7/9/16 Report - Why North/Northeast Winds Create Good Conditions and Wash Treasure Onto The Beach. Next Sedwick Auction. $15,000 T. C. Beach Find.

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

Everybody talks about cuts when they discuss finding shipwreck treasure on the beach.  So what is so different when there are cuts?

There are two basic ways that old treasure items can suddenly appear on the beach.  They can either be uncovered when sand erodes from the beach or they can be washed up onto the beach from the ocean.

Some people say that cobs wash up onto the beach, and some say that they are uncovered, but I think most people now accept that it happens both ways.  I am certain that it happens both ways.  In the past I've discussed trigger points, drop or settle points and the various other factors that determine how and when it happens.  I've also explained how north/northeast waves are more effective at creating cuts and why.  Now I am going to discuss what happens differently when there are cuts and when the water is high and continues to hit from the north/northeast.

When the water is hitting the beach straight on without much of an angle, the water washes up onto the beach, slows, and then washes back down the beach.  When the water slows beyond what I've previously described as the drop point, items that were being carried or moved by the water drop out or settle onto the beach.  That includes sand and other small items.  Exactly where and when that happens depends upon the force of the water and various characteristics of the item.

Another thing that happens when the water washes back down the beach is that it runs into water coming up onto the beach.  Where and when that happens depends upon the period of the waves.

When the incoming and outgoing water collides, items are dropped and settle, at least momentarily. Where that happens will also depend upon the tide.

What happens differently when the water is coming from a good angle from the north/northeast is that the water goes up onto the beach and makes an arc..  It does slow some but does not slow and reverse as abruptly and does not collide directly against incoming water.  As a result there is relatively continuous flow and slicing action (as shown on the right side of the illustration).

When the water slices over the beach when it comes from an angle, the more continuous flow does not drop off smaller items.  In fact the flow can pick up more sand and take it back into the water where it is carried by the long shore current.

There is yet another important factor.  The water sometimes hits the face of the cut very forcefully, loosening sand that slides down the face of the cut and into the water which carries it back into the ocean.

When water hits the cliff forcefully, the backwash coming off the face of the cut can be very rapid, taking more sand away.

The water can move rapidly enough to take both sand and coins with it.  Or, when the water slows enough to drop the heavier coins, it can continue to take sand.

Also take into account the rising and outgoing tides and any change in water direction.

One other factor is the north to south long shore current.

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I've been informed that it is not too early to consign to the Fall Sedwick Treasure, World and U.S. Coin Auction #20, which will be their fourth live public floor sale. They have secured the DoubleTree by Hilton at Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, FL, and have locked in the date: November 11-12, 2016 (with lot viewing and Guest Speakers on Friday, November 11 and lot pick-up and Numismatic Forum on Sunday, November 13). Let them know now if you plan to attend, so that they can make a preliminary head count and expand the room-block reservation if necessary.

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Aa $15,000 Rolex watch was found on a Treasure Coast beach.

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We still have several days of one-foot surf ahead of us.  There are no storms forming yet.  This hot weather and water surely will create some storms - not that I want to see any hurricanes.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/28/16 Report - How Water Sorts Things On The Beach. Gold and Emerald Finds.

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

Gold and Emerald Ring and Gold Chain.

If you hunt where older people predominate you won't find nearly as much.  They don't do cartwheels or  dive for volleyballs, but they do lose some things.  The young people have been wearing more white gold, while the older people are still wearing a good bit of their older yellow gold.  The emerald ring is 14K, and the chain is 10K.  Both are recent finds.

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A week or so ago I said I would explain why some days there are shells on the beach and other days not.  A lot of the same principles apply to coins.  I decided that I would have to repeat some things so you'd have some important background information.

As you would suspect, it takes more water velocity to move some items that it takes to move others. It isn't all about size or weight.  Density and shape are two important factors that I've discussed in the past.

While objects will be transported by water moving at a given velocity, it takes more velocity to dislodge settled particles and get them moving than it takes to keep them moving.

The velocity required to dislodge particles and get them moving is what I have referred to as the "trigger point."  That isn't the scientific term.  It is just the term I use.

Clay makes a good example.  It consists of very fine particles that transport very easily in water when suspended, but due to what I'll simply call the "stickiness," it takes a good bit more force to dislodge the clay particles to get them moving.

Different objects, in addition to having different trigger points, also have different "drop" points. When the water slows, there is a point when a particle will drop out or settle.  The same thing happens with objects.  When objects are being moved by a current, they will "drop" out, or settle, when the water slows enough.

The water has to be very calm before fine clay particles drop out, for example, while sand drops out while the water is moving a little more rapidly, and pebbles will stop moving when the water is moving still faster.

Below is one of the most helpful illustrations that I have seen.  It sums up a lot of what I just said.

In the illustration, the straight red line between the other two red lines shows the increasing velocity required to move larger particles and objects when a laminar current is assumed and other factors are not taken into account.

I won't try to explain what laminar flow is other than to say that it is a simple straight parallel flow. Look up "laminar flow" if you want.

The curved red line to the right of the straight line shows that pebbles are moved when the water velocity reaches near 100 cm/s.  The same line curves to the left as particle size decreases because it requires less water velocity to move smaller particles such as sand.  It then curves back to the right again because it requires faster water to get silt and clay moving.

The curved red line to the right of the straight line on the graph shows it takes more water velocity to move clay than pebbles even though pebbles are much larger than particles of clay.

The most important thing to get is that objects such as sand, coins, rings and all kinds of things, have different trigger points and require different amounts of water force to get them moving.  They also have different "drop" points, which is when they drop out of transport and settle on the surface.

Fine sand requires less current to get it moving and keep it moving than coarse sand or shells, but fine sand keeps moving as the water slows and shells drop out of transport.

Water flows up onto the beach, and then flows back down again.  When it washes straight up onto the beach, it washes back down the same path.  Sometimes an incoming flow hits the backwash, which stops the flow, and items drop out.

Lets say the water is moving up the slope of the beach fast enough to move the sand up the slope.  As the water gets higher on the slope, the water slows and the sand is deposited.  If the water is not moving fast enough to move the shells, then more sand gets deposited on the beach.  If on the other hand the water is moving fast enough to move both sand and shells, the sand might get moved farther up the slope than the shells, but if the water slows enough to drop the shells, but retreats fast enough to take the sand back down with, you will be left with a shell pile.

There are times, as we know, that the water washes onto the beach at an angle rather than straight up onto the beach.  When that happens, it does not slow so much at the peak.  The water also makes an arc, slicing onto and off of the beach, without being slowed so much.

The water moves onto the beach and back down with each wave, but there are also the tidal cycles to take into a account, and they are very important.  And there are still other things as well, such as where the waves are crashing.   It is not laminar flow (sorry if you did not look it up), but turbulent flow.

I ll stop there for today.  There are other important and interesting factors that come into play at different times, such as how compact the sand is.  I'll probably pick up with some of those topics some other time.

Much of what I said today I've said before, but I did add some.

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There is still no tropical weather of any significance.  And we still have a small surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net