2/12/20 Report - Nuestra Senora del Juncal Shipwreck. Havering Hoard Questions. Beach Renourishment.

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

Half Reale As Found (left) Compared to Same Reale Partially Cleaned (right)

I received some email thanking me for posting the coin cleaning instructions that I posted on 2/7.

The half reale shown above is only very slightly cleaned.  There are even still some visible pieces of shell attached.  I soaked it in a diluted solution of Muriatic acid an hour or two.  Still you can see some difference.  I could continue to clean it until all of the debris and corrosion is removed, but I don't see any need for that right now.  How shiny you like your cobs is a matter of personal preference.

When I saw the shape of this half, it reminded me of the heart shape that you sometimes see on the very desirable heart-shaped cobs of Potosi, but the little tail is very common on ordinary Mexico half reales.  Sone say it is due to twisting of the shears when the planchet was cut.

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Spain and Mexico will cooperate in a renewed search for a 17th-century treasure galleon, the Nuestra Señora del Juncal.  One goal of the project is to train underwater archaeologists.

The Juncal is thought to have been carrying between 120 and 150 tonnes of precious materials, dwarfing the 14 tonnes of cargo recovered from another Spanish wreck, the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, in 2007...

Here is the link.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/feb/10/spain-and-mexico-renew-search-for-17th-century-treasure-galleon

See also

https://www.nauticalnewstoday.com/nuestra-senora-del-juncal-el-destino-final-de-un-barco-que-no-debia-zarpar/

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Yesterday I posted a bit from an article on the Havering Hoard.  Here are some questions they have.

… There are four theories about why so many objects would have been deliberately broken and meticulously buried.

• Was it a ritualistic offering to the gods?
• Was it to do with it being the late bronze age and start of the iron age, so the objects were no longer so highly valued or wanted?
• Could a powerful person have been trying to control the amount of bronze that was in circulation and being traded?
• Or was the location a kind of bronze age storage site? The total weight of the objects is 45kg, so they could not have been easily carried around.

All of the theories raise their own questions. If they were being stored, for example, why were they not retrieved?...

Interesting to think about.

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Pavo1994 sent his thoughts on beach renourishment.

Here's what I've been posting online about beach renourishment in Miami-Dade county, and writing to politicos, for whatever its worth, which is nothing, I suppose.

I don't think we've had any public debate on the massive amounts of quarry sand being dumped on our shell sand beaches, the environmental damage that may be causing, the cost, who pays and who benefits? I'm referring to the incredibly huge publicly funded and federally managed construction project going on along the entire beachfront of Miami-Dade County. By the end of 2020 the corps will have dumped almost 600,000 tons of sand on Miami Dade County beaches in 2019 and 2020 al one (continuing possibly into 2021). This isn't counting at least 285k tons in 2017-18. The price tag for beach renourishment in Miami Dade county for 2019 and 2020 will be almost $200M. These projects financially benefit primarily the beach front property owners. What is the value of that property in M/D county? I dunno...trillions? I would guess. How much are these extremely wealthy property owners paying to protect their investments and income flows from the encroaching seas? ZERO. They contribute nothing. 100% taxpayer monies. As usual, the middle class and working poor subsidize the billionaire beachfront property owners. Socialism has been our form of government for a few decades now, but its socialism for the rich, and it calls itself capitalism.

But, that's not my main beef. Being exploited financially is one thing, The destruction of the environment I find so much more disturbing. This quarried sand buries and kills every living thing on the shell sand beach and nearshore (only the turtles get protection, and we have no idea how they will really handle it). Does the beach ever really recover? I dunno.If once a population of critters along the beach is exterminated, does it come back? Has anyone researched what being buried under 10' of quarried sand...foreign to the living creatures in the local shell sand.... does to a living beach in South Florida? I doubt the folks dumping the sand have, and if they have, they haven't broadcast what they found out. I would guess the folks who want that sand protecting their hotels and luxury condos are not real interested in the ecology of the beach or nearshore ocean. If reefs get buried or silted, "What me worry?" As long as my condo appreciates in value. Have you noticed the water turns white on Miami Beach now due to the silt in the quarry sand? Scoop up sand and there are no worms, no sand fleas, no crabs, no nothing. Scan the water; there are no fish. The only seabirds feeding are a few garbage scavenging gulls. The Peeps who chase the waves up and down...not feeding any longer in the renourished beaches. 

Here are a couple reference links that go with that.

https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/1988847/corps-announces-contract-award-and-public-meeting-for-miami-beach-erosional-hot/

https://www.theguardian.com/.../surfside-florida-beaches...

Make your thoughts and opinions on the subject known.  You are funding the renourishment projects whether you like it or not.

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We are having high tides now.  The surf will increase Saturday up to around 4 - 6 feet.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

2/8/20 Report - Beach Renourishment Projects and Conditions. Spanish Colonial Finger Rings and Other Subjects.

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

Rio Mar Still Closed
Photo by DJ

Beaches are being renourished around the Treasure Coast.  Rio Mar is still closed.

Ugly Sand at Vero South Beach
Photo by DJ

DJ sent in the following report.

Went to a few beaches starting with Riomar - STILL dumping sand. SO I went to South Beach and took that picture looking south toward Sandy Point. Decided to go north to Turtle Trail. There were 7 detectorists there. One told me they thought last nights’ front might have helped. I ran into Terry Shannon there as well, always a great guy! Had very good things to say about your work, results and dedication. Only down side today was a jerk that refused to fill his holes, I have seen this guy twice now over the last two months. Did not like my asking him to be a responsible detectorist. People like this guy will ruin what little freedom we all have left to detect on a public beach. As I was leaving, ran into three more detectorists arriving. 

Seagrape looked the same as Turtle; lower beach front, lots of small shells, so I did not take a picture. Headed up to Treasure Shores. Passed Golden Sands which is still closed for more sand dumping.  Three detectorists at Treasure Shores, I walked north towards the big curve. Beach front was lower and lots of small shells kicked up from the past days southerly winds. Mostly aluminum but plenty of sneaky targets, solid signals in two directions but the result was an aluminum can end (circular) or the top ring. 

Thanks DJ.

Anyone know where the sand is coming from?  I noticed a lot of trucks going back and forth from out west.

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There is a lot of discussion about the question of silver rings on the 1715 wrecks.  Just a couple of days ago I posted a link to an article about one beach find that was "certified" by one company to be 1715 Fleet.

The subject of silver rings and their apparent absence on 1715 Fleet wrecks has been mentioned in this blog several times in the past.  Cathleen Deagan, in her book, Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500 - 1800, vol. 2: Portable Personal Possessions, published in 2002,  presents on page 126 an illustration showing several  1715 Fleet rings.  One of those rings is described as a silver Claddagh ring.  Claddagh rings have remained virtually unchanged in design for centuries.  If that illustration is correct, the ring I posted the other day may be the first certified silver 1715 Fleet ring, but it is not the first 1715 Fleet silver ring recovered.  Unfortunately Deagan does not give other details on where the ring was found.  Perhaps one of you salvage people can tell us.

We all know about the relatively common copper-alloy rings and gold rings, but you might be surprised to know that many rings made of other substances were brought to the New World but are very scarce among the salvage records.  Shipping records show (Deagan, 2002, p. 116 and 117) that among the many finger rings shipped to the New World between 1511 and 1613, many were made of glass, some of jet, and some of bufano wood.  Silver wasn't specifically mentioned, but examples have been recovered from Spanish colonial archaeological sites.   Shipping records presented in Deagan's book document several thousand glass rings shipped to the New World in 1590 and thousands more in 1592.  You can understand why those might not survive the ocean for hundreds of years.

I'll also point out the Deagan example ( p. 83) of a 17th century silver "sacred heart" finger ring from Santa Catalina de Guale (Georgia), so we know they were present on Spanish colonial sites but perhaps not common.

Well-informed readers and salvage divers provided some welcome comments on the subject.  A couple mentioned that silver rings might not survive very well in the ocean, and a couple also were surprised that the ring was certified.


Below are a few comments from Jammin Jack.

If any were found, most likely from an overlapping wreck from a later period. 

Certifying the ring was surprising to me, but I am sure Steve had reliable sources.

Also, most research material may include sites from the Gulf, Atlantic, Caribbean, etc. This can cause very controversial arguments, but silver rings on wrecks have always been rare - ANYWHERE! ...

Jammin Jack also told of an experience he had with electrolysis.

I found a (ear)ring back when Noah Wells was leaving the lab. Bill Moore took over the process. We all thought possibly silver with gold filigree and hoping 18th century. I wished I left it alone. After cleaning, it was silver, and very fragile. It was determined late 1800s, and had a small value. I still have the ring as a reminder that sometimes cleaning can ruin the historical value. The below picture is the day I found it. If I showed what it looks like now...well, we learn from our mistakes. 

Silver Earring Find Before Cleaning.

Photo by JaminJack

My first attempt at electrolysis also taught me a lesson. I ruined a buffalo nickel. Thankfully it wasn't any big deal, but I did learn that if I used electrolysis, the process should be carefully monitored, which is something I do with any cleaning method these days. I think it is one part caution and one part curiosity. I like to make sure nothing bad is happening and I'm too curious to wait long to find out how it is going.

When monitoring progress on any cleaning I'm doing, I now like to view the object under magnification.  I've recently learned that you can think an item is clean when there is still some encrustation, sand or shells attached.  I just feel like I get a better look at what is going on when I use magnification.

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The surf will begin to increase tomorrow, but only reach 3 -5 feet Monday, and then decrease again after that.

The tides are getting bigger.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

4/4/19 Report - Thoughts and Theories On The Gold Mystery Object. Beach Reports. More Beach Renourishment.

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

Gold Spoon
Picture submitted by Joe D.

I received several emails concerning Terry's recent gold find.  All were excellent, and the nearly unanimous consensus is that it is a Native American decorative item (one person used the specific word gorget) made from shipwreck or Spanish gold.  Coins were mentioned most.

The bowl of the spoon in the picture above bears a remarkable resemblance to Terry's holed gold item.  There is the possibility that the gold mystery item was not made from a coin, but maybe something else, like a bar, spoon, religious item, nuggets or whatever. 

It wouldn't take much to convert the bowl of the spoon.  Even if you don't accept the idea that the item was made from a similar spoon, the spoon does suggest the idea of other possible sources.

Dan B. suggested weighing the object to see if it's weight corresponded to that of an escudo.  Terry's object weighs 4.1 grams, which is less than the weight of a 2-escudo.  A piece of the item is missing, but I don't think that is enough, but maybe it is.   Investigating the weight was great idea, but it turned out to be inconclusive in this case.

Joe D. also mentioned that the shape of the holed item looked very much like a fishing spoon and the possibility that it might have had a more practical use.

A couple people were interested in the smaller item that looked something like a roofing nail in the photo. 

I appreciate all of the ideas submitted, and found each and every one worthwhile.  It is important to be open to alternative explanations.  Some will be eliminated, but you can benefit from getting all the ideas you can and thinking it through. 

What we know now is that the gold item was found on the same stretch of beach as an old sounding lead, lead sheathing, and another small piece.  As found, the items might be taken to suggest the presence of a nearby wreck.  If I generalize from what I've read from people, the consensus seems to be that a piece of gold (possibly a coin) was discovered by a native (quite possibly Ais, as was the opinion of one archeologist), which was hammered into an pendant, and then subsequently lost in the same area.

Now we can start to think it through.  How likely does that seem, and are there other reasonable scenarios?  For example, would it seem more likely that found or salvaged gold would be carried away before being reworked and lost?  

Alternatively, if an item reworked by the local natives was indeed lost at the same site where the gold was found, how might that happen?  I'm sure you can imagine some reasonable scenarios?

Maybe the natives returned to the wreck site on multiple occasions to see what they could find..  Maybe they even had a camp there.  That idea provides a possible direction for future research.  If they returned to the site often or if they had a camp at the site, then you might expect to find more evidence of their presence - perhaps shards in the nearby dunes.

Of course there are a variety of other possibilities.  Maybe the item was manufactured by someone other than local natives, even though that seems to be the favorite theory.  Maybe it came from South America or wherever the hypothesized ship came from. Or maybe the native was on the wrecked ship.  Just a little brainstorming.  Or maybe the gold in the item was given as payment for salvage work.  That might seem like too much unless it was given to a leader for providing a crew of salvage divers.  

Terry and others mentioned that we may never be able to say much more about the item, but if you think it through, develop some theories and hypotheses, you might eventually be able to answer some of the remaining questions.  And in if you are like me, you will enjoy the problem-solving process and learn a lot as you work through it..

The find is great, but it is the story that makes it meaningful, and the process that makes it fun. 

Before closing, I want to report one more thing people said to me in the emails about the mystery item.  They said Terry is a very fine fellow.

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Joe D. reported that both Jupiter and Hobe Sound beaches are being renourished, as shown below.

Hobe Sound
Photo by Joe D.

Jupiter Inlet
Photo submitted by Joe D.

Another frequent contributor sent in the following report last night.

Riomar, Turtle Trail and Seagrape today looked to me like a lot of the sand that left recently is back. Some old broken posts that were 8 inches out of the sand are now covered...

Riomar had a lot of seaweed and the old cuts were knocked down, there were  few short cuts at the bend but were smooth and mushy in front. Targets were few and mainly just can slaw.

Turtle trail, lots of new seaweed and no cuts, scallops or other features. Aluminum high on the beach and a few iron chips low on the beach.

Seagrape was the same to the north but did not go south of the crossover.

Did not take pictures today as it was just sand and seaweed.

Thanks to everybody for the ideas and reports submitted.  Much appreciated.

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Thanks also to those who expressed appreciation for this blog.   It is encouraging to me.

The Treasure Coast surf will be only about two to three feet for a few days.

Happy hunting
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/20/19 Report - Current Beach Renourishment on Treasure Coast. Encrusted Object for ID. Southeast Winds.

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

McLarty Museum Observation Deck Looking South.

Photo by Dale J.

Thanks Dale!

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I'm ashamed.  I often mention how difficult it is to identify an item from a photo, and then I go and post two sides of an object without any indication of depth or the contour.  That is what I did yesterday, so I hope to correct the situation today with some additional views of the object I showed yesterday.  

Edge

Angled View

The metal has dissolved and the encrustation appears hollow.  The diameter of the round part is about seven inches and the edge or rim is barely over an inch.  One can assume that the object was somewhat smaller than the encrustation.

As you go from the outside of the round area towards the middle, it first become more thin and then bulges out in the middle.

Angled View of Other Side

And below are the same photos that were shown larger yesterday.

Thanks to those of you who already gave me your opinions without really having a fair shot at it.  I hope the new photos help.  I'm still looking for any and all ideas.

I have one idea, but I'd like to hear what others have to say first.

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Last night I ran across a metal detecting TV show that was produced in 2013.  I think I might have watched it before, but I barely remembered any of it.  The name is Dig Wars and it was on the Destinations network.

Three or four pairs of  detectorist formed teams and hunted various historic locations.  At the end of the day, they had finds appraised to see which pair of detectorists had the highest total.  I think I remember seeing it years ago.  They seemed to find old and interesting items going back centuries most of the places they hunted, even though they only hunted each site one day and didn't turn the site upside down with heavy equipment -  just detectors and some small holes that were filled, or course.

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We have a fairly strong southeast wind today.  I wouldn't be surprised if some spot opens up.  There is one in particular that might be expected to improve under these conditions.

The surf should be a little higher tonight and we are having some good high tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/12/18 Report - Beach Conditions and Predictions as Florence Nears Landfall. Spanish Coin Find.

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

Do you recognize this silver dollar sized coin?  I found it back not long after I just began metal detecting.  I think you can see why I thought it might be something good.

Besides being new to metal detecting, we didn't have all the helpful internet resources, web site and forums to help with the research, so it was quite a while before I learned much about it.

As a new detectorist three or four decades ago, I thought I might have found something noteworthy when I dug it up.

These aren't bad pictures.  The coin is well worn.

It turns out it does have some silver content, but it isn't very old.  It is a 1957 Mexico one-peso coin.

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John Brooks Beach This Morning About 8 AM.

I had a few minutes to take a quick look at the beach this morning. As you can see above, the waves were hitting straight on and, there was no erosion at John Brooks at that time. There were a few more shells at the high tide line.

Turtle Nest Marker Near Center of Photo.

I noticed the turtle nest and was reminded of the environmental damage done by beach renourishment.  There is NO chance that this turtle nest will productive.  It won't be long before it washes away.  

I'm glad I'm not preparing for a hurricane to hit this morning.

I was well out in front of the media on Florence.  A week ago I talked about it heading toward the Carolina's and hanging around a while.  The predictions haven't changed much on this one.

MagicSeaWeed shows the surf starting to increase later today.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Florence.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

There is one change.  It now looks like Florence will bend south a little.

Isaac.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

It looks like Isaac is going to stay south of us.

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We'll see what happens later today.  So far it is quiet on the Treasure Coast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/6/18 Report - Beach Renourishment: The Danger and Problems. Plimsoll Marks. Ring Stretcher.

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

The live bidding starts on May 15, 10 AM

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Here is part of an interesting article sent to me by Will B.

“We are not saying nourished beaches are more dangerous but there does seem to be some link between beach projects and increased risks, so we need to study this further,” said Brian Haus, a professor of ocean science at the University of Miami, and one of the authors.

At stake: Billions of dollars in beach-buffing funds, not to mention the tourist dollars attracted to Florida’s golden coast....

The authors’ research shows that, in Ocean City, Md., for example, numbers from the U.S. Lifesaving Association show the number of serious medical accidents on the beach increased three times over between the summers of 2006 and 2007, after a project widened the beach there.

Closer to home, data collected by the Brevard County Ocean Rescue shows the number of rip-current and preventative rescues increased about by about a quarter in the two years after a beach widening project, compared with the number of those rescues during the two years before.

I don't like the beach renourishment projects, which seem to be the rage these days.  Heaven forbid that a tourist see a natural beach.  I know it is too late for that in many cases, with hotels, sea walls, groins etc.

The money spent on these projects has to be loved by who increase their power and influence and throw big bundles of tax payer money around to their friends or whoever they choose, but the there are a lot of things to dislike about beach renourishment, especially at locations where it is done every year or more frequently.

One of the things I dislike most is the ugliness, noise and long period of time when beach access is restricted.   People can't get to the beach for all the barriers, huge rusty pipes and noisy tractors.   I can't imagine that people are attracted to a beach like that, or go away with a favorable impression. And it isn't for just a day or two, it takes weeks or months in many cases.  And for some strange reason, there are times they do it at the peak of tourist season or the when people most want to be there.

Another thing I don't like about it is how it erodes so quickly after the project.  It doesn't last.  Large steep drops are often created that make it difficult for people to get to the water.  Turtles lay their eggs in the renourishment sand and then the eggs get washed out.   

The quality of sand is important.  Of the projects conducted at Fort Pierce Jetty South in recent years, one dumped tons of garbage on the beach.  It looked more like a landfill.  One dumped large stones, which could easily turn an ankle.  And one dumped fine sand that destroyed visibility in the nearby water and undoubtedly also affected fish, vegetation and other wildlife.

Concerning the dangers created, beyond those I've already mentioned, the unnatural placement of sand deflects wave energy and creates potentially dangerous currents.  That is one reason why the renourishment sand won't stay put.  The more sand that is dumped where it won't stay, the quicker it will be removed by nature.

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-reg-beach-erosion-complications-20180504-story.html

Thanks for the link Will.

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Yesterday  I mentioned how some authors publish whatever they can glean from other sources.  That has always been done, but the more honest authors make an effort to credit the sources of their ideas.  Metal detecting books are one thing, but it seems even academics are doing the same thing these days.

I heard the author of Living in a Mindful Universe doing a radio interview Saturday morning.  He talked about a filter theory of mind as if it was a new theory that he produced.  I immediately recognized the theory as identical to one proposed by William James and published in 1898 in a book entitled Human Immortality.  Ideally William James should have been credited as the source of the theory.  Maybe he wasn't aware of James' theory, but any serious researcher should have been, and I have to believe he was.  I can overlook the omission in a radio interview where you don't have much time and can't say everything you want to or need to, but not in the published book.

I know people don't care.  They'll rip off other people's intellectual property or do whatever they can to promote themselves or find a little fame.

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I once found what I believed to be a part of a lead bow depth-marker on the Treasure Coast.  I'm not sure that is what it is though.

Sebastian Steve offered these remarks on plimsoll marks.

The PLIMSOLL MARKS... are often written in Roman Numerals on the bow of a ship to show the "load line." These Plimsoll Marks are required by law. I have seen them on shipwreck bows underwater dating from the 1880s. They were often carved into the stem of the ship and then the indentations painted with white lead paint that evidently was quite durable!

Steve also mentioned how he used a ring stretcher/sizer. If you didn't know you could stretch or size some rings, look it up. Seems like it could be handy.

Thanks Steve.

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The tides are pretty flat now, and we won't see a surf higher than three feet on the Treasure Coast next week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/5/18 Report - What The Beaches Are Doing. Comments On Getting Coins Graded.

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

Blind Creek Beach Saturday Morning

There is a bit of a dip up to the north.  Not too long ago this beach was eroded way back to the dunes.

Same Photo As Above.

Here is the same photo, but the orange line shows where it was eroded to not too long ago.  The blue line shows a bit of a dip that remained as of Saturday morning.  A lot of sand has accumulated since it was eroded back to the dunes (orange line).

Walton Rocks Beach Saturday Morning.

Walton Rocks looked very much like Blind Creek.  Notice all the sea weed on both.

Frederick Douglas Beach Saturday Morning.

Frederick Douglas, as you might expect, looked very similar to John Brooks.

Surf At Frederick Douglas Beach Saturday Morning.

There were the remains of some small old cuts at Frederick Douglas and John Brooks, but they were nothing exciting.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Saturday Morning.

The biggest fresh cuts that I saw this morning were at Fort Pierce South Jetty. The one above was near two feet high.

Sand Dredge Boat About To Enter Fort Pierce Inlet.

The sand renourishment project continues at Fort Pierce South Jetty beach.  

Overall, I didn't see anything very exciting.  I detected a few minutes at Fort Pierce South Jetty and picked up a deep coin line.

By the way, I've noticed that the term "coin line" is being used all the time now.  Can anyone tell me where that term appeared in a publication prior to 2008?  I don't think you'll find it before that.

The people that write the books these days read everything else they can find and then use it as their own without giving any kind of credit.

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I watched a little of Bigfoot: The New Evidence, a new TV series, but gave up on it pretty quickly.  Its too much like Curse of Oak Island but I think Bigfoot might be found first. 

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I asked about coin grading the other day and got this excellent email from Bill K.


Ive had some of my personal coins graded and now use PCGS exclusively. When grading services first got started it was primarily ANACS............but........PCGS now dominates the arena. Turn around time is reasonable and cost for high grade coins is almost a must. I learned this lesson many years ago when I went to a local coin shop and purchased a $10.00 Indian gold coin the dealer insisted was "uncirculated". But, when I got it back from the grading service it was graded MS 55. This was a lot less valuable that what I had paid for an uncirculated coin (MS 60 is considered uncirculated)

One nice thing is that a PCGS MS 65 listed for sale that is "slabbed" (in the plastic sealed case) is pretty much an MS 65 wherever you go. At that point it may get down to eye appeal.........for example a MS 65 1916 D Mercury dime may be a bright silver but some may be "toned" (have a blue on it) My good friend only collects toned coins where I would only get bright coins even though both would grade MS 65

Some people have returned PCGS coins back to PCGS and had them re certified and you will see the little green CACsticker affixed.

Bill

Thanks Bill!

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I'm not expecting any big changes in beach conditions in the next few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/2/17 Report - Mystery Object Help Needed. Beach Closings. Small Surf. Florida Fireball Meteorites.

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

Metal Tubular Case Found

This is a mystery object that I found.  The embossing provides plenty of information so I should eventually be able to figure out what it is.

The top is corroded and I don't want to try to open it yet.  I am not sure if there is something in it or not.  There is something in it, but it might just be sand.  I assume that if there is any of significance in the case, it would be a lens - perhaps a microscope lens or telescope lens, or maybe a lens for a gun sight.  I have no idea about that yet and am not sure that I want to chance damaging the case to find out what, if anything, is in it.  I probably will at some point.  The curiosity will get the best of me or I'll be able to open the case without damaging it.

The Bausch and Lomb Company began in 1853.  So far I haven't found out much more than that and the following.

In the 1900’s, Bausch + Lomb continued to demonstrate its place at the forefront of technological innovation for optical products. Bausch + Lomb produced the first optical quality glass made in America, developed ground-breaking sunglasses for the military in World War I, and created the lenses used on the cameras that took the first satellite pictures of the moon.

Below is another view of the same case.

I'd love to hear any ideas on this object, including possible age or contents.

Thanks for your ideas.

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Bathtub Beach will be closed for two weeks, beginning may 1.  Beach renourishment has begun.

Does anyone know where the new sand is coming from?  It is always good to know that.


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Really, really old treasures.

We often talk about old coins and things, but there are things that are so old that they make those things look like newborns.

One is fossils, which can be millions of years old.  They can be found on the Treasure Coast.  I've shown some of those before.  But there are other really old things that can be found in Florida, although less often.

Yes Martha, Florida does have meteorites.  SuperRick from Nevada was hunting for treasure coins on the Treasure Coast recently.  He normally hunts nuggets and meteorites, but does that mostly in Nevada.

For a variety of reasons, Florida isn't a good place to find meteorites, but it does happen.

Source: http://www.space.com/32046-florida-fireball-meteorite-hunt-success.html

Those happy guys found meteorites from a fireball, which is even more rare.

Meteorite hunters in Florida have found six space rocks associated with a rare daytime fireball that streaked through the Sunshine State's skies on Jan. 24.  

The newfound meteorite assemblage was the sixth recorded from Florida, and the first one linked to a fireball observed by witnesses, experts said...

That was back in January of 2016.

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://www.space.com/32046-florida-fireball-meteorite-hunt-success.html

Meteorites can sell for a nice price.  There are many kinds.  Some can be found with a metal detector, others can't.

I'll have more on that sometime.

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Looks like the surf will be only one or two feet for the next couple of weeks.  I think some of the salvage crews might get out.  I think at least one exploratory lease will be getting a look.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net