8/5/26 Report - Detectorist Etiquette. Archaeology Ink and Spanish Battling the Long Bow. Beach Metal Detecting Modern Jewelry Tip.

 

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

Wednesday Morning at Fort Pierce Beach.

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Junk Beside Unfilled Hole
Photo by Mark G.

Here is an email I received from Mark G.

Thank you and I agree with you; time spent on the beach does equal finds. And I also encourage people, if you have a detector bring it to the beach, so many people come up to me while we are on the beach and say oh, I have one of those. This morning I had a bad experience and would like to vent as well as ask detectorists to at least respect the work that goes into becoming a good detectorist, and part of that is respecting other detectorists.

Sunday morning, I planned to hunt JB dry sand north end, the cameras showed crowded towel lines over the weekend. I entered the first entrance, ground balanced and set out. Halfway to the water another detectorist entered from the farthest north end and was ground balancing. He was griding surf to dune. I was griding parallel to the surf. I turned halfway through my grid north and gave him the north half until he moved south then continued north, having to go over his grid. 

I could not believe what I was finding. None of his holes were filled in, and if they were it was to hide trash, none. I came across more than several holes with the bottle caps or pull-tabs laying right there by the hole. I have to dig a lot of trash to find one thing nice and I bring it all home because I don't want to dig it up again next time. By time I realized what he was doing, he was heading off the beach, and I noticed he didn't even have a finds pouch on him. 

Now I'm not perfect, I do discriminate against a bottle cap once in a while, but I don't dig it up and leave it...

Thanks for sharing Mark.

And leaving unfilled holes at the beach doesn't do the hobby any good.  There are those that would like to prohibit metal detecting and they don't need any excuses.  

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In a recent post, I recommended checking out an online free archaeology journal called Archaeology Ink. The journal focuses on Spanish colonial archaeology in the U.S. South.  The web site seems to be relatively new but presents a number of good articles on topics such as the Luna and De Soto expeditions and settlements.  I recommended that you at least browse the journal if you are interested at all in Spanish Colonial history in the U.S.  

Today I'll give you a few brief excerpts from journal articles.

One article addresses the subject of battle between the Spanish and the indigenous tribes, the effectiveness of the long bow against the Spanish and the how wounded Spanish soldiers could receive financial help.

Indian in Body Paint, ca. 1585 of a Carolina Algonquians, with a long bow as tall as himself, and quiver on the left hip. 

One account says that an arrow would easily pierce the Spaniards defensive gear including chain mail, however the article also says that the indigenous learned to aim at arms and legs, rather than the protected chests of the Spanish troops.  That doesn't seem to me to go together.

Here is one excerpt from the article about the longbow and the damage it caused.

Thus, it was that in one of the skirmishes which the Spaniards had with the Indians of Apalache, the Camp Master Luis de Moscoso was struck in the right side by an arrow which penetrated a leather jacket and the hauberk (chain mail) which he wore underneath as well…The arrow had continued through a quilted doublet and wounded him, though not fatally since it came at a slant.

Here is the link to that article.

Archeology Ink | Luna Articles - A Research Journal by Caleb Curren, Archeologist

In another article on the site...

In 2015, 19 years later, a local man found a sample of Spanish artifacts dating to the 1500s on a residential construction site on the East Pensacola Heights Site. He took his finds to UWF and within a very short period of time UWF proclaimed that they had definitely found the Luna Settlement Site. They then went to the media with their claim. UWF is still claiming that the site is the Luna Settlement Site despite a significant lack of definitive archeological data to support their claim. UWF has certainly found more Spanish artifacts dating from the 1500s but they were found with a majority of Native artifacts. Once again, it confirms previous investigations that the site is a Native village that had contacts with various Spanish incursions into the area during the 1500s. UWF has thus far failed to prove that the site is the actual Luna Expedition Spanish settlement...

The University of West Florida (UWF) has deliberately downplayed this fact since finding Spanish artifacts at the site dating from the 1500s, claiming that the site is the Luna Colony site. In doing so, they have put their credibility in jeopardy. The Spanish documents of the Luna Expedition never mentioned a Native village at their colony site. Remarkably, UWF has attempted to explain away the Mississippian pottery as brought to the site by interior Spanish expeditions into Alabama...

Here is the link if you want to read more about that.

Archeology Ink | The Saga of Archeological Investigations at the the Alleged Luna Settlement Site, Pensacola, Florida - A Research Journal by Caleb Curren, Archeologist

And below is a map from the journal that shows the UWF proposed Luna site as well as several places I've detected in the past when I was frequently in the Pensacola area for consulting work at the Navy station.

I had some interesting detecting at Milton (at the top of the map), for one example, as well as several of the ocean and bay beaches in the area.  

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There was a time when I was doing a lot of detecting for modern jewelry.  Early on in my detecting I hunted the towel line a good bit, but one place that was very productive was around the beach chairs.  

The chairs will normally have some metal and be hard to detect around.  Not only does the metal in the chairs cause problems, but it is hard to get your coil in and around the tight spots.  I found that the beach chairs would often provide a lot of coins as well as some jewelry.  In the old days, they also produced a lot of hotel keys.

I got pretty good at detecting around the chairs.  You can learn to detect there despite the false signals caused by the metal in the chairs.  It is like learning to detect along a chain link fence.  Don't sweep to and from the metal, but along with it whenever that is possible.  You'll get a signal from the metal, but also any objects.  You'll learn to detect the signal among the noise.

In the case of beach chairs that often remain in the same spot a lot, coins and jewelry can accumulate.  That is one place you'll find more pairs of earrings.  Other places you'll most often find a single lost earring, but around the chairs, the ladies will often take both off and they slip or get dropped on the sand without anyone realizing it.

Also, occasionally someone will drag a chair from its usual location, leaving a nice space to detect where things might have accumulated for some time.

Of course, you'll also have to deal with the usual small metal trash, but I'd rather detect the beach chairs than a towel line, even though both can be productive.

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Surf Chart from SurfGuru for Fort Pierce Area.

Expect a little increase in the Treasure Coast surf this week but not much.

No tropical developments showing on the NHC map yet.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/4/26 Report - Time Flies in Different Ways. A Great Article on the Oak Island Search. 1000-Year-Old Ring Find. AI Again.

 

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

Why did the man throw his clock out the window?  He wanted to see time fly.

That is a corny old joke that a bunch of young children laughed over under the trees in front of grandma's house a little over seventy years ago.  It was one of those youthful summer days in the fifties when a small group of country kids ran in sporadic random bursts under the sheltering shade of the oak, ash and birch, pausing only briefly for jokes, laughter and other forms of play. 

They did see time fly - first this way and now that.

Gazing upon a newly uncovered old coin in your hand, can also be a form of time travel, but like a shattered crystal ball running out of power, straining produces only the faintest image.  This image, lacking surviving personal experience, requires more pieces to help Re construct the image, as incomplete as it is - still an attempt at time travel, but in another direction.

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Here are some excerpts from an exceptionally good article on a subject I've talked about in the past - Oak Island.

... While no treasure has been found, peripheral discoveries—apparent clues, possible traps, and geological curiosities—have compelled searchers onward, even as historians dispute the more sensational claims surrounding the treasure...

In the 1860s, a professor of languages from Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University examined the stone and determined the code was a substitution cipher saying: “Forty Feet Below Two Million Pounds Are Buried.” But another attempted translation in the 1970s interpreted the code as a Coptic Christian warning not to forget your duty to the Lord...

Specialists at Harvard University confirmed the parchment’s authenticity, though it’s unclear whether that meant it was “authentically” a folio full of secrets or a scrap from earlier inhabitants of the island...

the Lagina brothers own the majority of the tour company that operates on the island, plus a TV show promoting that island...

in 1720 the Crown chartered private companies together with the British military to do business on Oak Island—including pine tar works, brass making, and wire drawing—to help clear debt. It was the largest industrial development in Canada at the time...

Fader says under the right circumstances, a sinkhole can be 130 to 165 feet across. He is adamant this phenomenon is the true origin of the Oak Island Money Pit...

Below is the link to that article.  I recommend reading the entire article if you are interested in Oak Island.  It is the best article I've read on the subject.

The History of the Oak Island Money Pit | Oak Island Treasure

I've complained several times about the program, including the continual neglect of both actual history and natural phenomenon.  This article addresses both.

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Image from Popular Mechanics Article (link below)

• A retired volunteer unearthed a rare 1,000-year-old Pictish ring during excavations in Scotland.
• The ring is one of the few Pictish rings ever discovered and offers insights into the Pictish kingdom’s history.
• The find sheds light on the Picts, a powerful group who defended Scotland from invaders and mysteriously vanished by the end of the first millennium.

Herei is the link to that article.

Archaeologist Finds 1,000-Year-Old Ring With Huge Implications

In addition to the ring image above, the article begins with another image showing two rings that look nothing like the one above.  I guess that was a stock image or something.  I wish publishers would be more responsible and accurate.  

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AI has become unavoidable but very useful tool, including many applications for metal detecting and treasure hunting, I've previously documented many of those in this blog.  

I'll continue to investigate AI and its applications.  Below are some personal observations.

My wife was recently trying to estimate the value of several items and used AI.  The results were mixed.  

AI helped.  It correctly identified some items and provided good estimates, but it some cases it was way off.  It completely misidentified the work.  But worse yet, it seemed very confident even when it was wrong.  It often required additional information, but the original answer it provided was given so matter of factly that it fooled my wife and I at first.  After additional research and correcting AI, it eventually came up with better answers.  I have no problem with that.  At times it just seemed to be throwing answers at the wall to see if they would stick.  At times, there was no hint of uncertainty or need for additional information.  It would have been easy to simply accept the incorrect answer, but you can't just assume that it is going to be correct every time.  When you are not certain or when you need to be sure to have the correct answer, double check with other resources.

I've also noticed more articles on metal detecting produced by AI. Those articles might sound good to a relative beginner, but they usually contain significant inaccuracies.  To a more serious detectorists, those articles offer nothing of value.  You'll see the name of an author, but it is evident that the author knows very little about the subject.

There are a number of clues that are typical of AI generated articles.  Someday I should try to list and describe the common clues, but I probably won't get around to it, and it might change by that time anyhow.

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Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com.

As you can see, a slightly higher surf is expected towards the end of the week, but nothing very significant.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/3/26 Report - New Quarter Strike-Through. 3-Year-Old Picks up 3800-Year-Old Amulet. Spanish Colonial Archaeological. Internet Resource.

 

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

Quarter Showing Strike-through Error.

The first of five newly designed quarters to celebrate the USA’s 250th anniversary, this coin features a Pilgrim couple facing West on the front, or obverse. The Mayflower ship, on which early English settlers journeyed in search of religious freedom, is the design featured on the back (reverse).


Known as a “struck-through,” the newly discovered error occurred on the obverse of the Mayflower Compact quarter. It appears as an incuse impression between God and we in the motto in God we trust and between the dual dates of 1776 and 2026...


The error, which you can see in the photo above, was likely caused by a piece of debris stuck to the die.

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

2026 Mayflower Compact Quarter Features Unexpected Error - Numismatic News

Here is the most obvious of several strike-through error coins I've found

It is easy to mistake a strike-through error with post mint damage, but damage that occurs to the coin after it leaves the mind is just damage.  It takes careful inspection.  Microscopic inspection of post mint damage will often show a ridge around an impression because the metal from the indentation will be displaced.  If you take an object and heavily scratch a coin, for example, you will be able to see where the metal from the dip is moved to.  That will be typically to the edge just outside the dip.  You won't see that if it was done when the die hit the planchet.

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A three-year-old picked up one stone that caught her attention of the thousands of stones in the surroundings.  It was later identified as a 3800-year-old scarab amulet.

Here is the link for the story about that.

Toddler Discovers 3,800-Year-Old Egyptian Amulet While Hiking With Her Family in Israel

You'll might see other stories about the same event, such as the MSN one, that shows a totally different scarab stone in the lead photo.  They do that all the time, and I've complained about it before.

In the past, I sometimes didn't realize their photos were just selected to grab attention and didn't really show the subject of the article.  I was probably fooled a number of times.  Now I know that their photos are often very inaccurate and misleading.  The description under the photo will often be very vague and provide a hint that the photo has nothing to do with the actual story.

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I just discovered an interesting web site.  I found it when searching for pictures of Spanish Colonial artifacts.  The site does have a lot of pictures of artifacts, but it also a presents archaeological articles related to Spanish colonial finds in the Southern U.S.  It author of the site is an archaeologithest who shares many of the ideas concerning archaeology that I've expressed in the Treasure Beaches Report.

You may not remember my posts criticizing archaeology, including their attitude towards treasure hunting and the public in general.  From what I've seen so far, the author of the site shares many of my thoughts and values on the topic. 

Here is a link to one old post in which I expressed some of my criticisms and suggestions. 

  The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 2/25/18 Report - The Problem With Archaeology: The Perspective of a Supportive Citizen.  

Since I started expressed those thoughts, I've have noticed some positive trends.  I can only hope I had some small effect on that.  

Archaeology now sometimes uses metal detectors and even employs metal detecting clubs to survey some sites.  There was a time when there were very few that would admit the value of using metal detectors at all.  Treasure hunters and detectorists were described as looters and the value of metal detector surveys was not generally admitted.

The site I just discovered is "Archaeology Ink" which presents many articles written by, Caleb Curren, an archaeologist who focuses on Spanish Colonial sites in the Southern U.S.  Here is a link to the articles.

Archeology Ink | Assorted Articles - A Research Journal by Caleb Curren, Archeologist

One central focus of the author seems to be the site of the Tristan de Luna sites, claimed to be a 1559 Spanish colony.  Here are some excerpts from one of the author's articles on that topic.

The University of West Florida (UWF) made a “Remarkable Claim” in December of 2015 when they publicly announced that they had definitely found the 1559 Spanish Colony lead by Tristan de Luna (Pensacola News Journal, PNJ, Dec. 18, 2015). It has been nine years to the month since UWF issued their “Remarkable Claim.” They still have not produced the “Remarkable Proof” necessary to scientifically confirm their claim...

There is a dictate upon universities that mandates a practice of transparency of their data within a reasonable time frame. In the nine years that have transpired since the UWF “Remarkable Claim” there has not been a technical report made available to archeologists and the public. That is not a reasonable time frame... 

Archaeologists often say that the purpose of archaeology is to save history for the public, yet as I've said before, although the public pays for much of the archaeology that is conducted, the results are usually only available to the public in expensive professional journals instead of being made freely available to the public that paid for the work.  Archaeology Ink is freely available online.

To continue with another excerpt from that article.

Contact Archeology Inc. (CAI) has made repeated attempts to obtain a technical report or at least the UWF data of artifact tables and feature forms of what has been found and where it was found at the East Pensacola Heights Site (8Es1). CAI have been “stonewalled” at every juncture by UWF. They have not issued a detailed technical report in the nine years they have been excavating at the site. That is not respecting the “Public’s Right to Know” adherent to laws and ethics of the Profession of Archeology.

UWF has had numerous articles published by various public media outlets. They have also given numerous papers at professional conferences. That is not the same as a technical report being released to the public in standardized formats providing details of their excavations. For some reason UWF has aggressively avoided publishing such a document. If they did, it would allow the academic community to critique the interpretations of their data.

I have no doubt that part of the reason for the lack of transparency is the view held by many archaeologists that the public is eager to loot archaeological sites and not to be trusted with specific site information.  Treasure hunters and metal detectorists are especially not to be trusted despite the fact that treasure hunters and detectorists make huge contributions to museums and archaeology.  

It has long been my position that if the public was more involved and informed by the archaeological community they would by their presence be an asset that would help professional archaeology protect archaeological resources rather than being a threat.  As stated above the public funds archaeology and advances it in many ways and deserves full access for several very compelling reasons.  

I once conducted a poll in the TBR and found that very few of the respondents have seen the coins in the Florida Collection even though they are collected to "save history for the public."  Those who read this blog and likely have a real interest in history will not find it easy to see the coins, although rarely parts of the collection may go on tour.  Most of the poll respondents have, on the other hand, visited the McClarty Museum or the Fisher museums.  Much of the Florida Collection was contributed by private salvage companies' interests.  Without the involvement and cooperation of the public, including "treasure hunters" our public collections would be much smaller.  Besides contributing artifacts, the "treasure" community inspires interest in our history and archaeology and the public funds much of the profession.

Another excerpt...

Public universities in the State of Florida, including UWF, receive state and federal funding. Therefore, they are subject to state and federal laws which require full disclosure of their data. In other words, universities are subject to a legitimate expectation of transparency in the workings of those institutions...

 

Here is the link for the rest of that article.

Archeology Ink | UWF’s Luna Colony Claim Remains Shrouded in Secrecy After Nine Years of Excavations - A Research Journal by Caleb Curren, Archeologist

And here is the link to the Spanish Colonial artifacts section.  It isn't the most exhaustive list of artifacts, but it is worth browsing.

Archeology Ink | Spanish Artifacts - A Research Journal by Caleb Curren, Archeologist

I share the sentiments of at least this professional archaeologist and those presented by his web site.  They are consistent with the thoughts I've presented in this blog over the years.  I recommend at least browsing Archaeology Ink.  It presents more articles that you might find helpful.

By the way, some of this blog's readers have found that some of the UWF archaeologists have been helpful.  I suppose some are better than others.

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Look at that.  Nothing stirring.  Not even a mouse.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

We've had a very quiet hurricane sesaon so far.

Sebastian Pier This Morning.

Looks like the surf might pick up later this week.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/2/26 Report - Another Treasure Find Picture. World's Fair of Money. Meteoric Treasure Dating Problems. Zinc Nickels.

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

Beach Metal Detector Finds by Peter Hughes.

I did some previous posts on the shipwreck finds of Peter Hughes.  I previously show coins finds, but he also found some great shipwreck artifacts.  The above picture shows one of those. along with a variety of coins.

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From Sedwick and Associates, LLC...

Sedwick & Associates, LLC is pleased to announce that we will be attending the ANA World’s Fair of Money® from August 25 through 29, 2026, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

The World’s Fair of Money is one of the most important numismatic events of the year, bringing together collectors, dealers, researchers, auction houses, and institutions from around the world. We look forward to meeting with clients and friends, reviewing important material, and discussing consignments and bidding opportunities.

During the coming weeks, members of our team will also be traveling throughout Florida and other states to visit consignors. We will be traveling to South America as well. If you have coins, paper currency, medals, tokens, shipwreck artifacts, or other numismatic material that you would like to discuss with us in person, please contact us so that we can arrange a private visit.

Our next auction will take place at our offices in Maitland, Florida, on November 5 and 6, 2026. The quality, rarity, and historical importance of the material already consigned are making our 40th auction a particularly special event.

Whether you are considering consigning or planning to bid, this is an auction you will not want to miss. We are currently accepting additional consignments and welcome the opportunity to discuss how your collection or individual rarities may be presented to an international audience of serious buyers.

We look forward to seeing many of you in Pittsburgh at Booth 722 and during our upcoming travels throughout the United States and South America.

Sedwick & Associates, LLC

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On December 1, 1963, archaeologist Jose Maria Soler discovered a set of 66 pieces ranging in metals and including bowls, bracelets, bottles, and gold ornaments. Some pieces mix metals—there are three silver bottles, an iron bracelet, another iron piece with gold ornaments, and an amber and gold button. In total, according to the Jose Maria Soler Archaeological Museum, the collection features nearly 22 pounds of gold and is “considered the most important prehistoric treasure in Europe.”

While iron isn’t as flashy as gold, the origin of the iron in the collection had puzzled experts for decades. That’s because the dating of the gold found on the Iberian Peninsula worked out to sometime between 1200 BC and possibly as far back as 1500 BC. But the Iron Age and terrestrial iron smelting wasn’t happening on the peninsula before 850 BC at the earliest. That means the iron-looking elements from the Treasure of Villena presented a dating problem...

The 2023 study analyzed the nickel content from the two pieces, showing that the high nickel content falls in line with iron originating from a meteor.

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

He discovered 22 pounds of ancient treasure from an impossible timeline—then things got even weirder

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Ohhhh noooo!!!  Stinkin zinc Jeffersons!?  Looks like it might happen.  

Should the bill pass the Senate, in which case it will become law, the so-called penny will remain as legal tender. The bill also addresses our 5-cent “nickel,” the cost of producing this denomination, which is also becoming a sore spot for the US Mint.  The legislation authorizes the Treasury to begin minting a less expensive zinc-based coin. According to Rep. French Hill (R-Arkansas), this would “ensure that increased nickel demand is not mitigating the savings due to the elimination of the penny.”

Here is that link.

The Penny Isn't Going Away—But It's Changing - Numismatic News

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Jensen Beach Web Cam (Noth View)
Jensen Beach Webcam

Pretty boring stretch of unchanging weather and surf.  We are still having a small surf.

Nothing of interest on the National Hurricane Center map either.

Fort Pierce Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com.

Just a little bump on the surf chart.  It looks big in comparison, but really isn't much.

I'm still having slow-downs while getting accustomed to a new computer.

Good Hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/31/26 Report - Amazing Very Early Shipwreck Silver and Gold Coins Found by One Dedicated and Successful Beach Detectorist Over a Period of Years.

 

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

Beach Metal Detecting Finds by Peter Hughes.

Beach in Wales.

My 7/12/26 post featured a great collection of beach metal detecting shipwreck finds found by Peter Hughes over a period of twenty years of beach detecting. The Ann Francis was a16th century ship that was coming from Spain. Peter's finds from the wreck included a large number of early silver and gold coins from Spain, the Spanish colonies and other countries along with other amazing artifacts that were displayed in a maritime museum.  Here is the link to the 7/12 post.

Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 7/12/26 Report - Most Amazing Early Shipwreck Beach Finds Made by Long-Time Detectorist and Reader of This Blog..

I asked Peter if he would share some additional find photos, and he was kind enough to send some great photos of great finds along with all the details. Each example is a super find in its own right and will get your hunting juices going.  

Here is what Peter said about them.  

I have tried to give a flavour of the major coin types, along with some beach photos taken on the day. 

Whenever I need motivation, I review my photo albums, and it spurs me on!!

The Spanish reales of Ferdinand & Isabella are the forerunners of the famous cobs produced later in the 16th century, and the Double Excellente is said to be the forerunner of the famous  Doubloons of the later period.

I will send more photos in future.

Thanks much for sharing Peter. 

 I'll start by showing one group of Peters coin finds and get into some individual examples with details below that.

The first coin example that I'll show today from Peter's finds is the following mid-16th century 1000 REIS.  I've only seen a few examples of those in books.  Here are both sides followed by the details.

 SAO VICENTE  1000 REIS ; John lll of Portugal  ; Decreed  1555 produced to 1560 ;

Obverse ;    IOANNES lll REX :PORTV: ET : AL (John lll king of Portugal and the  Algarve).

Reverse ;  ZELATOR :FIDEI:VSQVEAD MORTEM: (Defender of the faith to death).                                   Sao Vicente Weight = 7.6g ;  Diameter =  31 mm   ; Friedberg -31; Gomes 181.01 ⁽¹²⁾

Imagine seeing that in your scoop and then finding out the date being in the range of 1555 to 1560. 

Here is the second of Peter's collection that I'll share with you today.

Spain Ferdinand & Isabella 1479-1504; 4 reales, SEVILLE , S - llll , C.C&T  179 (type 152) assayer  P in the form of a square.

Most single most prolific coin found ; 86% of all the  F&I 4R , 50% of all the silver from Spain;  42% of all the identified  silver coin finds from Spain & Spanish America.

That one is even older.  And it is another beautiful example.

Here is another.

Spanish American; Mexico city       1536 -38; 4 reales, Gothic m with dots above and below on either side of shield.  KAROLVS ET IOHANA

Reverse; assayer R, round banner PLVSVT between two pillars 4 above; HISPANIE ET 

That one is a similar type to some of the earlies Mexico minted coins found on the Treasure Coast.  Amazing condition and detail on that coin.

Below is number four for today.

Double Excellente; Ferdinand & Isabella from 1497 ;  C.C&T 57 (TYPE 54)

Obverse ; FERNANDVS:ET :ELIZABET:DEI :GRATIA: REX:ET:REGINA  (abbreviated forms)

Reverse : SVB:VNM:BRA:ALARVN:TVARVM:PROTÉGÉ   ( abbreviated forms)  ,the Latin for the inscription “in the shadow of the wings take us under your protection” On the bottom of the shield was included the pomegranate symbolising the conquest of Granada in 1492 .

I (TG) believe the wings could have something to do with reference to Psalm 91:4: "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart"  

The tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) has four corners also referred to as "wings."  Protective wings are a basic symbol with deep roots in human cognition and religion and the significance could continue long after the original reference is not made.

Again, simply beautiful coin.  It could well have been used by royalty to suggest protection and authority of the royal family or government.  (just speculation on my part).

Here is coin five for today.

Mexico city, Three reales; 1536 -37 ,  M with dots above and below either side of the shield .

Reverse , oval banner  PLVSVT between pillars, gothic R below , three dots value above.

C.C&T 104(Type 64)  extremely rare. Wt  =9.96 g, d= 31mm

That is another early Mexico mint pillar style coin.  Again, look at how crisp that coin is.

Thanks to Peter for taking the time to share some additional photos of really great coins. 

Great example of what a dedicated beach detectorist can do.

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On the Treasure Coast we've been getting some afternoon and evening showers or storms.  Be careful of the lightning.

There is still a near flat surf and no tropical development to watch.

I was late in getting this post done because I had to get a new computer and I haven't figured out how to do some things I used a lot on my old detector.  It took me way too long to learn how to do some simple things that I use a lot.

Hopefully, I'll get it figured out before long.   Some of this stuff is intuitive if you left hand is on your right and your head is on upside down, but otherwise, I'm not so sure.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/31

7/29/26 Report - Two High Profile Rings Returned Among the Top Trending Old TBR stories. Pot of Gold In Ancient Literature.

 

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

James Clooney's 1943 Maine Maritime Academy Ring 
Found by Dan C. in Saipan and Returned to Surviving Family Members.

I look at my old blog site occasionally to see what people are looking at.  That blog site contains post that were posted begore 2020, so the posts are at least six years old and some are well over fifteen years old.  In some cases. they are good posts that contain very good information.  Since I post nearly every day, some very good stuff gets quickly buried and forgotten, but they still get views.  In fact, that site, according to the blogger statistics, gets tens of thousand, and very often tens of thousands of views.

I noticed that there were a couple posts that have recently been getting a lot of attention, so I looked at them to see what they were about and what seemed to be drawing so much attention.  I am interested in finding out what is trending now.

I looked at a couple posts that were suddenly getting a lot of attention.  The top one was a detailed personal account written by Dan C. and emailed to me.  It is about a WWII ring he found twenty years before being able to track down the owner and returning it to the surviving family.  It was posted  8 years ago but evidently has been rediscovered - and with good reason.

I decided to post it again for those of you who might have missed it or forgotten about it or maybe never saw it 8 years ago.  It is too good to miss.

Below is Dan's personal account as he submitted to the Treasure Beaches Report.

Your article on returning lost items was a good read and reminded me of my “best” find returned, but it took 20 years to locate the owner:

I located a class ring from Maine Maritime Academy, Class of 1943, with the owners name inscribed inside the band.  (See photo above.).

The ring was found at the island of Saipan where one of the most massive WWII battles was fought. The 10k gold cleaned up OK, but the synthetic Onyx dye had leached out of the stone after 51 years or so underwater.

I re-dyed it with a black sharpie pen.

That was in 1996. In 1997 I got my first computer and one of the first things I did was look up Maine Maritime Academy and found that it was still in operation. The academy trained merchant marines and prospective Naval officers during WWII, so my thought was the ring was lost by a Navy officer during the war. I was excited to get it back to its owner or surviving kin. I emailed the academy looking for information on the gentleman whose name was inscribed on the ring, telling the story of how it was found.

I never got a reply back. I put the ring away in a small box of mystery items and other finds and forgot about it for years. Then in 2016 on a whim I decided to rekindle my search. By this time the internet had matured and I was able to find some MMA yearbooks posted online, and sure enough, there was Mr Cooney’s photo. Now I had his full name. From there I searched the internet using his name and found his obituary – he had died in about 2006- but it listed his surviving kin. From there I learned from further searches that his younger son had also died but that he had another who was a doctor in New York. Knowing the doctors name led me to a website for a hospital where he was the head of surgery, and the one thing I needed - his office telephone number. I called and spoke with a secretary and pleaded for her to listen carefully, to not hang up on me, as I was not crazy. I asked her to please tell Dr Cooney that I had found his fathers ring which had been lost at Saipan, proving the validity by naming MMA class of 43 and his fathers full name.

An hour later she dialed me back and said the doctor would speak to me. I spoke to him excitedly telling him the whole story. He told me that his father never spoke of his WWII experience, but only that he was an officer on a ship during the war in the Pacific theater. He had made his sons swear to him never to enlist in the military. His widow was in assisted living at that time, so the plan was for her to be presented with the ring during her Christmas visit with the family. The letter below was sent via email to Dr Cooney shortly after our phone call, and the ring was sent to him a few days later along with an aerial view with the exact spot where the ring was found marked on the map. I later received a card and a small box of edibles as a thank you but never heard how their reunion went. I suppose that in many ways it’s none of my business.

“ DR Cooney,

It was great talking to you today !

This brings closure to something that started 19 or 20 years ago. 

As I mentioned, shortly after finding the ring, I had contacted Maine Maritime Academy seeking their assistance in locating your dad. I received no reply from them. Recently I decided to rekindle the search and after some time scouring the internet, here we are.

The ring was found about 200 feet offshore of the present day Hyatt Regency Hotel at Saipan.

Of course, the hotel was not there in 1944 and 45 when the USN was using the island as a staging area for further attacks on Japanese held islands.

The town of Garapan and nearby Tanapag harbor at that time were bustling with activity with warehouses being built, floating docks for offloading the battle supplies, a field hospital for the injured, ships being repaired out in the harbor anchorage, and Navy and Marine forces getting a little rest between deployments on Saipan's beaches.

The ring was found in about 1996 shortly after a typhoon moved some sand out of the area, exposing the long buried ring.

It was in about 4 feet of water, and probably under 2 feet of sand before the typhoon.

I found it with my submersible metal detector which I still own although it is undergoing repairs at this time.

As I recall, the ring was under about 10 inches of sand and coral debris.

My hobby at that time was finding lost jewelry from the Japanese tourists that now frequent Saipan.

So, by my estimation, the ring was buried in the sea bed for 51 years.

Your fathers name is as clear as the day it was engraved inside the ring.

He could have been part of USN Task Force 58, which was responsible for the capture of Saipan in June of 1944.

It would be great to learn which ship he was on.

But Saipan was also used as a staging area for the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as far as I know.

So there may have been another Naval Task Force there after the initial capture of the island.

I will be sending a map and a detailed statement similar to this one in the upcoming days, and wish that the ring will be in your hands by Christmas, and that your mother will be in a lucid state to receive same.

You will hear from me soon !

It has been an honor speaking with you,"

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That is a great story and deserves the attention it is getting after an additional eight years.

It is one thing to rescue an item like that and wonder who lost it and under what circumstances, but it takes it to another level entirely when you learn more about the owner and can return an item to those to whom it means the most.  It is very fortunate when an item is so clearly marked with a name or other identifying information.

That is the kind of story we all hope to create in real life.  I know that many of you have done something similar and I've posted some others.  A somewhat similar post that got a lot of attention in the past in the Treasure Beaches Repot was about the Fairleigh Dickinson Jr. ring found in the Jacksonville area by Chris N.

Ring Showing "Fairleigh Dickinson Jr." Insciption

Find and photo by Chris N.

Here is how Chris described that.

I found this ring belonging to Fairleigh S Dickinson Jr of New Jersey. He was an avid fisherman, adventurer, businessmen, New Jersey Senator, and instrumental in laying out the plans for the Meadowland Complex along the Hackensack River in East Rutherford New Jersey. Also note His father was Farleigh Dickinson Sr. who help start Becton Dickinson Medical formally in that area as well as the University in Rutherford, NJ.  He attended the New York Military Academy in Cornwall,New York, and the Ring was dated 1937. .And was in the United State Coast Guard in the 1940's.

With help of the Police departments in New Jersey and a little research, we were able to get the ring back to the family, who were astonished that we went through all this trouble to get it back to them. They were surprised and happy that Metal Detector Enthusiast do their best to try and return items. "That's what we do"

He passed away in 1996, and I was informed that they had no idea the ring would ever be found. We can assume that "Hurricane Irma and the Nor'easter shortly between each other exposed the original hard pack in which we were able to pick it up on the Metal Detectors September 25, 2017. {Using a Garrett AT Pro, and Mine Lab Sovereigns  GT}

Extensive erosion inundated the Northern Florida coast where ring was found. 

Amongst other items found were old coins dated 1895, modern clad, other Jewelry Items, Copper Sheeting, Ballast Rocks, but no Spanish Coins!!! Yet?

Congratulations and thanks to Chris N. for sharing.  Amazing find and great act of kindness.

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Finding a pot of gold seems to be a core part of the human psyche.  It is a core theme in human thought literature documented in history to ancient times. 

Plautus’ Aulularia is a Roman comedy (circa 195 BCE) about the miserly Euclio, his obsession with a hidden pot of gold.  A crass fellow buries a valuable hoard beneath his hearth. He entrusts the hoard to the household god, who relates to the audience:

He prayed that I would guard the pot of gold for him. When he died, being of such an avaricious nature, he never disclosed the hoard to his own son, preferring to leave the boy poor than to show him the coins. . . . The son was even less attentive to me, so I let him die clueless and destitute. His heir turned out to be just like the father and grandfather, but he has an only daughter who is mindful of me. Out of regard for her, I have allowed her father to find the hoard, in order that he might more readily provide her a dowry.

Here is the link to the entire play.

Plautus vol I

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Still no change in the tropical weather forecasts for the week, and the surf remains small.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net