5/9/19 Report - Finds, New Mystery Item and Newly Solved Mysteries. Small Surf Increase Coming.

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

Beaded Leather(?) Bag

This bag is about five inches high and has slots for a draw string.  It seems to be made of some type of skin.  I'd guess leather, but I don't know that.  The beaded ends on the bottom are just a touch larger than a silver dollar.

Other End of Same Bag.

Many of the beads on this side have come off.

Same Bag Opened Up.

Notice the slots at the top that could be used for a draw string.

Here is a crude drawing of the shape of the bag with dimensions.

---

The bag appears to be old.  You can see that the material has deteriorated.  It cleaned up very well.

I've never seen one of the same shape, and wonder what it was meant to carry.

Anyone have any ideas on it at all?

---

Wind Chime.

Source: Pinterest

Sent by Mitch K.

Concerning the item that looks like a compass rosette, Joe D. had this to say:  Trina O's item looks rusty, like tin or iron! Not corroded like copper or brass! The only iron of any kind in a real compass would be the needle! Also, with the hole in the top, it looks like a decorative hanger of some type that blew off its string or wire!  Good thinking Joe.

Mitch King sent a picture ( right) of such a decorative item on a wind chime.  That photo really nails it down for me.  

It is an ornament for a wind chime.  See the photo to the right that Mitch sent.

Thanks Joe and Mitch!



I also got some answers for the small copper items that looked like they exploded.

Mitch said they are copper bullet jackets.

Joe D. said,  The exploded items may be full, or partial metal jacket rounds with the lead or other interior metal composite melted out, so the typical mushrooming the would make it more recognizable as a bullet is missing! Those would be copper or copper alloy! And if casings, would be thin hollow brass! But they look more like bullets to me! 

Later, Joe said they could be tracer rounds, which would have a hole end the trailing end.

RinkRat said they are fired black powder primers. they go on a nipple that sticks out of the rear of the barrel. These replaced the pan of earlier black powder guns.

Good work guys!   

I also found percussion caps and a percussion hammer, and another item.  I'll show a picture of that one in a second.

As a result of those replies I got out a copy of my Dixie Gunworks Black Powder Guns, Shooting Supplies and Antique Gun Parts Catalog.  I once picked up the catalog in a thrift store for a dollar.  It has been very useful, as it was today.

Source : Dixie Gun Works Catalog.

I also had a nipple cap or cover and didn't know it.  It is the little copper cap sitting on top of the cylinder right in front of the hammer.  I didn't know what it was but never paid much attention to it outside of  wondering what it might be.  So not only did you help me with the item I posted, but you also helped me identify a find that I didn't post.

I'll have to put all these items together in one place now.   Thanks for your information and what I just learned.

Joe D. also said,  With the addition of the picture of the back of John E's item, i think it may be part of a larger decorative item! It looks like copper with a copper wire soldered on the back! If its an earring, its missing the attachment for the ear! Maybe home made item! 

Thanks again guys.  I'm still very unsettled on this one.

Joe also said he enjoyed the brain teasers.

One other thing I found while looking through the Dixie Gun Works catalog is shown below.  I have one but didn't know about it either.  I thought the curved knife was for cutting rugs or something.

Source: Dixie Gun Works Catalog.

If I run across either the nipple cap or knife I'll post photos.  I know I saw both of them recently.  I saw the nipple cap just a few days ago.  Maybe I've already posted one or both of them, but I don't remember for sure.

---

I forgot to add some more tips for scooping up hard to recover items.  I'll probably get back to that in the near future.

Still planning to show a large find of modern gold bullion coins when I can.

---

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

As you can see the peak surf has slipped back a half day or day.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/6/14 Report - Valuable Paul Revere Thimble, Smoky Mountain Knife Works Knife Find, Cleaning & Happy Birthday Donald Duck

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

Thimble Sold for $10,080.
Source: Kovels Komments

This gold thimble was made by Paul Revere about 1805. "L.D." is engraved on it.   It does not show Revere's maker’s mark, but it is identical to a thimble he made for his daughter which is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

This thimble sold at auction for $10,080 at a Leslie Hindman auction in Chicago on May 21, 2014.

Here is the source link.

I'd say that I've found at least a half dozen thimbles over the years.  I always thought that it was a bit unusual to find a thimble on a beach, but the number found seems to suggest otherwise.

I find it difficult to guess how old a found thimble might be.  Given the rarity of hand sewing in the modern home I'd have to guess that the thimbles are usually not recent drops.



I'm going to go off-topic briefly.   I just found this fun and interesting.   How old is Donald Duck?
What is his middle name?   And what is Donald's hometown.

This information was in the same issue of Kovel's Komments. 

Donald is 80.  He first appeared in The Wise Little Hen cartoon on June 9, 1934.  Happy birthday Donald!

His middle name is Fauntleroy, which was shown on his Selective Service Draft Card in Donald Gets Drafted, 1942.

He is from Duckburg.

OK, so I'm a bit of a Disneyphile.



Below is a detector find after it received a good cleaning.

Knives are common detector finds - more common than thimbles. 

As I've been pointing out, items like that are frequently found and removed from parks and beaches where they could be picked up by young kids.

This particular knife was dirty and had a stubborn dark green on the bolsters.  I tried a number of liquid cleaners and none of them worked very well.   Then I carefully tried steel wool, which did the job.  It cleaned up very nicely then.  I wouldn't use steel wool on just anything, and certainly not coins that might be valuable, but it seemed to work very well on this knife.

Don't use abrasive things like steel wool on items that can easily be damaged.  You probably know that you should never clean rare coins although sea-damaged silver coins are a bit of an exception and are often cleaned.

Here is a mark that I found on the tang of the knife.  It says, Smoky Mountain Knife Works.

I looked up similar knives from the Works and found some on eBay that are listed for between $100 and $200, although those also had the original collector's box.

The Smoky Mountain Knife Works also sells inexpensive knives as well as collector knives, and right now I don't know which this one is.

With the engraved cheetah on the blade, I guess there is some possibility that is a collector knife.  If you are a knife collector or know about that, please let me know.

Remember to inspect found items carefully for maker's or other marks.

Here is an illustration of the parts of a pocket knife.

Below is the source link.  You might find that handy.





http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=parts+of+a+pocket+knife&qpvt=parts+of+a+pocket+knife&FORM=IGRE


On the Treasure Coast the wind is out of the West.  The surf id two feet or less.  The surf will be small for a few days, and the tides are pretty flat.

Happy hunting,
TreaureGuide@comcast.net