Written by the Treasure Guide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
Having dug a lot of railroad artifacts in recent weeks and believing that the huge number of buried items indicate a derailing or wreck, I wondered if I might find a published record of such a wreck occurring in the area. I haven't found published evidence of any train wrecks in the area, but I did locate a variety of Florida train wreck photos that go back to the 1800s. Above is one of those.
Although it does not provide historic evidence of the particular wreck or derailment I was hoping to find, it does give a picture of what such an event might look like.
One thing I noticed from several of the photos is how far the wreckage can spread from the tracks.
Here is the link, if you are interested in looking at these historic photos.
Florida Memory • Tracks Toward the Future: Scenes from Florida’s Railroad History
I suspect that a serious search might turn up some documentary evidence. Perhaps a search of the local newspaper archives would do it.
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| Unidentified Old 10 Gram Silver Find. |
Some things take a long time to identify, and some defy identification.
I found the 10 gram silver ingot or whatever it is, shown at the top of the post, probably thirty or more years ago. It is marked with a "1" over a faint wreathe. I first figured it was a silver ingot. Some people thought it was a button, but there is no evidence that there was ever any type of connector. I was never able to identify the meaning of the 1 or the wreathe. After a number of years, I thought, like some others, that it might be a scale weight. But not too long ago, I read more about the assay process and decided it must be a post-assay sample. I think that is what it is now, but I don't know. It took many years to come to that conclusion, and it is possible that I will change my mind again, even though I think I know what it is now. I still have no idea of why a post assay ingot would be on the beach, but you can find almost anything on a beach. The point being that it isn't always easy and it can take a long time, which can be frustrating, enlightening and enjoyable.
I posted that back a few years ago.
Here is a link to a related post on the assay and sampling of precious metals
JamminJack just sent me an email about Asahi, an assay and refining company that has a location in Florida (Miami) as well as other parts of the country and world.
You can learn more about them here. About Us | Asahi Refining.
If you've ever wondered what to do with odd broken bits of silver or gold jewelry, you can melt them down and reuse them yourself.
I once took a jewelry making class at a community college. Unlike most of the students, I had a good supply of junk silver to work with and was able to melt it down and create new pieces using the lost wax casting process and the equipment provided to the class. That was a worthwhile class that I can recommend.
You can purchase your own equipment, including meltiyng furnaces, but that can be expensive.
Rio Grande sells equipment, metals and most anything you might need to work with precious metals or making jewelry.
Here is their link.
Jewelry Making Tools and Equipment (riogrande.com)
I recommend taking a class before investing in equipment.
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I mentioned I found a fossil tooth on the beach Friday. I haven't identified it yet, but here it is.
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| Fossil Tooth. |
No interesting weather or changes in beach conditions.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net