Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Two Views of Dug Silver Plate. |
Here is a dug plate that is punctured in the middle. I didn't put the hole in this one, but hunters will occasionally ruin itemsw while digging them. Sme pretty good finds have been ruined that way. This one was squashed and punctured before it was found.
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| Decorative Edge of Silver Plate. |
Even damaged, and ignoring any possible historic significance, this one is worth a good bit in melt value alone.
I've often said how much I regret not labeling and storing my finds better. After many years, not to mention the decades, good labels are very helpful. I sometimes don't remember where or when a find was made, and sometimes I don't remember what I found out from all the research I did. That is where additional documentation would be helpful. There have been times when I learned something about an item and then years later, forgot what I learned and had to learn it all over again.
Looking through USBs full of find photos, I noticed something else that would be helpful. I knew it before, but I felt it once again. Good descriptive file or image names can save a lot of time. And organizing images by category and folder can be very helpful too. I don't know how many people will actually do that. It isn't easy to realize the need before it you discover it for yourself.
When you begin metal detecting, you have a few finds, and it isn't difficult to remember all about the ones that impressed you. But as time goes by, the finds increase, and it can become more than you can remember without the help of notes or whatever.
You can store and organize finds in folders, and I've discussed that kind of thing before, but there are some kinds of finds that will not go into a folder and you might need an additional notebook or something to store all your research notes. This blog helps me. I can often use the search tool and find posts that contain the information I want, but not always.
Unfortunately, I'm not by nature a highly organized person. I like free-form. I don't like mowing the yard in straight lines. Being highly organized doesn't come natural to me.
You might think the computer would solve a lot of problems. You could use a database, if you are that highly organized and motivated, but even then, it is necessary to change computers from time to time. And you can use USB drives to store images and documents. But computer devices change too, and some quit working for one reason or another. You have to plan for changing technology. What works today might not work in the future. You might store your photos and information on the cloud, but I prefer local storage and haven't tried to stored much of anything on the cloud, so I won't say anything about that.
I write a lot about mistakes I've made. Those mistakes that I've discussed in previous posts are some of those that I've learned from.In summary, I often wish I was more organized and detailed in storing and documenting my finds and would encourage anyone to think about doing more of that. You might not see the need at first, but you might someday,
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There is currently nothing significant for us on the National Hurricane Center map.
The high and low tides are pretty big, while the surf remains at about one or two feet. It looks like that will not change for a few days.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net