4/16/16 Report - Surf Increasing This Weekend. Beach Photos. Toy Cannon Soldier Art.

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

Frederick Douglas Beach This Morning.

Walton Rocks Beach This Morning.

This morning the wind was coming from the east, and I went out to see if anything was starting to happen on the beaches.  I checked a couple of beaches on South Hutchinson Island, and neither had changed much.  If you go back and look at the last time I posted these beaches, you'll see they look about the same.

The surf is supposed to increase Sunday and Monday.  I'll be watching to see what is happening.

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Mystery Object Submitted by John C.

I posted this mystery object some time ago.  I didn't receive any guesses.  My thought is that it is a lead melt.  Whether it was melted accidently or intentionally is unknown.  The chips or material on the bottom might be accidental too.  Other than that I have no answer.

Melted lead is common.  Lead was carried and made into musket balls and was used for a wide variety of other uses.  Musket balls pounded or melted to be used for other things too.





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I posted the following before but thought it would be worth repeating today.

Toy Lead Cannon
From Old Sedwick Auction.

This toy lead cannon is from a mid-1800s shipwreck The reason it caught my attention is that I once found a similar lead item. For a long time I thought it was a finial, but now I am convinced that it is probably a soldier-art cannon.







The one I found (below) was found near an 18th century cannon emplacement on Pigeon Island.

Carved 18th Century Soldier-Art Cannon

It is always fun to metal detect new places when you travel. It was a lot easier to travel with a metal detector before the 911 tragedy.

I would take my detector with me as carry-on luggage. Security would look at it, ask me what it was, I'd tell them, they'd scratch their heads and I'd walk on the plane with it.

St. Lucia is one island I visited a few times. On a couple of occasions I explored Pigeon Island, which is now connected to St. Lucia by a causeway. 

There was a lot of history on the ground to see. There were a lot of historic ruins, and shards all over the place. I even eye-balled a grapeshot at the base of tree.

I left the grapeshot where it was. If it was taken on the plane and considered an explosive device, which I suppose would have been the case, the fine at the time, if I remember correctly, would have been something like $250,000. I wasn't going to chance anything like that.

Here is a little of the history of the Pigeon Island. 

Pigeon Island was first occupied by the Amerindians, mainly Caribs. The island was later occupied by pirates whose leader was a Norman Captain called Francois Le Clerc. He had a wooden leg and was known to the French as Jambe de Bois. The French who owned the island in 1778 declared war on the British, who retaliated by attacking them in Saint Lucia and capturing the island. The British then built a Naval Base at Gros-Islet Bay, heavily fortifying Pigeon Island. From there they were able to monitor the French fleet in Martinique which resulted in the defeat of the French at the Battle of the Saints in 1782. Pigeon Island was therefore a key factor in the Battles between the British and the French. In 1909 a whaling station was established at Pigeon Island.

That came from the following web site. 

http://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=st+lucia+pigeon+island+le+clerc&s_it=tb50-ie-aolmail-ab-en-us

If you look at the photos of the island, I think you will see that it is an interesting looking place.

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The salvage vessel Dare is deploying a hovering autonomous underwater vehicle equipped with an EM detector to scan the deep hard-packed mud and clay in search of new targets south of the Atocha's main pile.

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The surf is supposed to be up to 4 - 6 feet today and larger tomorrow.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/15/16 Report - Tomb of Spanish Priest in Aztec Temple. Treasure Hunting As Hero's Journey. Big Surf Monday?

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

Source: See link below.

The first thing I want to point out today is the predicted big surf, The prediction right now is for a peak surf of 6 - 9 feet on Monday.

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Archaeologists have found a heavy stone slab covering the tomb of one of the first Catholic priests in Mexico following the 1521 Spanish conquest, a grave sunk into the floor of what appears to be an Aztec temple.

The discovery suggests the extent to which the Spanish reused the temples of the Aztec capital in the first years after capturing it. The huge slab was uncovered in recent days at the site of the now-disappeared first cathedral of Mexico City, built in 1524 yards from the current cathedral that replaced it in the 1620s...

Here is the  link for more about that.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/13/mexico-priest-grave-spanish-conquest-aztec-archaeology

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At the top of this page is an illustration that summarizes Joseph Campbell's concept of the hero's journey."  ( http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html )

Whether you are talking about Indiana Jones or Star Wars or any of a large number of other popular films or stories there are plot elements that you will see over and over again.

You might wonder what that has to do with treasure hunting. I'm not writing about the art of writing today.  I'm writing about human adventure and experience.  Those who "follow their passion" go through the steps and stages shown in the illustration to one extent or another.  There are treasure hunters that actually live the hero's journey.

If you look at the illustration at the top of the page, you'll see that the hero's journey begins in the ordinary everyday world.  It starts out in a place of relative comfort.  You might call it home.  Then the prospective hero receives a calling.  Just as one example, Luke Skywalker started as a farm boy living on a small backwater planet.  In his case, the calling was initiated when two droids appeared with a mysterious message.

The calling is to a life of adventure.  The life of adventure requires leaving comfort, ease, safety, and the current state of affairs.  Whether it is Never-Never-Land, Emerald City, Shangra-la, or a strange distant galaxy, after much conflict, the hero has to step out into a new life where he is tested over an over again.

Some treasure hunters experience the sequence of events described in the Hero's Journey and shown in the illustration above.  They make a decision to leave the life of familiarity and jump into the adventure. In a previous post I tried to describe something like that as being "all in."  Many reject the calling, and that might be the right thing to do for them.  The life of adventure is a life of risk.  You don't know if you will be successful, and there is a lot to overcome.  It requires a leap of faith.

You can find a complete breakdown of Raiders of the Lost Ark and how it follows the stages of the Hero's Journey at the following web site.  http://gordonnapier.com/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-the-heros-journey-breakdown/

I know I didn't do this topic justice, and I apologize.  It would probably take hundreds of pages, if I could do the topic justice at all.

Some treasure hunters actually live the Hero's Journey very much as it is described by Joseph Campbell and the illustration above.  If you look into what I talked about today and think about it, you might get some good insight into treasure hunting.  That is my hope.

As I suggested in a previous post, the hero's journey is more about the journey and personal development than it is about any object or objects. Traveling the yellow brick road, the cowardly lion finds courage, and the tin man and scarecrow find what they lacked.  In the end, Dorothy returns home changed.

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Let me know if you got anything at all out of this post.  It wasn't easy for me to try to address a subject like this in a brief post, and I don't really know if I should have tried.  I got something out of it anyway.

Thanks for your responses to the new blog poll.

Remember to watch the surf predictions.  It looks like we might actually get a 6 - 9 foot surf by Monday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/13/16 Report - Blockade Runner Found. St. Augustine Well. WW I Ships Investigated Using Drone. Eight or Nine Foot Surf Predicted.

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

WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, was the Confederacy’s last port. During the Civil War, blockade runners that evaded the Union navy were one of the Confederate army’s few lifelines. But maneuvering a small, fast ship in the dead of night was hard as it sounds, and many of them didn’t make it. Archaeologists now think they’ve found the shipwreck of one of those long lost blockade runners off Wilmington: theAgnes E. Fry...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

http://www.wired.com/2016/04/sonar-may-turned-long-lost-civil-war-ship-agnes-e-fry/

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An 18th century well was uncovered in St. Augustine.

Here is the link for more about that.

http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2016-04-12/coquina-well-walls-found-mill-top-excavation#.Vw7r-vkrLIV

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NavyNews reports

A tiny drone has scanned the wrecks of two German WW1 warships – forgotten and mostly buried by the sludge and mud at the southern end of Whale Island.

Marine archaeologists hope to bring the two vessels - one a veteran of Jutland - back to life in 3D computer model form as part of centennial commemorations of the Great War...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/14705

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I added a new poll to the blog.  I noticed that a lot of treasure hunters are very religious or spiritual.  I want to investigate that, but first wanted to see if my impressions are correct.

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Current predictions have the Treasure Coast surf building this weekend, perhaps up to eight or nine feet by Monday.  That should be interesting.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/12/16 Report - Poll Results. Musket Balls and Mystery Item. Mathematical Model For Finding Fossils.

Written by the Treasure Guide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Bunch Musket Balls
Photo submitted by John C.

Take a look at that bunch of musket balls shown above.  There are a lot of interesting things to see. Some shown the mold seams.  Some have been cut.  Some show some iron rust.  And there is even a hidden Mickey.

John sent the photo with the hidden Mickey musket ball after seeing my recent posts showing the Donald Duck figurine.  He said, "I guess it seems that the Spaniards may have come up with the Mickey Mouse concept  in Florida  long before Walt did...."

Did you find the hidden Mickey?  It is right in the center of the group.

Hidden Mickey Musket Balls
Photo by John C.

There is an entire book about the hidden Mickies that were placed all around Disney World.

Below is a mystery item John has been trying to figure out.

Mystery Item Photo by John C.

I already have my idea, but let me know what you think.

Very Neat Green Bottle Found Recently During Surface Hunt.

This bottle has no embossing and isn't real old but it is in my opinion very pretty.  Too bad it has scuffs and scratches.

My surface hunts have turned up a lot of bottles lately, but none are valuable.  Enough is being found to suggest something better will eventually show up.

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The most recent blog poll has concluded and the results are in.  The majority, about 61 percent of those who responded to the poll hunt mostly on the beach.  It is generally easy to access and hunt on beaches.  Recovery is easy and no permission or special equipment is needed.

About 21 percent of the respondents hunt mostly on dry land.  That is more than the number that hunt mostly in the water (16%).

The number that do hunt mostly on the beach is almost twice the number that does not hunt mostly on the beach.

The poll does not tell us how many beach hunters occasionally do a little land or water hunting.  It is clear, though, that the blog's readers hunt mostly on beaches.

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Science Daily has an article telling about the factors included in a mathematical model that was developed to identify areas where fossils are likely to be discovered.  It is very general.  I'll see if I can find more details.

Here is the link.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160408102058.htm

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We're supposed to have a few days of 2 - 3 foot surf and then by the weekend maybe up to an eight foot surf.  That will be something to watch for, but as so often happens, the surf might or might not get that high.  Here's hoping.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/10/16 Report - Treasure Hunter's Cookout Coming Soon. Sunken City. Bulgarian Treasure.

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

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When the shoreline receded during the 2004 tsunami, tourists in Mamallapuram swore they saw a long row of granite boulders emerge from the sea, before it was swallowed again as the water hurtled forward. More than a decade later, a team of scientists and divers have uncovered what eyewitnesses saw on that fateful day - vestiges of an ancient port.

In a discovery that could lead to more underwater explorations off the historic town of Mamallapuram, a group from National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has found the remains of a port or ruins of one of the six shore temples which, according to legend, went under water. The 10-member team, comprising divers, geologists and archaeologists, found a 10m-long wall, a short flight of stairs, and chiselled stone blocks scattered on the seabed. They were found 800m from the shoreline at a depth of nearly 27ft...

Here is the link for more about that.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Millennium-old-sunken-town-found-off-Tamil-Nadu/articleshow/51465600.cms


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A treasure consisting of silver adornments which was most probably buried in the fall of 1688 during the so called Chiprovsti Uprising, the largest rebellion of Bulgarian Catholics against the Ottoman Empire, has been found near the city of Montana in Northwest Bulgaria.

The treasure has been found by locals and has been turned over to the National Museum of History in Sofia, which has announced its discovery...

Here is the link for the rest of the story.


http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2016/04/05/17th-century-silver-treasure-hidden-during-bulgarian-catholics-uprising-against-ottoman-empire-discovered-in-northwest-bulgaria/

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Just a few hours remaining to respond to the current blog poll.  Thanks.

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We'll have a two to three foot surf for a few days, however there are some big tides and some good negative tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/9/16 Report - A Distinction Between Metal Detecting and Treasure Hunting - My View. 1930s Donald Duck Figurine.

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

It has been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Everybody knows what that means. You might say the same thing about treasure, but I'd like to make a distinction.  Treasure is not so much in the eye as it is in the heart.

That might sound like poetry or psychology or maybe just some kind of mystical mumbo jumbo, but there is a lot of truth in it, and I'm going to try to explain what I mean.

I'm going to make a distinction between metal detecting and treasure hunting.  The distinction isn't perfect, but it might help me make a point.

Metal detecting might be considered to be a type of physical activity.  It can be done without a lot of thought or contemplation.  It can be little more than a way of spending some time and picking up a few coins or whatever else happens to pop up. That is the way some people metal detect.

Treasure hunting, on the other hand, might be thought of as more complex.  Unlike the view of metal detecting that just presented, treasure hunting is not a series of unrelated hunts,   It has a more focused long-term goal.  It is more like a war than a battle.  A series of obstacles must be overcome, and as a result, as the person is tested time and time again, personal growth is likely. Treasure hunting is as much about the journey as the objects.  There can be a mythic quality about it as the quest unfolds.

Over the years, my metal detecting turned into treasure hunting.  I noticed that there were always challenges.  I found that there was usually something protecting the best treasures.  To put it another way, there was always a dragon to slay.  The best hunting was often during a storm, or in the pitch darkness of night, or under rocks or mud, under stumps or roots, in deep or rough water, buried in tons of trash or something. The dragon could take on many forms, and it could be big or small, but there was usually a dragon.

Without a battle or obstacles to overcome, there is little excitement.  Just watch an Indiana Jones movie.

Excitement is one thing, but without a battle there is also no victory.  If an item is too common and too easily obtained, it is not treasure.  Part of what makes it treasure is the quest.

There is a good story in the Bible where Jehoshaphat and his people were about to be attacked by the Ammonites (I think it was), and Jehoshaphat was told, "The battle is not yours, but God's." Well if the battle is God's, why did the people have to go out against the enemy?  Here is the answer. By demonstrating faith and going out against the enemy, they were put in position to see the victory and pick up the spoils.  Without the battle, there would be no victory, and if the people did not go into battle, they would not be in position to pick up the spoils.

Many people who get into metal detecting think that it is an easy way to strike it rich, or at least pick up some money or maybe a bauble or two.  That is fine.  Metal detecting is still a fun hobby, but people like that seldom advance in the hobby, and when they find that it is not everything they expected, they give up and quit.

True treasure hunters, on the other hand, are committed to the quest.  There is more to it for them than picking up some nice items. They might not analyze it, and they might not be able to communicate it clearly, but in their gut they feel that it is about something bigger.  As they overcome obstacles in the world while seeking treasure, there is an internal victory over personal limitations, and what is gained is greater awareness and a fuller life.  For those who pursue it in that way, treasure hunting is more about the journey than it is about the treasure.

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I've noticed that a lot of my readers are religious or spiritual.  I'll still plan to explore that issue in the future.

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1930s Donald Duck Bisque Figurine.

The Donald Duck shown here is like the one I found.  Mine lacks the head, and the paint is gone.  It is from the 1930s.

There were a variety of Donald Duck figurines, each slightly different and bearing a different serial number on the collar. They have the same copyright marking as the one I found.

It is bisque, not porcelain.


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There are only two days remaining to respond to the current blog poll.  Your responses are appreciated.

Saturday we'll have a smooth surf and gentle north winds, but the tides will be bigger than normal.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/8/16 Report - Not a Mickey Mouse Find. Markings and Copyright Laws. More on Elks Item.

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

Porcelain Body of Donald Duck

There is no accounting for the taste of some people. Here is a picture of an item I recently found while surface hunting - Donald Duck without head.

The figure is about four inches tall and made of something like porcelain.  It appears to me to be an early Donald Duck figurine.  If he only had his head I would prize it more than a common 1715 Fleet cob.  That is what I mean by not being able to account for some people's taste.

I still need to do some research.  The markings appear to be very early.

On his back collar is what looks like S1334.  Don't know what that might mean.

And on his bottom is the copyright symbol followed by "Walt Disney."

Those two things should eventually tell me everything I might want to know, including a date range.

Donald's Bottom Showing Copyright Mark.

Mark On Donald's Collar.

If anyone can tell me the meaning of those markings and save me some time I'd sure appreciate it.  Thanks for any help.

Here is an informative web site telling how Disney drove the copyright laws in the past and possibly into the future.  Very interesting!

http://artlawjournal.com/mickey-mouse-keeps-changing-copyright-law/

And here is a web site showing various production marks used by Disney over the years.  The one on this item is not included in those listed on this web site.

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Disney-Collectibles-Production-Marks-Disneyana-/10000000000072493/g.html

You always learn some interesting things when researching finds.

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Not too long ago I posted a picture of an Elks item found by John C.  I wondered about the clock.  Here is what I found.

THE ELEVEN O'CLOCK TOAST
At every meeting of the BPOE, and every social function, when the hour of 11:00 p.m. tolls, the Lodge conducts a charming ceremonial known as the "Eleven O'clock Toast." In fact, the clock tolling the eleventh hour is part of the BPOE official emblem, and is directly behind the representation of an elk's head in the emblem of the Order. 

Regular meetings of Subordinate Lodges have always been held at night. In the earlier days, they were usually held on Sunday nights and were concluded about eleven o'clock. As the participants departed, the Brothers made inquiries about the absent Brothers and expressed sympathetic interest in the causes of their absence. 

It soon became a custom for some member to propose a toast to the Brothers who were not present. And in the course of time, this custom was quite generally observed whenever a group of Elks were together at eleven o'clock. Eventually, the Grand Lodge specifically provided for such a ceremonial to be observed during Lodge sessions; and designated it as "The Eleven O'clock Toast." Under this provision, whenever a Lodge was in session at that hour, the regular order of business was suspended for a few moments while the Exalted Ruler recited the beautiful ritual prescribed, concluded with the words: "To our absent Brothers." Since women were permitted to join the Elks since 1995, the toast is now pronounced as "To our absent Members." 

For more information about the Elks, here is a good web site.

https://www.elks.org/lodges/LodgePages.cfm?LodgeNumber=183&ID=8896

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SuperRick, who usually hunts meteroites and nuggets out West, was on the Treasure Coast and found this cut on the 6th.

Photo by SuperRick.

The weather is absolutely super for being outdoors.  The wind today is mostly from the west. Tomorrow it will be coming from the north.  Even though the surf won't be big, the tides will be pretty big.

I'm working on some stuff for future posts.  I'm also working on a foreword for a book that you won't want to miss when it comes out.  I read a draft of the book and loved it.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net