9/21/19 Report - Pocket Watch Finds. Hurricane Jerry, Weather and Beach Conditions.

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

Recent Watch Find by Joe D. After Cleaning.

Photo by Joe D.

After cleaning this pocket watch, Joe did some successful internet research on his watch and had fund doing it.  The internet makes research so much easier than it used to be.

Joe was able to get all the necessary information off the watch and locate the detailed specifications online.  He enjoyed the internet research.

I've often said that a lot of the fun comes after the find.

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Sebastian Steve offered the following comments relative to pocket watch finds.

So far as Joes's pocket watch "Congratulations Joe!."  __Like Things Attract__ and it should not be too long before you find another!  The pattern looks quite old, maybe not quite Victorian.  I remember finding my first gold watch... only the little ring on top for the chain was sticking out of the debris pile.  I thought I was reaching for a gold man's wedding band, but when as I tugged and tugged, finally out came this heavy gold pocket watch circa 1850 !!!  WoW!!!  Like things attract?  Not five minutes had passed since I reached for a beautiful English Sovereign.  The size and weight of our $5 gold piece.  These Sovereigns were very common in U.S. Commerce in and around the Civil War era.  The Sovereign was a known and trusted coin the world over, and Britain had been minting them since the 1830's I believe.  You were far more likely to find a Sovereign than a $5 U.S.  On an amazing ratio of 20 to 1....Sovereigns to U.S. $5.  Amazing, it really was.  The Sovereign is a beautiful coin, loaded with intricate detail, not at all easily forfeited.  

Now listen up Joe... I'm sure at this point, the last thing on your mind is selling it.  But if and when that day comes, when gold hits $5,000, __and it will__ know this...these gold outer watch cases bring -Big Dollars- just in scrap.  __Don't let anybody cheat you.__

I recall selling two of mine for a little folding money, and being handed $1400.00.  Yes, that zero is in the correct place.  When you get it open, with soaking with lots of running warm water, and plain ole dishwashing soap (lubricant) over and over, --do not rush it-- the hinge will gradually open for you.  Don't break it...you will hate yourself.  

Inside the lid, once you have cleaned it well, you should see the "jeweler"s hallmark."  It will be a very little box, like 1/16th "x 1/16th with the karat weight.  You should see a little "14" or even an "18" in this box if old enough.  By law...somewhere on that case you will find the assayers mark!  Almost all of the old Victorian jewelry was 18 Karat.  And a heavy watch case will amaze you with the layers of gold!  Also you may see little notations scratched in by jewelers, as was the custom in the old days, to signify repairs that they performed and when.  Just initials and like the month digits and last 2 year digits.  You can often get a good idea of the age of the watch from this.   

Maybe there is more there?  Remember...LIKE THINGS ATTRACT.  I found a beautiful pair of a man's and woman's hand crafted matching pocket watches with elaborate etchings carved in by hand, oh how many hours of craftsmanship?  A hundred hours for the pair?  Easy.  Both these from out the same steamer trunk.  Sad..this loving couple most likely went down with the ship, as their pouch of gold was still nestled in with the watches.  Hopes and Dreams... now dashed upon the proverbial rocks.  Who is to know such things?  Which ship to take, which to avoid?  Is a calm sunny day always your safest time to travel?  Words to Ponder...

God Help the Perishing Mariner Tonight

We Fear the Pall of Darkness

Shall be the Precursor of their Doom. 

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Joe was indeed able to find all the identifying information.

By the way, where he found it, the ground was littered with broken glass and trash.

Here is the photo.

Littered Ground Where Pocket Watch Was Found.

Photo by Joe d.

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By the way, the photo at the top of yesterday's post showed a lot of erosion at Jupiter.  That was all renourishment sand that got washed into the surf.  That, along with the east swells, is why we are getting much old stuff being uncovered on the beach.

The erosion is not getting down to the older sand in most areas, and the old stuff in front of the beach is being covered by old renourishment sand that was washed into the surf.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

There is still a lot of weather to watch and still a chance for us to actually get some better beach conditions.

Jerry is still on the north/northeast path, but there are two other systems out there that could develop and eventually affect us.

The surf is expected to decrease now for a few days.  That could be an opportunity to detect out a little farther than has been possible lately.

I got in some detecting time the past two days and dug a lot of targets.  I was interested in testing the Equinox, but tried not to stress my back.  I was most happy with the fact that my back held up.   I was also learning more about the Equinox, which I'll study more and report on at a later date.

I'll have to go back and research some of my pocket watch finds, which, for some reason, I never really looked at much.  I guess I never opened them up.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/20/19 Report - So Much Wind, So Little Erosion. Jupiter, Hobe Sound, and South Hutchinson Island. A Few Finds.

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

Jupiter Inlet Beach Friday Morning.

Photo by Joe D.

There was a lot of eroded renourishment sand just south of the Jupiter Inlet this morning. You can see that in the above photo by Joe D.

After visiting the beach this morning, Joe decided to detect at an inland site and found his first pocket watch.

Pocket Watch Find.

Find and photo by Joe D.

Hobe Sound Thursday Morning.

Photo by Joe D.

Yesterday Joe took the above photo at Hobe Sound.

Congratulations on the pocket watch find Joe!  Very nice.  Thanks for sharing.

John Brooks Early Friday Morning.

I looked at John Brooks and Frederick Douglass along with a couple other South Hutchinson Island beaches.  Despite all the wind and surf, there were no cuts.  It wasn't very impressive at all.  Still pretty mush.

John Brooks Early Friday Morning.

I didn't detect either of these wreck beaches, but went where I thought I could find some easy targets to practice with the Equinox.

Frederick Douglass Beach Early Friday.

Yesterday I did the same thing.  I have not detected very much this year and had some fun picking up 54 coins in just a little over an hour.  Nothing good though.

54 Coins Dug Yesterday.

Today I did the same thing, but didn't detect as long and only got a few coins, but did get a silver and diamond ring.  It is marked 925.  I'd think they are diamonds because they are so small I can't see any sense in making fakes that small.  

The ring was broken and gave a very weak/poor signal.

I'm sure some people are getting frustrated that all this wind and surf isn't helping the beaches more.  

I could see that there was a huge amount of sand in front of the beach yet.

Humberto seems to be off the map now, but Hurricane Jerry is still out there.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

It looks like the surf will remain fairly big for a couple of days.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/19/19 Report - Beach Conditions Along The Treasure Coast. Ten Centavo Coin.

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

John Brooks Early Thursday

I took a look at John Brooks and Frederick Douglass beaches this morning just before 9 AM and found the water coming up fairly high.  It was hours before high tide, and it looked like the water would get as high as after Dorian.  The next two days the water is expected to be even higher than today.

John Brooks Before 9 AM Thursday.

Frederick Douglass Beach Just Before 9 AM Thursday.

Notice the shell line.  There haven't been many shells lately.

Frederick Douglass Beach Just Before 9 AM Thursday.

Yesterday Joe D. visited a lot of the Treasure Coast beaches and sent me photos.  Thanks much Joe.  That should be a lot of help to people wondering what beach conditions are like, whether to make the trip or where to go.

The following series of pictures was taken yesterday by Joe.

Rio Mar.

Vero

Vero Boardwalk

Turtle Trail.

Turtle Trail

Seagrape Trail.

Seagrape Trail.

Wabasso

Wabasso

Golden Sands.

Treasure Shores

Treasure Shores.

Ambersands.

Thanks again Joe.

I looked north of McLarty yesterday and it was about the same.  There were no real cuts anywhere.  The water had been to the foot of the dunes, but where there was a cliff, it was renourishment sand.

I know a lot of people were disappointed so far with all of the high surf we have been having but almost no erosion or cuts.  As I said above, we are supposed to have even higher water the next two days.

I think the big problem is all of the renouishment sand.  It is still protecting the dunes, and there is a lot of it out in front of the beaches too.  Also, the water has been hitting the beaches directly from the east instead of at a an angle.

At this point I can't rate beach conditions as any higher than a 1 (poor).  Maybe that will change soon.  We can hope.

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Here is a coin that John E. says matches his find that I posted yesterday except he isn't able to make out the date.

Cuba 10 Centavo.

Alberto S. commented on that coin.

Very interesting find of a Cuban coin in Vero, makes you wonder how it ended up on a beach there, maybe an American tourist visiting Cuba and returning with some pocket change? As to the words on top of the star; Patria y Libertad translated to English; Country and Liberty. You would find those words on coins of the time which were minted in Philadelphia for the government of Cuba, actually there were several coins minted in Philadelphia see the attached list published by the NGC Collectors Society. The coin found by John E. is probably a Cuban 10 cent coin and not a 1 cent, there are some differences and in the attached image I tried to show some features that distinguish the 1 cent from the 10 cent coins, similar markings are on the 20 cent and the Cuban peso but since he said it was the size of a dime then it probably is the Cuban 10 cent coin, one additional detail is that the C which is visible in the coin that he found is slightly off center which is not something you see in the 20 cent or peso where the first letter of centavo or peso seems to start at the center also, but not sure, I think there is an E following the C.  Personally, I would have been thrilled to make such a find as it is from my country of birth.

 

Thanks Alberto.

If I correctly recall, Sebastian Steve found a similar coin on a Treasure Coast beach.  It does make you wonder how it got there.

There is plenty of weather to watch.  I'll stay on that.

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/18/19 Report - Hurricanes Humberto and Jerry. Erosion in Jupiter Area. Silver Find From Vero Area. And More.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Look at that!  Humberto hasn't completely left yet, and it looks like there will be a Hurricane Jerry headed in this general direction.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

That could send us even more surf.

I haven't been out and around much yet, but hope to get out this afternoon and should be able to give you a beach conditions rating later today.

With Jerry following Humberto, we might get continued higher surf.

Eroded Beach in Jupiter Area

Photo by Jerry P.

Jerry said he used Ventusky.com, which you'll find on my first blog page, to find an area where conditions might be good, and he found this nicely eroded area.\

Thanks for sharing Jerry.  Very good use of Ventusky to find a good detecting site!

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Here is one nice find from the Vero area.

John E. said, I’m stumped on this one.... exact size of a dime , registers a 21 on equinox 800..... found in about 14 in deep wet sand on treasure beach in vero, can anyone identify?

John E

Find and photo by John E.

He said the words above the star are FRIAY LIBER.

Other Side of Same Coin

Photo by John E.

I'm pretty sure it is a centavo from Cuba and can almost make out a date below the star.  I'd also guess it is silver.  Looks like it to me.   A little research should provide the denomination.

Thanks John.  Nice find!

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Here is an interesting email message I received from Southern Digger concerning a link I posted yesterday.


Hello TG 

Been awhile corresponding but still following up. Archeological site locations on Hutchinson Island and elsewhere along the beaches is no big secret. I recall an old beach mound near the now closed Indian River inlet. I believe some of it has since been washed away. Years ago, a friend and I hiked to a hammock Island near Round Island Park, long before this hammock was developed. We used machetes to cut in to the center, finding old metal rods with eyelet ends which appeared to be from old sailing ship mast supports. Why they ended up way back of the beach we never could determine, unless a camp was made thereon by some 1800's shipwreck survivors.  Also, prehistoric evidence was everywhere. Thought it was interesting and a possible site to return to, we never did, that is until major changes took place thereon. Since then, the under-story was cleared and Univ. of Maryland (I believe) did an archeo survey on the hammock. I was invited to return after that, and did so--still seeing prehistoric evidence in abundance scattered everywhere. This was my last visit when construction began thereon for some type of structure. Another archeo site way to the south exists behind the beach at the water plant. I was asked to direct the Archeo. survey via an Env. firm I worked for at the time--but turned it down and recommend someone else because the end of the survey results and how the report should read were told to me before the project even started. In effect, regardless or not if there are burials. the site would be dozed and built upon. I turned it down even though I would be hired to direct the project because, at the time, I was being trusted on several other volunteer archeo. projects to the south which did not involve the Env. firm; and, I did not want a reputation of being a sellout for the $$$$ and destroy possible burials. That is a strict policy I adhere to to this day because I have seen way to much archaeological and historical sites destroyed and developed in which I had no control over or the power to prevent it from occurring. That is the nature of land development and the destruction of Old Florida. 

Thanks Ken.

--

I hope to get out this afternoon. I expect to be able to post a beach conditions rating after that - maybe later today.

At this point I am expecting a few reales to be found this week.

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PM Update.

I looked at a few beaches in the Vero/Sebastian area and saw nothing encouraging at all.   I'm expecting fewer finds now than what I just said above.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/17/19 Report - Hurricane Humberto and Developing System. Martin County Beach Discovery. Detectorist Sued.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Hurricane Humberto is slowly moving away while another system heats up in the Atlantic.  It might come this direction.

Expect more high surf through the week.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

So far this week I've not seen any cuts on the South Hutchinson Island wreck beaches.

John Brooks Monday PM.

There was a nice little flat area near the water at low tide.  There were very few shells.

John Brooks Monday PM

John Brooks Monday PM.

A possible Native American burial site was discovered by a detectorist on Hutchinson Island in Martin Country after Hurricane Dorian.

Here is that link.

https://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/martin-county/possible-indian-remains-found-on-hutchinson-island-following-hurricane-dorian

Thanks to Jorge Y.

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The Church of Scotland is sueing for a share of a $2.5 million Viking treasure trove unearthed by a detectorist on church land.

Here is that link.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/church-viking-treasure-trove-intl-scli-gbr/index.html

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I was surprised to discover that a couple of the modern coins I picked up Sunday were wheat cents.  The one I could read was 1930-something.


With Humberto still producing surf for the Treasure Coast and another system coming this way, you should remain alert for any changes.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/16/19 Report - Big Surf Predicted For a Few Days as Humberto Moves Away. Usefulness of Target ID Numbers.

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

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Look at that!  If the predictions are correct you can expect four days of increasing surf and some pretty high surf for a few days.  On top of that, the swells are going to be coming from the north for a good while.  There is a heck of a lot of sand that needs to be moved, but we might get some openings.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Humberto did not move north and away from us as expected.  Looks like it will move more east rather than going north.  And there is still that system out in the Atlantic that is getting more organized.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

 When it comes to shipwreck beach finds, the vast majority occur on a few days.  Yes there are those days when a few scattered finds might be made, but there are many more days and months when none are made.  And of course, there are those rare times when a lot of finds are made.  Everybody remembers those, and the stories are retold for decades.

When it is hot, it is hot, and when its not, its not.  That means you can't afford to miss those few special times when the window of opportunity opens.  You have to somehow endure and make the best of those long periods in between.

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As you might know, I have long been a big advocate of digging everything.  I've explained my reasons in the past.  Those reasons include (1) the inability of any metal detector that I know about to accurately enough identify a broad range of targets, including some very valuable targets, and (2) the time wasted trying to identify buried targets before digging when it takes only seconds to actually dig them, and (3) the fact that you can drastically reduce the number of junk targets if you know something about target distribution patterns on a beach.  I also know that some people do not have the desire to dig trash even if it means missing valuable targets and some people have physical limitations that they must accommodate, so I am by no means saying that discrimination should never be used, but it should be done only with a full awareness of the risks.

With that background, I have been exploring the Equinox metal detector and video target ID generally.  I believe my conclusions can be generalized to many detectors even though I am using the Equinox for the majority of my tests.

I haven't used target ID very much, but I have spent lot of time listening to the audio signals of a wide variety of metal detectors and believe you can often tell a great deal about a buried target from the audio signal alone.

In my 9/11 post, I reported on a brief ground test that I conducted with the Equinox on a few gold objects and questioned the usefulness of the displayed numbers.  A couple readers sent links to videos showing the target ID numbers produced by the Minelab Equinox for a variety of objects, including many pieces of gold jewelry.  While I prefer to conduct my own tests for a variety of reasons, one reason being that not all detectors of the same make and model will always perform exactly the same, I took a look at those videos, which basically confirmed the opinions I got from my own very limited tests. 

One of the videos showed that gold rings and other gold items can produce numbers anywhere from the low end of the range to the high end of the range and everywhere in between.  To give one example, a few small gold rings produced exactly the same number as an aluminum pull tab.  One YouTuber that conducted an extensive test explained that you have to dig it all with the Equinox and showed why.   See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsgspduZA_8 

The videos I viewed were slightly flawed, but I believe were basically correct in their conclusions.  They would run the coil past the object or the object past the coil directly under the center of the coil at what appeared to be an inch or so.  That is not what typically happens in the field.   In the field there is ground mineralization, objects are at different depths and laying at different angles, the coil is moving at different speeds and the object is seldom under the sweet spot of the coil.  I have not systematically tested the effect of all those things, but I have observed that some of those things definitely affect the readout.  I hope be able to be much more specific about that in the near future.  I know that the numbers are not very consistent in some environments.

While at this point (with me having very little personal experience with the Equinox) I have concluded that the visual target ID numbers have very limited utility for discriminating objects if you don't want to miss anything good, but I do think the numbers will be of some help, especially, when combined with other information, including the audio signal and some level of knowledge of the type of items that are most likely in the area.  I expect the numbers to be more useful when combined with other information but of very little help when used as the sole criterion for deciding whether to dig or not unless you don't mind missing valuable targets.

Being much more experienced with interpreting audio signals than display meters, I feel like I can get some good information about a target from the audio signal and it seems to me that the audio signal produced by the Equinox contains a lot of information.  I expect to learn to better interpret the audio signals as I gain more experience.

I know that it is often possible to get an idea of the shape of an object from the audio signal.  The easiest example, perhaps, is that of a long elongated object such as a nail.  I think I'll also be able to reliably distinguish other shapes by simply listening to the audio signal of the Equinox.  

Just the other day when doing a ground test with four gold objects, I noticed how a ring with a larger amount of mass on the one side made a different signal when swept over from different angles.  With some additional experimenting I think I might be able to tell an open object, such as a ring, from an a solid or closed object, such as a coin or round charm.  I need to study that more.

So far my conclusion is that you cannot use the target ID numbers alone on the Equinox, and probably no other metal detector, without a strong risk of missing valuable targets.  There is no doubt that you can use target ID numbers to avoid digging a lot of junk, but you will also miss a lot of good targets.  While the target ID numbers on the Equinox, are not as helpful as I hoped, the Equinox does provide a lot of benefits and will find a definite place in my arsenal or metal detectors.  So far I am impressed by its extremely light weight, stability in salt water environments, and good sensitivity to small and deeper targets.

Thanks to those who sent me the links to Equinox target ID tests.

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Keep watching the weather.  I'll try to keep you informed on beach developments.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net