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

12/4/19 Report - Flintlocks Found on Treasure Coast 1715 Fleet Beaches. Metal Detecting Lesson Learned Hard Way.

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

Yesterday I ended up talking about the wheellock and the fact that none have been found around Florida.  At the time they were used, they were thought to be unreliable and were not used much in the New World by the Spanish.

Next came the flintlock, the miquelet being an early version of the flintlock.  

Lock of Miquelet Pistol.

You can easily see the flint being held in the lock by what in this case looks like maybe a piece of leather where you would often see a piece of lead.

You can often tell a Spanish flintlock from those made in other countries.  Spanish made miquelets were more boxy, while those made by some of the other countries were more curved and graceful in appearance.

Don't forget that Spanish galleons were provisioned by equipment from many countries, so if something isn't Spanish that doesn't mean that it didn't come from a Spanish treasure ship.

If you want to know more about the parts of a miquelet lock, click here to see a good video.

So what has been found in and around Florida waters?  First here is what Noel Wells' book Small Arms of the Spanish Treasure Fleets says about that.

As I said yesterday, matchlocks have been found on the 1622, 1715, and even the 1733 wreck sites, and never, according to Wells, has a wheellock been found in or around Florida waters.

* 24 French cavalry pistols (flintlocks) were found on one 1715 shipwreck site.  Some were totally encrusted.

*A miquelet musket stock (broken in the area where the lock would have been) was found on a 1715 fleet site.

* A 1660s era miquelet pistol from a 1715 site which is in the McLarty museum collection.

* In 1990 a trubuco musket was recovered from a 1715 site.

* In 1993 treasure divers found 2 encrusted muskets on a 1715 Fleet site.

* Around the year 2000 a beachcomber at a 1715 Fleet beach found a complete encrusted English flintlock lock that had never been fitted to a weapon.

Those are the ones I found listed in the wells book.  I might have missed one or two.  Of course there must be others.

For example, in my blog I reported on musket parts and a barrel mold that was found by Will R.  You can find information on that find in my 12/4/12 post and my 6/25/19 post.  Will was able to create a cast of the barrel.

I also remember one being found in the Sewall's point area, although I did not find right off where I reported on that one in my blog.

There are others for sure.  I found what I believe is most likely a piece of a silver side plate.

Piece of Silver Side Plate?

Here is the link to the post where I previously posted that.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2012/07/72312-report-1715-fleet-ornate-silver.html

I once found a photo showing a side plate almost exactly matching the shape and design on the one that I found.  I don't know where that is now but there is a somewhat similar one shown in my old Dixie Gun Works catalog.

I clearly remember the first musket find that I made and have told that story before.  I found the rusted hammer and jaws of a musket on a steep hillside.  I can remember digging it up like it was yesterday, even though at the time I didn't know for sure what it was.  It was my first hunt in a historic area like that, and I didn't pay too much attention to the rusted twisted piece of metal that I just uncovered, and left it where it was.  In just a few short minutes, I found the flint.  I also didn't keep that.  I totally regret that to this day, but I just didn't have the knowledge and didn't know what I was doing. Sometimes you are just not ready for a find.  You can make good finds and not even know it if you don't have the necessary knowledge.  It would have been better if I found those items today rather than many years ago.  If I appreciated the items for what they were when I dug them up, I would have hunted the area better and I would have followed up by doing the research to better identify them. You can also ruin a find by not knowing how to conserve and store it.  Years later, I can now say that the musket lock and flint I found on that hillside was most likely English.

I've become painfully aware of how slowly I gain knowledge from experience and how that knowledge only makes my long history of ignorance that much more regretful.  Being a person that tends to learn independently rather than being quick to take advantage of the knowledge of others, much of my learning comes from making mistakes over the years.   One thing I've learned the hard way is that I could have saved myself a lot of wasted time and grief by being more organized and detailed in my documentation and record keeping.  I've said that before, but it is something I find myself very often regretting that I did not do.  I have objects that I can't easily find when I want to, and I've read things that I can not longer find when I want to.  I guess you can't avoid that, but being highly organized can help.

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The tides are pretty flat now, as is the surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/29/18 Report - A Couple Finds And a Look At Seagrape/Turtle Trail Area.

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

Seagrape/Turtle Trail Area Friday

Photos by Dale J.

I received these photos from Dale J. who added the following.

Stopped by this afternoon [ Fri.] an hour or so before low tide, part of my education. Turtle Trail looked the same as yesterday.

Seagrape had some shells and what appeared to be some orange sand near water's edge.

Ventusky looks like the next op will be next weekend?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, still learning! Dale J.


Thanks for the photos Dale. Decent looking area to check out.

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Sterling Silver Ring Found While Looking for Lost Bracelet

Photos and find by Joe d.

Joe D. found the above ring.  He described how it happened.

  

     I haven't posted, or detected much this year! Been a little busy with family matters! Nevertheless, Happy Holidays!

 

   I did get out to Juno Beach the other day to search for my nephews gold bracelet that he unwisely wore there while playing football the day before!   Unfortunately it was peak tide with large waves and i was unable to find it! 

   But the beach gave back a nice consolation prize that i gave to him! Not gold, but it works! 

Keep up the good work, and Happy New Year!               

                      Joe D.

That is a nice sterling ring with maker's mark.  A little research will reveal the maker.  The ring will be worth more than the silver value.  If someone looks finds it, I'd like to hear more about the designer.

And that is one way things are often lost - by young people playing sports without removing jewelry. As I've said in the past, check beach volleyball courts. I once told about the various areas where things are most often found on volleyball courts.

Also you can tell where people have been running around playing football by the roughed up sand.  Always worth a look.

I also mentioned in the past how you will frequently find something else when looking for a specific lost item.  If one person lost something in an area, others probably have too.

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Old Encrusted Treasure Coast Find

Find and photo by Steve of St. Louis

I received the above picture and following email message from Steve.  Here is what he said.

My wife and I found this on the beach this morning in Indian River Shores and think it may be a flintlock pistol. I have it in a bucket of water and am trying to figure out what my best course of action would be to get it to the right people for preservation. Are you able to point me in the right direction? 

I told him to take it to the McClarty Museum and have them take a look at it.

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The tides are more moderate now and the surf is slacking off.  Not much exciting for the next few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net