5/6/20 Report - Pre-Columbian Beer Keg. Victoria Cross Analysis. Stolen Treasure Dug Up.

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

Pre-Columbian Beer Keg Found in Mexico.

Source: MexicoNewsDaily.com (See link below.)

Below is a bit of the story of the jar shown above.

Naturally the archaeologists decided to check their assumptions and as soon as they began digging beneath the surface, they discovered that a 10-square-meter section of the new museum site was unusually rich in artifacts. Within a few months they unearthed bowls, jewelry, figurines, six burials, five ovens and six big urns, one of them a meter high by a meter wide...

It is interesting to note that the big jar found in 2008 weighs about 100 kilos empty, so that when it was full of liquid it must have weighed around 200 kilos (441 pounds).

“It may seem surprising,” Esparza told me, “but it appears that jars of this size were commonly used in those days and every home may have had not just one, but two or three jars this size. I should mention, by the way, that in our excavations we have normally found these pots all in pieces, not well preserved like our big jar, which we found 85% intact.”...

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/mexicolife/after-12-years-a-giant-pre-hispanic-jar-tells-its-story/

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The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces.

Victoria Cross
Source: TheGuardian.com (See link below.)

There was some question if they were made from the cascabels of captured guns.  That was investigated and here is the answer.


“While it’s unlikely that even the earliest medals came from the ordnance captured at Sevastopol, it is clear that most of the VCs awarded since the first world war have plausibly been sourced from the cascabels of captured guns – an important and symbolic fact for those who have received the honour in recognition of their bravery,” Marriott said.
Here is the link for more about that.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/03/show-your-mettle-victoria-cross-not-made-of-captured-russian-guns-after-all


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A Mexican drug lord's property seized and sold at auction.

The auction, held at the Los Pinos cultural complex, also offered 77 cars, five airplanes, five homes and 107 lots of jewelry, among other seized goods. In total, more than 130 million pesos, around US $5.3 million, was collected...

He is estimated to have amassed a fortune of around US $25 billion by transporting drugs, mostly cocaine, from Colombia and Mexico to the United States, often using his fleet of jets, which is how he earned his nickname...

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/ex-drug-lords-mansion-goes-for-49-million-pesos/

While all of the focus is on Covid, the death and devastation of drugs continues.

I've found bales on Treasure Coast beaches in the past.  I'm sure others have too.

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Every once in a while you dig up something and wonder how it got there.  Sometimes you know, or at least have a good idea, and sometimes you can only imagine.

Some things were buried by the rightful owner, but sometimes thieves bury stolen goods.  Unless you are looking for a known treasure, you might not know which it is.

Here is a story I ran across about stolen goods that were buried.

Huge Stash of Stolen Goods Uncovered Long after Prolific Thief Is Apprehended

Los Angeles: On Feb. 25, 2008, LAPD Burglary Special Section detectives received a map leading to stolen goods buried in the ground near the 118 Freeway at White Oak Avenue. The unearthed treasure may be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and is yet another chapter in the arrest and conviction of Roberto Caveda...

Recently, the case resurfaced with the discovery of the buried treasure, based on information Caveda relayed through his attorney. To safeguard it, Caveda stuffed it into a plastic pipe and placed it in the ground on a 118 Freeway right-of-way. As before, when detectives sorted through the stolen material, they discovered a lot of jewelry...

Here is that link.

http://www.lapdonline.org/february_2008/news_view/37637

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Looks like we're going to get some bigger surf before long.

Surf Predictions

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

4/8/19 Report - How To Better Analyze Your Finds - XRF Analysis. Waterspouts. Two Types of Treasure.

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

Desktop and Handheld XRF Analyzers.

I get a lot of questions asking about finds.  People want to know what their items are and how old they are.  One thing you might want to find out is the type of metal, and if a precious metal, the purity.

An acid test is one thing you might do to determine the metal and purity.  I've discussed acid tests in this blog in the past.  

There are some problems with acid testing.  For one thing, you have to scrape the item on a touch-stone.  You might not want to do that to something like a coin that could be valuable.

XRF analysis is a more modern method of testing metals.  It is non-destructive and more accurate than an acid test.

Many jewelry stores and pawn shops have an XRF analyzer.  You can get one of the more economical handheld models for not much more than a high end metal detector. 

The picture above shows an XRF desktop model and a hand-held analyzer. That picture and the two pictures below are from ThermoScientific.com.

Here is an example of an XRF analysis of a gold chain.

The analysis of the chain shows that it was made of gold, copper, zinc and silver.

As you probably know, an item like a gold ring will not be made of pure gold.  It will usually contain an alloy - very often copper.  XRF analysis can tell you not only what metals are present but also the percentage of each.

According to Thermo Scientific, Portable XRF analyzers are ideal for the retail environment. Many jewelers and pawn shops are using these instruments to test the purity and composition of precious metals. XRF quickly provides the exact percentages of all elements within an item – easily identifying non-standard, under-karated, and even sophisticated counterfeit precious metals that acid testing is incapable of differentiating...

Here is another example.

This analysis shows that the gold plated replica of an American Buffalo coin contains mostly copper, but also zinc, and a smaller amount of gold.

Click here to go to the Thermo Scientific site to learn more about XRF analysis.

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Huge Waterspout

Source: See Spiritdaily link below.

One of the nice things about being on the beach a lot is some of the sights.

I saw a smaller waterspout hit Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Here is the link for more about waterspouts.

https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/apocalyptic-water-tornado-speeds-toward-city-leaving-buildings-in-ruins

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Another one of the gang had heart surgery.  This time is was Dan B.

If you don't know about Dan, he was working on the Capitana when one of the greatest finds of Treasure Coast history was made back in 2015.  You can still go back in this blog and see photos of the gold coins, including the Royals that were found.

Pray for Dan.

It teaches you a lot when you go through something like that.  I thought I was going to die back a number of years ago. You can learn a lot during a time like that.  Faith helps.

As I told Dan, It is the storms of life that uncover the biggest treasures.

It was a very spiritual time for me.

Treasure hunting can teach many life lessons.  It is no wonder that "treasure" is mentioned so many times in the Bible and other spiritual books.

For example, Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

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The Treasure Coast surf will be down around two feet for a few days.  There will be a negative low tide.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/27/19 Report - More On Melborne, Florida Artifact Find Reported In Some Sources As An Ican Funerary Mask. More Surf Tomorrow.

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

Find Reported As Incan Funerary Mask.

A couple days ago I reported on what was said to be an Incan funerary mask found on the beach somewhere near Melborne, Florida.  As I said then, a lot of it didn't seem to make sense to me.  It turns out that I was not the only one that felt that way.  The ancient-origins.net web site also found the stories confusing and offered some corrections.  It seems that the artifact is not as old as reported and is does not included metal from a meteorite.

The ancient-origins web site reports You are immediately forgiven if you have watched the News 6 video and are in a state of utter confusion, as was I. Sparvero’s introductory scene in the video confidently states the mask is “possibly 10 or 12,000 years old.” But in reality, the Inca formed in the Cusco area of modern Peru in the mid-12th century AD. Going with professor Torres’ suggestion that it’s an ‘Inca funerary mask’ it was forged no longer than 800 years ago, but other archaeologists claim “a native civilization smelted the mask possibly thousands of years BC” according to an article in Florida Today …

While Torres says the mask is Inca, right after that he says “it might be the first evidence of smelting” in South America. But that was thousands of years before the Inca formed. Searching for hard facts, clarity can be found in an excellent research paper, Metallurgy in Southern South America , written by three of the world’s leading scholars on ancient metallurgy; Colin A. Cooke, Mark B Abbott, and Alexander P. Wolfe. The scientists state , “The earliest evidence to date for smelting activity in southern South America comes in the form of copper slag from the Wankarani site in the highlands of Bolivia dating between 900 and 700 BCE (Ponce 1970).”

Thanks much to Dale J.. who sent me the ancient-origins link, which is probably closer to the truth than much of what has been said and reported about the mask.

Here is the link.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/inca-artifact-0011370

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Today was the first day this year that made me want to run out to the beach.  The weather was what I consider excellent metal detecting weather, as long as you have a metal detector that can take the rain.  It was exactly the kind of weather I love for metal detecting - too bad I caught the flu and decided to stay in.

I don't know what happened to the beaches today.  I heard there was both an on-shore and long-shore currents, making it even the more tempting.

As you can see, it looks like we'll have a four to six foot surf tomorrow, along with some north wind.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

If any of you went out Sunday, I'd like to see any photos you got of the beach.

That is all for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/29/17 Report - Army Corps To Metal Detect Large Part North Hutchinson Island. Diagnostic Artifacts Web Site.

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

Area Designated for Study.

The area shown above will be the subject of a study to determine what materials might remain on the old amphibious training base.  Below is an excerpt describing the study.

A Tiny Tim was found in January of 2017 during a construction project.  Munitions were also found during a removal project in 1998 and munitions were removed in 2014 and 2015.

The Tiny Tim is a 1200 pound rocket or torpedo (I've seen it referred to both ways) that was detonated in the water off Vero.

Here is the link to that event.

http://www.wptv.com/news/region-indian-river-county/vero-beach/world-war-2-era-tiny-tim-rocket-dug-up-in-vero-beach-neighborhood

I saw them remove the obstacles from the shallow water a long time ago.  It must have been 1998, although it seems like it could have been longer than that to me.

It should be interesting to see what they find, military or otherwise.

Trez sent me a copy of the proposal prepared by the Environmental Science and Engineering Co. of Gainesville for the Army Corps of Engineers.  There goes our tax dollars again.

Thanks to Trez for the great info.

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I found a great web site just yesterday.  It is the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum website.

I commend them for putting it out there and making it accessible to the tax-payers.  Good example of other states and government organizations to follow.

The have sections on diagnostic artifacts, including projectile points, prehistoric ceramics, colonial ceramics, and other small finds.  You have to go two or three clicks deep in each of those to get to the individual examples.

Here is the link.

http://www.jefpat.org/researchtools.html

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On the Treasure Coast we still have a one-foot surf.  The tides are more moderate now though.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/11/15 Report - 6 PM Conditions Update. Cross of the Order of the Holy Spirit. One Remarkable 1715 Fleet Artifact.

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

Photo source: Wikipedia link below.

The Order of the Holy Spirit was created by Henry III in 1578.  The Order of Saint Michael was an older and less exclusive honor.

Knights of the Order wore a medallion such as the one shown to the left.  It is a gold cross with gold fleur-de-lys and white enamel.  The dove, of course, signifies the Holy Spirit.

Knights of the order were supposed to wear the medallion at all times.  It was worn on a blue silk ribbon or with an elaborate collar.

Nearly 27 years ago, on June 9, 1988, Captain Mo Molinar amd the crew of the Virgalona found the medallion pictured below about a mile north of the main pile of the presumed Nieves wreck site in the area of the famous "carpet of gold"

The Order of the Holy Spirit was a French Order, so what would a knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit be doing on a Spanish treasure ship? 

John de Bry's article The Order of the Holy Spirit: An Important Decoration from a 1715 Plate Fleet Wreck (The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol 74. No. 1. pp. 50-63) gives us an idea.


De Bry says, The present decoration is extremely rare in historical significance.  It is one of the few 1715 Plate Fleet artifacts which have been the focus of thorough historical research.  It is inconceivable that it could have been anything other than the rightful property of a knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit, and the 1715 dating strongly suggests that the knight was Don Isodore-Juan-Joseph Domingo de la Cueva y Benavides, he first Spanish recipient of this prestigious award.



Artifact Found By The Crew Of The Virgalona
Source of photo: Florida Historical Quarterly link above. 

It appears that this artifact has been traced to a particular passenger on the 1715 Plate Fleet.  Few artifacts are remarkable enough that they can be identified with such specificity.  It makes you think of Don Isodore, esteemed and knighted, perhaps wearing this decoration with color and cord, when disaster strikes. 

You can look out at that same area of the ocean the next time you are at Douglass Beach and imagine how Don Isodore became separated from this unique artifact that remained on the ocean floor for hundreds of years before being discovered again by the crew of the Virgalona.


Here is a link to the de Bry article..  You might have to register with JSTOR to be able to gain access to the article.  Yesterday I talked about JSTOR and some of the ways you can access it.

And here is the link to the Wikipedia article.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Holy_Spirit#Habit_and_insignia

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The wind is from the North on the Treasure Coast and the surf on the southern end of the Treasure Coast is about 4 - 6 feet, and more up north, more like 6 - 8 feet.

As of 6 PM Douglass Beach had big waves but no erosion.  You can see what that looked like in the picture below.  The waves were hitting straight on, and the front beach was mushy.

600 PM Beach View.

Tomorrow it should be a little higher.  We'll see if that actually happens.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

12/24/14 Report - More On The Mystery Find. Metal or Ceramic? Smooth Surf For More Days.

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

Another Picture of The Mystery Object.
Find and photo by Robert H.

Mystery objects, or what I call "whatzits," can be a lot of fun.  You can learn a lot while doing the research to figure them out.  I've already learned some things from this one.

If you didn't see the pictures of this object that I showed in yesterday's post, take a look.

The first thing that struck me is what appears to be an ornamental design that you can see in the top picture of yesterday's post.  I'd never noticed that on an olive jar before. 

Then Robert told me something else.  Here is what he said.

I was also very convinced it was some sort of pottery but now I'm not so sure. On the CTX it gives off a silver reading and tone. I scratch tested it when I got home. 3 different corners. It all seems to be metal but I could be wrong. I'm thinking pewter or bronze possibly. I would say it was 8 to 9 inches or more deep in the sand. It gave off such a nice strong signal the whole time. Could be the shape the reason why it sounded like it did. I've found gold rings that have sound like silver items or copper/zinc pennies or reading on the detector. All depending on the different metals alloyed. I guess the real question would be how does bronze or pewter react with my detector.

Interesting!  The new picture, which I posted above does appear to show a metallic shine on some of the edges and corners.  He said that It gives a silver tone on the CTX.   Now, like Robert, I started to think it might actually not be a sherd.  But then I got some more good information.

William B., who has been working on the Capitana for a couple of seasons, provided some great  information.  Here is what he said.

I work on the Capatana out of Sebastian. Regarding the shard ...  most of the olive jar pieces found on the 1715 fleet wrecks will ring on a detector, as will ballast stones. They obviously have some metal content, probably iron.  I have only been diving for 2 seasons but I have found hundreds of pottery shards and I have never seen a pattern as the one posted by Dan. Also, it looks a little too thin to be an olive jar shard.

Thanks much William.

OK.  So now I don't know if it is pottery or metal.  It evidently gave off a detector signal, but I just learned that olive jars shards found on the 1715 Fleet wrecks can cause a detector signal. 

I guess the signal could be the result of mineral deposits, such as leached iron, or maybe he signal is from clay or paste bearing mineral deposits or something that was added to the paste. 

It could also be something in the glaze.   Iron glazes, for example,  are common and have been used for centuries.

When I first learned that the piece emitted a detector signal, I wondered if there might actually be something embedded in it - possibly something being smuggled.  That seems very unlikely.

Even if the piece is a type of pottery, it does not appear to be an olive jar, since according to my reading, and more importantly, William's experience, it would be rare for an olive jar to have such a decoration.

So at this point, I don't know if it is pottery or not, but if it is a piece of an olive jar, it definitely seems to be an unusual one.  Maybe it ornamentation was applied later, or maybe it was manufactured as some other object or type of container from the beginning.

It is always more difficult to identify an object from pictures when you can hold or test an object for yourself.

Even though we haven't yet solved the puzzle, I've learned a few things in the process.

I love hearing the thoughts and opinions of the many knowledgeable readers of this blog.  I didn't mention all of the excellent comments that I received relevant to this object in this post.

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On the Treasure Coast we'll have a smooth surf at least until this weekend when the surf might be a touch bigger.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/30/14 Report - Analyzing Beach Behavior Patterns To Know Where To Detect, Salvage Camp and Gold Signet Ring

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

Gold Signet Ring Beach Find.

Here is a strategy that some experienced beach detectorists use.  I know that it is effective even though I don't use it much myself.   

Some experienced detectorists go to a very busy beach, find a high spot that gives a good view of the entire beach, and just sit with their detector prominently displayed, and survey the beach.

If you do that you might be surprised how often you will see people frantically on their hands and knees sifting through the sand with their fingers trying to find a newly lost item.

There will also be times when people see you with your detector and come up to you and ask you to search for something they just lost.

There are two primary goals to this strategy.  The first is to survey the beach and what happens there, and the second is to be visible and available.

I knew one fellow that used to do this at Carlin Park in Jupiter back in the eighties.  If someone asked him to hunt something for them, he would charge twenty dollars. 

I'm not saying you should charge for your services, but some people do.  You might find that it is worth doing even if you don't charge.  You will still benefit from learning more about the beach and where people tend to lose things, and also have the satisfaction of finding lost items.

If you don't charge, don't expect a reward.  People very often don't give a reward.  I don't understand it, but that is the way it is, so don't expect it.  The satisfaction can be enough, plus you will learn more about where to spend your time detecting.

When you are hunting a specific item you will sometimes finding something else.  Be prepared for that.  Get a detailed description of the lost item that you are hunting.

Some people will try to claim things you find when the item does not belong to them.  As I said, be prepared. 

Clear the area.  Draw boundaries in the sand.  Explain that you need to be able to systematically detect a grid.

When you clear an area, it gives you room to swing your coil and detect a proper grid, and it also allows you to get a good look at the item before you show it.

Recovery skills are always important.  You will benefit by being able to quickly scoop and view an item before others get a chance to get a look at it.

While watching people at the beach, you'll be able to quickly identify the quantity and quality of potential finds from the beach in general as well as different parts of the beach.

Some beaches are visited by glitzy people who wear extremely valuable jewelry, and some are visited by people who wear virtually no jewelry to the beach, and some wear only junk jewelry or none.  You'll be able to observe that, but you'll also see where different types of people sit and play.

Sedentary people do not lose much.  The people that will be losing the most are those that wear the most but also are the most active and careless. 

Notice where people sit, where people stop and readjust their belongings, and most especially, where they play.  Notice where people play football, volleyball, dive, stand on their hands, and turn cartwheels.  The play zones will normally be just outside of the crowded sitting areas.

Sedentary people will occasionally lose things, and that can be quality stuff, but they won't lose things as often as the wild and crazy crowd.

While I don't go to the beach and sit, I have been on the beach enough to make the observations, and being an analytic sort of person, I do know the patterns.

Did you ever notice how many people who come to the beach with a ton of stuff for the day, stop about five yard on the beach side of the walkover, put down some of their stuff, survey the beach looking for a spot to camp out, and readjust their load before moving on.  I call that the stop spot.  That is just one example.

Since I don't like to go to the beach when the crowds are there, this isn't a favorite strategy of mine.  I don't like to sit either.   When I observe, it is while I'm busy doing something else. 

I do know this strategy can be worthwhile though.  You will occasionally see people in the act of trying to find things.  You will have people come and ask you to search for something they lost.  And you will learn more about the beach and where different kinds of things are most likely to be lost.

Pay attention to where different kinds of people congregate and what they do.   Make out a mental map.  

You'll discover that once you get the hang of it, that you can analyze where people will go and what they'll do on almost any beach even if you visit when the people are not there.  Every beach will have a stop spots, for example.  There will also be the locations where the wealthier but more sedentary people sit.  There will be the places where the younger and more active crowd frolic, etc. etc.

Also note the time of day when people come and go. 

Photos and postcards can also help with your analysis, even if you have never been to a particular beach before.


One person recently wrote asking me about the salvage camp near Turtle Trail.  I presume they were asking about the Winter Beach salvage camp site.  There is a book on the Winter Beach salvage camp written by Douglas Armstrong that you can find on Amazon,com.  There is a lot of good detail in the book, including site maps, finds, etc. 


Yesterday I mentioned genealogical research again.  I keep mentioning it because I keep learning so much from it.

I discovered a source of old land use maps that are really great.  I'll get into that tomorrow.


On the Treasure Coast we still are supposed to have about a two foot surf.  Unfortunately we still have the southeast winds and swells.

Tomorrow the surf is supposed to increase some.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/7/13 Report - Gold Rings, The Unhurricane Season & Metal Detecting and Archaeology Book

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

Gold Wrist-sized Bronze-Age Rings Found.
Photo from story linked below.

Here are four of ten gold bronze age gold rings that were found.   They are roughly wrist size, but vary in size and weight, ranging from 95 to 290 grams each.

The first of these was found in 2009, but the others were found this year.

One feature that stands out are the ends which are decorated and hollow, as if meant, when closed to hold something.

They were found by an amateur archaeologist, surprise! surprise!   The article doesn't say, but undoubtedly using a metal detector.

There is much discussion about the purpose and use of these rings.  Some are calling them oath rings.  The name ’oath rings’ was inspired by the Icelandic sagas, in which people could take oaths by a gold or silver ring soaked with sacrificial blood.

Detail of Hollow Ends.

See if you can figure out what they were used for.  What, if anything, did the hollow space hold?

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://sciencenordic.com/field-teeming-bronze-age-gold-rings





If you remember back to the days just before this hurricane season began there were a bunch of dire predictions of an unusually active hurricane season.  Well, so far it has been just the opposite.  In fact through the first week of September, not one hurricane.  We are about to set a new record for lack of hurricanes.  They went from the term global warming, then to account for the unusual cold spells, to "extreme weather."  and now I suppose it will be extreme lack of extreme, or something.

Here is the link to that story.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/09/07/quiet-hurricane-season/2776845/

The most interesting thing on the hurricane map right now is the remains of Gabrielle, which it appears, has a 20% chance of becoming a cyclone again.  It is now just above Dominica.



On the hunt for the stern castle of the Atocha, the JB Magruder found what appears to be a hinge to a cannon door in the same area where three cannon balls were found earlier.  The bronze cannons might be nearby.


Immediately below is the Amazon.com description of a book entitled Metal Detecting and Archaeology, edited by Suzie Thomas and Perry Stone.  Price $85.

The invention of metal detecting technology during the Second World War allowed the development of a hobby that has traditionally been vilified by archaeologists as an uncontrollable threat to the proper study of the past. This book charts the relationship between archaeologists and metal detectors over the past fifty odd years within an international context. It questions whether the great majority of metal detectors need be seen as a threat or, as some argue, enthusiastic members of the public with a valid and legitimate interest in our shared heritage, charting the expansion of metal detecting as a phenomena and examining its role within traditional archaeology. A particular strength of the book is its detailed case studies, from South Africa, the USA, Poland and Germany, where metal detectors have worked with, and contributed significantly towards, archaeological understanding and research. With contributions from key individuals in both the metal detecting and archaeological communities, this publication highlights the need for increased understanding and cooperation and asks a number of questions crucial to the development of a long term relationship between archaeologists and metal detectors.

I very much agree with the idea expressed in the book that there should be increased understanding and cooperation between the two groups.  I have expressed the need for that in this blog before.

Did you ever notices how most books written by archaeologists who espouse the goal of preserving the past for the public are priced out of the range of the average citizen?

Here is the link to the book on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Detecting-Archaeology-Heritage-Matters/dp/1843834154


On the Treasure Coast the surf is still around 2 feet.  It will increase until Wednesday when it will peak around 2 - 3 feet.

Not much change.

I think I'll quit there for today.

I wonder if anyone was interested in the discussion of the escudos that I posed the past couple of days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/11/13 Report - RIP Chantal, Old Coins and Buttons, & Metal Detectorists Help Solve Crime

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

Beach Coin Finds by Richard O.
Photo submitted by Richard O.

First off, Chantal died yesterday (Wed.) at about 5 PM.   This is supposed to be a busy storm season, so new storms will pop up before long.  That is for sure.

Yesterday I told about some of the beach storm finds made by Richard O.  That is the type of thing I often talk about and why we follow the progress of storms.  As Richard says, when it is hot it is hot.  Of course the opposite holds too.  When it is not, it is not.

Anyhow, above is another photo Richard sent showing some of his coin finds from the times it was hot in 2013.  See yesterday's post for more information about these coin finds.  A lot of these are early 1800s.

They aren't cleaned yet, but if you look close, you can make out some of the details.

And below are some old buttons found at the same time.

Old Buttons Found on Beach After Storm
Finds and photo by Richard O.

Again, if you look close you can see some details.

And thanks again for the photos Richard.  Great finds!



The metal detecting community provides a lot of services to the public, sometimes hunting and returning lost valuables, but that is not all.

James F. sent me the following.

... I was involved in this evidence search down in Kissimmee last Saturday with my club, The Central Florida Metal Detecting Club, and some of your guys from your area, The Treasure Coast Archeological Society. The hunt was successful in that the groups found a piece of evidence that will probably solve the killing of a 17-year old teenager while he was simply walking to work, as well as another murder 14-miles away from the scene we were searching. At any rate, the hobby (and the skill) of metal detecting finally got some good press because of this, and, even though it was running around 95-degrees in very high humidity, everyone, I think, did a fine job and both groups should be commended in getting these murdering animals off the street. The police were quite pleased and we may all be called on to do this again if there is a need. Here's the link to that story in the Orlando Sentinel:

Thanks to James and the others in the detecting community that volunteered their time to help solve this crime.  And thanks to James for sending the report and link.

Here is the story from the Orlando Sentinel.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-osceola-shootings-update-20130709,0,3414832.story

Way to go guys!


I need to talk about something that in a way I'd rather not talk about.  Spending a lot of time on the beach in the hot Florida sun can be dangerous.  I've heard that 1 in 3 Floridians get some type of skin cancer.  It usually can be successfully treated if detected early, but some forms can be deadly if not caught in time.   I know too many detectorists that have had a problem with this.  Over time it does its damage.  Wear a heavy sun screen, protective clothing and visit a dermatologist if you see any suspicious or changing spots on our skin.  My wife used to nag me about that a lot, and I didn't appreciate it, but it could have saved me some problems if I'd listened.   Now I've said it.  I hope she doesn't read this.  I know that sun screen and taking all of the precautions can be a real pain, but it is not the real pain that you can get from developing skin problems.  I've had mine taken care of, but now I am more careful about my sun exposure and make periodic visits to the dermatologist.    Now the public service announcement is over.  I just felt like I needed to do that.


Today is the last chance to respond to the current blog poll.  I hope you'll do that.


The surf is 1 - 2 feet.  And now that Chantal has died, this weekend we'll have really small surf - only 1 foot.  It won't pick up again until Tudesday, according to the surfing web sites.

Conditions will remain poor for finding old treasure coins on the beaches, but water hunting should be good.  With the heat out there, it will also be one way to keep cool.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/6/13 Report - Detector Reviews and Coin Counts & Current Beach Erosion

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

Cut Found on Treasure Coast Beach This Afternoon.

This is the same cut that I showed a couple of days ago.  It has grown - more longer than tall.  It is around two feet high on average and goes something like three hundred yards or so.  As I said the other day, despite the erosion on this beach, most other beaches that I've seen in the past few days are not cut at all.

There is a good heavy shell line near this cut down close to the water.

Recently I've posted a really old artifact, a few fossils, and some modern gold finds, and the current blog polls asks about gold finds.

Bernie C. sent me a great email giving his experiences with different detectors and coin counts.  I'll share that below.  Thanks Bernie.

I've been having some technical difficulties lately.  My Excal developed a problem with the headphone wire connection.  I took another detector out to the beach today, and when I got it out of the car, the lower stem for the coil was broke.  I turned around and went home to fix it.   Fortunately I had some old detector poles around and was able to use one of those to replace the broken one, which I think broke mostly because of the effect of our Florida heat on the plastic.   That is a reminder to not leave your detector in a hot car or in extreme heat.

Well, when I cannibalized an old detector rod, and I do mean old, I took it off and started to put it on the newer detector, and it turned out to have the name of the detector company of the detector I was repairing on it, and was basically the same lower stem as the one that broke.  That was surprising because the old detector was not the same brand.  In fact it was a custom made detector.  Nonetheless, it turned out to be the same stem.

That doesn't mean that it didn't give me some problems.  You know how poles from old units that were used in salt water will freeze up if you don't loosen them up occasionally.  It took me a while to get things loosened up.  Lots of Liquid Wrench was used.  Anyhow I got the stem replaced and was back in business.



Now here is what Bernie reported.

...Here's an coin update for this year that has to do with the type of machine is used for
detecting.

I was using 3 different detectors. My White's IDX Pro ( which is a
coin magnet) too bad this machine was discontinued. This is the machine
I used last year that produced $550 in clad for the year.

I used a Garrett Sea Hunter MKII for the first part of 2013 until I
decided to sell the machine to make an upgrade. The first 4 months of
coin finds for the year was conciderably less than 2012. Only 63.08.
The thing I did notice between the two above machines is trash
discrimination. The White's has a screen readout that shows what is
being detected where the Garrett you have to dig everything. The disc
on the Garrett is useless. If you do try to discriminate you lose
about 60% of your depth. The Garrett is a very deep scanning machine.
I often would dig targets at 20+ inches. And this machine is in love
with iron.

I just purchased a Minelab Excaliber II and I think this machine is
the best of both machines mentioned above. After playing with the
machine in the yard for about 2 weeks planting targets and getting the
different tones in my head I set out to do some hunting to see what I
could find. Well after searching for 5 consecutive days around the
Treasure Coast dispite all that new sand, here is the clad total for
the week. $42.83 in clad, 3 silver quarters, an almost brand new mens
watch, approx 6 lbs in lead sinkers,some misc bling, a really nice
leatherman knife and a fair amount of trash. I would have liked to see
some gold in the scoop, but there's aways next week.



Thanks a lot for the report Bernie.  The three silver coins probably shows that you were getting things that other people were missing.  Most of the coin beaches around here are heavily detected.

I once had a Garrett PI detector, probably about twenty years ago.  It was one of my least favorite ever.  It loved iron too.  I think I dug well over a foot and a half on a sand bar in the water one day, and it was a class ring, but it was not gold or even silver.  I sold that detector after using it very little.

I've mentioned a variety of different types of targets today.  What you target will determine what type of detector you might select.  I might chose a different detector for different targets and also different detectors for different locations or situations.

I've mentioned this before, but some detectors are good in dry sand but not wet sand or vice versa.  I most often select what I call a power machine with few if any fancy functions.  What is best for you might be different.   I know that some people can't tolerate digging any junk, but if you are in the best type of place to find gold, most of the time, there won't be much junk in the area to bother with anyhow.  I said "most of the time."  Of course some gold will be found in other types of places.

I also have one old detector that is a poor coin detector, but is a good precious metals detector.  I have great faith that it won't pass up gold or platinum or even silver, yet it is not an especially good coin machine.

Get to know your detector, how you like to detect, what you want to target, and conditions where you want to detect, and select your detector based upon all of that.  You might chose a good all around detector, if you do a variety of types of hunting and don't want to spend much money.


If anyone else wants to give your experiences and your reactions to different detectors, just send them in.


Dont' forget to answer the blog poll question.


On the Treasure Coast tomorrow it will be pretty much like today on the beaches.  Still 3 - 4 foot surf and southeast winds.  No change in conditions.

Despite cut that I showed above, I'm not upgrading beach detecting conditions for finding cobs yet.

The surf will be decreasing down to around 1 - 2 feet again by Thursday if the surfing web sites are correct.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/14/13 Tips for Water Detecting, WW II German Bomber Salvaged

Written by the Treasure Guide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Gold and Diamond Ring Shallow Water Metal Detector Find

The above was found in shallow water along with other coins and a few other rings.

I received the following article from the author who asked if I post articles by guest authors.  If you've been reading this blog very long you know that I do, but not often.  There is no compensation for articles submitted.  My blog, as you know, is not a commercial site.

-----------------------------

Tips on Snorkeling or Diving with an Underwater Metal Detector by Michael Bernzweig.

Michael Bernzweig manages metaldetector.com in Southborough, MA. He has written on the subject of treasure hunting and metal detecting since the mid 1980’s. He enjoys traveling with his metal detector and helping to educate others in the correct use of metal detectors in their explorations.

Metal detecting underwater can be a lot of fun no matter what your skill level. If you’re comfortable in the water, then underwater metal detecting is for you!

You don’t have to be an expert diver or have any special equipment to have a great time metal
detecting in the water. In fact, most underwater metal detecting is done in water that’s around
knee to chest deep. So, as far as equipment, all you need is a good underwater metal detector,
a snorkel mask, maybe a wet suit depending on the time of year/location, and a metal detector
digging tool or two. Then, you’re ready to head out into the water to find some treasure.

While there are also metal detectorists who search in deeper water with their scuba gear and
have found amazing treasure caches this type of underwater metal detecting requires much
more specialized training and equipment. Also, many metal detectorists have found that the
“sweet spot” for underwater metal detecting is that area where most people will wade in to cool
off and play around in the water. This is generally where the water level is about chest deep to
where a bit of swimming is required but most can still touch. You can probably imagine why this
is. Not only does jewelry come off and pockets get accidentally emptied when playing around in
the water, the water shrinks the skin and rings in particular seem to slide right off; especially
with the help of all that greasy sunscreen everyone is hopefully regularly applying!

To help guide you to a good starting point to begin your search, be sure to look for the places on
the beach that are “washed out” or show water runoff from a recent storm. Follow these areas
into the water and start your underwater metal detecting at these points since they’re the most
likely places where treasures have landed given the water current. This is of particular help
when metal detecting in the ocean with it’s natural ability to deposit items of similar weight
together.

You’ll also find whether at the ocean, lake, or river that directly after a storm is an ideal time to
go underwater metal detecting; and, usually, the bigger the storm, the better the finds. The
increased water activity during a storm kicks up the sand and soil which usually unearths new
treasures. Plus, treasures hidden on the beach are likely to be washed into the water in the
runoff from the storm.

In addition to these tips, be sure you remember to be safe in and around the water. If there’s a
storm coming, head home (after the storm has cleared is when to go metal detecting!). Don’t go
underwater metal detecting at night. Be sure to head out with a partner. And, watch for any
warning signs about beach closures, water issues, and rip currents. You’ll also want to keep
metal detecting rules and ethics in mind as well and be sure you’ve got permission to metal
detect in these areas, dispose of any trash you find, and, respect the land and the people also
enjoying the public spaces around you. Then you’re sure to have an excellent, and hopefully
very successful time underwater metal detecting.

-------------------------------


On the Treasure Coast Friday and Saturday the surf will only be 1 - 2 feet.  The wind is from the southwest today (Fri.).  The tides aren't vary big.

That should be good for some shallow water hunting, especially if you can find a dip inside a sand bar where you can hunt without being in a salvage lease.

If you hunt modern jewelry, there is a good chance you'll be at a beach that has a life guard.  People often ask me where they can legally hunt in the water.  I can't give you all of the areas of the salvage leases although I have posted some maps of some of the salvage leases and talked about that some in the past.  Use the keyword search box on the blog.

My advice is simply to ask a life guard.  They will generally know if you can detect in the water at their beach.

German Bomber Being Lifted From English Channel
Photo from The Telegraph linked below.

If you get your detector out and start wading in where it is not permitted and there is a life guard on duty, they will simply tell you that you can't do it.  That has happened to me before.  No problem.  Just comply.  Ask any questions if you want, but do it in a polite and friendly manner.  Sometimes you'll learn something useful that way.  And it is easy enough.  Don't make any enemies for yourself or the hobby.

It can be very beneficial to make friends with a life guard.  They sit there and watch people all day.  They often know where things have been lost.



Below is the link to the story about a German bomber being salvaged from the English Channel.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/10113538/Last-surviving-German-bomber-could-take-years-to-preserve.html


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

PS:Some might say that the following is off-topic, but it is very relevant if you really think about it.   I felt like I couldn't let it go unmentioned.

It's amazing how much data exists on you and I.  And we recently found out that much of that data is not just floating around in cyberspace but is being gathered and stored for reference.

Disney World can tell you every time you've been there, when you entered which of their four parks, when you got a fast pass, and they have a huge database of finger prints.  (Disney guests will soon be wearing RFID wristbands that will serve multiple purposes.)  Unlike in the Boston bombing, it took Disney only a short time to apprehend a fellow that recently put a dry ice bomb in a trash can.  They have more security than you might realize.  But that is nothing compared to the phone records, emails records, credit card data including everything you bought, where and when, much of which is being collected by our government for "security reasons."  We recently found out how much data the government plans to store on the citizens of the world in its new data center in Utah.  They even had to find a new word to describe the units of information stored, "yottabyte."   1 yottabyte = 1000000000000000000000000 bytes. 

I've read they have enough storage capacity in the Utah data center to store thousands of years of internet data, including all of the email, text, video, music, etc. etc.  It does involve multiple huge buildings.  That is amazing.  It might make you think too.

I think we are clearly entering a new age of "Massive Data" and there are plenty of things to think about.

Since the recent NSA scandal surfaced, book sales for George Orwell's book, 1984, has sky-rocketed.  It was published in 1949 just after WW II.  In the 1970s, the book was widely read, and at that time described a futuristic world of constant surveillance, mind and behavior control.  It was that  book that coined the term "Big Brother," which the President recently used in reference to the NSA scandal.

Here is a link for more information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

It is interesting to see a book that was widely read by one generation being rediscovered by a new generation.  Widely read books provide people with common concepts, imagery and a vocabulary.  That helps groups of people to better share ideas and make decisions.

8/23/12 Report - Isaac Heads Towards Keys and West Coast & Club News

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

Thursday Morning National Hurricane Center Map

Isaac now looks like he will be crossing the Keys and skirting the West Coast of Florida, and then maybe heading towards the Panhandle.  It is looking like the West Coast will be getting more of Isaac than the Treasure Coast.

Joyce, on the other hand, looks like she'll head towards Bermuda.

The ocean is flat today.  The seas will begin to increase Friday, reaching a peak of around  8 foot seas on Monday.  The decrease in predicted seas on the Treasure Coast isn't as big a factor in my mind as the predicted change in wind direction due to Isaac's move west.  I'd like to see north/northeast winds, but we won't get much of that.  It looks like it will be more east winds.  Nonetheless, we'll surely still get some improvement in beach detecting conditions.  It can't get worse.

Low tide this afternoon is between 7 and 7:30.

There is still some chance that the predictions will change, but at this point, it looks like the Keys and West Coast will get most of the battering.

The next St. Lucie Metal Detecting Club hunt will be 8 AM, Saturday, August 25 at Stuart Beach, 889 NE Ocean Blvd, Stuart.

The next meeting will be September 15th, 6:00 PM at Bernie's house. For more information check www.stlucietreasurehunters.vpweb.com  or email Bernie.  Bring your own beverage and finds.

The club is planning a trip to the Peace River in the Fall.  Maybe some of you West Coast guys will want to meet up with them.


If you don't have the money to buy that ultra rare gold bar or coin that you drool over and think would be the best investment in the world, it may soon be possible to buy shares in items like priceless gems, jewelry, wines, cars or Picassos. 

http://liquidrarityexchange.com/treasure.html


The big fish were having a feeding frenzy in the Fort Pierce Inlet this morning.  I wish I got a picture of that.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net