2/18/20 Report - Double Lost and Found Ring Round by Detectorist. Salter's Eye Lotion: 1926. Bigger Surf.

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

Class Ring Lost in Maine Found in Finland 47 Years Later.
Source: WDHD link below.

Here is detector find with a mystery that probably will never be solved.  And the story is evidently one of those lost and found (or stolen) and lost and found again stories

A Maine woman says her husband’s class ring lost nearly five decades ago was recently found by someone in Finland.

Debra McKenna said the ring was a gift that was given to her by her late husband in high school in 1973 when they started dating.

She had lost that ring one day at a department store in Portland.

“I set it on the side of the sink and when I went back – once I realized it was gone – I went back in and it was gone,” McKenna told 7NEWS.

Decades later she received a call from a classmate who said the ring was located in by someone Finland.

That person contacted the Morse High School alumni association who used the initials on the ring to match it with McKenna’s late husband Shawn.

The ring was apparently buried in 8 inches of dirt in a small European town.

A shipbuilder found the ring and used a metal detector to get it out.

McKenna said she got the ring in the mail last week from the shipbuilder.

No one knows how exactly the ring got there, but McKenna said her husband believed that everything happens for a reason.


It's anyone's guess how it got from Maine to Finland.

Thanks to Jorge Y. for the following link.

https://www.wptv.com/news/national/ring-lost-in-maine-found-in-finland-47-years-later

And here is where I found the photo of the ring and the above text. 
https://whdh.com/news/maine-woman-reunited-with-class-ring-that-she-lost-nearly-5-decades-ago/

---

Yesterday I showed a Salter's Eye Lotion bottle, and asked if anyone had any relevant information on the product.  Susan B. found a listing from an issue of the 1926 Southern Democrat which proclaimed, Dr. Salters Eye Lotion – Relieves and cures sore and inflamed eyes. Helps the weak-eyed, cures without pain.  

So that gives an approximate date of 1926 on it.  

Here is the link.

https://www.blountcountian.com/articles/from-the-archives-448/

Thanks Susan.

Here are a three more entries from the 1926 archives.

“Stubby,” mascot of the AEF, dog hero of the World War and the most bemedaled and bedecked dog in all dogdom, has just been mounted as a monument to his own bravery, after his death. Stubby was reincarnated in plaster and his hide mounted over the cast. In the cast itself is a metal box containing Stubby’s ashes. (From national news)

Blount County Bank has installed new and up-to-date safe deposit boxes. The boxes are large size with double lock and steel plate front. They are held inside the electrically protected vault where no burglar dares attack them.

For economical transportation, the Chevrolet is smooth and powerful. The Touring or Roadster is $510, Four door sedan $735, Coach or Coupe, $645.

---

The surf predictions are still looking promising for the weekend.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

The tides aren't very big now.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

2/15/20 Report - Beaches Around The Treasure Coast Today. Fossil Find. Shell Artifact Possibility. More Surf Predicted.

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

John Brooks Around Noon Saturday.

The surf got a little rougher today, as was predicted, however it didn't improve beach conditions much - at least not the ones I saw.  

Above and below you can see John Brooks as it looked around noon Saturday.

John Brooks Around Noon Saturday.

I moved on to take a look at Frederick Douglass beach.  It wasn't much different.

Frederick Douglass Beach Around Noon Saturday.

Frederick Douglass Beach Around Noon Saturday.

Later in the day I was in the Vero area and had time to stop at Turtle Trail.

Turtle Trail Saturday As the Hide Tide Was Receding.

Turtle Trail Saturday Well After High Tide.

DJ visited Frederick Douglass and Middle Cove today and made his first find of a fossil horse tooth.

Fossil Horse Tooth Found by DJ.

Photos by DJ.

Congratulations DJ.   Its always great to get a first.

Keep your eyes open for fossils.  Check areas with shells.

---

I didn't get any opinions about DB's beautiful shell artifact find, however found an illustration of a hafted gorges fish hook that could be relevant.

Here it is.

A gorges fishhook is meant to be swallowed and catch deeper in the fish rather than hooking his lip.   The size of the hook would be dependent upon the size of the targeted fish.

A lot of sinkers and weights are one sided and meant to hang down, however DB's item was doubled ended.  That doesn't mean that it couldn't be a net weight or simply ornamental, however it also would allow hafting, as shown in the above illustration.  You can see where a sharp pointed object is attached to the bottom of the double ended carved shell.

---

Fort Pierce was alive Saturday.   Pirate Fest was in full operation and well attended.  It will continue Sunday.

---

Sunday the surf will decrease slowly from the 5 - 7 feet we had today.

Surf Forecast for Fort Pierce Area.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

I'm not expecting much new to happen tomorrow, but next Friday looks interesting.  Hope it doesn't fizzle out.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

2/7/19 Report - 14th Century Sword Found. Waterways Book. Ingots From the Keys. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

Sword Found in Denmark
Source: See TheLocal.dk link below.

A plumber and a machine operator in Aalborg made a sensational discovery when they discovered an intact and well-preserved sword while at work on Tuesday..

Kenneth Nielsen, an archaeologist from the museum, examined the 1.1 metre-long sword and quickly concluded it was of 14th-century Medieval origin.

The sword was found in ground on top of the oldest layer of paving on Algade, one of the northern city’s central streets...

Here is the link.

https://www.thelocal.dk/20190206/danes-pull-medieval-sword-from-ground-in-aalborg-street

Here are a couple fellows that turn up a 14th Century sword without even a metal detector.  There is a lot out there to be found.  

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Gaylen C. wrote the following about the Waterways and Byways of the Indian River Lagoon book that I mentioned yesterday.

The book "Waterways and Byways of the Indian River Lagoon" is available at 2 Indian River County Libraries. There are 2 copies at IRC Main Library, 1 circulating (currently checked out), and 1 held in for the reference section. There are also 2 copies available at the North Branch in Sebastian. Those both appear to be available for circulation.Pretty expensive on Amazon. Barnes & Noble had the best price I saw...

Gaylen.

---

I received an email from someone wondering why I seem so unimpressed with the Oak Island finds.  The answer is very simple: they aren't very impressive.  The finds are nothing more than what I would expect from any similar island having a so much history that has been turned upside down and searched for centuries.  I've not seen any part of the Ark of the Covenant or anything like that yet.  So far, the stories are a lot bigger than the finds.

Back in the day, big land finds were usually kept secret.  They weren't produced for TV.  One day some forty years ago, for example, I was sitting in a metal detector shop waiting for the tide to turn, and through the side door came a couple of guys struggling to with some large ingots.  At the time, I was told the ingots were lead.  I knew better than that, and later I learned the whole story.  They were silver ingots dug on a land site in the Florida Keys by a fellow I got to know better over the years when I was hunting down south.  That kind of thing was not as uncommon as you would think.  If you do some research, you'll read of other finds like that.

Just look at the story at the top of this post.  Two fellows working on a street or something pulled out a 14th Century sword.  I post those kinds of stories almost everyday.  The point is that there is a lot out there to be found.

---

The only reason I talked about Oak Island the past couple of days, is that I received emails on the subject.

Did you know that when I started blogging, my first blog was not about treasure hunting?  When I started this blog it just took off.  Now there are over 1.5 million hits on the hit counter, and more than 2 million page views, and all without any PR or promotion.  

It still looks like we will get a bigger surf this weekend.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

It looks like Sunday will be the peak.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/7/18 Report - Local Beaches. Old Gold Coin Found. Hundreds of Cannon Balls Found. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

John Brooks Beach Thursday Afternoon.

I took a look at a couple beaches yesterday just to see what was going on.  Above you see John Brooks beach.  It looks very much like a summer day.  There were fishermen and snow birds enjoying the nice weather.

There were very few cuts.  The tides have been high lately and you could see that the water had been high on the beach.  The slope was gradual and the berm was pretty far back.

John Brooks Beach Thursday Afternoon

Looking South.

There were only a few very small cuts - less than a foot high.

The slopes were soft.

Frederick Douglass beach didn't look any better.

Frederick Douglass Beach Thursday Afternoon.

As predicted the surf was small, and the water hitting the beach straight on.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Park was no better.

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Archaeologists, doing a protective excavation in Bela Krajina without any major expectations, were most surprised when they hit an extremely rare find - a bronze belt bearing a golden coin from the 3rd century BC...

The find is even more valuable because coins usually turn up in searches with metal detectors or in searches in riverbeds, while this one provides archaeologists with much more data.

It was found in "a closed grave, it's position on the belt is clear, and even more, some organic material has been preserved on the belt", potentially making it possible to carbon date the find...

Here is the link.

https://english.sta.si/2582339/archaeologists-hit-mother-lode-in-bela-krajina

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Archaeologists digging in Stockholm's Slussen area have stumbled on a unique find that has left them scratching their heads: hundreds of cannonballs from the 17th century. But who left them there and why?

A proposal to redevelop Stockholm's Slussen junction was approved in 2013, and since then archaeologists have been excavating the area as the construction work continues. It is the largest such excavation in Sweden and tells the story of a time when the area was the hub of Stockholm's iron trade...

Here is that link.

https://www.thelocal.se/20181204/hundreds-of-17th-century-cannonballs-unearthed-in-stockholm

What is your theory for the large group of cannon balls?

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It looks like we'll get a bigger surf by next Thursday.  Another front will be coming through, with north winds maybe Tuesday and Wednesday.,

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Sure would like to see a sustained nor'easter.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/25/18 Report - Treasure Coin/Pendant (?) Find From The Treasure Coast. Dive Watch Find. Bigger Surf On The Way.

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

Found by DB
Photo submitted by Terry S.

From the photo, it looks to me like this might be a genuine cob with a loop attaches.  I can't see it as well as I'd like in order to be able to offer any opinion.

Here is how Terry S. described it.

Now this is interesting and part of what makes it so interesting is that it was found the same time we were finding the 8 reales. It’s about the size of a dime and this same treasure diver said it’s not a coin but a pendant and in his mind a better find than just a coin. This of course got DB all excited but he is trying to get several opinions from other experts. You see folks we often can never be 100 percent sure but really that is a lot of the fun. If any of you out there know anything or have an opinion we would value your input. 
Terry S.

Terry's request for information and opinions applies not only to this find but also to those that I showed yesterday.   Feel free to email me about any of those.

Tomorrow I will share some information that I already received from a leading researcher relative to DB's ornate key find that I showed yesterday.

---

Working Dive Watch Found by Mike S. in Namibia.

As I've said several times in the past, I like to celebrate firsts.  Mike S. said this is the first working watch he found.  Here is the story of the find.

Spent last weekend in the water with my Excal 11 seeing if I could get into any gold.

Wasn`t to be ….started with a pretty much bummer occurrence.  After having kitted up and gotten into the water, gone to the bottom, got myself sorted and decided in which direction to move, I turned the threshold knob on to start the Excal and…….aaaargh….it broke away!

In cool water trying to turn only the remnant post is like …well…. I didn`t manage…but a thought occurred to me…take one of the other knobs of and use that instead. Unfortunately in trying to remove the second knob it also came away, as did the third and fourth! The inside of the knob has a blue insert that is divided into four sections. Looks like they might have a shelf life after which they tend to crumble. Ok so that was it, abandon dive and go home to figure on how to fix my baby.

So like we have Pratley Putty here which is a double component glue that you mix in equal quantities. Made up a batch of this and was able to then repair the breakages, left overnight to cure and gave them a shot the next day and yipppeee…we are back in the game.

So back to the water and after about thirty minutes came up with the first Sport Divers watch I have ever found in about five meters of water, and some 30 cm deep in the sand.  Looked ok and so took it into the local watchmaker who then opened it up and replaced the battery, (which had leaked,) but then professed the piece to be in 100% working condition. Speculation puts the watch to have been in the ocean for quite some goodly time. The casing and strap were coated in conglomerate yuck and I know that takes a while to build up. Unfortunately I don’t have the resources to figure out the build year of the timepiece. Up to now I have only ascertained from the net, that it is an older model that seems to be no longer in the makers range.

Anyway still no gold, but  still chuffed on the find.

Thanks for sharing Mike.  I've received emails from all over the world, but this is the first from Namibia, which coincidentally appeared on an TV episode about the lake possibly containing Nazi gold there.  That was just minutes after receiving this email.

Watches can be found in great numbers on the Florida coast, both in the water and in the dry sand.  It seems a little surprising that watches are lost so easily in dry sand.  One of the best places to find watches is in a dip in shallow water near the water line.  When a dip like that is filled with shells and coarse materials, items like coins and rings will often be buried deeply, but can find watches there.

Thanks for sharing Mike.

---

John Brooks Yesterday
Photo submitted by Gaylen C.

Gaylen sent this photo from yesterday and the following report.

Attaching a photo of Douglas  beach I shot today. I worked the shell line for a good ways and came up with some scrap aluminum. Went over some small cuts with no finds. 

I was at Ft Pierce Jetty Park on Friday. The dunes had collapsed. What were 7-8 ft tall vertical dune faces were now 5 ft with no cleanly cut bases at all. 

Thanks for the report Gaylen.

The wind started picking early Thursday.  The predictions are still showing a five to seven foot surf for the Treasure Coast this weekend.

The tides won't be huge, but the wind will be out of the north as this starts, then turn to be more from the east.

I have a lot that I didn't get to today.  As I said, I'll have information to share relative to the ornate key found by DB.  I'll also be adding a new factor to my formula for detecting success.  

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/28/17 Report - Couple Mystery Finds. Old Pottery Site. Popular Posts of the Year. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

Brooch That Held Gem Stones
Find and photo by Chris N.

Chris N. sent the following message with the two photos.

Just wanted to share some more items found near St. Augustine area.

Copper Salt Shaker Top I thought was different and unusual for a find in the sand on a salty shore. No pun intended.

Some type of Broach copper material in which there was some sort of set points in the middle and top where decorative stones or jewels must of been places at one time, but were not present.

I dug both items in loose sand, by water line about 8-10 inch down, strong signal on my machine.

Find and photo by Chris N.

I told Chris I didn't think it looked like a salt shaker top and pointed out the two arrows at the top and bottom.  

Chris then added the following.

The object is about the size of a Salt Shaker Top. Sorry! for not using Ruler. I found it at the waters edge in loose sand which was not corroded, when pulled it out.. That probably means it was washed down from the bank which it probably laid for some time till the Hurricane and Nor east'er came last few weeks ago.

From my understanding talking with some folks who live in and around area where I found objects, one said there as an shipwreck in that area.

I know that the British camped out on the Northern end of Anastasia Island, but the dune areas is off limits to foot traffic and especially digging.

Another good friend of mine informed me that the British marked each item made of copper, or any other precious metals because it belonged to the Crown.

What do you think?

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...It remains a mystery why so much pottery from such a wide time span have been found at this site.

Some speculate a settlement was submerged by a rise in the water level or the pots were sunk there in obscure rituals. Others sidestep romance and suggest it was just a dumping ground for used ceramics....

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201712270033.html

---

Yesterday I started to list the top ten most read posts of 2017.  I gave you numbers 10 and 9.  Working up the list towards the most popular of the year, today I'll give you numbers 8 and 7.

The eighth most read post was not from September like so many of the top ten.  In fact it was from January of 2017.  It was the 1/18/17 post with the heading, A Few Tips For Finding Modern Jewelry On Dry Sand Beaches.

Here is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/01/11817-report-few-tips-for-finding.html

The seventh most read post is a much more recent post.  In fact it has only been out there a couple of weeks.  It is the December 12th post, which included one of my very popular Ole Timer Talks.  That one was about a crate of dishes, possibly Kang Hsi, uncovered by heavy erosion on one Treasure Coast;

That post also showed the heavily eroded Fort Pierce South Jetty beach.  It would probably be higher on the list if it was not so recent.

Here is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/12/12817-report-erosion-at-one-renourished.html

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For Tuesday a 3 - 5 foot surf is predicted for the Treasure Coast along with a north wind.  That could do something.

A 6 - 9 foot surf is predicted for Tuesday.

Another year is about to fade into history.  I clearly remember starting the year and it doesn't seem that long ago.

Happy hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/10/17 Report - Millions of Dollars of Coins Found By Detectorist. Turtle Trail. Oak Island Artifacts and Observations.

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

Coins Found by Detectorist Mike Smale
Source: See DailyMail link below.

• Treasure hunter discovers a rare hoard of 2,000-year-old silver Roman coins worth up to £200,000 with a metal detector in a farmer's field (but he'll have to split the cash with the farmer)
• Some of the coins were minted during the era of Roman general Mark Antony
• Experts said the find is very rare and each coin could sell for £900 ($12,000)
• Coins would have circulated widely during Roman times - some dating to 32BC
• Mike Smale, 35, found the hoard of rare ancient coins in a farmer's field

Detectorist Mike Smale With The Field's Owner.
Source: See DailyMail link below.

Here is the link for more about that.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4932822/Treasure-hunter-discovers-rare-2-000-year-old-Roman-coins.html

Thanks much to Dean R. for the link.

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Turtle Trail Yesterday.
Photo by Darrel S.

Darrel S. has been detecting the Treasure Coast beaches and sending in daily photos and reports.  I appreciate that a lot because I haven't been out to take a look at things much myself.

Yesterday he stopped at Treasure Shores, where he found a number of detectorists already there, so he moved on to Turtle Trail, where targets were scarce once again.  You can see the small dips or scallops that he described to me via email.

Thanks Darrel.

---

I didn't mean to carry on with this topic, but last night I watched a bit of a new episode of Oak Island and saw two things that I wanted to comment on.  First, there is now another spike.  The new spike was found in  the spoil pile.  I will refer to that spike as the "rose head" spike.  It is longer and does not have an offset head like the first spike.  I think things got more muddled when they discussed the new spike and why it was not a railroad spike. I don't know who would ever confuse the rose head spike with a railroad spike.  You could tell that even if the head was not present or was totally ignored.

The first spike, however, which I will refer to as the "swamp spike" was shown once again for a brief second or two earlier in the episode.  The view they gave only VERY briefly showed the offset head before it was turned to an angle that did not show the offset head.  It was super quick and you would not notice the offset head unless you were specifically looking for it.

It was supposedly the swamp spike that was researched by Dr. Lori.  However the spike she had in front of her did not appear to me to have the same offset head.  They undoubtedly were aware of the skepticism caused by that spike.  It was discussed all over the internet.

After getting another glimpse of the the swamp spike when the cut back again when it was found, I was not able to dismiss my impression that it was not the same spike discussed by Dr. Lori.  I hope to get another view of the spike that was in front of Dr. Lori and am sure I will in time.   If anyone wants to go back and really study the images of the swamp spike found as shown when it was found and when it was discussed by Dr. Lori, I'd really like to hear your conclusions.

So to summarize, there is now a new spike (rose head), which I don't think hardly anyone would confuse with a railroad spike even though they took the time to present the reasons why it was not a railroad spike.  It seemed to me that that would confuse many viewers and muddy the controversy around the railroad spike for the more casual viewer.

I haven't watched every minute of the show, and I might have missed or confused something myself.  If I did miss something or you need to correct me, please let me know.

I recently posted some thoughts on how hard it can be to identify and date artifacts so I won't delve into that much again.   I guess it is my scientific training that makes me very cautious about jumping to conclusions.  To me it is very foolish to pick up something out of the dirt and quickly state that it is from a certain time period.  I remember, for example, the time I found a musket ball on Cape Florida, where musket balls from the Seminole War period might be found.  That was way back a few decades ago.  I didn't recognize at first, that it was a new reproduction.  Musket balls are still made today using the same processes, and they are used with antique guns etc.  Rose head nails are still made today too.  And just because a coin has an 18th century date, does not mean that it was lost in the 18th century.  There are many possibilities, and quickly jumping to conclusions does not give me a great deal of confidence in either the source or the conclusions.  I know that it is a TV show and they are going to try to make it exciting,    but while saying that a piece of metal with holes in it could have been used in a treasure chest without providing any other evidence might excite some viewers, it will raise questions for the more discriminating viewer.  I'd really like to see a more thoughtful scientific approach.

Just one more example.  Did you notice the golden balls floating in the water in front of the diver's camera in the last episode?  That is how light sometimes reflects off particles under water.  Do you remember the "golden" object in the wall of the pit that they talked about as if it was gold?  Might be, but I really doubt it.

---

North winds have started today. Watch for the five to eight foot surf coming this weekend.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/9/17 Report - Griffin Warrior's Carved Agate Seal Stone. Around the Treasure Coast. Bigger Surf Coming This Weekend.

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

Griffin Warrior Seal Stone.
Source: See nytimes link below.

This is the kind of thing I'd like to find.  It takes a lot for something to really impress me anymore, but this does it.`It is beautiful.  The workmanship astounds me. And it is a very personal item that could possibly be tracked to a specific individual.  I don't know what the value would be; that isn't what impresses me.

Here is how the article begins.

Two years ago, archaeologists excavating an ancient grave at Pylos in southwestern Greece pulled out a grime-encrusted object, less than an inch and half long, that looked like some kind of large bead. They put it aside to focus on more prominent items, like gold rings, that also were packed into the rich grave.

But later, as a conservator removed the lime accretions on the bead’s face, it turned out to be something quite different: a seal stone, a gemstone engraved with a design that can be stamped on clay or wax.

The seal stone’s image, a striking depiction of one warrior i

n battle with two others, is carved in remarkably fine detail, with some features that are barely visible to the naked eye. The image is easier to appreciate in a large-scale drawing of the original...

Here is the link for the rest of the article about the Griffin Warrior seal stone.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/science/greece-griffin-warrior-archaeology-homer.html?_r=0

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Here are some more photos from Darrel.  These were taken yesterday.

Frederick Douglas Beach Yesterday.
Photo by Darrel S.

Wrecked on Frederick Douglas.
Photo by Darrel S.

Rio Mar Yesterday
Photo by Darrel S.

Along the Vero Beach Boardwalk Yesterday.
Photo by Darrel S.

Darrel sent photos of a few other spots too, but the beaches look pretty much the same everywhere.

Thanks for all the photos Darrel.

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Maybe you noticed that at the site of the church shooting they were using Garrett detectors to find the shell casings.  Not surprising, being that they are in Texas.

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The remains of Rina are now in the North Atlantic above 45 degrees north.

As I said yesterday, a cold front is supposed to come through Friday and cause a higher surf on the Treasure Coast.

Source: magicseaweed.com.

With the cold front, we'll get a north wind on Friday.  The high tides are still high.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/8/17 Report - Tropical Storm Rina. Bigger Surf Coming to T. C. Oak Island's Expert.

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

Tropical Storm Rina
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

There is actually a tropical storm in the Atlantic.  It won't affect us, but a cold front that will come through Friday will affect us.  We'll get some north winds and a higher surf.

Predicted Surf for the Fort Pierce Area.
Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

That could improve conditions.

---

Yesterday Darrel S. brought up the issue of the experience of the lady who seems to be playing the roll of archaeological expert on the Oak Island show.  Her name is Dr. Lori Verderame.   She makes some questionable, if not ridiculous, statements. It makes her seem much less than a trained archaeologist and certainly not a nautical archaeologist.  One statement I saw her make last night was so silly and far-fetched that I decided to look up her qualifications.  Below is what Wikipedia says about her.


Education[edit]

A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Verderame graduated from Hamden High School in Hamden, CT. She graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. She has a Master of Arts degree in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in History and Art History from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. She holds the Doctorate (Ph.D.) in the History of Art and Architecture from the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA.[4]
Experience[edit]

Verderame has held directorial and curatorial positions in America including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Allentown Art Museum, the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State, and the Martin Art Gallery at Muhlenberg College. She has lectured at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg Russia, the MFA in Boston, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence Italy, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Musee de Louvre in Paris France among others. Dr. Lori has also taught art history at Penn State University at University Park, PA, the State University of New York (SUNY) in Cortland, NY, Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT, Southern Connecticut State University in Hamden, CT, Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, and Beaver College (Arcadia University) in Glenside, PA.[citation needed]
Columnist[edit]

Verderame's column entitled "Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori" appears in more than 400 newspapers and magazines around the world.[citation needed] Her Lifetime blogs are entitled "Antiques and Your Home" and "Travel, Shop, Eat by Dr. Lori".

Since 1998, Verderame has presented "Dr. Lori's Antiques Appraisal Comedy Show" to audiences around the world and on cruise ships.[citation needed] The show is presented live and audience members bring their objects for appraisal as part of the unscripted live comedy appraisal stage show. Verderame appraises each object while injecting humor and information about the antique. Verderame estimates that she appraises 20,000 objects each year.

So her academic training is in Art History.  She does a blog on antiques and one that seems to have something to do with eating - which it seems she does very well.  I'm not surprised she does some comedy work.  She has given me a few good laughs.  I just didn't think it was intentional.

As we all know, academic training isn't the most important thing.  Thomas Edison never took a course in making light bulbs.  Bill Gates never took a course in Windows.  The people that do really big things, do it before the courses exist.

Nautical archaeology or maritime archaeology is a relatively new discipline.  It owes its origin to the guys that do shipwreck salvage. They didn't take courses, but they learned through experience. Eventually the academic disciplines jumped on for the ride and created a new academic discipline.

I'm not criticizing Dr. Lori for not having the right degrees.  If she had the professional experience, she wouldn't need any academic degree at all, as far as I'm concerned, abut as it is,  lot of people who read this blog are more qualified than she is on some of the items that she comments on.  On those subjects, I think she just does the same thing that a lot of you would do - search the internet.

You have to remember that Oak Island is a TV show.  The show is more about show business than it is about archaeology.  You might say it is about treasure hunting, but you can't leave out the show business aspect.

The casting director found someone who has a doctorate and would seem credible to the average viewer.  She had media and TV connections, so that is probably how they found her.

When I saw the spike she showed and talked about, it didn't look to me like the same one that was originally found in the swamp.  By chance I happened to see that earlier segment again last night, and I didn't think it looked like the same spike then either.  I didn't see it very closely though, and I didn't take the time to do a screen freeze or anything so I could carefully compare them, so I could be wrong.  See what you think.

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Bigger surf coming up this weekend.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net