1/9/20 Report - Beach Conditions on the Treasure Coast With The Increasing Surf. Ring Find with Marks For Analysis.

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

Marks on Ring Found by Duane C.

Photos by Duane C.

I have a lot of beach conditions reports today, but I'll start with Duane's ring.  Here is what he said.

Found an old crusty silver ring the same day I dug a 1854 seated dime on a northern beach. The ring is stamped vertically and has no 925 or sterling marks. The makers mark appears to be a wreath with a crown on top circling two cursive letters inside. I found another picture of one online no ID. It maybe similar to one used by Premium Designs. That trademark has been bought & sold over the years by different companies. Last used 2016. I believe this has been around a long time. Wreaths are used on foreign coins as well as the crown. Possibly European origins? No purity marks?

Thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to help with the possible time period.

Duane

Ring Found by Duane C.

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I took a look at several beaches this morning.  The surf was building but coming too much from the east/southeast.

Starting on South Hutchinson Island, here is Frederick Douglass beach.

Frederick Douglass Beach Thursday.

Frederick Douglass Beach Thursday.

I didn't bother to stop at John Brooks. but I took a look at Fort Pierce South Jetty to see what it looked like.  It had eroded a lot since I had been there last, but a lot of sand washed in very recently.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Thursday.

I stopped by Turtle Trail.  Three or four detectorists were already there.

Turtle Trail Thursday.

The little cut and shells that were there recently had disappeared.

Turtle Trail Thursday.

There were two Ocean Rescue trucks at Seagrape Trail.  The entrance was closed.  I suspect that was only a very short-term closure.

Wabasso Beach, however, is closed Jan. 6 - January 20.  Gates were closed and a big orange sign stated the reason.  I should have read that but didn't.

There were a couple detectorists at Amber Sands.  That beach had eroded back since I was last there, but still it was just renourishment sand covering the surface.

Amber Sands Beach Thursday.

Amber Sands Beach Thursday.

North of Amber Sands there was road construction up past McClarty.

There was a lot of traffic in the Vero and Fort Pierce areas today.  I guess it is tourist season.

Overall, I didn't see anything to get excited about today.

Even though the surf is supposed to increase, it looks like we are going to have east/southeast wind all of that time.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Help Duane figure out the age and identity of his ring.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/15/18 Report - Florence Finds Beginning To Come In. Nice Treasure Coast Shipwreck Artifacts On Display. 83 Foot Wave!

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

Couple Florence Finds From the Treasure Coast.
Finds and photo by D. Renken.

I received an email with photos from D. Renken, who just found the above fake treasure coin and copper sheathing.  When you dig a fake like that, your first glimpse gets you excited before you realize that it is a fake.  D. R. said he quickly recognized this one as a fake.

He also sent me photos of a large sheet of shipwreck copper that he found some time ago (below).  He made a great wall display out of the copper and some spikes and nails.

Wall Display Of Shipwreck Copper, Lead, Spikes, Nails etc.
Finds and photo by D. Renken.

The large copper has a makers mark on it, which D. has been trying to identify.

Makers Mark on Copper Sheathing.
Photo by D. Renken.

If you can help identify the mark, please let me know.

That is the kind of display I highly recommend.  You will get more pleasure out of your finds if you clean them up and make a nice display.  This is a beautiful example.

Thanks for the photos D.

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I need to clarify something I said yesterday.  I said something like, I'm not a serious detectorist anymore.  I only meant that I don't detect a lot.  I didn't mean to suggest that I lost interest.  I am every bit as interested in detecting as I ever was.  I just don't get the opportunity to do it much.  I now have responsibilities that keep me from going out a lot.   I very much regret not being able to hunt more.  As a result I have to make the best use of my limited time in the field, which makes it even more important to make the most efficient use of my time.  That means I study to improve my effectiveness even more.  I also spend more time studying finds, and have learned a lot that way.

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83 foot wave?  Wow!

https://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/water-cooler/hurricane-florence-creates-monster-83-foot-wave

Thanks to Jorge Y. for that link.

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Mystery Find.
Find and photo by Scott C.

Scott C. found this item on one of the Treasure Coast shipwreck beaches and wondered what it might be.  He provided no indication of size.

To me it looks like a buckle, or perhaps a drawer pull.  What do you think.

I have no idea of age.  If it is cleaned up, there might be a mark.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Looks like Florence will be turning and heading into the Ohio Valley.

Isaac as dissipated.

Joyce and Helen will stay far out in the Atlantic.

Maybe we'll get some good Fall storms.  It is not uncommon.   Florence didn't really do much for us despite the high water.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The surf has calmed down but will increase to three to four feet by Sunday.

I have a few more finds to show later.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/22/16 Report - A Find Researched and Transformed. 3-D Printing To Create Scale Models of Shipwreck Sites.

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

Silver Horse-Lover's Ear Ring.

I found this silver ear ring some time ago.  Nothing special, but it looked a little better than your average mass produced ear ring.

You might find a stray ear ring and if you can't find the owner, you might think it isn't worth anything.  Some people would sell it for the silver value, but a little research might be both fun and profitable.

The other day I looked to see if there were any marks.  Below is what I saw when viewed with my Celestron microscope.

The makers mark, between STERLING and the copyright mark, is SC in what appears to be a cloud shape.

After looking around on the internet a little while, it looked like the maker might be Silver Cloud.

And here is some of what I found about the Silver Cloud company.

Silver Cloud Inc. was founded in 1975 by owner Charles Springer. Charles graduated from the University of New Mexico with a civil engineering degree. He was able to pay for college by designing and making jewelry and selling it on campus as well as local art shows.

There were other companies that used Silver Cloud in their name so I wanted to find out if this was the right one.

Below is an example of some of their products that I found on their web site.

Silver Cloud Product.

The similarities are striking.  I'm pretty sure that I have the right maker now.

So what?  Well, a pair of similar silver ear rings made by Silver Cloud sold for $135.   But I only have one.

Some people sell single ear rings, and some people wear a different type of ear ring in each ear.

Instead of trying to sell it as a unmatched ear ring, I decided to do is turn it into a pendant.  It wasn't difficult. The ear ring post was bent into a ring shape and a bale was attached.

I'm pretty sure it will sell pretty quickly.  There are a lot of people who like horses.

My main point today is that some finds might seem useless, with a little research and sometimes a little ingenuity, they can turn into very worthwhile finds.  Finding something is fun, but so is turning it into something that someone will cherish.

Always check items for any marks.  A makers mark can make a big difference in the value and can give you good information.

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I've mentioned 3-D printing a few times lately.  One was in my 5/21/16 post, now in Fox News a month later, is one example of the kind of thing I was suggesting.

Now, archaeologists in the United Kingdom are using 3D printing to bring two historical shipwrecks to life for history enthusiasts and experts alike.

Using data from photogrammetry (measuring the distance between objects from photographs) and sonar imaging, the researchers have produced scale models of a 17th-century shipwreck near Drumbeg, in Scotland, and the remains of the HMHS Anglia, a steamship that was used as a floating hospital during World War I...

"It was a proof of concept for us, trying to establish what could be done using sound and light, but there are so many different applications you could use this for," said maritime archaeologist John McCarthy, a project manager at Wessex Archaeology who carried out dives at the Scottish site and was in charge of producing the 3D models.

Here is the link for the rest of the story.  (Thanks to Dean R. for the link.)

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/06/20/centuries-old-shipwreck-recreated-with-3d-printing.html

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There is no tropical activity to watch.  The surf is decreasing and will be back down to about a foot in a day or so.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/8/16 Report - Nicely Marked and Monogrammed Silver Tag or Label Find.

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

Marked Silver Found by Dan B.

Dan B. found this monogrammed silver label or tag.  The monogram seems to me to be "FMH."  Maybe that is it.

This is a very good example of marked silver.  Nice find Dan!

Notice also the marks to the left of that.  I think the top mark (HP??) is the makers mark.

Closer View of Marks.

It should not be too difficult to identify the makers mark.  There are comprehensive lists of silver makers marks.

The one mark that I am fairly confident about is the lion.  The walking lion indicates that the silver is sterling (.925 pure).

I can't really make out the mark on the right.  The "n" could be the date letter.  Letters indicate a specific date.  The font or style of the letter is important.  There are letter sequences in different styles.

I am assuming that this is British silver.  I'm not absolutely sure of that.

Maybe someone who has studies silver marks or has more time to research it can help Dan.  Let me know if you can add information.

Here is one good source for looking up silver marks.

http://www.925-1000.com/

The tag seems to be over an inch long.  I wonder if it might be a label for a wine bottle.  It seems to be about the right size and shape, but I don't see where it might be attached to a chain, and many quality wine labels are more ornate.

What do you think?

Here is one web site where you can view antique silver wine labels.

http://www.steppeshillfarmantiques.com/silver-and-porcelain/silver/wine-sauce-labels

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That is a nice instructive example of marked silver.  If you haven't investigated something like that before, this will provide a good exercise.  Look into the web sites and try to figure out the marks.

I have a couple other posts that I'm working on, but they aren't ready yet.  I'll therefore leave that for some other day.

Please let me know if you figure out some of these marks or can figure out what the item might be.

I also suggest you take a look at yesterday's post if you haven't already, and send me your thoughts on the citizen archaeology permit proposed legislation.  Also, express your feelings to your representatives.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net