3/14/20 Detectorists Find Record Breaking Hoard. Nice Artifacts. Green Cabin Coins. More Info.

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

Two Lucky Metal Detectorists Find Record-Breaking Iron Age Coin Hoard

Guinness has verified Jersey’s 69,347 coins – collectively named Catillon II – as a world-beating find. It happened in Jersey, largest of the Channel Islands, back in 2012 and has only now been recognized.

2 metal detectorists, Reg Mead and Richard Miles, tracked down the hoard on the eastern side of the island. Their search was far from brief, lasting an amazing 3 decades. It’s thought Catillon II, found a little over 3 ft under the soil, dates to around 50 BC...

The BBC notes that in addition to coins there were “a large number of gold neck torques and other pieces of jewellery, as well as glass beads, a leather purse and a woven bag of silver and gold work.”...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2020/02/05/iron-age-coin-hoard/

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A day or two ago I mentioned the late-18th century British camp just meters away from the Winter Beach salvage camp.  JamminJack sent in the following photos of the 60th Regiment of Foot buttons, which were on display at the McLarty museum.

60th Regiment of Foot Buttons.

Submitted by JamminJack

And here is another nice artifact.

Flintlock Pistol, Circa 1779.

Photo submitted by JamminJack.

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The reader's of this blog provide a wealth of experiences and information.

A day or two ago I also mentioned the Green Cabin wreck.  I Just received some good information about coins found on the Green Cabin wreck from Mike S., who dived for Roy Volker.

Here is what he said.

Hello, 

I love reading your blog, which brings me back to my days diving for Roy Volker from 1988 to 1996.

Roy was a living encyclopedia of the 1715 fleet and the salvage efforts from the 60s onward, having lived so much of that himself. it was an amazing honor for a kid like me to turn his dream of being a treasure hunter into actual experiences of working as a diver for that man.

One thing he always pointed out to me, and showed me examples from his collection, was that coins from the Green Cabin wreck were bowl-shaped. That's just a note about some of their defining characteristics, which I thought was very cool. I always wanted to find at least one of those coins, but we only worked one day on that wreck during the time I was with him, making our way back up from the Rio Mar wreck towards our usual location, being the cabin wreck. I did find some led sheathing and some white ballast. That is the only wreck I've ever seen white ballast on.

Keep up the great work.

Mike S

Good information.  Thanks for sharing Mike.

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I also received some information concerning the crystals found by TM.    I posted the photo below of the crystals a few days ago.

I asked for permission to post that information and hope to be able to do that soon.  It turned out that they could be something very different from what I initially thought.

As I always say, "Hang onto your finds until you know for sure."

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No change in beach conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/12/20 Report - Found Silver Medallion. Winter Beach and British Camp. 60th Regiment of Foot.

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

Heavily Corroded Silver Medallion After Some Cleaning.

This silver medallion was heavily corroded, but after a lot of careful cleaning shows much of the detail.  The back is more heavily corroded than the front and unfortunately shows no marks or details.  

You can see the stub where the loop broke off at the top.

You can see some writing at the right side of the photo.  It says Apostle.

Silver Medallion Find After Some Cleaning.

It was found in an area with other items, including cobs, presumed to be from a 1715 wreck, but the spelling "apostle" is an English spelling.  "Apostol" would be the Spanish spelling, and "apostolus" the Latin spelling.  The conclusion might be that the medallion has nothing to do with the wreck or the cobs that were found nearby.  That conclusion could be correct, but it might not be either.

There are many ways that things from different countries or cultures and different wrecks can get intermingled.  Beach finds, in particular, get mixed around over the years and centuries, so items from different times and sources can end up in the same area.   But there are other possibilites.

Trade did take place despite attempts to prevent it.  When people are in need, they do what they have to, so trade is always a possibility.  But also remember that the wrecks were big events that drew native populations, pirates and others.  There are a variety of ways that items from various sources could end up together on a beach that has been churning for many years.

I said before that I was going to talk about the Winter Beach camp.  Douglas R. Armstrong wrote a book, The Winter Beach Salvage Camp (Signum Ops, 2012) in which explorations of the camp are decribed.  Here is a brief description from that book. "The campsite was found to run for nearly 125 meters along the beach dune line and extends westward into the woods for another 30 meters.  A second camp, slightly newer and apparently occupied by 18th cenetury British treasure hunters, is located some 90 meters to the south of the encampment area...."

The British camp was smaller and set back a bit farther from the beach.  It was created later - possibly somewhere around 1780.

The British camp contains items apparently salvaged from the 1715 wreck along with later items from the time of the British camp.  So you have items from at least two different times and sources or events intermingled.  That is not to mention earlier and subsequent native activities, and who knows how many more.  My conclusion is that the medallion could have been on the ship, although that appears less likely, or it could have come from the time of the British salvage effort or some other wreck-related events, but it could also have absolutely no relationship to the wreck at all.  The age and source is impossible to determine precisely, although judging from the amount of corrosion, it looks like it has been out there for quite a while.  Perhaps additional research will help narrow down the age or history of the item.

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60th Regiment of Foot buttons were found at the site of the British camp.  The 60th was stationed at St. Augustine around the time of the Revolutionary War.  The regiment was formed in 1757, so we can figure that the British camp dates to at least 42 years after the wrecking of the fleet and possibly as many as eighty or more years after.

The regiment was intended to combine the characteristics of a colonial corps with those of a foreign legion. Swiss and German forest fighting experts, American colonists and British volunteers from other British regiments were recruited. These men were Protestants, an important consideration for fighting against the predominantly Catholic French. The officers were also recruited from Europe – not from the American colonies – and consisted of English, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Swiss and Germans. It was the first time foreign officers were commissioned as British Army officers. The total regiment consisted of 101 officers, 240 non-commissioned officers and 4,160 enlisted men. The battalions were raised on Governors Island, New York. The regiment was renumbered the 60th (Royal American) Regiment in February 1757 when the 50th (Shirley’s) and 51st (Pepperel’s) foot regiments were removed from the British Army roll after their surrender at Fort Oswego.

Source of quote: https://www.revwartalk.com/60th-regiment-of-foot-king-s-royal-rifle-corps/

Now we know that the 60th Regiment of Foot included recruits and officers from many countries as well as the colonies, so that additionally expands the sources and types of items that might be intermingled around a wreck and camp site.

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Remember you can find Bill P's instructions for using Muriatic acid to clean silver items in my reference link list.  Also you will find instructions for tumbling items by using the same link.

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

It looks like the surf will be in the 2 - 4 foot range for a few days.  We are getting big tides now though.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/30/19 Report - Shipwreck Ring Finds. Cloisonne, Enameling and Reverse Intaglio. Weather Systems to Watch.

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

Copper Alloy Ring Found on Treasure Coast

Find and photo by John C.

John said, Found this ring maybe 15-20 years ago, on a Treasure Coast beach, pretty sure its shipwreck, mainly because a fellow Beach Hunter found one identical around the same time I found this one, found on a beach where we find quite a bit of 1800 material, Roberts wreck, or whippy, but we also find 1715 on that Beach as well.  Here's another small copper artifact with glass? 

Copper Alloy With Glass.

Find and photo by John C.

Thanks John.  Congratulations on the nice finds, and thanks for sharing.

The ring looks very similar to those I posted from Deagan's book yesterday.  Certainly of the same general style.  The item shown in the bottom photo looks like it could possibly be from a similar ring.

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Scott C. told me of a cloisonné piece he found years ago that looked like it could be the back of an ornate pocket watch. He said it had the winding hole where it should be and the design on it was a large fleur de lis. Most of the enameling was gone but traces remained. He said he might be able to send a photo. I'd like to see that.

Thanks Scott.

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An email from Susan E. led me to an interesting article on foiled reverse intaglio crystals.  Crystals are carved and colorful foil applied to make beautiful buttons.  Below is a link to an article describing the process.

http://www.dpaglia.com/crystal3.htm

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Talking about enameling and cloisonné, here is another piece that I found.  It is one inch, top to bottom.  Unfortunately I don't remember where or when I found it.

Enameled Pendant or Charm.

One inch high.

Edge of Same Item.

While it looks fine when viewed normally, a closer view reveals corrosion and wear.

Corrosion on Same Item.

I'm unable to provide any more information on the item at this time.  Maybe you can.

The outlines are nicely raised.

If you don't get anything else out of this, I hope you realize that you should keep finds organized and labeled with where and when you found them, along with any other important information.  After a few years, you might not remember, especially if you've found a lot.

Some things you don't think much of when you find them, but later when you know more, they might be more interesting.

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I haven't received much word about salvage finds lately.  That can either mean that not much is being found or they are on a hot spot and don't want to say anything until they are sure they got it all.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

There are now a couple areas to watch on the National Hurricane Center map.

One is in the Caribbean and the other is coming off of Africa.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net



 

7/15/19 Report - 1715 Fleet (?) Silver Bracelet From Treasure Coast Wreck Beach. Old Flat Buttons and Markings.

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

Two Views of Hand on End of Silver Bracelet.

This hand is on the end of what seems to me to be an interesting and unusual silver find that came from a Treasure Coast shipwreck beach where other 1715 Fleet items were found.

Each hand is only about 3/8 inches long from beginning of the cuff to the end of the knuckles.

Here is the entire bracelet, if that is what it really is.

Silver Bracelet (?)

The hands on both ends are very similar, the one of the left is just at an angle that doesn't show it well.

It is about the right size for a bracelet.  It would fit around most wrists if it was not stretched open as it is.  Of course it could be something else altogether.

I noticed the ruffled cuffs, which remind me a little of cuffs such as the one shown below.

Ruffled Cuffs.

Hands are not unusual on pieces of 18th century jewelry, which include Claddagh rings and Higas like the one shown below, which was also found on a Treasure Coast shipwreck beach.

A nearly identical Higa is in the Mel Fisher Artifact database and documented as coming from the Atocha.

So, is this bracelet a 1715 Fleet artifact?  I don't know, but it appears to me that there is a good chance that it is.

Let me know what you think.

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I've found a variety of old buttons over the years and didn't keep good records on them, so I don't know now where I got them, although some probably came from Treasure Coast sites.  Here are seven that don't have much of anything on the front of the button, but they do have markings on the back.  I know I have other old flat buttons somewhere.

Seven Dug Old Flat Buttons.

The largest is almost exactly one inch across, and the smallest one half inch across.

I'll refer to the buttons as being in four rows and two columns.  The largest button at top left is 1A.  There are no marks on the back of it.

The one beside it (1B) reads as follows on the back: STANDARD COLOUR TREBLE GILT.  (See below.)

Button 1A

On the back button 2A (below) reads: PLATED between stars.

2A

2B also reads PLATED but with no other ornamentation.

Button 2B.

3A (below) reads: FINE TREBLE GILT.  It seems to have something like a big "C" in the open area.

Button 3A.

The back of 3B (below)  twice reads: STANDARD GILT.  There is also a ring of what appears to be shields.

Button 3B.

And the last and smallest button, the only one in row 4, reads: STANDARD RICH COLOUR.  There are some other things that I can not make out, but it looks like maybe S 2.

Button 4A.

As I've mentioned, I didn't keep good records on the buttons and don't know where they all came from.  If you have reason to believe that anything I've said about these buttons are wrong, please correct me, or if you can add any information about the identify of the buttons from what you see, please do so.  I'm sure some of these markings suggest date ranges, but haven't done the research myself.

Thanks for any help.

I'm just glad I got this organized and have these buttons together now.  When I find or locate others, I'll get them organized and documented.

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Barry is weakening and heading north.  There are no other significant systems on the National Hurricane Atlantic map right now.

You can expect another week of small surf on the Treasure Coast.

It is the time of year when we could get a system that creates some erosion and improved hunting.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/29/19 Report - Beach Conditions and Cuts On The Treasure Coast. A Few Finds. Decreasing Surf.

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

Treasure Coast Beach Cut Friday Morning.

Yesterday I struck out.  I spent more time driving than detecting and dug practically nothing.  This morning was different.  I enjoyed myself and made some interesting observations.

There was a number of targets down close to the water line at low tide.  Many were just discolored clad coins, some sinkers and fishing equipment, but also a few more interesting pieces.

The cut shown above was not close to any of the beach accesses.  I had to walk a way to find it. 

John Brooks Beach Friday Morning.

Like everywhere today, the water had been up and way over the berm.  You can see how mush the slope was if you look at the depth of the tire tracks.

John Brooks Beach This Morning.

Frederick Douglas Beach Looked very much like John Brooks.  You can see from the picture below how far back the water had been.

Frederick Douglass Beach Friday Morning.

Water Running Over Sand Bar and Back Out.

I started to put together a post on how sand and objects move on a beach, including some things that I've recently learned to better understand, and I saw a very interesting thing happening in the shallow water today.  I tried several times to capture it on video, but manage to capture it.

There is a sand hump in front of the beach.  At low tide there is a little trough in the swash zone.  The water would come in, and then as it ran back out, made a nicely formed wave reaching at least a foot in height that would collide with the water coming in over the hump.  The collision of the incoming and outgoing wave was pretty good.  I really wish I was able to get it on video.

Iron Clump and Clad Quarters Found.

Besides the iron clump and clad coins, I also found a couple old flat buttons and a square nail, and a piece of a large bronze pin.

Flat Buttons and Square Nail.

I was enjoying today because I got to do what I call "pattern hunting" and could have easily hunted a couple more hours but I had other responsibilities to tend to so had to cut it short.

I think I might be able to make out the marks on the back of these buttons.

The surf will be decreasing for a few days.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Even though we had some good north winds, the swells were predominantly from the east.

Really wish I was able to catch the returning waves on video.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/9/19 Report - Shipwreck Finds: Cross, Coins, Buttons, Spikes, Connectors and More.

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

Finds and photo by Joe S.

Hello again,

As I indicated earlier, here are pictures of more of my shipwreck relics and coin found along the South Jersey coast. Obviously, they are not as major and valuable as the treasure found along the Treasure Coast. We don't have the shipwrecked Spanish treasure galleons, but we have an estimated 2000-7000 wrecks (some from centuries ago) that rest off the Jersey coast and inlet shoals, and around a thousand shipwrecks that lie off the South Jersey coast according to local wreck diving guides. 

In the past there were shipwreck silver coins, reales, and gold coins reportedly found along the coasts. In these modern times, and with all the beach replenishments (with screening) constantly going on, I feel fortunate to have found what I did. I wish I would have started detecting at a younger age like you. I'm 75 years of age and love just being on a beach hoping to find the elusive reale or gold coin. I hope to keep hunting at least another good 10 years to find one.

The main picture shows two large bronze ship spikes (one still holding part of the ship wood) and a smaller spike that is possibly part of a ship deck spike. 

Other findings include numerous buttons and clothing/footwear ornaments (note the picture of the large circular button with the broken eye, it has the words "DOUBLE GILD" inscribed). Maybe it was worn by an officer on a ship? Other interesting buttons are the back part of a button with the drilled eye; and the front part of a button with the words "Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire", which are counties in England.

A few copper coins are shown (note the picture of the oldest, Dutch 1791 coin). 

A small brass(?) crucifix (shown in a picture) that appears to have had an eye at one time to be worn around the neck (appears to be very old and hand forged?).

Clusters of nails with different shapes and some made of copper, others bronze/brass, indicating they might be from different era.

A piece of copper sheathing with an actual nail hole; percussion caps; and other miscellaneous ship artifacts.

Hope you find this shipwreck collection interesting and useful for more discussion. If I have other significant finds in the future I will be in touch.

Happy hunting to you,

Joe S.

Here are some close-up views of some of the items shown above.

1791 Duit.

Those are some really nice finds Joe!  Really cool buttons.

It looks like this might have been an early 19th century wreck.

You can find wrecks from around that era on the Treasure Coast too.  One Treasure Coast beach in particular produces a lot of similar nails, pieces of copper and a lot of percussion caps.  Percussion caps came into use  around 1820.

Joe also sent some good links.

This link is to the NJ Maritime Museum web site - https://njmaritimemuseum.org.

And the following link is to a N. J. shipwreck database.

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/what-lies-beneath-n-j-s-coast-lined-with-shipwrecks/article_ea61996c-a42d-11e4-a059-0fcbcacec8f9.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

I always liked to travel and take my detector with me and try out new areas. I never did New Jersey though.

Thanks for sharing Joe.

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I suspect everybody is up in Sebastian for the TCAS hunt.  Couldn't have been a more beautiful day for it.

Let me know how you all did.  I'm sure there are some good stories about all the good times.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/8/18 Report - St. Ann Medallion. Napoleon War Graves Excavated. Silver Jubilee Coin. Cod Liver Oil Bottle.

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

Saint Anne Medallion Find.

I found this some time ago, but it was heavily encrusted.  Just recently I cleaned some of the crust off to get a better look at it.  I wondered about the age, but what I found that was now revealed, suggests, if I am correct that it can be no earlier than 19th century.  On the left, behind St. Ann's shoulder, is stamped "ITALY."  My understanding is that Italy became a nation state in 1861.  It appears that a small amount of silver gilt is still present.

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According to some estimates, 55,000 soldiers died when Napoleon Bonaparte's troops clashed with the Austrian army during the Battle of Wagram between July 5 and 6, 1809. Many of them were buried directly on the plain, and for the first time, archaeologists are systematically excavating the battlefield...

Since the soldiers were buried fully clothed, buttons and other items were present in the graves making it possible to identify at least one officer.

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.livescience.com/62774-mass-grave-napoleonic-wars.html

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I think I started to write about this once before, but I don't think I actually finished.  I often start to write about something and then get off on something else before I get the first thing posted.

This is a coin that I found during my first year of detecting and it was probably the first more interesting coin that I found.  At the time I didn't know much about it and you couldn't find stuff on the internet like you can today.

Isle of Man Silver Jubilee Coin.

I think some of these were made in silver.  I don't know which this is, but if it is silver there is about $13 of silver melt value in it.  I think I'll have to get it tested.

At the time I found it, I just put it in a coin holder and saved it.  The only scratch on it was made by my scoop.  That happens, especially when you are just a beginner.

What it was doing on a Florida beach is anyone's guess.  I have no idea why a coin like that would be there.

Reverse of Same Coin

There are at least two lessons that you can get from this.  First, if you keep at it long enough, you will find surprises.  Secondly, be careful recovering coins.

Most of the things I repeat here are things that I learned the hard way.

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If you hunt bottles you might find that there are a lot of cod liver oil bottles around.  My mother recalled cod liver oil as the medicine she received most back in the 1920s. 

Most of the cod liver oil bottles that I've found show a man with a large fish hung over his shoulder.  This one is a little different.  It is a more recent bottle, but a particularly nice looking cod liver oil bottle.

More Recent But Attractive Cod Liver Oil Bottle Find.

It is covered with high-relief scales.

I'm not absolutely sure it is a code liver oil bottle, so if you know otherwise, please let me know.

I recently added this bottle along with some others to my bottle barn site.  You can find the link at the top left of the opening page for this blog

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Here is a nice beach cam to Flagler Beach.

http://flaglersurf.com/webcam/

Thanks to Brian B. for that link.

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/1/17 Report - 97 Gram Shipwreck Gold Nugget Found. Regiment of Foot Reference. Mexican Mustang Linament Bottle.

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

Gold Nugget Found At Shipwreck Site.
Source: TheSun.com web site.
See link below.

The Royal Charter sank in 1859 off Anglesay, Wales with about 1.5 million dollars of gold.  This nugget is said to be worth about $60,000

The nugget, weighing 97.12 grams is the second largest ever found in the UK.  It was finally found by a prospector who had spent the past seven summers looking for the gold.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/1168814/going-for-gold-hunt-on-for-120m-shipwreck-treasure-off-wales-after-50k-golden-nugget-found-on-beach/

There were nuggets carried on some of the 1715 Fleet too.  In fact one of my favorite finds is a nugget found on a 1715 Fleet beach.  Three were found the same day not very far apart.

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You might find the following link handy: It links to Regiments of Foot by H. L. Wickes.  It gives some history and information on all of the British regiments of foot.  I found it when trying to find out why I found a couple 18th century Regiment of Foot buttons at a particular location.  I didn't find the answer I was looking for, but I'm sure the book will provide answers in many cases.

http://www.reenactor.ru/ARH/PDF/Wickes.pdf


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This morning I found my second embossed Mexican Mustang Linament bottle.  This one doesn't look quite as old as the first one I found.

I think I may have posted my first one.  It was greenish.  This one is clear glass.

The Odyssey Virtual Museum web site says,

First introduced in 1825 by George W. Westbrook of St. Louis, Missouri, by the middle of the century (ca. 1856), the right to manufacture Mexican Mustang Liniment was passed to the partnership of Demas Barnes and Co. in New York, the largest patent medicine depot in the country, and to John D. Park in Cincinnati. The Demas Barnes company name is embossed on the 35 Mexican Mustang Liniment bottles recovered from the wreck site of the SS Republic.

They show a picture of one that looks like my first one.

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According to the predictions, it looks like we'll have a couple more days of smooth surf.  The surf has been so calm and clear in places that it has been a good time to stick your nose in the water.

We've been having some nice negative tides too.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/16/17 Report - A Recent Relic Hunt. Memorable Mistakes.

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

Finds and photo by Dan B.

When the salvage season is over and Dan B. isn't working on the Capitana bringing up gold coins from the 1715 Fleet, he does some relic hunting. Here is a group of finds he made very recently at a railroad site.

There are some neat things in there. Notice, for example, the eagle button and the strap buckles.

I visited an old RR spot today. Since I have already picked the area clean of easy hits, I spent some time hunting the most difficult and messy areas.  Nails and iron are usually enough to deter people including myself from detecting thoroughly. These are usually old structures and hold some goodies if you can differentiate the quality hits. Well worth the time today, but rarely so lucky. 

A lot of people would be scared off by a bunch of nails, but they can protect good finds for the more patient and persistent hunter.

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People often think that you have to be at a site the day it cuts or it is too late.  That is the case sometimes, but not always.  Some really great finds have been made days after people think it is over.

When Turtle Trail recently cut and produced some nice finds last week, most was found in the first couple of days, but not everything.  In fact an eight reale was found Friday - days after the very best hunting.

A lot of things can be found when a site hits its peak, but time after time  great things are still found when most people have given up and think it is over.

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I did a post one day on some of my memorable finds.  They were finds that I always remember for some reason - often because they were firsts of some kind.

Some of my memorable finds were memorable because I made a mistake that I continue to regret. Those are the kinds of things that make you wish you had known better at the time.

One that always sticks out in my mind was a musket hammer.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't pay much attention to the hammer when I found it.  I wasn't sure what it was.  Then I found the flint nearby.  The rusted hammer was my first musket hammer, and I wasn't sure what it was right away, but as I always say, keep anything if you aren't sure you know what it is.  Well, back then I made the mistake and didn't keep the hammer and not even the flint.

I found the musket flint after digging the hammer.  That confirmed to me that it was a musket hammer, but why I didn't keep the hammer or the flint, I don't know, and I still regret it.  I was hot on a trail of some good buttons and things at the time and that might have something to do with the fact that I didn't pay them much attention.

Another regret is an 18th century medallion that was so encrusted when it was dug that I didn't know what it was.  It looked like it could be a coin.  It went into the tumbler with a bunch of coins, and when I took it out, I saw what it really was.  Fortunately it wasn't badly damaged, but it should have been treated better.  It lost some gilt and a little detail in the tumbling  process.  What an idiot!  Hopefully, I wouldn't make that type of mistake today.

As I think about some of the regrets, they were often also firsts.  That is part of the reason the mistake was made.  I didn't recognize or appreciate the item, and as a result didn't save it or properly treat it.

Other regrets came from not properly cleaning and storing items. I can think of couple of very nice items that were not stored carefully enough and broke while in storage.  Store your nice items carefully. Don't have one type of metal touching another.  That can result in discoloratation.  It can happen to reales, for example.  Don't keep a reale touching another type of metal.

Store nice items separately and so they won't be under too much weight.  Coin holders help.  It is also a good idea to keep artifacts in separate plastic boxes or bottles.  You can't be too careful if you don't want any accidental damage.

Another type of regret to avoid, is damaging items during recovery.  Some very nice items can be damaged or destroyed by careless digging.  You might not know what it is until you dig it up, so be careful.  Remember, it might be something precious.  Even metal items can be fragile.  I've made that mistake too.

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The surf will be decreasing for a few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net