5/26/20 Report - Encrusted Objects and Mystery Item. Beach Dynamics Resources.

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

Three Small Encrusted Objects.

I decided to investigate a few small encrusted objects this weekend.  The item on the left is a broken or repurposed spike that is partially encrusted.  The item on the right is still totally encrusted.  When I shook the totally encrusted object, it rattled.  It sounded something like a small lead ball within a cavity.

I soaked the broken spike head in acid for about a day and little progress was made.  I should have removed some of the crust mechanically before using the acid.  That is my normal procedure, but I neglected to do that this time.

I decided to just break open the totally encrusted object.  Here is a closer look at it.

Small Encrusted Rattling Object.

Below is what I found when I broke it open.

Copper Casing Within EO and Shell Removed From Casing.

Maybe someone can help me with this, but it looks like what I would call a double-cased shell.  Is that right?  Below you can see the lead core at the tip and butt of the bullet.

Lead Bullet Core At Point (left) and Butt (right).

And below is the outer casing for both sides of the bullet.  The two halves of the outer casing are still stuck in the encrustation.

Two Ends of Casing With Bullet Removed 
(Butt end left and point right.).

 I wouldn't think there would be that much room between the outer casing and the bullet so that it would rattle like that.  Maybe that was caused by corrosion, and maybe someone that knows more about bullets and casings can tell me about that.

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Yesterday I posted the mystery object shown below, which was found by Bill M.  It gave a detector reading.  I thought it looked like it could be an EO.  SuperRick, who hunts meteors and nuggets, gave the following informative response.

Mystery Object

Find and photo by Bill M.

The photo is just a river rock better known as an igneous rock! A lot of rocks will have iron in them to prove me wrong take a file to a high point on the rock and file it. If you see shiny metal then take it to your bathroom toilet and lift the cover and rub your rock on the inside part of the [tank] cover.

If your rock leaves a streak you have what I said it was just a rock. You can also use a rare earth magnet to see if the rock will jump to it! 

If your rock doesn't streak and the magnet makes the rock jump to it you might have found a meteorite but all kinds of rocks are what we call hot rock when we are hunting for meteorites! Those rocks will hit on a metal detector and you have to know what you are looking for! ...

Thanks Rick.

It is always good to hear the knowledge of the various experts that read this blog.  He suggested some good tests too.

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If you are interested in learning more about beach dynamics, here are a variety of excerpts and abstracts from a number of studies.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/beach-profile

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Looks like some more small surf for this week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/20/20 Report - Beaches. Mystery Items Reappear. Borderline Conditions Last Week. Surf Increasing.

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

Fort Pierce South Jetty Park Tuesday.

I was in the area and stopped to see how the renourishment project at the Fort Pierce South Jetty beach was doing.  It looks like they finished but didn't dump as much sand as I was expecting to see.  They didn't go as far east or south as I thought they would.  The sand is a fine white sand - nicer looking than some of the previous projects.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Tuesday.

Also stopped at John Brooks.  If I had my pole, I would have done some fishing.  There were some nice schools close in and a nice big fish chasing them.  I didn't take my detector out.

John Brooks Beach Tuesday.

Sand had piled up on the front beach.

John Brooks Beach Tuesday.

I also took a quick look at Frederick Douglass.  Not very exciting, and a thunder storm was coming.

, 

Frederick Douglass Beach Tuesday.

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A couple days ago I posted a photo of a mystery find by DJ.  I got some good information on that object from John C., who showed five examples of the same thing.

Here is what John said.

Yeah, we  used to find those pretty frequently back in the 90s.  I was told back then that they were from a shipwreck, but not associated with 1715, but it's been a while, I haven't found one since I would say the hurricane season of 04.  It's interesting seeing them show up again.

Thanks.   James 1v12 

Items That Look Like the Mystery Item Found by DJ.

Finds and photo by John C.

Thanks John.

Also from the Not Just Coincidence department, below is a find from Steve L. It is the same kind of copper tack I found a few days ago.

Steve said, I also detected turtle trail around low tide Sunday. I saw 2 other guys detecting south ahead of me but none of us were digging much.  I managed to get only one target but I am happy with it. I took a picture next to a penny for size reference. I think it is like the one you found a few days ago I enjoy your blog. Steve L 

If anyone can tell me more about these items, please do.  I'd like to hear from others who have found them and whatever ideas you have about them.  Thanks.

Copper Tack Find by Steve L.

Photo by Steve L.

I always say when you find one of an item, there is a very good chance that there is more nearby.

Last Thursday I checked out a beach and there was some erosion, but I didn't know if it was enough.  I found this piece of lead, which as I said in a previous post, I took as what I call a signal find.

That piece, dense and nearly the size of a cob, told me that there was a possibility of other older dense metals nearby, so I checked the next day and found a few more small and seemingly old items, including another folded piece of lead.  My finds, along with John and Steve's finds, suggests to me that beach conditions were getting very close to producing some cobs, and perhaps would have produced one or two small ones if I had been in just the right place.  While beach conditions were not great yet, they were improving.  Unfortunately, the next day, conditions on the same beach seemed to deteriorate.  With the calm conditions we've had lately, I would guess that there are still some things that are close and could easily become accessible again with a little more movement of sand.

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Archaeologists are racing against the clock to save the remains of a buried Viking ship from a ruthless foe:  fungus.

If the project is successful, the 65-foot-long (20 meters) oak vessel — called the Gjellestad ship — will become the first Viking ship to be excavated in Norway in 115 years, said Sveinung Rotevatn, the Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://elexonic.com/2020/05/18/fungus-is-destroying-a-buried-viking-ship-heres-how-norway-plans-to-save-it/

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Looks like after today the small surf will disappear from the Treasure Coast.  Then we'll get up to six feet.

Surf Predictions.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

5/15/20 Report - Tropical Storm Could Be Developing. A Few New Treeasure Coast Beach Finds. The Role of The Beach Detectorist.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

 Gradual development of this system is
expected, and it will likely become a tropical or subtropical storm
on Saturday when it is located near the northwestern Bahamas. Later
in the weekend and early next week, the system is expected to move
generally northeastward over the western Atlantic... See nhc.noaa.gov for more about that.

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Yesterday I looked a few beaches and did a little quick check at one beach.  As I mentioned yesterday I found a couple pieces of what I think is old lead.  Those finds gave me a clue that despite the relatively sandy conditions, shipwreck finds are not too far off.

Piece of Folded Lead Found Thursday.

In the past I talked about what I called "signal finds."  They are finds that are most valuable as clues or signs of conditions or nearby treasures.

When I looked out this morning and saw the nice rainy weather, even though I wasn't planning on going out until evening, I decided to go to the beach.  I like rainy mornings and staying out of the hot sun.

So when I got to the beach, conditions didn't look any better than the day before.  In fact, there was more sand.  Overall conditions were worse.  I would estimate that in most places there were inches of new sand.  Nonetheless, yesterday I had identified one area as a good possibility and focused on that area after doing a general quick check of a wider area.

When I hit the newly targeted area, I got additional encouraging signs.  First a small corroded bullet showed up.  It was not a old shipwreck item, but still somewhat encouraging.

Next I found a nearly dissolved piece of iron, then another piece of lead, which was folded up when found, then a shipwreck spike, and then a tack (photo below).

Friday Finds.

I was most surprised by the spike.  And to make it more surprising, it was found in one of the most heavily detected spots of the entire Treasure Coast on a day when there was no big improvement in conditions.  I saw two people metal detecting that area just yesterday, and that is no small target.  I could understand the tack being missed, but not so much the spike.

Anyhow, no big finds.  I guess if it was on Oak Island, the spike could be the subject of hours of excited hooplah, talk and speculation, but no big deal for the Treasure Coast.  Just a pleasant day of metal detecting.

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People who metal detect search for different reasons.  Different people search for different kinds of objects.  What a person searches for depends upon a variety of factors, including where they are and what kind of objects can be found at a location, but it also depends upon personal interests.

Some detectorists search for coins, others for modern jewelry, others for hoards, others for gold nuggets and others for shipwreck artifacts.  Those are just a few examples.ind

Different kinds of finds can be treated differently.  Coins can be either spent, sold, made part of a collection, or in the case of those that might be corroded or badly damaged recycled for the metal content or simply thrown away.

Jewelry finds might be returned to the original owner when that is possible, sold, or kept and worn.

The Treasure Coast is known for its shipwreck related finds, including both coins and artifacts.  In the case old coins or artifacts, the role of the detectorist might be seen as finding or recovering the item, but the detectorist's role might involve much more.

After the find, there is the cleaning and identification.  Every detectorist wants to know more about their find.  In the case of a coin, that might mean identifying the mint and date, but it can involve much more, such as the shipwreck it came from, if it did indeed come from a shipwreck, as well as the method of manufacture and other details of its history, use and cultural significance.

The primary role of the detectorist is often discussed as finding or recovering items, but that might be only the first step of a long series.  Some items, depending upon the type of the item and it's condition and significance, might be passed down as a family heirloom for generations or become part of a collection or museum display.

Items that are published in one form or another, can entertain and inform many people.  Both trivial and more significant finds can add to the overall knowledge base of individuals and contribute to the knowledge of the society.  Digital communications have made it possible for the regular citizen to become broadly informed and contribute to the shared experience and knowledge of societies and cultures.

The beach detectorist does not find undisturbed sites with items preserved in context.  Rather they recover "isolated" finds that were not preserved in context.   That is one thing that differentiates the beach detectorist from the archaeologist.

Beach detectorists save individual items from the dynamic and corrosive salt water environment in which will gradually deteriorate or quickly be destroyed by natural forces.  The challenge is to not only to recover items that have survived up to that point, but then to clean and conserve them and glean whatever can be known about them.  The next step is to share the knowledge and pass the items and knowledge down to future generations.

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A year or two ago I thought my detecting days were over, but my back has been holding up well this year so far, so  I'm just happy I've been able to put in a little detecting time without any big problems.


Today the surf is supposed to be four to seven feet.  The same tomorrow.  We might get a change in wind direction though, which could help.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

5/14/20 Report - Tropical Storm Forming. Beach Conditions Around the Treasure Coast.

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

Turtle Trail Beach Thursday Morning.

It looks like we could get our first tropical storm of the year before long.  More on that later.

I took a look at a few beaches.  At Turtle Trail this morning, there was a little erosion, as you can see above.  Just the top of the bags was showing.

There was a flat area in front of the beach that had mostly aluminum bits but also a few pieces of lead.  The biggest piece of lead I got was a small strip, maybe two inches square if it wasn't folded.

Turtle Trail Thursday Morning.

The flat wet area is where I was finding most of the targets.

I dug a few small holes just to see how deep the orange sand was and found that it was more than a foot where I checked, but I didn't get all the way down to it.

As I was leaving, I saw Warren doing a few test holes.  He mentioned that the orange sand was down about 18 inches at one location.  That is about what I would expect when just the top of the bags are showing.

The parking lot at Seagrape Trail was still closed.

Ambersands Beach Thursday Morning.

Here is what Ambersands looked like.  I didn't check it with the detector at all.

Over the past couple of weeks, if anything, it has deteriorated a little.

Ambersands Beach Thursday Morning.

Wednesday evening I took a look at John Brooks.  It was much like Turtle Trail, with a small cut pretty far back on the beach and a lot of sand out front.

The cut at Turtle Trail was fresher, and the bar in front of Brooks was wider.

John Brooks Wednesday Evening.

John Brooks Wednesday Evening.

Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday

Photo by SuperRick.

Rick lost his controller for his XPDeus, so if anyone finds it, let me put you in touch with Rick.  Here is what he said.

While there I lost my controller for my XPDeus that came off my chest high holder that was Velcroed on and I was using the controller for my pin pointer!

At the time I was using my Equinox 800 to hunt with down in the wet so if you hear of anyone finding a controller I lost it!

Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday

Photo by SuperRick.

Rick found on cheap ring on the day.

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As I said, a tropical storm is forming down south.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

According to the NHC,  Environmental conditions are expected to become conducive for 
development, and this system is likely to become a tropical or
subtropical depression or storm this weekend when it is located near
or north of the northwestern Bahamas. The system is forecast to
move generally northeastward over the western Atlantic early next
week. Regardless of development, the disturbance is expected to
bring locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds to portions of
southeastern Florida and the central and northwestern Bahamas over
the next couple of days...

The beaches are not too far off now. If we can get some good direction to the wind and swells, we could get some nice finds.

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

12/22/19 Report - Some Beaches Still Eroded and Producing Coins and Things. 6 PM Additions.

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

Beached Sailboat at Walton Rocks.

There was a beached sailboat at Walton Rocks.  It had a big hole in the side and the ripped sail was in the dunes.

Sailboat Beached on Walton Rocks.

Junk from the wreck was scattered all over, including a lot of plastic.

There was a good bit of erosion at John Brooks today, especially to the north.

North of John Brooks Beach Access This Morning.

There was a cut of about four feet, plus or minus, running for a few hundred yards north of the John Brooks beach access.

The top half of the slope was mushy, but there was firmer sand near the water.

Despite the cuts, I didn't particularly like the looks of it, but did a little detecting anyhow.

Right in front of the access, the beach wasn't that cut.

Frederick Douglass Beach Sunday Morning.

Frederick Douglass Beach also had some cuts this morning.  The sand near the water actually looked better here.  

I'm still on the ring path.  Found one more today.  I was surprised again by the number of modern coins on the beaches.   I found a lot of modern coins on two different beaches today.

Junk Ring Found Today.

I'm sticking with my 2 rating on my 5-point Treasure Coast Beach Conditions Rating Scale.  It is certainly better than summer conditions, though it hasn't really started to produce much older stuff yet - with a few exceptions.  I only saw a few of the Hutchinson Island beaches today.  I don't know what is going on in the Vero/Sebastian areas today.

Stick of Lead Found on Beach With Bunches 

of Modern Coins and Small Pieces of Copper.

The lead didn't show the oxidation that you'd expect to see on older lead.  I suspect it isn't very old.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

With the slightly improved conditions that we have now, some additional erosion might get us into the older stuff.  Maybe it is already happening at one or two spots.

As you can see from the surf predictions, we'll have a little rest and then the surf will be building again.

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Added 6 PM.  

Steve M. sent me photos of beaches in the Vero/Sebastian area.  I'll post his descriptions now and add the photos as soon as I can.

My wife and went to the beach today to check for erosion.      First we went to Tracking Beach as last time we went to go there it was closed and a sign said dune renourishment going on.   We immediately went to Jaycee park, to see, but it looked like trucked in sand piled up.    Today we found that they made the dune go seaward about 40’ and planted sea oats on it.   So first stop, top 2 pics, are South and North of Turtle trail.   Beach had a lot of sand up high.   But eroded at beach.    Next 2 down were Golden Sands.   Same conditions. Next 2 down are Treasure Shores, same.    Last are Sebastian inlet state park.   Same condition.    Thanks much Steve. Looked like less erosion up there than on John Brooks. ---

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net