10/21/18 Report - Haunted Ellis Island 2017 Quarter. Instructions for Creating a Coin Display Plaque. Ancestry Tests and Group Membership.

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

Halloween Coin.

Many people say that Ellis Island is one of the most haunted places in America.

See https://maps.roadtrippers.com/stories/ellis-island-is-one-of-the-most-haunted-pieces-of-american-history.

I saw something interesting when viewing a 2017 Ellis Island National Monument Quarter. Look in the doorway at the top of the stairs.

I don't know how well the above picture shows it, but there appears to be a ghostly skeleton figure in the doorway.

I didn't do any editing or anything.  That is an unaltered photo.

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It seems that the series of posts on treasure displays had the desired effect.  I've heard from some readers who said that as a result of those posts they decided to start organizing and displaying their finds.  I wish I had done that a lot earlier than I did.

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Today I'm going to show my favorite method of creating displays for coins and other small objects.  As you know, there are a lot of things to be considered when mounting coins.  Valuable coins should not be mounted in any way other than encapsulation by a grading agency, but other coins can be mounted if done correctly.

I'm just going to quickly run you through the process of creating a coin display.  I'll give the basic instructions, but skip many of the options and fine details.

For coins that can be mounted, you don't want them to touch other metals and you don't want to glue them or anything like that.  Below is the TreasureGuide method for mounting coins and other small items.

1.  Once you know what coin or coins you want to display, the next step is to select a suitable piece of wood for the project.

Wood Cabinet or Flooring Samples.

Scrap wood or samples like those shown above can be considered.

Those wood samples were given to me by a neighbor who just built a new house.  I don't know why they gave them to me, but I guess they knew I would find a use for them.

2.  Design the layout.  Put the coins or other items on the wood and move them around until you decide how you want them displayed.  See how items show with different pieces of wood.

Five Pennies on a Sample Piece of Wood.

3.  Once you know what wood you want to use and how you want the items laid out, sand, stain, or otherwise prepare the wood.

For this illustration I decided to use a simple piece of scrap plywood and a single Eisenhower dollar.  I didn't treat the wood since I just wanted to quickly illustrate procedure.

Eisenhower Dollar I Chose for the Illustration.

4. Select a drill bit that will drill a hole the size of the coin.

1.5 Inch Drill Bit.

This is the one thing I think you might not have on hand and might need to buy.  You can get a good set of bits like this without spending much money.  They work with any regular electric drill.

A 1.5 inch bit will create a hole that is just the right size for the Eisenhower dollar.

1.5 Inch Drill Bit With Drilled Hole.

5.  Drill the hole.  For a coin, you might not want to drill all the way through the wood unless you want to be able to see both sides.

See how the coin fits the hole.  Try to make the hole as neat as possible.  Sand the hole as needed or desired.

I went through the entire illustration in about 20 minutes from start to finish so I wasn't real careful.

6.  Cut a round piece of soft cloth and place it in the hole as backing so the coin does not rub against the rough wood.

The coin should fit snuggly at this point.

7.  Get a piece of Plexiglas and cut it to the size of the wood.

I had an odd piece in the garage left over from when I cut one for a picture frame.

8.  Drill two small holes in the Plexiglas.  I actually used a Dremel tool that already had a small bit in it rather than changing the bit in the drill.

9 Insert two carpet tacks into the wood through the holes.

Tacks Holding Plexiglas Over Display.

10.  Print a label.  Very nice labels can be used - even gold foil.  I just laid a small sample label on the Plexiglas to give the idea.

As you can see I didn't bother to cut the Plexiglas to size for this illustration.

Arrowheads, shark teeth or any of a wide variety of small objects can be displayed like this.

It is a very good way to display suitable coins.  Display a single object or an entire set.

You can make the display as nice as you want.  I just did a quick and sloppy job for illustration purposes.  I didn't measure one thing - just eyeballed it, and it shows.

The main things I would do differently is finish the wood, be more careful and precise with the cuts, and make a nice label.

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Millions of Americans are using DNA test kits sold online to research their ancestry, either out of simple curiosity or to find answers about their identity.

But some academics warn the craze could reinforce racial stereotypes and divisions...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-craze-for-dna-heritage-tests-may-bolster-racism-critics-warn/ar-BBOCZVx?ocid=spartandhp

I think it will do the opposite.  Most people will find out that they are not entirely one thing or another.  Many people will be surprised by the test results.  Some racists will find out that their ancestry is not so pure.

Knowledge generally does not support stereotypes.  Of course there are real questions about the test and anything can be misused.

On the same subject, I heard that the Cherokee tribal leader that spoke up in response to the Elizabeth Warren claims said that tribal membership requires one to be able to trace their ancestry back to a specific tribal ancestor.  That is similar to the requirements for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution.  To be a SAR member, genealogical records have to show that your ancestry includes can be traced to a specific person who fought in the Revolutionary War.

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The National Hurricane Center Atlantic map shows no activity.

The tides are not as flat as they have been recently.

The increase in surf that was predicted for the Treasure Coast earlier, is now predicted to be only around two to four feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/27/12 Report - Iron, Copper, Fossils and Ghost Ships(?)

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

 One Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

This beach had a fairly steep slope and was mushy.  I saw another beach that had a low flat front beach. 

I wouldn't expect to find cobs on either beach, or anywhere on the Treasure Coast right now for that matter, however there are occasional surprises.

Despite the lack of good shipwreck cobs or coins there were a lot of targets to dig on some of the beaches of the Treasure Coast.

I found a lot of old iron and copper targets on one beach, while another beach offered a lot of aluminum.  

I'm often surprised by how much is left out there, even when conditions are poor.  I would think that a lot of that stuff would be picked up.

Large Iron Target Dug at One Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

This rod was over two feet long.  Just one example.  Like I mentioned, there was also a lot of copper.

Although you might not be interested in an iron rod, I wouldn't pass up all large iron targets.  You never know what kind of artifact might emerge.

I could tell this was a rod from the signal.  I've talked before about how you can often identify the size, approximate shape and depth of targets using pin-point mode.

And there were a good many shells this morning on some of the beaches.  Also some sea glass and some fossils.

Below is a 3 inch length of fossilized bone that was laying on the surface.  There were quite a few larger sized fossil pieces visible in the low tide zone.  This is just one example



There are a lot of ghost hunting and TV shows about the paranormal these days.  It seems to be a very hot topic.  While I won't say that I saw a ghost, I did observe a variety of very strange occurrences at the Stanley Hotel.

The Ghost Hunter TV show did a program at that hotel, and it is supposed to be one of the most haunted hotels in the country.  My personal experiences were enough to cause a person to wonder.

Anyhow, someone once asked me if I ever observed any paranormal activity on a shipwreck beach.  They thought that those shipwreck sites might be a place where there would be paranormal activity because of all of the history of the wrecks etc.   My answer was no, I had never seen any paranormal activity on those beaches.

More recently I was watching one of those TV shows where a ball of light seemed to float over a field on an old plantation in the West Indies, and it reminded me of something I did observe one night on a Treasure Coast shipwreck beach.

It was very dark.  I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.  The wind was blowing and there were ten foot seas. 

I looked out, and not far from shore there was one bright light.  My first thought was that there was a boat out there.  I wondered if there was a drug drop or something going on.  Who else would have been out there that close to shore in pitch dark in stormy 10 foot seas?

I just kept watching for something to happen even though no on could have seen much of anything without night vision equipment.  I as antsy about being there under those conditions, and now realize that I really shouldn't have been.

Slowly the light got smaller and finally disappeared.  I thought the boat had gone.  But thinking back, I didn't hear any motor.  Maybe I didn't hear it because I had ear phones on and the wind was blowing like crazy.  But thinking back, I also realized that the light didn't bob up and down at all.   And I don't think it could have been a large boat.  

So there it is.  I can't explain it.  It doesn't seem to make any sense to me, but it did seem to match the appearance of the floating light that I saw on that TV program. 

I don't know. 

Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Conditions Report.

I've described current conditions above.

Tomorrow, seas will increase a little, and then increasing throughout Sunday, and reaching seven feet or more by Monday.

That could definitely be enough to improved detecting conditions,  but it will depend upon other factors such as wind direction and timing.

I'll wait a little longer to make a more detailed forecast.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net