3/14/18 Report - Hidden Prize in Every News Story. Wreck Uncovered. Nonmetallic and Artifacts of Common Man.

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

Do you remember Cracker Jacks back when they had a nice little prize hidden in every box?  That is how this blog is.  You might not realize it - in fact I didn't until just a few minutes ago - but the news stories aren't just news stories.  I don't post all of the ones that might apply to treasure hunting, and I don't put them in as fillers or because you might be remotely interested: I post them because of the prize inside.

I know some people don't find the prize.  They think that the story has to do with some other part of the world or something that doesn't really apply to them or that they don't need to know, and they miss the prize.

I don't take the time every day to expand on every story and make all of the tips and clues completely clear and obvious.  I expect treasure hunters to be alert and adept at finding those hidden prizes for themselves.  I think it is fun too.  It is a part of the process of treasure hunting.

Before I get into my first news story for today, you are probably aware of the storms that have been hitting the northeast for the past few weeks.  Those storms, as you would expect, have uncovered shipwrecks and treasures.

The bones of one such wreck was recently uncovered on York Beach in Maine.  The bones of  the same shipwreck was uncovered in 1958, then after disappearing, appeared several times again, including after the storms of 2007 and 2014.

So you don't go ho hum and miss the good part, I'm going to help you find the prize in that little bit of information.  What is the general principle that applies to the Treasure Coast and any other beach in the world.  It isn't so obvious as "storms uncover old shipwrecks."  Take the time periods.  It was uncovered in 1958.  It showed up in 2007 and 2014.  That is seven years between 2007 and 2014.  Imagine a fairly stationary set of shipwreck bones.  Now think of the erosion that occurs during the right kind of storm, which typically occurs once every so many years and then the recovering that lasts for several years.  If there was a treasure chest - the type everybody seems to dream of and which reality TV programs think must have been present everytime they find a key, screw or nail - the treasure would only be exposed every so many years and then covered for a length of time again.  It probably seems like I'm laboring to make the obvious boring, but I'm trying to get you to internalize this process that occurs on what I might call a moderately long-term time table on most every beach.  Some Treasure Coast beaches hit those kinds of "treasure levels" once every several years.  I'm thinking of one in particular that has not been productive in the last few years but was remarkably productive back a couple decades ago for a few years. 

I hope I slowed you down long enough to savor that point a while.  There is a difference between "knowing" something and really making it a part of your sensory process so you apply it automatically when you are in the field.

Here is the link if you want to read more of "Uncovering the Secrets of York Beach."

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20180310/uncovering-secrets-of-york-beach-shipwreck

Remember, it is not just about York Beach.

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Treasure hunters that hit the 1715 Fleet beaches dream of finding treasures like the queen's jewels.  You might, however find more mundane items.  You might even find items that you dismiss imply because the don't look like the treasure you imagine.  Remember that not everybody that sailed with the fleet was of high rank.  And those that worked to salvage the wrecks were of common rank.  Some were indigenous peoples impressed into service to dive for the crown's sunken treasure.  You might find common items meant for daily life and survival as well as the royal treasures and cherished prizes of the rich and high ranking.

There were also items that were imported to the New World for the use of the colonists as well as those treasures being shipped to Spain.  Items that were imported to the colonies might not be the type that you are dreaming about and might not be quickly or excitedly recognized as Spanish sunken treasure.

Imports to the New World between 1511 and 1613 included a lot of beads and jewelry, but they were not of the most expensive type.  Among the finger rings are listed over 11,000 glass rings.  Yes, glass.  And thousands of rings of jet.  Also many wood rings.  I see 36 gilded rings listed.  By far, most of the rings imported into the New World for the colonists (and there were thousands and thousands) were not metal.

That information on imported personal items, including jewelry, is listed in Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500 - 1800, volume 2: Portable Personal Possessions, by Kathleen Deagan, Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002.

Deagan does show a number of copper alloy rings found at Spanish colonial archaeological sites, as well as a few of the nonmetallic rings.  I suppose some of the metal rings found at those archaeological sites were brought as personal possessions or made for individuals by artisans in the New World.  Cheap items were also imported for trade with the indigenous populations.

How many glass rings have you found?  Jet?  Wood?  Very possibly you've found more gold jewelry from the wrecks than items made of nonmetallic materials even though a lot of nonmetallic jewelry, as well as tons of beads, were brought to the New World.  That would probably be because you are using a "metal" detector.  Also, glass and wood are not that durable.

I once found a very small gold bead on a treasure wreck beach.  It took me a long time to see it even after I had it on top of my detector coil moving it around with the sand.  If it was glass or wood, I would never have seen it.

Among my nonmetallic finds is the clay pipe fragment that I recently found and posted.  I have not reason to believe it is Spanish or has anything to do with the wrecks.  On that subject, Deagan says that pipes were not often found in Spanish colonial sites, and of those that were found dating to the first half of the 18th century are nearly always of Dutch or English origen.

Keep your eyes open for nonmetallic items as well as metallic.  There should be a lot of them out there.  I've found a few.  One of my favorites is a wax seal impression.  I'm amazed that it lasted centuries.  Maybe you'll be able to find an 8th century glass or wood ring if you keep your eyes open.  Hint: they will not tend to gather with coins.

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Nice cool morning.  The surf is two to three feet today.  The tides are getting a little bigger, but not much.  The wind and swells will be northish.

Happy hunting.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/25/16 Report - Spanish Colonial Finger Rings and Deagan's Book. Book On Finger Ring Lore.

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

Yesterday I talked about the observation that silver rings are not found on 1715 wrecks.  The day before that I showed a silver ring that was in question.  Deagan's book on Spanish colonial artifacts shows that some, though not a lot of silver rings have been found at Spanish colonial land sites, but even those are few, especially in comparison to finger rings made of other materials such as copper alloys.

Deagan's book includes an extensive table showing the number of personal items of adornment going to the New World between 1526 and 1613 as indicated by shipping records of the period.  To give an example of one of the largest quantities of finger ring shipments in the table, 7,200 sortijas de vidrio (rings of glass) were shipped in 1590.

I haven't really looked into it, but don't recall any detectorists or treasure salvors reporting glass ring finds.  In fact, I just looked in the Mel Fisher artifact database and found glass items, but no glass rings.  There were beads, buttons and unidentified glass fragments, but no finger rings.

In the metal detecting world, you would expect that most finds would be metal.  Besides not being detectable, glass might be broken into small pieces and might not be easy to see in different environments.

That is just one reason there might be a big difference between what is out there and what is found. Some items are found more easily than others and some items are preserved much better than others. Metal items, big items and durable items will be found disproportionately when compared to items lost in similar numbers.

There are differences between what items were shipped to the colonies and the types of items shipped from the New World back to Spain.  Large numbers of cobs are found because they are metal, do not generally break down completely in the surf, were shipped from the New World in large quantities, and are detected by metal detectors.

I often talk eye-balling, which will help you find non-metallic items.  From time to time I also talk about techniques such as sifting.

Just as an example, the table shows 36 annilos de alquimia (gilded rings) being shipped in 1592.  Also, 432 sortijas de alquimia (rings with metalwork) were shipped in 1602.  Those are still small numbers when compared to rings made of non-metallic materials.  Compare that, for example, with the 7200 glass rings shipped in 1590 alone.

I'll have to do some research, but I'm not aware of glass finger ring finds made either by detectorists or treasure salvors.   Neither am I aware of finds of  rings made of other non-metallic materials, despite the large number that were shipped to the new world. Not surprisingly, underwater finds appear to be heavily skewed in the direction of metal items.  One of the more significant exceptions seems to be the emeralds that have been found on some shipwrecks.

I am wondering why silver rings seem to be so scarce on 1715 Fleet ships while gold and copper alloy rings are not so scarce.   I'll eventually throw out some ideas for your consideration.  At this point I have a few ideas.  I am considering sociological as well as economic and other reasons.  I want to do a little more research before putting those ideas out there.

I am still looking for ideas to explain the apparent lack of silver rings being found on the 1715 wrecks.

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Correction/Clarification.

The picture of the eroded renourishment sand at Jupiter in my 4/23/16 post was not a recent picture.  It was from early 2015.  Sorry for any confusion.  I didn't post those pictures as an indication of current conditions.  I just wanted to use the pictures to talk about renourishment sand.

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Here is an interesting book, Finger Ring Lore; Historical, Lengendary, Anecdotal by William Jones.

You can read it online by clicking on the title.

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Sailors and shipwrights have long believed a silver coin under the mast brings good luck.This practice started with the Romans, whose custom was to place a coin in the mouth of a dead person to pay Charon, the boatman who ferried the souls.

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net