5/26/20 Report - Encrusted Objects and Mystery Item. Beach Dynamics Resources.

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

Three Small Encrusted Objects.

I decided to investigate a few small encrusted objects this weekend.  The item on the left is a broken or repurposed spike that is partially encrusted.  The item on the right is still totally encrusted.  When I shook the totally encrusted object, it rattled.  It sounded something like a small lead ball within a cavity.

I soaked the broken spike head in acid for about a day and little progress was made.  I should have removed some of the crust mechanically before using the acid.  That is my normal procedure, but I neglected to do that this time.

I decided to just break open the totally encrusted object.  Here is a closer look at it.

Small Encrusted Rattling Object.

Below is what I found when I broke it open.

Copper Casing Within EO and Shell Removed From Casing.

Maybe someone can help me with this, but it looks like what I would call a double-cased shell.  Is that right?  Below you can see the lead core at the tip and butt of the bullet.

Lead Bullet Core At Point (left) and Butt (right).

And below is the outer casing for both sides of the bullet.  The two halves of the outer casing are still stuck in the encrustation.

Two Ends of Casing With Bullet Removed 
(Butt end left and point right.).

 I wouldn't think there would be that much room between the outer casing and the bullet so that it would rattle like that.  Maybe that was caused by corrosion, and maybe someone that knows more about bullets and casings can tell me about that.

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Yesterday I posted the mystery object shown below, which was found by Bill M.  It gave a detector reading.  I thought it looked like it could be an EO.  SuperRick, who hunts meteors and nuggets, gave the following informative response.

Mystery Object

Find and photo by Bill M.

The photo is just a river rock better known as an igneous rock! A lot of rocks will have iron in them to prove me wrong take a file to a high point on the rock and file it. If you see shiny metal then take it to your bathroom toilet and lift the cover and rub your rock on the inside part of the [tank] cover.

If your rock leaves a streak you have what I said it was just a rock. You can also use a rare earth magnet to see if the rock will jump to it! 

If your rock doesn't streak and the magnet makes the rock jump to it you might have found a meteorite but all kinds of rocks are what we call hot rock when we are hunting for meteorites! Those rocks will hit on a metal detector and you have to know what you are looking for! ...

Thanks Rick.

It is always good to hear the knowledge of the various experts that read this blog.  He suggested some good tests too.

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If you are interested in learning more about beach dynamics, here are a variety of excerpts and abstracts from a number of studies.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/beach-profile

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Looks like some more small surf for this week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/4/20 Report - Ornate Roman Sword In Sheath Found. Other Miscellaneous Finds. Bigger Surf Coming.

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

200-Year-Old Roman Dagger in Sheath.

Source: See LiveScience.com link below

I posted about this Roman sword on 3/3, but it looks like somehow it accidentally got deleted so I'm posting it again.

Here are the first few paragraphs.

Archaeologists in Germany were "lost for words" after the discovery of a 2,000-year-old silver dagger. The weapon was found in its sheath in the grave of a Roman soldier who once fought against the Germanic tribes.

The dagger was so corroded, it took nine months of sandblasting and grinding before the sharp, 13-inch-long (35 centimeters) weapon was restored, at which point researchers were easily able to remove it from its richly decorated sheath...

After the dagger was X-rayed, CT scanned, and restored, archaeologists marveled at the dagger; its handle is inlaid with silver and decorated with rivets, and the iron blade has "deep grooves on either side of the midrib, a pronounced waist and a long tapering point," Tremmel said.

The iron sheath is lined with linden wood and decorated with red glass, silver, niello (a black mixture, often of sulphur, copper, silver and lead) and red shiny enamel. Rings on the sheath were used to hang the dagger from a belt, which was also found in the grave...

Clipping From Video Showing Cleaned and Restored Sword on Belt.

Source: See LiveScience.com link below.

Here is the link.

https://www.livescience.com/roman-iron-dagger-sheath.html

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I've often said, "There is always somewhere to hunt and something to find."  When conditions aren't right for one kind of hunting, it is for another.  You just have to change and adapt to the prevailing conditions.

I also believe that doing different kinds of hunting is both fun and educational.   You'll often learn something from one kind of hunting that you can then use when doing another type of hunting.

Yesterday I didn't go metal detecting, but I did do a little bottle hunting, and came away with a few nice bottles but nothing really special.   Here are a couple.

Vintage Coca Cola Bottle and Unidentified Stopper Top Bottle Finds.

The Coca Cola bottle is in very nice clean condition.   As you probably know, Coca Cola collectibles are among the most collected, right up there with Disney. 

This bottle is from Claxton Ga.  It is not an old or rare bottle, but I assume it would be extremely common either.

Bottom of Claxton GA Coca Cola Bottle.

Yesterday I also posted some finds by DB.  Here they are again.

Shell Artifacts, Fowler's Ink Bottle, Lea and Perrine Bottle, Bottle Stoppers, etc.

Finds and photo by DB.

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The predictions for a higher surf this weekend are holding up well.   I think they improved their mode.  In the past the predictions would often predict a high surf that would disappear as the time got closer.  Now the predictions seem to hold up very well.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/24/19 Report - Encrusted Objects (EOs), Clumps and Conglomerates and Their Contents.

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

Photo of Terry holding the EO before cracking and what was in it. The canvas and hemp rope was still in intact.

Find by John C.  Photo submitted by Jerry P.

I received the following email with photos from Jerry P.

“IF YOU DON’T KNOW DON’T THROW” This is a lesson I learned from John C. One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started hunting the Treasure Coast was throwing unidentified objects away. One day Terry Shannon and I were hunting the Vero Beach area and I heard a good target sound off on my GT. I pulled up an encrusted object aka an EO. I walked over to have Terry swing his coil over it and he agreed it sounded like a good target. At the end of the day I decided to crack it open in the parking lot and inside was a copper/brass grummet from a tarp, or at least that’s what I assumed it was. I gathered up the pieces and threw it in the trash can. When I got home I called John C. to give him the beach report and told him about the grummet EO. He congratulated me on the find and I thought he was joking and I told him that I threw it away. I will never forget what he said. “Excuse me Jerry, did you say you threw it away?” He texted me a photo from his private collection and it was the exact some copper/brass grummet partly encased in coral. He explained that it was in fact a brass grummet from a canvas sail probably 1800’s and don’t you know the rule, if you don’t know you don’t throw? Sick to my stomach as I came from a long line of sailers and that piece would look great in my collection. I asked John if he could do me a favor and trash dive first thing in the morning to retrieve the EO. He was there as the gates opened but after going through multiple cans he couldn’t locate it. Since Terry was going there a bit later that morning, and he seen me throw it in the can, I ask him if he could retrieve it. Both Terry and John scuba dive but a true measure of friendship is dumpster diving first thing in the morning, thank you both! Besides meeting new people and making new friends a large portion of the fun is the research and learning the story behind each object. If you don’t know don’t throw.

I would love to see some good EO’s, please share.

Jerry P.

Photos submitted by Jerry P.

Thanks for the email and photos Jerry. That is a good lesson that bears repeating.  I couldn't agree more.  Very good topic suggestion too.

I looked back through the blog and found quite a variety of encrusted objects, including such diverse items as coins, a gun barrel, cannon ball, sword hilt, and gold ring.

Here is one good photo showing and EO before and after cleaning.

I used electrolysis to clean this spike after removing some of the crust mechanically.

In order to keep the broken iron spike from rusting again, you could add a protective coating.

Coins can be totally encrusted too.  I had some that looked like nothing other than a ball of sand and shell bits.  I can't find of photo of that right now, but here is a cob that was partially encrusted before being cleaned.

Same Half-Reale After Some Cleaning.

Here are a couple encrusted objects that I've posted before and I still don't know what they are.  Here are a couple more EOs that I haven't opened or cleaned yet and do not know what they are.  I can tell they are partially hollow.

The biggest hollow one is about seven inches across.

Here is another than seems to contain a blade-like object.  It is about seven inches long and one inch wide.

Seven by One Inch Encrusted Object.

Here is a flat one, that has an intriguing coin-size bump on it.  The surface coins are for size only.

Thin EO With Bump.

You can see the bump near the upper right of the object.  Here it is from the side.

Bump on Flat EO.

I curious about the bump.  It could be a bolt or something like that, but that one will not be easy.

Some EOs contain a void where the object used to be.  A cast can be made the shape of the void.  I had a post showing a cast of a gun barrel made from such a void but can't find that post right now.

Two EOs.  
Top One Showing Square Void From Spile or Something Similar.

I had another post on using X-Ray to determine the contents of an EO.

The next clump is composed mainly of melted lead that stuck to sand and shells.

Melted Lead in Conglomerate.

Some clumps contain interesting things besides metal.  Here is a photo of a nice calcite fossil shell sticking out of a clump.

Clump With Nice Calcite Shell Showing.

And here is a clump containing a fossil tooth.  It is the brown nearly rectangular object near the center bottom.

Fossil Tooth in Conglomerate.

Here are links to some previous posts on EOs.  The first one is about an X-Rayed EO.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2018/08/82918-report-another-conglomerate-x-ray.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/12/121217-report-clumps-conglomerates-and.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2016/12/121516-report-key-find-appreciating.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2015/07/7815-report-more-treasure-finds-from.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2014/10/101014-report-subtropical-storm-fay-and.html

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2012/12/12812-report-wreck-of-la-belle-and.html

Here is a good one I was looking for a just found.

Will R. found gun parts and was able to make a mold of the barrel.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2012/12/12912-report-encrusted-objects-again.html

Send me your photos of EOs and the objects found inside.

A lot of mine haven't been opened yet.

Sometimes I think it is better to leave some of the matrix intact.  Makes a nice display.

I have a lot of heavy-duty coin cleaning to do.  Maybe I'll get some good examples from that.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/24/15 Report - Some Beaches Eroding Today. Squid Shell. Business of Treasure Salvage.

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

John Brooks Beach This Morning.

If you want to know what the beaches are doing, here are some pictures taken this morning shortly after high tide.

Above is John Brooks beach.  It is slightly better than yesterday, but not much.  The front beach is still mushy.

South of Turtle Trail This Morning.

This cut south of Turtle Trail was about four feet high.  Notice the small amount of seaweed in front of the cut.

Looking North From the Turtle Trail Access.

Notice the two steps shown in this view.  Also, the beach in front of the cut is fairly steep.

Looking North From the Wabasso Beach Access.

One thing that doesn't show in this photo looking towards Disney is the seven to ten foot cliff.

Despite all the erosion and big cliffs at the beaches other than John Brooks, beach detecting conditions were not great.  I believe the reason for that is that most of the erosion was actually in renourishment sand.

At the back of the beach, the renourishment sand is still preventing old things from washing out of the dunes.  And the sand that has been eroded is now stretched out in front of the beach and into the shallow water.  That means that the old sand and old objects are still covered even though there has been erosion.

The cut last week that produced Spanish shipwreck items, was deep and near the front of the beach, not back in front of the dunes.  That is why some things were uncovered.

I'm not increasing my beach detecting conditions rating yet.  For those of you who don't know, my rating scale provides an estimate of the likelihood of finding old treasure items on the beach.   More modern items will often appear sooner, and they will appear in clusters more often.  Conditions for finding modern items can improve yet not improve enough to increase the chances of finding older things.

My current rating is based upon a sample of the three beaches I observed.  Actually I saw one more to a limited extent, but I didn't see them all.  There may be places that are producing now, but I didn't see them today.

Tomorrow the surf is supposed to increase.  Today it was supposed to be 3 - 5 feet, and tomorrow it is supposed to be 5 - 8 feet.  The wind tomorrow will be pretty straight in from the east.

We're still supposed to have up to a ten feet later this week.

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Yesterday I posted a picture of a small shell.  Ron J. sent me this note regarding the identity of the shell along with a picture that matches the shell.  Here is what Ron said.

Looks like the shell is from the inside of a Squid. (please see attached)

On Page 121 of the book " FLORIDA'S LIVING BEACHES  A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber" By Blair and Dawn Witherington , Pineapple Press, Sarasota Florida      ISBN 978-1-56164-386-8

" Ram's horn squid ( Spirula spirula ) are beached as white, chambered coils. The coil lies within the posterior end of the squid opposite its two large and ten tentacles. The coil takes up almost half the squid, minus out stretched tentacles.

I find this book a great help to identify the things found while beachcombing.

Thanks Ron.  I never would have guessed.

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Market Watch had this article on the business of treasure salvage in Florida.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/meet-the-treasure-seekers-who-hunt-millions-in-undersea-gold-2015-11-20

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/10/15 Report - Artifacts Found On Treasure Coast Beaches In The Past. Baby Dinosaur. Tropical Storm Kate.

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

Items Found On Treasure Coast Beach With Sea Shells.

Here are some artifacts found on Treasure Coast beaches.  They were found when shell piles appeared on the beach.  Things like this will appear all along the Treasure Coast.

There have been a few times when I was detecting and a someone came up to me and asked me about an arrow head they just found.  You don't have to be looking for them, but they are occasionally out there to be found.

If you keep your eyes open while you detect you might see something like these.

I forgot to put a coin or something for size comparison in the photo, but it isn't really needed because the round shell piece on the bottom right is the same size as a U. S. quarter.

The item on the left is a large piece of a shell.  It is quite thick.  I'll show the other side below.

The arrow head is made of agatized coral.

Agatized coral is the state stone of Florida.

http://dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-stone/

I'm not sure of the material of the quarter-size round shell.  It might not be a finished object.  Or it might be a discoidal.  I don't know.

The round object at the upper right of the photo is a discoidal and is very concave on both sides.  I'm not sure what it is made of.

Discoidals vary in size and shape.  I find it hard to believe they were all used the same way.  The common interpretation is that they were used in games.

Authentic Head Knocker In Very Exceptional Condition.

This head knocker is owned by an avid enthusiast and expert from up north.  It is from the Mid-West. It is in very excellent condition.  You'll never find one of those on the beach.

That is just a reminder today.

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The fossil of a baby pentaceratop was discovered in the New Mexico desert and it is currently the only one on the planet. After years of excavations, the researchers were finally able to move the fossil to Albuquerque with the help of the National Guard, which employed a Blackhawk helicopter to airlift the precious finding...

Here is the link for that story and the video.

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/10/31/incredibly-rare-70-million-year-old-baby-dinosaur-fossil-gets-ai/21256953/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D861867879

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Tripical Storm Kate is out by the Bahamas.  It is predicted to go out into the Atlantic.

Expect about a 2 -4 foot surf today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/3/15 Report - Two BIG gold Metal Detector Finds! The Will To Discover!

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



87 Oz. Gold Nugget Found Using Minelab Gold Detector.

I received these first two photos and the information about the gold nugget find via email from Nicole D. of VineSprout Public Relations.  The nugget was found using a Minelab gold detector.



Michael Brown
Finder of the 87 Oz. Nugget

Here is what Nicole said.   I'd like to share some exciting news with you. Australian gold prospector Michael Brown has uncovered an astonishing 87-ounce solid gold nugget during a prospecting expedition in Inglewood. gold prospector Michael Brown has uncovered an astonishing 87-ounce solid gold nugget during a prospecting expedition in Inglewood. Discovered in six inches of ground with a state-of-the-art Minelab detector, Brown’s find is estimated to be worth over $130,000 AUD. Please find the press release and images attached. Let me know if you would like more information...   




That is one huge nugget.

If you could do it, and you can't, it would be an interesting experiment to go back and see what the cheapest detector would be that would detect the same nugget under the same circumstances.   Of course you shouldn't hold your breathe while waiting to find another nugget like that.

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7th Century Gold and Garnet Pendant
Source of photo: see link.

Here is the second big find.  It was discovered in a field along with other items.  It is thought to be among the most spectacular artifacts ever found in the region.

It is made of gold, which has cells that are inlaid with garnet.

Click here for more photos and more of the story.

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I received an email from Kenneth H. about the carved gorget  that I posted yesterday.  Here is what Ken said.

Hello TG dropped a line to state the image on the photo is not half fish/half cat. Must consider geography and natural wildlife where such artifacts are found. That image you posted, most likely, is a beaver (although the head appears to be more like a wild hog). The tail is a bit small in proportion though. I back that up with 30 plus years experience in archaeology. More importantly, I always enjoy this blog and your untiring efforts to maintain it. Your contribution to Florida Archaeology, Florida History and Florida Treasure Hunting is appreciated by many. -- Yes! I dare to combine all three together because all are fueled by the same drive. That is, since the Paleo era, man was born with the will to discover. No pen strike in a book of laws can ever change it...

Thanks Ken! The kind words are especially appreciated coming from someone who has done so much in the field of archaeology.  And thanks for highlighting the basic unifying drive behind all of this.

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It looks like we are stuck with something like a 3 - 5 foot surf and predominant East winds for several days.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/1/15 Report - Saturday's Wind Did Nothng Good For the Treasure Coast Beaches. Neat Shell Gorget.

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

Yesterday was a rainy windy day from beginning to end.  Unfortunately the wind was from the East.  I went out this morning to check out the beaches.  The wind didn't do anything good.

One beach (shown in the photo) had some rounded scallops.

Some beaches showed the remains of old cuts.  Some of those types of beaches had wide flat front beaches but were filling.  

There are very few targets out there along the Treasure Coast now.  The beaches are as clean and over-hunted as I've ever seen.  There are very few easy targets.  I suspect a lot of people will get discouraged.

I saw a few guys wandering around with detectors.

One beach had only shredded aluminum junk.  As I've said before, many beaches have only one or two types of junk.  This one had only shredded aluminum - no iron, bottle caps or pull tabs.  That tells you that some one has been detecting that site heavily and only discriminated thin aluminum.

Take notice of that type of thing.  If you do find anything at a beach like that, except for things just dropped, the best chance is for small gold that might be discriminated out with the aluminum.

Like I said, you can tell what others have been doing or not doing at a beach, and you can adjust accordingly.

One thing I'd say today is that instead of sticking to the same old over-hunted beaches and doing the same thing over and over with no success, you might want to spread out and try some different sites and strategies.

When will we ever get some good erosion?  It has been a very slow winter season, and it is nearly over.  Then we'll have to wait for some summer storms.

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Shell Gorget
Photo source: wvxu.org link.

Contractors digging a trench for a fiber optics box found human remains and a neat carved shell gorget.

Here is that link.

http://wvxu.org/post/rare-native-american-artifact-discovered-newtown

On the Treasure Coast from time to time people looking for shells on the beach find arrow heads or shell tools or artifacts.  Keep your eyes open.

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I mentioned the ATX detector a few days ago.  One reader who does a lot of water hunting down South gave up on the ATX because the stem locks kept getting filled with sand and froze.   Seems to be a weak spot on that detector.

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That's all for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

1/4/15 Report - More Mystery Object Ideas And Close-ups. Learning A Ton By Researching Mystery Objects.

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

Unidentified Object Previously Posted.

When you research mystery objects, you may or may not positively identify the item.  In either case you will likely learn something and it is not uncommon to learn a lot about things other than the item while doing research.

A few days ago I posted this round mystery item with a hole part way through it and asked for thoughts and opinions about the item  and, as always, I received a lot of informative replys.  Nonetheless, I'm still far from a solid conclusion. 

I tested the object in water.  Despite how it looks, it is dense and sinks like a rock (no pun intended), however water pours right through it.  When picked up out of the water, the water in the hole disappears in a couple of seconds.  It did not appear to dissolve in a short submersion. 

Fred D.  It has me totally stumped but...I believe it to be within the last few hundred years. Early Native Americans did not have a concrete or cement knowledge and this thing is definitely a conglomerate of crushed shell. I do not believe it was made by a sea animal. Too utilitarian. It must be some sort of tool or utensil we just don't know about but it gives us a different world to explore.

Thanks Fred.   I get a lot of help from Fred.

Bill F. helped too.  His idea was... early concrete..Tabby..was made with shells.  The shells contributed lime, which formed more of a stucco than concrete.

My guess...a concretious material which formed above the waterline,
was broken off and rolled around by wave action to form the ball you
have now.

Thanks Bill.

Here is a link to a site about tabby.

http://www.beaufortcountylibrary.org/htdocs-sirsi/tabby.htm

Here is what Wikipedia says that tabby is.   A liquid mixture of crushed seashells (or limestone flakes,) sand, clay and crude hydrated lime made by burning sea shells was poured into the forms.

William M., someone else who frequently provides a lot of valuable input for the blog, said,
I think you may have a weathered bow drill capstone made of coquina.

William also provided some pictures of a bow drill (See below.).

Bow Drill Illustration
provided by William M.

 Ron J. also wondered if it could be part of a drilling tool.

Aquanaut John had another very different thought.  He wondered if it could be part of a time release chum ball.  From what I've read so far, I'm thinking not, but on the other hand, I'm not sure.  I don't know hardly anything about chum balls.

I took some additional close-up photos where I could see some things that appeared to be different than the typical small pieces of shell that makes up the bulk of the item.

Here they are.



Vibrant Red Spot. 
I'd like to get that under higher magnification.



Dull Blue Spot (right of center)

Brown Shell Pieces.

Well I haven't solved the puzzle to my satisfaction yet, and maybe I never will, but I've learned a bit in the process and hope you have too.

I learned something about tabby, bow drills, nutting stones, paint pots, coquina, and even chum balls.

I'm still would like any additional ideas about the object.


On the Treasure Coast we'll have nothing much more than a two-foot surf for a couple of days and then maybe around mid-week something closer to five feet.

Happy hunting (and researching),
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net