2/20/14 Report - Fossil Shark Teeth From Beach, Shards Found In Shell Piles, and Bits of Florida History

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

Fossil Shark Teeth and Pot Shard Finds
by Eva S.

A few days ago I posted a note from Eva S. who has been finding fossils and shards on the beaches between Sebastian and Vero.  Here are a few of her finds.  (Many more are shown below.)

That is the kind of thing you are likely to find these days.  I'm sure the detecting snow birds, who are on the Treasure Coast in great numbers now, are disappointed with the beach detecting conditions.  Since our good detecting back in November conditions have been consistently on the poor side.

You just can't control beach conditions.  You have to adapt and make the best of it.  Another alternative is to take a little trip.

Yesterday I talked about abandoned and hidden beaches.  Some were not ideal beaches to begin with.  I'm thinking of some of those that you'll find in parks where they tried to make a nice beach on a lake, bay or stream by bringing in nice white sand and and spreading it.  That usually doesn't last long.  The weeds will come up right through the new sand and nature will reclaim the beach.  I can think of a few like that.  Beaches like that might look nice at first but they aren't used much by people because the area just beyond the dumped sand is still muddy or mucky in the shallow water.  The result being that they give up on maintaining the beach before long and it is reclaimed by nature.  You can identify those beaches by the unnatural white sand on one part of the shoreline.

I can think of one abandoned beach inside the property of a very large Florida amusement park.  At one time there was a life guard station and dock at that beach.  Now you can hardly tell there was ever a beach there.  I first detected that one when it was in full operation.  Now it is very over grown, there is no sign of the life guard station and the dock is gone.

I'm still working on uploading my video clips of how objects move on a beach.  No success yet.  I also plan to make more videos and do some experiments to illustrate the processes of beach dynamics.

A few notes on Florida history follows.

Between 1513 and 1565 at least eight Spanish expeditions were sent to Florida with the aim of establishing Spanish rule.

In 1565 Menendez massacred 130 people at Fort Caroline, a French outpost near Jacksonville.  Nine days later he led the killing of 110 more Frenchmen near St. Augsutine, inspiring the name of  Mantanzas (massacre) Inlet.

It appears that Europeans had been to Florida before Ponce de Leon.   Many believe that John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) was the first European to see Florida.

Several maps appear to show Florida years before its supposed discovery by Ponce de Leon.

They include the Juan de la Cosa Map, published in 1500.

The 1507 Waldseemuler Map that is housed in the Library of Congress and appears to show the peninsula of Florida.

And the Peter Martyr Map, which was circulating in Europe as early as 1511, two years before Ponce's supposed discovery of the area.

More than one hundred Florida missions were established by the Franciscans and the Jesuits beginning in 1566.  By 1705 they had all disappeared.

All of this is in J. D.Allman's book on Florida history that I referred to back a ways.


On the Treasure Coast the surf is increasing a little for a couple of days.  It looks like it will be up to about four feet or so.

The wind will be out of the south and southeast, so if anything, expect beach building.


Below are a number of photos of pieces that Eva has picked up along the beach.  You can look through them and see if you can help with identifying anything that might be older or interesting.  Note in the last photo, the couple of wooden handles, for example.

Here goes.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/28/11 Report - Spanish Missions & Loose Change

Map Showing Location of Spanish Missions in Florida.

This map appeared in the 2006 Master's thesis of Alissa Slade.

Here is the link if you want to read the thesis.

http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses_1/available/etd-11142006-180114/unrestricted/Final.pdf

Notice the marked shipping route back to St. Augustine.



You probably know that I especially like "first finds." They tend to move a person to the next level somehow.

Steve sent me an email yesterday telling about his first gold find. Here is what he said.

Arrived in Port St. Lucie yesterday and pulled out the Exal 2 today. Then,
following your suggestion, checked out a beach that doesn't appear to be
detected very often. I've found coins there before and have never seen
anyone hunting it. This time I decided to get in the water since it was so
calm. Found a dime right off and then two sinkers. Then I got a sweet low
tone and pulled out a gold ladies ring, 10k only, with a load of tiny
stones on top that are probably crystal. But at least I've finally got
gold.

Congratulations Steve!


A 1740s Spanish mission was discovered in Escambia County.

Here is that link.

http://www.northescambia.com/?p=58928


Many beach hunters only hunt beaches. Of course that is OK, and there are many reasons that make beach hunting a good choice. Unless it is a state park or something, you don't have to ask permission, and sifting sand is easier than pinpointing and removing coins from hard earth. However, if you restrict yourself to beaches, that is very limiting. I recommend expanding your field and your experience in as many ways as you can.

There are land sites that are worth hunting. Old Spanish treasure coins are sometimes found on land. You might know of the Bulldozer Hoard. I've talked about it before. It was found when a bulldozer was moving earth for the construction of the Wal-Mart in Sebastian.

As you know, if you run across something important like the Spanish mission, though, you should immediately contact the State archaeologist.

But my point is that there are places where you can find old treasures besides the beach. And I like a little variety.

It pays to be alert to all kinds of opportunities.

Recently I was driving down US 1 and noticed a side road where a vacant lot was jammed with cars. I'd never noticed that before, so decided to check it out when I got the chance. What I found is that a new church had been built and they were using the old vacant lot across the street as a parking lot. I didn't spend much time detecting there, but it goes to show how you need to keep your eyes open and how you can suddenly find a new detecting site. I know it was nothing exciting, but I like to explore and it helps me sharpen some of my less used detecting techniques.

When I lived down south I lived near two sites where carnivals were held every year. I'd be the first to detect those sites after the carnival pulled out. I always found a good amount of change. Nothing spectacular, but it was enjoyable. There was always a lot of change, and most of it was laying right on top of the ground, maybe under a little grass or dust, but no real digging was required.

I would get out my old Tesoro Royal Sabre and have a fun time picking up coins for a few hours. Sometimes it seemed like rolls of coins were spilled in one spot. Like I said, nothing real interesting, but fun and profitable.

On a similar note, the northern end of A1A on South Hutchinson Island immediately south of the Fort Pierce inlet has been dug up for the last few weeks. It seems they are putting in new pipes. It might be worth checking some day. Maybe something old will be brought to the surface. I'm sure there will be a lot of junk, so you might select a different detector than what you would use on the beach. A target ID might be good there.


Odyssey Marine was added to Russell 3000. By the timing I would guess that getting on the index is the reason they issued those millions of new shares. I didn't know why they issued all of those new shares. That might be the reason.

Being on the index will give them greater visibility.

Here is that link.

http://www.shipwreck.net/pr227.php


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.


Same old, same old. No change in conditions again. And no changes imminent.

The only news here is that a low pressure zone has formed near Mexico in the southern Gulf. It has a fifty percent chance of forming into a cyclone but probably won't affect beach conditions much, but it is helping to bring us some moisture and rain.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net