6/6/20 Report - Bent, Flattened, Squashed Finds. Another Digging Mistsake. Cristobal Now in Gulf.

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

Bent Coins.

There are always those unanswerable questions.  Maybe they aren't really unanswerable, but they seem that way at the time.

I've long wondered about the many bent coins I've found.   I probably found 50 or so, and most of them were found in South Florida, but that is where I found the largest number of modern coins.  The vast majority were found in the shallow water or low tide zone near the water line.  A lot of them came from areas where I found a lot of coral rocks packed together, which led me to think they might get caught in the rocks and bent that way.  Another possibility that I considered is getting bent in beach cleaning machines, but some of them come from areas where I've never seen beach cleaning machines.

I've found most denominations bent like that, some more bent than others, but looking at the dime above, for example, it would seem to take a lot of force and although people could do it, it wouldn't be easy.

I don't know why someone would bend a coin like that, but there was a superstition that a bent coin could change one's luck.  Another tradition is that carrying a bent coin in a purse would keep the purse full.  And then there were "witching coins" and love tokens.  So I guess there are several possibilities.  Many of the bent coins were found in areas where Santeria and other religious items were occasionally found.

But it isn't only coins that get bent.  On the Treasure Coast I've found other items that are bent, folded or squashed.  For example this United States Air Force ring was squashed.

Squashed Air Force Ring

It is not silver or gold - just some fairly soft metal.

I left it the way I found it for a long time but eventually got curious enough that I tried to open it to see if there were any marks inside, and it broke.  I found no marks due to the heavy crust and corrosion.

Broken Piece of Ring.

It looks like it was plated at one time.  The metal was brittle.

I can't remember if I've found bent coins on the Treasure Coast, but if I have, it wasn't as many as I found down south.  Other bent and folded metals are found on the Treasure Coast in good numbers though.  This year I've found folded pieces of lead and other metals, but they are much easier to bend than coins.

Folded and Bent Dug Metals.

I still don't have my answers.  I don't know how coins get so dramatically bent, and don't know if it is done by man, nature or both.

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Bill P had an example of the type of mistake I described yesterday.  Here is his.

I remember one (of many)mistakes that occurred while beach hunting. A couple asked me to search for a diamond bracelet they had just lost. I found it quickly but in my haste, cut it in half with my shovel, oops. Needless to say they weren't thrilled about me even though that could have been repaired easily by a jeweler. 

Thanks Bill.

That made me think of chains, which can be difficult enough to get in your scoop, but you can also dig into them.

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Cristobal sat over land for a few days but is now out in the Gulf and headed towards Louisiana.  Here is what the NHC is saying.

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We'll have a one or two foot surf for the next few days.  Now we're having some nice big tides.

Remembering D-Day,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/7/19 Report - Bent Coin Mystery. Christmas Season, Epiphany and New Year Resolutions. Fossil Teeth From Treasure Coast. Sailor's Hornpipe Tune.

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

Bent Coins.

I've found a lot of bent coins over the years like the ones shown above.  I never figured out how that happened.  There do not appear to be any obvious marks of tools or anything on them.  One possibility that occurred to me is that they get caught in the rocks in the surf.  A lot of the bent coins like this that I've found were in areas where there were a lot of coral rocks at the waters edge.  I really don't know how this happens.  It obviously takes a good bit of force.

What do you think?  How do these coins get bent?   I'd like to hear what you think.

Here is another picture of the same coins.

Same Coins From Another Angle.

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I've been involved with a lot of holiday activities lately.  About the only thing I don't like about Christmas is it coming to an end.  For some people it ends on Dec. 26.  For others it ends at New Year.  And for others it ends with Epiphany, which is the 12th day of Christmas, which was yesterday (Jan. 6).  I choose Epiphany.

Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men.  Being the latest of the three endings that I mentioned, I'll take that as my ending.  The star having done its job of guiding the wise men, it also seems like a good time to take down the Christmas lights.

(See https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/want-to-know-the-history-behind-todays-feast-of-the-epiphany-75968\)

One thing some people do for the new year is make resolutions.  I'm a little late on this one.  I heard somewhere that studies show that if you keep a New Years resolution for a couple of weeks, it has a good chance of taking hold.  It would seem that most fail before then.  

A resolution isn't a wish or a dream.  You can wish to find a million dollars, but that doesn't make it any more likely.

Resolutions can be good.  If you let Christmas overshadow New Years, like I did, and skipped making any resolutions, it still isn't too late.

Think about what you want to accomplish in 2019.  Set reasonable goals.  That doesn't mean they have to be easy.  Then think about what you would have to do to accomplish those goals.  Be detailed here.  Make a plan that you can start to implement.  And make a schedule and keep track of progress.

Montioring progress is very helpful.  That will give you feedback and adjust plans accordingly.

Those are my suggestions.  Vague hopes or dreamy wishes seldom get turned into action.

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Speaking of the passing of the years, here are a few old finds.  They're old in more ways than one.

Fossil Teeth From Treasure Coast Beaches.

Shown are sloth teeth, a dire wolf tooth, and a horse tooth.  The horse teeth seem to be very common on the Treasure Coast beaches.

I haven't seen many fossils on the beach for a few years now.

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The Sailor's Hornpipe is probably the most recognized maritime tune of all.  You'll hear it at the beginning of Popeye cartoons.  The original tune can be found in a 1770s song book.

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The surf will be increasingly only very slightly this week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/11/2014 Report - Bent Coins, Polar Vortex Frees Diamond Ring & Bronze Medal

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

Bent Coins.

Here are just a couple of the many bent coins that I've dug from shallow water.  They aren't the best examples, but a couple that I had close at hand.

I've dug quarters that were bent at 90 degree angles.

Whatever happened didn't take real long.  These coins are obviously modern.  You can see that the dime is clad.

I've dug some that had marks that show were the coins were bent by some mechanical contact such as maybe a lawn mower blade, but there are no such marks on these and many others.


The Polar vortex and freezing pipes led to the find of a diamond wedding ring when the trap was removed.  The ring was returned to the previous owners of the house who had since moved.

http://on.aol.com/video/wedding-ring-found-after-pipe-bursts-in-arctic-blast-518080941?hp=1&playlist=127167&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D428889


Everything, like everybody, has a history.  And most of the things we find, were once lost.  That is part of the fun of detecting. 

Part of it is the surprise of not knowing what, when or where things will be found, but another part of it is the history of the item.  Where did it come from and how did it get there. 

That part is mostly about the past, but part of it is about the future too.  Once the item is found, what does it mean.   Maybe the item tells a story of storms and shipwrecks and lost life, but it also has a place in the future.

When an item is found that is only a beginning.  Then another process of discovery begins.  Can the item be conserved and displayed?  What is its future?   What WILL be its role and what will it say today, tomorrow and well into the future?

Unfortunately nothing lasts forever - especially items that exist in one of the most challenging environments of all -  the beach.

Remember, the beach is composed of stones and shells that have been broken down into tiny pieces.  And the same environment that breaks and grinds stone will over time break down anything else exposed to the waves and forces.

Iron, rusts and corrodes and eventually disappears.  Coins corrode and are ground down.

I've shown in the past how modern clad coins get bent in half.   I don't know exactly how that happens but I suspect that they get buried under tons of  sand, caught in between rocks and get bent.

Items that appear to have remained undamaged have been lucky so far.  But it won't last forever. 

Unlike iron, gold does not corrode.   At least not much.  But gold is not pure.   The vast majority of coins or other items are not 24K.   Most gold items do corrode to some small extent.  Not that it is noticeable most of the time, but gold, being soft, will wear and bend unless it is continually protected.

Items in the high energy zone near the front of the beach are always in danger.  They have no meaningful context, but they are in danger.  They will not remain protected forever, even by tons of sand.  They will be damaged and eventually disappear unless they are retrieved.

The ax head that I showed yesterday was remarkably well preserved for an iron item found in encrustation.  It happens, but more often what you'll find is formless mass or a hole with absolutely none of the original item remaining except for a void where the item once was.  I am glad that it didn't dissolve and disappear.

Bronze Medal Find.

This seems a little strange to me.  This bronze medal in a coin pendant mounting doesn't make sense to me.  On this side is the Gemini astrology sign, and on the other side it is a is a Bicentennial design showing 1776 - 1976.  I don't really get the mixture of zodiac and history.  Maybe there is some connection, but I don't know what it is.


On the Treasure Coast the surf is down to around three feet now, and it will remain around there for a while.

The tides have flattened out a little.

The wind is and will be from the south a lot for a few days.

It doesn't look like beach detecting conditions will be great for a while.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/13/12 Report - Bent Penny, Drowned Watch & Great Cross


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


Bent Penny Beach Find

 

I mentioned the other day that beach finds sometimes show evidence of undergoing extreme force.  I've found a lot of coins that are bent, many more than this penny which I just happened to run across.  Good example of what I was talking about.

I have my own theory about how this happens.  I'd like to hear your ideas on that.

Happy Mother's Day.

Despite the less than ideal conditions for finding shipwreck cobs and treasure coins, things are being found. From the modern jewelry to other types of old artifacts, there are individuals that are making good finds. That is always the case.

Although most detectorists on the Treasure Coast are interested in old shipwreck coins, you can always find something.  Sometimes good finds are more difficult, but with time and patience, you can find something of interest.  When you hit a spot that is producing, stick with it.  Clean it out.

One thing I do in this blog is show a variety of types of treasure.  I believe that the more different types of treasure you are familiar with the more consistently successful you will be. 

Some people have the patience to stick with one target relentlessly through long dry spells.  Others do not have that amount of patience and might have to switch from one type of target to another just to keep finding enough to remain interested and motivated.

When you can't find one type of target, you can almost always find another type. There are times when one type of treasure will be showing up and times when another entirely different type will be showing up o the beaches.  It depends upon beach conditions and what the surf and sand is doing.

When old coins are not showing up, other things like pot shards or fossils might be.  And there is the constant replenishment of modern items on any busy beach.

If you are one of those who do not have endless patience, invest some time in learning about other types of treasure hunting, and try some new locations.   The learning that is required to do that can test your patience too, but if you try to learn from your experiences and realize that what you learn is as important as what you find, you'll stay interested and learn something that will lead to more future finds.

St. Augustine is America's is not only the site of America's oldest city but also it's first mission.   The Mission of Nombre de Dios goes back to 1565 when Pedro Menendez de Aviles planted a small wooded cross to claim the site for Spain.  A 70-ton Great Cross stands on the site.  It was constructed in 1966.

Here are two links that tell will provide information about the mission and the Great Cross.
http://www.missionandshrine.org/

http://www.missionandshrine.org/great_cross.htm


Here is a link that gives the value of Lincoln pennies for the various years and conditions.

http://www.coinstudy.com/lincoln-penny-value.html

You can find the values of other US coins if you browse around that web site.


The most recent blog poll has concluded and the results are in.  I didn't get around to writing about it before now.

From the poll results it appears that this blog's readers vary widely concerning how frequently they actually get out to detect.  That is not surprising.  Detectorists come in all varieties.  Some are arm-chair treasure hunters, some are very casual about the hobby, and some very radical.   There is the whole variety, and it appears that all varieties read this blog.

23% of those who responded to the poll indicated that they did not get out to detect at all in April.   There are a variety of different reasons for that.  I suppose some are out-of-state and only detect when they come to Florida where they can detect the beaches, some are arm-chair treasure hunters, some were just too busy with other responsibilities and some only detect when conditions are good for finding shipwreck treasure.  I've talked to some who have no interest in finding modern coins and jewelry.  It is a diverse group.

The largest category of respondents said they detected 1-5 times, or roughly once a month for that particular month.  That would be something you could do if you devoted one weekend day per week to detecting.  

23% said they detected 6-10 times in April.  For many, I'm sure that would be weekends.  Although you will see detectorists on the beach any day of the week, you will typically see more on a weekend.  Although there are a lot retired detectorists, obviously many are still busy with work and families.

Then there are the hard core detectorists.  18% said they detected more than 10 days in April, which is obviously more than twice a week.   That kind of frequency will keep you in touch with what is going on on the beaches and the daily changes that occur. 

Of course April might have been atypical for some detectorists.  For example, it might have been a time when they were on vacation and detected more than normal, or it might have been a time when they were out of town or been unusually busy with other things. 

Overall, I'd say that the poll shows that this blog's readers includes both ends of the spectrum and everything in between, from the arm-chair detectorists to the everyday detectorist.

Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.



Drowned Watch



This is the type of thing that is often found in dips in front of the beach when there is still a lot of loose material in the dip.  Watches tend to ride high in loose sand due to a couple of factors.  One is that they are hollow.  Another is the relatively large surface area they present.  That goes back to the discussion on weight, density, shape etc.

The most productive dips won't have a lot of sand or shells in them, but will have a hard packed bottom of rock or clay.

The watch has obviously been submersed for a while.  That is always something to take into account - how long an item has been lost.  An item that has been lost longer is a getter sign than a recent drop, which will be closer to where it was originally lost.

Always look for any signs that you are getting closer to older accumulations of items.

I  mention the watch here because it is the type of item that you will often find in the kind of dips we have now.

The wind is from the East and the seas running around four feet.  The tides aren't as big as they were a few days ago. 

Most beaches are very sandy.  As I've been mentioning, there are some dips in the shallow water in front of the beach.   They are mostly still pretty sandy though.

No change in beach conditions is expected for a couple of days.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net