12/31/19 Report - Valuable Roman Coin and Unknown Coin Find. Jupiter Beach. Passing It On.

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

Left: Very rare and valuable Roman coin found by detectorist in England.  

Right: Similar coin recently found by Sharon and submitted for ID shown in yesterday's post.

Looks like we have an interesting story.  Yesterday I posted a photo of a coin (right above) found by Sharon and submitted for ID.  On the left above is a Roman coin that sold for over half a million dollars.  

Of course there are apparent differences as well as similarities.  One seems to be gold and the other not.  The portrait seems to be of a different person and the wording is different.  Still there seems to be enough similarity, most notably in the head wear, which suggests to me that Sharon's find could be Roman.  Whether it is genuine or a reproduction or copy has not yet been determined.

Here is a bit of the story of the valuable Roman coin shown on the left.

A rare 1700-year-old coin depicting Roman ruler Allectus found by an amateur metal detectorist in a field in Kent, England, has been sold for a staggering price in the UK. The gold coin is very rare, and this set off a bidding war that smashed the auctioneer's estimate for the piece and set new records, finally being sold for £552,000 (US$700,000). It is the most money ever paid for a coin depicting Allectus and the most valuable Roman coin minted in Britain to have been sold at auction. 

The exact location of the find has not been stated, but it was near Dover, in the English County of Kent. 

Dix Noonan Web announced that the find was made by a 30-year-old amateur metal detectorist, who has followed the pursuit for seven years, while he was searching some tilled farmland with his brother... 

You can find out more about that coin by using the following link, which was submitted by William K.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/roman-coin-allectus-0012118

Thanks much William.

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Jupiter Inlet Beach

Photo by Joe. D.

I received the photo above and the following photo along with the following message from Joe D. yesterday.

Hello,

   I was out before the sun for low tide at the inlet! Sorry to say that the constant march of bulldozers and sand has already affected the inlet beach! Very few targets now!  They are past the condos heading north to the inlet beach, and the sand is washing ahead of them!

   Carlin Park now has a 100 yards of beachfront, and the rocks are buried under about 15 feet of sand! The only eroded beach left, is basically the Reef Club south now!

  It would be cheaper to build new buildings west of the beach, than to keep throwing money away on beach sand! If i had a nickel for every dollar they spent on sand, I'd be rich!⛱💰 

Joe D.

Jupiter.

Photo by Joe D.

Thanks Joe.

Lots of shells for the shell hunter there.

Nothing more appropriate to the New Year than the moving sands of time.

It has been said that we don't own treasure.  We are only the caretakers for a while.

That fits right in with my New Years theme and the following message I received from DB.

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I recently volunteered at a Christmas present giveaway and created a chest full of sand for the kids to dig in. I slowly filled it with every treasure I come across in my treks.

My family and I provided plastic baggies and answers to children of all ages.  I had my detector there and gave a few special kids some stories and info about hunting.  I even had a handful of children more interested in burying the treasures to replenish the box for the 125 children that came through. 

We gave over 1000 shark teeth away including some very large megs. Marbles, metal detecting finds, pottery, shells, coins, seaglass. You name it and it was in there. It was over 10 years of collecting but was my overflow. 

I cant explain how rewarding it was and hope I can store up enough to do it again someday. I know that those items sit proudly in many hiding spots. Hidden in a satchel or tucked away in a box. Only to be the seed of excitement created by the thrill of the hunt to hopefully someday bring the same joy over and over again. 

For some, it was something they had already done and found more interesting now, but others, it was just beginning.  

The best gift I could ever give on Christmas. The ability to find treasure in many things.  '

DB.



Thanks DB. Very good idea. Its good for the hobby and the children that I am sure enjoyed the experience and benefited from it.

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

It looks like we'll be starting 2020 off with a week of small surf on the Treasure Coast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

Here we are about to step into a new decade.  It seems like yesterday that we were preparing for the a new millenia.  There were apocalyptic fears that every computer in the world would crash because of some glitch having to do with the computer's inability to handle a year that didn't start with 19.   Businesses wasted tons of employee time and money on preparing for some feared disaster.  Well, not much happened.   The world went on with barely a hiccup.

I just had a funny thought.  I find all kinds of junk that I end up using in one way or another.  I just enjoy using the junk I find rather than buying stuff.   I decided to list some of the useful junk I've found.

1.  Boots.  I've found boots that fit and that I used.  One pair were attached to ruined waders.  I just cut the boots off.   I got some good use out of them.  I also found fireman's boots in the Indian River that came in handy.  They have steel toes and steel plates under the soles.

2.  Reflectors.  I just found nine orange reflectors on a metal plate.  They were probably used at the end of a dead end or something like that.  I mounted them on some posts along the driveway.

3.  Wire.  I like finding old wire and have a variety of gauges.  I use it all the time.  One recent use was to make outdoor Christmas decoration hangers.  I used some to make hangers for Orchids.

4.  Old bottles.  Used as décor on a window ledge or book shelf.

5.  Tools.   Pliers, Wire Cutters, etc.  Some are badly corroded and useless, but some are in good condition.

6.  Wood and boards.  Used to make various things.

7.  PVC pipe.  Used to make a variety of things. including an outdoor Christmas tree and indoor Christmas tree stand.

8.  Coconuts.   The shells can be cut and used as planters.  I used one to make a Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween.

Those are just some off the top of my head.

12/20/18 Report - Mystery Object. WW I Shipwreck. Copper Alloy Figurine. Artifact: Chain and Clasp.

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

Mystery Object.

Somebody found this very light stone in a shell pile.  It floats in water.  I've found those before, and I think I looked into it, but it was a long time ago, and I'm not sure I correctly recall.  I think it is pumice.  Is that correct?

Here is a closeup view of a piece I had.

Closer View of a Similar Piece.

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Copper Celtic Goddess Figurine

Hundreds of artefacts were uncovered during the National Trust’s dig at Lamp Hill, which suggest the settlement was built between 100BC and 150AD.

Among the 300 finds were coins, cosmetic implements, horse harness fittings, brooches and a ring...

“The most striking find of the dig for me was a small 5cm copper alloy human figurine, made in the second Century AD,” she said.

“The faceless individual appears to be holding a ‘torc’ – a high status Celtic neck ring and is thought to represent the god ‘Cernunnos’ – the god of fertility...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.royston-crow.co.uk/news/wimpole-archaeological-dig-uncovers-celtic-goddess-figurine-and-2-000-year-old-settlement-1-5825632

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USS San Diego

WASHINGTON (AP) — A hundred years ago, a mysterious explosion hit the only major U.S. warship to sink during World War I. Now the Navy believes it has the answer to what doomed the USS San Diego: An underwater mine set by a German submarine cruising in waters just miles from New York City.

That’s the conclusion of an investigation by scientists, archaeologists and historians convened by the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Last summer, the researchers sent an unmanned underwater vessel to inspect the site off New York’s Long Island. Their analysis ruled out a torpedo and sabotage, two other possible scenarios.

Here is that link.

https://www.apnews.com/8c85bfa0776d4cad8bc329da08beba51

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It is easy to make mistakes about isolated finds.  I can think of some really great finds that I didn't appreciate at all when I found them.  I just didn't know enough about them.  I eventually learned more and appreciated them more.

Of course, it sometimes works the other way too.  Sometimes things that you think are great turn out to be nothing special.

Here is an example of one find that I didn't think much of when I found it.  I'm still not totally sure about it.

Clasp of Silver Chain Found on Treasure Coast Beach.

When I compared that clasp of that silver chain to the clasp of a gold chain found on the Atocha, I was really surprised by the similarity.  They seem to be made exactly the same, but as you would expect, the silver didn't hold up so well.

Clasp of Gold Chain Found on the Atocha.

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I planned to go on a walk to see if any more old bottles washed up, but the water was too high and murky to see anything, so I didn't get to do that yet.

The wind is strong from the south.  The surf will be around two feet for a day or two, but then there will be a few days with an even smaller surf.

My email doesn't seem to be working correctly, so there might be some delay in my responses.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net.

8/13/17 Report - Old Maps From the Internet. The Watch Videos. Different Terms. D.B. Cooper Treasure Mystery. Tropical Storm Forming.

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

Super Old Map For Locating Metal Detecting Sites.

The internet provides so much good research material.  I found this 1876 map showing the area where I grew up and where many of my ancestors settled in the 1800s.  There farms are well marked on the map.  You can see where the old school house was, and you might be able to see the Plank Road running down the middle of the map, which was actually covered with planks back in the day.  Now it looks like any other road.  And near there used to be an old one-room school house that has been remodeled many times so that you would never guess that it was either a school house or old.  These kinds of old maps are invaluable for locating good metal detecting sites.

I also found an early 1700s map showing where one of my ancestors had land near Lancaster PA.  As I've said before, I really enjoy digging up (in more ways than one) my own family's history.

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The past few days I showed some videos.  One thing you should get out of that series is the need to be careful about selecting the mode you use when you metal detect.  I generally prefer an All Metals or Pinpoint mode.   If you used coin mode for those watches, for example, you probably would have missed them a lot of the time, and even if you used All Metals mode and were going by the signal tone or ID meter, you still could have missed some of the watches.  Other artifacts could be missed just as easily.

I used the Garrett Ace for the videos.  It is not a high-end detector, but the circuitry is basic and similar to that used in many detectors.  I might demonstrate how different types of detectors woud respond some time in the future.

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I remember once reading that someone didn't like the use of the word "detectorist."  I forget their reasoning, but for me the term is a good one.  They preferred the label "coinshooter."

I prefer the word detectorist because it is more general.  Few people who are out there hunting coins would not want to find a nice gold ring or something else of value.  Most people who search the treasure beaches hunt for and find things other than coins, including rings, spikes and other artifacts. And those that too narrowly focus on coins, might not realize how many other types of nice shipwreck items they are missing.

Treasure hunting is an even more general term.  There a lot of different kinds of treasure that can be found on a beach.  Some aren't even metallic.  The 1715 Fleet wax seal impression that I found is one example.  There are also pottery, stone, fossil and other types of treasure that can be found while detecting.  I don't like being too restrictive.  I don't like to miss much of anything that I might find interesting.  I'm not just interested in coins or jewelry or silver or gold.  Even when I really want to find one type of thing and go out with that intent, I do not see any reason to pass over any other interesting things that might be there.  You can be looking for one thing and find something else even better.  Also, the other things you see along the way, such as a pot shard or musket ball, might provide just the clue you need to help you find the thing you set out to find.  Everything that has been on a beach for a while provides some indication of how the beach and other things are moving and therefore can provide very important and useful information.

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A crew of volunteer cold-case investigators in the Pacific Northwest, led by a former FBI agent, has uncovered what they believe to be “potential evidence” in the 46-year-old mystery of D.B. Cooper...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://dbcooper.com/2017/08/1382/

Thanks to Dean for the link.

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Tropical Storm Eight.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Tropical Depression Eight looks like it will be a storm, but it won't come our way.  I'm not expecting to get anything off of this one at all.  It has been a very long sustained period of south and southeast wind and building beaches.  Someday that will change.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/30/16 Report - Turning A Whatzit Into a Thatzit. Help Solve The DB Cooper Mystery. Reports From the T. C.

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

Dug Lead Whatzit.

What do you think it is?  I'll get back to that below.

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Darrel S. sent the following message.

Golden Sand still closed. Not much found other some junk jewelry and tabs! Beach was in 2 parts. 1st part wall 6 feet high and flat to 2nd part. 2nd wall dropped off with very low pockets or scoops. Flat out into low tide surf. The rope that we saw at Turtle Trail was past the steel wall towards Orchid Resort. 3 employees were cutting it with machetes and removing it from the beach. That is long way to travel from where we saw it on Sunday. I found 3 nice Cowrie shells. Been a long time that any good ones have been seen in this area.

Darrel and friends detected Round Island Park today and found a good bit of scrap iron and some coins.  He said it wasn't as worked as he expected.

Thanks for the reports Darrel.

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The public is being asked to help solve the DB Cooper case.

True Ink founder Geoffrey Gray says he received the case files—including evidence assessments and interviews with jet passengers—while researching a 2011 post on the hijacker, later branded DB Cooper, but couldn't review them all, per the Washington Post.

"We have access to all these original DB Cooper case files and we want help from the public, citizen sleuths to help solve this case," he says. Authorities have had almost no leads in the decades since Cooper boarded the flight from Portland, Ore., to Seattle on Nov. 24, 1971. The only physical evidence is a cache of about $6,000 from the heist found along the banks of the Columbia River in 1980, and theories abound. One retired FBI agent suspects he landed in a lake and died. Others believe Cooper was really Richard McCoy, who copied Cooper's crime in 1972 and was later killed in an FBI shootout, notes Fox 13 (Or perhaps Cooper was a grocery manager from Michigan.)...

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

http://www.newser.com/story/234717/db-cooper-case-could-still-be-solved-with-your-help.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=foxnews&utm_campaign=rss_science_syn

Thanks to Dean for that link.

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Did you figure out what the item shown at the top of the post is?

I dug the item not too long ago and thought I knew what it might be but I really wasn't confident about it at all.  It stayed in my TBR (To Be Researched) pile for a while. Today I did a little research and now am pretty sure that I know what it is.

Source: Odyssey Virtual Museum
See link below.

I thought it was a lead bottle collar.  If you look at the inside of the ring it has a ridge which spirals away from one edge.  A lead cap would screw onto it.

Here is what the Odyssey Virtual Museum says.

A total of 127 fragments of glass were excavated from the “Tortugas” shipwreck, including square-sectioned case bottles. The bases of these bottles are all medium olive green in color and contain air bubbles. Glass rims and neck sherds were recovered still attached to 14 lead screw collars and caps that originally sealed some of the “Tortugas” ship’s bottle mouths. Data suggests a minimum presence of 16 square-sectioned bottles on the ship...

The two-piece permanent lead collars and caps that originally closed the bottles’ mouths feature everted sides and a horizontal shoulder surmounted by a short vertical mouth. Each collar, 1.4-1.9cm high, is subdivided into two seamless elements: at top a narrow screw thread (W. 1.5-1.9cm, Th. 0.2cm) consisting of three convex external edges between two inner recessed threads for receipt of a lead cap, and below the main section (max W. 2.1-3.3cm, bottom W. 1.9-2.9cm, Th. 0.2-0.4cm) that originally covered and protected the glass bottle neck and rim. The two zones are separated by a horizontal ledge, furrowed on the lower edge. The bottom edge of the inner diameter, reflecting the bottle’s neck diameter, ranges from 1.2-1.7cm. The collar was a permanent component cast over the bottle...

Here is the link if you want to learn more about lead bottle collars and caps from shipwrecks.

http://odysseysvirtualmuseum.com/products/Lead-Screw-Collars-and-Caps.html

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We're having great weather lately.  I'm not expecting any improvement in conditions in the next couple of days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/11/15 Report - Mystery Pot For Age Determination. Variety Of Great Old Coin Finds. Diamond Ring Recovered From Inside Dog.

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




I got this message a couple of days ago from Jonah M.

Jonah said, I went out last night to a beach that I've found really good treasure on with no ties to our 1715 beaches. And this is what I found . We find a lot of China and all sorts of pottery on our wrecks but this piece looks older I could be wrong ,but after a light cleaning this is as good as I could get it. It's about 4 inches tall with no marks on the bottom.  Please feel free thoughts on age.






Let me know what you think about the age of the pot.

Context is often one of the better indicators of the age or source of an object.

Remember, when beach conditions aren't right for one type of material, it might be a good time for other types of material.  I've said that in the past, but not recently.







Michael E. has been putting in a lot of field work.  That is one of the biggest determinants of finds.  If you want to find a lot, you have to put in the time.

Michael said

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... still land hunting for me to begin the new year. Last 2 hunts have resulted in many items, and some nice coins. 1943 half dollar, 1891 v nickel, 1870 centimos, 1918 buffalo, all first for me, which most things still are. Still have a gift for you in my truck, hope to catch up one day. This is my gold from 2014, less 3 pieces found after this photo. I dedicated to swing hard, Long and often in 2014, really to see what could happen. My goal overal was 100 rings and 10k pennies. Only made 5.6k pennies but dug over 10k individual pieces of clad. With minimal time at local parks. Didn't think I would reach the ring goal, but amid a few other hunters at my usual beach on December 31, I recovered #100, 18k band...


Below are some of Michael's recent old coin finds.

Coins Found by Michael E.
Photos by Michael E.
 

Very nice.  Thanks for sharing guys!


Did you hear about the dog that swallowed an expensive diamond ring and wedding band?

Here is the link to a video on that.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/dog-with-expensive-taste-swallows-wedding-rings/381520963608/Comcast/StrangeVideos?cid=hero_sf_weird
 

Maybe you should run your detector over the animals you come across.


I got word of some reale finds from a couple of days ago. 


Looks like the Treasure Coast will get something like a three or four foot surf for a few days.   The wind won't be out of the North until Tuesday.

I'll put my beach detecting conditions rating back down to a 1.


That is all for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

11/20/14 Repor - Small Mystery Copper Find. Some Tips On Cold Weather Clothes That Are Good For Beach Detecting

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

Big Diamond Ring Found
Find and photo by Robert H.

You never know when something really nice will pop up.  Here is a diamond ring (estimated at 1.5 to 2 karat) found by Robert H.

Congratulations Robert.  Great Find!

Thanks for sharing.

Small Copper Object Found Yesterday

Yesterday I dug a few small items in addition to coins.  Here is one very small copper item.  It appears to have the remains of a little silver gilt on it.  I have no idea what it is and will probably never know.

When I dug it I thought it was a percussion cap, which I've found at that beach in the past.

There were a lot of slivers of iron at the same beach.  It helps to know how to identify those if you are using a pulse detector.  I showed how to identify pieces of iron like that in previous posts.

More Concave Side of Same Object

When I went out to the beach yesterday there wasn't anyone out there.  It was a little chilly, so I had some cold weather gear on even though it wasn't really all that bad.

I thought I'd recommend some of my favorite clothes for cooler weather.

First, there are pants made for fishing that are really great.  They are made by Reel Legends.  I got mine at Bealls online.

They have a lot of pockets.  I mean really a lot.  But the best thing is that the pockets are different sizes and some have a zipper, others have Velcro, and there are attachments where you can clip things, such as key chains or whatever.

I love those pants for detecting.  They are light weight and have a zipper on the legs, so if you get hot, they can be converted to shorts.  The zippers are nylon and do not corrode from salt water.

You can stick finds of different types and sizes in the different pockets, also cameras, cell phones etc. and keep them securely.  I love the variety of pockets.


When it is cold I also like to wear a hoody with a large enough hood to get both ear phones and a hat inside the hood.  That cuts down on a lot of the wind chill.   On many hoodies the hood isn't large enough to fit over ear phones.

Gloves are a good idea.  Your hands can get nipped by the wind especially after you get them wet.

I generally don't bundle up much.  It seems I can take cool weather better than most Floridians, and even a of of snow birds that are accustomed to a warm house and warm clothes.  Our wind and humidity makes it the cold go right through you.

The wind is still from the North today.  I'm sticking with my minimal "2" Treasure Coast beach detecing conditions rating.

I'm sure you will be able to find some good spots for modern era items at some of the busier tourist beaches.  I wouldn't be surprised if a few older items might pop up.




Happy hunting
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/11/14 Report - Detecting Up North On A Quick Trip. Decoder Mystery Solved. Orphan Annie Radio Program. Fort Pierce Shark Attack.

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

Center of Dug Mystery Item Reading ROASS

There are many types of treasure, and different people have a passion for different types.  Some love glitzy modern gold, others old rusty relics, and others fossils or meteorites.  To some extent you are limited by where you live, but you can always travel.  Gas prices have decreased lately, making travel a little more economical.

As you probably know the Treasure Coast beaches have not been giving up much his year.  We just haven't had much erosion and a lot of the beaches have been smothered by tons of renourishment sand in recent years.

I like all kinds of treasure.  Sometimes I like rusty relics as much  as glitzy gold, especially when they provide an interesting connection to a time, place or person.  And sometimes I just like exploring, seeing what is there and learning a little about what happened at a location in the past.

Well not too long ago I made a quick trip up north.  It is an area that has a lot of personal history for me as well as a lot of old pioneer history.  I've written a little about it before.

On this particular trip, I sent an Ace 250 along ahead by U. S. mail.  It is light and doesn't cost much to send, and I'd rather send it than fool with baggage or carry-on luggage.  It costs about $15 dollars to send it by U. S. mail.  I don't worry so much about shipping the inexpensive Ace.

On this trip, I didn't send it early enough and it arrived later than expected, so I lost a little detecting time.  Nonetheless, I did get good use out of it and had some fun.

The area had been detected before, but I decided to focus on coins because I found some nice old coins there on my last trip and figured there would be more.  First I spent a little time hunting a yard which had been hunted fairly well in the past, just to see what was still there.  I didn't find any coins in the well hunted yard, but decided to dig a few other types of targets.

I got a confusing signal.   It appeared to be either an unusual shape or multiple targets close together.  The signal also told me it was composed of more than one type of metal.  

The mail man didn't come until late and it was already starting to get dark.  I dug the first piece and didn't have enough light to see what it was.  I could just tell that it was an unusual shape.  It was also covered with dirt.

There was more in the ground so I dug up the other part.  It was covered with mud, and I couldn't tell what it was either.

When I went inside and cleaned the objects off I could tell what it was.  It was a decoder badge, and on the top was the date 1936.

I talked to my mom on the phone and she said she had a Jack Armstrong decoder badge in 1936.  She told me about how there were a few radio programs that used things like that and one was the Jack Armstrong mystery program.  She said the program came on at 5;30 on Saturdays (evidently a memorable event for her) and my grandfather picked some other people up to come to their house to listen to the radio some evenings. 

You could get the badge by sending in a part of a cereal box and a coin of some denomination.  As part of the program they would give you a coded message, which you could decode by using the decoder.

After a quick internet search I learned that the decoder I just dug was not a Jack Armstrong decoder, but rather an Orphan Annie decoder badge.

The decoder I found was made in 1936, the second year that the radio program issued them, and was not a cereal box promotion, but was offered by Ovaltine.  You might remember Ovaltine, but I don't think many of you will remember the Orphan Annie radio program.  I remember Ovaltine.

Here is a link for more information on the Orphan Annie radio program and the various decoders they used.

http://www.radioarchives.com/Little_Orphan_Annie_p/ra005.htm

ROASS stood for Radio Orphan Annie Secret Society.  (See photo at top of post.)

Here are the two pieces of the decoder uncleaned.  The front has numbers around it and the second piece has letters that show up in the numbered windows when it is assembled.

The second picture shows the back and the secret compartment.  The pin that was on the back of the badge is now gone.

The secret compartment is about big enough to hold a penny or small folded piece of paper.

After applying 3 in 1 to the secret compartment I was able to slide it open.  I was really hoping something would be in it.  It would have been really neat if it held a piece of paper with a child's message.  It was empty though.  Too bad.

We know the name of the family that had two girls of the right age that lived in the area at the time and intend to do a little research on that.

That was one fun find.  Not valuable at all, but fun.

Tomorrow or some time soon, I'll post finds that are around 2000 years old from the same trip.


On the Treasure Coast the surf will be calm most of the week.   Not much new there.

Do be careful.  A surfer got seriously injured by a shark attack near the Fort Pierce inlet.  Here is that link.

http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_20366.shtml

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net