6/2/20 Report - Beach Conditions From Frederick Douglass to Turtle Trail. Tropical Storm Cristobal.

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

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach.

I took a look at a few beaches Monday.  You can see a couple of them here.

Frederick Douglass Beach Monday.

We have summer beaches now, and it is hot so people are getting in the water more.

Frederick Douglass Beach Near Low Tide Monday.

John Brooks beach looked very much like Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass Beach Monday.

I managed to find a small gold lion pendant.

Gold Lion Pendant.

Tuesday Morning I visited Turtle Trail.  Here is what it looked like.

Turtle Trail Tuesday Morning.

Tuesday the weather was the kind I like - cloudy and rainy.  No crowds - just nature.

There were a few very small cuts and dips.

Turtle Trail Tuesday Morning.

Down around the low tide swash area there was about a foot of fine sand over a layer of coarse shells.  The shell layer contained miscellaneous light trash and a few pennies and things like that.  There were deeper objects, but they were difficult to dig out.

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About a month ago I did a couple posts on Rolex watches.  There are now a lot of new stolen ones out there.

Last night looter's took $2.4 million worth of Rolex watches from a looted Soho store.

Here is the link.

https://nypost.com/2020/06/01/looters-swipe-2-4m-worth-of-watches-from-soho-rolex-store/

By the way, if you are wondering why the police aren't doing much to stop the rioters, looters and Antifa trouble makers, it is because a lot of them are from well connected political families that support Antifa.  For example, the son of former VP candidate, Tim Kaine, is a member of Antifa, and Mayor de Blasio's daughter was recently arrested during the riots.

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We have a new tropical storm in the Gulf.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

It looks like it will head towards Louisiana.  I doubt that it will affect us much.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

12/27/19 Report - A Couple Recent Treasure Coast Gold Finds. Reflections On My YouTube Videos.

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

14K Gold Pendant With Nice Looking Stone.

I've mentioned a few times that I've been on the ring trail lately.  I have been finding a lot of rings, but they've been junk.  Finally I got off of that trail and found a couple better items.

I also mentioned that I've been finding beaches with good numbers of modern coins.  They've been the non-shipwreck beaches.  While I haven't found any tightly packed coins spots or holes, there have been good numbers of coins scattered over beach front areas.  When you pick up enough coins eventually you'll get something better.

The pendant is marked 14K, but I don't know what the stone is yet.

When you find a pendant, look for the chain.  It might be broken.

I also found the following bracelet.

14K Bracelet Find.

I was trying out my new waterproof ear-phones that I got for Christmas.  They seem to work fine.

It reminds me of one year after I picked up a new Sovereign in Orlando, and on the way home stopped to test it out and found a gold crucifix just north of Ambersands.  Always nice to find gold the first day you have a new detector out.

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I made a few YouTube videos, but not many.  One of the first, if not the first, I posted back in 2011.  I forgot about it but yesterday was notified of a comment.  The title of the video is Beachcombing for Fossils and Sea Glass.  The description is, "A walk along the beach on the Treasure Coast of Florida where a few fossils and pieces of sea glass were found."  I just wanted to show how you could walk along the beach and eye-ball interesting things.

After forgetting about the video, I was surprised to see there were 11,854 views, as of yesterday and 49 thumbs-up and 48 thumbs-down.  I was really surprised to see how many people had viewed the video, especially since  I didn't do anything to promote it.  11,000 isn't really very many, but for something I pretty much forgot about, it seemed like a good many especially considering that it certainly wasn't very good.  I just wanted to try it out, and I failed at one big thing I attempted to do with it.

Not having made any videos of that type before, whenever I bent over to pick up a fossil or piece of sea glass, my camera veered away from whatever I was picking up.  I didn't know that was happening and didn't intend for it to happen, but one person thought I was being intentionally evasive.  I wasn't.  It was just my first attempt to do something like that, and it was difficult to keep the camera focused on the target while looking at the object and bending down to pick it up.

Despite my crude first attempt at point-of-view videography, the video received what I would consider a lot of views and a few comments, mostly negative, but there were 49 thumbs up and 48 thumbs down.  It seems that some people saw some value in the video even though I failed to show the fines well.  I don't know exactly what people liked, but some evidently enjoyed something about it.

Cloverfield is a movie I like, mostly because of the innovative P.O.V. way that it was shot.  It was shot from the point of view of one of the characters using a personal video camera to capture what he saw just like a normal person would under extremely stressful circumstances.   It didn't have the feel of most movies, which have carefully planned shots, and I liked and admired the different approach.

All I intended to do was do was show what I saw as I walked along looking for fossils and sea glass.  I succeeded in that to a very limited extent, but completely failed to get the closeups of the finds.  Perhaps the careful viewer could get a glimpse of some of the fossils or sea glass, but it was difficult at best.

I suspect that some of those that gave a thumbs up to my video liked the walk along the beach, and perhaps getting a look at a Treasure Coast beach with some shells and other things scattered along.

I found out that there were many similar videos of people walking the beach looking for sea glass, but they were able to clearly show what they picked up.  Maybe being in with that group of videos is what drew so many viewers to my video.  I don't really know much about YouTube, especially promotion, but since I didn't promote it much, it seems that views can come easily if you just have something out there.

I do not think I understand most of those who made comments.  Maybe a few were trying to be helpful.  Obviously they didn't find what they were looking for, but I don't know why they were expecting much more than what they got, if they were.  No one asked them to watch or told them to watch.  There was no cost to watch.  Not even an ad.   It was their choice alone, and I don't think the title or description was deceptive. So I just can't say what they were looking for - other than something for nothing.  I think some of them must be like the people that like to honk car horns.
They just like to be heard or something.  In any case, the comments seem to be emotive more than informative.  Maybe they got something off their chest.

Another interesting thing to me is how the thumbs-up and thumbs-down were almost equal in number.  People see things differently.  Different people will see the same thing different ways.  They bring their own perspective and predispositions, to the video or post and that determines what they get out of it.  It takes two to tango, and at least two to communicate.  A message requires both a transmitter and receiver, and the originator of the message can not determine the interpretation or how much the recipient will get out of the message.

What I learned is that YouTube videos can accumulate views by just being out there, and that some people will enjoy a video while others will not.  That part was not new to me, but I was actually trying to figure out what people liked about a video that in my opinion wasn't very good.

Maybe in the future I'll try to make more videos although I generally prefer text.  I seldom find a video that I like, and when I do look at one, I usually find myself quickly skipping over most of it.  But that is just me.

I might make some more videos in the future, but they probably won't be what most people want to see.  I do have about a dozen videos on YouTube but haven't paid too much attention to them even though I think some of them could be informative or helpful.

Here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpBoxVBmVWiTF2h_r3RwBCA?view_as=subscriber

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The surf will be decreasing for a few days, but the high tides are still high.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/5/19 Report - Valuable Gold Pendant Beach Find. Gold Coins Found. More On The Copper Bracelet. Trained Marine Animal.

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

Two Sides of Gold Pendant Found on Beach.

Photo by Mag

This is a curious one for me.  I received an email from Mag, who said her son found this pendant "under a rock on the beach in San Diego."  Mag says it was taken to a jeweler who said it was 39 grams of "pure" gold, and the jeweler offered $2000.  That would be very close to the value of the gold content.  Another guy reportedly offered 120K.  I don't know why that would be, but as I was writing this I noticed something.  There appears to be a mark under the ankh.  I can't make it out in the photo, but could it be a Tiffany Art Deco piece or perhaps a work by a famous artist?  It does appear to be a quality piece.

Great find!  And thanks for sharing.

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I got an email from John E. who said, ......a guy that works for me told me he and his wife were looking for shells on Cumberland Island (Georgia/Florida border) after a hard blow back in 2007-2008....lots of great shells , but found 3 gold coins ( irregular shape according to him) under some shells and a "game warden " walked over and told him...."those are the property of the state of Georgia" I will have to take them, and he gave the coins to him. Can this be true?

I mentioned relevant issues and how it could definitely be true.

I know that Cumberland Island is a very historic place, and it could well have been found on state lands or a designated historic or archaeological site.  Also I mentioned the mean high tide line.

Whether the warden's actions were justified or not, it would have been nice if the finder got a photo of the coins and got the name of the warden for possible follow-up.

It is good to have a camera with you.  It can help document situations and help you demonstrate when you are in the right.

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One more person provided some thoughts on the copper bracelet found by Terry S.   Laura Strolia sent me an article which included the following sentence.  ... it is not uncommon for Aztec artist to create generalized deity figures that are based on the likeness of a particular deity and imbued with her characteristics, while not directly representing that deity....  

Attempting to briefly summarize the email and article that Laura sent me, I think it would be fair to say that the copper bracelet might show a stylized deity consistent with an Aztec, Mexican or South American cultural influence.

Here is the link to the article Laura sent.

https://howardnowes.com/gallery/detail.cfm?itemnum=12934

Laura also mentioned to me the popularity of copper arts and crafts jewelry from the 1960s and 1970s.  I've found quite a bit of that.

Thanks Laura.

I did my first post on this topic too soon.  I should have waited a few days.

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Very often my first response to an email or question isn't my best response.  For example, in the case of the gold pendant shown above, I responded to the email before noticing the faint sign of a  mark below the ankh, and I didn't think of the possibility of the item being an antique like those that were popular during Art Deco period.  I also didn't initially think of the possibility of it being made by a famous artist or company such as Tiffany.  I very often regret answering quickly and have to add to or edit my response.  That happened at least three different times this week.

Mag originally contacted me after seeing the gold Cleopatra pendant find that I posted by in 2013.  I had actually forgotten about that.

Yesterday's post on bottles sent me back through a tour of my old bottle posts.  That tour reminded me of a lot of other old finds that I forgot.  I also was reminded of my original intentions for my Bottle Barn site, which I haven't added to in a long time.

Some of the short paragraphs I post take me a long time to write.  One famous author - I forget who now - apologized to someone for writing such a long letter, and explained it was because he didn't have enough time.  It can take a lot of time to boil things down to a clear concise statement.  It is sometimes much quicker and easier to ramble on.

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I just took my first look at the recently concluded Sedwick auction and noticed that many lots went for two, three or more times the upper auction estimate.

The nice Santiago Chile quarter reales did very well, as did the blue and white Ming dynasty china.  Those are just two categories that stuck out to me on my first look.

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Perhaps you saw the reports of the Beluga Whale wearing a harness that turned up around Norway.  The news sources seem to be calling it a Russian spy.

Here is that link.

https://apnews.com/8515d3a6ea4a48dda70583a616beca05

Animals, including marine animals such as dolphins, have been trained for military functions.  I wonder what a trained sea otter could do?  I think he might be pretty good at diving for coins or whatever you trained him to look for.  Just a fun thought.

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It looks like in a few days we might get one day of three to five-foot surf.  Otherwise the surf will be more like two or three foot.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/22/19 Report - Treasure Coast Area Find Made Last Week. Native American Artifacts of Precious Metals.

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

Recently Found by Cole S.
Photo submitted by Jonah M.

Some of the guys were recently checking out a washed out area and found this nice bottle.  It looks to me like an 18th century wide cylindrical mallet style bottle - probably of English or Dutch manufacture.  

If someone can correct that or add to that, please do.

Here is a closer view of the top and bottom.

A cork would go in the top and a string or wire would secure it.

These bottles can bring a good price.

Thanks for sharing guys.

As I often say, there is always some place to look and something to find.  When conditions are not good for one kind of hunting, they can be good for another type of hunting.

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Gold Pendant

Silver Tablet.

Above is a gold pendant dated to 800 to 1500 AD.  It came from the St. Marks Wakulla area of Florida.

And on the right is a Calusa silver tablet from Charlotte Harbor area.

Those are two examples, of native American artifacts made of precious metals.  I don't know the purity of the gold pendant.

The finds were posted on the peachstatearchaeologicalsociety.org web site under the artifact identification section.

I posted them in my 10/28/14 post, and I recently found them by accident when I was looking for something else.

I've posted so much that I forgot a lot of it.  I found the above items, as I said, when I was looking for something else after my search led me back to this blog.

Don't forget the search box, which you'll find on the top of the first page of this blog.  


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The tides are still pretty big with negative low tides, but the surf is running around two feet.

Monday morning I checked a few beaches, and it seemed they were filling in.  Some of the better spots deteriorated.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/21/17 Report - Gold Pendant. Hallmarks. Thanks Guys. Seagrape Trail Monday.

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

Here is a find made by John C. back some time ago.   Like the Pelican in Piety ring found by Dan B., this pendant shows hallmarks - but on the front.  Below is what John said about it.

This piece was found north of Sebastian   Inlet.  Noticed similar markings to Danny's ring. Crown  on the top and the leopard head on the bottom signifies London.  Much lower carat gold. I think 375 is 9 kt.

Shown before and after cleaning.

Photos by John C.

You can find a lot of good information to help you decipher hallmarks.  First you might check out wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallmark#England

And here is a very detailed document on British hallmarks.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.britishhallmarkingcouncil.gov.uk/publications/hallmarks2.pdf

You can learn a lot when you research finds.  That is half the fun of finding old and interesting things.

Dan B., who found the Pelican in Piety ring that I showed on 11/8, had the following to say.

Wanted to thank you for the recent excitement pertaining to the ring.

I was thinking what is crazy is that until the notorious find of the pelican of piety in Fort Pierce in 2010 it would have been an obscure Spanish religious symbol only well known to the few who had in-depth knowledge of the fleet and its items!?!? Uncanny

I am actually considering contacting LW and G for our records of sales in 1962 and 1963. Also have a few strings out to some old hunters who may have seen it on someone. I'm enjoying this. Thanks again. Hope you are well.

Ps. Loved "what is grass for"


Thanks Dan.  As you suggest, the cool thing is how it adds to the awareness of those who are interested.  That might seem like a small thing, but the effect is multiplied many times.  The effect can multiply without being recognized while raising awareness and the general level of knowledge having an impact far into the future.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Captain Bonnie Schubert, who literally uncovered the gold pelican artifact after it had been concealed for hundreds of years in the ocean, and to Laura Strolia, who conducted research and published the  historical background and helped us understand the significance of the artifact and the Pelican in Piety icon.   She raised our awareness and increased our knowledge.  That is obvious to me from the comments and responses of the readers of this blog. We can not tell what long term impact that might have. This is Thanksgiving week so it is an especially good time to thank those who have contributed so much to our understanding and the enjoyment of our hobby.

(For those of you who don't know, What is Grass For is a post I did not too long ago.)

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Seagrape Trail Monday
Photo by Darrel S.

Darrel said, Went back to Sea Grape with CZ21. Detected from 1:30-4:00pm. Low was 2:45pm. Nice low sand and hundreds of hits! Mostly nails, scrap iron, space debris, tiny washers, and older coins. Only detector out on beach or parking lot!

Seagrape Trail Monday
Photo by Darrel S.

Thanks for the report and photos Darrel.

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While I'm giving thanks, I want to say thanks to all of you who read this blog, and especially those of you who contribute and respond.  The responses I get encourage me to keep going.

The surf will be a little higher today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/17/15 Report - Most Popular Posts. Marginal Signals. Detector Adjustments & Sensitivity. Shipwreck Gold Nugget.

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

Ancient Gold Pendant
Found With Metal Detector.

You probably noticed that I made a change to the first page of the blog.  It now displays eight of the most popular posts of the past.

I think this is a great feature because there are six or seven years of posts now, and that can be overwhelming.  This provides a good new way to see if there is anything you missed or simply want to revisit.

The post about this gold pendant is one of those popular posts.  It is listed at the top of the list.

Last night I stumbled upon an old post reporting on the find of a gold nugget on a Treasure Coast shipwreck treasure beach last year about this time of year.  That particular post didn't make the top eight list.   See the 3/17/14 post for that and more on gold nuggets.

Enjoy.

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Back a few days ago I talked briefly about rounding your curves on your sweep pattern as shown in the illustration below.  In wet sand an abrupt change in direction at the end of each sweep can cause false signals at the end of the sweeps.  This especially occurs when the change in direction occurs where a recent wave stopped and left a line dividing wet sand from dry sand.  If you have your discrimination up or your sensitivity low, you won't hear those transitions, but there can be a cost to that.

An increase in noise near the end of sweeps can cause you to miss what I have called marginal signals, which also frequently occur near the end of the sweeps.  Marginal signals can sound a lot like the noise caused by the coil passing over the line between the wet and dry sand.  Ignoring marginal signals can result in a significant reduction in finds. It can be difficult to distinguish between noise and marginal signals, but double checking will do the job.  When you sweep in both directions over the questionable signal, signals that remain consistent will be good signals.

Adjusting your detector to avoid all false signals can cause a loss in sensitivity that will cause you to miss good but borderline targets that are either small or deep.  Experience can help you distinguish between noise and marginal signals.  Double checking some of those hard to distinguish signals is always a good idea.

It is also a good idea to sweep your coil parallel to the water instead of East/West or towards and away from the water's edge.  That way your detector will not have to adapt to the changes in moisture levels and mineralization on each swing.  That will give you more depth, and if you are running hot, fewer false signals.





If you run your detector hot in all-metals or pinpoint mode, you can hear all of the changes in the moisture and salt levels etc., but you can learn to distinguish those sounds from real targets.  The same goes for black sand.

Many people feel like their detector doesn't work over black sand.  They hear the black sand and give up.  In an all-metals mode you definitely can hear the black sand, but you can also hear many of the targets in or under the black sand.  

An edge in the black sand, made by a scoop or foot print or something, can cause a signal that can be difficult to distinguish from a signal caused by a good target.

It is a good idea to work in different areas of the beach (dry sand, wet sand, and in the water) one at a time instead of making your detector adjust as you go back and forth from one to another.  With some detectors, you will want to ground balance again if and when you go from one of those areas to the next.

One time a fellow using a high-end Minelab gold detector told me that when he was sweeping North/South along the water he could detect targets deeper than when he swung perpendicular to the water.   He said he thought it had to do with the earth's magnetic fields.  He was a very bright fellow, but what he was really observing was the loss in sensitivity caused by his detector trying to adjust to the rapid changes in moisture and salt when sweeping East/West.

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On the Treasure Coast today the surf is a touch higher.  We are having some good negative low tides though. 

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

3/3/15 Report - Two BIG gold Metal Detector Finds! The Will To Discover!

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



87 Oz. Gold Nugget Found Using Minelab Gold Detector.

I received these first two photos and the information about the gold nugget find via email from Nicole D. of VineSprout Public Relations.  The nugget was found using a Minelab gold detector.



Michael Brown
Finder of the 87 Oz. Nugget

Here is what Nicole said.   I'd like to share some exciting news with you. Australian gold prospector Michael Brown has uncovered an astonishing 87-ounce solid gold nugget during a prospecting expedition in Inglewood. gold prospector Michael Brown has uncovered an astonishing 87-ounce solid gold nugget during a prospecting expedition in Inglewood. Discovered in six inches of ground with a state-of-the-art Minelab detector, Brown’s find is estimated to be worth over $130,000 AUD. Please find the press release and images attached. Let me know if you would like more information...   




That is one huge nugget.

If you could do it, and you can't, it would be an interesting experiment to go back and see what the cheapest detector would be that would detect the same nugget under the same circumstances.   Of course you shouldn't hold your breathe while waiting to find another nugget like that.

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7th Century Gold and Garnet Pendant
Source of photo: see link.

Here is the second big find.  It was discovered in a field along with other items.  It is thought to be among the most spectacular artifacts ever found in the region.

It is made of gold, which has cells that are inlaid with garnet.

Click here for more photos and more of the story.

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I received an email from Kenneth H. about the carved gorget  that I posted yesterday.  Here is what Ken said.

Hello TG dropped a line to state the image on the photo is not half fish/half cat. Must consider geography and natural wildlife where such artifacts are found. That image you posted, most likely, is a beaver (although the head appears to be more like a wild hog). The tail is a bit small in proportion though. I back that up with 30 plus years experience in archaeology. More importantly, I always enjoy this blog and your untiring efforts to maintain it. Your contribution to Florida Archaeology, Florida History and Florida Treasure Hunting is appreciated by many. -- Yes! I dare to combine all three together because all are fueled by the same drive. That is, since the Paleo era, man was born with the will to discover. No pen strike in a book of laws can ever change it...

Thanks Ken! The kind words are especially appreciated coming from someone who has done so much in the field of archaeology.  And thanks for highlighting the basic unifying drive behind all of this.

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It looks like we are stuck with something like a 3 - 5 foot surf and predominant East winds for several days.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/18/14 Report - A Million Dollar Reliquary Pendant MD Find. More On Reliquary Pendants. Beaches Change During Level 1 Conditions Too!

Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.



16th Century Reliquary Pendat
Source; ukwirenews link.

Back in 2010 a four year old and his father using a metal detector found a 16th Century gold religious pendant (See photo.).  I reported on the find, but in light of the recently posted information from Laura Strolia that  identified the Booty's find as a reliquary pendant , I wanted to point out the fact that I also recently learned that the 16th century pendant was also a reliquary pendant.   It once had a back panel that opened. 

I think that is a very attractive and unusual item.

Here are two links for more details on the 16th century pendant.

http://www.ukwirednews.com/news/108762/Boy-four-unearths-16th-Century-gold-pendant-in-Essex

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz3LIz3LSkE

And my 11/20/10 post.

That is one attractive and neat pendant.  Worth a lot too!


While on the subject of reliquaries, Laura Strolia sent me some additional information and another link on the subject. 

The Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics in Ohio has hundreds of reliquaries, including relics enclosed in golden sunbursts of many different designs.  The round clear cases containing the relics are sometimes only an inch in diameter or less.  Many reliquaries throughout history were intentionally made with built-in metal rings for the purpose of hanging on walls – Laura Strolia  

One can see examples at:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQmzKWnFP_E

Thanks again, Laura.


Beaches can change very significantly, even when there is very little surf, as has been the case lately.   I'm not talking about the big changes that occur when you have a big surf that can change my beach conditions rating.  I'm talking here about the very subtle changes, that unless you are really paying close attention, might not be noticed.  If you are hunting recently dropped items, those small changes can be very significant.

As you probably know my beach conditions ratings are designed to give some estimation of the chances of finding old items on the beach.  When we are having storms or big waves, huge amounts of sand can be moved in very little time.  Those changes are hard to miss.  Big cuts occur.  Where there was once a big pile of sand, there will be cliffs and erosion.  That isn't what I'm talking about today.

The changes that I'm talking about now are the changes that occur when the weather is more like what we have been having for the past month or more.  Those changes occur during periods of calm surf.  They aren't nearly as obvious and they don't increase the chances of finding old items.  They do, however, affect the beach enough to determine where you will have the best chance of finding recently dropped items.

A few weeks ago one beach had a hard flat front beach.  Modern items including coins and jewelry were being found clustered in a few hot spots on the wet sand area of the beach.  Now the hot spots have moved.

Unless you were observing carefully you might not have noticed the change to that beach, but a foot or maybe more of sand has been added to that front beach area and the old hot spots disappeared.

It is not easy to see the change in the level of sand like that.   If I had a stationary post or something to measure the change in the level of sand, I suspect it might measure a foot or two of additional sand, but to the casual observer the change in level isn't noticeable since it is so gradual and spread over such a large area.

I used to often say that there is always some where to hunt and something to be found.  Lately it has been challenging to find the few scattered better areas where concentration of good items could be found.   There are still a few out there even though they are few and far between.

Some of the hot spots of a week or more ago have moved.  I suspect the change is due at least in part to the big tides we had.  On the beach where I was working a hot spot back a week or so ago, the best spot is now maybe twenty yards to the East and out in the water  

When the sand accumulates in one place, it came from someplace else.  The trick is to find the place where the sand has moved from.  That is where you will often find items besides those that were dropped just a few hours ago and possibly even items that were out of detector range for a while. 

I hope it is clear that I'm talking today about areas that are affected by moving water and not the dry sand today.  

Today I want to alert you to the fact that even when we aren't seeing the kind of beach changes that affect my beach conditions ratings, there are still small but important changes taking place.  They determine where you will have the best chance of finding modern items.  Those change occur during times of level 1 beach conditions.  Those changes are much less obvious, but still important when you are hunting modern items.  Hot spots still exist, as few and scattered as they might be, but they can move from day to day.


People have been getting ready for school to start again.   When school starts there will be fewer beach goers on the beach during week days until the snow birds return.

The weather disturbance that I've been mentioning for a few days is now nearly half way between us and the Atlantic.  Still far out and hasn't formed yet.

On the Treasure Coast it is still the same old thing.  Very calm surf.

As I explained today, there are still some scattered concentrations out there.  A lot of people have simply been hunting the dry sand.

Like I said yesterday, there is one very exciting inland project going on.  Very exciting.  Can't wait until I can tell you about it.

The posts about the hull pins, reliquary pendant and 1715 Fleet inscriptions are the kind of thing that I think makes very good posts.   I don't know how others feel about it though.   That is why using the plus button can help me know which ones you like.  I can't go by number of readers alone, because that fluctuates around holidays and different things as well as how much publicity a post receives.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

4/6/14 Report - Beach Gold Find, Florida Missions, Beach Sampling and Old Fort Pierce Inlet

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

Small Gold Pendant Find

As I've been showing, even though conditions have not been good you can still find a few things.

People have been enjoying the fine weather, and that always means there will be lost things.

I wish I could remember the coin to gold ratio that I once calculated for beaches.   I had it figured out.   The amount of gold relative to coins was much higher for water hunting than beaches.  I just wish I could remember the ratios that I had figured out.

The ratio is different from beach to beach, but my number was figured over a number of different types of beaches and over a fairy long period of time, so it was a good general number to go by.

There have been beaches that I hunted and found a good number of coins and knew that I was due for a piece of gold.  Other times I'd hit a lot of gold and new that it would average out over time.

Normally a beach that has no coins will not have gold either.  Coins are a good sign, but sometimes you have to find a lot of coins before hitting the gold.  Of course there are those times when you detect and find no coins but then hit a piece of gold.  That is unusual in my experience though.


It is probably not the best time for a poll but I added one anyhow because I wanted to find out what you think.  All answers are very much appreciated and will help me to focus the blog.    I'd like to get your input, especially as the seasons change and we head into the summer season when storms are the big thing.  Please provide your input.  And don't forget, you can always send me an email.

When I originally posted the poll I think it got posted twice.  They were duplicates.  I deleted the second one.  At the time there were only 8 and 6 votes.   If you were one of the first few respondents you might want to check to be sure your vote didn't get eliminated when I deleted the second copy of the poll.


It has been quite a while since I added any links to my Treasure Site Link List.  One link that I have personally been going back to time and time again is the bibliography that I recently posted ( http://uwf.edu/jworth/spanfla_bib.htm).   It provides a lot of good links to historical information about Spanish Florida.  I just added that link to the list, which you will find to the left of the posts.  It is the third item down on the list.  If you haven't looked at any of those links lately you might find some interesting links there.

If you go to the bibliography, one journal article that you will be able to access entirely online has the title The Archaeology of Mission Santa Catalina de Guale by David Thomas.   In that article can be found the following map showing the locations of the Spanish Missions of Florida in the 17th century.

 

The article discusses how archaeologists located the Santa Catalina de Guale mission site using magnetometers, radar and a test hole matrix.  They used an auger to drill the holes.

The test hole system is very much how I approach a beach, except I don't dig a bunch of holes to get a sample, I let my detector tell me where things are.  It is still a sampling technique.  The point is to do a very lose grid to find out where items of various types are located.  When a particular area or areas shows promise, then I will concentrate my efforts on those areas.

Using a sampling will result in misses.  That is to be expected.  The first step is simply to get some samples.  During the first phase, the point is not finding everything.  The objective of that phase is to identify areas that show signs that a more concentrated search might be productive.

When an area is identified as having potential, a tight grid can then be used.

Your first sampling doesn't have to cover all areas of the beach.  You can eliminate some areas by sight.

In fact sometimes you might be able to narrow down the search area to a fairly small part of the beach just by looking at it.  I still do a little sampling before committing to an intense search, not only to see if the spot is as good as it looks, but also to try to determine the boundaries and center of the productive area.

When you get a sense of where things are, including the center and boundaries, of a productive area you can often then tell the best spot for different types of items to be found in that area. 

I've talked about that before.


Is it just me, or did the snowbirds start to go home.  Yesterday was the lightest traffic that I have seen for a while.  One restaurant that has been packed every weekend had less than half the customers.  I think they are leaving.  I guess the weather has improved up North and it is that time of year.

Here is an older map that shows the location of the Fort Pierce inlet before it was at its present location.

I've talked about that in the past.  The old inlet was north or Pepper Park.  And that is near where the Fort Capron gold coins were found in the water.

This map isn't real old.  You can see  the railroad is on this one.






On the Treasure Coast the surf is around three or four feet, but will be daily going down to reach a low of only 1 or 2 feet on Wednesday.  It will then go back up again the next few days.

The tides have moderated.  Not much variation now.

The continuing Southeast winds are not helping at all.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net



1/18/14 Report - Metal Detecting Interests, Holed Pot Shard Mystery Solved & Religious Gold Pendant Find

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

14K Pendant Beach Find.

What peaks your interest?  As I said the other day, different people like different things.  But people change over time too.  What interests you at one point, might not interest you at all a year later.

There is such a wide variety of types of targets that can be found on beaches, and that can help anyone remain interested.  If you get bored with modern jewelry, you can hunt fossils.  No matter what it is, there is always something else you can target.

When you are very much into one kind of item, such as maybe shipwreck items, you might not see how or why others are interested in other things.  But when you get to know more about those other things, you might learn what is interesting about them.

The more knowledge you have of different kinds of items, the easier it is to maintain a high level of interest.

I've never had the problem of being bored.  Yes my interest level rises and drops for certain things, but there is always something that has my interest.

I do tend to get bored with certain types of targets when they become easy and routine, and I often feel that the things that I haven't found as much are more interesting.

When I first started detecting my goals were small.  I counted coins and face value of finds.  My counts got higher and higher and I'd gradually change my expectations and goals.   It wasn't long before the number of coins wasn't really of much interest at all, then I started counting gold rings.  Coins then became primarily of interest as a sign or indicator of what the beach was doing at a given area.

Anytime I could find a hot spot (accumulation of coins that had been on the beach a while) I new there was also a good chance of also finding older jewelry that had also accumulated.

As time goes by I continue to raise my standards.  What was a good day when I started detecting would not be considered a good day today.  And what was a good day after ten years, would not be considered a good day today.   My standards and expectations keep increasing.

I think it is good to keep records and set goals.  It lets you know where you are and gives you a way of judging your performance.  It also pushes you to keep learning and improving.

Another change is that I'm less and less interested in the monetary value of finds.  Now I like things that either have some mystery about them or that have some style or history to them.

The pendant shown today, for example, isn't anything great, but it just seems to me to be more attractive than most, and it isn't a type that I've already found two or three times before.  It isn't hugely interesting to me, but I like it better than some simply because it is attractive to me.  Small, compact, nice square lines, not gaudy.  Just more attractive to me than most.

Another View.

I also like things that I haven't found before or don't know much about, like those pot shards with holes, like I showed yesterday.

The shards are most likely old, but the mystery remained for some time.  I couldn't figure out how it was used or what it came from.

You can see that photo in yesterday's post.

I did learn what it is just today.  William M. said that Native Americans drilled holes in pots that cracked and used ropes to tie them together.

It did look to me like it was a hole for a rope.  William also said he might be able to send photos of some examples.

The identity of that item was a long standing mystery for me, and I'm glad to have it figured out.

Thanks William.

In any case, metal detecting never gets boring if you keep learning, studying and raising your standards.  It might be difficult to get excited by things that have become routine, but there are always new things and new surprises.

One thing to remember is, you wont' continue to learn and improve if you think you already know everything.

On the Treasure Coast today the surf is around two or three feet.   The cool wind is still coming in from the West.  That is expected to not change for a while.

About a week out, they are predicting a higher surf, but as I usually note, the predicted higher surf when it is that far out, often does not happen.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/20 Report - 16th Century Gold Pendant Found by Metal Detector

16th Century Gold Pendant Found With Metal Detector.

A young boy found a 16th century gold pendant using a metal detector. The pendant is said to be worth over 3 million dollars. The article says the pendant shows the Virgin Mary, but it could actually be St. Helena. I would also guess the boy was receiving more than a little help with his detecting.

http://www.batangastoday.com/16th-century-old-gold-pendant-treasure-found-by-4-year-old-boy-james-hyatt/6084/

Nice looking pendant.

That web site seems to be a little touchy. You might have to juggle around on the page before getting the text of the story.

That story also reminds that there are places to find gold besides the beach.

Beach hunting is different than land hunting in a variety of ways. The beach is a different type of environment that requires specialized knowledge for best results.

While the constant change that occurs on a beach is sometimes a problem it can also be a benefit. Old items can suddenly surface on a beach that has been hunted to death for decades when a storm finally stirs things up. The beach is a very dynamic environment.

I received an email from Daniel Sedwick giving notice that they are currently seeking items for the upcoming April 2011 auction.

You can find information about consigning items for that auction by using the following link.

http://www.columnarios.com/pillars/design.html

They also mention the upcoming Tampa show in January and New York coin show where you could possibly arrange a meeting.

* Here is what they are looking for.

* High-grade gold and silver Latin American coins (specially large collections)

* World Gold coins including US and early British and Dutch

* Rare early Spanish colonial cobs (collections or single coins)

* 1715-Fleet gold and silver dated cobs.

* Shipwreck coins and cobs in reasonable condition with original certificates

* High-grade silver cobs & pillar dollars

* Artifacts from shipwrecks (well documented and properly conserved)

* Silver and gold ingots from shipwrecks

http://www.sedwickcoins.com/consign.htm


Archaeologists are excavating an Native American home in St. Augustine that was part of a mission community.

Here is the link for more information.

http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2010-11-17/native-american-home-uncovered


Forecast and Conditions.

Conditions look pretty much the same even though the seas are rough and the wind is blowing. It doesn't look like the waves will hit the banks today, but they do seem to be churning up the front beach.

I got a look at a couple of St. Lucie County beaches and they were both pretty sandy yet.

I would rate conditions as being poor, however there are some interesting items being found around the Treasure Coast. No cobs that I know of.

The high tides are still nice and high.

The seas will be backing off through the weekend and the rest of the week.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net