6/28/20 Report - Summer Beach Conditions Continue. A Few Finds Including A Fossil. Atlantic Heating Up.

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

Fishing On A Hazy Treasure Coast Morning.

I went out to see what was going on.  There were a lot of guys fishing at the beach.  I should've checked the river this morning.

The first thing I dug was this lengthy piece of copper shown with a bottle for comparison.

Piece of Dug Copper.

Bottle for comparison.

I eventually got something old - some fossils, including a snake vertebra fossil (below) if I'm correct, and I think I am after checking some books.

Posterior View of Fossil Snake Vertebra on Quarter and Expaned View.

I several fossils, some were just pieces.  The snake vert, a fish vert and a turtle scute were in pretty good condition.

The snake vert was the most interesting of the three to me.  The fish vert was not nearly as complex or complete and turtle scutes are very common.

Here are some other views of the same snake vert.

Two Views of Fossil Snake Vertebra.

It is intricate and still in pretty good shape.

---

I received this email from Norbert.

Just as a "for what it's worth" I found a heavy men's bracelet on a golf course where worked. I used to run my detector when I monitored the sprinklers at night for watering the greens. I had my hopes up that it would be a good. The clasp had apparently broken when the guy hit his shot and couldn't find it in the tall rough. Back in the golf shop under the light, it was clearly marked "Italy 14K", but was without question some kind of heavy pot metal with most of the gold flaked off. 

I think people are not as surprised by items that are marked higher than they should be. You can see a motive, so that could be intentional deception, but I guess simple mistakes can happen in both directions.

---

There is one system in the Atlantic with a small chance of developing in the next couple of days.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Otherwise nothing much new.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/8/16 Report - Not a Mickey Mouse Find. Markings and Copyright Laws. More on Elks Item.

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

Porcelain Body of Donald Duck

There is no accounting for the taste of some people. Here is a picture of an item I recently found while surface hunting - Donald Duck without head.

The figure is about four inches tall and made of something like porcelain.  It appears to me to be an early Donald Duck figurine.  If he only had his head I would prize it more than a common 1715 Fleet cob.  That is what I mean by not being able to account for some people's taste.

I still need to do some research.  The markings appear to be very early.

On his back collar is what looks like S1334.  Don't know what that might mean.

And on his bottom is the copyright symbol followed by "Walt Disney."

Those two things should eventually tell me everything I might want to know, including a date range.

Donald's Bottom Showing Copyright Mark.

Mark On Donald's Collar.

If anyone can tell me the meaning of those markings and save me some time I'd sure appreciate it.  Thanks for any help.

Here is an informative web site telling how Disney drove the copyright laws in the past and possibly into the future.  Very interesting!

http://artlawjournal.com/mickey-mouse-keeps-changing-copyright-law/

And here is a web site showing various production marks used by Disney over the years.  The one on this item is not included in those listed on this web site.

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Disney-Collectibles-Production-Marks-Disneyana-/10000000000072493/g.html

You always learn some interesting things when researching finds.

---

Not too long ago I posted a picture of an Elks item found by John C.  I wondered about the clock.  Here is what I found.

THE ELEVEN O'CLOCK TOAST
At every meeting of the BPOE, and every social function, when the hour of 11:00 p.m. tolls, the Lodge conducts a charming ceremonial known as the "Eleven O'clock Toast." In fact, the clock tolling the eleventh hour is part of the BPOE official emblem, and is directly behind the representation of an elk's head in the emblem of the Order. 

Regular meetings of Subordinate Lodges have always been held at night. In the earlier days, they were usually held on Sunday nights and were concluded about eleven o'clock. As the participants departed, the Brothers made inquiries about the absent Brothers and expressed sympathetic interest in the causes of their absence. 

It soon became a custom for some member to propose a toast to the Brothers who were not present. And in the course of time, this custom was quite generally observed whenever a group of Elks were together at eleven o'clock. Eventually, the Grand Lodge specifically provided for such a ceremonial to be observed during Lodge sessions; and designated it as "The Eleven O'clock Toast." Under this provision, whenever a Lodge was in session at that hour, the regular order of business was suspended for a few moments while the Exalted Ruler recited the beautiful ritual prescribed, concluded with the words: "To our absent Brothers." Since women were permitted to join the Elks since 1995, the toast is now pronounced as "To our absent Members." 

For more information about the Elks, here is a good web site.

https://www.elks.org/lodges/LodgePages.cfm?LodgeNumber=183&ID=8896

---

SuperRick, who usually hunts meteroites and nuggets out West, was on the Treasure Coast and found this cut on the 6th.

Photo by SuperRick.

The weather is absolutely super for being outdoors.  The wind today is mostly from the west. Tomorrow it will be coming from the north.  Even though the surf won't be big, the tides will be pretty big.

I'm working on some stuff for future posts.  I'm also working on a foreword for a book that you won't want to miss when it comes out.  I read a draft of the book and loved it.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/17/15 Report - Detecting With Beach Movements. Mystery Token. Marks On Silver Cross.

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

Markings On A Found Silver Cross.

Can anyone help me identify the markings on this silver cross.  If you can idnetify them please zip me an email.

The cross is about one and a half inches high.  I think it had a loop for a pendant.  The loop is missing.

---

Found Token

This token appears to be copper or brass and appears to be just a touch bigger than a quarter.  It is the same on both sides.

I'd also like help in identifying it.  Thanks.

---

The above illustration shows the shallow water area and a front beach.  I wanted to discuss detecting in the shallow water a bit today.

I put the orange lines in to divide off some areas.  From left to right, you have the deeper water outside the bar, then the bar, then the dip inside the bar, and then the slope.

You'll often read or hear people say different things like, Check the dips in front of any cuts.  Nothing wrong with that. It is good advice.  I'd check that area if it looks promising, just like I would check any area. The dips will be good sometimes, but sometimes not - depending upon what is going on. Its a very dynamic system and the best thing is to be able to read the flow.

It is never a bad idea to check any area.  But checking doesn't mean spending a lot of time.  Check and make a decision base upon what you see.

Checking can help you not only determine if there are any targets there, it can also help you determine how things are moving.

A couple of thing you might want to learn is what kind of material is in the dip and how much of it there is.

Some types of areas definitely produce much more than others.  No doubt about that.  No area produces all the time though.  And spots will change between hot, neutral and cold, and sometimes very quickly.

Any one of the four areas I mentioned above can be the best place to hunt. Those areas are always changing.  They change as the tides go in and out, and they can change whenever the wind and waves change.

A local thunder storm might not last an hour, yet it can change the situation substantially.  A thunder storm can pass by, whip up the waves and create small cuts in a matter of less than an hour.

There are changes that occur over decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours and even minutes.  The past couple of years, for example, we've been in a sustained period of small surf, and the beaches have changed, but mostly in one direction.   What we've been seeing is a bit unusual.  I've never seen such a long period of time with nothing but small surf.

Even within that time, though, there have been times when things changed significantly on a very short term basis.  One day the front slope was loaded with coins.  The next day that was entirely changed.

My main point today is that things change constantly.  Maybe not large changes, but changes that affect where you will want to spend your time.

The area outside the bar might be the place to be at times.  That would be when swimmers have been hanging out and playing on the bar before the bar moved in.

The bar will move in and out.  I like to check the side of the bar that is losing sand.  For example, if the bar is moving in, check the outside of the bar.

When the bar is moving in, if it goes on long enough, the dip will eventually get filled and objects in the dip will get covered up.

There are times when the dip is a good place to find things like watches.  That often occurs when there coarse shell sand and lose material filling the dip and the coins and similar things are covered up.

The dip can get really good when the front of the slope is cut away and things are dragged down into the dip, especially when the sand gets moved out to deeper water.

Recently on the Treasure Coast, and I'm sure neighboring areas to some extent, there has been very little movement and change.  Things have remained relatively stable for quite a while.  Despite how stable things have been there have been times when certain areas got hot for a short time.  There have been days when it was best to detect the wet beach and other days when the zone just in front of the breakers was good.

It is a dynamic thing.  Don't get stuck in a rut. It's more of a dance.  Get in tune with it and move with it.

---

I'll probably continue with this some other time - maybe tomorrow.

---

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/3/15 Report - Layers of Sand Holding Coins. Classification Of Objects On A Beach. Hurricane Vulnerable Cities.

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

Beach Illustration.

The thing that I want to point out using this illustration is the layers shown both under the shallow water and under the berm crest.

You can sometimes clearly observe different layers of sand when you dig a target.   You'll see one color of sand over another.  Sometimes the different layers are the same color but one layer will be more course or fine than the other layer.

There are times when coins and things wash up with sand.  When that happens, the coins will be in that layer of sand.  That layer can then either get covered up by newer layers or eroded away.

Once you find a coin in a layer of sand there will probably be others in the same layer.  You can then  look for the layer containing the coins.  That layer might be covered by other layers or exposed by erosion.

So when you find a coin that has washed up, pay attention to the type of sand it was found in.

A lot of times I've dug coins that were right at the dividing point between two layers of sand.  I've found that a lot.

---

How are birds and treasure coins alike?  They flock together.

You might remember me saying this before.  Birds of a feather flock together.  So do treasures.

When you find one of a particular kind, there is a good chance you'll find more around the same area.

That was demonstrated very well this year when the guys on the salvage boat Capitana found hundreds of musket balls.  They went many days without finding any, then all of a sudden found hundreds together.  It wasn't an accident.

The longer things have been in the ocean and the more they have been affected by moving water, the more they are classified or grouped together.  One of the most repeated myths of treasure hunting is that items are classified by weight.  As I've said before, a ton of Styrofoam will still float, and so will an ocean liner made out of steel.  It isn't weight so much as it is density, and also, by shape.  In my opinion both of those are big determinants of how items are classified by moving water.

Things that are recently dropped or are dropped on the high and dry beach won't be sorted.  It takes time and force.  So the longer things are exposed to more force the more classification you will see.

It is a lot easier to learn about classification where a lot of targets are lost.   Where there are few targets you won't see the patterns nearly as easily.  I was fortunate to be able to quickly learn about classification when I first started detecting in South Florida where you have a high population density of beach goers.

Objects don't have to be identical to be grouped or clustered together.  They just have to be similar - in density and size and shape.  The more similar they are the more they will tend to cluster.

People often don't take shape into account, but shape is important too.  I've talked before about how different shaped objects move differently.  I've even reported my own experiments.  Using a splash test, I predicted how different size and shaped sinkers moved different amounts when hit by splash of water.  Round objects moved more on a sand surface than flat coin-like objects of the same density and weight.  When objects are the same density and shape, larger and heavier objects were moved less.

There are also objects that trap air.  Those are mostly more recent objects such as watches, for example.  Watches move easily and tend to stay in higher and looser sand because the trapped air makes them act as if they are less dense.  The bands, if still present, also affects how watches move in the water.

Of course, sometimes items are found together because they were lost together, such as coin spills.  Take a look at items found together to see if you can get any idea about how long ago they were lost.  Corrosion or patinas will sometimes give you some idea.

If you find an item take a look at it to see if it provides any clues.  If it looks like it was lost a good time ago and has been subject to moving water, be sure to look for other similar items in the same area.  That is one of the main things you can do to hunt more effectively and efficiently.  Get as much information out of finds as you can.

When you see one Robin, there is a good chance that there will be a flock.

---

If you find a medallion take a look at the edge of the medal.  Often you'll find helpful markings there.

Medallion Showing Marks On Edge.

---

Here is a listing of the cities or towns that are most vulnerable to hurricanes.



---

The Treausure Coast will have another week or so of one to two foot surf, so no big changes.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/9/14 Report - 122-Year-Old Gravestone Found on Beach. Hoard Found by Detectorist. Tungsten Ring Markings. Laser Inscribed Diamonds.

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

This 122-year-old gravestone appeared on Ocean .  A headline or an article about that claimed the the gravestone "washed up" on the beach.

Some of those who read the article wondered how something like that could wash up on a beach, especially considering that there hadn't been any recent storms.

As we know, when things suddenly appear on a beach, it might not be because the object washed up.  It can just as well be that the item got uncovered.

An observer might notice the depressions in the sand around the corners of the stone.  The water obviously rushed around the corners, where the sand was suspended and washed away.

One thing I found most interesting about the article is the number of comments.  The discussion was pretty much what you would expect.  Some accepted the author's conclusion that it washed up while others realized that it might have been uncovered.

One person wondered why the inscription had not worn more on that beach gravestone when they commonly wear down while still in the cemetery exposed only to air.  One person found the obituary in the paper that gave details of the deceased and another located the a picture of the residence of the deceased.

The readers discovered that an old cemetery was moved and the old tombstones were used for breakwaters or sea walls and many are now buried under the sand of that beach.

It was interesting to follow the story from the misconception of the stone having washed ashore, to the discovery of the details of the deceased and to the source of the stone.

Here is the link.

http://www.missionmission.org/2012/06/04/122-year-old-gravestone-washes-up-on-ocean-beach/

And here is the article about the stones being removed and used to support a sea wall.

http://sfhcbasc.blogspot.com/2009/09/bits-and-pieces-of-san-francisco.html

You never know what will be found on a beach, and the unraveling the mystery of how it got there can be a lot of fun.

You might get more good information from comments than from an article anymore.  That is something to remember when doing research.






Here is a picture of a hoard discovered during an excavation that was being conducted on the site of an old department store.

The picture reminded me of the photo of the artifact cluster that Captain Jonah sent us a few days ago.  About the same size.

Anyhow, for more of the story about these Roman artifacts, below is the link.

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/colchester_roman_find_of_national_importance_discovered_under_williams_griffin_store_1_3756005

Bottle collecting got popular in United States back in the 1970s.  Then a chip didn't matter if the bottle was rare. Today condition is very important and a rare bottle with a chip will auction for half what a perfect bottle brings, according to Jeff Wichmann, the founder and owner of American Bottle Auctions of Sacramento, Calif.

Concerning toys, it seems like it is the 70s and 80s stuff that is popular now.  The boomers are down sizing while the children of the 70s and 80s are now collecting.

Markings Inside Tungsten Carbide Wedding Band.

Here are the markings I found inside the tungsten wedding band.  Triton on the left.

These markings aren't like the stamps you usually find in gold.


Did you know that some diamonds are microscopically inscribed with a certification number of personal message?   You can sometimes read them with a 10X jewelers loop.  Sometimes they are covered by the setting. 

The best diamonds do not always have a certification number.  They can be buffed off.

For identification purposes, a carbon pattern is better than an inscription.


The only thing worth watching in the Atlantic is way over by Africa and still days away.

Right now we only have about a one foot surf on the Treasure Coast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net