5/4/18 Report - Finding Bottles. About Grading Ancient Coins and Cobs. Lead Railroad Seals.

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

A Few Recent Bottle Finds.

None of these bottles are what I would call great finds, but I was pleased to find them.  There are undoubtedly a few better ones out there.  I found these on a couple short walks I took this week.  They were all partly buried in shallow water.

Front-left is a sun-purpled bottle.  I don't find many naturally purpled bottles.

Middle-front is a Mexican Mustang Liniment bottle from Lyon Manufacturing Company, New York.

Mexican Mustang Liniment Bottle

I found a similar Mexican Mustang Liniment bottle years ago, but it was half this size.

Beside the liniment bottle is a Carter's Ink bottle.  It has a big chip to the lip.

Behind them is a tall bottle with barnacles.  It is a new bottle, but I like the proportions and aesthetic of it.  Could be decor for a nautical restaurant.

Behind that are two embossed Diet Pepsi bottles.  Not that old.

Nothing impressive, but I did like finding them and they provide a good hint that there are other old things close by.

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I received the following email from a detectorist in Ohio who had found a lead FEC seal.  I've talked about and posted a few of those in this blog before.

Hi TreasureGuide -

I'm a relatively new detectorist based in Northwest Ohio, and I ran across your blog while researching one of my recent finds that had me stumped. It seems that we've found the same item, almost a thousand miles (and over 5 years) apart! I've been spending all spring hunting a "ghost" town location in Liberty Township, Wood County, Ohio that is only a farmers field now. The town was originally platted in 1892 along a railway line that no longer exists anymore either...and of course, the town had a rail depot/station among its other buildings. This past Sunday night I found a curious lead object, crenellated all around the edge similar to a bottle cap, and clearly marked "F.E.C." on the front and "182" on the back. I had no idea what it was - I thought maybe some sort of token for a local fraternal organization - and all my research along those lines failed. I posted the find online, and one of my fellow local detectorists soon identified it as a bale or bag seal - something I had never heard of before. Having a better idea of what to call the object helped tremendously! In my previous searches that included FEC, Florida East Coast Railway came up in the results, but I foolishly discounted it as unrelated. Adding "bale seal" to the search brought up an image of your find that matched mine perfectly, and lead to your blog post: 

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2012/09/

It's probably almost impossible to definitively date the seal, but of course the railroad's name change to FEC came in late 1895, and the seal's design seems to be consistent with the early 20th century, so the timeframe looks to fit nicely for the ghost town. Pretty neat to start piecing together the history and learn that this little, long gone town was once taking delivery of merchandise from at least as far afield as Florida. I've attached a couple pictures of the seal that I found for you to see.

I was curious to see if you may have run across any more information about the F.E.C. seals in particular? I'm mainly interested in solving the riddle of what the various numbers on the back might mean. I imagine it could be a weight, merchandise type/class, route code - who knows! So far my research has come up empty there. Any new info you might be able to share would be greatly appreciated.

As with many small 19th century towns, the railroad was clearly key to this one's existence - I've dug a couple other interesting railroad pieces during previous hunts at the same site. I've attached a shot that includes a couple of the railroad uniform buttons I've dug at the site.

Thanks in advance for any additional info! And I'm really enjoying your blog - a bonus treasure to find as a result of my research - even though it's focused on Florida and beach hunting, there's a wealth of wonderful information there even for us dirt fisherman up North :)

--

Ben Motisher

Metal Detecting Hobbyist

I sent Ben the following link along with a little other information.  I know that some of you have found similar items and will find this web site interesting as well.  Isn't it interesting to be able to trace transportation routes through metal detector finds, whether the mode of transportation is by water, rail or roadway?

http://www.railroadcollectibles.com/types-of-collectibles/railroad-station-depot-items/lead-sealers/

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I asked about coin grading agencies yesterday and found a discussion online that talked about the difficulty of grading agencies correctly grading ancient coins and how you can do that.  I think the same discussion is relevant to Spanish cobs.  Here is a part of that discussion.

Well, for me and the type of coins I collect, I find that the dealers "grading" has been fairly accurate. I collect ancients and personally, I can't stand the fact the coin is "slabbed". When it comes to grading it would be difficult to grade most ancients. I mean sure you could grade based on a theoretical "perfect" coin, but determining that would be difficult in itself! Not to mention that these coins are all manually "punched" so your coin could have high relief if being struck from fresh dies and the celator is on his tenth wing of the hammer for the day vs rusting/worn dies and striking at the end of a day!

Sorry, your own experience and trusting your dealer is the best grading system for ancients!

I lost the link to that discussion. If I find it again, I'll post it.

But how would you grade a cob?   I think that is a good question.  I guess most people want a perfect "looking" coin - one that looks like it was made yesterday, even though there was great variety, and some did not look all that good the day they were made.

I guess most people go by the economic value or what other people are willing to pay.

When it comes to bottles, I tend to like those that have been used and show signs of age rather than those that look like they never left the manufacturer.  They look too much like reproductions or something.

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The surf is three to five feet today and expected to be four to six feet tomorrow.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/23/14 Report - Things That Will Help You Grade Dug Coins. Florida Dug Walking Liberty Halves. Dutch Shipwreck Huis de Kreuningen Found.

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

Dug 1943 Half Dollar.

It can be difficult for a detectorist to determine the actual value of a dug coin.  A lot depends upon the grade or condition of the coin.  With the internet it is becoming easier for an amateur to get a good idea of a coins grade.

Today, just as an example, I decided to look at some dug Walking Liberty half dollars.  Fortunately there are some good sites that provide very helpful pictures of coins of different grades. 

Here is a good site for grading Walking Liberty halves.

http://coinauctionshelp.com/How_To_Grade_Walking_Liberty_Halves.html#.VEcIRel0zak

Photograde Online is an excellent aid too.

http://www.pcgs.com/Photograde/#/Walker/Grades

That site provide a image library of reference coins of each grade from the PCGS library.



1943 Half As Dug From A Beach.

You probably know that you should not clean coins because if they are valuable you can quickly destroy a lot of the value.  However, if you detect beaches, coins can be entirely unreadable without some cleaning.  They can also be in such poor condition that there is little danger of reducing the value by cleaning them.   My advice is to consult an expert when in doubt.  You can visit coin dealers or conventions and talk to experts there.




Similar But Different 1943 Beach Dug Half That Has Been Partly Cleaned

You might recognize the common reddish patina that is often found when a layer of green crust has been partially removed.

Of course a good magnifying glass is handy.

I made these pictures with a low power Celestron digital microscope, which is handy for inspecting coins as well as making photos.  I find it much easier than squinting through a magnifying glass or loop or something.

Here is a much cleaner dug coin.

You can see the roughness of the coins corroded surface.

You can also see the some of the details that help in grading the coin.

I am no expert at this, but I focus on details that might be removed or faded as the result of wear.  For example, the vertical lines in the draped material, or the shoes.

Dug 1945 Half Dollar

Here is dug 1945 half dollar for comparison.

While it looks more worn and flattened from circulation, it doesn't show the same effects of salt water corrosion.

A smooth worn surface on a silver coin is attractive to me but hurts the value.

Other Side Of A Dug  Half Dollar.

Notice the designers initials (A over W) just to the right of the R in dollar.  That is something you might not easily notice without magnification.

Of course good lighting is important.

Lighting can really affect your photos too.

Another View.

Here you might focus on the stars in the furled flag, or the creases, or the facial features.

This Walking Liberty Half is thought by many to be among the most attractive coin designs.

I think if you use one of the sites I pointed out above, you'll be able to come up with a good estimate of the grade of your dug coins.




If you use either or both of the web sites I referenced above you'll be able to get a good idea of the condition of your dug coins.

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The Dutch ship Huis de Kreuningen was sunk in Scarborough Harbour in Trinidad and Taboago on March 3, 1677 along with 15 other vessels.  The Huis de Kreuningen, has been found.

A project conducted by the University of Connecticut ... found a wealth of other material, including nine canons; Delft and Bellarmine pottery jars that date to the third quarter of the 17th century; lead shot that was never fired; dozens of Dutch smoking pipes; and bricks that perfectly match the specifications of bricks made in the Dutch city of Leiden in 1647.

Here is the link for more of that article.

http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2014/10/uconn-archaeologist-discovers-17th-century-shipwreck/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+uconn-today+%28UConn+Today%29


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The surfing web site says we should have about a two-foot surf on the Treasure Coast today.  That isn't much, and from the look of the wind, I'd guess it would be a bit higher.

I was surprised this morning to find that Tropical Depression Nine disappeared, as did another disturbance the developed real close to it near the Yucatan.

There will be a partial solar eclipse around 6 PM today.

Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

7/23/14 Report - Depression Two Moving West. Emeralds Found. Great Tool To Inspect & Photograph Coins For Errors and Grading.

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

Projected Track of Tropical Depression Two
Source:  www.nhc.noaa.gov

What I am most interested in these days is Tropical Depression Two, which is moving towards the west.  It is not expected to become a hurricane in the next few days.  The current track seems to be towards the Gulf of Mexico.

One thing to remember is that it doesn't take a hurricane to really improve beach detecting conditions.   Sometimes a storm that sits off the coast and churns a while can actually do more to create erosion. 


The Mel Fisher organization says,  Our members spent six days sifting through material in search of Atocha Emeralds while enjoying the biggest Mel Fisher Days celebration to date. A total of 18 emeralds were recovered! The emeralds were of varying sizes and shades of green including this beautiful recovery.

I always encourage methods in addition to metal detecting.  Sifting is sometimes a good one. 


In the past I've shown photos of coins and things made with a Celestron Hand Held Microscope.  I really enjoy using the microscope.  Not only does it make good close-up photos, but it is also an easy way to inspect coins and things.

The microscope hooks into your computer using a USB port and the image appears on the computer screen.  You can then capture photos or even videos, if you want to move the object or take videos of a moving object. 

Although it is called a hand-held microscope, it comes with an adjustable stand which can be used to focus the microscope so that you can quickly pass coins and other items under the focused microscope for close inspection.  It makes it easy to see any small markings on rings or other items. And is good enough to make it very quick and easy to detect errors or other small details on coins.

Above is a nice high-relief 1946 Canadian penny at low power.  And here is a photo of the designer's initials found below the leaf on the right using higher power.

The actual computer image is even better than the photos shown here.

The microscope will show very fine details and could definitely help you find errors or grade coins.

I've started a test of the coin cleaning method that I mentioned yesterday and took photos of a coin and medallion before I froze them in water.  I'll take photos of the same objects after they have been thawed and we'll get a good idea of how well freezing worked to clean the coins.


Celestron Hand-Held Microscope Mounted On Stand

Besides inspecting coins you can also inspect other things, of course.  Have you ever had a hard time seeing the marks inside a ring?

You can put a ring under the microscope too.  Move it around so you can see all areas of the inside of the band until you find any marks.

Below is an example showing the marks found inside a silver ring.

I find it much easier to look at items under the focused microscope than trying to look through a loop or magnifying glass.  The microscope has its own variable lighting too. 

If you've tried to use a loop, you know how difficult it can be to stay out of the way of the light while getting a good view.

Marks Found In Silver Ring

One thing I should have added about the Step Search strategy that I described yesterday is that it is very much about identifying and working various layers.  You will often be working through layers.   For example, if there is a layer of surface aluminum, and you are working in a "coin mode" you'll probably being removing items from the second or third layer before the first.  Nonetheless, you should be identifying each layer and the predominate types of items found there and what is likely remaining at each layer.



On the Treasure Coast the wind will be coming from the South for days and we'll be stuck with a one foot surf.  You might like that if you water hunt for recent drops.

The tides are pretty flat now too.

Tropical Depression 2 is still way out there.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net