12/21/18 Report - A Few Miscellaneous Items. After Christmas Hunting Might Improve.

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

Older Style Bromo-Seltzer Bottle.

Here is a nice cobalt blue Bromo-Seltzer bottle find.  I've sold a few like this in the past.  The cobalt blue bottles seem to be popular.

Embossed Red Rock Co Bottle Find.

I did some research on this bottle and it seems the Red Rock Company began in Atlanta in 1885.  I saw that you can still buy Red Rock soda with the same recipe being sold today.  It was bottled in a variety of cities, mostly in the south.  As you might be able to see, this one has the Jacksonville label.

My research on this bottle is sketchy at this point.  I think it is a slug plate bottle.  

A slug plate is an interchangeable, typically iron, engraved plate which was used in a bottle mold to produce different embossing patterns for the same type bottle.   By simply taking out one engraved plate and replacing it with another differently engraved plate, the same mold could produce scores of unique and individually embossed bottles of the same shape and design.  Commonly called a "slug plate" by collectors, but more properly called simply a plate and bottles from this type mold referred to as having been produced in a "plate mold" (Jones and Sullivan 1989). 

I haven't done enough research to give a good date for this bottle yet.  Maybe someone will help with that.

I always like to find embossed bottles, especially Florida bottles.   The research usually isn't difficult.

I'll add this one to my bottle barn.  I should take some better photos though.

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About the pumice shown yesterday.  Steve M. says that is what it is, and he has found it too.  

I've found darker color pumice (below) as well as the light color.

Black Pumice From Treasure Coast Beach.

It has its uses.  You can purchase pumice sticks today for scrubbing.  It also has nautical uses.

Here is a link.

http://aboutpumice.com/pumice-info.html

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  Last December was kind of windy too.

We've had a west wind as some cooler air moves in.  The tides are of a decent size now.  The surf has been small, but it looks like it will increase after Christmas.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

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.

12/31/15 Report - Happy New Year. All-Time Most Read Posts. Higher Surf Predicted. A Few Finds.

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

1909 New Years Greeting Card.

To the left of this post you'll see a list of the top ten all-time posts of this blog.  One 2015 post made the list.

The list is biased towards older posts because they continue to accumulate.  It isn't easy or newer posts to make the list.

Hopefully we'll get a good start on the new year.  A 5 - 8 foot surf is now predicted for January 5. As you know the predictions aren't always correct, but if we do get something like what is predicted, there is a good chance for beach conditions to improve.  There will be a north wind or a few days too.

Some of the beaches have lost a good bit of renourishment sand, so we have a decent chance if we get some good new action.

I haven't been much interested in hunting modern jewelry lately.  I did a little though just for the heck of it and came up with a couple gold finds.  Here is one.

14K Peridot Ring Find.

Here are a few finds that although they have no value, I found a little interesting.

Old Glass

I would say this glass is at least early 20th century.  Older bottle glass is thicker than the glass in modern bottles, might have bubbles and is more variable in thickness.  Modern glass is very thin and of a uniform thickness.

White Pumice - I think.

I've been seeing white pumice on some Treasure Coast beaches lately.  Most of the pumice that I've seen in the past was dark grey.  I think that is what it is.  Pumice was used to scrub centuries ago and I suppose still is.

I'm not going to post a lot today.  Mainly wanted to say Happy New Year that a higher surf is predicted for next week.  That is something to watch.

Happy New Year,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net