4/11/19 Report - 1715 Fleet Gold Nuggets. Anthropology Blog Comments on Treasure TV Show. Nokta/Macro PulseDive.

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

The above gold nugget was found in 2014 on a cut John Brooks beach.  I  found it with two other smaller nuggets in the same general area on a day when no other targets were found.

Gold Nugget From 1715 Fleet Beach.

Quartz matrix is still attached. You can see that in the photo.

I originally posted that photo in 2014.

Here is the link.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2014/03/31714-report-shipwreck-gold-nuggets.html

The May 2019 Sedwick Coins auction offers a lot of seven small nuggets (See below.) that were found at Rio Mar. The lot description says that nuggets from the 1715 Fleet are rare and were probably being carried by passengers.

1715 Fleet Gold Nuggets From Rio Mar.

Source: SedwickCoins Auction Catalog.

Here is the Sedwick lot description.

Lot of seven small gold nuggets, 1.12 grams total, ex-1715 Fleet. Each up to 1/4". Very few natural gold nuggets were found on the 1715 Fleet, so it seems odd that the Fisher marketers did not separate this lot into seven individual artifacts, but fortunately these pieces have retained their original plastic artifact tag and certificate. A few of the nuggets (mostly flat) are tiny, but some are substantial, and most likely they were being carried as "tax free" wealth by a passenger. From the 1715 Fleet ("Rio Mar" site), with original Cobb Coin Co. (Mel Fisher) plastic tag and photo-certificate #CC86-025.

If salvaged 1715 Fleet nuggets are rare, my guess would be that 1715 Fleet beach nuggets are even more rare.

There was fine gold salvaged at Rio Mar too.  A portable gold dredge was used with modest success.

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Sebastian Steve was a beta tester for the newly available Nokta/Macro PulseDive.  It is said to have more sensitivity/depth.  

Steve calls it a game-changer.

You might want to look it up.

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Recently I started trying to show how a more scientific approach can be applied to treasure hunting. I'm tired of talking about the Oak Island TV show, but it provides so many great examples, and it makes it easy for me because I know that many of you have seen the show and the things I am talking about.  That saves me a ton of time trying to describe something when you've seen it for yourself.

If you think I'm hard on the Oak Island TV show, others who come from a scientific background are even more hard on them.  There is no personal animus or anything, but if you have a history as a research scientist, especially in the social sciences, their approach will smack you in the face like a rock.

I stumbled on the following post in an anthropology blog, and I hope you will read it.  Not only does it expand on much of what I have said, but it also adds to what I have said, and I don't have to take the time to do it myself.  The post helps show the mindset I am coming from as a scientist bringing a scientific perspective to metal detecting.

https://www.andywhiteanthropology.com/blog/romans-on-oak-island-no-just-another-steaming-pilum-of-baloney-evidence-by-peter-geuzen

Here are a few excerpts from the blog to get you started.

As the show keeps trying to be about something, it keeps delivering essentially nothing. Scraps of minor finds are inevitable with the amount of digging and metal detecting going on. Give any historic location in Nova Scotia the same level of effort and you wouldn’t find much of anything different. It’s all stuff from the last couple centuries, but on Oak Island there is also stuff from all the past dead end searches...

The first line of the next excerpt sarcastically makes sums up something I've said.  Taking the excerpt out of context, I thought I should point out the sarcasm.

... when swinging a metal detector turns up a pointed piece of iron, it’s best to start with a conclusion and worry about details later. Fist pumping yelps of TEMPLAR are now mandatory. The obligatory cell phone speaker call to bring over the always conveniently close by fellowship members has to happen next. The bros then high five all around and Prometheus immediately cuts to a leap of faith confirmation fantasy historical re-enactment scene, with universally condemned narration from the “Could it be?” guy. In other words they found this iron spike thing and immediately gave it a bromance declaration as a Templar crossbow bolt.

The excerpt then talks about a fake Roman pilum find.  The same type of analysis would apply equally to other finds such as the few I've mentioned in the past.

I hope you take time to read it.  You'll better understand much of what I've been talking about lately,  and where I am coming from when I comment on the show.

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This would seem to be a good morning to do some low-tide hunting.  The surf is small, but will be increasing going into the weekend when the surf will be about three or four feet again.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/2/17 Report - The Intuitive Treasure Hunter.

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

Odd Finger Ring Find.

This is an odd looking ring.  It is gold plated.  The plating doesn't cover those bumps.  Ever seen anything like that?

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Yesterday I mentioned the important thing your detector won't tell you - where to put the coil.  Bill Popp, a long-time contributor to this blog, who, among other things provided detailed instructions for cleaning silver coins and artifacts with Muriatic acid, sent me the following message.

I've been beach and water detecting since 1985 and at some point realized that intuition may also play a role in detecting. I prefer the beach after most people are gone and I get quite relaxed just swinging and listening. On numerous, and fairly regular occasions, I get the "feeling" I need to go "over here" or "over there" and quite often find a target. It might be a pull tab; it might be a ring. I found my second largest gold chain in just that way. I've learned to pay attention to that "pull". I'm sure I'm not the only one that happens too.

Thanks Bill.  

Bill is not alone.  Many treasure hunters get hunches or feelings.  Some people pay more attention to them than others.

Years ago I conducted a poll years on a similar but different kind of thing - dowsing.

I reported the following poll results.

Of those that did have an opinion about it's effectiveness, about the same number believed that it was very or a little bit effective as the number of respondents who believed it was not effective.

Dowsing appears to be an area where the public has no clear consensus. Close to half claim they don't know, and of the remaining group, there is a nearly equal split between those that believe that it has some value and those who believe it does not work.

I would say that the division is in part due to the fact that a lot of people have little or no direct experience with it.

Nearly one out of five believe that dowsing is highly accurate and effective under some circumstances. That is a pretty good number. 

Intuition, ESP and other things like that are hard to prove. There are good serious academic studies that conclude that some individuals do have special abilities. In my opinion, it is not something you can really test well in the lab.

I'm finding it very difficult to avoid getting into the philosophical and religious perspectives, which have a lot more to say on the subject than science, but if I start on either of those paths I will never get it finished.

All of that aside, many people have the experience, like Bill, of having "feelings" that prove out.  I've told about an incident that happened to me years ago.  Here it is again.

One time I was at work and only had a about an hour before another appointment, but I kept feeling that I should go detecting at a particular location. But I didn't have hardly any time.

I finally decided I would run down to the beach. By the time I got to the beach and in the water, I had about fifteen minutes to hunt. Well, I went in and in just a couple minutes had a diamond ring with over nine carats of diamonds - seven diamonds, each over one carat. I took my find and quickly left.

Normally I wouldn't have gone when I had so little time. If traffic had been bad, I would have had no time. But I felt like I should go. It kept nagging me, and it paid off with an unusually good quick find.


I don't know if it was just coincidence, intuition, or something else. You undoubtedly have your own ideas about that.

Feelings or hunches are part of the game.  Your feeling or hunch can be based upon a lot of accumulated knowledge and experience.  Intuitions can be based upon large amounts of accumulated knowledge and experience even when you are not totally conscious or aware of how it is coming together in your mind at the time. 

Sometimes I'll walk right to a target or get a feeling right before I get a good hit.  I remember one time when I walked down to the beach, turned on my detector, and found a reale on the second swing or my coil.  Did I walk out and automatically assess the beach and turn my detector on at the right location?  I don't know, but it would not surprise me  because as soon as I see a beach, I scan and assess it.

On the other hand, there have been many times when I hunted long and didn't find a thing.  You can't find it if it isn't there, but why did I pick a poor location on those occasions?  The answer might be that I wasn't open to my intuitions or feelings.  Sometimes I just go to the most convenient location. That doesn't leave much opportunity for hunches.  Maybe sometimes I don't give my feelings a chance.  

In football, when playing defense I seemed to have a natural knack for being around the ball.  I could get a good quick read of what was going on and what was likely to unfold and get to the right spot. I was just able to see what was developing.  We are always processing information subconsciously like that.  Some people access it and rely on it more than others.  You might say they are more intuitive.

Among those few scientists that accept and study things like ESP, the common conclusions are that some people are able to consistently perform better than what you would expect by chance, and second, certain conditions are required.  

I think most people who have been treasure hunting very long have had periods when they were hot and other periods when they were not.  It seems like you can get on the treasure trail.  It has happened to me and it has probably happened to you.  And then there are times when there are long dry spells.

If you believe in following your instincts or intuitions at all, you might ask yourself if there are times when you are more open to those feelings?  What can you do to be more open to your intuitions?  But I also recommend attempting to be objective, thoughtful and testing your feelings.

Some people are simply more intuitive than others.  It is a basic psychological personality trait. For the intuitive person, it is natural to follow feelings and hunches.  For the person that only believes in what they can see and explain, it might all seem very foolish.

For those of you who have an intuitive nature, there are some things you can do to foster the intuitive sense.  The most important is a peaceful spirit.  Emotion, especially negative emotions, will prevent an intuitive mindset.  Another requirement is a sense of  openness and expectation.

Intuitive or not, you can use metal detecting as a way to destress.  Go out alone.  Leave the crowds.  Be relaxed.  Take some deep breaths, listen to the wind and waves, feel the air and sand, and tune into the hum of the detector.

Listen.

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It took a lot of time for me to finish this post.  There are many related discussions that I had to avoid for the time being.

Beach conditions remain unchanged on the Treasure Coast.  We still have a one-foot surf.  There is, however, a new tropical disturbance coming off of Africa to watch.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/22/17 Report - Silver Seminole Artifacts. Mining and Science History. Gold Chalices.

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

Seminole Silver Objects.
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

I started a conversation one day not too long ago about Seminole silver.  It is something that might be found metal detecting in Florida.  You should therefore know what it looks like.  Thanks to Darrel Strickland, who visited the museum in Gainesville, I'm going to post some images of Seminole silver objects.

Above you will see a set of what appears to be pendants.  They are made from silver pounded flat and then cut out.  A simple hole is made for attachment.

Below is an image of more Seminole silver objects, including pendants bracelets and rings.

Seminole Silver
Photo by Darrel S.

Thanks much Darrel!

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I enjoyed browsing the Mining and Scientific Press issues for the years 1899 and 1900.  There is a lot of interest,  The range of topics is very broad.  You'll find everything having to do with mining.  The pictures and history are interesting too.

Below is one illustration from one of those issues.  I think maybe I've been on those rails.  The Durango to Silverton line goes through an area that looks very much like that.  That is a ride I would recommend to anyone.

Illustration in Mining and Scientific Press.
Link provided below.

This one shows hydraulic mining in Dahlonega Georgia.

It is a online as a free ebook in books.google.com/books.   I could spend months looking through that one.

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Some of the most fantastic 1715 Fleet finds are religious artifacts.  Here is a web site that explains the spiritual reason chalices are made of gold.

https://aleteia.org/2017/06/17/the-spiritual-reason-chalices-are-made-from-precious-metal/

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Tropical Storm Cindy is inland now and dropping rain on Louisiana and other states to the west of us. There is no other storms on the Atlantic map at this time.

The surf is still small, but we are having some nice tides now.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/23/15 Report - New Wreck On Corrigan's Beach. "Open Access" Movement. FCC To Vote On Internet Regulation.

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



Wreck At Corrigan's
Photos by Captain Jonah Martinez

I received these photos via email just yesterday. This nice boat was left high and dry on the beach.

Notice the cut in the background of the second photo.  You might remember that the beach accesses around there were closed a few weeks ago for dune renourishment.  Well, as usual, the renourishment sand is being moved already.  We haven't had big waves lately but the tides have been bigger than normal.

Thanks for the photos Captain!

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The most read posts of January, actually there was a tie, were the 1/3/15 Report - 2/3/14 Report - Beach Renourishment Projects. NDBC Buoy Data. Pirate Superstitions. Six Foot Surf Predicted Friday., and the 1/2/15 Report - 2015 Beach Renourishment Projects. Dredging And Dredged Sand Around the Treasure Coast.

The most "Google Plused" post of January was the

1/21/15 Report - Wreck of The Griffin. Low Profile Metal Detecting. Image and Shovels and Holes.

Don't forget that you can always go back to review old posts.  You can also do a key word search using the search box on the main page of the blog.

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If you've been reading this blog very long you know that I've complained about how archaeology claims to be saving history FOR the public yet does not provide easy access to the artifacts or information.  Most scholarly articles are published in high-priced academic journals.

The public pays for much of the archaeology that is conducted in the state.  Much of it is paid for by grants that come out of our tax dollars.  Much of it is conducted by faculty, staff and students of state universities.  Salaries, resources and other equipment are provide by the tax payers, yet the public does not have easy access to the results of the research.

I've conducted polls that show how few people have viewed the state collections.  If you've actually seen any of the coins collected by the treasure salvors off of our coast, you probably did not see them at the state museum.  It is much more likely that you saw them at a Mel Fisher Museum or for sale online.  Few of us have ever seen the "Florida Collection," and much of it can only be viewed by appointment for research purposes.

If the pubic pays the salaries and provides the equipment and opportunities for archaeological research, including that done by faculty and graduate students in our State universities, why shouldn't the results be easily available to the tax paying public that pays for it?  Well, it seems that some progress is being made.  There is an "open access" movement.

 In Feb. of 2014 ... AAAS (publisher of ScienceInsider) announced that it will launch the organization’s first online, fully open-access journal early next year...

The move marks a shift for AAAS, which has long been a target of complaints from some advocates of open-access publishing. They argue that the nonprofit organization, best known as the publisher of the high-profile subscription journal Science, has been slow to embrace open access, and over the past decade opposed certain proposals to require journals to make government-funded research papers immediately available for free. AAAS and other publishers have generally argued that such policies would imperil a business model that has served the scientific community well for more than a century.

In recent years, however, the conflict has reached something of a resolution. Science and many other subscription journals have adopted a policy of making research papers freely available after 12 months; at the same time, many publishers have launched scores of new open-access journals, which charge authors a fee...

That is all long over due. 

Here is the link for the entire article.

http://news.sciencemag.org/people-events/2014/02/aaas-launches-open-access-journal

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On Feb. 26 the Federal Communications Commission will vote on regulating the internet.  According to what I read that means taxes, higher prices and loss of freedom.  Once they start, where will they stop?  Look into it.

Here is one web site where you can add your name to a petition.  Also you might want to contact your representative.

https://radiosong94.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/petition-the-fcc-vote-on-internet-regulations/

It is my opinion that if research is paid for or supported by the tax paying public, the results should be provided online free for easy public access, including good pictures and descriptions of any and all collected artifacts.

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If you didn't see yesterday's post on the Pelican-in-Piety artifact from the 1715 Fleet, you might want to take a look.

Not much has changed on the beach.  We still have the small surf, but also some negative tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net