4/22/19 Report - Treasure Coast Area Find Made Last Week. Native American Artifacts of Precious Metals.

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

Recently Found by Cole S.
Photo submitted by Jonah M.

Some of the guys were recently checking out a washed out area and found this nice bottle.  It looks to me like an 18th century wide cylindrical mallet style bottle - probably of English or Dutch manufacture.  

If someone can correct that or add to that, please do.

Here is a closer view of the top and bottom.

A cork would go in the top and a string or wire would secure it.

These bottles can bring a good price.

Thanks for sharing guys.

As I often say, there is always some place to look and something to find.  When conditions are not good for one kind of hunting, they can be good for another type of hunting.

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Gold Pendant

Silver Tablet.

Above is a gold pendant dated to 800 to 1500 AD.  It came from the St. Marks Wakulla area of Florida.

And on the right is a Calusa silver tablet from Charlotte Harbor area.

Those are two examples, of native American artifacts made of precious metals.  I don't know the purity of the gold pendant.

The finds were posted on the peachstatearchaeologicalsociety.org web site under the artifact identification section.

I posted them in my 10/28/14 post, and I recently found them by accident when I was looking for something else.

I've posted so much that I forgot a lot of it.  I found the above items, as I said, when I was looking for something else after my search led me back to this blog.

Don't forget the search box, which you'll find on the top of the first page of this blog.  


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The tides are still pretty big with negative low tides, but the surf is running around two feet.

Monday morning I checked a few beaches, and it seemed they were filling in.  Some of the better spots deteriorated.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/11/16 Report - Amazing 1715 Fleet Artifact As Found and As Cleaned. More On Relic Hunt.

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

Complete Nested Weight Set  As Found.
Photos of nested weights submitted by Jonah M.

Here is a super artifact found by Dan B. on the Capitana during the 2016 salvage season.

Here is what Captain Jonah Martinez said about the artifact.







  ...This was found on aboard the Capitana this year and had a little encrustation on it. After some work at the lab we were able to open it and saw the whole set of cups were in it ,still fused more work was necessary. Once they came apart light cleaning was done next was to fasten bronze arms back to the top and outer cup. We made new little pins and doweled them...
 

Complete Nested Weight Set After Cleaning.

Sane Set With Weights Displayed.

Thanks much Jonah!  That is a great artifact and it is nice to see it both as found and then cleaned.

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I did a second day of hunting a land site.  Here are a couple of things that I dug up.  Neither have been cleaned at all yet

Iron Toy Train Find.

I nearly threw the train away.  It looked like a piece of scrap metal until some of the dirt came off of it.  That is not a mistake that I make very often.  I am usually very careful about that.

I like really like toy trains and will probably clean this one up and mount it before display even though it looks like a piece of junk.

Watch Find.

There are more similarities than you might think between land and beach hunting.

I'll talk about some of those in the near future.

I was using a detector that I don't use very often and had to relearn how it responds to some targets.

I think it is always good to do a different type of hunting once in a while.

That is all for now.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/1/15 Report - Happy New Year! First Beach Day of the New Year. Viking Finds.

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



Silver Viking Cross
Source" Archaeology.org linked article.

More and more of the big archaeological stories that I read include a note stating, often very inconspicuously, that the discovery was made by a detectorist.  Those discoveries attributed to detectorists are most often made somewhere other than the US.  I would not be surprised if the laws and attitudes towards detectorists in the US are a factor. 

The story about this Viking silver cross is just one example.  The article began as follows: Metal detector enthusiast Derek McLennan found a hoard of more than 100 Viking artifacts on land owned by the Church of Scotland.

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://www.archaeology.org/news/2620-141014-scotland-viking-silver-cross

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In 2008, workers digging trenches for electrical cables in the tiny island town of Salme uncovered human bones and a variety of odd objects that they unceremoniously piled next to their trench. Local authorities at first assumed the remains belonged to a luckless WWII soldier, until Konsa arrived and recognized a spearhead and carved-bone gaming pieces among the artifacts, clear signs the remains belonged to someone from a much earlier conflict. Together with a small team, Konsa dug a little deeper and soon found traces of a boat’s hull. Nearly all of the craft’s timber had rotted away, leaving behind only discolorations in the soil. But 275 of the iron rivets holding the boat together remained in place, allowing the researchers to reconstruct the outlines of the 38-foot-long craft.

http://www.archaeology.org/issues/95-1307/features/941-vikings-saaremaa-estonia-salme-vendel-oseberg


If you are wondering about the relevance of these discoveries, there are often very useful clues in articles like that.  For example the discovery described in the paragraph immediately above was made while electrical cables were being buried.  How often have you seen something like that while driving around town?  Did you think about what might be uncovered?  Did you think about returning later with you detector?

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I took a look at the beach this morning before low tide. It was a little different than yesterday but not a lot.

There were scallops, as you can see.  The biggest cliff was about three feet at one beach and about one and a half feet at the other beach.

There were few targets but I found my first coin of the year, a zinc penny and first jewelry, a pendant.

Here is a video showing the surf and beach.

A Couple Treasure Coast Beaches This Morning Before Low Tide

The above photos show beach conditions this morning.   The sand in front of the cuts was mushy.  Very few targets there.

It was still rainy.  Not many people were on the beach this morning, just a few people fishing.

Happy New Year,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/31/14 Report - Booty Makes Big Discovery On Treasure Coast Wreck Site. Gold Pyx. Low Pressure Area Moves Closer.

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

Shown below are two parts of the same item found 25 years apart.  The front part (on the right) was found 25 years ago, while the back (left) was recently found by the crew of the Booty.



Treasure Coast Finds.
Photo source: Video from Orlando Sentinel link below.

A truly great discovery was made this summer by a Treasure Coast salvage crew.  In fact a lot of discoveries were made, but the one I want to focus on today isn't a gold coin or even a bunch of gold coins, but something more important.

25 years ago a very intricate gold hinged frame was found, or at least that is what they thought it was.  This year, last month in fact, another very intricate piece of gold was found by the Schmitt family who operates the salvage vessel Booty.  It appears that the new find is the back of the item that was found 25 years ago.

The item appeared to be a frame before, exciting enough by itself, but having the additional part, they now believe the item is not just a frame, but it could be a pyx.  A pyx is a small, flat, clamshell type of container made of brass or other metals but lined with gold used in Catholic services. 

In the Catholic church a pyx would be used to hold the Eucharistic Host.  It would sometimes by carried in a fabric or leather pouch with cords and worn by a priest, deacon or minister of Holy Communion along with a monstrance.  When not carried, it would be kept in the church tabernacle.

This pyx would have definitely been owned by someone important.  It reminds me of the Pelican of Piety, which was also found on the Treasure Coast, and which I believe could be associated with the pyx.  Certainly both are very impressive gold religious artifacts.

I've posted about the Pelican of Piety in this blog back in 2012, and Laura Strolia, researcher and author, sent me a couple of excellent articles on the Pelican which I posted. 

You might want to go back and look at my 11/4/12 post, for example.

You can always use the search box on the main page of this blog to look for particular items or topics.  Enter either "Laura Strolia" or "Pelican of Piety" as search terms.  That should get you there. 

Here are two links about the recent find of the back of the pyx.   Cool video showing the discovery.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-sanford-family-finds-sunken-treasure-20140729,0,1244901.story

http://www.wptv.com/news/region-st-lucie-county/fort-pierce/fort-pierce-booty-salvage-discovers-centuries-old-spanish-treasure-off-coast


Congratulations Booty!!

The low pressure area that I've been following for a few days is moving closer to the Lesser Antilles and now has a 60% chance of becoming a cyclone according to NOAA.

Source: www.nhc.noaa.gov
 

On the Treasure Coast we still have a one-foot surf, which by this weekend will get just a little bigger.


The most read post of this blog for June 2014 is the 6/29/14 Report -  National Archives For Research, Detecting Military Shells With a 2-Box Detector,  Getting To More Remote Beaches, & US Religious Shrine

I'm going to highlight the most read post of the month at the end of the following month.  If I did the current month it would usually be one of the early posts of the month since readers continue to read the older posts for a while after they are posted.  This way there is enough time for even the most recent posts of the month to be read.  At the end of August I'll see what the most read post of July was.

As I pointed out, you can always go back and read old posts.  Using the search box is a convenient way to find particular topics.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

6/12/14 Report - Another Gold Grill, Mystery Object, Relics Found & More Millionaires My Patoot

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

Another Found Gold Grill
Find and photo by Jeff C.

Here is a find by Jeff C.   Oh no!  Not another grill!

People seem to be losing these things left and right. 

,Jeff said,  I had to laugh when I saw the photo of the grill. Two weeks ago in the wpb  area I found one. See photo. I brought mine to the coin store in psl. where I turned it into 2 beautiful Morgan's and $11.. ($52 total for gold).. Thanks for your blog.......Jeff C. Psl...

Imagine you are digging an old site that dates back to something like the 1500s and you found one of these and you didn't know anything about it,  what would you think it is?   Who would you think wore it and why?  Do you think your interpretation would be very accurate?

My interpretation would probably be wrong.




Mystery Find by Robert H.

You might enjoy this basic article on archaeological interpretation.  Here is the link.

http://www.archaeologyexpert.co.uk/ArchaeologicalInterpretation.html



Here is find by Robert H.   This one is a mystery item.  What do you think it is?

Let me know.

SDC 2300 Folded for Travel.

The Minelab SDC 2300 is now available for order for just under $4000.  

I like how it folds up.  Nice and compact.

It isn't for everybody though.  The price is steep and it is a gold nugget shooting detector.







An archaeological study is being conducted of a hippie commune where the Grateful Dead and other musicians of the period gathered.  Vinyl records found at the site indicate a more diverse background than was expected. 

http://westerndigs.org/vinyl-records-excavated-at-famous-60s-commune-challenge-hippie-stereotype-study-says/

No, this isn't a joke.   And I don't know what they expected.




Finds and photos by William M., above and below.

Here are a few really neat finds from William M. who has been detecting in Alachua County.

Wonder what happened to the old sausage plant that was planned to become a technology/research center back in the 70s? 


Thanks to William, Jeff and Robert for sharing their great finds and photos.


I get a lot of questions about laws concerning metal detecting.  Those are almost always near impossible for me to answer.  

As you saw in our discussion concerning the St. Lucie City Parks, there were no rules against detecting but there were rules against digging and damaging or removing plants and things.  The result was that they decided to not allow detecting - at least in one case that we know about.   Hopefully they'll change that decision.

The applicable laws or rules depend upon who owns or has jurisdiction over the property.  There can be federal, state, county, city and other laws.   It can get very complex and confusing. 

There are also specific historic and archaeological sites, which may not be marked, that are protected.  Also protected vegetation is very common on our dunes.

The leased salvage and exploration areas in the water are also difficult to explain simply.  You have to know the center point of each leased site and be able to determine the circular or semi-circular boundaries.

As a result I can not answer most of the questions that I get about laws concerning metal detecting.  There are no simple answers for general questions about the laws.  It is simply too complex and I don't know all of it anyway. 


I keep seeing articles about all of the millionaires that are being created today.  That is highly misleading.  A dollar doesn't buy much today.  A dollar in 1970 would buy you more than five times than what a dollar would get you today.  That means that today's "millionaire" has less than 200,000 in 1970 dollars. 

Someone hoping to live off of their life savings won't make much in interest off of a million dollars today with the super low interest rates.  A CD or something safe making 1% would only get you around $10,000 in income for a year.  Not enough to live on, and certainly not the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  More like a poverty level income.

Make the dollar worth 5 cents and we'll have many more millionaires.  That shouldn't convince anyone that the economy is booming and people are getting rich though.


On the Treasure Coast today we still have little surf and South winds.  The tides are getting bigger though.  Nothing that will change beach detecting conditions much though.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net