4/12/18 Report - Storing Coins and Other Finds: A Few Tips. Dinosaur Tracks.

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

Four Walking Ladies

I was looking at some older coins the other day and noticed some things that I wanted to pass along.

Once you have found an item, cleaning is the next step, and then comes storage.  Record keeping is something that should be done at different times and for different reasons.  I keep records of finds that will help me keep track of how I'm doing and what is found at different areas.  But there is another kind of record keeping that you might find helpful.

When you store finds like those shown above, it can be helpful to label them well.  I didn't do enough of that for the coins shown above.  Only one of the four tells where it was found and only one tells when it was found.  I'd recommend putting having that information on your finds.  It is always nice to have good labels to help revive your memory.

Below are a couple silver dimes that were stored in a clear plastic envelope.

Two Proof Silver Dimes.

I think I won these two silver dimes at a metal detecting club meeting.  That isn't clear though, and I'm not perfectly sure.

The plastic container once had a paper label in it that is now falling apart.  You can see that.  The heat and humidity of Florida is not easy on things.

The plastic container was stapled for some reason.  You can see the rust from the staple on the left side.  You would not want a proof coin, or any nice coin, stored touching a staple or any other piece of metal.  Keep nice coins away from other metal objects.

Below is what numismaster says.

Next come the plastic 2x2 coin flips. Make sure that you get rid of the PVC plastic. Mylar flips will replace them, but can damage coins if they are moved in and out frequently, as always, be careful, especially if you are storing valuable gold or silver coins.

Plastic and paper flips should not be used for long term storage of more than six months. Under exceptional conditions they will protect your coins over a longer span, but the big problem is that they are not airtight.

The same is true of the cardboard 2x2 holders. They have a Mylar window so that you can see both sides of the coin. These can be stapled shut, again with the warning not to get the staples or the stapler too close to the coin. To keep the coin safe the 2x2 needs to be stapled on the three open sides. Again the reminder to use your pliers to flatten the staple legs so they don’t damage an adjacent coin. Staples will rust, but there are stainless steel staples on the market.

Next come coin folders and coin boards. These have holes for each date and mint, and in some cases the outstanding minting varieties, such as overdates. These are what you most likely will use to start your collection. Most folders have a paper backing, so you can see only one side of the coin. They expose the visible side to the atmosphere and any pollution, contamination or fingerprints. My recommendation is that you use them for circulated coins that will not show problems. Your uncirculated coins need special protection and proof coins should be left in their packaging. This is especially true for questions on how to store gold coins, if the coin is a proof coin, it should stay in the packaging it came in..

Here is the link for more about that.

http://www.numismaster.com/ta/inside_numis.jsp?page=how-to-store-coins

For common inexpensive coin finds I like the Whitman coin folders and plastic prescription bottles with the original labels removed.  The folders are convenient and fun.  You can easily see what is missing from your collection and upgrade the collection as you find better examples.

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Rare prehistoric dinosaur footprints discovered in the UK have shed new light on the middle Jurassic period, according to a new report.

The study, published in the Scottish Journal of Geology on Monday, was carried out by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who unearthed 50 new dinosaur footprints left 170 million years ago in the Isle of Skye, northwest of Scotland..

Here's the link for more.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/03/europe/dinosaur-tracks-scotland-intl/index.html

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The wind picked up yesterday and changed direction.  The surf today is to be bigger.  Some sand should get moved.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/7/14 Report - Seven Metal Detecting Mistakes That I've Made That You Should Avoid. Catching An Asteroid.

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

Asteroid Capture Apparatus
Source: YouTube Science Channel link posted here.

I've talked before about some of the possibilities for treasure hunting in outer space.  Here is a video showing how they hope to catch an asteroid - nothing like a hemerroid, although catching an asteroid might be a pain in the butt.






Here is the link for the full video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oVAZytlfE8&index=6&list=UUvJiYiBUbw4tmpRSZT2r1Hw


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I've made my share of mistakes. I think of some of them very frequently.  It might be that those are the ones that I've learned the most from.

I'm not sure the mistakes I remember the most are the most important.  Maybe I made some bigger mistakes, but probably those that I remember the most are those that I particularly regretted and made a mental note to avoid in the future.

Here are a few of the mistakes that I've made.  Maybe you can avoid them.

1. Discarding an item in the field when I didn't know exactly what it was.

One time that I often think of is when I dug a twisted piece of metal and then close by a nearly rectangular piece of flint.  That was probably thirty or more years ago but I still remember it very well.   I realized later that the piece of metal was a piece of a musket cock and the flint was the musket flint. 

Now I wish I had kept it.  And by not recognizing what it was at the time, I probably did not hunt the immediate area as well as I should have. 

2.  Not digging an item carefully enough.

Not too far from where the unidentified musket flint was dug, I detected a very nice artifact, but I wasn't careful when digging it.  It was very brittle and completely crumbled as it was dug. 

I guess that hunt was a very memorable hunt for me - both good and bad.  At the time it was mostly good, because I hadn't yet realized the significance of my mistakes yet, and it was the first time I hunted a centuries old battle site.  I remember most of that hunt very well, not just the mistakes.

Most people have probably damaged a coin or something while digging it.  It is a common and sometimes costly mistake.

3.  Not labeling a find with all the important information, including among other things, when and where it was found. 

You will forget some things.   It is good to be able to go back and refer to good detailed notes or labels when you want them.

4.  Losing track of a nice find.  If you are not careful you can lose track of a valued find after you take it home. I suppose everybody loses track of things once in a while. 

A good organized system for keeping finds will help you find that special item when you want it.

5.  Not checking equipment before going out for a hunt and not taking back up batteries and the like.

You can save a disappointing and wasteful trip by checking your equipment first.

6.  Destroying an item through improper cleaning.

Muriatic acid can be used to clean some things, but it will ruin other things. 

Don't tumble things that might be valuable.

I once tumbled a nice guilded pendant that was hundreds of years old.  It was encrusted and I just assumed it was a coin.  It wasn't, and I damaged it.

Try to find out what something is and what it is made of before starting to clean it.  Learn how to best clean an item before doing anything that could damage it.

When something could possibly be valuable, do your research first and then chose the most cautious method of cleaning to begin with. 

You can clean things in steps, using the most cautious methods first.  That can help avoid more costly mistakes.  Those first steps could reveal something about the item or material that will help you decide how to continue.

7.  Putting a find in a pocket that has a hole in it. 

I mentioned the other day how a nice gold chain slipped through a shirt pocket and I had to walk back a mile or more to find it again.

Check your pockets and goody bags.  Chains will quickly slip through a very small hole easier than you might think.

There are seven mistakes that I've learned from.  I can think of others, but don't have time for them all today.  You might already know these, but even if that is so, this will be a good reminder.  We all get lax from time to time.

Maybe you can avoid making the these mistakes.  I hope so.


Happy and mistake free detecting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net