3/21/20 Report - A Variety of Treasure Coast Mystery Finds and A Few Other Points.

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

Silver Mystery Find.

This is a small unmarked silver item.  It is too small to be a finger ring.  I don't know what it is.

Same Item On A Dime.

It has no holes or evidence of connectors or anything, and does not look like it is broke or was made to close.

Same Silver Object.

If it was much larger I'd think it was a napkin ring.   What do you think it is?

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I always like to find non-metallic items as well as those found by my detector.  You can often find them when metallic items are scarce.

Here are a few.

Found Points.

These aren't new finds though.  The one at the top is a broken spear point that I found in a shell pile some years ago at Walton Rocks.  It was my first point found on a beach.  I remember that find like it was yesterday even though it was years ago.

Here is a strange item I found yesterday while walking along the waters edge.  I saw it looking back at me through the shallow water.

Teddy Bear Eye?

My best guess is that it is an eye from a teddy bear or something like that.  There are rays evidently painted around what appears to be the iris.   It is flat on the back, but at one time might have had a protrusion that broke off.

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TM sent me closer photos of some of his mystery items.

Mystery Items From TM

What do you think now?  Crystal, glass, or what?

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Bill P. said,

Regarding the foil and baking soda method; try tap water instead of saliva.

I (TG) always used tap water myself.

I recently used a baking soda paste surrounding the coin and wrapped it in tin foil and let it sit overnight.  That worked really well.

I regard the baking soda paste as more of a toner than cleaner. 

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Regarding my comments yesterday relative to the Coronavirus and flu, DJ pointed out that the Coronavirus is different than the Swine flu and Spanish flu in that it is more contagious.

He also provided the following great link on the effectiveness of social distancing during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.

https://qz.com/1816060/a-chart-of-the-1918-spanish-flu-shows-why-social-distancing-works/

Good link.  You'll enjoy the history.

Thanks DJ.

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I always say that no two things are exactly alike, otherwise they wouldn't be two things.

Often it is a matter of determining which differences or similarities are important in a particular situation or for a particular purpose.

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The surf is still running around two to three feet, and will get smaller as the week progresses.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

3/17/20 Report - Scrap Silver and Reworked Metals and Other Items At McLarty. Two Mystery Items. Palm Beach Beaches.

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

McLarty Museum Display

Submitted by JamminJack

I received these photos from JamminJack a week or two ago.  I had a lot of news to cover, so held these for a while.  Below is a closer look at some of the display items.

Reworked Silver and Gold Items

Photo by JamminJack.

Some of the Leftovers.

Photo by JamminJack.

Not long ago I showed you some small melted bits of silver found on the beach.  They looked a lot like some pieces found at the Winter Beach camp.

Nice Four-Reale

Photo by JamminJack.

It would be a good education for any detectorist to visit the museum to study the items on display.

Thanks for the photos Jack.

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There are a lot of opinions on the glass-looking mystery items that I posted not too long ago.

Here are the ideas that I've received.

Decorative glass for flower vases and beach weddings.

Shattered safety glass.

Fluorite crystals.
Meth crystals.  TM says it is definitely not that.

Now here is what Bill G. said.

Regarding the glass pellets:

I helped start a fire table company (Firetainment) and those pieces of glass look exactly like what we put in our burner pans. Here is a link to some on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=fire+pit+glass&ref=is_s

Thanks Bill.  Looks like we're not going to settle this one, but maybe the reader ideas gave the finder enough to narrow it down.

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Here is another mystery find - this one from John B.  John said

Here’s a strange looking find… I found this a week ago on the beach near Vero

I thought it was lead, but i see silver in places on it.

Mystery Find.

Photo and find by John B.

To me it looks like Santaria Yamana items, which I used to find a lot in South Florida.

Here is a link to an old post I did on that.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/02/21415-repor-mystery-item-positively.html

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Jerry P. sent the following.

I thought you and your PB County readers would like to know about Mid-Town Beach’s status. I decided to go there for some wet-sand and surf detecting this morning since I had limited time and it’s close for me. I was quite surprised when I got there. There is a Major Renourishing project going on using pumped in sand from offshore. I had not heard a word about it happening. Looks to me like they are close to completing the work and still have lifeguards in the stands as well as the beach open to the public. Even though there is heavy equipment, dredge pipes etc. still being moved about on the beach, there was a good number of folks enjoying the Sun and water. Needless to say, detecting where I like to search was very lean. I also learned when I got home, that starting tomorrow (3/17) all Palm Beach Island beaches will be closed due to restrictions from the Covid-19 virus. Although they are saying that the PB County beaches will remain open to the public for now.

Thanks Jerry.

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If you are worrying that Coronavirus in the U. S. will spread like it did in Italy, you might be interested to know that northern Italy has a lot of sweat shops in which a very large Chinese population works, many of which come from an area not too far from Wuhan.

It might also help to put things in perspective if you consider that the N1H1 virus killed around 12,000 people in the U. S. in one year, 2009 - 2010.  So the Coronavirus has a long way to go to reach those numbers.

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Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

2/8/20 Report - Beach Renourishment Projects and Conditions. Spanish Colonial Finger Rings and Other Subjects.

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

Rio Mar Still Closed
Photo by DJ

Beaches are being renourished around the Treasure Coast.  Rio Mar is still closed.

Ugly Sand at Vero South Beach
Photo by DJ

DJ sent in the following report.

Went to a few beaches starting with Riomar - STILL dumping sand. SO I went to South Beach and took that picture looking south toward Sandy Point. Decided to go north to Turtle Trail. There were 7 detectorists there. One told me they thought last nights’ front might have helped. I ran into Terry Shannon there as well, always a great guy! Had very good things to say about your work, results and dedication. Only down side today was a jerk that refused to fill his holes, I have seen this guy twice now over the last two months. Did not like my asking him to be a responsible detectorist. People like this guy will ruin what little freedom we all have left to detect on a public beach. As I was leaving, ran into three more detectorists arriving. 

Seagrape looked the same as Turtle; lower beach front, lots of small shells, so I did not take a picture. Headed up to Treasure Shores. Passed Golden Sands which is still closed for more sand dumping.  Three detectorists at Treasure Shores, I walked north towards the big curve. Beach front was lower and lots of small shells kicked up from the past days southerly winds. Mostly aluminum but plenty of sneaky targets, solid signals in two directions but the result was an aluminum can end (circular) or the top ring. 

Thanks DJ.

Anyone know where the sand is coming from?  I noticed a lot of trucks going back and forth from out west.

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There is a lot of discussion about the question of silver rings on the 1715 wrecks.  Just a couple of days ago I posted a link to an article about one beach find that was "certified" by one company to be 1715 Fleet.

The subject of silver rings and their apparent absence on 1715 Fleet wrecks has been mentioned in this blog several times in the past.  Cathleen Deagan, in her book, Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500 - 1800, vol. 2: Portable Personal Possessions, published in 2002,  presents on page 126 an illustration showing several  1715 Fleet rings.  One of those rings is described as a silver Claddagh ring.  Claddagh rings have remained virtually unchanged in design for centuries.  If that illustration is correct, the ring I posted the other day may be the first certified silver 1715 Fleet ring, but it is not the first 1715 Fleet silver ring recovered.  Unfortunately Deagan does not give other details on where the ring was found.  Perhaps one of you salvage people can tell us.

We all know about the relatively common copper-alloy rings and gold rings, but you might be surprised to know that many rings made of other substances were brought to the New World but are very scarce among the salvage records.  Shipping records show (Deagan, 2002, p. 116 and 117) that among the many finger rings shipped to the New World between 1511 and 1613, many were made of glass, some of jet, and some of bufano wood.  Silver wasn't specifically mentioned, but examples have been recovered from Spanish colonial archaeological sites.   Shipping records presented in Deagan's book document several thousand glass rings shipped to the New World in 1590 and thousands more in 1592.  You can understand why those might not survive the ocean for hundreds of years.

I'll also point out the Deagan example ( p. 83) of a 17th century silver "sacred heart" finger ring from Santa Catalina de Guale (Georgia), so we know they were present on Spanish colonial sites but perhaps not common.

Well-informed readers and salvage divers provided some welcome comments on the subject.  A couple mentioned that silver rings might not survive very well in the ocean, and a couple also were surprised that the ring was certified.


Below are a few comments from Jammin Jack.

If any were found, most likely from an overlapping wreck from a later period. 

Certifying the ring was surprising to me, but I am sure Steve had reliable sources.

Also, most research material may include sites from the Gulf, Atlantic, Caribbean, etc. This can cause very controversial arguments, but silver rings on wrecks have always been rare - ANYWHERE! ...

Jammin Jack also told of an experience he had with electrolysis.

I found a (ear)ring back when Noah Wells was leaving the lab. Bill Moore took over the process. We all thought possibly silver with gold filigree and hoping 18th century. I wished I left it alone. After cleaning, it was silver, and very fragile. It was determined late 1800s, and had a small value. I still have the ring as a reminder that sometimes cleaning can ruin the historical value. The below picture is the day I found it. If I showed what it looks like now...well, we learn from our mistakes. 

Silver Earring Find Before Cleaning.

Photo by JaminJack

My first attempt at electrolysis also taught me a lesson. I ruined a buffalo nickel. Thankfully it wasn't any big deal, but I did learn that if I used electrolysis, the process should be carefully monitored, which is something I do with any cleaning method these days. I think it is one part caution and one part curiosity. I like to make sure nothing bad is happening and I'm too curious to wait long to find out how it is going.

When monitoring progress on any cleaning I'm doing, I now like to view the object under magnification.  I've recently learned that you can think an item is clean when there is still some encrustation, sand or shells attached.  I just feel like I get a better look at what is going on when I use magnification.

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The surf will begin to increase tomorrow, but only reach 3 -5 feet Monday, and then decrease again after that.

The tides are getting bigger.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

12/26/19 Report - High Tides and Treasure Coast Beaches. Copper Heart Find. Continuing Surf.

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

John Brooks Beach Wednesday.

I took a quick look at the beach Wednesday.  The water had been up high and the four-foot cuts that were at John Brooks a day or two ago were gone.

Below is another view of John Brooks beach as it looked Wednesday near noon.

John Brooks Beach Wednesday.

Frederick Douglass beach had been smoothed out too.

Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday.

Frederick Douglass wasn't much different.  In the photo below, there was one detectorist down around the bend. 

Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday.

Pelicans Over Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday.

I noticed a lot of pelicans flying south yesterday.  I don't know what that means, if anything, but I haven't been seeing many pelicans in recent years until Wednesday.

Pelicans are great wind surfers.  Wish I could do that.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Wednesday.

Almost all of the most recent renourishment sand has disappeared at Fort Pierce South Jetty Park.  You know what that means.  It won't be long before they start dumping sand again.

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I found a copper puffed heart a few days ago.  I forget which day now, but I had some years ago found one just like it and also a silver one with the same kind of wire connectors shown in the photo below from Deagan's book.

-

Ornamental Glass Heart Jewelry Shown in Deagan's Book,

Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean.  P. 129.

Below are two photos of the copper one that I found about a week or two ago.  The photo on the right shows the heart on a Roosevelt dime with the tip up to show the hole on that side.  There is a similar hole on the top of the heart for a wire connector.

Treasure Coast Copper Puffed Heart Beach Find.

The silver one that I found years ago is almost like the copper one shown here.  I think it still has the wire connectors like the ones shown on the Deagan example.

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You know you are old when you go into the store and the Santa ringing the bell looks renarkably young.

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We are having some high tides and some decent surf.

Here are the surf predictions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/9/19 Report - Intitial Impressions of Equinox Metal Detector. A Few Finds.

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

Recent Find
Vintage Button.

I think it is probably a vintage button.

I don't know what the stone is - probably glass, paste or rhinestone.

Back of Same Button.

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Several weeks ago I said I was going to do some metal detector tests.  I didn't do that, but today I took out an Equinox for a test run and spent maybe 20 minutes.  Using just the factory default settings, I found two pennies (1969 and 1989) in an area that I had covered several times before with three or four other detectors - both high end and basic.

I used the default factory settings.  I made NO adjustments.  The area I was working has a lot of underground and overhead cables in the area.  In short, there is a lot of ambient electrical interference as well as rebar and fences  The coin finds in the previously worked ground, I believe, were due to the quieter operation of the Equinox in this particular environment.  Of course with all the rain, and this area is home to a lot of moles and critters, so there is also the possibility that the found coins were moved some since the last time the area was detected.

While promising, I can not say how performance will compare on a quiet salty beach, but it was impressive in the particular environment I worked today.

I've always said, though, that it is good to work a promising area with more than one metal detector.  The different operating characteristics, as slight as they might be, will often result in different finds.  And we can't forget the extensive experiment that one reader did on a city lot that was completely sifted.  Repeated metal detecting by different detectorists only found a small percentage of coins that were found by sifting.  (See link below.) Noise, junk, and other factors play a roll.

One thing I liked about the Equinox during this first test, is how it responds to targets.  Being a person that has relied heavily on sound for target ID, the auditory signal produced by the Equinox provides a lot of information.  It seems like you can tell a lot about the target just by listening to the auditory signal.  One thing I found was an old shot gun shell casing that was bent.  I believe I could tell it was bent from how the signal varied as I swept at different angles.

Bent Sears Sportload Shotgun Shell.

The casing is bent at about 90 degrees even thought it doesn't look like that much in the photo.  "Sears" shells were not made after 1980.  Maybe someone can give me more on the date of the shell.

Back of Same Shell

Overall, my first twenty or so minutes with the Equinox was encouraging.  I'll test it in other environments and with other settings in the future.

As I said, I did not vary any settings this time, so my test was not really much of a test of what the detector can do, but if you simply use the default settings, it seems like it would work quite well in a park or yard

It is light, easy to assemble and use right away.  The only think I didn't like so far was the ear phone cups that came with the Equinox 600.  They were not made to keep out much ambient noise.  The earphones were light and folded up conveniently, which are pluses.

You can find the post in which sifted coin finds were compared to metal detected finds on a city lot by using the following link.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2018/03/82618-report-first-investigation-ever.html

See also the 3/30/18 post for concluding remarks on that.

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Yesterday I posted a lapel pin from a hospital.  Duane C. found a similar lapel pin from another hospital in North Carolina.

Lapel Pin Find.

Find and photo by Duane C.

Duane said, Lol I found one too. Mine showed 10k but after further cleaning saw the 1/10. Stone is also like yours blue sapphire. Good luck down there.

Thanks Duane!

What I've learned is that they are service pins.  They might give a silver pin for 10 years of service and a gold pin for 20 years, for example.   I don't know what actually goes with the different years, those are just random examples.

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The surf is still calm.  The salvage guys have had a lot of good days to search this year.  I'm sure they are finding more.

There is nothing of interest on the National Hurricane Center map.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/19/19 Report - 1800-Year-Old Roman Ring Found by Detectorist. T. C. Trinitite Collector. Ink Bottle Finds.

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

1800-Year-Old Roman Victory Ring Found by Detetectorist.

Source: See Bukisa.com link below.

The ring was found at the site where a Roman villa once stood, and was owned by a high-ranking Roman, who has not yet been identified, but the search is on.  The ring will make its home in the British Museum.

John Massey, the detectorist who found this ring, detects with a group know as Detecting for Veterans.  They have made numerous significant finds.  Shown below is one such Roman hoard.

Roman Hoard Found by Veterans for Detecting Group.

Source: Bakisa.com web site.

Here is the link.

https://bukisa.com/articles/1087606_man-uncovers-1800-year-old-roman-ring-but-when-he-looks-closer/

There is more to read and finds to see in that article.

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I received emails in response to both the cannon ball and Atomic melted glass finds that I posted yesterday.  Whether you hunt a lot in the heat of summer or not, it is a good time to keep on learning.  One thing I've learned the hard way is that you should study, catalog and properly store finds as soon as you can.  If you put it off and let the years roll by, you can forget important details.

Scott C., who avidly detects the treasure beaches and often shares with this blog, collects Trinitite.  He sent the following email that elaborates on Trinitite.

Wasn't expecting to see that post, The Hiroshima atomic bomb post with the photos of the melted glass and other melted particles found along the beach. There is so much history held in those glass balls. The Hiroshima atomic bomb was the second of such atomic devices, the first being the Trinity Atomic Test July 16th, 1945 which was developed during the top-secret program called (The Manhattan Project.) Robert Oppenheimer was the director of the program, and worked along side of some of the most brilliant minds of our time. We had to develop these devices before the Germans did as history may well have been re- written if we didn't do so. 


It's a sore subject to many, but the Atomic age did change the world forever and the day it did was July 16th, 1945.

The "Trinitite" which you mentioned in your post was named because of this first atomic bomb test, the bomb itself was named the Gadget, and from this test came "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" and the rest is history.

When the first atomic bomb detonated the blast area instantly vaporized everything within a large radius and sucked everything including sand, iron, copper, instruments, the tower, everything that was in the blast area was sucked up and pulled into an enormous fire-ball, it melted everything including millions of tons of desert sand within a few seconds...this melted sand rained back down to earth as liquid glass landing on the dessert floor and surrounding the entire blast area with a sheet of green glass later to be named Trinitite. This glass still is radioactive to this day...almost 75 years later.

I have been fortunate and one of a few who collects this man-made radioactive mineral/glass, it is a oddity, I have one of the largest collections of a rare variety in the world...it is known as Red Trinitite. Very near ground zero this Red was created by the mix of the copper cabling that held the actual tower and the cables of the actual device itself, this copper was vaporized into molecular form and mixed within the fiery liquid within the fireball and turning and it into a blood red glass, this glass still has the particles of the actual atomic bomb held within it. (Did I say it's still radioactive even after almost 75 years.) (it is safe to handle but use common sense when handling, it it legal to own, sell, but forbidden and against the law to collect today from the actual Trinity site itself, which is open to the public only twice a year, most all the Trinitite was bulldozed and buried back in 1952 at the actual test site and buried by the army.

My Trinitite was collected in 1945 and 46' by one of the scientists who worked for what is now called Sandia National Laboratory.

As a collector I look at the beauty of this glass, it is actually amazing to look at under a microscope, and to photograph. Trinitite glass holds so many interesting visuals and is quite beautiful...the history on how it came to be might be controversial but we cannot ignore many of the benefits that came about from entering the Atomic age. I hope we never repeat a Hiroshima or Nagasaki, or Chernobyl, Fukushima. We must never forget.

After the first atomic test Robert Oppenheimer said this famous quote and I hope it never come true. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb13ynu3Iac

I guess I can say with all honesty that Trinitite is much unknown and misunderstood by many, it is a man made mineral with an incredible history behind it.

I have a twitter page if you want to see a few examples look under Trinitite Man or @TrinititeMan

PS, I love that cannon ball find, those shell mounds hold some pretty good artifacts.

Keep up the great posts TreasureGuide.

Scott aka Trez

Thanks much Scott!

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I'll have more on the cannon ball tomorrow and other finds down around Jensen.  Today I'll just end by posting some common Treasure Coast glass finds.  Included are three Waterman's ink bottles that I've found.  Similar bottles are still made today even though ink is not used nearly as much, but my impression without really conducting the research is that these ones are from the 40s or 50s.

Waterman's Pen Company was founded by Lewis Edson Waterman in New York City in 1884.  I've found a lot of other ink bottles including an older barrel shaped Waterman's.  I photographed these to add to my Bottle Barn site.

Three Waterman's 2 Oz. Ink Bottles 

of the Same Type Shown From Different Angles.

Bottoms of Same Three Bottles.

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I've noticed that the people that really find a lot never quit reading.  Others come and go with the seasons.

The surf will remain around two feet for a few more days, but the low tides are good and low.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/18/19 Report - Exciting Treasure Found in Jensen Backyard. Beautiful Artifacts of the Atomic Age. Alchemy of Treasure Hunting.

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

Cannon Ball and Oyster Shells Found In A Backyard On A Jensen Ridge.
Find and photo by K. K.

I received the following email yesterday, along with some photos. Happy Friday, a few weeks ago we were doing some renovations to our backyard in Jensen beach and under neath an old line of bushes we found all kinds of fun treasures from the Ais Indians, which isn’t uncommon.... We routinely find mounds of discarded oysters, small pottery shards and all kinds of later years fun types of glasses. Well this day we came across a large oyster bed and a second section where they had been shaped into different shapes and what looked like a huge heavy ball of some sort.  We called around and finally a lady from the local museum at Gilbert’s House of refuge came over and said it in fact looked like a very old maybe 16th century Spanish iron cannon ball to her and it looks like we may have a bit of a mound in our backyard a place where the Ais Indian, would have a outpost for fishing and hunting trips and later on a place to be on the look out for the British or Spanish and their Indian collaborators who routinely traveled the area... I guess it’s still crazy a 450 year old cannonball was in my yard unsound until now! (My family has been in this house since 1979) I attached some pics for you to take a look at.

Exciting finds!  Thanks for sharing K. K.

While our beaches have been heavily detected, most of the inland areas have not.  There is a lot to find out there.

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Beautiful Beach Artifacts From a Horrendous Event.

Source: See Atlasobscura.com link below.

Wannier had been studying beach debris from different areas in order to compare the health of different marine ecosystems, when some particles from the Motoujina Peninsula struck him as unusual. Next to particles generated by plants or animals, these were “aerodynamic, glassy, rounded”—they reminded him of what he had seen in sediment samples from the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary, the geological marker of the mass extinction that erased the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago. 

But these particles from the Motoujina Peninsula were also notably different in several ways from the K-Pg particles: Some were rubbery, others had multi-layered glass shells. The variety reflected the wide range of materials present in the particles, identified under electron microscope at the University of California, Berkeley. X-ray experiments were also conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which proved useful in analyzing the formation of the debris.* The range of materials is just one indication that the particles formed as a result of the Hiroshima bombing. An urban center presents a wider variety of materials—such as concrete, marble, stainless steel, and rubber—than a desert test site like Trinity, in New Mexico, where the first-ever nuclear explosion was tested. The resulting particles from that test, called trinitites, are notably less diverse in their composition than what Wannier and his colleagues are now calling “Hiroshimaites.” The presence of anorthite and mullite crystals in the particles, meanwhile, suggested that they had formed in temperatures hotter than 3,300 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1,800 degrees Celsius...
Here is the link for the rest of the article.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/found-glass-fallout-from-hiroshima


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I lost interest in the Discovery Channel's Gold Rush TV show years ago, however I caught a few episodes of Gold Rush: Parker's Trail last night and was glad I did.

Unlike the History Channel's three "Curse" treasure shows, the Parker's Trail episodes, filmed in New Guinea, illuminated the human condition.

The alchemy of treasure hunting is the transformation and purification of the hunter.  That was made clear as Parker and his crew shared blood, sweat and tears with the native populations and were refined in the process.  Meaningful and worthwhile TV!

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The tides are big now, but the surf remains around two-feet.  The wind is mostly from the south.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/17/19 Report - SS Pulaski Coins Being Sold. Another Kind of Collectible You Might Find: Insulators.

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

Finds From SS Pulaski

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu0ixvAA8BQ

I've posted a bit in the past about the shipwreck of the SS Pulaski, but now the coins are being sold.

The first 502 gold and silver coins plucked from a shipwreck off North Carolina have been sold to a global coin dealer at a price that “wildly exceeded” the recovery project’s expectations...

The 502 coins included some of the oldest U.S. gold coins ever recovered off a shipwreck, dating to around 1800, said Keith Webb of Blue Water Ventures International.   Blue Water Ventures is working with Endurance Exploration Group to recover treasure off the Steamship Pulaski...

Read more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article226195150.html#storylin

All 502 coins predated the sinking of the Pulaski in 1838, with the oldest being a 1750s British Gold Guinea, said Micah Eldred of Endurance Exploration Group.

Webb believes more than 100,000 gold and silver coins wait to be found, along with jewelry...

Divers are finding the coins in areas where the passengers’ steamer trunks tumbled as part of a “wreck trail.” The trunks themselves have wasted away, Webb says, but the metal bands, keys and locks that held them together now sit in the sand...

Read more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article226195150.html#storylink=cpy

Here is the link for the rest of the article.


https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article226195150.html

See also:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/portion-pulaski-shipwreck-coin-collection-135108095.html

https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/6524/SS-Pulaski/

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You never know what you might find.  That is something I like about treasure hunting.  You can find a lot of interesting things besides coins.  There are bottles, fossils, arrow heads, shells, sea glass and other types of  collectibles that you can find.

If you've done much hunting, there is a good chance you've found some insulators.  Here are a few that I've found.

Found Insulators.

Sometimes they still have wire attached or are on bolt.  You can detect those, but very often they will be surface finds.

One thing I like about insulators, besides the fact that they come in all sizes and shapes and can be very colorful, is that they are usually well marked, both with the name of the manufacturer and the patent date.

Probably my best insulator is a cobalt blue example.  It isn't shown in this photo.

Brookfield Insulator.

This nice little green insulator is a Brookfield.  It also has the patent date on the bottom.

There are quite a variety of manufacturers.

Like most collectibles, most are fairly common and not very valuable, but there are some that bring very good prices.  As with all collectibles, condition and rarity are big factors.

I think insulators are attractive and make a nice collection.  They can be easily researched and nicely displayed.

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No big change in beach conditions.  The surf is still small.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net