2/10/14 Report - Eight Foot Surf Predicted. Artifacts Saved From Destruction By Looters. Repurposed Artifacts. Great Research Resource.

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

Source; http://gemini.no/en/2014/05/viking-raids-protected-precious-artefacts-2/

This article discusses how these artifacts were possibly saved by Viking looters.  If the Vikings did not steal them, they would have been melted down.  It also tells how the items were repurposed.  Since the Vikings had no use for the religious artifacts, they took the parts and used them as jewelry.

The idea that looters saved the artifacts is interesting by itself, but it made me think of the many items that are saved by detectorists from one type of destruction or another,  Beach hunters, for example, save artifacts that would be lost to the sea through tumbling and corrosion over time.  The salt water surf is a rough environment where things can not survive forever without being damaged or destroyed.

Here is the link to that article. 
http://gemini.no/en/2014/05/viking-raids-protected-precious-artefacts-2/

Artifacts being recycled is another interesting topic.  One old emerald ring that I found seems to have a setting taken from an older piece and mounted on a newer band (See photo.). 

The band does not match the setting in style, and the gold on the top piece is of a different purity than the band.

Certainly things have been repurposed or recycled and reused over the decades and centuries, sometimes being used in an entirely different way or form than the original.


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JSTOR is a collection of scholarly works that includes articles from many disciplines including history and archaeology to name just two.

If you are doing research you might want to get access to JSTOR.  One way to get access is to take a class at a college or university.  You will then have access through the library when you get your card.  Some public libraries also provide access.

There is a program for individuals which will give you free but limited access if you register.  There are big limitations in this program.

Here is a link obtained through JSTOR to an abstract of an article that talks about the use of metal detectors in archaeology and discusses the source of the uninformed opinions of archaeologists on the subject.

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25616646?sid=21105829108923&uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739600

If you take a class as a part time student, your access will last only as long as you are enrolled in the class, but JSTOR can be worth the price of tuition if you really use it intensely during that period.

If you are doing research you might look into getting access to JSTOR through a school, library or try out the limited but free access for individuals.

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is very small today.  I'll be watching and hoping for the eight-foot surf predicted for Thursday.  I really hope that happens.  We sure do need it.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

2/9/14 Report - Souvenir Or Fake Reale Recently Found On The Treasure Coast & Not A Fake.

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

I just received an email from a reader who had been trying to clean what appeared to be his first cob find.   He did his research and learned how to clean cobs.  Then he carefully cleaned it so he could see the details.  Then he did some research only to find out it was a fake or souvenir reale.

Most of us have found fakes.  I'd say I've found about a half dozen fake cobs over the years.  My first fake was really confusing.  It was encrusted very much like a real cob might be.  As a result I carefully cleaned it, first carefully removing some of the crust with a dental pick.   When I finally got it to where I could see some of the detail I was even more confused.  The design didn't match the  color I was seeing.  Remember, that was my first cob (I thought) and I didn't know much about them at the time.  I did more and more research until somehow (I don't remember exactly now) I finally learned that it was a fake.  What a disappointment!

Today I can usually identify a fake pretty quickly, often as soon as I see it or pick it up.  Sometimes they can be identified by feel.  Some are way too light.  Sometimes you can tell by appearance.

Some fakes are made out of lead.  Some, like like the one below, are plated with a gold color plating  Some are marked "COPY," but often the marking will be small or covered by dirt or sand.

I've seen some convincing fakes.  I'm sometimes hesitant to scratch a possible cob for metal testing, and that can be a bit of an obstacle.

Often I can identify a cheaper metal by look or feel, but I have seen fake cobs actually made of silver.

I usually remember where I found the better fakes because at first sight I thought they were real.

One thing to consider is where it was found.  If you find a cob on top of dry sand in a public park where no cobs have been found before, most likely it is a fake.   It isn't likely that one will show up in a place like that, but strange things can happen.  I've found a lot of things where I still wonder how in the world they got there.   Some kid could have taken dad's prized possession for show-and-tell and lost it.  Things like that are possible.

The first fake cob that I ever found (the encrusted one I talked about above) was found probably ten yards from where I found a genuine cob, so you can't always tell if it might be fake by location, although that might be your first tip off.

Replica 8-escudo.

Here is a "replica" coin.  There is no intention to deceive.  It is sold with the packaging clearly marked "replica."  Nonetheless, if you dug one up you might get excited at first glance.

One very big Florida retailer includes these with some of the detectors they sell.

After a while you'll get to know what cobs should look like.   Real cobs will often be black.  They aren't perfect either.  They can be a little bit like diamonds.   If they look too perfect, maybe they are fake.

With experience you'll have a better idea of what a real cob should look like.  That first sight of a fake in the scoop can get you excited until the disappointment settles in.

I once found a genuine Spanish silver coin that I thought was a fake at first glance (See photo below.).  It is shown here as it looked after it was partially cleaned.

When I dug it up I saw what appeared to be a cross on one side and quickly assumed it was a fake reale and put it in my pocket without getting excited at all.  I assumed it was fake.  It looked too perfect.  It was perfectly round.  It was not worn.  It did have enough sand on it that the design was not clear.

I didn't really take much time to inspect it.  I didn't expect to find anything very old where I was and quickly slipped it in my pocket.

Since that time I've learned that old things do show up at that location on rare occasion, including 18th and 17th century items.

This particular coin, showing a cross and a lion and castle on one side, in my judgement was probably a fake.  Anyhow, I knew that I could inspect it later, so slipped into my pocket and continued my hunt.

After cleaning it off and doing the research, I eventually learned that this coin was a 1966 100 pesetas silver bullion coin.  The same coin is shown cleaned at the top of this post.  Not exactly a fake.

Fakes can be disappointing, especially if you thought you just found your first reale.  The one thing good about them is that you generally learn a lot from them.  All of the cleaning and research pays off to some extent.  You will probably learn more about cobs from your first fake than your first real cob.

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is supposed to be calm Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday we are supposed to get somthing like a five to seven foot surf.  That could do us some good if the other factors line up.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/8/14 Report - A Recent Treasure Coast Cut and Some Hints For Analysis. 17 Pound Gold Nugget Found.

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

Interesting Spot On The Treasure Coast Yesterday.

This picture makes a good illustration.  I'll use it to talk about beach analysis.

The low spot is just a touch above and to the right of the center of the picture.  That would be in the wet sand just behind the bigger rocks.

Cuts were very few and far between that day. This spot was not at all typical.

When I look at a spot like this the first thing I look for after looking at the cut is the low spot in front of the cut.  In this case, the low spot was bordered on one side by rocks.

The cut in this picture is about four feet high and maybe a little more.  As you can see the cut extends to the north a good ways.  It also extends a good ways to the south (out of the picture).

I'd take a look at the bottom of the cliff to see if it is a fresh cut or if it is a few days old and deteriorating.  Also look at the sand in front of the cut to see if the cut is filling yet, and if so, how much.  Check the firmness of the sand in front of the cut.

There are boards sticking out of the sand.  Check them to get an idea of how old they are.  In this case I was disappointed by how modern they looked.  I really should have taken a better look at them and the nails that were in them.   Nails can tell you a lot about the age of the boards.  I didn't take the time to uncover the nails.  That could have been a mistake.

Rocks can function as traps.  Both the rocks and boards can serve as markers, as they are covered and uncovered it will tell you how much sand is being added or removed.  Always take a good look at such markers.  They can provide valuable information.

In this picture you can see a bend in the beach.  Look at any cuts or dips to try to determine how they were formed.  There may be other similar places along the coast where similar cuts were formed.   I'd check other spots south of bends like this one.  Sometimes you'll get a good idea of where other cuts will occur along the coast by looking at how and where one cut was formed.

Just under the top layer of sand was a layer of course but hard packed red/brown shell sand.  You will learn to identify different types of sand and what types of items might be found in them.  That sand had been undisturbed for a good while, but the boards suggested to me that the sand had not been undisturbed as long as I first thought might have been the case when I first saw it.

Watch any spots like this over time.  They can fill or become deeper.  They can move any direction.  By watching the various markers, including boards and rocks, you should be able to tell if the dip is moving one direction or another from one day to the next.

Note when the dip was formed.  What was the wind direction at that time?

When a cut like this is formed south of an eastward bend in the beach, it would normally be a north/northeast wind.   When the wind changes there is a good chance the cut will fill again.

Any cut like this is worth checking out at least briefly.

Today we have a southeast wind.  That won't change until around Tuesday when we'll get a northeast wind again and a bit of a bump in the surf.

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Here is the kind of day you'd like to have.  A herdsman found a 17 pound gold nugget laying on the ground.   Now that is the type of eyeball find I'd love to make.

Here is the link for the whole story.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinese-herdsman-stumbles-onto-a-17-pound-gold-nugget-2015-02-05?mod=MW_story_recommended_tab

Thanks to Leo for sending that in!


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.ne

2/6/14 - Most Valuable Artifacts Ever Found! Eye-balled Sports Memorabilia Find. Lots of Wind But Very Little Erosion Found Today.

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



One Treasure Coast Beach This Afternoon Before Low Tide

We got a good bit of wind the past couple of days - even some small amount of wind damage, yet not much happened to the beaches.  Above you can see a pretty typical Treasure Coast beach this afternoon.  Not very good detecting conditions at all despite the increased surf.  When I was there the water was hitting from the East. 

There was one beach that had about a four foot cut.  It was getting down close to some of the older sand layers in one spot, yet most of the erosion was in only in renourishment sand.  That erosion was caused by a renourishment project and the tons of sand that was dumped just to the north of heavily eroded spot.  As a result of the artificial beach, the wave energy was redirected.  That happens a lot.  You dump sand in one spot and an adjacent area badly erodes. 

To sum it up, despite all the wind we had, beach conditions remain poor.  There are a few eroded areas, but those are mostly caused by recent renourishment projects, and they are generally not where shipwreck items would be uncovered.  It is possible that a very few older items might pop up in rare spots.

I'm not expecting any significant improvement in overall beach detecting conditions anytime soon.

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3.25 Inch Limestone Sculpture
Source:wikipedia Gruennel Lioness

What would be the thing you would most like to find?  Would it be gold, platinum or diamonds?  How about this 3.25 inch tall limestone figure? 

Take a look at this little beauty.  It is Guennol Lioness.  It is 5000 years old, and was found near Bagdad.  What do you think it is worth?

It sold at auction in 2007 for $57.2 million dollars.  It is one of the most valuable artfacts ever.

There are two sculptures by famous sculptures that have sold for more. One by Picasso and the other by Giacometti.

The next most valuable artifact of all time is could be Artemis and the Stag, a Hellenistic bronze sculpture that sold in 2007 for $28.6 million.

Artemis is just over 36 inches tall.  It was found in the 1920 during a construction project at a Roman site.

So if you ever wondered what the most valuable artifacts are, I just showed two of the top ten contenders.

You can learn more about those two and eight more of the most valuable artifacts by using the following link.

http://www.theartwolf.com/articles/10-most-expensive-antiquities.htm

That should be a good reminder to keep your eyes open for non-metallic items while metal detecting.  You never know what you might find.

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One fellow was picking up aluminum cans in Lexingon Creek when he found an interesting piece of sports memorabilia.  It was metallic, but it was eye-balled.  It was coin-like and had the 1955-56 basketball schedule for the University of Kentucky on it. 

Here is the link for more about that.

http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/UK_fan_finds_rare_coin_in_Lexington_creek_131027803.html

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Too bad all of that wind didn't do more for us.

They are getting ready to dump more sand on South Inlet Park at Fort Pierce.  

They only get a dozen tourists there, and a few fisherman.  They must spend about a million dollars per tourist to dump sand there very year.  I'll be curious to see if this sand is filled mangled aluminum junk like it was the last time.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

2/5/15 Report - National Geographic State of the Detecting Hobby Overview. More On Pinpointing. One Method Illustrated.

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


Here is a good general article on the state of the metal detecting hobby and the opposition.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/diggers/articles/metal-detecting-101/

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I talked about using pinpointers not too long ago.  I almost never use a pinpointer but some people do.  A pinpointer can help.   Some pinpointers are inexpensive and not very good while others cost nearly as much as a basic metal detector and are very powerful.  Some can even be used submerged.

You can use a screwdriver to pop coins and other small items out of the ground without any digging, but if you use a screwdriver, you need to be able to pinpoint well.   That is a very helpful skill in any case.

Second. if you use a screw driver, you might want to file down any sharp edges to minimize scratching in case you do make a mistake and hit the object.

In addition to the screw driver, you might also use a probe.  An old antique car radio antennae with the little chrome ball on the end will work.  If you use a probe carefully, you can touch and locate the coin without scratching it.  That method doesn't work well in rocky ground though.

Sand can be sifted quickly, so you won't need a pinpointer on a beach, but you can improve your pinpointing skills by learning to use your detector better.  

There are the obvious things you can do, such as switch to all-metals, non-motion, or pinpoint mode.

Additional methods include cutting down sensitivity or detuning or raising the coil higher to diminish the area that produces a signal.

Another technique you can use in a hole, involves putting the coil at something like a 45 degree angle from the ground and rotating the coil around the edge of the hole to locate where the target lies relative to the hole. (See illustration.)

I often find this method useful, especially when the target is deep and you have to scoop more than once.  This method will quickly tell you if the object is to one side of the center of the hole. 

Some elongated objects can be difficult.  The signal, depending upon the angle of the sweep, can appear to be at the end of the object rather than over the center.  In that case your first scoop might be off-center.  This method illustrated below can quickly tell you if that is the case.

Another technique that can help is to set the coil at a 45 degree angle next to the hole and facing the hole so any movement of the target is detected as you move sand or dirt.  To use that method you should be using a non-metallic trowel or digger.

Also setting the coil by the hole as dirt is dug or thrown towards the coil or onto the coil will tell you when the target has been moved.

In sand I often use my hand to feel for a target when I am getting close rather than continuing to scoop. 

Of course a handful of dirt swung over or onto the coil will also tell you if the target is in your hand.

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We have a small surf on the Treasure Coast today.  The wind is from the South, but will switch around this afternoon and be coming from the North, continuing into tomorrow.  The prediction for tomorrow is for a four to six foot surf.  That might create a few cuts, but probably not produce really old stuff.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

2/4/15 Report - A Very Good HuffPost Quest For Treasure Video. The Lanson Winery Treasure.

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

Kim Fisher Showing Gold Chalice.
Source: HuffPost link below.

The Treasure Coast only has about a two foot surf right now.  That is supposed to change by Friday when the surf is predicted to increase up to something more like five or six feet. 

A week from now another bump up in the surf is predicted to reach something more like eight feet.  Again we'll have to see if that prediction holds up.


I'm told the Turtle Trail access is now open but the Seagrape Trail access has been closed.

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In February of 2012, the Lanson Winery was undergoing the renovation of a long-vacant building. As told by Enguerrand Baijot, managing director of the company, “One of the workers was attacking an abandoned building's ceiling with a crowbar when gold coins started to rain down on him.”  Before the “rain of gold” ended, some 497 United States Double Eagles were lying on the floor.

Here is the link for that story.

http://www.monacorarecoins.com/rare-coin-news/article/ww-ii-gold-hoard-of-lanson-champagne/

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Here is the big one for today.  It is a video by HuffPost Live entitled The Quest for Treasure.    Various treasure hunters are interviewed including Kim Fisher. 

Also talks about other treasures and a treasure map and the Forest Treasure, which is still out there to be found.  Interesting stuff.

Take a look.  I think you'll like it.

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/modern-day-treasure-hunters/54ca9ef12b8c2a7e5a00088e

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That is it for today.  Short and sweet.  But the video will keep you busy a while.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

2/3/14 Report - Beach Renourishment Projects. NDBC Buoy Data. Pirate Superstitions. Six Foot Surf Predicted Friday.

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

Beautiful Day On The Treasure Coast

This is what it looks like.  If you are a snowbird you have to love this.  The weather couldn't be any nicer.   It isn't like summer with 90 degree heat and 90 percent humidity.  Its really nice.

If you want to find something old on a beach, that is a different matter.  In that case you might like stormy weather with strong winds and a high surf.

If you are from up north and want to find treasure on a Treasure Coast beach, you have to have some luck.  You have to be lucky enough to be here at the right time.  And frankly, we haven't been having many good treasure hunting days on the Treasure Coast.  Sooner or later we will get some good  conditions - hopefully soon.  If you are one of the many who make an occasional visit and haven't hit it right yet, that doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong.  You have to be here at the right time.

I actually did find one long cut yesterday that ran for about a hundred yards and was over three feet high much of the way.  Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, it was in recent renourishment sand, which is disappearing at a rapid rate.

I think they'll be dumping sand just south of the Fort Pierce inlet soon.  As I mentioned a couple of days ago, the Wabasso Beach access and the Turtle Trail accesses were closed.  I guess they'll be bringing new sand in there too.  I expect to see a lot of renourishment projects over the next few weeks along the Treasure Coast.

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If you remember the tie clasp that Dan B. found showing tigers on it, it is a boy scout neckerchief slide.  Bill G. sent me a link showing one of those.  Thanks Bill!

I added a new link to the blog.  It will take you to the NDBC buoy data.  You can select a buoy anywhere around the world.  We have one just off of Fort Pierce and one off of Sebastian, which are the ones that will be most used by readers of this blog.  The buoy records a lot of data including wave heights.  Take a look.  You might like it. 

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Did you know

Witches would sell the wind to sailors in the British Isles and Europe. These wind-sellers sold magic hawsers tied with three knots, said to bring the wind.  By the end of the sixteenth century wind selling had grown into an international trade.

It was customary for shipwrights to put a gold coin somewhere in the keel and a silver coin was put somewhere below the mast. The gold coin was for good luck and the silver coin protected the ship and the crew from storms.

Whistling aboard ship was supposed to invoke an adverse wind, which could harm the ship and crew.  


Those are some of the tidbits found on the following linked web site about pirate superstitions.

http://www.steppingintobooks.com/JRogers%20Pirate%20School/N3-Superstitions.htm

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is small today and will be tomorrow too.  Unfortunately I was right.  The 7 - 10 foot surf that was predicted for this weekend is now to 4 to 6 feet for this Friday.  C'est la vie. 

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net