4/12/18 Report - Storing Coins and Other Finds: A Few Tips. Dinosaur Tracks.

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

Four Walking Ladies

I was looking at some older coins the other day and noticed some things that I wanted to pass along.

Once you have found an item, cleaning is the next step, and then comes storage.  Record keeping is something that should be done at different times and for different reasons.  I keep records of finds that will help me keep track of how I'm doing and what is found at different areas.  But there is another kind of record keeping that you might find helpful.

When you store finds like those shown above, it can be helpful to label them well.  I didn't do enough of that for the coins shown above.  Only one of the four tells where it was found and only one tells when it was found.  I'd recommend putting having that information on your finds.  It is always nice to have good labels to help revive your memory.

Below are a couple silver dimes that were stored in a clear plastic envelope.

Two Proof Silver Dimes.

I think I won these two silver dimes at a metal detecting club meeting.  That isn't clear though, and I'm not perfectly sure.

The plastic container once had a paper label in it that is now falling apart.  You can see that.  The heat and humidity of Florida is not easy on things.

The plastic container was stapled for some reason.  You can see the rust from the staple on the left side.  You would not want a proof coin, or any nice coin, stored touching a staple or any other piece of metal.  Keep nice coins away from other metal objects.

Below is what numismaster says.

Next come the plastic 2x2 coin flips. Make sure that you get rid of the PVC plastic. Mylar flips will replace them, but can damage coins if they are moved in and out frequently, as always, be careful, especially if you are storing valuable gold or silver coins.

Plastic and paper flips should not be used for long term storage of more than six months. Under exceptional conditions they will protect your coins over a longer span, but the big problem is that they are not airtight.

The same is true of the cardboard 2x2 holders. They have a Mylar window so that you can see both sides of the coin. These can be stapled shut, again with the warning not to get the staples or the stapler too close to the coin. To keep the coin safe the 2x2 needs to be stapled on the three open sides. Again the reminder to use your pliers to flatten the staple legs so they don’t damage an adjacent coin. Staples will rust, but there are stainless steel staples on the market.

Next come coin folders and coin boards. These have holes for each date and mint, and in some cases the outstanding minting varieties, such as overdates. These are what you most likely will use to start your collection. Most folders have a paper backing, so you can see only one side of the coin. They expose the visible side to the atmosphere and any pollution, contamination or fingerprints. My recommendation is that you use them for circulated coins that will not show problems. Your uncirculated coins need special protection and proof coins should be left in their packaging. This is especially true for questions on how to store gold coins, if the coin is a proof coin, it should stay in the packaging it came in..

Here is the link for more about that.

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/inside_numis.jsp?page=how-to-store-coins

For common inexpensive coin finds I like the Whitman coin folders and plastic prescription bottles with the original labels removed.  The folders are convenient and fun.  You can easily see what is missing from your collection and upgrade the collection as you find better examples.

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Rare prehistoric dinosaur footprints discovered in the UK have shed new light on the middle Jurassic period, according to a new report.

The study, published in the Scottish Journal of Geology on Monday, was carried out by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who unearthed 50 new dinosaur footprints left 170 million years ago in the Isle of Skye, northwest of Scotland..

Here's the link for more.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/03/europe/dinosaur-tracks-scotland-intl/index.html

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The wind picked up yesterday and changed direction.  The surf today is to be bigger.  Some sand should get moved.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/30/14 Report - Quality Finds, Cash Hidden in Orlando and Saddle Ridge Hoard of Gold Coins Being Sold

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

Find and photo submitted by Robert H.

On June 1 clues will go out via Tweet for envelopes of cash hidden in the Orlando area. 

I previously told about the same thing happening in San Francisco, but those in the Orlando area have the chance to go on a hunt for cash Saturday.




Yesterday I showed a photo of a pile of trash picked up by Robert H.   People don't generally show that type of thing, but it is important. 

I often recommend picking up the trash.  Trash on a beach can tell you a lot.   It can tell you something about what other detectorists have been there before you and what they did or didn't do.   It can tell you how things are distributed.  In the wet sand it can tell you which way to go to find treasure.

From his picture of the trash he had picked up, I could tell that Robert had found some treasure.   If you are picking up trash like that you will find treasure.  Show me a man's trash and I can tell you something about how he hunts, where he hunts, and most importantly something about what treasure he has found.

I was right when I said that Robert had probably found some nice treasures.  He just sent me some pictures of his treasures.

Another find photo submitted by Robert H.

Robert said,  I have been looking at it  [ this blog ]  everyday for the last year and a half. Pretty much from when I started detecting.  

Robert has done exceptionally well for the short time he has been detecting. 

From the trash photo I could tell that Robert has taken my advice concerning picking up the trash, and he has some really great finds to show for it.  I'm just showing two of them today.

Robert has made some real quality finds.  You don't find those everywhere.  To find quality, you have to be hunting where quality is.

Trash usually comes before treasure no matter where you are.

Congratulations on the great finds Robert!  And thanks for sharing.

When it comes to rings, simple solitaire diamonds can be among the most valuable, often more valuable than bigger or more flashy rings.   They can hold expensive quality diamonds, but are not the easiest to detect, especially when deep.

I've told before about how when I started detecting I didn't think women lost as many rings as men.  That is because I was using discrimination and missing the smaller rings.  Women lose a lot of rings too.  I found that out when I learned to turn my discrimination off.

Analyze what you are finding or not finding.   That can tell you if you should make adjustments to your detector settings, especially if you are missing one type of desirable item.

Another type of mistake is focusing too much on one type of target.  If you are finding a lot of rings but never find watches, there is probably a good reason that you missed the watches - maybe discrimination.  Maybe you aren't picking up the watches because even some good ones can sound like junk instead of sounding like a coin or ring, which, of course, are smaller.

You should get an idea of what type and amount of different types of items you should be finding.  I once knew what proportion of rings to coins should be found on the dry sand, wet sand and water.   I was keeping good records and figured out the numbers.  Unfortunately I don't have those numbers now, but still know roughly in my mind what the proportions should be like at different types of beaches and know when I'm about due or overdue to find one particular type of item under different conditions. 


You might remember the headlines from back in April about the $11 million gold coin cache (the Saddle Ridge Hoard) found in California.  It is now being sold off.

 One 1874 $20 Double Eagle, which typically sells for around $4,250, sold for $15,000.

Here is the link for more of that story.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/themargin/2014/05/28/first-rare-gold-coin-to-sell-from-great-buried-treasure-ever-nets-for-15000/


After today the surf on the Treasure Coast will be increasing a little daily until it peaks at about three to five feet on Tuesday.   This is a good day to get in some water hunting before the surf increases.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/28/14 Report - Returned Rings, Butterfly Knife, Dangerous Items Found in Parks and Hidden Money

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

Returned Rings,
Found and returned by Michael E.

As you know, I've been talking about the Port St. Lucie Parks, which, it appears, suddenly began to prohibit metal detecting.  We first learned of this when one of the readers of this blog was told, after months of regularly detecting PSL parks, that he could no longer detect there.  

The detectorist I'm talking about is a fine fellow that is known for returning rings and other finds, including the rings shown here.  I covered that particular story in my 8/9/13 post.

I don't think the Parks Dept., or the citizens, realize how many cherished items are returned that would otherwise remain lost if detecting is no longer allowed.

In addition to the service of finding and returning items, much junk and many dangerous items are removed by detectorists.

I've personally found and removed three sets of brass knuckles (considered a deadly weapon) from one park.  I understand that it is illegal to make or sell brass knuckles in Florida.

I've also found a butterfly knife in a park. 

Butterfly Knife Partially Open

They are legal in Florida, but you are not allowed to carry them in public without a permit. 

Butterfly Knife In Closed Position.

It is sort of fun to learn to use them.   Pretty neat, but not the type of thing you want to be have laying around for kids to pick up.


I wish we had a picture of the tons of trash that we have all removed from the parks and beaches.  That would be amazing.




Joan T. said,

I have removed countless dangerous items from parks and playgrounds while detecting, most recently, a switchblade right under a swing, and it was not even under the mulch!

I have removed razors, nails, pins,  pens, broken glass shards, asthma inhaler, knives, glasses, push pins, nuts and bolts from sloppy repairs to the playground equipment - those are always fun to find. ... I would never let my children run barefoot in the sand or mulch of any park or playground. Too many dangerous items, and I find many of them.

When i lived south in Coconut Creek, my 3yr old son dug up a hand gun right next to a slide! That was scarey! ...

Thanks for your email Joan.  I'm sure we've all removed some of those items.
 

One thing I hate to find, but have, are syringes - some medical and some drug related, I'm sure.  Very dangerous!  I just received an email from John P. who indicates he has found them too.

 

John P. wrote and said, ... there have been many times that I have removed (carefully) hypodermic needles from beaches in the area along with lots of broken glass.

I've found crack pipes too.  It is all out there, and detectorists find it.

Maybe we should bring all of that to the attention of the pubic and parks personnel.  It is dangerous for anyone that visits a park.

Maybe we should start documenting this stuff with out cameras.

You don't need a detector to find a lot of it.  You can see much of it on the surface.

I don't know why any park wouldn't be glad to have all of that removed for free.  They just don't realize how much of it does get removed.


A successful real estate salesman has been hiding envelopes of cash and leaving clues about where to find the cash on twitter under @HiddenCash.   So far the envelopes have been in the San Francisco area, but he will be doing the same thing in other cities soon.

Here is the link to that story.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/millionaire-hiding-envelopes-cash-san-francisco/story?id=23871103

 On the Treasure Coast we have another day of smooth water, which will last two or three more days, and then if the predictions are correct, the surf will start increasing to a peak of 3 - 5 feet in a few days.  Otherwise, no change in beach detecting conditions.

 

If you are want your name on to be included on a letter to the parks department, send you full name and use the word Petition on the title.    That will make it a little easier for me to keep it organized. 

 

I don't usually post full names in the blog but it is better if I have a full name for the letter.

 

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net