6/26/26 Report - New Coins Released to Circulation. Legal Treasure Battles. Hobnails, Heel and Toe Boot Plates.

The U.S. Mint is releasing a slew of coins with rare designs for America's 250th anniversary, including a newly announced 25-cent piece that gives Americans “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover a piece of history in everyday transactions.”

Only 250,000 of the Semiquincentennial 2026 Declaration of Independence Quarters pictured below will be randomly released into circulation. They’ll sport a “July 4th” privy mark.

“This is more than a coin; it’s a defining moment in our nation’s story,” Mint Director Paul Hollis said in a press release. “We hope Americans enjoy the search for these iconic quarters as they’re meant to be shared, saved, and remembered as part of this historic anniversary.”

The special privy mark will be found to the left of President Thomas Jefferson on the face of the Declaraion of Independenc Quarters that are being minted this year. On the reverse of these quarters, you’ll see the Liberty Bell, complete with its iconic crack that echoes “the fragility of a young nation at its founding.”

The quarters are being sent to banks and financial institutions throughout the U.S. and will be available before July 4, according to the U.S. Mint...

Here is the link for more about that.

Check your quarters: Rare 'July 4th' coins entering circulation

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More than a year after a Texas treasure hunter accused his former financial backer of cutting him out of a multibillion dollar shipwreck treasure, the legal battle over what could be one of the most valuable treasure finds in modern history has returned to federal court.

Allen's attorneys responded that the online discussions are irrelevant to the central dispute, arguing the case instead turns on whether Porter used "non-public portions of Marx's research" that Allen Exploration purchased and owned...

Here is the link to read more about that suite which centers on the Nuestra Senor de las Maravillas lying in Bahamian waters.

A real-life $5B treasure hunt is back in a Texas courtroomA real-life $5B treasure hunt is back in a Texas courtroom

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Oftentimes, the leather part of Roman-era shoes decays, leaving only the hobnails, or short nails with thick heads, for archaeologists to find. But here, a sole has survived with its hobnails.

"Hobnails were used by the Romans to improve the durability of their footwear and to provide increased traction especially in muddy areas or places with rough terrain,"...

Here is the link to the article which shoes a variety of archeologically recovered old shoes.

15 old shoes found in archaeological excavations around the world, including at Roman forts | Live Science

I've dug metal shoe parts, including shoe buttons or hooks, eyelets, tacks and heel plates or toe tips.  I have couple that are "pssibles."  I'm not sure what they are.

The ones I've found are more like those on the right.  They are crescent shape.

Below is a good link for more historic information on taps or cleats, including military boots.

Evolution of the MTI and Air Force Basic Training

I've found some on an 18th century site.  I'll have to so some more research on those.

----

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/25/26 Report - Nice Lady's Leg Bottle Find. Medieval Game Board. Dust Cloud Supressing Tropical Development.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Beauty doesn't scream.  It doesn't have to.  You can't help but be absorbed into it, like the subtle hint of a totally confident smile dominates an entire room.  You want a name, but the smile makes it unnecessary.

Wait a minute.  You aren't on the wrong site.  I'm just playing around.

Above is an attractive dark green applied-lip blown bottle find.  The "ladys-leg" neck shows several long stretch bubbles.  The nicely proportioned barrel seems to taper ever so slightly.  There is no embossed name, but there are some hidden hints begging to be interpreted.

Here is the bottom of the bottle.

You can see a rather clear symbol that looks like maybe a plus or X and opposite that a very faint O or something.  

If the signs and symbols are correctly interpreted, I'd say this is a 1850–1870 American whiskey bottle from a small regional glasshouse

The dark olive-green base is a classic whisky color. The lady's leg is typical 1840 - 1870 era. The 13-inch height and four-inch base is also standard for a whiskey. On the bottom you can see a post-mold tooling scar. The plus sign, or whatever it is, is probably a hand-engraved mold cutter's mark, and the O, a mold identifier.

As I've learned more about bottles, I've begun to pay more attention to the bottoms. The bottom tells you more about the glass bottle maker rather than the product or company that sells the product.

The more you learn about things, the more you pay attention to subtlties that you never noticed or focused on before. It could be bottles, coins or whatever.

---

Above is a "game board" was found in a medieval Morrocan Bathhouse. I'm always skeptical when a vague find is described as a game piece or anything like that. It just seems to easy to call something a game when you don't know what its utilitarian purpose might be.

Here is the link to the article.

News - Medieval Game Board Identified in Moroccan Bathhouse - Archaeology Magazine

Speaking of game boards, I've had this one (if that is what it is) for a long time and don't have any idea about it.  

Game Board (?) with Quarter for Comparison.

This is heavy 2-inch-thick wood.  It weighs ten pounds and wouldn't be easily knocked over.  It seems to be made for pegs maybe.

I don't have any idea what game would be played on it or what it is.

Any ideas?

----

I have a product recommendation. I had to cut a fitting off a hose and when I did that I cut into the metal hose screw end. I filled the cut with JB Weld, which did a great job. It filled the hole and is holding up very well under usage. It comes in various forms for different purposes. The next time I have to fix a rod assembly or something on a metal detector, I'll think about using that product.

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A huge cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert is set to engulf southeastern regions of the US in the coming days after travelling across the Atlantic, forecasters have said.

The Saharan air layer has carried sand and dust thousands of miles across the ocean, moving through the Caribbean and into parts of Florida.

Meteorologists say the Atlantic drift will create an environment hostile to the development of hurricanes, injecting dry air into the atmosphere and leading to high temperatures.

Miami-Dade county issued a warning over harmful particles potentially affecting air quality across the region to remain in effect until 3pm Eastern Time on Tuesday. It covers inland areas of Miami-Dade county, including Miami, Florida City and Hialeah...

Here is the link for more about that.

Massive Saharan dust cloud to sweep across US in days

Nothing has changed with the surf or beach conditions.  No tropical developments.  Just the same old flat surf.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

UnitedGlassBottle.pdf

6/24/26 Report - Another Cannonball Unearthed. Views and Thinking About Metal Detecting and Other Things.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

SAN ANTONIO - Archaeologists working at the The Alamo uncovered a second intact cannonball tied to the Battle of the Alamo era, a discovery that came just months after the first find and deepened what researchers describe as an unusually rare excavation streak at the site.

The latest cannonball was unearthed on June 2 during ongoing digs near the northeast corner of the Alamo Church, in nearly the same area where a previous artifact surfaced on March 5, just ahead of the 190th anniversary of the battle.

Both objects were found at roughly the same depth, preserved in what archaeologists call undisturbed soil layers...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

News - Second Cannonball Unearthed at The Alamo - Archaeology Magazine

---

I like thinking and talking about metal detecting.  Metal detecting is just like life in general.  It is a subset.  The big principles are the same. 

Your views create a lot of your reality.  In many cases your views end up being self-fulfilling prophecies.  

To give an example, if you don't think you will find anything, you won't go out, and as a result you won't likely find anything.  If you think you will find something nice, there is a much better chance that you will make it happen.  You will make a good effort.  The more you believe, the more likely you will be to stick at it until you succeed.  

Many people believe that they are lucky or unlucky.  That view will affect what choices you make and your actions and that will to some extent determine what happens.  

The view itself can be part of the punishment or reward.  The effect of viewing yourself as unlucky or incapable is destructive in itself.  It puts you in a bad place and colors your world.

A particular view or expectation might not be correct, but some views are overall more productive and rewarding (in multiple ways) than others. Some can be very destructive.  They are bad bets in the cosmic gambling casino.  

Our expectations determine what we will do.  When we put our foot on the brake pedal we expect the car to stop. When our expectations are off, we can have a problem.  When our expectations are consistently off, a adjustment of views is needed.  Failing to make adjustments can be disastrous, yet there is often a stubborn commitment to ineffective views and actions.  Change is often needed.  

Change can be interesting and fun.  It can be a temporary experiment or become a long-term thing.  I suggest doing a lot of experimenting with your metal detecting.  It can pay off in the long run.

There is a lot of information out there these days, but I recommend proving it out for yourself.  It means more that way.  You understand it better, and it will be specific to you and your equipment and situation.

People assume that the detector they got is exactly like every other detector of the same type, but there are differences.  I once got a second coil of the same type, but there were differences between the two.  Quality control is not always 100% not to mention updates, change in part sourcing, differences in your ground conditions etc., etc.  It is personal.

There was a time when my metal detecting was more about the objects. The objects were the catalyst and objectification or test of the ideas.  The thought process is the most important part of metal detecting.

If you watch the Skinwalker Ranch program (assuming it isn't all fraud) they are forming an object by conducting tests.  One object is known as the blob.  It is not directly observed with the natural senses but indirectly observed through test results. You might say that metal detector finds are observed indirectly through the metal detector until they are dug. The metal detector technology extends our senses.

I would have liked to have had their EEG equipment back in the 1970s. The one I used had to be connected by wires and electrodes pasted to the subject.  Much less portable and convenient.

What I like about the Skinwalker program, is that instead of jumping to one conclusion, they offered four possible interpretations of the unexpected EEG results unlike the Oak Island program where they get stuck going down one path even when it requires an absolutely ridiculous interpretation. 

But what I was going to say is that the bubble and blob are being defined by the measurements or observations being made.  I better quit there.  I'm tempted to get into Operationism and Quantum physics, but that isn't where I intended to go when I started this post.  When I started this post I was going to talk about remote viewing, but now that will have wait for some other time.  I danced all around it but never got to it.  

---

Some have already decided unidentified aerial phenomena prove extraterrestrial visitation. Others insist every report is nonsense or simple misidentification. Neither position reflects disciplined analysis. Good intelligence work begins neither with belief nor disbelief. It begins with evidence...

A question bigger than science

That is why today's debate is not fundamentally about unidentified flying objects. It is about how we determine what is true. Science explains observable phenomena remarkably well, but it cannot answer questions of ultimate meaning. Those questions lead us into philosophy, and ultimately, theology.

Former Pentagon strategist says America is asking the wrong question about UAPs | Fox News

I highly recommend reading this article.

Start with the right question if you want a good answer.  Too often the question all but eliminates many good possibilities.

---

Nothing new with either the National Hurricane Atlantic map or the surf charts for the Treasure Coast.

There will be a slightly negative morning low tide.

The wind is from the west and keeping the surf flat.  It should be a good year for salvage diving as well as shallow water metal detecting.

The Sahara dust is evidently suppressing tropical development.  I think I posted an article on that.

---

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust

---

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/23/26 Report - Plunging Gold and Silver Prices. Treasure Island. New Morgan and Peace Dollars.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Here is the ten-year gold price chart.  Gold prices are way down from the peak back in January.  Still, looking at the ten-year chart, it is still high compared to most of that time period.

If you knew what would happen next, you'd could make a lot of money.  It seems the markets (both stock and commodities) are determined a lot by the daily news.  That makes it tough to guess what will happen next.  At around 10AM this morning, it was down another $45 or so for the day.

Anyhow, the prices have come down a lot this year so far.  Silver has also fallen.

If you check the percentage change for the different time periods, they are different but have generally changed in the same direction.

---

What book ends with the exclamation, "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!"

If you don't know, maybe you could guess.

It is 

Treasure Island.

It was published in 1882, but the one above is a later copy that I had.  This edition was published in 1955.  I don't think it had any effect on my treasure hunting interests, but it sometimes said to have inspired an interest in treasure hunting,

It is 283 pages and very well written.  I can't imagine kids today reading it.  Way too many other easy distractions.  I just took another look at it, and it is very well-written - almost too well written to be a more modern publication.

---

The United States Mint will release the 206 Morgan Silver Dollar Reverse Proof Coin and the 2026 Morgan Dollar Reverse Proof Coin on July 9, 2026, at noon Eastern Time.

This year, collectors will not need to wait for the later two-coin set to buy either coin. Instead, the Mint will offer the Morgan and Peace Reverse Proof Dollars as separate products on the same day. Each coin carries a price of $173. Each also carries a household order limit of 10. That change matters...

Here is the link for more about that.

2026 Morgan and Peace Reverse Proof Dollars: 250th Anniversary Silver Coins Arrive July 9

---

Nothing new on the NHC or map or the SurfGuru surf chart.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/22/26 Report - Summer FUN Show July 9 - 11 in Orlando. Sedwick Seeking Consignments. Hot Weather.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Clip from Jensen Beach Web Cam Near Noon Monday.

Few people are braving the mid-day sun to enjoy the newly replenished Treasure Coast beaches.  

One way to metal detect comfortably in the heat is step out into the shallow water.  Better yet, put on a snorkel and stick your head in.  The surf is so nice and smooth that is easy to get out a little deeper with your submersible metal detector.  If you normally walk around with your head out of the water, you'll enjoy the underwater sights.  You might even see a small gold chain or something.  You might even see a ten- or twenty-dollar bill on the bottom or floating by.  I've experienced both and I've talked about one location off a popular big South Florida resort where the bills will often settle in a dip.

---

From Sedwick...

The FUN Summary Show 2026, Olrando, Florida from July 9 to 11, 2026... will provide excellent opportunities to meet with collectors, dealers, researchers, and friends from the international numismatic community.... We (Sedwicks) look forward to seeing many of you in Madrid and at FUN this summer, and to sharing news, updates, and highlights from Sedwick & Associates.

--- No developoments on the Atlantic National Hurricane Center map. No changes in beach conditions.   The low tides aren't that big now. Good hunting, Treasureguide@commcast.net

6/20/26 Report - Artifacts from Battle of Bunker Hill Recovered. Item Photos and Data for Context.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Musket Ball Found at Bunker Hill
Clipped from Fox News video (link below)

Inspired by a centuries-old map, archaeologists have been digging in the park that sits on the site where American patriots hastily constructed an earthen fort to slow advancing British forces at what became known as the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

Ground-penetrating radar identified potential locations for the fort in Boston's Charlestown section. Soon after digging the first trench, the team... found definitive signs of a ditch constructed hours before the battle on June 17, 1775...

So far, the dig has uncovered musket balls and parts of a musket from the battle. They also found objects likely left behind by British troops who occupied the area after the battle — including tea cups, tobacco pipes, sleeve buttons and a wig curler. There were nearly 150 combatants who died there but no human remains have been found, though a forensic archaeologist is on site to identify any bones...

One volunteer held in her hand two jagged stones — the gray one was an English gun flint while a beige one was a French gun flint...

They also found eight marble-sized musket balls from both sides in the battle. The markings and shape of some bullets showed they had been fired from a distance but didn't hit anyone. If they had, the balls would have been deformed.

“You can see the ramrod mark from when the soldier rammed it down. You can the little ring on the top where it was pushed down” ... “marks on the edge of the ball” show that it had been fired.

Here is the link for the entire article.

Archaeologists find musket balls and fort linked to the Battle of Bunker Hill - ABC News

And here is a video of the dig.

Archaeologists digging for history at Bunker Hill ahead of America 250 | Fox News

I never looked for ram rod marks.  I'll do that.  

One thing that caught my attention was the picture that shows a musket ball being held between the fingers of a gloved archaeologist.  Although that is how I often show artifacts in this blog, it is not how artifacts from archaeological digs are usually shown. They are shown with a measure or grid.  I know that it has become more common to show metal detected artifacts in hand but it has not always been that way.  In fact, early in this blog, reader's often suggested showing a coin for size comparison, which was the preferred way to show dug items in forums before that.  

I haven't always been careful to compose my images.  I often neglected to show any good indicator of size.  I did often how items in hand, which gives some idea of size, even if it is not precise.  For international readers who are more comfortable with the metric system, our rulers require conversion and our coins aren't as familiar.  Being lazy, impatient or short on time, is my excuse.  I simply don't always devote a lot of time to the composition of the images I use. 

Showing items in hand isn't bad, even if it might not be the best.  It is important to provide accurate measurements if you want help with ID.  That is a slightly different matter.

Hand images do provide some idea of size even though hand sizes vary, but it also adds a human context.  It shows the item not as something on a shelf or in a sterile laboratory.  It shows the item as someone's discovery - as they often say, being touched and seen for the first time in how many ever years.

Since archaeologists so often show items with a grid, the picture made me wonder if there is someting of a trend to show objects in hand.  I'm always interested in trends in communication.  I just find it interesting.  For example, one current trend is saying "thank you so much" instead of simply thank you.  Obama's "existential threats" was picked up almost immediately and continues strong.  I've commented on that one before.  For a while everybody was talking about "cognitive dissonance." 

It seems that the more popular a term becomes, the farther it strays from the original definition and accurate usage.  "Cognitive dissonance" has strayed far from how it was defined in Leon Festinger's seminal experiments.  It became almost meaningless and thankfully is now seldom used in the media.

Expressions that become popular or trendy like that are thrown around until they have almost no meaning.  They become all about form and lose all substance.  

Do you know what this is?  Take a guess.

It is a Boy Scouts of America lapel pin.

I used the image without any indication of size intentionally this time just to make ID a little more difficult.  It is small - perhaps smaller than you might guess. 

Here are three old finds in hand.  They give some idea of size.  They are all pretty small. 

Not only does the size of the hand and fingers provide some context, but so does the texture of the hand and picture.  Now you have an idea of how small the lapel pin is.

Handy Ruler with Slider.

There are any number of rulers and grids that can be used. the one above shows inches and has a nice slider that helps a bit. There might be times when you have the metric units too.

Here is the little silver ring on the ruler.  This image isn't ideal either. but you can get a better idea of its size.  

Looks like about 11/16 inch.

So there are multiple ways to provide visual context for finds.  Select the one that is right for the purpose.

Remember that for item ID, someone just seeing a photo will not have all the details or context you have, so you might need to provide the details.

---

Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com.

That is a flat surf.

No change there.

No tropical weather showing on the Atlantic NHC map now.

The low tides aren't very big today.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/19/26 Report - More Token Finds Including Some Mysteries Solved. Nice Hot Water Metal Detecting Weather.

 Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Old Nik-O-Lok Token Find.

Do you know what this one is?  I didn't until today.  I just looked it up.

Nik-O-Lok isa company that makes locks for pay toileets.  Who would have guessed?  Not me.

Nik-O-Lok Systems is a U.S.-based company specializing in token- and coin-operated restroom security locks designed to control access to public restrooms and deter vandalism nikolok.com. The brand is best known for its Nik-O-Lok™ locks, which can be operated with manufacturer-supplied tokens or quarters, helping businesses secure facilities, protect patrons, and reduce maintenance costs. (Source: Copilot.)

Mr. Bob's Token.

Here is one I haven't figured out.  Copilot said the Mr. Bob's token was from a Mr. Bob web site for token collecting.  That is a possibility, and one I would never think of without asking Copilot, however, not having seen one exactly like that, I'm still not sure.  Maybe a little more research will solve this one.

What drew my attention to it is the very simple text.  I first thought it might be a resaurant or game room or something like that.  

Maybe you can find it?  Let me know.

Here is another token with a simple message.

While looking through my finds, I noticed a number of Good Luck tokens.

And there were several of these lady heads and tails tokens.

Then there were these advertising tokens showing different antique cars, such as the one below, which was an EXXON promotional product.

I also have a few of the SUNOCO U.S. President promotional tokens.

Among my most memorable token finds were these numismatic tokens.  I remember that day and that find very clearly.

I told the story before.  If you are interested, here is the link.

Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 9/24/24 Report - Numismatic Beach Finds: Canadian Trade Dollar Tokens and Some Research. Major Hurricane Possible for Florida.

I think my first token find was for a North Miami Cafeteria.  It was found at the site where an trailer park once stood near Arch Creek.  

I won't go into any more of those right now.  I just picked out a few for today as illustrations of the variety that have been found.  While doing yesterday's post I realized that tokens like these are pretty much a thing of the past, like coins might be someday.  

You might wonder why I even kept them, especially the junkier ones.  I wondered that myself, until I thought about it a little.

For one thing, I did sell some of them for a few dollars years ago, but there is a lot more to it than the economic value - as little as that is in most cases.

One kind of token that has more value includes the casino tokens, which are very collectible today - especially those of early historic casinos.  Some of those tokens are made of silver.  I showed a few of those in the past, such as this one.  I don't know if you call these tokens or not.  There are probably terms.

I did a few posts on casino token or chip finds in the past.

But for the tokens I'm looking at today, they aren't worth much of anything at all.  Some not a cent.

So why did I keep them?  The ones I'm showing today aren't the prettiest even though some bear some nice graphics.  Some held mysteries to be solved.  

But why did I keep these ones?  One reason is that I didn't know much about them.  I regarded them as both reminders and possibilities.  I didn't know what value or interest they might have.  And now I know more about them.

When I first saw some of them emerge from the sand, I thought they might possibly be interesting coins.  There was that moment of excitement.  

I didn't take the time to inspect them thoroughly in the field.  At first appearance, I didn't know exactly what promise they held.  They stayed in a bag for years.

This morning it occurred to me that these tokens are something like the many people you pass every day and never take notice of.  You don't know their story. 

Everybody has a story, actually numerous stories to tell.  If you take the time to explore and understand those stories, they would often be as interesting as any novel.  

You never know who you are passing by, where they've been or what they've done.

An object by itself isn't interesting.  You have to be interested.  You have to put something of yourself into it.

An object, like a person, is an invitation to encounter, explore, know.  

The frustration is that God made such an infinitely wonderous universe, but our capacity to absorb it is so small. 

When you make a find, there is the immediate element of surprise.  There is the mystery of the moment of encounter. Then later, maybe much later, the significance unfolds.

These tokens, like many other miscellaneous finds, are something like seeds.  Some produce and some don't.  The effort you put into caring will determine to some extent the product.

These miscellaneous tokens, although they have little to no economic value, took me on a journey.  I encountered, explored and discovered.  It is about Being conscious.  Being now.  My intent today was to share that with you.  

---

Nothing much on the Nhc.noaa.org map.  Just a little action moving of North Carolina.

The low tide this morning was nice and low.  The afternoon low tide will be negative too.

The heat remains and the surf chart for the Treasure Coast is still very flat with no change expected for a week or so.

Still good for shallow water hunting,

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net