6/18/20 Report - Consignments Wanted. Making Hay When Sun Shines. Dust Storm.

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

Additionally from Sedwick - 

As you have probably heard by now, the ANA World's Fair of Money on August 4-8 in Pittsburgh has been suspended. We always look forward to going to the ANA show because it allows us to see our fellow collectors and dealers plus express our shared interest in numismatics.

Since some of our consignors like to see us in person at the ANA show, here is what we can offer you to make consigning an easy process:

- We are extending our consignment deadline to August 21, 2020.
- For qualifying consignments, we will pay for your shipping costs or send you a shipping label to get your consignments to us, fully insured.
- For large collections where consultation and pick up in person is safe, beneficial and feasible, we can travel to you.
- We offer discounted, expedited grading services for coins and paper money through PCGS, NGC, and PMG.
- We are able to meet with consignors by appointment at our office in Winter Park, Florida using proper health precautions.
- If you're planning on also buying in our auction, we can trade your consignment proceeds against your auction purchases.
- We are ready to consult with you at any point on what and how to consign by reaching us at 407-975-3325 or office@sedwickcoins.com.

Our May Treasure Auction 27 was a fantastic success as we saw strong bidding, a very high sell-through rate of over 95%, and a record amount of new and returning bidders.

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I've been describing some of the mistakes I've made in the past.  So far in recent weeks I've discussed and given examples of (1) careless digging and recovery resulting in scratched or damaged finds, (2) defective containers for carrying new finds, for example hole in pocket or goodie bag, (3) inadequate bag or container for carrying large items, for example plastic bags ripped by large fossils (4) inadequate bag or container for carrying bottles or fragile items resulting in fragile items like bottles being broken while be carried in plastic bags, and (5) leaving dug or found items on beach for later recovery, which often doesn't work out well.

Here is another mistake that I made on more than one occasion.  I've talked about this one before.  It is the mistake of being too casual when detecting conditions are exceptionally good.  When conditions are right and items are being found, don't stop until you have thoroughly cleaned out the area or you are forced to stop for some reason.

I've told about this situation before, but when I arrived at the beach I found the front beach cut back several feet, and there was a drop into the shallow water where there were tons of targets.  There were targets in every square foot for a hundred yards or more along the beach.  I remember that I dug over $20 in quarters in a hunt of about four hours.  Of course there were better things besides the coins, including many rings and pieces of jewelry.  This was in Fort Lauderdale many years ago.

After my first hunt of four hours, I left to pick up my wife or something, but I knew that I had not scratched the surface and there was much more remaining to be found.  I returned the next day and found conditions virtually unchanged.  I found about as many coins and as much jewelry as the day before.  I did about a four hour hunt again, and planned on returning the next day.  As I left I looked up and saw a front moving in.   That should have been a clue.

The next day when I returned, there was almost nothing to be found.  My mistake was not staying as long as I could and absolutely getting as much as I could while conditions were right.  As they say, "Make hay while the sun shines."

Unfortunately I've repeated that mistake several times.  Another time was years ago when I was still living in the Fort Lauderdale area.  I was traveling from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Coast to visit my parents.  It was Christmas eve, or the day before.  Anyhow, I stopped at Fort Pierce to do a little metal detecting.  It was freezing.  One of the bridges over the interstate had ice on it up north around Daytona.  ,

When I stopped at Fort Pierce, I got out of the car.  It was cold and the wind was ripping.  One other fellow showed up with a metal detector.   He was bundled up.  I saw him get ready to detect, but with the cold wind blowing, he just shook his head, turned around and left without doing any detecting.

My wife stayed in the car because of the cold.  I didn't stay on the beach long, but picked up several half reales in probably around twenty minutes.  That was another time I should have stayed longer.  There aren't many days like, so when it does happen, make the best of it.  I can think of quite a few times when I was too casual about a rare opportunity, but I there are two examples.

---

Saharan Dust Storm Headed For Gulf Coast.

Source: See weather.com link below.

See https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-06-16-saharan-dust-atlantic-caribbean-united-states-hurricane-season

The surf is down to around one or two feet on the Treasure Coast today.  The tides are small, and there is nothing on the National Hurricane Center map now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/30/20 Report - Lead Coin. Sand and Object Movement. Various Religious Items.

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

One of the interesting odd items in the Sedwick auction yesterday is the lead coin shown above.  As you can see, it was listed as lot 1201.

You don't often see lead coins, but that Nicaragua 10 peson coin is one that has an interesting history.

… fascinating relic from the rebellion of 1927-33 that pitted forces under revolutionary leader Augusto Cesar Sandino against the U.S. military, Sandino eventually being assassinated but still revered today as a national hero and symbol of resistance to U.S. domination in Central America. Tokens like this one were exchanged for goods from local merchants.

If you dug up a lead coin you might think it is some kind of token, weight or fake.

---

I've been thinking of doing this post for over a month now, but it isn't an easy one and I still don't have it together.   The topic is very complex and involves a number of factors and interrelationships, but I'll do my best to make it clear, which means keeping it simple to some extent.

I previously did a number of posts on the movement of sand and other objects.  Different objects move differently depending upon a variety of factors, and an object such as a coin can move in a variety of ways.

The main reason we are interested in the movement of sand is that it can cover or uncover the the types of objects we look for.  The uncovering can occur naturally, which is necessary for the beach detectorist, but if you are working a salvage lease you can move the sand using blowers.

What I want to describe today is the relative movement of sand and other objects.  First I must repeat one thing that is often neglected - it is not just about weight.  The density of the object - not it's weight - is important, but it's shape is also important.  A flat thin piece of copper will be washed around by the water differently than a coin of the same weight.  You'll frequently find small thin pieces of copper washed up and laying on or near the surface of the sand when you can find little else.  And an oval lead sinker will move around very differently than a flat or triangular one.

To get the basics, I'd recommend studying the following table shown above and a previous post in which I explained it.

Here is that link.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2020/02/22620-report-reading-water-to-find.html

So a certain amount of force is required to move the sand and a certain amount of force is required to move an object such as a coin.  The amount of force required to move sand will typically be less than that required to move the coin.  Therefore, sometimes the sand will move, but not the coin.  The sand might then uncover the coin or let it sink down to the surface vacated by the sand.

In a previous post I mentioned five ways that coins move, so that can get complicated, however coins and items such as coins will move less often and not quickly as sand.  So the thing that is important is relative movement.

Imagine the situation in which the beach sand moves but the coin remains relatively stationary.  The coin will be uncovered and if the sand continues to move without the coin moving much, the coin will sink down to the new lower surface of the sand where it can stay until it is covered again.  That is not an unusual scenario.  One important thing to remember is that the coin will remain basically stationary as long as it remains covered.  If there is enough force the coin can move when the sand moves, but in most cases it won't move as much as the sand.

If you sketched a Christmas tree and took the side on one side, that would be a fairly typical coin movement pattern over the years.  Every time there is erosion it might drop with the sand surface and drift a little towards the surf.  It might get covered from time to time but seldom get washed back up.  Usually it would stay at its current position until it is uncovered again.

A ring, because of its shape, will get washed up less often than a coin because of its shape.  There is less surface area for the force of the water to act on.  Once either of them reaches a deep level they will seldom be washed up.  It would take a rare event for that to happen.  And once either reaches shelter in a rock crevice, it would be extremely rare for either to be washed up.

Where a lot of the action happens is where the wave breaks.  That produces a lot of turbulence and lifts sand, rocks and other things that can then be pushed up the slope by rushing water.  Again, it will take a lot to wash a ring up the slope because the lack of flat surface area.

What makes things especially complicated is the continually changing force of the water as it comes in and goes up the slope and then descends back down the slope and all of the interactions.  It would be much easier to figure out if the water simply flowed in a continuous stream, but that is far from what we are dealing with.

---

The Sedwick auction concluded today.  The last session included a variety of less expensive lots, including some rather large groups of coins, clumps, paper money and mounted coins.  Among the items were the following group of miscellaneous religious items.

Here is the lot description.

Lot of twelve crosses and religious medallions and other items in base metals, various periods (1600s-1900s). 47.95 grams total, 1/2" to 2". Cool little collection of objects, from a three-masted ship to a functioning miniature spur to various medallions and simple crosses to two crosses (one ornate though incomplete) with inlaid cabochon emeralds. Great for further study.

Some of the lots in the final session went unsold, but I thought the auction did much better than I expected.  For the most part, bidders were not deterred by the economic downturn.

---

It looks like we will have a two or three foot surf for a couple of days and then a possible increase.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/24/20 Report - More On Beach Dynamics and How Various Objects Move On The Beach. Remembering.

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

I'm going to put some things together today.  Back in 2015 I did a post on five ways I've seen coins move on a beach. I listed the following five ways.

1. Fall out of an eroding cliff, cut or dune.
2. Slide down the face of a cliff or dune.
3. Move within a rush of water.
4. Roll down a slope.
5. Flip.

There is another I did not actually observe on the beach, but I've seen demonstrated in a wave tank.  Under the right conditions coins will do what I will call "step."

When a coin is on a slope and the flow of water is up the slope, sand on the downhill side of the coin will be gradually eroded until the coin slips down one step, stop, and then take another step when the sand erodes from the downhill side again.  A step is not more than a coin length. 

People often talk about the weight of an object determining how objects move on a beach, but weight is only one factor.  And coins seldom really sink.  Usually they fall into areas where the sand has left. That might sound like the same thing, but to me there is a big difference.  Normally coins are not drawn by gravity through stable layers of sand.

To illustrate something important, as I've said several times before, a ton of Styrofoam will still float even if it weighs a ton.  Its weight does not cause it to sink in water.  Density is more relevant.  But the density of the object is not the only characteristic that determines how much an object will be moved by a given force of water either.

Four Sinkers Used In Experiment.

I once did an experiment and showed that the shape of an object will have a lot to do with how an object is moved by water on a beach.  I took four different lead sinkers (See photo above.).  There.were three different shapes.  Two were disk-shaped.

I then used a bucket of water to simulate a wave hitting the them.  They all moved different distances.  As predicted, the oval shaped sinker moved the farthest, followed by the fish-shaped sinker, then the small disk, and the large disk moved the smallest distance.

Here is the link to that post.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2013/08/8513-report-what-actually-determines.html

When the density is held constant, weight will have some effect, but so will the shape of the object.  The larger disk moved less far than the smaller disk, but neither of those were moved as far as the fish-shaped sinker or the oval.

That experiment concerns horizontal movement - movement on a relatively stable surface of sand.  But when you have erosion, the sand is moving, and possibly other objects as well.  Most of the objects that we are most concerned about will not move as much as the sand, which will be moved by the water more easily and quickly than most of the objects.

Take for example the sinkers shown above.  If it was actually a wave, there would be a lot more water, and the sand would be moving too.  While the sand was being washed away, items that move less easily would not move as much as the sand.  In some cases, those items would remain in the area vacated by the sand.

In other cases, both the sand and other items might move, but some other items will not move as fast as the sand.  And some items will move farther than others.  It is a matter of the relative movement.

If you've ever noticed, fairly dense coin lines near the water will often show an ordering or classification of coins by denomination.  Quarters will be one distance from the water and define one edge and zinc pennies will be on the other side.  With the coins having a similar shape and more or less similar density, that is determined by the different weights.  However irregularly shaped miscellaneous objects of different metals will be scattered through in a more unpredictable order.

Here are some of the densities of common metals in kg. per cubic meter.

Aluminum  2712
Brass  8400 - 8700
Copper  8940
Gold  19320
Iron 7850
Lead 11340
Platinum 21400
Silver 10490
Steel  7850
Titanium 4500
Tungsten 19600
Zinc 7135

A gold ring is not only dense, it is also round and open.  I've seen gold rings roll down the slope.   The opening presents little surface area for the water to push against, which is one reason in addition to the density that gold rings tend to be low on the beach if they have been in the area affected by moving water.

Copper sheathing, on the other hand, despite the relative density, being flat and relatively thin will end up much higher in the sand and on the beach than would be predicted by the density alone.

That is all I'll do today, but there is a lot more to it.

How objects appear to sink over time is another fairly detailed discussion that is not as simple as it might seem.  While weight has something to do with it, it is a more about the movement of objects relative to the force of the moving water and the movement of sand.

You'll see a lot of people who will tell you to look one place or another for certain kinds of objects, but they won't explain how they got there,  I believe it will help if know how and why those objects ended up where they did.

Here is the link to the post on the five ways I've seen coins move on a beach.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/07/7115-report-five-ways-coins-move-on.html

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I am lucky - very lucky.  Long before sunrise I often wake up and smile.  It's not that a lot of really good stuff happened to me.  I think it is more that I remember good things.  They are little things - many from my childhood - when a neighbor kid said or did something nice, for example.

I felt rich, even though we didn't have a lot.  Back then I didn't know people who had a lot more.

It must be how you remember things.  Or what you tend to remember.  I remember the time one neighbor boy stood up for me.  The time another chanted my name as I sat on the bench at a high school football game.  The time another neighbor boy asked the gym teach to let me stay and play with the older kids.  I look back on those things as kind acts, and plan to look up those boys and thank them if I can.

You see, my fond memories aren't of really big things, as most people would judge, but they populate my memories like stars or Christmas lights on a silent night.  I'm lucky I remember those things.

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Concerning coronavirus -

Large numbers of people normally die from the flu every flu season, but from what I read, this flu season has been unusually light.  Could the unusually light flu season be due to the social distancing and other measure put in place for the coronavirus?  Possible, but those precautions have only been in effect for a very short time, and flu season began in Oct.

And the same source said that of the flu and coronavirus deaths, only about 2 percent were due to the coronavirus.  I assume that those statistics are based upon comparable time frames, but at this moment I am not sure.

Www.health.com says, While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-29 by the World Health Organization), there's an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu.

Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.

The CDC also estimates that up to 31 million Americans have caught the flu this season, with 210,000 to 370,000 flu sufferers hospitalized because of the virus...

Just some context, however statistics are not yet complete on this flu season.   

I'll try to get you good statistics and references on this.

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The predictions are for a small increase in the Treasure Coast surf - up to three or four feet this weekend.

Enjoy your quiet time as well as your metal detecting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/8/20 Report - Higher Surf and Some Erosion On The Treasure Coast. A Few Finds Made. Charles and Joanna Coins.

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

Wabasso Saturday.

Erosion started on some of the beaches Saturday.  Some beaches were cut, others weren't.  

The access gate was closed at Seagrape.  That will be an obstacle for some, but for others it might be an opportunity.  Some reales were found there last month.

DJ sent the following photos taken Saturday at Turtle Trail.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

A gold ring was found and another part of one.  They need to be cleaned and tested though.  

Here are a few other finds from Saturday.

Flat Button Found Saturday.

Back of Same Button After Light Cleaning With Detergent.

Sometimes all you need is a little light cleaning.  A little detergent and a toothbrush can help make a a button readable without much danger.  I just used a toothbrush and a little dish detergent on the above button.  You do have to be careful if there might be gilt which can be easily removed by accident though.

Encrusted Bullet.

Folded Lead Strip With Couple Holes.

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Peter H. who lives across the pond but reads this blog daily and sent in the following link to a Sedwick article about Charles and Joanna coins.

https://www.sedwickcoins.com/articles/carlosyjuana.pdf

Great article.

Thanks Peter.

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The surf is expected to be higher Sunday - 7 - 10 feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/17/20 Report - Conductivity Numbers for Reales and Other Test Targets. Winding Unpaved Roads.

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

Variety of Test Targets Including Among Other Types of Finds a Four-Reale and Half-Reale 

For whatever it is worth, I decided to look at the conductivity numbers for the recently found four-reale and half-reale.  I forgot what numbers they produced in the field and wanted to know that so I took them out to test along with some other targets for context.

Left to right in the photo above are the targets: (1) a 13 gram four-reale, (2) a 1 gram half-reale, (3) a small very thin bit of what looks like copper found at the same site, (4) a silver cross, (5) a silver ring, (6) another silver ring, (7) a copper alloy looking piece.

I used the factory presets, except I used the Beach 1 mode, which is what I used on the beach.

Below are the conductivity numbers that I got for each item using the Equinox 600 metal detector - the same detector that found the first three and the seventh item.

Item                                  Conductivity Reading

1.  13 gram four-reale -  29 - 31

2.   1 gram half- reale -   17

3.  very small copper  -    2
4.  silver cross             -   20-21
5.  silver ring               -   30-31
6.  oval silver ring       -   35
7.  copper alloy piece  -  20-21

I was most interested in knowing the numbers for the reales.  The reals consistently produced numbers that were distinct from most of the other targets, except the four-reale produced numbers in the same range as one of the silver rings.   The small half reale produced a very stable 17, while the numbers produced by the much larger four reale were less consistent.

I get the feeling that shape affects the conductivity number.  The more thin and irregularly shaped silver cross produced numbers that were between those of the two reales.  I should do a thorough experiment on that someday.

The conductivity numbers can be useful in some situations, but there is a lot of variability and overlap.   It seems that the position of the object and its depth can change the numbers somewhat.  And many different types of objects produce the same or overlapping numbers.

It does appear that reales will generally show conductivity numbers from around 17 and up.  I do find the numbers useful to some extent even though they may not always be precise or consistent.  Too much reliance on the numbers could be a big mistake. 

As detectorists we are always dealing with probabilities.  I would define skill as the ability to improve the probability of success through intentional action.

If there is one thing I regret not remembering from my college and professional years it is the math of probability theory and statistics.  Detectorists use a variety of types of clues or signals that if properly interpreted and used can dramatically increase the probability of success.   Although I don't actually need to do the math for field applications, it would be helpful for explanations

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Some say heaven has streets paved with gold.  I don't really know what use I'd have for that.

I see it as unpaved roads winding up and down hills sparsely decorated at various distances by two or three tightly grouped small but happy homes built by struggling young families recently returned from the war and animated by children of various ages tumbling in the summer grass and exploring every nook and cranny of the nearby woods and streams, catching frogs and snakes or sledding in the snow.

That is what I see sometimes when I awake in the private threatre of night.  The gang is still there, just as it was.

In our plaid shirts and blue jeans, seven year-old David, a year older than I and a veteran at seven years of age, walks me down the road past the barns, farm fields and cows to my first day of school, neither one of us having any way of imagining what lies in the years ahead.   A special good fellow, I'd like to thank David for his company in those carefree days.

He's not the only one.  There was Eddie, Gary, Bobby, Loretta and Becky and others.  We shared the same hills, neighbors, schools and friends for our entire childhood.  We had a baseball team in summer, and a football team in the fall, even if we were a several positions short.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that awakens in the night and returns every once in a while to those green hills to meet old friends so many years and miles away. 

---

I've been eagerly watching the surf predictions and hoping that the predicted big surf doesn't disappear.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

As of this morning, it still looks good.  Rather than decreasing, the predicted surf for next weekend has actually increased another foot.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/10/20 Report - 1715 Fleet Beaches: Rings and Reales. Private Beaches. Big Surf Predicted.

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

Among other things, yesterday I posted some comments from Jammin Jack.  The following comments and photo album picture is from Jack.

Below is a page from Gary Daemer's salvaging during the 1990s. Billy Elam was involved and I think put the album together. You will see many rings been found, but no silver! Possibly, more fragile and did not survive the beating of the ocean or silversmiths did not make many because silver harder to work with. 

Jack continued saying, The rings in the above picture are all gold.  Most were low karat, except for one, which was about 14K, according to the text by the photo.

---

It is accepted that very few, if any, silver rings have been found on 1715 Fleet wrecks. (Deagan shows at least one.)  And now we have a beach silver ring "certified" as being from the 1715 Fleet.  So the question is why silver rings are so rare on 1715 Fleet wrecks.  The archaeological record of Spanish colonial land sites does document a few, but again, not many.   It appears they were not the rage at the time.  

Some people have suggested that the scarcity of silver finger rings might be made more extreme by fact that they didn't survive well in a rough salt water environment.

Despite the fact that very few silver finger rings have been attributed to 1715 Fleet ships, a lot of old silver finger rings have been found on the wreck beaches.  Being isolated finds having no substantial context, it would be really difficult to attribute such a find to a particular source without definitive markings.

We can not forget that items of roughly the same time period could come from 18th century salvage efforts and other activities drawn to the beaches by the wrecks.  I wonder, for example, if some finds might be trade goods used to pay/reward indigenous divers and other workers after the wreck.

Another question that is possibly related is why are so many half reales found on the 1715 Fleet beaches while cobs salvaged from the submerged wreck sites include such a high proportion of higher denomination cobs relative to half reales.  Below are a few possibilities.

Could it be because the lighter half reales are more likely to get washed onto the beach?

Are the half reales more difficult to find in the water as compared to larger cobs?

Do small denomination reales corrode and disappear more quickly (as some have suggested of silver rings) in submerged salt water environments?

Did contemporary salvage efforts affect the pattern significantly?


I have my opinions, but since they are nothing more than opinions I'll leave those questions to you.

One huge difference appears obvious: half reales were carried on the fleet in great numbers while finger rings were very scarce.  Nonetheless, both natural and human actions could affect the distribution and finds of both half reales and silver rings.

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Private beaches for the wealthy paid for by taxpayers: that is the subject of the following article, which I am sure will stir up some people.  The same subject had people up in arms a few years ago.

https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/newswire/2020/02/03/privatization-coming-beach-near-you-opinion/4643308002/

You might want to be informed on that subject.  It is not a new one, but has not been settled.

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The tides are getting bigger, as is the surf.  We are now up to around 3 - 5 feet, but that isn't the best news.  Look out to next weekend.  The predictions are interesting.

The longer term predictions have been good recently - much improved over a couple years ago.

Source: MagicSeeWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

controversial article

2/8/20 Report - Beach Renourishment Projects and Conditions. Spanish Colonial Finger Rings and Other Subjects.

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

Rio Mar Still Closed
Photo by DJ

Beaches are being renourished around the Treasure Coast.  Rio Mar is still closed.

Ugly Sand at Vero South Beach
Photo by DJ

DJ sent in the following report.

Went to a few beaches starting with Riomar - STILL dumping sand. SO I went to South Beach and took that picture looking south toward Sandy Point. Decided to go north to Turtle Trail. There were 7 detectorists there. One told me they thought last nights’ front might have helped. I ran into Terry Shannon there as well, always a great guy! Had very good things to say about your work, results and dedication. Only down side today was a jerk that refused to fill his holes, I have seen this guy twice now over the last two months. Did not like my asking him to be a responsible detectorist. People like this guy will ruin what little freedom we all have left to detect on a public beach. As I was leaving, ran into three more detectorists arriving. 

Seagrape looked the same as Turtle; lower beach front, lots of small shells, so I did not take a picture. Headed up to Treasure Shores. Passed Golden Sands which is still closed for more sand dumping.  Three detectorists at Treasure Shores, I walked north towards the big curve. Beach front was lower and lots of small shells kicked up from the past days southerly winds. Mostly aluminum but plenty of sneaky targets, solid signals in two directions but the result was an aluminum can end (circular) or the top ring. 

Thanks DJ.

Anyone know where the sand is coming from?  I noticed a lot of trucks going back and forth from out west.

---

There is a lot of discussion about the question of silver rings on the 1715 wrecks.  Just a couple of days ago I posted a link to an article about one beach find that was "certified" by one company to be 1715 Fleet.

The subject of silver rings and their apparent absence on 1715 Fleet wrecks has been mentioned in this blog several times in the past.  Cathleen Deagan, in her book, Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean, 1500 - 1800, vol. 2: Portable Personal Possessions, published in 2002,  presents on page 126 an illustration showing several  1715 Fleet rings.  One of those rings is described as a silver Claddagh ring.  Claddagh rings have remained virtually unchanged in design for centuries.  If that illustration is correct, the ring I posted the other day may be the first certified silver 1715 Fleet ring, but it is not the first 1715 Fleet silver ring recovered.  Unfortunately Deagan does not give other details on where the ring was found.  Perhaps one of you salvage people can tell us.

We all know about the relatively common copper-alloy rings and gold rings, but you might be surprised to know that many rings made of other substances were brought to the New World but are very scarce among the salvage records.  Shipping records show (Deagan, 2002, p. 116 and 117) that among the many finger rings shipped to the New World between 1511 and 1613, many were made of glass, some of jet, and some of bufano wood.  Silver wasn't specifically mentioned, but examples have been recovered from Spanish colonial archaeological sites.   Shipping records presented in Deagan's book document several thousand glass rings shipped to the New World in 1590 and thousands more in 1592.  You can understand why those might not survive the ocean for hundreds of years.

I'll also point out the Deagan example ( p. 83) of a 17th century silver "sacred heart" finger ring from Santa Catalina de Guale (Georgia), so we know they were present on Spanish colonial sites but perhaps not common.

Well-informed readers and salvage divers provided some welcome comments on the subject.  A couple mentioned that silver rings might not survive very well in the ocean, and a couple also were surprised that the ring was certified.


Below are a few comments from Jammin Jack.

If any were found, most likely from an overlapping wreck from a later period. 

Certifying the ring was surprising to me, but I am sure Steve had reliable sources.

Also, most research material may include sites from the Gulf, Atlantic, Caribbean, etc. This can cause very controversial arguments, but silver rings on wrecks have always been rare - ANYWHERE! ...

Jammin Jack also told of an experience he had with electrolysis.

I found a (ear)ring back when Noah Wells was leaving the lab. Bill Moore took over the process. We all thought possibly silver with gold filigree and hoping 18th century. I wished I left it alone. After cleaning, it was silver, and very fragile. It was determined late 1800s, and had a small value. I still have the ring as a reminder that sometimes cleaning can ruin the historical value. The below picture is the day I found it. If I showed what it looks like now...well, we learn from our mistakes. 

Silver Earring Find Before Cleaning.

Photo by JaminJack

My first attempt at electrolysis also taught me a lesson. I ruined a buffalo nickel. Thankfully it wasn't any big deal, but I did learn that if I used electrolysis, the process should be carefully monitored, which is something I do with any cleaning method these days. I think it is one part caution and one part curiosity. I like to make sure nothing bad is happening and I'm too curious to wait long to find out how it is going.

When monitoring progress on any cleaning I'm doing, I now like to view the object under magnification.  I've recently learned that you can think an item is clean when there is still some encrustation, sand or shells attached.  I just feel like I get a better look at what is going on when I use magnification.

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The surf will begin to increase tomorrow, but only reach 3 -5 feet Monday, and then decrease again after that.

The tides are getting bigger.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net