5/20/20 Report - Beaches. Mystery Items Reappear. Borderline Conditions Last Week. Surf Increasing.

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

Fort Pierce South Jetty Park Tuesday.

I was in the area and stopped to see how the renourishment project at the Fort Pierce South Jetty beach was doing.  It looks like they finished but didn't dump as much sand as I was expecting to see.  They didn't go as far east or south as I thought they would.  The sand is a fine white sand - nicer looking than some of the previous projects.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Tuesday.

Also stopped at John Brooks.  If I had my pole, I would have done some fishing.  There were some nice schools close in and a nice big fish chasing them.  I didn't take my detector out.

John Brooks Beach Tuesday.

Sand had piled up on the front beach.

John Brooks Beach Tuesday.

I also took a quick look at Frederick Douglass.  Not very exciting, and a thunder storm was coming.

, 

Frederick Douglass Beach Tuesday.

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A couple days ago I posted a photo of a mystery find by DJ.  I got some good information on that object from John C., who showed five examples of the same thing.

Here is what John said.

Yeah, we  used to find those pretty frequently back in the 90s.  I was told back then that they were from a shipwreck, but not associated with 1715, but it's been a while, I haven't found one since I would say the hurricane season of 04.  It's interesting seeing them show up again.

Thanks.   James 1v12 

Items That Look Like the Mystery Item Found by DJ.

Finds and photo by John C.

Thanks John.

Also from the Not Just Coincidence department, below is a find from Steve L. It is the same kind of copper tack I found a few days ago.

Steve said, I also detected turtle trail around low tide Sunday. I saw 2 other guys detecting south ahead of me but none of us were digging much.  I managed to get only one target but I am happy with it. I took a picture next to a penny for size reference. I think it is like the one you found a few days ago I enjoy your blog. Steve L 

If anyone can tell me more about these items, please do.  I'd like to hear from others who have found them and whatever ideas you have about them.  Thanks.

Copper Tack Find by Steve L.

Photo by Steve L.

I always say when you find one of an item, there is a very good chance that there is more nearby.

Last Thursday I checked out a beach and there was some erosion, but I didn't know if it was enough.  I found this piece of lead, which as I said in a previous post, I took as what I call a signal find.

That piece, dense and nearly the size of a cob, told me that there was a possibility of other older dense metals nearby, so I checked the next day and found a few more small and seemingly old items, including another folded piece of lead.  My finds, along with John and Steve's finds, suggests to me that beach conditions were getting very close to producing some cobs, and perhaps would have produced one or two small ones if I had been in just the right place.  While beach conditions were not great yet, they were improving.  Unfortunately, the next day, conditions on the same beach seemed to deteriorate.  With the calm conditions we've had lately, I would guess that there are still some things that are close and could easily become accessible again with a little more movement of sand.

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Archaeologists are racing against the clock to save the remains of a buried Viking ship from a ruthless foe:  fungus.

If the project is successful, the 65-foot-long (20 meters) oak vessel — called the Gjellestad ship — will become the first Viking ship to be excavated in Norway in 115 years, said Sveinung Rotevatn, the Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://elexonic.com/2020/05/18/fungus-is-destroying-a-buried-viking-ship-heres-how-norway-plans-to-save-it/

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Looks like after today the small surf will disappear from the Treasure Coast.  Then we'll get up to six feet.

Surf Predictions.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

5/15/20 Report - Tropical Storm Could Be Developing. A Few New Treeasure Coast Beach Finds. The Role of The Beach Detectorist.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

 Gradual development of this system is
expected, and it will likely become a tropical or subtropical storm
on Saturday when it is located near the northwestern Bahamas. Later
in the weekend and early next week, the system is expected to move
generally northeastward over the western Atlantic... See nhc.noaa.gov for more about that.

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Yesterday I looked a few beaches and did a little quick check at one beach.  As I mentioned yesterday I found a couple pieces of what I think is old lead.  Those finds gave me a clue that despite the relatively sandy conditions, shipwreck finds are not too far off.

Piece of Folded Lead Found Thursday.

In the past I talked about what I called "signal finds."  They are finds that are most valuable as clues or signs of conditions or nearby treasures.

When I looked out this morning and saw the nice rainy weather, even though I wasn't planning on going out until evening, I decided to go to the beach.  I like rainy mornings and staying out of the hot sun.

So when I got to the beach, conditions didn't look any better than the day before.  In fact, there was more sand.  Overall conditions were worse.  I would estimate that in most places there were inches of new sand.  Nonetheless, yesterday I had identified one area as a good possibility and focused on that area after doing a general quick check of a wider area.

When I hit the newly targeted area, I got additional encouraging signs.  First a small corroded bullet showed up.  It was not a old shipwreck item, but still somewhat encouraging.

Next I found a nearly dissolved piece of iron, then another piece of lead, which was folded up when found, then a shipwreck spike, and then a tack (photo below).

Friday Finds.

I was most surprised by the spike.  And to make it more surprising, it was found in one of the most heavily detected spots of the entire Treasure Coast on a day when there was no big improvement in conditions.  I saw two people metal detecting that area just yesterday, and that is no small target.  I could understand the tack being missed, but not so much the spike.

Anyhow, no big finds.  I guess if it was on Oak Island, the spike could be the subject of hours of excited hooplah, talk and speculation, but no big deal for the Treasure Coast.  Just a pleasant day of metal detecting.

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People who metal detect search for different reasons.  Different people search for different kinds of objects.  What a person searches for depends upon a variety of factors, including where they are and what kind of objects can be found at a location, but it also depends upon personal interests.

Some detectorists search for coins, others for modern jewelry, others for hoards, others for gold nuggets and others for shipwreck artifacts.  Those are just a few examples.ind

Different kinds of finds can be treated differently.  Coins can be either spent, sold, made part of a collection, or in the case of those that might be corroded or badly damaged recycled for the metal content or simply thrown away.

Jewelry finds might be returned to the original owner when that is possible, sold, or kept and worn.

The Treasure Coast is known for its shipwreck related finds, including both coins and artifacts.  In the case old coins or artifacts, the role of the detectorist might be seen as finding or recovering the item, but the detectorist's role might involve much more.

After the find, there is the cleaning and identification.  Every detectorist wants to know more about their find.  In the case of a coin, that might mean identifying the mint and date, but it can involve much more, such as the shipwreck it came from, if it did indeed come from a shipwreck, as well as the method of manufacture and other details of its history, use and cultural significance.

The primary role of the detectorist is often discussed as finding or recovering items, but that might be only the first step of a long series.  Some items, depending upon the type of the item and it's condition and significance, might be passed down as a family heirloom for generations or become part of a collection or museum display.

Items that are published in one form or another, can entertain and inform many people.  Both trivial and more significant finds can add to the overall knowledge base of individuals and contribute to the knowledge of the society.  Digital communications have made it possible for the regular citizen to become broadly informed and contribute to the shared experience and knowledge of societies and cultures.

The beach detectorist does not find undisturbed sites with items preserved in context.  Rather they recover "isolated" finds that were not preserved in context.   That is one thing that differentiates the beach detectorist from the archaeologist.

Beach detectorists save individual items from the dynamic and corrosive salt water environment in which will gradually deteriorate or quickly be destroyed by natural forces.  The challenge is to not only to recover items that have survived up to that point, but then to clean and conserve them and glean whatever can be known about them.  The next step is to share the knowledge and pass the items and knowledge down to future generations.

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A year or two ago I thought my detecting days were over, but my back has been holding up well this year so far, so  I'm just happy I've been able to put in a little detecting time without any big problems.


Today the surf is supposed to be four to seven feet.  The same tomorrow.  We might get a change in wind direction though, which could help.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

2/23/20 Report - Treasure Coin Finds and A Couple Other Recent Finds.

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

Two Silver Reales Found Yesterday by Josh D.

As I said yesterday, a lot of very good finds were made Saturday.  The find photos are starting to come in.  I'll post a couple find photos myself. 

Not only did the most highly-experience local metal detection experts make finds, but some people made their very first shipwreck treasure finds.  Josh D. was one of those.

Josh found the two cobs shown above.   Congratulations Josh!  Many more to come.

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Brian F. is a nugget hunter but for the past eight years has made visits to the Treasure Coast.  It looks like he possibly made his first 1715 Fleet find yesterday.  He found the following tack along with some copper bits at Ambersands.

Tack Found by Brian F. Yesterday at Ambersands.

You know a nugget hunter is going to pick up smalls.

Way to go Brian.

Some of my favorite shipwreck finds are gold nuggets found on shipwreck beaches.  I showed one or two of those in the past.

I've had some additional material to post on the subject of tacks and will do that sometime in the future.

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First finds are special and I like to celebrate them.  You can probably remember yours.  Making a first find can answer a lot of questions and give a boost to your confidence.  When making a certain type of find becomes commonplace, then you set new goals.

My first Treasure Coast cobs (I found cobs elsewhere before I found my first on the Treasure Coast) were found at John Brooks.  I made a number of failed trips before having any success, so it was memorable.

Yesterday a good number of reales were found, including everything up to and including eight-reales.   Artifacts were also found, including musket balls and other items.

Overall it has been a good winter for finding beach treasures this year.   November, December, January and February have all produced 1715 Fleet beach finds.

Below is a find from yesterday.  After partial cleaning, it appears to be a broken medallion.  The stub where the bail broke off is apparent.

There appears to be some writing or something, but the item is too corroded to make out what is on it.  I can't make out any of the design, but if you think you see something, let me know.

Broken Silver Medallion.

Below is a find I'm not at all sure about, and would like opinions.  It seems fragile so I didn't want to do a rubbing to test the metal.  Looks silver to me, but I'm not totally sure.

Mystery Find.

Mystery Item with Dime for Size.

The copperish color comes from light reflection.  In person it looks more silver.

Same Mystery Object on Edge.

The ends fit flat on a flat object, while the middle appears intentionally bowed.  I just don't know about this one.

Let me know if you have any ideas about what it is.

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Below is John Brooks looking towards Frederick Douglass beach.   Nice smooth beach front near low tide.

South of John Brooks Near Low Tide Today.

John Brooks Looking North.

There is a sand bar in front of the beach and no cuts.

Detectorist Today at John Brooks.

There were three detectorists at John Brooks around low tide today.  Everybody was up north it seems.

There were very few targets there.

The surf was down to 4 - 7 feet today and will continue to gradually decrease over the next few days.

I'll have more find photos for you as they come in.

I've seen photos of a lot of reales that were found in the past couple of days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/15/19 Report - Some Small Junk Finds. Dating Nails. Modern Tin Found On Ancient Wreck.

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

Broken Small Possible Tack Or Other Connector.

Here is one find I was able to see after a little cleaning.  When I dug it all I saw was a small black lump, but a lot of the crust easily came off.   After getting a look at it, my first impression was that the top was brass but the stem looked iron.  That doesn't make much sense to me, and it might not be right.  I'll have to get it cleaned better.  That shouldn't take long.

It seems to be a tack or maybe a broken rivet or something.   Looks old, but no way to say at this point.  It was one of a few small pieces I found yesterday.  The shank is very square but broken.

I just happened to run across a nice web site on nails as clues to age.

Here is one of the diagrams from the site.

And here is the link for more information about that.

https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Nails-as-clues-to-age

A couple other old small heavily-encrusted pieces I picked up yesterday included these two similar small pieces of what I think is lead - but very thin.  I'm pretty sure not they aren't aluminum.

Both pieces less than an inch at longest and very thin.

Nothing significant, but since it was the first time I used the Equinox in those types of conditions, I was happy to see it responding so well to small items in thick black sand.  In fact, I thought it handled the black sand very well in one of the standard modes. Some detectors I like to use in pin-point or all-metals mode in black sand - as odd as that might seem.

There is one piece that is starting to look like it might be silver and maybe a bit of a shield showing.  It definitely needs much more cleaning.

I'm sure there were some better finds, but I haven't received any more reports yet.

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Work on the new Reidi tee in central Tallinn yielded another surprising archaeological find recently, this one providing something of a riddle, ERR's Novaator science portal reports.

Workers found a buried wooden ship which archaeologists later determined dated from the end of the medieval period/beginning of the early modern era. Since musket shot was found in situ, the ship could not have been from any earlier than the dawn of the firearms era. Firearms were in common use in Europe by the fifteenth century.

However, tinned food was not in use at that time, which raises the question why a can with an expiry date from 1972 was found within the ship's structure...

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

https://news.err.ee/996439/reidi-tee-work-yields-puzzle-as-modern-tin-can-found-in-ancient-shipwreck

Things of different ages can get intermingled.

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Today the surf was down, but, as you can see, it will be building again by Saturday.  I hope the fronts keep on coming.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/1/15 Report - Five Ways Coins Move On A Beach. Leather Adornment & The Round Mystery Item. Plant Clues. Artifact Database.

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

New Picture Of GoldNugget's Mystery Item.
Back Side.

I thought I'd list the ways that I've seen coins move on a beach.

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,

I don't know if that is all the possible ways, but it seems like it must be close to it.

I've seen a cob and other coins fall out of an eroding cliff right in front of me as I detected. They fell out of the cliff and stayed on the flat sand in front of the cut or cliff until a strong enough rush of water came to move them again.

I've also detected cobs and other coins on the face of sloped dunes and cuts,  I've seen them, some times on a slab of sand, sliding down the face of the slope.  They'll often slide a little at a time.

Coins that are moved by a wave or rush of water on the beach are sometimes easy to track and sometimes difficult to track.  Coins that move with a relatively small rush of water and only move a few inches, can be seen as they move.  They remain flat while moving.  However those that are moved by a more forceful rush of water, can't normally be seen as they move point a to point b.   I don't know exactly how they move, but one second they will be at one spot and the next second they will be found again a foot or even several feet away, often getting covered by sand, and not always quickly found again.

The direction of coins moved by rushing water on the beach can be either up the slope, down the slope or sideways or a combination.

I've tracked coins moving with rushing water on a beach many times.  I don't know if they stay flat, flip or what while in the rushing water.   I sometimes throw coins down just to see how the water moves them.

I've also watched coins roll down the slope, sometimes all the way back into the water.  Rings also do that sometimes.

I've also seen coins flip.  To me that is one of the more interesting ways that coins move.

I've seen coins flip up onto the flat berm just behind a cut.  That one is surprising, but I've seen it happen a few times when a wave hits the front of the cut.

I've also seen coins flip down the slope as water rushed over top of the coin.  I don't exactly know what the situation has to be for a coin to flip that way.  I guess I'll have to do some experiments.

Coins might also step down a slope like other larger items.  I've written about that before, but have never seen it in action with coins.

Coins moved in rushing water could possibly be flipping, or maybe just sliding along.  I don't know.

More often than not, coins move down the slope and towards the water, but not always.  I'd say the net effect is down.

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The really great thing about having an unsolved puzzle is that the longer it remains unsolved the more you learn.  At least that is the case if it arouses your curiosity enough to stay on the problem.



As a result of looking into  GoldNugget's round mystery item, I've learned a lot and hope you have too.

GoldNugget sent me another email with this additional information.

It is completely flat on the front and back. The back has the same design as the front, On the back each Ray show a pattern of dots from the Cross in the circle to the end of each Ray, On the front I do not see the dots.

I think the small differences in observed pattern on the front and back might be due to corrosion.

As far as the front and back showing the same design and being flat, that completely changes my feelings.

Above is an example of a bridle rosette.  Notice the bar for attachment on the back.  That is lacking on the item under consideration.  There would also be no reason for the same design to be on the back of a rosette.  The new information helps a lot.

One of the things I found out is that at one time bridle rosettes often featured a design that looked like a rose, some very realistic, so the name makes sense.

Even though it now appears the item may not be horse related, I'm glad that I learned more about horse adornment while doing the research.  That information will undoubtedly be useful at some time in the future.

I have found some horse related items, including crotal bells, horse shoes, etc.  That is not uncommon from older sites.  Now I'll be better prepared to identify other items such as those shown immediately below.

Source: http://ilaria.veltri.tripod.com/overviewbards.html

Always look for the slightest sign that something might have broken off of a find.  It is not uncommon to eventually discover where a pin, eyelet, or something was at one time attached but broke off.  Corrosion can wear off  remaining stubs or any remaining signs of broken parts, making identification very difficult.  Cleaning and close inspection, including magnification, will sometimes reveal small marks or clues.

While doing the research, I found a really great paper with the title A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF 17TH- AND 18TH-CENTURY LEATHER ORNAMENTS FROM MARYLAND.  

Here is one paragraph from that paper to give you the idea.  

Leather ornaments are decorative metal items with two or more tines on the back that are designed to pierce and then fold around leather to hold the ornaments in place. These artifacts are found on sites across Maryland, but they generally do not occur in large quantities on any one site, and they have received little attention from archeologists. As a result, leather ornaments are often misidentified, and even if they are properly identified, a lack of consistent terminology in catalogs makes it difficult to study them. Leather ornaments might have appeared on personal items such as pouches, belts, firearm slings, and sword straps, but their use on clothing became unpopular by the early 16th century (Egan 2005), so it is likely that most examples found in Maryland represent fittings for riding and harness horses.

Here is the link if you want to read more.

http://www.jefpat.org/Documents/Rivers%20Cofield%20Article.pdf

And that paper led me to the Maryland Database of Diagnostic Artifacts, which you might want to look at.

http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/index.htm

It is a small database, but you might enjoy it or find it useful.

Well, the additional information we obtained helped rule out some ideas and I don't know that I can say what it is with 100% certainty yet, but I learned a lot in the process.  Thanks much to all contributors.  Your contributions help me create better posts.

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Native Americans and European settlers planted certain types of plants and removed others.  If you know the plants of an area, that might help you identify old sites.

A new study by University at Buffalo geographers explores how humans altered the arboreal make-up of Western New York forests before European settlers arrived in large numbers.

The research looked at land survey data from around 1799-1814, and used this information to model which tree species were present in different areas of Chautauqua County, New York, at that time.

The analysis placed hickory, chestnut and oak trees in larger-than-expected numbers near the historical sites of Native American villages...

Here is the link to read more of that study.

http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2015/05/048.html

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net