6/23/17 Report - Calusa Artifacts for Reference - Silver, Gold and Copper

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

Photo of Calusa Artifacts Displayed in the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Photo by Darrel S.

In order to help you identify finds, yesterday I showed a variety of Seminole artifacts - mostly silver. Today I'm showing Calusa artifacts.  A lot are silver, but there are also copper, gold and even a couple lead items.  All of the Calusa artifact photos were taken by Darrel Strickland at the Gainesville museum.

Just to let you know, Darrel has made some great finds.  He knows more about these things than what he saw at the museum.

What he considers his greatest beach find was "a complete Native American necklace with wrapped shipwreck coins, beads, shells, etc."  The twine was made of horse hair and plant strands.  It has been viewed by experts.  He has also made other great finds.  One, a bison bone, is in the Fountain of Youth collection.

Below is a closer look at some of the artifacts Darrel photographed in the Gainesville museum, including both gold and silver items.

Photo by Darrel S.

Next are some made of copper.

Photo by Darrel S.

And below are some cone shape silver items.

Photo by Darrel S.

Beads on the Left, Tablets Center, and Other Items on the Right.
Photo by Darrel S.

Here is a closer view of some of the above, especially tablets.

Photo by Darrel S.

Below are close-up views of some beads and tinklers.

Photo by Darrel S.

Below are a few more unique Calusa items. 

Photo by Darrel S.

This post should provide a good reference for identifying old Calusa artifacts.

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On the Treasure Coast we are had some big low tides today.  Combined with the small surf that should give you good access to some beach areas that might be hard to get to at other times.

That is all for today.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/22/17 Report - Silver Seminole Artifacts. Mining and Science History. Gold Chalices.

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

Seminole Silver Objects.
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

I started a conversation one day not too long ago about Seminole silver.  It is something that might be found metal detecting in Florida.  You should therefore know what it looks like.  Thanks to Darrel Strickland, who visited the museum in Gainesville, I'm going to post some images of Seminole silver objects.

Above you will see a set of what appears to be pendants.  They are made from silver pounded flat and then cut out.  A simple hole is made for attachment.

Below is an image of more Seminole silver objects, including pendants bracelets and rings.

Seminole Silver
Photo by Darrel S.

Thanks much Darrel!

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I enjoyed browsing the Mining and Scientific Press issues for the years 1899 and 1900.  There is a lot of interest,  The range of topics is very broad.  You'll find everything having to do with mining.  The pictures and history are interesting too.

Below is one illustration from one of those issues.  I think maybe I've been on those rails.  The Durango to Silverton line goes through an area that looks very much like that.  That is a ride I would recommend to anyone.

Illustration in Mining and Scientific Press.
Link provided below.

This one shows hydraulic mining in Dahlonega Georgia.

It is a online as a free ebook in books.google.com/books.   I could spend months looking through that one.

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Some of the most fantastic 1715 Fleet finds are religious artifacts.  Here is a web site that explains the spiritual reason chalices are made of gold.

https://aleteia.org/2017/06/17/the-spiritual-reason-chalices-are-made-from-precious-metal/

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Tropical Storm Cindy is inland now and dropping rain on Louisiana and other states to the west of us. There is no other storms on the Atlantic map at this time.

The surf is still small, but we are having some nice tides now.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/21/17 Report - Tropical Storm Cindy To Make Landfall. Laws For Turtle Season. Sword Found. Old Jewelry Find.

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

Turtle Nesting On Treasure Coast.

The turtles are nesting.  I took this photo a few days ago and forgot about it until someone wrote and asked me about turtle nesting season.  I don't think it is too complicated.  Just don't dig in the nests or disturb the turtles.

Most of the nests are marked, so if you are a snowbird or don't know about that, there are stakes that mark many of the turtle nests.  New nests you can clearly see.  Penalties can be serious.

Florida state law provides protection against taking, possessing, disturbing, mutilating, destroying or causing to be destroyed, selling or offering for sale, transferring, molesting, or harassing any marine turtle or its nest or eggs at any time.

Federal law provides even greater protection (and criminal penalties as severe as $100,000 and a year in prison) if you “take, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, or capture any marine turtle, turtle nest, and/or eggs, or attempt to engage in any such conduct.”

Here is a link.

http://thecotas.com/2012/01/sea-turtle-nests-protected-by-state-and-federal-law/

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Medieval Sword Discovered in Peat Bog.
Source: See ScienceInPoland link below.

Completely preserved medieval sword from the 14th century has been discovered at a peat bog near Hrubieszów. The finder donated the artefact to the local Fr. Stanisław Staszic Museum. "This is a unique find in the region" - said Bartłomiej Bartecki, director of the museum...

http://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,414626,lubelskie-medieval-sword-discovered-at-a-peat-bog.html

That would be a fun find.

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Some 2,500 Israeli pupils and volunteers from Modiin-Maccabim-Re’ut participated in an archaeological excavation in their own community, coming away with a new sense of history — and a treasure trove of 900-year-old Crusader-period jewelry...

Source: See TimesofIsrael link below.

I've been talking about jewelry and some ways to identify the date for them.  Here is some old jewelry.  Some of it is not very different from what you might find on a Treasure Coast beach.

Here is the link for more about that story.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/school-pupils-help-find-900-year-old-crusader-jewelry-trove/

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I have a lot more to post, but I'll wind it up for today.

With the hurricane season becoming active already, you'll want to keep up on the latest tropical weather activity.

Tropical Storm Cindy is about to make landfall near the Louisiana/Texas border.

It looks like Bret has disappeared.

That's all for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/20/17 Report - How To Determine How Old A Ring Might Be. Tropical Storm Near and Heading for the U. S.

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

Old Photo of Me Using an Aquasound Metal Detector.

The Aquasound was a good metal detector.  The photo must be from twenty some years ago.  I just ran across it.

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After Warren's amazing ring find that I showed a few days ago, I thought it would be a good time to look at some of the things that will help you get a good idea of a ring's age.  If you don't know what to look for you can easily mistake a ring that is centuries old for a new ring or vice versa.  In the past I mistook some very old finds for modern finds.  It can be tricky.  I remember one enameled ring found on a 1715 Fleet beach that I immediately concluded was modern because I thought enameling was a more modern technique.  I was wrong about that.  That is just one example.

Below is an old Roman ring.  Would you know right that it was old when if you dug it up.  And what would you look fo?.

There are some features on this ring that would make you think it might be real old as soon as you saw it.  First, the setting.  The setting is covers everything but the top of the stone.  The setting would be one of the first things that would suggest to me that it is probably an old ring.  Secondly, the stone is polished instead of cut like most of today's gem stones.

Rings looked fairy similar up through the middle ages.  As I explained the other day, gems were not faceted until later.

Here is a web site on antique rings.

http://www.langantiques.com/university/Rings:_Ancient_to_Neoclassical

Below is an example of an 18th century ring that is faceted.

You can see that the the diamonds are clearly faceted.  Now look at the settings.  The stones are surrounded by the setting.  They are not set with prongs like most of the diamond rings of today.

18th century rings will often be "foiled."  The gem will be surrounded on the sides and bottom with foil - sometimes gold.  Modern diamond rings are faceted and the setting is very open to permit the light to flow through the gemstone.

I"m not a jewelry expert, but those are a few things that might help you determine if a ring might be old or not.  There are other things to look for, but I'll have to get into some of those another time.

Some old things can be in very good shape (especially if they are gold) and look almost new.  And modern items can be in terrible condition, but that does not necessarily mean they are old.  It can be very difficult to tell the difference between old and new items.

Plain bands can be difficult since you do not have all the clues you would have with a gemstone ring. Crucifixes can also be tricky.

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We now have the two named tropical storms - the first of the hurricane season.  We had a named storm earlier in the year, but that was before hurricane season began.

Bret is heading west/northwest along the north coast of South America.

Cindy looks to be headed towards Louisiana.

Tropical Storm Cindy
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

On the Treasure Coast we'll have a 2 - 3 foot surf Tuesday and Wednesday.  Then it will decrease a bit for the rest of the week.

The tides are a little bigger and we'll have a nice negative tide Tuesday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/19/17 Report - Eight-Reales And More Found by Capitana Diver. Treasure Hunting Opportunity. Tropical Storm Headed North.

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

Grant G. Shows New Finds.
Photo submitted by Captain Jonah M.

Grant is diving for Jonah on the Capitana this year.  Grant is showing off some finds from this weekend.

A Closer Look at Grant's Finds.
Photo submitted by Captain Jonah.

Congratulations Grant!

On the one cob you can see the Florenza cross indicating the Mexico mint.

Below are more of his finds.

Cobs, Pottery, Sheathing and More Musket Balls Found by Grant G.
Photo submitted by Captain Jonah.

Finds included two 8-reales, 60-70 musket balls, pottery, lead sheeting and EO's.

Jonah could still use another hand on the Capitana.  That is a great opportunity to be part of an exciting adventure that you'll never forget.  

He said, If you're into the 1715 fleet you will learn more about these wrecks and how they scattered from reefs into the beaches. Get to dive with a detector and recover Spanish Treasure. If you can commit and are in physical shape, ready to work in the sun and water, we work hard all day everyday the weather is good. Call 772 215 4366.

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The tropical disturbance that has been hanging around the Yucatan has moved north into the Gulf and is expected to become a tropical storm and hit land between Texas and Florida.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

The other tropical weather that I've been watching seem headed towards the north edge of South America. It might turn north at some point too.


The surf was a touch higher today, and will be around 2 - 3 feet tomorrow, then decrease just a bit again.

We are having some small negative tides now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/18/17 Report - Another Nice 1715 Fleet Find. One Way To Narrow Down The Age Of A Piece of Jewelry. Two Tropical Disturbances.

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

Find Made by Gavin on the Arrr Booty.

Photo submitted by Jonah Martinez.

Jonah M. sent the above photo and said, "Find made by Gavin. Eric's working hard trying to make some more great finds."

That is one nice piece of Kang Hsi. Hope they find more of the same item.

Congrats to Gavin and the crew of the Arrr Booty! And thanks to Jonah for sharing!

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Yesterday I showed an amazing ring that was found by Warren D. (If you missed it, you might want to go back and take a look.)  When you find an item, it helps to know where it came from and where it has been up until the time you found it. It is also nice to be able to determine its age.

There are a lot of things that might give some clues. First is the where it was found, including the layers of sand above and surrounding the item. The sand adhering to the item might give you some clues about where it has been. So will the patina or crust. I can't talk about all of that today, but I am going to talk about the diamonds. Although the type of setting and other features of a ring can tell you a lot, I'm just going to focus on diamonds right now.

Although diamonds were used in jewelry much earlier, diamond cutting did not being until the 14th century.  Then they were more polished than cut.

Diamonds were mounted with what you might call a "point cut" in the 15th century.  There still wasn't much cutting involved.  Here is an example of a 15th century diamond ring sold by Christies.  You can see the point or pyramid.

15th Century "Point Cut" Diamond Sold by Christies.

True faceting didn't begin until the 16th century.  Then the "rose cut" was invented.  Diamonds were still rare in jewelry.

Rose cut diamonds have 24 facets.  They are domed on top and have a flat bottom.  The top looks very much like a geodesic dome.

The old mine cushion cut began in the 18th century.  That cut featured a relatively small flat table on top, a very slightly rounded edge, and a deep culet.  Below is an example.

Old Mine Fashion Cut Diamond Shape
Source:  See ErstWhileJewelry link below.

By the mid 18th century the Marquise cut was developed.

Of course there are more, but I'll stop there for now.  I just wanted to show that you can get a lot of information from the cut of a diamond or any gem.

If you want learn more about the history of cutting diamonds, you'll find an intersting article by using the following link.

https://erstwhilejewelry.com/blogs/stories/history-of-diamond-cutting

It can be very difficult to capture subtle but important details in a photo.

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Things are heating up in the tropics.  There are now two tropical disturbances,both of which have a 70% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.

One has been hanging around the Yucatan, but at some point might head north.  The other looks to be heading towards the Yucatan.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/17/17 Report - Amazing Treasure Coast Beach Find!!! Beach Conditions and Tropical Disturbances.

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

Diamond Gold and Amethyst Ring Find.
Find and photo by Warren D.

If you have been reading this blog, you've read about Warren Dennison before.  He has found and returned some valuable rings.  The stories were covered in the news and here.  Warren stored up a lot of good karma.  Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Different View of the Same Ring.
Find and photo by Warren D.

This find is a very exceptional one-of-a-kind item.  Research could reveal the owner.  It has been identified by no less than Robert Marx and Karl Fismer as being a probable 1715 Fleet item.  A cob was found nearby.  It was found on a Treasure Coast beach, and is obviously shown uncleaned.

There is a WESH2 News video with Warren showing his find that you can probably find on the internet.

Congratulations Warren!  Super great find!

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John Brooks Beach Saturday Morning.

You can see the sandy conditions and the nice smooth one-foot surf.

With these summer conditions, you have to be alert to rare opportunities.  Some of those occur are very localized situations. As you can see, the prevailing beach conditions are poor, but there are always those little spots ( some man made and some natural ) that provide opportunities.  They are rare and not always easy to find, but they are out there.

Nieves Site Saturday Morning.

You can barely see it, but the small dot is a salvage boat working in the distance.

Seaweed Covered Beach Saturday Morning.

Seaweed is generally a bad sign, but there are rare occasions when a layer of seaweed can cover a newly exposed good spot.  In this case, under the seaweed was newly accumulated sand.

Down the beach was a spot where there was no seaweed.  Some older items were found there - mostly iron.

I also found some very old fossils.

There are still a couple tropical disturbances on the map - one near Yucatan and the other way south in the Atlantic.  The second is organizing and has a long way to go before hitting land.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net