3/7/14 Report - Hidden Historic Florida Area, Dog License Tag Collectibles and More On the Ten Million Dollar Gold Coin Cache

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

Source of photo: Link below.

Do you know this place?  It isn't on the Treasure Coast and it isn't known by the many, yet it is in Florida and a nice quiet place to visit.

It is a park, and there is no fee.  Perfect for a day trip or a little outing away from the big city crowds.

There are a number of out-of-the-way places from Florida's past that you can visit.


Here is a link for more about this place.

http://www.floridasprings.org/visit/map/suwannee-springs/


People collect almost everything it seems, but did you know there are people who are avid collectors of dog tags.  I'm not talking about military dog tags.   Sometimes a good term to use is animal license tags.

You might be surprised how long dog license tags have been used.

Dog License Tag Found While Beach Detecting

Dog licenses and the practice of taxing tags have a long and international history. Dog licenses were documented in Utrecht, Holland, as early as 1446, and there is evidence that dogs were taxed in Germany by 1598. One of the oldest known surviving dog licenses dates from 1775 and is from Rostock, Germany. The oldest known American dog license tag is an 1853 Corporation of Fredericksburg (Virginia) medallion.

The source of the above is text 

 http://thebark.com/content/collecting-antique-dog-tags

It is a very nice little web site that will get you started.

I can certainly see how dog tags would make nice collectibles.  They come in different shapes, are made of different metals and may present a lot of information such as location and year.

This dog tag is nothing special, just an example of a find.   I haven't found many dog tags while detecting because I mostly detect beaches.

Of course, where you detect will determine what you find.  You will occasionally get a few surprises though.


One of the bigger treasure stories of recent days is the story of the ten million dollar gold coin cache that was uncovered in California.

The following linked article says that many people wrote saying that the cache was theirs.  That will happen when something of value is found.  You always have people who are willing to claim anything of value whether they have any right to it or not.

I've warned you all about that before.  Take steps to make sure that any claimants are the real owners.

The cache find also gave rise to many theories.  One is that the cache was linked to Jesse James, which turns out to be doubtful.

Here is the link to that article.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/california-10m-gold-coin-cache-rush-of-theories



On the Treasure Coast today the surf is supposed to be a touch higher, up to around five feet.  The wind is from the west though.   The increased surf isn't predicted to last long.  Don't expect any major changes in detecting conditions.


I'll get back to my series on beach dynamics sometime before long.

Don't forget the club hunt this weekend.





Enjoy the wonderful weather.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/26/14 Report - Ten Million Dollar Gold Coin Cache Found and The Amazing Success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme

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

Mint Condition Gold Rush Era Gold Coins in Container.
AP Photo:see links for more photos. 

Approximately 10 million dollars in Gold Rush era gold coins were found by a couple walking a dog.  The mint coins were buried in metal containers under a tree on the couple's property.


The amazing cache is now being called the Saddle Ridge Hoard.


Below are some of the links to that story.


Thanks to those who submitted the following links.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/25/california-gold-coins-buried-treasure/5817179/

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-25038001

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/25/california-couple-finds-10-million-in-rare-coins-while-out-walking-dog/

I don't post news about discoveries like this simply so you will be up on the news.  The reason I post them is because there is always a tip or lesson to take away.

In this case, note that the couple had been at this location many times.  It was on their own property.  And one container was brought into view when it was uncovered by recent erosion.  Each of those things provides a lesson, or at least a good reminder.

I've talked many times about detecting your own property, keeping your eyes open, inspecting any new erosion, etc.

Imagine a hoard like that.  If you didn't visually spot it first but rather detected it, imagine what the signal might have been like.  Were the containers iron?  Would you have dug it or passed it up?

If you saw a small part of the containers sticking out of the ground, would you have investigated it or ignored it?

This find was made about a year ago but is just going public before the coins are sold on Amazon.com.


Treasure is in the air, or should I say in the media.   Mike F. from NJ sent me the link to this great article from the BBC News.  Thanks Mike.

The article says, ... Amateur archaeologists with metal detectors found 990 items classified as treasure during 2012, according to figures from the British Museum.

All of the rare coins, rings and brooches contain gold or silver, and many date back more than 1,200 years.

The public reported more than 74,000 other historical items to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which experts say has "revolutionised archaeology".

More than 900,000 objects have been reported since it started in 1997.

The verification process takes several months, which is why the items submitted in 2012 are only being detailed now...

That's what can happen when the archaeological community works with the public.  They say it has "revolutionized archaeology."  Yet in the US we have nothing remotely similar.

Here is the link Mike sent.

www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-25748576

Thanks again Mike.


I have a lot more to post today but got a very late start and am going to have to continue with these and other topics some other time.

It seems a lot of people are reading the previous post on groins and honey holes and want more.   I'll have to continue that some other time too.


That is all for now.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net