9/16/26 Report - Metal Detector Gets Capital Punishment and Detectorist Sentenced and Fined After Finding Important Hoard. Birds and Coins.

 

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

A cache of Iron Age gold coins found by a detectorist was acquired and will go on display at the Museum of Chelmsford. It is the largest Iron Age gold hoard ever recorded. The hoard could have been intended as a tribute payment to Julius Caesar.

The detectorist, a groundworker by trade, was convicted under the 1996 Treasure Act for keeping 23 of the 933 Iron Age gold Staters.

The detectorist, also described as a birdwatcher in one article, saw a feather fall from a buzzard and then saw a glint of gold and the ground where the feather landed. It doesn't seem he was an avid detectorist. He also liked fossils.

After finding the first coin, he then got his metal detector and found the rest of the coins.

 

Considering the state of journalism these days, if you read more than one report or article, you end up wondering what really happened. You just can't expect accuracy or clarity end up doing more research and trying to sift through it all.

But here is where he got into trouble. He turned 933 coins over to the landowner and kept 22 Staters and a quarter Stater having a worth of somewhere around 10,000 to 13,000 British pounds.

He admitted the theft of the Staters and failing to notify the coroner of the find as required by the Treasure Act of 1996

In court, Shane Wood admitted the theft of 22 Staters and a quarter Stater, and failing to notify the coroner.

Under the Portable Antiquities Scheme...

• No search can begin until permission has been given by the landowner
• All finds belong to the landowner
• Any find in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that is more than 300 years old, made of gold or silver, or found with gold or silver artefacts, could be treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act
• These must be reported to the appropriate county finds liaison officer

Wood didn't have permission to metal detect on the land and didn't notify the coroner directly.  It seems he told someone else who had a right to be on the land who then told the landowner and then the coroner learned of the find.  

According to a Yahoo News article, Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court sentenced Wood to an 18 month community order involving 200 hours of unpaid work, consifscation adn destruction of his metal detector and a 200 BP court fee.  Source: Court orders man’s metal detector destroyed after coins kept as ‘memento’ - Yahoo News UK

The bottom line is that the fellow found an extremely important hoard, the land owner was rewarded and the hoard was studied and ended up in a museum.  Overall, I'd say that is pretty good.

The courts didn't penalize him as severely as they might have.  It seems they gave him some slack because he wasn't an avid detectorist and perhaps could be excused to some extent for not being totally familiar with the details of the law (although they say that is no excuse) and he did report the find, though not to the letter of the law,  I think the landowner should have been happy getting rewarded for nothing beyond being fortunate enough being luck enough to own the land where the cache was buried.  I can certainly understand a fellow wanting to have some memento of a great find, but it really cost him for not knowing and acting in accordance with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.  It is wise to know the law.

I don't see the fellow as much of a bad actor.  Perhaps uninformed. 

He did report the find - though not correctly.  He didn't attempt to totally hide or steal the entire find.  And I could see how he might think reporting it to someone who would tell the landowner would be sufficient, especially since the vast majority of the cache was handed over.  

Interesting that the metal detector got capital punishment.  Not only was it confiscated, but also destroyed.  That seems funny to me.  It evidently worked to some extent.  It could have been flipped and put to work for the good guys or sold for the public benefit.  I can see destroying drugs but burning a metal detector at the stake (or however they did it)?

It is true that if you are out there looking around, you might find something, and maybe something better than anything you expected to find.  Even when metal detecting, I can't tell you how many times when I found something other than what I was hunting.  That is one reason you should get a GOOD detailed description of any reported lost item.

I read that one or more of the coins were found in his girlfriend's jewelry box.  I also think I read somewhere that she might have found some of the coins and was also fined.  I'm not sure of that though.  I'd have to go back and read it all again.

Anyway, its a real good story.

One other thing, the story reminded me of the British TV series, Detectorists.  If you haven't watched it, you should.  I really enjoyed it.  I commented on it before.  See Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 12/30/21 Report - Phenomenology of Metal Detecting Study. What Kind of Sites Detectorists Like Most. Detectorists TV Sitcom.

In the final episode of that program, it’s revealed that magpies have been stealing shiny Roman gold coins from an old hoard and depositing them high in the branches of a tree overlooking field. When the detectorists finish their search empty‑handed — and at peace with it — the magpies drop the coins to the ground.

Here is another link for more of that story.

Largest Iron Age gold coin hoard acquired by Chelmsford museum

I know some of you have found coins in Britain and I'd like to hear your experiences (if any) with the PAS.

---

A few days ago, I commented on how frequently birds are portrayed on coins.  For the U.S., the eagle is very common.

Several myth traditions explicitly link birds with gold, treasure or coins, though the connection is usually symbolic rather than literal. The strongest examples come from Greek, Roman and Chinese mythic symbolism on coins, where birds act as guardians, messengers, or omens of wealth.

The most direct mythic pairing is the owl of Athena, which appears on ancient Greek silver tetradrachms and symbolically represents wisdom, prosperity, and protection of civic wealth. Other birds — eagles, phoenixes, peacocks, and even chickens — appear on coins because they were mythic symbols of gods associated with power, fortune, or auspicious omens.

---

Windyty.com
Mid Day Thursday.

We still have that disorganized area of rain in the Atlantic, with little to no sign of strengthening.

Surf Chart from Surfguru.com.

Thursday we'll have up to a four-foot surf.  The high tides are still running over three feet, and we have a north to south current.  That is all pretty good, but there is a lot of sand to overcome after a seemingly endless summer.

It was nice to see some surfers out Wednesday and some waves on the intercoastal.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/16/26 Report - A Note of Appreciation from the Author.

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

Source: Nhc.noaa.gov

That disorganized bit of weather probably won't develop much, but we are getting a little more of a breeze.

The high tides are still running over three feet.

Source: Surf Chart for Fort Pierce Area from Surfguru.com.

At least the surf will be a little higher, and combined with the higher tides you might see some beach front sand movement.

There is a rip current warning for the area today.   I've written about rip currents before.  

Here is a site that tells you how to handle them.

How to Get out of a Rip Current: A Survival Guide

===

I've had some problems with this blog.  For one thing, the large number of posts I've done over the years, makes it very difficult when you want to find something particular from years ago.  The posts go back almost twenty years even though some of the original posts got deleted long ago.  

If you want to find an old post or a specific topic, you can use the search box that you'll find on the blog main display, but the search isn't always successful.  I get frustrated at times knowing that I posted something many years ago but can't find it again when I want to.  

The blog format isn't the greatest for finding old posts even though it does have the search capability.  Part of the difficulty might be due to the search system that requires a specific match on the terms used in the search.  If you don't get it exactly right, it can cause a miss.

Besides the difficulty of locating particular items or old posts, the sheer number of posts causes another problem - excellent posts quickly get buried by newer posts and sometimes don't get the exposure they deserve.  As you know, I've posted almost every day for years.  I sometimes wish a post I like a lot would stay at the top of the list for a while, but every time I do a new post, the older posts get buried.  My partial solution referring to those posts and providing a link back every once in a while.  That works to some extent, I guess, but I'm not totally happy with it.

I've been thinking about doing something different but am not sure what yet, but the blog format has several advantages too.  

I was thinking about quitting the blog altogether a couple weeks ago, but then I got the urge to post some things, and so I continued doing it.

I very much enjoy the people I have come to know through this blog even if I have never seen them in person.  I enjoy when people share their experiences, thoughts and feelings.  I'm sure you like to see their work and accomplishments too.  

The millions of views that show up in the blog counter tells me a lot, but I get to really know and care about readers when I read their own words.  

Some people that I never met have gone out of their way to help me, and I really appreciate that. Some are experts and others are relative beginners, but many contribute in their own way. Experts in various fields have helped a lot.  Fred Dengler (now deceased) is a fine example. He was a fossil expert that helped me a lot when I first started finding fossils.  Even though I never met him, I always remember when he told me, "I am here for you."  And he was   He helped me learn to identify my fossil finds and that added to my posts. I was really impressed and appreciated his kindness. Many others have been similarly helpful - too many to mention right now.

I never ask for anything from my readers. I don't ask you to subscribe, like or comment.  I don't even ask you to read my posts.  I don't ask for subscriptions, clicks or anything, but people have been very kind and helpful.  Back in the beginning some people even offered donations, which I declined.  I had a commercial opportunities, which I also declined.  I enjoyed consulting for a TV program and receiving requests to participate in others.  And despite the fact that I never advertise or promote the blog has received millions and millions of views.  The numbers, as well as the personal notes and contacts, have encouraged me to keep going.  

Someday the blog will come to an end.  It has already gone on way longer than I ever imagined it would. In fact, I was surprised when it became popular beyond my expectations.  I didn't know anybody would find it.  Some readers have been with the blog nearly twenty years now.  I know of too many readers and contributors that have passed. 

The success of the blog was a surprise to me.  I never imagined.  

I might be making some small changes, but probably nothing very dramatic.  Who knows what will happen?

But one thing I know is that I'm grateful for all the fine people I got to know in one way or anther.  I appreciate them all and want to say thanks to all readers and especailly to all those that have contributed in one way or another over the years.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/15/26 Report - Detectorists Mistakes Old Rare Coin for Button. 16th Century Wreck. New Technology. Slightly Higher Surf.

 

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

Source: Arkeonews.net.

On March 7, 1533, a Portuguese three-masted carrack (also known as a Nau) called the Bom Jesus, or “Good Jesus,” sailed down the Tagus River, wound its way through Lisbon, and slipped out into the Atlantic on its 15-month journey to gather spices from faraway lands. Some 300 souls were aboard, including sailors, soldiers, enslaved people, merchants, priests, and the captain, Dom Francisco de Noronha...

After nearly 500 years, the ship faded from memory. But then in 2008, a company geologist at a diamond-mining venture called Namdeb, which is jointly owned by De Beers and the Namibian government, came across a strange, roughly circular rock in the sand.

As it turned out, this wasn’t a rock at all, but rather a copper ingot bearing the insignia of a trident, a known mark of Anton Fugger—one of Europe’s wealthiest merchants...

Among the over 40 tons of cargo retrieved from the excavation site, thousands of different artifacts were recovered and cataloged, including cannons, firearms, swords, lead, tin, textiles, and astronomical devices.[1] However, the most bountiful discoveries of the shipwreck were the collection of 1,845 copper ingots weighing approximately 16-17 tons, over 2,000 gold and silver coins from multiple contemporary maritime powers, and 105 different elephant tusks weighing close to 2 tons...

Here is a link.

A geologist kicked a rock—or so he thought. It led him to one of the world’s richest shipwrecks.

---

The front of the coin showing a cross-over-cross motif.

(Image credit: H. Hollund, Archaeological Museum, UIS.

A metal detectorist in Norway dismissed a rare 900-year-old silver coin as a button, before researchers realized it was a one-of-a-kind piece linked to Magnus Barefoot (also known as Magnus Berrføtt), the warrior ruler often called Norway's last Viking king.

The coin, found in a field near Utstein Monastery in southwest Norway, dates to Barefoot's reign from 1093 to 1103. It is the first coin of its type ever discovered on Norwegian soil....

Here is the link for more about that.

Dirty 'button' unearthed by metal detectorist turns out to be a rare 900-year-old coin from Norway's last Viking king, Magnus Barefoot | Live Science

---

An archaeological excavation is a little like eating a layered cake: Once you have removed a layer, you cannot put it back. The problem becomes even trickier if two layers look almost exactly the same. Researchers from Aarhus University and Moesgaard Museum in Denmark have now developed a relatively inexpensive multispectral imaging system that gives archaeologists more ways of looking at the soil before they dig into it...

Here is the link for more about that.

LED lets archaeologists see the past in a new light | EurekAlert!

---

Source: Surfguru.com.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/13/26 Report - Nice High Tides Today. Metal Detecting from Sea to Shining Sea. What Happened to Mercurochrome.

 

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

Small Treasure Coast Bottle Find.

This small embossed HYNSON, WESTCOTT and DUNNING bottle once held mercurochrome, an antiseptic commonly used in the 20th century.  My wife and I remember it well.  It was a household staple in the first half of the 20th Century.

The bottle would have a glass stopper/applicator, which is not with this bottle.  Mercurochrome, an orange liquid, was applied to cuts with the applicator.

I wondered what happened to mercurochrome and just found out that the FDA banned over the counter mercurochrome in 1998.  I bet a lot of you remember it too.

I posted some about the bottle in tgbottlebarn.blogspot.com shortly after finding the bottle.  See TreasureGuide's Bottle Barn: HYBSON, WESTCOTT AND DUNNING small embossed bottle for mercurochrome.

For more about Mercurochrome and its past, here is another link.

What happened to Mercurochrome? - The Straight Dope

---

If you've been looking for ideal beach metal detecting conditions and you are on the Treasure Coast, this year has been far from ideal.  On the other side of the U.S., however, you'll find a different story.mn

While the Treasure Coast surf hasn't shown us much more than a ripple this summer, the California coast has seen a lot of storms, rough seas and a lot of beach erosion.

There was a strong El Niño this year.  In fact, the El Nino this year is one of the strongest on record.  A strong El Nino produces more hurricanes in the Pacific (especially the Eastern and Central basins) and fewer in the Atlantic.  La Niña does the opposite.

El Nino happens when the surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become warmer than usual.  That weakens the normal trade winds and shifts weather patterns. La Nina is the opposite.  The Pacific waters become cooler than usual.

The Ocean Way festival in Santa Monica was cancelled this year to due massive erosion because of hurricane Marie.  

Hurricane Marie as Seen on Windyty.com.

You can see the north winds along the California coast in the above Windyty,com map.  

Houses Being Destroyed by High Water.
Still clip from KTLA News video.

Recognize the beach below?

That is the beach shown at the beginning of Two and a Half Men. It is Malibu Beach, but it is not where the program is actually filmed. The program was filmed on the studio lot at Burbank, which explains why you never see the ocean from the house.  

Whenever I see the shot of the beach at the beginning of the program, I find myself scanning the beach as a matter of habit.

Here are a few related links.  

Coastal erosion forces cancellation of California music festival

California Beaches Damaged By Hurricane Marie: 2026 Beach Erosion - California Backroads

Two and a Half Men beach house location. Where is Charlie's home?

You can see the sea wall in front of the houses and you see how vulnerable the beach is.  Like the Treasure Coast, many California beaches have been renourished and extended well beyond their natural size. 

Santa Monica is nearer to Los Angeles while Santa Cruz is nearer San Francisco

I mention Santa Cruz for a few reasons. First is the mission. The Mission of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a Spanish mission founded August 28, 1791 by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen.

Santa Cruz is a great area to visit.  East of Santa Cruz is the Roaring Camp railroad where you can take a restored steam engine train from the Redwood forest and the Santa Cruz Mountains to the beach of Santa Cruz.  The surrounding area has some beautiful scenery and I really enjoy the steam train and reconstructed buildings.  

Yosemite is not real far either from there either, and that is one of the most beautiful areas in the U.S. in my opinion.  I think everyone should visit Yosemite at some time if they can.

Train from Roaring Camp Through the Forest.

But the main reason I'm talking about California today is because of the similarities and differences with Florida's beaches.  Even though they are on the California side the same general principles of beach dynamics apply.  Of course California has a much longer coastline than the Treasure Coast and changes a lot as you go from Malibu in the south to the more norther parts.  The north of California has high rocky bluffs behind the beach, while the southern California beaches are more like those of Florida.  No matter which coast of the United States you are on, you should be able to walk onto the beach and have a pretty good idea about the beach metal detecting conditions.  In some cases, you have to reverse things.  

And don't forget, California’s coast has numerous Spanish shipwrecks, many from the Manila Galleon trade, carrying gold, silver, and valuable goods from the 16th to 18th centuries.  It is always fun to metal detect new areas and new beaches.

I didn't mean this to sound like a travel column.  I just get fascinated by different beaches and the different kinds of areas where you can metal detect.  No matter where you are, you can find some fun metal detecting not too far away.  Much of the same knowledge applies no matter where you go.

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

This one could organize some time in the near future.

And finally we have a wrinkle in the surf chart.

The high tides today (Sunday) are predicted to be 3.5 feet.  That is pretty good.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/12/26 Report - Great New Finds from One Reader. Metal Detecting Tips for Slow Summer Beach Conditions.

 

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

Beautiful Mercury Found by Michael T.

With the heat, humidity and all the beach renourishment sand that hasn't yet washed away, beach hunting has been slow this summer.  As I always say, though, there is always some place to hunt and something to find.  

Michael T. from Stuart proved that.  Below is his email.

Hi, it’s Mike T. in Stuart. I haven’t got out for much beach hunting this season since they dredged all of our Martin County beaches earlier in the year as well as it has just been a really hot summer.

   I’ve been focusing more of my attention on inland sites and historical research.

I often think of that story you shared of the railroad site near your house, where you repeatedly were finding pieces of the past, and that is the kind of stuff that intrigues me.

    This hunt was from a park here in Martin County that dates back to the early 1940s. I have hunted this park so many times and I have hunted it with my good friend as well and we have found lots of targets over and over.  Many people would say that the spot is hunted out, but I never truly believe that is the case.  I have been back many times trying different techniques with different coils in different weather and soil conditions and it always makes a difference and I always find more stuff.

    This trip out was on a steamy Saturday afternoon after it had just rained. It was about 92° out. Normally I wouldn’t hunt too long in this kind of heat, but the targets were popping up more than usual in the same spot I had hunted over and over. I was using the Manticore with the M9 coil. It has become my favorite coil for this machine for many reasons. As I went over the same patch of ground that I have hunted at least eight times  I decided that this day I would work a very specific small area about 20 ft.² Because this is a park with lots of history, there are lots of old pull tabs and bottle caps. Lots of folks will not hunt these spots because it really takes patience and your ears take a beating but this is the type of hunting I enjoy most. It is truly the needle in the haystack.

   The  lesson keep learning is that there is always more stuff in the ground and the slower you go, and the more methodically you hunt the more treasure you will find.

    I’ve pulled many wheat pennies and old nickels out of this area and a few other silver dimes but this day the ground gave up additional coins including a near mint condition mercury dime. I was sad that my shovel touched it and left a small scuff because it truly was beautiful when it came out of the ground. Maybe the heat and fresh rain helped the signals as well that day, but either way it just reaffirms that there is always more treasure to be found even if a spot has been hunted over and over…. Just try it again!

As a sidenote, I have enjoyed starting a collection of old pull tabs. I have several of the first pull tabs ever made, and this particular site is full of older styles so I’m starting a collection and at some point I will assemble them and send a picture.

   Not all junk is junk!

 Thanks as always for your continuing support of the hobby and your informative posts. :)

   

Back of 44 Mercury Dime Found by Michael T.

Nice Collection of Finds from Michael T. on a "Worked Out" Area.

Heavily Pitted Penny Found by Michael T.

Pull Tab Collection by Michael T.

It has been hot this summer.  Make sure to stay hydrated if you tough it out.

The past winter's freeze killed some of the undergrowth and allowed good metal detecting in previously overgrown areas.  With recent rains that plants are coming back though.

There are a lot of good tips in Michael's email.  Don't be afraid to do what Michael did.  Go back to the same supposedly worked out or junky areas.  Going slow, as Michael explains, will help you pick through the junk.

Junk can protect good targets either by masking or just keeping a lot of detectorists away.

If you develop an interest in junk, as Michael did, that will help you to work those kinds of areas.

A few months ago, I saw a documentary about a fellow in New York City that searched the city streets for what most people would consider common junk and then mounted and displayed it very artistically in frames.  He made some nice looking art from what other people were throwing away.

I've been noticing how active the moles have been tunneling around my yard.  They really do a lot of digging, which could explain one way that small buried objects get moved in the earth even after they've been buried for a long time.

I've mentioned several times in this blog how I will go back to the same old sites.  I've hunted some of the sites many times and still find stuff. I mentioned several possible reasons for that in the past.  

The great post by Russ P. about his sifting experiments also showed how much is still in the ground after detectorists have gone over the ground until it was thought to be worked out.  See The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast. Copyright 2001 - 2026.: 3/26/18 Report - First Investigation Ever To Really Answer Two Big Questions: How Much Is Actually In The Ground As Compared To How Much Will Be Found Using A Metal Detector.  If you haven't read that post yet, I consider it a must read.

Sites like Michael's provide a good opportunity to test your skills and try new techniques.

I got a new Manticore in the later part of 2025 and have become a fan.

That dime is really nice.  The beautiful condition is interesting, especially as compared to the pitted penny.  

The thing you want to see on a Mercury dime is Full Bands.  That jumps the value up considerably.  Michaels find looks to be in really great condition.

This link shows the values.  Check out the prices for a FB (full bands) example.

1944 Dime Coin Value: Errors List, "D", "S" & No Mint Mark Worth - C  oinValueChecker.com

Full Bands (FB) on a Mercury dime means that the horizontal bands wrapping the fasces on the reverse are fully separated, sharply defined, and unbroken — a sign of an unusually strong strike.

Great finds Michael.  Thanks for sharing.

---

Nothing new on the NHC map, but it looks like we could finally get a little more surf in a few days.

Fort Pierce Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com.

Seek and ye shall find.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/10/26 Report - 911 Privy Half Dollars from U.S. Mint. Coin Database and Study of Roman Hoards. FL Museum Contact Info for Indigenous Artifacts..

 

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

The United States Mint begins accepting preorders today for 2026 Semiquincentennial Enduring Liberty half dollars carrying a special NEVER FORGET 9/11 privy mark. Ordering starts at noon ET, with the Philadelphia-struck coins offered in rolls and bags only through Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. ET.

Here is the link for more about that.

CoinNews | Coins, Coin Collecting News & Numismatic Articles

----

The digitization of extensive archaeological collections, coupled with the development of quantitative methods that can integrate millions of scattered records, is ushering in a new era of historical research...

Using techniques from regional economics, spatial analysis, geographic information systems and large international archaeological databases, they reconstructed the monetary circulation of the Roman Republic, focusing on the period from 155 BCE to 2 CE, based on the remains of approximately 4 million coins found in excavations conducted over two centuries. Their study shows that the consolidation of Roman rule depended less on military conquest and more on the economic integration of the territories they conquered...

 "Each coin preserved by archaeology provides three key pieces of information: where it was minted, when it was produced, and where it was found some 2,000 years later... when millions of records are analyzed together, they can reveal the paths taken by money, the intensity of economic exchanges, the integration between different regions, and even the institutional evolution of one of the largest economies of antiquity,"...

For a long time, information on Roman coins was scattered among museums, libraries, private collections and researchers' archives... the situation began to change when institutions such as the American Numismatic Society started coordinating international projects to digitize and standardize these collections... Today, large public databases bring together millions of records from excavations conducted in different countries...

Here is the link for more information and the study's conclusions.

Traces of nearly 4 million coins reveal how Rome achieved economic integration

For those of you who have found Roman coins or are interested in coin hoards here is a link to one of the great resources used in the above study.  

Coin hoards of the Roman Republic Online (CHRR Online) is a database of Roman Republican coin hoards mainly from the period 155 BC to AD 2. This database began life as a personal research database constructed by Kris Lockyear using a combination of published data and Michael Crawford's personal archive now housed the in the British Museum. The online database, which utilises the Numishare application developed by Ethan Gruber, is a joint project between Kris Lockyear (Institute of Archaeology, University College London) and the American Numismatic Society.

Here is the link to that database.

Coin Hoards of the Roman Republic

---

Here is another resource that you might find useful.

Contact for Shell Indigenous Artifacts at the Florida Museum

For questions about shell Indigenous artifacts held by the Florida Museum of Natural History, the relevant department is South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography, which manages collections from precontact times to the present for the 13 most southern Florida counties, including Calusa, Seminole, and other Indigenous groups.

Primary contact person:
Jen Green – Collections Manager, South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography
📧 Email: jgreen@flmnh.ufl.edu
📞 Phone: 352‑273‑1923 Florida Museum

This is the most direct line for artifact-related inquiries, including shell tools, ceremonial objects, and other ethnographic materials.

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Peak hurricane season has past but we still could have something, but the current predictions aren't showing anything different.  It continues to be a long and calm storm season.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

📧 Email: websitecontact@floridamuseum.ufl.edu
📞 Research line: 352‑392‑1721 Florida Museum

Mailing address:
Florida Museum of Natural History
111 University Research Park Blvd
Gainesville, FL 32611 Florida Museum

Tip: When contacting, include details such as the type of artifact (e.g., shell tools, beads, ceremonial items), its origin area, and whether it was found on-site or in the field. This will help the Collections Manager route your inquiry to the right specialist.

For more information about the South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography collections, visit the museum’s official page: South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography Florida Museum.

9/9/26 Report - Some Factors That Affect Metal Detector Readouts. The Complexity of Target ID.

 

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

Left to Right: Large Aluminum Token,  Smaller Aluminum Token, Copper Token, 40% Kennedy Half, 80% Kennedy Quarter, washer.

I planned to do this post a couple days ago, but I didn't get all the good screen photos I wanted. The delay worked out, as is often the case, because I saw something else which changed my focus.

In my previous post I commented on a YouTube video that demonstrated one fellow's "trick" to save time metal detecting. After seeing that video, I stumbled upon another YouTube video explaining the use of the Manticore graphic target-ID display, and although the video was excellent, when the fellow was demonstrating how to use the Manticore display to make dig/no dig decisions in the field he came across a target that gave him a confusing signal. He couldn't determine what the target was, and fortunately, he dug the target.  It turned out to be a coin standing on edge and down about four inches. 

I've done posts and even a video or two in the past on how detectors respond to coins standing on edge rather than lying flat.  The fellow could have used that information.

I've shown several times how the position of coins and other items in the ground affects metal detector signals.  If the coil sweeps parallel to the edge of a coin that is standing on edge, for example, you won't get nearly as strong signal as you would if you were sweeping the coil perpendicular to the edge.  You get a very different signal depending upon whether you sweep one way or another across a coin standing on edge.

Items like that provide a very good signal when sweeping in one direction but produce a very different signal when the coil is swept the other way.  That does not happen for round coins lying flat on the ground.  A good strong signal can get very weak or disappear completely if you change the direction of your coil movement when a target is not round.

The fellow in the video was doing a great job of demonstrating the use of the Manticore display to identify some of the buried targets, but when he got a signal from a coin on edge, he could have gotten a better idea of the buried target if he did something a little differently.  If he only swept the coil in different directions, he would have seen a strong signal when sweeping in one direction but the signal would be much weaker or even disappear if he swept at another angle. That is something I've talked about for decades.  

Below is the screen display for the large aluminum token shown in the photo at the top of this post when token was lying flat on the ground.  As you can see on the display shown below, it produced a very nice signal with a strong and stable conductivity number no matter which direction I swept.  That is the kind of display you'll see when a coin is lying flat.

Large Aluminum Token Readout When Flat.

However, below is the display when the same token was stuck in the ground so it stood on edge.

Readout From Same Aluminum
Token On Edge.

It is the same target, but you see a very different conductivity number and the target ID map looks very different.  Just looking at the two displays, would you ever guess that it was the same target?  I think not.  

When swinging parallel to the edge of the large aluminum token standing on edge, the readout shows a much lower conductivity number AND shows a very different display on the ID map.  In both cases, though, the object showed up on or near the center line..  

I'm only showing one single snapshot though.  You might see a trace or tail leading one way or another from the center line.  The spot might be as well defined as I'm showing here.

When the token was on edge, it presented a smaller surface area to the coil.  If you slanted the token from standing straight up, maybe leaning it at a 45 degree angle, you'd get a stronger signal.  You'd also probably see a trace or tail from the main spot.  I suggest doing your own experiments with that.

I did some tests with the other tokens but won't present all the displays for each of those.  I was going to do that, but as I explained above, changed my focus of this post.  

Below is the short version for some other observations.

The big aluminum token produced a higher number than the smaller aluminum token and the copper token.  Size matters.  Larger objects of the same metal will produce higher numbers than smaller ones if the shape and orientation is the same.  Standing the object on end or even tilting it some will have an effect.  Standing the object on end reduces the surface area presented to the coil, which has the same effect as reducing the size of the object.

The copper token produced a lower conductivity number than the aluminum one.  Anything strange about that?

Copper has a higher conductivity than aluminum.  But there are other factors.  First, many objects have alloys.  They aren't pure.  That is true of pennies as well as many other objects.  Alloys affect both composition and conductivity of targets.  A copper alloy is not the same as an object of pure copper.  Obviously, I didn't test the composition of either object.  The copper token is also smaller than the large aluminum one.  That makes a difference.

All of the coins and tokens showed the dame dramatic effect on the metal detector display when they were stood on end.  

A 90% silver Kennedy half lying flat produced a conductivity number that was about one or two points higher than a 40% silver Kennedy half.  The difference in metallic composition was reflected in the conductivity numbers but the difference was very small.  

  

All of the items shown in the above photo produced relatively high conductivity numbers were shown on the right side of the center line on the Manticore ID map.  I'd consider the range to be relatively small, and nothing in comparison to the difference caused by standing the coins and tokens on end.

I've shown in many posts the effect of target shape on metal detector signals.  For example, long thin targets will often show produce double blip signals when swept over the length (end to end) of an elongated object, such as a nail.  For more about that see The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 5/30/11 Report - Memorial Day Issue - Signal Nulling & Glass Detective Work.  

Many things can cause a deviation in a detector's conductivity number and other displays.  Errors will be made.  As I've said many times before, you won't learn about many of the errors made on coins that were never dug.  You never find out about those types of errors.  Most people are happy to simply avoid more junk targets even if it means missing some very good targets.  

 Quite a few years ago I did some tests that revealed relationships between both the surface area and mass of the conductivity numbers produced by different targets.  Here is that link.

Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 2/8/23 Report - Testing Metal Detectors on Dollar and Half Dollar Coins. The Effect of Surface and Mass.

This post took me a long time to finish.  I must have started it about five times.  I couldn't include everything, but tried to include most of what I thought was important.  There are really a lot of factors.  I haven't even touched on some of them.

If you really want to ID a target without digging it up, I recommend at least sweeping over the target from a variety of directions.  As I explained in my previous post, it might be quicker at times to simply dig.  

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There is nothing promising on either the NHC map or the surf charts.

I spent a lot of time on this post and still don't feel like I did a good job.  It was hard to focus and organize because there are a lot of factors.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net