7/24/19 Report - System Developing in Gulf. Eagle Pin Identified. Starting Discussion on Factors Involved With Dating Dug Items.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

We have a new system in the Gulf that has a 20% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.  It is just below Louisiana now.  The map is getting more active.

---

I thought the eagle pin I showed yesterday wouldn't take long to ID.  Mitch King was once again the first to respond saying that it is a navy petty officer third class collar insignia.  Mitch provided the following link.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petty_officer_third_class

DJ confirmed that adding, ...construction port office third class rank in the US NAVY.  DJ provided this link.

Scott B. also got it.

Thanks much guys!  

---

I plan to develop a list of factors that can help identify the age of a found object when the age is unknown or uncertain.

There will be a lot of times when a single factor will not be definitive or conclusive.  There will be times when one factor might provide a degree of confidence and additional factors will add to the level of confidence.  At other times it might seem that some factors are suggesting one answer and other factors are suggesting another answer.

I think the exercise of developing the taxonomy will help us become more clear and precise in our understanding of the various factors to be considered and how they contribute to an estimated date range.

For many who hunt the Treasure Coast, there is one type of target that is on their mind - 1715 Fleet treasure.  When they look at a newly dug find, what they wonder if the item might be from a Spanish shipwreck.  I've received many questions over the years that seem very binary - is it an old shipwreck treasure, or not.  That is the primary interest.

There are times when you look at something and it seems the age is obvious enough.  In more complex cases, a single factor might not be definitive or conclusive.  Some factors provide more help than others and are more reliable than others.

You might end up with some pieces of evidence saying one thing and other factors saying something else.  Some factors might deserve more weight than others.  I'll attempt to quantify that to whatever extent I can.

Right now I'll just throw out a few random general factors.  

 Factors for determining age

Shape
Material composition

Amount of wear from usage
Corrosion

Stamps or markings

Context or stratigraphy

Known history of the area
Scientific age testing ie. radiocarbon

I'm just throwing that out now as a place to start.  The list might become longer and it will definitely become more detailed.

I am aware of detailed checklists for certain types of objects.  For example, SHA has a very good one for bottles.

In going through the exercise, I'm sure I will learn a lot and hope that others benefit too.  

I'll kick off this discussion with one simple and super-easy example today.

Small Silver Pendant of Charm.
Approximately 3/4 inch wide.

Here is a dug pendant or charm.  It is approximately 3/4 inch wide.

The shape of the object is very recognizable.  It appears to represent a known historic structure.  It looks like the Acropolis to me.  If that is true, we already have a starting date, but the pendant appears to show the Acropolis in a state of decay.  That could be helpful in some cases, but in this case the object at first glance doesn't seem very old anyhow.

Acropolis In State of Decay.

The recognizable shape provides some quick information, but if we turn the pendant over we are very fortunate again.

Back of Same Pendant.

Look at the bonanza of markings.  There is a country name, maker's mark, and mark of purity.  And it is all very readable without having been cleaned, although magnification does help.

The markings provide a lot of date information too, but I don't have time for all of that today.

Just one more quick comment on the context -  it was found on a volleyball court in front of the Fountainbleau Hotel.  That adds information too.

That was an easy one.  I could post a lot more if I got more into the stamped markings, but I'll have to do that some other time.

We'll eventually look at more difficult examples.



Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/23/19 Report - Tropical Depression Three. Eagle Badge. Roman Fish. Epistemology and Identifying Artifacts.

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

Tropical Depression Three

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

It's that time of year when the Atlantic gets active and you have to be ready and alert.  Make sure your batteries are charged and your equipment is in good repair.

In the last couple of days, Tropical Depression Three formed just off the coast of Florida.  The projected path was north along the coast, but it has already fallen apart.

---

Here is a find for ID.  It is about one and three sixteenths high and wide.  I'd say it is a hat badge (maybe WW II) but it is smaller than others I've found.

It should be easy enough to ID.  I just haven't taken the time to check it our yet.  Maybe someone can do it for me.

Thanks.

---

Here is a good article illustrating the difficulty of artifact identification.

Source: See TheGuardian.com link below.

A fragment from a Roman bottle so exceptionally rare that it has taken glass experts from around the world two years to conclusively identify it has been discovered thousands of miles from where it was made.

The discovery at Checkworth Roman Villa  in Gloucestershire of the small shard of patterned green glass, part of an 1,800-year-old fish bottle, has astonished archaeologists...

The distinctive profile of the glass indicated it came from a long bottle with an oval shape and a sharp taper at the end. Price eventually found it matched a restored fish-shaped bottle in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.

In an indication of its rarity, the only other example of a Roman fish bottle comes from a 2AD burial at Chersonesus in Crimea...

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/22/mystery-of-chedworth-1800-year-old-roman-glass-shard-solved

So will it now be repatriated?

---

The main subject of this blog for me, you might be surprised to learn, is epistemology.  It is the subtext of so much of what I post.

Epistemology is the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.  Put more simply, and in the words sung by award winning Amy Adams in the movie Enchanted, it attempts to answer the question, "How do you know."

Whether you are attempting to determine where you will find things on a beach or what some dug object such as the Roman glass artifact really is, there is a process, and that process is very interesting and important to me.  The question you might ask about any belief, natural or spiritual, is "How do you know?" You should have an answer for that question, whether it satisfies anybody else or not.

Much of the time, consensus is what people are looking for.  If most people agree, or if the experts agree, then it is accepted, but there are many times when the general view has been wrong and there have been many times when the experts were wrong.  If you look at why they were wrong, you can learn a lot from that.  What types of mistakes did they make?

The article about the Roman fish bottle is a good example.  They went through a process.  They started out, like we all do at times, not having a clue, then doing the research and eventually coming to a conclusion.

Recently I've talked several times about how difficult it can be to determine the age and identify of items.   In this case, the top experts with all their resources took years to identify a single artifact.  They were lucky they found an exact match.  That doesn't always happen.

The professionals make assumptions too - sometimes more than other people.  They accept the dogma of their professional community.  It is required to a large extent.

How did they identify the Roman fish artifact?  They found an artifact that matched their piece.  How convincing is that?  Could they be wrong?  How and why?

In the near future I plan to talk about the factors that we can use to identify the age of an dug artifact. In fact, I was going to start that today, but at the last minute decided to provide this background first.  That was partly because I ran across the article about the Roman fish.

---

Lightning on Clearwater Beach recently killed and injured people.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-lightning-strike-beach-8-injured

Be careful.

---

Let me know what you think of the eagle pin/badge.

Happy hunting
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/22/19 Report - Corroded Silver Coin. Old Bottle Finds. Dates For Artifacts. Weather System Developing.

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

Corroded Silver.

Can you identify the coin in picture above?

I think it is interesting how the corrosion causes different patterns on the silver.

If you could not tell what the one above is, can you tell from the picture below?

Same Object Shown Above.

The second photo is the same, with the same magnification, same lighting and everything, except it is more out of focus.

It is a silver Roosevelt dime.

I thought it might actually be a little easier to identify the Roosevelt profile in the out-of-focus photo.


---

The first old bottles I ever found at the beach were found after Hurricane Andrew in South Florida.  I was digging old coins when I noticed what looked like an old bottle in the surf.  The coins I were finding were old but were in terrible condition.  I decided to start collecting the old bottles.  I found a plastic bag on the beach and started collecting the bottles.

 One of the very first that I found was an embossed Gordon's Dry Gin bottle like the one shown here.

This is one I found not long ago.  Since the first one that I found, I've found a few similar bottles.  One was found recently.

Two Very Similar Gordon's Dry Gin Bottles.

I've found several now.  Only the first was found down south.  The others were found on the Treasure Coast.

They all have the wolf's head symbol on the bottom (below).

Bottom of Gordon's Dry Gin Bottle.

These are not very rare bottles.  As I said, I've found a few, and you can find them online.  It didn't take much research to find an age for the bottle.

They also have a number on the back.  The number is 610617.

No. On One Side of Same Bottle.

It didn't take much research to find an age.  The BayBottles.com web site (link below) says that number means the bottle dates to 1912 -1913.

Interestingly, Miami-Dade County voted itself dry in 1913.

The lips on the bottles are different.

Lips On Same Two Bottles.

The lip on the greener bottle looks more crudely made.  The lip of that one is applied over the neck, which makes a more narrow opening.

That would make me think the bottles might be of different ages.

The initial Gordon’s Distillery dates back to 1769 in London and they began making a form of dry gin sometime after the advent of continuous distillation in the 1830’s.

Gordon & Company merged with Tanqueray  in 1898 and it was around this time  that listings for Gordon Dry Gin began to appear in U.S. newspaper advertisements. The first mention that I could find in a New York City newspaper were several advertisements for Macy’s, who listed Gordons Gin under the heading “Fine Wines for Medicinal Use.”

See https://baybottles.com/2016/11/07/gordons-dry-gin-london-england-regd-610617/

Also https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2015/02/gordons-gin-a-brand-history/

---

When you talk about the date of an object, exactly what is the date of interest?  Do you want to know when the item was made, or when it was being used, or the date it was lost?  Maybe the date of interest is the date of an associated event, such as a battle or the sinking of a ship.

One thing that can be forgotten is that items, especially older items, were often used for long periods of time and might have been repaired or repurposed and reused for centuries.  An old tea kettle, for example, could be repaired many times with additional copper and rivets and then finally the copper turned into points, decorations or any of a variety of things and used again and again in different forms. I have a book that shows many dug artifacts that were manufactured out of the copper of old tea pots.  The life cycle of old objects could be very long, especially when you consider how the items were repurposed and the parts reused.

I once found a ;penny bearing the date 1909.  The penny appeared to show almost no circulation wear, but had a few big scratches.  It was found at the site of an old house that had just been demolished, not far from the corner of the house. The date on the penny was the same year that the house was built.  I wondered if it might have been placed with the laying of the cornerstone for good luck.  That was  not an uncommon practice.

Being marked with a date, coins can provide good reference points, however the date marked on the coin is the year it was made, which can differ very significantly from the the dates it was used or the date it was lost.  Very old coins can be lost after being safely stored for decades or centuries.

In this case the date of the penny matched the date the house was built.  I knew the date the house was built from my research.   Were the matching dates significant or just coincidence?  That question remains.

When we talk of salvaged shipwreck items we might be interested in the age of the item (when it was made), but just as often, I think we are interested in the date of the wrecking, especially when you have no better information about the date of the item.

In summary, when I attempt to determine the date of an item, there might actually be several dates of interest. I might be most interested in the date of manufacture, the date or time period when the item was in use, the date when it was lost, or the date of some important event associated with the item.

---

I added the GORDON'S DRY GIN bottles to my TGBottleBarn.blogspot.com site and added an archive gadget to make it easier to find old posts about other bottles.


Expect another week of small surf.

There is a weather system southeast of Miami that could develop.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/20/19 Report - Artifacts Found by Kayaker. Super Bowl Ring Pawn Attempt. Battle of Waterloo Artifacts. Apollo 11.

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

Items Found by Kayaker.

Source: See TheGuardian.com link below.

Objects from a possible Roman shipwreck have been found off the coast of Kent in one of the most unusual archaeological finds in living memory.

The chance discoveries were made by a kayaker in the sea off Ramsgate. The tide was low enough and the water clear enough for him to reach down and pull out beautiful cobalt blue glassware and high-status Roman pottery, called Samian ware.

Mark Dunkley, a marine listing adviser with Historic England said it was the sort of find which just did not happen in the UK. “It is the rarity of the material and the quality of the material that is really significant. In my experience this stuff just does not exist in an underwater context anywhere around Britain...

For more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/17/kayaker-finds-rare-roman-glass-and-pottery-off-kent-coast

One good thing about glassware and potterys is that you can often find it when conditions are not good for finding things like coins.

---


An employee of a Tempe, Ariz. hotel was arrested trying to sell stolen Super Bowl rings belonging to Mark May at a pawn shop in Las Vegas, according to Joe Enea and Shane Dale of ABC 15...

Behnert allegedly tried to sell the pair of rings for $12,000, which raised immediate questions by the staff. Considering a single 2006 Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl ring issued to defensive lineman Montae Reagor is currently listec by the store for $80,000 and a 1989 Denver Broncos AFC Championship ring issued to defensive lineman Greg Kagan is listed for $60,000 the asking price for the rings was understandably curious...

For more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/pawn-stars-shop-helps-nab-thief-trying-to-sell-mark-mays-stolen-super-bowl-rings/ar-AAEvu09?ocid=spartandhp

Asking too little can raise suspicions, yet I suspect there was more to it than that.

---

The first ever excavation of the main allied field hospital at the Battle of Waterloo has uncovered sawn-off limbs and musket balls fired during a previously unrecorded fight on the steps of the farm where the Duke of Wellington’s medics worked...

The heavy concentration of balls found at the site, fired both from the allied Brown Bess infantry muskets and the smaller calibre French weapons, suggests that a fight also took place there, potentially after Napoleon’s generals ordered a cavalry charge on the grounds of Mont-St-Jean, now an orchard, which lay about 0.3 miles (600 metres) behind the main allied line...

For more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/17/excavation-of-waterloo-field-hospital-unearths-limbs-and-musket-balls

---

Soldier From Battle of Waterloo Identified.

Source: See Archaeology.org link below.

,,,  “I think this is a unique case,” he says. “We excavated 120 trenches in this area, covering more than half an acre, and found almost nothing and no other remains.” In fact, the soldier is not just the only one to have been found in this area—he is the first and only British soldier to have fought and died at Waterloo ever discovered on the site. (Another soldier was supposedly found in the early twentieth century; however, later DNA analysis showed that the remains came from two different people and that that “soldier” was a forgery.) Although the soldier’s head and one of his knees were destroyed by a bulldozer, and some of the bones of his hands and feet were damaged either by a plow—the area has long been a wheat field—or perhaps by a battlefield explosion that tore them away, the skeleton is remarkably intact. Bosquet is able to say that he was between 20 and 29 years old, about five feet three inches tall, with a slender frame.... 

Source: See Archaeology.org link below.

For more of that story: https://www.archaeology.org/issues/79-1303/features/535-waterloo-british-soldier-dominique-bosquet

---

The Apollo 11 takeoff was projected onto the Washington Monument.  Would have been nice to see.

Here is the link.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=video+of+apollo+on+washington+monument&view=detail&mid=BE0EC691C7688123122BBE0EC691C7688123122B&FORM=VIRE

Here is more about that.

https://www.tmz.com/2019/07/18/washington-monument-apollo-11-50-anniversary-moon-landing/

---

No new storms forming and no significant change to Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/19/19 Report - Latest 1715 Fleet Finds . 16th Century Florida Artifacts. Detecting a Battle Site.

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

Reales Recently Salvaged by Captain Jonah and the Crew of the Bottomline.

Photo submitted by Jonah Martinez.

Captain Jonah said these new reales were found in areas that had previously been worked over, and that just goes to show how much treasure remains to be found from the 1715 Fleet.

Thanks Jonah!

---

16th century artifacts are being uncovered by archaeologists on private property in St. Augustine at a construction site.

Included are ceramics, a lock, and items from a print shop.

“We have found evidence of the print shop. We found at least four typesets, newsprint typesets, which is pretty cool. ... I think we found an N, and a C and an H,” White said.

Here is the link.

https://www.staugustine.com/news/20190717/centuries-old-ceramics-other-artifacts-found-at-st-augustine-construction-

---

DJ sent me a link to an excellent report on the Custer battle site.  It provides some excellent insight for detectorists, including the use of historic topographic maps and metal detectors.  Here are just three paragraphs from a report that you might find very interesting.

A preliminary assessment of various historic maps was conducted to determine which may be the most reliable in depicting the 1876 river channel. The method involved georeferencing the historic maps to the modern topographic and aerial photography and establishing a root mean square error calculation. This objective analysis was coupled with a subjective analysis of the river channel and terrain features depicted on the subject map. A preliminary assessment of the historic maps suggests that Maguire Map 8 and the Norris map have potential to aid in sorting out the 1876 river channel if used judiciously. The 1883 Blake map may show the river meanders most accurately in the area of the Custer field than other maps preceding or post-dating it. The 1891 topographic map seems to be generally correct except for the location of the southernmost oxbow at Custer field, which is the one currently threaten by erosion.

The absence of metal in the detectable range and the preliminary assessment of the historic maps suggest the oxbows are not likely to contain archeological evidence of the battle.  However, no formal geomorphological investigation of the river channel, abandoned river channels, or the oxbows has been undertaken to date. It is recommended, before determining if additional mitigation measures are required a professional geomorphological study of the river channel is done. Such a study has the potential to posit chronological changes in the riverbed and more accurately define the 1876 channel, as well as determine if historic surfaces may still exist as buried soil horizons.

Since field time permitted a more formal test of the capability of the VLF and PI metal detectors was undertaken. Two previously inventoried areas were redetected. One test area encompassed a known warrior fighting position and the other was a known soldier position. Each area yielded additional artifacts.  Fifty-seven percent of the artifacts were not battle-related, 43% were battle related, 90% were found by the VLF machines, and 10% were found by the PI metal detector alone. The test indicates the 1984 sample strategy was sound in that it did recover a representative sample of the range of artifact types present.  The PI metal detector did find about 10% more than the VLF machines. Most of those items were either deeper than the capability of the VLF machines or were items that were very small and were missed by the VLF machines. The test grids indicate the PI metal detector has the potential to increase artifact recovery in areas where materials may include very small or deeply buried artifacts.

https://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/LittleBighornOxbowArcheologicalReport.pdf

Not long ago I encouraged the use of topographic maps to determine changes in the beach over the  years and decades.  That can tell you how the beach has been changing, including where it has been building and eroding over a period of time.  That kind of information will tell you a lot about where targets of different time periods might be found.  If done well, it can give you an idea of how deep to expect old targets in various areas.

As you can see, the article discussed the relative effectiveness of different types of detectors.  Although interesting, I wouldn't draw too many conclusions from that.  A lot depends upon how the detectors were used.  That is as important or more important than the capabilities of the detector.

In any case, I think you'll find the article interesting.

---

(CNN)A heat wave is expected for much of the eastern half of the US in the coming days -- and it has the potential to be deadly.

More than 130 million Americans are under a heat watch, warning or advisory, with the heat index expected to reach 115 degrees in some areas. The widespread heat wave will hit its peak Friday and Saturday with dozens of records possible...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/18/us/heat-wave-survival-tips-wxc-trnd/index.html

Take stay hydrated and take precautions to avoid heat related illness.  

---

A one to two foot surf is expected for the next few days on the Treasure Coast.

There is currently not tropical cyclone activity in the area.

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/18/19 Report - Trade Dollars and Chop Marks. Scouting With Drone. Silver Hands Bracelet.

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

Half Reale With Chop Mark.

Submitted by Scott C.

Yesterday I posted a brief history of the swastika as an example of how some symbols are used for thousands of years and by many cultures.  In response, I received the above photo from Scott C. along with the following message.

Saw your post on the Swastika, take a look at this circulated trade 1/2 real. Upper Left and Bottom Right you will see the Swastika chop marks. I really like this little half.

So many symbols were used during the trade years, The Manila Galleon trade route is most likely how this 1/2 real was chopped. Do you have the book on Chop Marks by F.M. Rose?... 

Thanks again for all you posts and great information.

Thanks for sharing Scott.  That is one interesting coin and a fascinating subject!

Wikipedia says,  Chop marks on coins are Chinese characters stamped onto coins by merchants in order to validate the weight, authenticity and silver content of the coin.

Starting with the 18th century, a number of European, and American and Japanese silver coins (generically know as the trade dollar) began circulating in the Far East.  Each merchant's firm had its own mark and, after heavy circulation, the design of the coin became completely obliterated by the chap marks.

Here is a good link on trade dollars and chop marks.

https://www.littletoncoin.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Display%7C10001%7C29555%7C-1%7C%7CLearnNav%7CChop-Marked-Trade-Dollars.html

---

I received several great emails and also had a lot of ideas buzzing around in my own mind this morning.  I could go a lot of different directions today and originally planned to continue with the factors involved with dating dug items, but I decided to post some of the things I just received today.  That will give me more time to better develop and organize the ideas that I've been thinking about and there is always the danger if I don't post something soon after I receive it, I'll eventually forget to do it.


Here is an email from Alberto S.

 ... About 3 years ago, I came across this facility in Homestead Florida while doing research for possible metal detecting sites other than the beach, it happened to be less than 45 minutes from our house in South West Miami so I decided to visit the area and see if I could fly my drone to get some footage, I could have walked from where I parked to the actual location but it meant leaving my wife alone in a secluded area and that was not an option as she was not going to walk 5 miles in the heat and the mosquitoes of the everglades. So with the help of my drone I got some real interesting footage although limited due to distance and power (battery only lasts about 18 minutes total) and I had to have enough for the return flight. I used a screen shot from one of the video clips I took to set the background for the attached image and tried to summarize the story on the one shot, the other images came from google earth and online search. To think that until 2013 the building where the silo is located was still standing and the silo was there for anyone to see and take pictures (see attached)  well anyone willing to go a little out of the hiking trail and maybe miss the no trespassing sign made me wish I had found this information a few years before, maybe. The actual silo is about 3 miles south of the main facility. There are some photos online of the rocket in the silo even with all concrete that has been placed on top, some people just have to get that shot...

Alberto S 

By Alberto S.

Great research and image Alberto. Thanks much. Below I enlarged the text boxes so you can read it more easily on your devices.

There are abandoned places out there. Often they are off limits, but Alberto's work shows how you can effectively use a drone to scout sites.

---

Mitch King found a picture of a new bracelet for sale online that is almost exactly like the heavily corroded one I posted a few days ago.

New Silver Bracelet for Sale Online.

Submitted by Mitch K.

Gaylen C. sent the following. On page 264 of  1715 Treasure: History, Manifests, Analysis, Photos by Robert Burgess there is a photo of a ring with clasped hands. Your photo shows a much higher degree of accuracy of anatomical detail than the clasped hands examples. Maybe that kind of skill could be a clue to the origin. 

Good detailed observation Gaylen! Thanks.

I'll plan to have a more detailed discussion of this subject in the future.

---

Expect more hot weather and small surf.  There is no tropical storm activity expected real soon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/17/19 Report - Salvage Boats At Work. Difficulties of Determining Age of Dug Items. History of Swastika.

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

Salvage Boat Near Treasure Shores Beach Yesterday.

I received the above photo and following message from Gaylen C.

Attached is a photo (sorry didn't have camera, just phone) of the "C-7" just a little south of Treasure Shores beach park. Another larger boat was working just to the north. Looked like they were just scanning the bottom on the boat's console. In 2 hours they never dropped the prop blaster, and neither of the 2 on board ever went in the water. They did relocate once just about 50 yds more to the south. The northern boat appeared to have 2 divers down at one time... 

Thanks Gaylen.

---

I've been thinking how the age of items can be determined.  It can be very tricky.  I always remember the case when archaeologists thought they found an old pipe in a slave quarters, and it turned out to be a Cracker Jack prize.  (There was a time when the prize in the box was much nicer than in recent years.) But if trained professionals make that kind of mistake in a scientific dig, that tells you how cautious you have to be.

There are basically two kinds of mistakes I am concerned with when it comes to that kind of thing.  You can think that it is old or significant when it is not, or you can think that it is not old or not significant and it really is.  Of the two, I rather make the first type of mistake.  If you think it might be significant, you will probably keep it and take care of it until you find out that you were mistaken.  On the other hand, if you think an item is junk when it is not, you might lose it, let it get broken or throw it away, and then discover your mistake when it is too late to undo the damage.

When you know that you don't know, you should probably keep the item and research it until you  know what it is and what you should do with it, that isn't nearly as bad as thinking the item is junk and not learning about it until after the damage is done.  Somebody recently gave the advice, "If in doubt, don't throw it out."  That is good advice.

The first time I found musket balls, I thought they must be old because they were musket balls.  That was my conclusion, but I'm now convinced I was wrong.  

I found the musket balls on Key Biscayne, probably not more than fifty yards from the old lighthouse.  You probably know that the Seminoles attacked the lighthouse in 1836.  So in addition to the musket balls more often being associated with the past, the specific history of the area also provided support for the possibility of old musket balls being found in the area.

(Here is link you can use to read about the 1836 Seminole attack on the lighthouse.

http://www.floridahistorynetwork.com/july-23-1836---cape-florida-lighthouse-attacked-by-seminoles.html)

After a while, but I don't know for sure how long it was, I decided those musket balls were not old at all. By that time I had found more musket balls and had become familiar with the typical patina of weathered musket balls. The musket balls I found on Key Biscayne didn't look the same as those other musket balls.  They didn't have the same oxidized patina.

That is an example of one kind of error.  I thought that the items were old when they were not.  It wasn't a disastrous mistake because I kept the items until I learned more about them and realized that they weren't old.

One thing to remember is things that were made many decades or centuries ago are still often made today.  People still make musket balls and use them.  Maybe you've seen battle reenactments where newly created musket balls were used.  You can buy the molds and make your own today.  In fact you can buy reproduction parts to put together your own complete working musket.  Take a look at the Dixie Gun Works catalog, for example.  You can get almost anything to go along with the musket too, including hand forged knife blades or period costumes.

Take a look at the Mel Fisher store and you'll see reproductions of old shipwreck recovered items.  Some are even made of salvaged silver or gold.  I think I've found at least one of those.

And then there are items that were made very similarly for centuries.  The Claddagh ring is one example.  A Claddagh ring from the 17th century can look almost exactly like one made today.  A simple gold band or gold cross made centuries ago might look like very much like those made today. In cases like that there are other things that might help you tell the difference.  I hope to get into that more in the near future.

I've made both kinds of error.  There were finds that I didn't recognize as significant, old, or interesting, and as a result, they were not taken care of properly.  It isn't good when you realize that you didn't properly value or appreciate an item until after it has been damaged or lost.  Again, it is best to treat all unknown items as if they were significant until you find out otherwise.  It is a process.

I plan to make an informal checklist of things that should can be or should be considered to determine if an item is old or not.  As I said, that is very tricky business, and some factors might be pointing one direction while other considerations are suggesting another conclusion.  Hopefully the exercise of thinking it through will be worthwhile.  I think it will. 

---

The Swastika Across Times and Cultures.


There are symbols or designs that are near universal across cultures and time periods. When you see a swastika, you might think of World War II or Nazis, but the swastika, like numerous other designs and symbols, has a long history and was used by many different cultures.

… For the Hindus and Buddhists in India and other Asian countries, the swastika was an important symbol for many thousands of years and, to this day, the symbol can still be seen in abundance - on temples, buses, taxis, and on the cover of books. It was also used in Ancient Greece and Rome, and can be found in the remains of the ancient city of Troy, which existed 4,000 years ago. The ancient Druids and the Celts also used the symbol, reflected in many artifacts that have been discovered. It was used by Nordic tribes, and even early Christians used the Swastika as one of their symbols, including the Teutonic Knights, a German medieval military order, which became a purely religious Catholic Order...

The word ‘swastika’ is a Sanskrit word (‘svasktika’) meaning ‘It is’, ‘Well Being’, ‘Good Existence, and ‘Good Luck’. However, it is also known by different names in different countries - like ‘Wan’ in China, ‘Manji’ in Japan, ‘Fylfot’ in England, ‘Hakenkreuz’ in Germany and ‘Tetraskelion’ or ‘Tetragammadion’ in Greece...

Here is the link for more about the swastika.
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/symbol-swastika-and-its-12000-year-old-history-001312

The swastika provides one example of how tempting it can be to jump to conclusions and ignore many other possibilities.  Of course, other factors should be considered.

----

Very little increase in the surf is predicted for the next week or so, and there is no new significant storm activity right now.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net