1/31/20 Report - Treasure Coast Beaches Generally Deteriorating. Mystery Find and Knives and Swords.

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

Vero South Beach Friday Morning.

I went out to check some beaches this morning.  My primary interest was in Rio Mar, which I hadn't checked for a while, and I wanted to see what the high surf had done there, but when I got there I found the Rio Mar access closed for a renourishment project.  I went down to Vero South Beach, and it looked like tons of new sand had been dumped there (See above photo.).

I don't know why they think people love sand so much.  I thought it was ugly.  It wasn't the best sand either.

When I went by Pepper Park I stopped to check it out too.  I had not been there for quite a while.

Pepper Park Friday Morning.

Pepper Park didn't look good either.

I stopped at Turtle Tail on my way north.  It didn't look much different than the last time I was there when the cuts had disappeared.   I talked to a couple fellows, who weren't getting any signals.

Wabasso Beach Friday Morning.

If you notice the white sand they piled on the banks, it starts up at the park but is also in front of the Disney Resort.  Did the tax payers pay for that sand in front of Disney?  I suspect they did.

Ambersands Friday Morning.

Like the other beaches I saw this morning, Ambersands beach had deteriorated since last week.

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Yesterday I posted a mystery item from Bob C.  Bob sent the item on a grid so we could get the size.

Mystery Item on Grid.

Photo by Craig C.

The item is about 2.5 inches long and one inch wide.  The hole appears to be a touch less than a quarter inch across.  It is said to be brass with engraving.

Bob said, "A couple people I have talked to suggested possibly off of a dagger or sword scabbard. One said there may have been a different metal "medallion" where the hole is."  

I thought it might be interesting to look at the possibility that it has something to do with a dagger or sword.  A scabbard is a sheath, so I don't think that is it.

Below is an illustration from an old Dixie Gun Works catalog showing knife handle assemblies of different kinds.

I couldn't get the left edge of the illustration in the scan, but I think it is good enough to do the job.  Notice that there are both square and round tangs.  The tang goes through the guard and into the handle.   So could the object be a guard.

Below is a picture of a bowie knife guard.  The squares are one inch, so the guard is about five inches long, a little over an inch wide, but, here is something to consider, is almost a half inch thick.

Is the mystery item sturdy enough to be a knife or sword guard.  It does not look like it to me.

Below is a picture of a couple swords.  The guard on the smallest one is still around six inches across.

Of course there are a a lot of different types of knives and swords.   At this point I'm not convinced the mystery object has anything to do with bladed weapons right now, but I'm not quite ready to totally exclude the possibility.   There are a lot of possibilities.  I might consider some others in the near future.  In the mean time, I hope you'll send your thoughts and opinions.

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I need to do some more cleaning and research on some of my finds.

It looks like the surf will be decreasing.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/6/18 Report - Young Girl Pulls 1000-year-old Sword From Lake. Beach As It Changed. Educational Talks.

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

Thousand-Year-Old Sword Found by Eight-Year-Old

Source: MSN.com link below.

An 8-year-old girl was skipping rocks in a lake nearby her family's summer house in Sweden when she saw something strange in the water, The Local Sweden reported.

Saga Vanecek thought it was a stick, so she reached for it.,..

According to the Jonkopings Lans Museum, the sword is believed to be about 1,000 to 1,500 years old, dating back to the pre-Viking era. The object is about 2.75 feet long and remained well-preserved because it was stored in a wood and leather casing, per the museum. At this time, it's unclear why the sword was in the water...

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/an-8-year-old-swedish-girl-plucked-a-1000-year-old-sword-from-a-lake-like-it-was-no-big-deal/ar-BBNWxhF?ocid=spartandhp

And all of you guys were out there working your butts off.  I've told stories of blind luck before.  It happens.  No matter how hard you work or how skillful you are, there is still the element of luck.  That is what some people like.  They are just out there hoping for that one big find.  And you never know what might pop up.

Not everybody looks at it the same way.  Some people are out there doing everything they can to maximize the average value of finds per hour, and they can be successful.  Others are looking for that one big hit - something like playing the lotto.  You can increase your chances by being out there a lot, but you can't guarantee that one big strike.

I know one person who played the lotto all the time as a part of a group.  And they eventually hit the big prized, claiming over a million as their share.  And people have hit the big prized more than once.  But others have played their entire life and have never hit anything big.

If you've read this blog, I'm all about skill.  Skill, as I'd define it, consists of intentional acts that actually increase the probability of success over time.  Skill can be proven over time.  Luck is that element of chance that has little or nothing to do with skill.

Regardless of how you approach it, it is always nice to know that there are pleasant surprises out there, and it can happen to you.

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I received the following email and photos from Jerry P.

I thought you’d enjoy seeing these pics and video. I was working a beach between Riomar and South Beach in Vero yesterday.

It was about 2-hrs before high-tide when I saw this amazing erosion event happening.

The 2nd pic & Video show this beach as the erosion was just starting. The 1st pic shows the same beach about an hour later.

Most of the seaweed and sand had been completely swept away by this time. My GPS on the MinLab 3030 showed that earlier when I was watching the waves taking away so much sand and weed, I was actually stand where the white breaking surf shows on that 1st pic.

It was really something to see while I watched.

BTW, this section of beach front is rare in this area because it runs more eastward than all the shoreline north or south of it. I believe that’s why the east breaking waves were more destructive along this area.

Second Photo Referrred To In Jerry's Email 

First Photo Referred To In Jerry's Email.

Thanks Jerry.

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Here is the schedule for the upcoming Sedwick Treasure Auction in Orlando.

Thursday, November 1, 2018 - Lot Viewing: 11:00 AM - 6:30 PM EDT

Educational Talks

Emilio M. Ortiz, professional numismatist, researcher and author: “Colonial Cuartillos and Cuban Numismatics” (2:00 PM)

Dr. Kris E. Lane, Tulane Univ. professor of colonial Latin American history and researcher on the colonial history of the Andes, mining, piracy, and global trade: “Thinning the King of Spain’s Blood: Reflections on the Great Potosí Mint Fraud of the 1640s” (3:30 PM)

Barry Clifford, underwater explorer and discoverer of the pirate treasure ship Whydah (1717): “History and Salvage of the Pirate Ship Whydah” (5:00 PM)

Cocktail Reception and Argentinean Steakhouse Dinner (7:00 PM) - (shuttle available)


Friday, November 2, 2018 - Lot Viewing: 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM EDT

Floor Auction (start times):

Session I - 9:30 AM

Session II - 12:30 PM

Session III - 5:00 PM

Session IV - 8:00 PM



Saturday, November 3, 2018 - Lot Viewing: 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Floor Auction (start times):

Session V - 9:00 AM

Session VI - 11:30 AM

Lot Pickup: Noon - 2:00 PM


Monday, November 5, 2018

Internet Only Session VII (start time): 11:00 AM EST (note the time change from daylight to standard)

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Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/24/18 Report - Various Shipwreck Finds From the Treasure Coast. Slave Ship. Bigger Surf Coming Soon.

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

Finds and photo by Terry S.

I received the find pictures and the following message from TerryS.  Terry said,  While out there detecting we often find things that we need to research to determine what it is that we just found. These items often look old and of course the first thing we wonder is if is from the 1715 Spanish Plate fleet. They could be valuable or of no value but if you have a metal detector and it looks old it’s neat and research is half the fun.

Finds by JP

Terry continued, These are some items that JP found.  A large bronze ships spike, a brass fastener of some sort and a small silver half reale coin. The second picture is really neat and we thought it may be the butt of a pistol. I took it to the coin show at Vero and two experts said it was a pistol butt. The third expert I showed it to said it’s behind the handle of a sword and holds a spike used in close in fighting. He said he was pretty sure because he had found a sword that had a piece just like this one. Apparently research is never an exact science but I tend to believe the sword theory.

Found by JP.

This is a bent ornate key and DB showed it to an expert treasure diver and he said that it’s from the 1715 fleet. It really would be nice to find the treasure box that this key opened. It probably opened a box that held some wealthy ladies jewelry and I know right where DB found it.

Bent Ornate Key Found by DB.

Congratulations guys!  Thanks for sharing.

More tomorrow.

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Gulf Coast Wreck Could Be Last U. S. Slave Ship.  Below is the link for more about that.

http://www.columbian.com/news/2018/jan/23/report-gulf-coast-wreck-could-be-last-u-s-slave-ship/

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The surf predictions from MagicSeaWeed show a four to seven foot surf for the Fort Pierce area by on Friday.  That has held up pretty good.  They may have improved their prediction models.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/21/17 Report - Tropical Storm Cindy To Make Landfall. Laws For Turtle Season. Sword Found. Old Jewelry Find.

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

Turtle Nesting On Treasure Coast.

The turtles are nesting.  I took this photo a few days ago and forgot about it until someone wrote and asked me about turtle nesting season.  I don't think it is too complicated.  Just don't dig in the nests or disturb the turtles.

Most of the nests are marked, so if you are a snowbird or don't know about that, there are stakes that mark many of the turtle nests.  New nests you can clearly see.  Penalties can be serious.

Florida state law provides protection against taking, possessing, disturbing, mutilating, destroying or causing to be destroyed, selling or offering for sale, transferring, molesting, or harassing any marine turtle or its nest or eggs at any time.

Federal law provides even greater protection (and criminal penalties as severe as $100,000 and a year in prison) if you “take, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, or capture any marine turtle, turtle nest, and/or eggs, or attempt to engage in any such conduct.”

Here is a link.

http://thecotas.com/2012/01/sea-turtle-nests-protected-by-state-and-federal-law/

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Medieval Sword Discovered in Peat Bog.
Source: See ScienceInPoland link below.

Completely preserved medieval sword from the 14th century has been discovered at a peat bog near Hrubieszów. The finder donated the artefact to the local Fr. Stanisław Staszic Museum. "This is a unique find in the region" - said Bartłomiej Bartecki, director of the museum...

http://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,414626,lubelskie-medieval-sword-discovered-at-a-peat-bog.html

That would be a fun find.

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Some 2,500 Israeli pupils and volunteers from Modiin-Maccabim-Re’ut participated in an archaeological excavation in their own community, coming away with a new sense of history — and a treasure trove of 900-year-old Crusader-period jewelry...

Source: See TimesofIsrael link below.

I've been talking about jewelry and some ways to identify the date for them.  Here is some old jewelry.  Some of it is not very different from what you might find on a Treasure Coast beach.

Here is the link for more about that story.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/school-pupils-help-find-900-year-old-crusader-jewelry-trove/

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I have a lot more to post, but I'll wind it up for today.

With the hurricane season becoming active already, you'll want to keep up on the latest tropical weather activity.

Tropical Storm Cindy is about to make landfall near the Louisiana/Texas border.

It looks like Bret has disappeared.

That's all for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/15/15 Report - The Big Three Factors Of Hunting In Dry Sand. How Waves Move Very Big and Small Objects. The Langeid Viking Sword Finally On Display.

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

Ornate Viking Sword.
Photo from http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/37504

A deadly weapon and symbol of power -- jewellery for a man, with magical properties. The sword gave power to the warrior, but the warrior's strength could also be transferred to the sword. That is how they were bound together: man and weapon, warrior and sword.

This sword was found in Langeid in Bygland in Setesdal in 2011. It is a truly unique sword from the late Viking Age, embellished with gold, inscriptions and other ornamentation. The discovery of the sword has not been published until now, when it is being displayed for the first time in the exhibition 'Take It Personally' at the Historical Museum in Oslo...

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150714093658.htm


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When talking about where to hunt for gold jewelry on a dry beach, I could sum up ninety percent of what needs to be said in a couple of paragraphs.  It isn't that complex.  It doesn't change as much as the wet sand or water does.

It comes down to looking where the most people of the right type do the right things.  The primary factors are (1) number of people, (2) type of people and (3) their behavior.  Number is obvious.  Go where many wealthy people who wear a lot of gold either participate in very active behaviors or are involved in taking off or adjusting jewelry.  Example: busy volleyball court at a resort that attracts a lot of active wealthy people.

Of course there is a lot more that could be said, but that tells you the vast majority of what needs to be said.  You can't sum up where to hunt wet sand and shallow water so easily. There are a lot more factors and things change a lot.

Number of people, type of people and type of activities would be a start for those areas too, but it would only be a start.  After those factors you would want to include how the water moves sand and objects, and that is quite complex.

I've been at this a long time. I'd say something over thirty years, sometimes not as actively as others due to different careers and things, but one of the most surprising things to me is how much I continue to learn.

I knew a lot about where to look before, but a lot of the time I didn't know why.  I didn't know how it all worked.  In the last few years, I've filled in some of the blanks. I now understand some things that puzzled or confused me.  Having a more complete understanding helps in a variety of ways.

A few days ago I talked about coins being flipped up and over the face of a cut.  I first told what I saw happen on one occasion maybe twenty years ago.  I then received and posted reports by others verifying what I'm now calling flip-ups.  In a case reported by Clint L., the object flipped was a gold ring.  In a case reported by Bill P., the object flipped was a reale.

You might have been skeptical.  You might have wondered how objects could flip up and over a two foot cut.

I think the illustration that I provided in my 7/13 post might have satisfied many of you.  However if you still are not sure, you might be satisfied after reading today's post.

I came across a book entitled, Wave Action In Relation To Engineering Structures, by D. D. Gaillard, Captain, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., 1904.  It is a free Google ebook.  It is a very technical and mathematical engineering book, and isn't easy to quickly browse.  You'll find the link below.

The book provides a lot of good information - much that has been widely published and easily available in recent years, but also details of a lot of experiments and additional specifics that you might not have read before.

Below are just a few examples many similar examples found in the book.  Whether you find these anecdotes convincing or not, I'm sure you'll find them interesting.

Just to give you the idea here are a few.

And a Florida example.

Like I said, that is to give you the idea.  You can find more examples like this as well as experimental data and mathematical calculations in the book.

Click here to go to that book.

After these remarkable examples, you might not find it hard to believe that something like a coin or ring could be flung up and over a cliff.

The power of the sea is amazing.  These events are almost beyond belief, yet this is a very credible source, and others have attested to similar things.

The book provides evidence of other things that I've talked about in the past.  The effect of density on how items are moved is one important one.  You can find the required force calculated for different examples. The density and surface area of the objects are factors, just as is the case for coins and jewelry. Precise mathematical formulae are provided.

While many of the principles I have presented are supported in this book, you will have to downscale many of them to apply to smaller objects.

You might wonder why you would want to know this.  If you do know this type of material, you can look at the waves and know a good bit about the bottom.  You can easily estimate the depth of the water where the waves are breaking, for example.  You will know where sand is building and where it is getting washed away.  That might tell you where to hunt when the water calms down.

If you know that the depth of the water is about one half the wave length ( distance between peak to peak) where the waves are breaking, you can look out and immediately have some idea about how deep or shallow the water is there.  If you keep a mental note of that, you will know when the near shore sand is coming or going and something about the shape of the bottom in the shallow water at that location.

On the deep side of the breaking waves, the bottom is not being affected much.

Most importantly, you'll be able to get an idea of where and when objects will be moving.  As a result you'll better know where to look to find things.

There is a great deal to it.  I have learned a lot from experience, and I have learned a lot in recent years, putting together my own observations and experiences with what I read.  I am enjoying the learning process and it is continuing at a rate that surprises me.

I got a lot more from that book that applies to metal detecting in very practical ways, but I can't put all of that into one post.

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The next two days the Treasure Coast surf is supposed to be very calm.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/27/14 Report - Baby Ring. Finding The Density Of An Unknown Object. Hoard of Blades. Le Griffon Shipwreck. St. George.

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

Baby Ring.

Yesterday I showed a heavy pendant.  This is a small item - only .025 troy ounce. 

It is less than a size 2.

You might want to get a mandrel so you can determine the size of rings you find.  They are not expensive. 

This one acid tests as gold filled. 


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Yesterday I mentioned calculating the density of objects to help determine the composition.

Here is a web site that explains the basics.

http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=806

And here is a table of densities for most common metals.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/metal-alloys-densities-d_50.html

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A hoard of sword and knife blades was found by a detectorist. 

Two blade fragments, a scabbard fitting, a multi-edged knife and six copper ingot fragments were discovered by Adrian Young a few metres apart...

Here is the link for more of the story.

http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art511370-exotic-hoard-artefacts-found-in-field-hint-at-long-distance-bronze-age-sea-travel-say-archaeologists-in-wales

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Le Griffon vanished in 1679 on its way to the Niagara River from Green Bay, Wisconsin and it stayed hidden in Lake Michigan until just two years ago.

Here is a video,

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/12/24/divers-say-they-ve-found-holy-grail-of-shipwrecks/21120863/

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Picture of St. George submitted by Jerry R.

Jerry R. sent this picture and said the picture on yesterday's pendant is St. George slaying the dragon.  I'd say that is right.  Thanks Jerry!

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On the Treasure Coast the surf is still calm.  Tomorrow it is suppose to bump up to around five feet or so, however I'm not see anything but East and South winds predicted, so don't expect much out of that.

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net