read it. I've made similar things before out of copper and brass wire.  The markings are crudely punched and maybe also etched and could have been done with pretty simple tools so it could have easily been made by a native with stone or shell tools. Of course it just as easily could have been made by a bored sailor.

I added Troy's message to yesterday's post, but it was late and you might have missed it so I posted it again.

I seems to be the consensus that the workmanship on the design is somewhat crude or primitive.

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Once again I was painfully reminded of the need for organizing finds and collectibles.  Just yesterday I went to get out my strap flasks and couldn't find them.  I knew where they were for a long time, but evidently I moved them at some point.  I'm sure I'll find them, but it drives me crazy when I thought I knew where they were but can't find them.

Categorize, label, and store your finds in an organized fashion.  Store them carefully too.  It is disgusting when an antique item that has survived years or centuries gets broken.

Brian B. sent me a link to a video about bottles.  That is what got me started on the hunt for my strap flasks.

I think you'll also enjoy the video.  It talks about the values of some vintage bottles that aren't extremely rare or difficult to find.  They are the kind of thing you might have found at one time or another.

Here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U514TaZCPyA   

I've found a lot of the bottles shown in the video - including the flasks.  Many of the ones shown in the video are vintage soda bottles worth five or six dollars.

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A homeowner was shocked when he found a gold mine in his backyard after buying a new house. 

Anthony Doolin purchased the Brisbane property three years ago but was not aware of the gold mine until after he explored the 16.5 hectares of land...

Here is the link.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/australia/homebuyer-literally-strikes-gold-after-he-finds-a-mine-in-the-backyard-of-his-new-house-in-brisbane/ar-AAzyU3N?li=AAgfYrC

Now that sounds like a lot of fun.  I'd love to have a gold mine in my back yard, whether it was worked out or not.

But in a way, I guess I almost do.

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How do you remember the important times in your life?  Some events are big and they become markers in your life.  You can quickly say something like, "That is the year I started high school," or, "That was the year I got married," or, "That was the year our first child was born or graduated from college."

There are years like that which are remembered as milestones.  You might find that there are other years that are difficult to link to a specific memorable event.  As I thought about it, it seemed for some reason that many of those years occurred later in life.  If they are remembered at all, they are too often remembered something like, "That was the year dad died."  I don't think a person ever expects that until well after it happens and they look back over the years.  I didn't realize it until I just thought about it.

That might not seem very encouraging, but there is a fix.  No matter if you are young or old, it is up to you to make your own memorable events.  Today is the day, but this is also the year.   Find a way to do something you will remember with a smile for the rest of your life. 

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It looks like nothing but a small surf for the next five to seven days.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/14/18 Report - Safe Containing Valuables Dug Up In Back Yard. Photographic History of the U. S. Navy. Lost Pin-pointer and Scoop.

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

Source: See RD.com link below.

In the past few months, I reported on a couple of caches found in Florida.  You can still find caches.  I reported on a couple just yesterday. Here is another.

The following excerpts are from article about a stolen safe containing valuables from a robbery that was found in a yard, dug up and returned to the owners.

When trees in their yard were damaged by wildlife they got a better view. "It [the box] was really prominent when the deer ate away all the foliage," Matthew said.

After digging it up they realized it was a rusty old safe. Inside they found wet money, and a lot of jewelry in plastic bags.

"Hundreds, jewelry, diamonds, engagement ring. Dozens of rings, gold with jade. It was stunning," said Matthew.

There was also a piece of paper with an address -- one of their neighbors.

"First, I knocked on the door and I asked them if they were ever robbed and they said they were," Matthew said.

According to the New York Police Department, a burglary was reported at their neighbors' home the day after Christmas in 2011. The only thing taken was the safe. It had a large amount of cash, jewelry and other items inside: a total of $52,000 worth of property, police said...

And here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.rd.com/true-stories/haunted-bodies-of-water/

As I've said before, not all caches are found in treasure chests.  In fact few are, but this one was found in a safe.

I also commented before that you don't usually need a two-box detector some type of super metal detector to find a cache.  This safe was sticking out of the ground.  It wasn't ten feet deep.

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I want to recommend a web site today: navsource.org.  NavSource provide a photographic history of the U. S. Navy.  It is run by volunteers who do a fantastic job.

You can find pictures of many of the 20,000 registered U. S. Navy ships.  I contributed a few photographs, including the one below.

You might have a few of your own that you want to contribute.  Maybe you got some from your father or grandfather.

Life on the YMS 250 Near Lavorno Italy During WW II.

The YMS 250 shown above was a wood-hulled minesweeper that crossed both the Atlantic and Pacific.  Minesweepers cleared the way for the larger ships.

At the top of the above photo, you see a sunken Italian destroyer.  Also notice the dog sleeping at the base of the three-inch gun

You'll find additional information, including how to submit photos, on the web site.

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A Garrett Carrot pin-pointer and handmade scoop was left in the sand at the base of the Wabasso boardwalk recently.  Dan B. would like it back if anyone found it or knows of its whereabouts.  Email DanielB0330@gmail.com.

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The disturbance that has been hanging around in the middle of the Atlantic and bringing us southeast winds isn't going anywhere fast.  It has increased in strength a little and drifted farther south.

On the Treasure Coast we still have a calm surf, and we're still having some nice low tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net