3/8/20 Report - Higher Surf and Some Erosion On The Treasure Coast. A Few Finds Made. Charles and Joanna Coins.

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

Wabasso Saturday.

Erosion started on some of the beaches Saturday.  Some beaches were cut, others weren't.  

The access gate was closed at Seagrape.  That will be an obstacle for some, but for others it might be an opportunity.  Some reales were found there last month.

DJ sent the following photos taken Saturday at Turtle Trail.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

A gold ring was found and another part of one.  They need to be cleaned and tested though.  

Here are a few other finds from Saturday.

Flat Button Found Saturday.

Back of Same Button After Light Cleaning With Detergent.

Sometimes all you need is a little light cleaning.  A little detergent and a toothbrush can help make a a button readable without much danger.  I just used a toothbrush and a little dish detergent on the above button.  You do have to be careful if there might be gilt which can be easily removed by accident though.

Encrusted Bullet.

Folded Lead Strip With Couple Holes.

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Peter H. who lives across the pond but reads this blog daily and sent in the following link to a Sedwick article about Charles and Joanna coins.

https://www.sedwickcoins.com/articles/carlosyjuana.pdf

Great article.

Thanks Peter.

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The surf is expected to be higher Sunday - 7 - 10 feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/27/20 Report - Cuts and Eroding Beaches That Expose Treasure. Photo Comparison. 1715 Fleet Silver Rings.

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

Seagrape Trail As It Looked Last Saturday

I distinctly remember watching Monday Night Football maybe thirty years ago when Howard Cosell commented to Dandy Don, "You have a tremendous grasp of the obvious."  It was meant as a humorous insult, but it strikes me now as something of a complement.  Advances in understanding are often made painfully slowly and often involve gaining a deeper appreciation of what was hiding in plain sight all along.

Were you ever metal detecting when a surprise wave hit you and almost knocked you off your feet?   It has happened to me numerous times over the years.   In fact I remember once actually getting knocked off my feet.  Inspiration can come with a sudden rush too.

I've talked a lot about the importance of what I call cuts.   If you looked at some of the beaches that were eroded last week, you might not have noticed any cuts, but there were cuts.  Those cuts were very high though.  The face of the dunes was cut.  At the bottom of the dunes you could see a layer of black sand over a layer of the old orangish sand exposed in some locations.

It is not often that we get a surf of over ten feet, but that happened on the Treasure Coast in both January and February.  And shipwreck treasures were found both times.

On the 22nd the high tide was bouncing off of the dunes, and the water was rushing with good force back down the slope carrying sand and other materials with it.  You can see from the photo above where probably two feet or more of sand was removed.  Old wooden posts that were previously buried were exposed, and stairs were left hanging two feet off the ground.

If you take a volume of sand two feet deep by maybe thirty by fifty yards, that is a volume of 3000 cubic yards of material being classified.  That can easily happen in one six hour tidal period, and that is undoubtedly a small part of what actually happened on the beaches that day.

So what is it about cuts that makes them so significant to the beach detectorists?  I mentioned it above.  When the water hits the face of a cut, or dune, the water rushes back down the hill with a lot of force.  If you get caught in it, you can feel how strong the flow is.  There are times when it can knock you off your feet.  That is obviously strong enough to carry sand - and other materials with it.

Yesterday I talked about the amount of water velocity required to suspend different kinds of particles and objects, and the amount of force required to transport those objects.  When the force decreases below the amount required to transport objects, they drop out and settle.

My main point today is that even though there weren't any obvious cuts on the slope of the beach last Saturday, there were cuts to the dunes at the top of the beach, and at high tide the water was bouncing off the face of the dunes and flowing down the slope, carrying sand and other objects until the flow slowed enough to drop whatever objects were being carried.

If you look at the photo above, the yellow line runs parallel to the beach.  There is something of a momentary dead spot.  The incoming water hits the water rushing back down the slope there.  But that is only momentary, as the next wave is already on the way.

Obviously that area will move as the tide comes in and goes out.  It proceeds up the hill towards the dunes during the incoming tide and then recedes down the slope and out as the tide recedes.

The red line shows how much sand has been removed from under the steps.

Compare these two photos.

It is always handy to have more than the most recent photo.   Old photos give you a base line.   You can compare different times and see what is happening.

If I know a beach is especially high, for example, then I know it will take more weather and erosion to make it productive.

The fluctuation on a beach is seldom two feet or more over a wide area.  Down at Turtle Trail, when the sand is low you can see a foot or so of the blue bags, but when the sand is high they are covered again.  There are posts down there that also appear and disappear.

Notice  the foot of the dunes and the slope right in front of the dunes in the last photo.

Thanks to DJ for those photos.

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Silver Finger Rings From the 1715 Fleet.

One of the most experienced Treasure Coast salvage divers said that no silver rings have been found on 1715 Fleet wrecks.  That is something that has interested me for a number of years, especially because of how commonly old silver rings are found on the wreck beaches.

I know of three examples of documented silver rings that have been correctly or incorrectly attributed to the 1715 Fleet.  That is such a small number that even if they are all correctly attributed, they are undoubtedly personal property rather than cargo.

Below are those I have seen listed as being from the 1715 Fleet.

1.  In Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500-1800, Vol. 2: Portable Personal Possessions, by Kathleen Deagan, a silver Claddagh ring shown on page 126 is attributed to the 1715 Fleet.

2.  In the Winter Beach Salvage Camp, by Doubglas R. Armstrong (2012 revision), on page 52 a gold plated silver ring is attributed to the 1715 Fleet.

3.  And just this year, VeroNews reported that West Bay Trading Company certified a silver ring found by Jeff Emlet on a Vero area beach as being from the 1715 Fleet.  See my 2/6/20 post, https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2020/02/2620-report-first-silver-ring-beach.html, for more information about that.

Without some type of specific markings and historical documentation, I do not know how you could tell that an isolated ring find would be from a particular fleet or wreck rather than from some other source, including, for example, contemporary salvage efforts.

In any case, I'd like to keep a list of silver rings attributed to the 1715 Fleet.   If you know  of any others, I'd like to add them to my list.  Please be specific about the source of information.

---

Despite the most recent cold front, we're supposed to have nothing higher than a two or three foot surf for the next week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/26/20 Report - Reading the Water to Find the Treasure Holes. Test Your Detector. Beach Privatization.

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

Stairs at Seagrape Trail Saturday Morning.

Clipped form video submitted by DJ.

The posts at the bottom of the stairs at Seagrape Trail were getting washed out Saturday morning.  They had recently repaired them, but they were damaged again.  I was there that day but forgot to take photos.

Take a look at the stairs and the short posts sticking out of the sand in the photo below.  The posts are lower than the bottom step.  They weren't showing until the beach eroded.

Just To The North of the Seagrape Trail Access on 2/20

Clipped form video by DJ

Also notice the mass of water that is just below the stairs.  Just a few yards out is a wave surge behind that mass of water.  The surge will push the mass up the face of the slope, and the surge will rush up the slope towards the dunes.

Before I go much farther, I'd like to refer to what I think is the most important thing I've ever learned about beach dynamics.  The same principles apply to how things are moved in rivers and streams too, but for now I'm interested in these principles as they explain how sand and other items move on a beach.

Breaking it down, there is a certain amount of force needed to pick up different materials, including clay, silt, sand, pebbles, gravel and other items.  It takes more force to start an item moving than is required to keep the same item moving.

There is a certain amount of force required to suspend specific types of sand and other materials.  Generally it takes more water velocity and force to suspend clay than it takes to suspend sand, for example.  Even though the particles of clay are smaller, they are more cohesive so it takes more water force to pick it up.  And it takes more force to move pebbles than sand.  Things like the density of the objects, cohesiveness and even shape are important factors.  Pebbles are not more cohesive than sand, but they are more dense, so it takes more water velocity or force to get them moving.

There is also a certain amount of force required to keep an object moving once it is moving.  It takes less force to keep an object moving than it does to overcome the inertia and other factors that keep a particle or other object stationary.

The above chart shows velocity increasing from left to right on the horizontal axis, and particle size increasing from bottom to top on the vertical axis.  The right most red line shows that clay requires more force to suspend than sand, which requires less force to suspend than pebbles (or coins, rings, etc.).

Looking at the left most red line, you see that it takes little force to move already suspended clay or silt, but the force required to transport sand and pebbles or larger objects is greater.

Lets say you have enough water flow to get the sand moving, and enough to keep it moving, but then the force diminishes and the sand settles. The sand will be picked up where the force is relatively high, such as where the wave crashes, and carried up the slope until the water slows enough that the sand drops out of suspension.  If the water rushes back down the hill instead of slowly decreasing on the slope, sand can be carried down the hill, resulting in erosion.

The sand is moved when the force is great enough to pick it up and move it, and it is dropped when the force slows.  That part seems obvious enough, but there are other factors.  You have the tides and interacting multiple waves interacting.  Returning waves hit incoming waves, for example.  And there are irregularities in the surface of the beach.  And there is liquefaction.  (That is another topic for another time.)

There are different kinds of objects on the beach in addition to sand.  There are shells, and there might be coins and things.   Coins have their own peculiarities and methods of moving.  I once posted a number of ways that coins move.  But that is another discussion for another time.

Without getting into all the variables, sand will be moved differently than coins and things.  Different amounts of force are required to suspend and transport different objects.

Lets say you have just enough flow at the base of the slope to pick up and move sand.  It will be transported up the slope, and if the force slowly decreases, the sand will drop out and the sand will accumulate.   On the other hand, if the water picks up the sand and keeps it moving up the hill, and the water bounces off a cut or dune so the force is maintained at a high enough rate, the sand will wash down the hill again.  That is one way you get erosion.

Coins can be picked up if the force is great enough and carried up the hill along with the sand, but since it takes a greater amount of force to keep the denser objects moving, the water can slow enough to drop the coins while the sand continues to move out.  If the returning water force is great enough, the coins can be carried down the slope too.

You'll notice that when the water is bouncing off the face of a cut or off the dunes, the returning water can have a lot of force.  That means things will be carried down the slope until they drop out of suspension and settle in.

Different objects will settle at different places.  Like things will be dropped together.   As the water slows, coins and other things will drop out and settle before the sand.  That is how coin lines and coin holes are formed.   I've talked about that a lot in the past.

So what you are looking for is places where good targets have just been uncovered by eroding sand, or where those targets have been dropped.

After all of the fast moving water is over, slower water will move the grains of sand up the hill and drop the sand, building the beach and perhaps cover denser objects, such as any coins that were left behind.  Since you are interested in the areas where good targets are being uncovered or being dropped, you are looking for areas where the sand is being eroded or areas where the water has slowed enough to drop good targets.

It is all a beautiful balancing act.  Items are sifted and sorted like they are a gold pan, but on a beach the area is much bigger and there are a lot irregularities and complexities.  Still, I think you'll benefit if you get the ideas presented in the above chart.

...

PS: I lost the original source of the chart, so if anyone can find it I'd appreciate it.  I'd like to be able to credit the source.

---

I received some questions and know that some of you might be wondering if your detector might not be working ok because you didn't find anything good last weekend.   Your metal detector is probably fine.  If you are not sure, test it on some small silver coins.  Maybe cut an old silver dime in half, take it to the beach and test your metal detector.  If you can detect a small piece of silver like that, you can detect a silver reale unless it is too deep or something is wrong with your sweep.  So pay attention to your sweep speed and height when you do your tests.   It never hurts to take some test targets to the beach to make sure.  But I'd bet that your detector is fine.  There is a lot of beach out there and you just have to put your coil over the right spot at the right time.   If you understand what I wrote above, that will help you.  Finding the spots is the main thing.

I know how it is.  When you don't get any hits, you start to wonder if you detector is working well.  Usually it is, but you can test it to make sure.

---

Seems like there is some talk about beach privatization again.  I received the following emails from DJ.

Thought this bill died a couple years ago. 

https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/newswire/2020/02/03/privatization-coming-beach-near-you-opinion/4643308002/?fbclid=IwAR3H3OMcGB98u3ZpMiBp3FHuUbF_5KtXjwu8EHnbrEWL-V13REygssrCgFg

HB 631 was approved and still on the books, lots of legaleaze

https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2018/html/1888

These bills are filed to repeal 631 and protect beach access for the public (as far as I can tell)

House Bill 6063 (2020) - The Florida Senatewww.flsenate.gov › Session › Bill › 6063

Senate Bill 1680 (2020) - The Florida Senatewww.flsenate.gov › Session › 2020

I’ll try to get more current info, they don’t make it easy to understand.

Hope we don’t have to face this too.

We had a petition going on this back some time ago.   Somebody needs to stay on top of this.

There is also some proposed legislation for the Florida Keys that the Fisher organization is fighting.  I've been meaning to post what I received about that, but there has been so much local news lately that I didn't get around to it yet.

---

The surf will be small this week.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

3/22/20 Report - Beaches Show Very Little Cutting But Produced Some Very Good Finds.

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

Ambersands Beach This Morning.

Things have been found.  Several reales have been found and a few other things.

You probably heard the wind whipping last night.  That was between yesterday evening and this morning, and that seems to be when most things opened up.

Ambersands This Morning.

The sun came out today.  I never like that.  And a LOT of detectorists hit the beaches today.  The parking lot was almost filled at one beach, and a lot of them were detectorists.

Wabasso This Morning.

I didn't see cuts hardly anywhere, but the water was hitting and eroding the dunes in some places, and there were some good dips.  In at least one location there was very little new sand over the old orange sand.

I didn't do real good with the photos today.  My mind was on the hunt, and I forgot about the photography.

The stairs at Seagrape were damaged.  I mentioned yesterday that they had just been repaired, but they were damaged last night again.

Turtle Trail This Morning.

At Turtle Trail the erosion control bags were more exposed today, and you could see some of the old cut off posts that were buried yesterday when I was there.

Bags Getting Hit At Turtle Trail.

I was trying to photograph the bags in the above photo, but it was poorly timed and the water covered the bags as I took the photo.

Erosion Control Bags Covered by Water.

I'll have some find photos for you in the near future.   I have one object in cleaning now.  

The surf was up around ten feet today.  It will be decreasing tomorrow.

Surf Predictions.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/11/20 Report - Surf Remains Rough At Least One Wreck Beach Cut. Sticking With My 2 Beach Conditions Rating For Now. A Couple Finds.

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

John Brooks Saturday Morning Near High Tide.

Wet, dim, windy morn, highlighted by white water crashing on the beach.  The sun only dared to peek, as men armed with steel wire cages that somehow matched their set jaws and determined faces, tracked the mighty sandflea.

Enough pf the humor, but I do like the photo. The only people I saw this morning at John Brooks were trying to catch sandfleas - those terrestrial crustaceans of the family Talitridae.  I do enjoy seeing the little buggers scamper in my scoop.

Evidently not much happened last night.  The water only topped the berm in a very few spots.  And very little additional erosion had occurred since yesterday, although at high tide a little additional sand was being pealed away.

Below is another view from about the same spot at John Brooks Beach.

The water coming off the cuts was washing towards the north.  That is not usually what you see here when conditions are very good.


Frederick Douglass beach hadn't changed much overnight either.

Frederick Douglass Beach Saturday Morning.

Frederick Douglass Beach Saturday Morning.

I showed Fort Pierce South Jetty a few times lately.  A couple days ago it started to fill in, then the bar flattened out.  This morning you could see that it has been filling from the south.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Saturday Morning.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Saturday Morning.

The first thing, or about the first thing, I dug yesterday is the following ring.

Ring Dug Yesterday (Friday).

I haven't cleaned it off yet, and haven't found any markings.  Undoubtedly junk.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the ring is that It was found in a straight line of about ten sinkers.  I think there was one penny in the line, but nothing else other than the sinkers and ring.  It was a very straight line too.  Easy to follow.

I've been finding rings almost every time out lately.  Unfortunately they are mostly cheap stuff.  The good thing about that is nobody lost a valuable cherished item.

Two Gold Earrings Found.

The are latched and interlocked.  Obviously someone took them off before they were lost.  Finding pairs of matching earrings is not extremely common, but it does happen every once in a while.

The other finds from yesterday need cleaned and then photographed.  Maybe something more interesting in that bunch.

Terry S. sent photos of some interesting finds from a week or so ago.  I'll post them soon.

I'm sticking with my level 2 beach conditions rating for now even though I haven't seen the beaches or received reports from the Vero/Sebastian area the past day or two.  

The surf today was about 4 - 6 feet.  It is predicted to drop a foot or so tomorrow.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/10/20 Report - Treasure Coast Beach Metal Detecting Conditions Rating Increase. Broward Shell Show This Weekend.

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

John Brooks Beach Friday.

I took a look at a few beaches today and did some detecting.  To get to the most important thing first, I'm increasing my beach detecting conditions rating to a solid 2.  Since I only looked at a few beaches, and they were all on South Hutchinson Island, I'm being conservative.   If I knew some of the other beaches improved also, I might issue a 3 rating.  I suspect they did but don't have that information yet.

John Brooks Beach Friday Just Before Low Tide.

If you've been following this blog very long, you know my rating scale is a five point rating scale.  A 1 rating indicates a very low probability of finding shipwreck coins or artifacts, while a 5 rating indicates a very good chance of finding shipwreck coins or artifacts.  I've broken it down more finely in the past.  A 2 is a transitional rating indicating improved conditions and a better chance of finding old shipwreck items, but they won't in my opinion  be very abundant.

My first stop today was John Brooks.  There was some good erosion, especially to the north.  Up by where the old Christmas Tree used to be and beyond, some of the cuts were about six feet high.

John Brooks Beach Friday.

Looks like some water on the lens blurred the cuts some.

There were good numbers of modern coins scattered widely on John Brooks, along with some EOs and some currently uncleaned and unidentified objects.

Next I stopped at Frederick Douglass, which was not as cut.  One of the cast members of the Oak Island TV show was just leaving.

Frederick Douglass Beach Friday Before Low Tide.

I did some detecting there and hit both silver and gold - both modern.  Frederick Douglass did not have such nice cuts as John Brooks.

I did more actual metal detecting than I've done in a long time.  I probably put in a couple of hours of swinging.  I haven't been able to do that for quite a while.

Frederick Douglass Beach Friday.

I then took a look at Walton Rocks to see what was going on down that way.  Nothing much.

So then I took a look at the beach to the North of John Brooks, up by the condos.

Beach in Front of the Condos to the North of John Brooks.

Looking Back Towards John Brooks From the Condos.

I can't help think of times when the beaches were back one or two hundred yards from where they are these days.  There is actually a concrete foundation that was exposed on the beach back in the eighties or nineties down in the area where you see the people in the photo immediately above.  It would be under all that sand to the west of them.

That was something I was thinking about yesterday too.  I stopped at Round Island and remembered where the beach was back years ago.   Now it is a good hundred yards to the east.  There is so much renourishment sand up and down the coast these days.

Yesterday I mentioned Wabasso Beach being closed and the sign which said that it would be closed until Jan. 20.   I also mentioned that I didn't read the entire sign.  JP says the sign says, "Closed for Emergency Nourishment." 

He also said, They dumping truck after truck of sand on the beach. It's my understanding that they are doing Sea Grape as well. Not sure if they going as far south as Turtle but I'm sure at some point they are. 😭.

Thanks,
JP

Thank you, JP.

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I want to get this beach conditions upgrade posted, but have one more timely thing to tell you about.

The Broward Shell Club will be having the Annual Broward Shell Show on January 11 - 12, 2020 at the Emma Lou Olson Civic Center, 1801 NE St., Pompano Beach, Florida, 33061.

I know some of you are shell collectors.  Here are a couple links.

https://browardshellclub.org/2020-shell-show-announcement-and-forms/

https://browardshellclub.org/

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The surf is expected to decrease only a very small amount tomorrow.  It looks like the swells will not change direction much.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/22/19 Report - Some Beaches Still Eroded and Producing Coins and Things. 6 PM Additions.

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

Beached Sailboat at Walton Rocks.

There was a beached sailboat at Walton Rocks.  It had a big hole in the side and the ripped sail was in the dunes.

Sailboat Beached on Walton Rocks.

Junk from the wreck was scattered all over, including a lot of plastic.

There was a good bit of erosion at John Brooks today, especially to the north.

North of John Brooks Beach Access This Morning.

There was a cut of about four feet, plus or minus, running for a few hundred yards north of the John Brooks beach access.

The top half of the slope was mushy, but there was firmer sand near the water.

Despite the cuts, I didn't particularly like the looks of it, but did a little detecting anyhow.

Right in front of the access, the beach wasn't that cut.

Frederick Douglass Beach Sunday Morning.

Frederick Douglass Beach also had some cuts this morning.  The sand near the water actually looked better here.  

I'm still on the ring path.  Found one more today.  I was surprised again by the number of modern coins on the beaches.   I found a lot of modern coins on two different beaches today.

Junk Ring Found Today.

I'm sticking with my 2 rating on my 5-point Treasure Coast Beach Conditions Rating Scale.  It is certainly better than summer conditions, though it hasn't really started to produce much older stuff yet - with a few exceptions.  I only saw a few of the Hutchinson Island beaches today.  I don't know what is going on in the Vero/Sebastian areas today.

Stick of Lead Found on Beach With Bunches 

of Modern Coins and Small Pieces of Copper.

The lead didn't show the oxidation that you'd expect to see on older lead.  I suspect it isn't very old.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

With the slightly improved conditions that we have now, some additional erosion might get us into the older stuff.  Maybe it is already happening at one or two spots.

As you can see from the surf predictions, we'll have a little rest and then the surf will be building again.

---

Added 6 PM.  

Steve M. sent me photos of beaches in the Vero/Sebastian area.  I'll post his descriptions now and add the photos as soon as I can.

My wife and went to the beach today to check for erosion.      First we went to Tracking Beach as last time we went to go there it was closed and a sign said dune renourishment going on.   We immediately went to Jaycee park, to see, but it looked like trucked in sand piled up.    Today we found that they made the dune go seaward about 40’ and planted sea oats on it.   So first stop, top 2 pics, are South and North of Turtle trail.   Beach had a lot of sand up high.   But eroded at beach.    Next 2 down were Golden Sands.   Same conditions. Next 2 down are Treasure Shores, same.    Last are Sebastian inlet state park.   Same condition.    Thanks much Steve. Looked like less erosion up there than on John Brooks. ---

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

12/20/19 Report - A Couple T. C. Beaches Being Detected This Morning. A Couple Small Finds.

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

South of Ambersands Beach Access Friday Morning.

There were four or five people detecting at Ambersand this morning.  There were some cuts.  The biggest ones were to the south (shown above).

Ambersands Beach Access Area Friday Morning.

The stepped cut was near the crossover.

Yesterday I showed photos of Turtle Trail, Seagrape Trail and John Brooks beaches.  I issued a 2 rating (transitional rating) on my beach conditions rating scale and mentioned that I didn't know what would happen with the next tidal cycle.

JD sent me a photo that evening.

Turtle Trail Thursday Evening.

Submitted by JD.

It looks like Turtle Trail conditions started to decrease later in the day.

Turtle Trail Thursday Evening.

Photo submitted by DJ.

Several detectorists showed up at Turtle Trail early this morning and found conditions not nearly as good as it was yesterday morning.

Turtle Trail Friday Morning.

So it looks like Turtle Trail opened up for a brief period but by Friday evening was already deteriorating.

Turtle Trail Friday Morning.

In addition to a bunch of lead, yesterday Captain Jonah dug the nice little piece shown below.  Looks to me like it might be a piece of jewelry.

Find and Photo by Captain Jonah.

I was talking to one of the fellows about the small pieces I've been picking up with the Equinox.  Here is an example of one I dug yesterday.  I'd call it a square nail, but it is too small to be a nail. It wasn't easy to see in the sand.

Dug Tack.

Dug Tack.

Very colorful.

I have some other examples of small finds that I've picked up recently, which I hope to get photographed soon. 

I've seen pieces very similar to Jonah's on 18th Century jewelry and might have one or two examples somewhere.  

Looks like we'll have four and five foot surf for a while, but no more north winds until Monday.

I was out this morning when the Atlas rocket went up but missed it somehow.  Was supposed to be a good show.

Happy hunting.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net