7/31/22 Report - Ten Good Old Detecting Spots Along a Five Mile Beach Remembered and Described.

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

I recently referred to a Frank Hudson book and some of the areas where he said it would be good to look for variuos treasures along the Florida East Coast.  I decided to do something similar for a five mile stretch of beach that has ten good spots for detecting.  I detected that five-mile strectch a lot in the past because of the various types of good spots to detect.  The area I am talking about is the five-mile east coast of Key Biscayne.  I'll start at the south end and go north to the causeway. 

Frank Hudson's book refers to a chest found at the southern tip of the island, but that area has eroded away and a concrete wall now stands there.  That area is mostly used by fishermen now and I did not detect there, but just a short distance to the north, and just north of the jetty by the lighthouse was a very good shallow water area for finding modern jewelry.  Good numbers of beach goers played in the shallow water close to the shore.  The rest of the area was covered with seaweed, which, I believe, helped concentrate the people in that narrow strip.  The quality of finds was above average.  You could almost always pick up a piece of gold there and it didn't take all day to cover the most productive area. I don't know if you can still metal detect there though, since it is in Bill Baggs State Park.  Another larger shallow water swimming area was around the bend and to the north of that.  The amount of jewelry there was not as plentiful, and for some reason, on average not as good.  Of course, things could have changed in the years since I was down there.  Those two areas are shown on the map below by the colored lines I added.

Cape Florida State Park.

At one time that end of the key was a pineapple plantation, and you could find relics in among the trees.  And of course, there was the battle at the lighthouse, so musket balls and things like that could occasionally be found.

Leaving the state park and walking north, the area in front of the first two buildings produced little, but then there was an open lot that was fenced off and where the beach frequently washed out.  When conditions were right, older coins could be found on the beach there and in front of the adjoining beach club.  In those days, they tried to keep you off the beach in front of the beach club unless you were a club member.  It was not one of the most productive beaches and shallow water areas anyhow.  

A short distance north of that was a sand spit that extended out into the water a good ways and people used to moor their boats there.   It was not a great spot, but could be worth checking, and where the bar connected to the beach, when it eroded, you could find some shipwreck relics. 

Then on to the north of the sand spit was the Sonesta Beach Hotel.  People would swim in a narrow strip in front of the hotel, and that was a good spot to detect for jewelry.  The quantity of finds there was not high, but the quality of jewelry was very good, and you could almost always find something good.  Again spot was even better because seaweed surrounded all but a small strip and people would pretty much stay in the unweeded area.  The beach there was ok too, but since the shallow water was so good, I seldom bothered with the beach.

Continuing north, there was a shallow water area in front of one of the condos that was ok, but not as good as in front of the Sonesta.  This was not one of the better spots, but could be worth checking when passing through.

Then to the north of that was Crandon Park, which at various times did not allow and then did allow metal detecting.  The first time I went there, the lifeguard told me that I couldn't metal detect there, but they changed that not long after.  It became a very popular metal detecting spot for a lot of South Florida detectorists.  The quality wasn't the highest, but it could be worthwhile and was easy to access.  Cape Florida and Bill Baggs were detected a lot, but some of the spots in between, not so much, since you had to walk a good distance away from public parking.

Down south I often liked detecting in front of parking lots that charged a lot.  See if you can figure out why.  There is more than one reason.

The most detected area of Crandon Park back then was a sand spit that extended out into the water where a lot of swimmers congregated on both sides, but the entire water area in front of the parking lots at Crandon was pretty good.  That included far out into the water and away from sand bar where most beach-goers and detectorists congregated.

Moving north to just behond the last lifeguard stand in the park and where the unmowed area began was one of my favorite areas when it eroded.  A lot of older U.S. coins and finds were made there.  It looked to me like there was once an old road or parking lot that was washing away.  It was a diffeent kind of packed material, and there were a couple posts from a gate or something nearby.  I doubt are still there.  Farther out in the water there also produced some good finds.

Continuing north, you would walk along a less populated area where there was natural vegetation.  That was a nudist area.  Finds there were still common but spread farther apart.  For the most part, finds were fewer there than back by the main parking area and lifeguard stands.

After a good long walk, at the bend near the north end of the island, there was a coral rock outcropping that would occasionally be uncovered after storms.  That area produced a lot of older silver when conditions were right.  From the map, it appears that they made a path and walkway to near that location.  

Then at the north end of the island close to the causeway next to Bear Cut, thee would often be erosion where you could find older U.S. coins.  The coins found there were often very corroded.  It seemed the sand was acid from deteriorating mangrove detritus.  I was told that a fence was built so you can no longer get there without making a pretty long walk from the Crandon Park parking area.  

Frank Hudson, by the way, also marks the northeast of the island as an area where silver coins would wash up after storms.  

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Another day of small surf on the Treasure Coast, and there is still not tropical activity on the NHC map.

Have a treasured day,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/30/22 Report - Important Treasure Reference on Buccaneers. Jupiter, Hillsboro and Pompano Treasures. History in Glass.

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

Alexander Exquemelin's Bucaniers of America

Listing in Sotheby's Auction.

Bucaniers of America, written by Exquemelin in 1678, is often referred to in both academic and popular works as a primary reference.  This is an early edition if fine binding, but you can find English language reprints almost anywhere for very little.  Below is a partial description of one inexpensive modern reprint being sold on Amazon.

The activities of these bands of plundering sea rovers reached a peak in the second half of the seventeenth century, when this remarkable eyewitness account was first published (1678).
Alexander Exquemelin, thought to be a Frenchman who enlisted with the buccaneers for a time, chronicles the bold feats of these raiders as they ravaged shipping and terrorized Caribbean settlements. Exquemelin provides fascinating details of the French presence in Hispaniola (now comprising the island nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic) describes the features of that country and its inhabitants, and comments at length on the origin of the buccaneers, vividly recounting their rules of conduct and way of life. These bold plunderers come across as shrewd strategists, crack shots, fine navigators, wild debauchers, and greedy adventurers who frequently engaged in vicious acts of cruelty. Among the figures in his rogues' gallery, none stands out more than the infamous Henry Morgan, whose exploits culminated in the seizure and burning of Panama City.

A bestseller in its own time, The Buccaneers of America will fascinate any modern reader intrigued by piracy and by the often sordid history of European conflicts in the Caribbean and on the Spanish Main.

You may have noticed that the fine edition offered by Sotheby's has a list price of $16,000.  

Fine books can be valuable treasures.  That includes a select few, like this one that should be a familiar reference for anyone interested in nautical treasures of the past.

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Yesterday I mentioned Frank Hudson's book, Lost Treasures of Florida's East Coast, which was published in 1983.  While not a book of the same quality or importance as the above referenced book, it is known by many modern treasure hunters.  

I was interested in comparing what Hudson said about some Florida treasure locations to what I've found from my experiences and personal knowledge of the same areas.  For example, take Jupiter beach.  As you may know, lifeguard Peter Leo looked down and saw a cannon jsut south of Jupiter Inlet while on his morning swim in 1987.  However, well before that treasure coins were being detected on the beach there.  I don't know when the first coins were found there, but I know one fellow (if I correctly recall his name was Stever) who had found a lot of reales collected from that beach before 1987 and there were undoubtedly others.  I previously told the story of how a jar full of reales was stolen from the trunk of his car while he detected the beach.  Take that as a warning.

Illustration From Frank Hudson's
Lost Treasures of Florida's East Coast (published 1983).

Hudson wrote about five treasures in the Jupiter Inlet area, but in his 1983 publication, he did not mention anything about the wreck offshore or beach as a good coin producing beach.  He did point out (1) buried gold bars, (2) an iron bound chest, (3) buried cannons, (4) another iron bound chest, and (5) another iron bound chest, and (6) a lost army pay chest up the river.   It is certainly understandable that he did not refer to the wreck since its location was not well known prior to Leo's discovery.

Hudson's discussion of the Hillsboro Inlet was similar.  He mostly referred to iron bound chests in that area.  He didn't mention the silver coins on the lighthouse property.  I don't  know if he didn't know about them or didn't mention them because they were on inaccessible government property.  Probably the first.  I know of detectorists who were handcuffed and removed from that property by law enforcement.  At least one of them is now deceased.

Some silver shipwreck coins were also found on nearby Pompano Beach.  They are probably from the same source.  They aren't mentioned by Hudson either, but as far as I know, they are not real common, so that is understandable too.  

You might not find the buried chests or bars, but the areas mentioned by Hudson are still good places to metal detect when the conditions are right.  Interesting shipwreck spikes and other artifacts have been found farther south of the Pompano inlet, but I don't know if there is any relationship.

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Shard of Green Glass Found a Couple Days Ago.

With the DIA and E PINKHAM showing on the shard, I immediately knew it was LYDIA E PINHAM, but the second line of embossing would read VEGETABLE COMPOUND.  I must have found another bottle with that embossing, otherwise I doubt I would have recognized the name, although it is remotely possible that I remembered it from general reading.  I'll have to look through my bottles to see if I have a whole one with the same embossing.

This is an interesting find relevant to medical history, folk cures and gender issues.  Here is a bit of that history.

First marketed in the US 1875, Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was an herbal medicine used by women to relieve menstrual discomfort and menopausal symptoms in women. The herbal compound was invented by Lydia Estes Pinkham in 1873 in her home kitchen in Lynn, Massachusetts. Pinkham created the compound by mixing alcohol with roots and herbs. The compound was patented, packaged, and distributed by the Mrs. Lydia Pinkham Medicine Company in 1876. The Mrs. Lydia Pinkham Medicine Company advertised the compound in many US newspapers and magazines, causing Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound to become a household name and making treatments for female reproductive discomfort mainstream in the US...

Caution; the following paragraph contains language that might be considered inappropriate for the 19th century male reader or those of similar sensibilities.

Pinkham created her vegetable compound using a mixture of roots and herbs that grew wildly in North America. The original recipe, created by Pinkham on her home kitchen stove, contained black cohosh, life root, unicorn root, pleurisy root, and fenugreek seed. The unicorn root allegedly gave energy to the uterus and lessened the likelihood of miscarriage. The pleurisy root allegedly helped cure prolapsed uteri, which occur when uterine tissues drop into the vaginal canal. Black cohosh allegedly treated symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, and to have sedative and anti-inflammatory properties that treated menstrual cramping. Pinkham purchased her ingredients from local suppliers, and after steeping and macerating the plants, combined them in cloth bags and allowed the mixture to percolate. She added alcohol to her compound to preserve the mixture, filtering it through an additional cloth before bottling the compound for sale...

There are a few words there that have never been used in this blog before.

Here is the link for a great article on the topic.

Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound (1873-1906) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia (asu.edu)

That is another circa 1900 bottle having a Massachusetts source.

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The long hot summer continues without any significant changes.  Nothing on the NHC map and no great surf or tides.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/29/22 Report - Coin Beaches and Treasures of The Florida East Coast. Some New Finds.

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

Illustration From Frank Hudson's Lost Treasures of Florida's East Coast (copyright 1983).

I was looking at some areas that I used to hunt on Google Maps.  I was interested to see what some of my favorite old hunting spots looked like in recent times.  I knew those spots well, including what they looked like, as well as the kinds of things I found there in the past.  I was especially interested in a couple of the areas that produced a lot of old silver in the past.  I thought of Frank Hudson's books and wondered if he identified those areas as good coin areas.

This area shown above is not the area that originally interested me, but I noticed that Frank mentioned relatively few areas as coin beaches.  He did point out a lot of areas where there were supposed to be buried chests and things like that.

The illustration above shows the area around the Sebastian Inlet.  He pointed out five spots in that area.  Only one was described as a good coin beach.

The areas marked 2, 3, 4, and 5, are indicated as having had buried chests.  The only area on that map described as a good coin beach is area1.  That description reads as follows.  Good Coin Beach.  Work the beach with a good coin detector from the inlet south for three miles. I suggest that you use a detector that will penetrate down for a good 12 inches as thousands of Spanish Coins, Gold Chains and other artifacts of Gold and Silver have been recovered here coming from offshore wrecks.

Hudson goes on to discuss and give the location of five 1715 Fleet wrecks, but he did not provide a map for those beaches and did not specifically describe any of those beaches as being particularly good beaches to detect for coins.  I guess it might be implied.  Since 1983, I'm sure people have a lot more knowledge of those beaches.  The book was published nearly forty years ago.  

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A couple days ago I went out to look for bottles. In a very short time I found the Carter's cone ink bottle shown below.  I've found a few of those in the past, but had recently been thinking that it has been quite a while since I found an ink bottle.

Carters Cone Ink Bottle.

Embossed Bottom of Carter's Coine Ink  Bottle.

This bottle still has some barnacles  on it.  The bottom is embossed: CARTER'S, 1897, MADE IN U.S.A.

I've found some of these before and sold a few.  Besides aqua, I've also found them in brown.

Below is an ad published in 1882 that shows cone bottles, as well as other ink bottles.

The above ad and a very detailed history of the company can be accessed using the following link.

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See Carter’s Ink – Bay Bottles

Here is one brief excerpt.

Over the next ten years the company would lose both of their original founders when Dinsmore retired in the late 1880’s and John W. Carter accidentally drowned in 1895. Shortly after Carter’s death the business was incorporated under the name “The Carter’s Ink Company.” It was managed by the trustees of his estate until 1901 when Carter’s oldest son, Richard B. Carter assumed the presidency. He would continue to serve as president until his death in 1949.

From other things I've seen, it appears that the shape of the bottles had changed by 1919. It seems to me that a pre-1900 date is possible or likely for this bottle.

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Without going into detail, I'll just show one more bottle that was foundWednesday.  It is a half-pint Florida Store milk bottle with an outline of Florida shown on one side.

I had some time previously found a quart size Florida Store bottle bearing the outline of Florida.

I also went bottle hunting yesterday but have not photographed any of those bottles.

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It appears that the continuing south winds have produced a little erosion at some locations.  I noticed yesterday, for example, erosion south of Jupiter Inlet.  It isn't big and is not sufficient for me to increase my beach conditions rating for finding old items, but there is some chance of finding things, even if they are mostly more modern.

There is nothing on the NHC map, and the Treasure Coast surf continues at about 2 - 3 feet.

With the old bottles being available, I've been doing more of that and very little metal detecting, but plan to do some metal detecting soon.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/28/22 Report - Mortar Wreck. Whole Mayan Pot Found. 170 Carat Diamond Found. Treasure As An Act.

 

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

Some of the Cargoe of the the "Mortar" Wreck.
Source: See Bournemouth Unversity link below.

Maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University have uncovered the remains of a medieval ship and its cargo dating back to the 13th century off the coast of Dorset. The survival of the vessel is extremely rare and there are no known wrecks of seagoing ships from the 11th to the 14th centuries in English waters...

The vessel, known as a clinker ship in its design, is made from overlapping planks of wood and was carrying a cargo of Purbeck stone. The shipwreck is referred to as the ‘Mortar Wreck,’ since much of the cargo contained within the wreck also includes several Purbeck stone mortars, which are large stones used by mills to grind grains into flour...

Here is the link for more about that.

Bournemouth University uncovers earliest English medieval shipwreck site | Bournemouth University

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Source: See MexicoNewsDaily.com web site below.

Reyes said they found the pot near the eastern wall of the Cueva de la Cruz (Cave of the Cross), where the ceramic relic was partially submerged in sediment. Despite its age, the pot is completely intact, he said...

Reyes noted that the exterior of the pot is reddish in color while the inside is black. “It’s partially covered by calcium carbonate, which is characteristic of materials recovered in caves,” he said. Reyes added that there is an image of a plant similar to a squash on the pot...

Here is the link.

2,000-year-old Mayan pot discovered in Playa del Carmen cave (mexiconewsdaily.com)

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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A big pink diamond of 170 carats has been discovered in Angola and is claimed to be the largest such gemstone found in 300 years...

“Only one in 10,000 diamonds is colored pink. So you’re certainly looking at a very rare article when you find a very large pink diamond,” Lucapa CEO Stephen Wetherall told The Associated Press...

Lulo is an alluvial mine which means the stones are recovered from a river bed. The Lucapa company is searching for the underground deposits, known as kimberlite pipes, which would be the main source of the diamonds, said Wetherall, speaking from the company’s headquarters in Australia.l.

Here is the link for more about that.

Big pink diamond discovered in Angola, largest in 300 years | AP News

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Just a few random thoughts on treasure.

It has been a hot summer with little interruption, and as you probably know, a lot of the Treasure Coast beaches were buried by renourishment sand. But, as I so often say, "There is always some place to hunt and something to find."

A great idea is a great treasure.

The word "treasure" is a verb as well as a noun. 

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Treasure can wear a convincing disguise while waiting to be found in the most distressing circumstances.

There is an art to treasuring.

Under the physical is the invisible.

Sometimes the greatest journey is inward.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/27/22 Report - The Forces of Erosion and Movement of Sand and Coins. Black Glass.

 

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

Beautiful photo, but also informative.  

I've done some posts talking about the movement of sand and objects on a beach.  I talked a lot about force.  ]I was talking primarily about horizontal movement or flow rather than vertical.  In the photo above you see that as well as horizonal flow, there is a lot of upward and downward force and flow.  te chart that I've posted a number of times (below), shows how the amount of water force relates to the movement of objects,  The chart shows the threshold levels of force required to move loose and cohesive materials.   It makes sense that some cohesive substances, such as clay, because of the cohesioin require more force to dislodge than if it was not so cohesive, but once those fine particles are suspended, they will remain suspended longer and be moved more than loose materials of similar size. 

In the above photo at the top of the post, you will see sand being picked up, or sucked up, into the wave.  That is upward movement that, as the wave proceeds, will become downward movement.  Of course, the sand will be moved ahead, and the wave will crash, dislodging more sand, which makes it move more fluidly.

On a very rough-water day, with high tides and waves, this high intensity area where the waves are crashing will move high up onto the beach as the tides increase.  As the tide comes in, the maximum mpact area will move up the beach, dislodging sand and moving it.  That would cause huge erosion if it were not for the subsequent incoming waves that interacts with the outflowing water of the previous wave.  You can have very high water, but little erosion at some locations.  The high water can cause a lot of turbulence and pick up a lot of sand, but the net movement is relatively small.

In the second photo, you see brown water churning around the photographer.  Right in front of his camera, you see a brown fountain where sand has been picked up high into the wave.  You can see that the sand therre is being picked up several feet before being thrown ahead.

A lot of sand will be moved, but will it be moved onto or off the beach?  As the tide comes in and the impact zone moves up the slope, the net movement can be onto the beach and more than off, even though the water will flow back down the beach.  If in the shallow water there is a good supply of sand to be picked up, it will be moved onto the beach.  

The outflow of water will be at a high rate if the water hits a cliff or obstacle and bounces back down the slope.  That outflow, however, will be impeded as more incoming waves meet and reduce the outflow, so there is movement in multiple directions.  The net movement will be the result of those interactions, with sand and other objects dropping out of suspension accordingly.

Objects that require more force to move, such as coins, will be moved in the area of crashing waves where there is a lot of turbulence and a relatively fluid beach surface.  Where they are depositied, will, like sand, be determined by the interaction of forces, which will determine where those items drop out of suspension.  As the waves decrease in size and the force of water movement decreases, objects like coins, will be deposited before sand gains, which will then cover those objects that require more force to move.

It may be easier to visualize how objects will be moved when the water force runs somewhat parallel to the shore and dunes and there is a more continous flow in one direction, such as when you have a strong north wind that pushes water onto the beach, but keeps it moving primarily in a north to south direction, slicing along the beach and moving the sand, and when the flow is great enough, other objects along with it.  The northeasters can can also have a lot of flow and sand movement at the base of the beach, so sand washed down will be carried away to the south, perhaps along with other materials that are a little more difficult to move.

You might be able to look at the movement of water and see the movement of sand, and visualize the changing amount of force so you can approximate where coins and things will be deposited.  Since sand is more easily moved, it will not be dropped so soon, which is why you normally find the coins covered by sand.

I believe I've previously described the movement of sand and objects relatively well for conditions involving a more steady flow along the beach such as what you might see during a strong north wind with north swells, but this is an attempt to describe what happens in the highest impact areas, such as those shown in today's photos.  That is more the type of thing could result in coins being washed up onto the beach.  The photos of Clark Little show the a lot of big sand-moving force, and I think you can see how coins and things like that could easily be moved with that kind of impact.  Of course, coins will not be moved onto the beach unless they are in the shallow water at that location or on the beach front to begin with, and any protective covering of sand is moved first.

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A Piece of Black Glass From a Bottom Rim.

I went back ot the area where I saw the big planks uncovered and not too far away found this piece of black glass.  That is the second piece of black glass from that location.  When held up to bright light, this one shows a little dark green color.

I'm going to try to get a better look at those planks.  I doubt if I can move them.  Maybe if the tide gets really low sometime, I'll get a better look.

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The most true and significant thing Obiden ever said, is that it matters who counts the votes and how they count them.

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There is still nothing of interest on the NHC map today.

The tides are moderate, but the surf will run around three fee this week, with swells from east and south.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/26/22 Report - Renourishment Sand Eroding. Densities. Glass. Treasure Coast Find and History. Progress.

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

Wabasso Sand Loss.

DJ sent these two photos of the beach at Wabasso to show how much renourishment sand was added and the lost a few weeks ago at Wabasso.

Thanks DJ.

Wabasso Sand Loss.

It seems that renourishment sand often erodes away more quickly than a natural beach.  For one thing, to the north and south of any beach that has been renourished, the beach will remain cut back in relation to the renourished beach.  Taht makes the renourishment beach more vulnerable.  It has also not gone through the same compacting as the natural beach.  And thirdly, there are times when the renourishment sand is finer, and more vulnerable to erosion.

I'm also convinced that it endangers turtle nests, because the turtles build make their nests in the new renourishment sand, and then the nests lost when the renourishment sand erodes.

The following shows the density for different types of sand.

• Loose sand: 1442 kg / m3. It is dry sand that has been moved or agitated to loosen the natural packaging process.
• Dry sand: 1602 kg / m3. It is sand in its undisturbed natural form, where it has been partially compacted by rain and gravity over time, but is now dry
• Packed sand: 1682 kg / m3. Sand that has been packed manually or mechanically (compacted)
• Wet sand: 1922 kg / m3. This is the sand that has been in a natural and naturally compressed environment that is now wet.
• Wet packed sand: 2082 kg / m3. This is compacted sand that is also almost saturated with water.

Source: Density of Cement Sand and Aggregate | Cement Density | Sand Density | Aggregate Density | list of Density (civiljungle.com)

Unsurprisingly sand is not too far different in density than glass.   The density of glass is often given as something like 2500 kg per cubic meter, which is also not much different from granite.  Compare that to gold at around 19,320 kg per cubic meter.

See density of glass - Search (bing.com)

And Table of Density of Common Materials (sciencenotes.org)

People often talk about heavy objects sinking deeper on a beach, but I've said before that density is more important than weight.  And another very important factor is the object's shape.

Bottles provide extreme examples.  A empty capped bottle is going to float.  An uncapped bottle often be at least partly, if not completely, full of sand and/or water.  The partially or completely full bottle will move much differently than the empty sealed bottle.

You'll often find bottles buried in the sand if they are in water or were in the water before the tide went down.  The round bottles will generally (all other things being equal) be easier to find than the old rectangular bottles, which tend to lie flat and get covered by the thinnest lawer of sand.

Bottles often get buried in the sand even though the density of the glass is just a little more dense than that of sand.  There are places and times, though, when you will find them uncovered - very often that will be near the edge of the water at low tide.  

The first old bottles that I ever collected at a beach were found washed up on Key Biscayne right after Hurricane Andrew.  I was metal detecting and saw some old bottles.  I found an old plastic bag and started collecting the old bottles.  I still have some of those.  At least one of those I sold - a Whitehouse vinegar that looked like the one shown below.

Whitehouse Vinegar Cruet.

There was also a Gordon's Dry Gin bottle and some other bottles, as well as some coins and other things.

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HENRY K WAMPOLE and CO., PHILADELPHIA Bottle.

See Antique Bottle, Henry K Wampole & Company, Clear, Circa 1920s, Medicine Bottle, Cure, Embossed, Collectible (mountainairevintage.com)

The contents was a cod liver oil mixture, with other substances including alcohol and wild cherry extract.

 This Treasure Coast bottle is in great shape.  I'd guess it to be from the 1920s, but haven't confirmed that yet.  You can see a couple nice elongated bubbles in the photo.

The Henry K. Wampole Co. started in the 1870s but continues until today.

A New York Times article of 1906 reads as follows.

"The body of H. K. Wampole, head of the firm of Henry K. Wampole & Co., of Philadelphia, was found floating in the North River off Weehawken on Friday, September 14...  

There were two partners in the business, a Mr. Koch and a Mr. Campbell. Wampole's death was thought to be suicide but there were various charges of theft and misuse of company money that can be found online.

Here is an ad from listing the product and a Florida pharmacy.

Wampole Ad Listing Pierson Drug Store of Pierson, Florida.

I have not yet put the bottle on the TGBottleBarn.blogspot.com site but hopefully will soon.

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Last night I got to thinking about how much things have gone downhill over the years.  Here are just a couple examples.  

Back in the day when I traveled a lot, you could go to the airport and when you arrived look at the departing flights and select whatever flight you wanted.  If there was one departing a few minutes earlier than the one your reserved, you could take your ticket to the counter for the other airline and they would without any hassel or resistance, exchange your ticket and you'd take the better flight.  The flights weren't always full, and there would be no problem exchanging your ticket for the flight you preferred, and there were a lot of flights choose from.  You'd then walk down to the gate a few minutes before boarding and without any security check or delays hop on the flight.  And if you were a real frequent flyer, you would usually be upgraded to first class because there were almost always empty seats available.  It was so much easier, quicker and convenient.  Plus, most flights had meal service in all classes.  And most flights had plenty of empty seats, and you could pick the seat you wanted.  Now you are lucky if the flight isn't cancelled or delayed after you go through all the hassles.  

That's progress.

===

The tides are moderate, but the surf will be up just a touch today.  Only about three feet.  No tropical activity on the map.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/25/22 Report - History Ebook. Historic Heat Wave. Vatican Museum. Nother Bottle. Thinking of Old Sites.

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

Source: Use History of Florida link below.

Here is a lengthy history of Florida free ebook published in 1923.  You might find the first few sections most interesting since they deal with the earlier peiords.  

There are maps, photos and illustrations, and very detailed histories on some aeas such as the University of Florida, Jacksonville, Tampa etc.  

Check it out.

History of Florida - Google Books

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There is currently a heat wave in the United States, but the heat wave of 1936 was far deadlier.

...The killer U.S. heat wave of 1936 spread as far north as Canada, led to the heat-related deaths of an estimated 5,000 people, sent thermometers to a record 121 degrees Fahrenheit in Steele, N.D., and made that July the warmest month ever recorded in the United States...

Here is the link for more about that heat wave.

Heat wave of 1936 killed 5,000, topped 120 degrees in North Dakota - The Washington Post

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VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican Museums are home to some of the most magnificent artworks in the world, from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel to ancient Egyptian antiquities and a pavilion full of papal chariots. But one of the museum’s least-visited collections is becoming its most contested before Pope Francis’ trip to Canada.

The Vatican’s Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum, located near the food court and right before the main exit, houses tens of thousands of artifacts and art made by Indigenous peoples from around the world, much of it sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries for a 1925 exhibition in the Vatican gardens.

The Vatican says the feathered headdresses, carved walrus tusks, masks and embroidered animal skins were gifts to Pope Pius XI, who wanted to celebrate the Church’s global reach, its missionaries and the lives of the Indigenous peoples they evangelized.

But Indigenous groups from Canada, who were shown a few items in the collection when they traveled to the Vatican last spring to meet with Francis, question how some of the works were actually acquired and wonder what else may be in storage after decades of not being on public display...

Here is that link.

Vatican says they're gifts; Indigenous groups want them back | AP News

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I received some emails from people that have been reading this blog daily for years.  Here is one of those.

Hey I just read your article on the Innisbawn whiskey bottle you found & those are the first & only pics I've seen of another bottle. I have one identical to yours that I found in a creek that runs through my family's ranch in Okeechobee.   Robert H.

Interesting to hear that the Inniabawn bottle is that rare and that one was found in Okeechobee.  I'm working on filling the TGBottleBar blog with Treasure Coast found bottles, and I'm also seeing what I can learn about local history from those bottles.  One thing I've noticed, and perhaps mentioned before, is that most of them come from East Coast cities, which seems to make sense since in the early 20th century much of the Treaasure Coast transportation was by sea and the FEC reailroad.  I'll have more on that kindof thing in the future.

Here is one more.  It is broken, yet I could tell where it came from and what it held.

Springfield Breweries Bottle

This one is broken and not woth anything except for the historical knowledge.  Like so many, it comesfrom an East Coast city (Springfield, Massachusetts), although farther away than most.  

I posted more information about this one on TGBottleBarn.blogspot.com.  It seems Springfield was known for its breweries.

See Springfield Breweries | Beer Bottle Museum (tbbm.org)

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I also heard from some detectorists from South Florida that are daily readers of this blog.  One mentioned that he hunts one of my favorite old areas after I mentioned it in this blog.  Once you've spent a lot of time working a site that has produced some historic finds, like some of my old South Florida sites have, they become like old friends.  I'd really like to know they are doing and what kinds of things that have produced in recent years.  I know there was some good potential there and of course, I didn't finish them.  So I guess, it is kind of like a bit of unfinished business too.  

I'd love to get a good look at some of those areas now after being awaya couple decades.

 Another one I used to detect a lot, got tons of sand dumped on it, and I think the resort that was there was destroyed and replaced.

The more I write about some of my old sites, the more curious I become. 

That really set off a stream of detecting memories.

Nothing like getting to know a site over the decades.  Seems the connection is never lost even if you never return.

===

Still no significant tropical activity on the NHC map.

Tomorrow we'll have a little higher surf on the Treasure Coast, but only something like 3 o4 4 feet.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/24/22 Report - Sampling for Metal Detecting and Treasure Hunting. Shape and Movement of Objects.

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

What do you see in this photo?
Dead Brown Leaf?

I was watching Gold Rush: Parker's Trail last night and they took some samples to see if a plot of land might have enough gold to be worth working.  They didn't show the sampling process very well, but it looked like the sample came from a very small area.  After obtaining the results, there was a discussion, during which it was mentioned that larger samples are more accurate.  That might be so, but it depends upon how the sample was taken.  A larger sample might not be any more accurate than a small sample if the sample wasn't a representative sample.

A representative sample is a sample that somewhat accurately reflects the relevant properties of the whole from which the sample was taken.  In this case they wanted to get an idea about how much gold they would get if they mined the entire plot of ground.  From the sample, they would generalize about the plot.

How was the sampling done?  Was it a good sample?  Was it a representative sample?  Did the results of the of the sample accurately reflect how much gold would be obtained from the entire plot?  A sample does not always result in good conclusions.  

Is the gold bearing dirt distributed evenly around the plot or is it just found in some areas or at some depths?  For a sample to be helpful, it must be done correctly.  If you sample one spot and the gold is distributed unevenly (for example it might be found in one area but not on much of the land or it might be found at a certain depth), you could easily get very misleading results.  There are well-established principles for effective sampling, but that goes well beyond the scope of this post.

As I recently said, things (including treasure) tends to cluser.  You could have a small densely packed area and either hit or miss that area when you take your sample.  That would affect the representativeness of the sample and the sample could easily be misleading.

To apply sampling more directly to beach metal detecting, let's say you want to know if it is worth spending much time detecting a particular beach.  You might be able to identify some areas that you are seem more interesting.  Maybe you can tell that some areas look more promising.   For example, if you just check the dry sand, there is a good chance that you will miss a good coin line or coin hole in the wet sand area.  

I recommend sampling.  I believe sampling is a good idea.  You always do it, because you can not cover the entire beach, but good sampling is done thoughtfully and systematically.  Taking a good, or representative sample, involves more than doing a little detecting, and the conclusions you can draw from a sample, depends upon how well you sample. 

Another thing to consider when sampling a metal detecting area, is a single item can be worth more than a hundred or even thousand other finds.  A valuable ring for example, can be worth much more than a bunch of normal coins.  The possibility of very scarce but very valuable items, makes sampling more difficult than sampling for numerous small pieces of treasure of similar value.  In that case, one piece, or data point, will not dramatically skew your results like a single scarce but very valuable item might.  

Of course, over time, as you continue to metal detect an area over weeks, months or years, you will gain a greater understanding of the area and more accurately define your area of interest.

Now I'll throw in a few more difficulties.  Beaches change. especially in the wet sand area.  There might be changes that are difficult to predict or recognize.  And the dry sand changes too.  There are busy days, and not so busy.  There are busy areas, and areas that do not have as much traffic.  And there are other detectorists that might hit an area before you.

Changes can be seasonal, or event related.  They can be weather related or caused by variations in human activity.  Conclusions drawn from a sample taken on a particular day, might not be valid in a year, or on another day.  

My main point is that sampling can be helpful, but it must be done well, and you must be careful about your generalizations or conclusions.

Here is another post on the topic of sampling for metal detecting.

Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond): 10/1/20 Report - Sampling: An Important Skill When Done Correctly. Two Tropical Waves South of Us. (tbr2020.blogspot.com)

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On the same TV show, possibly another episode, they were testing two sluices with different kinds of riffles and wanted to see which type of riffle did a better job of catching gold.  They used lead shot rather than gold.  Instead of just throwing the shot in, they first smashed it with a hammer.  Why?  As someone said on the show said, they did that because gold is not round.

One of the things I discussed in a previous post is that the shape of an object will have an effect on how that object will move on a beach when exposed to the flow or force of water.  They recognized the effect of the objects shape when they did that test.  I'm not sure if lead shot provided an accurate measure of how the riffles would work with gold, since gold is more dense than lead with a ratio of roughly 19 to 11.  That seems to me to be a big difference, but they were satisfied with using lead.  They probably have a better feel for that than I.

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Did you see that dead brown leaf just below center of the photo shown at the top of the post? 

Here is a closer look.

Looks Like Dead Leaf, But It Is Actually a
Ruddy Daggerwind Butterfly.

Here is a view when it is opening its wings a little.

Ruddy Daggerwing Butterfly.

Good camouflage, isn't it?

There is a lot of interesting nature to see when you are out metal detecting.

Things are not always what they seem to be.

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Did you see on the news where a young manatee started playing with boogie board that a child was riding near the Fort Pierce inlet?

I remember a diving detectorist down in South Florida telling how he was metal detecting on the bottom and a big shadow went over him.  He looked up and it was a manatee.

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I'm surprised that there has been so little tropical activity on the NHC map so far this year, but the peak of the hurricane season has not yet arrived.

Still nothing of much interest.  Just a little bigger surf (only maybe three feet) predicted for mid-week.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/23/22 Report - Variety of Types of Treasure You Can Find on The Treasure Coast.

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

Megalodon Tooth With Current Bid of $1400 in Current Sotheby's Natural History Auction.
Source: Megalodon Shark Tooth — South Carolina | Natural History, including Gorgosaurus | | Sotheby's (sothebys.com)

For years I've emphasized the many types of treasure that can be found in Florida.  You don't have to stick to one type.  You don't have to stick to metal treasures just because you have a metal detector.  Florida offers a tremendous variety of types of treasure.

We are well into a very productive shipwreck treasure salvage season on the Treasure Coast, but if you are a beach hunter, you might want to explore some other types of treasure.   There are seasons and times you might want to look for other things.

Lately, I've been very limited in the amount of time I can spend on treasure hunting.  I don't often have the time to drive to the beach and back.  That by itself takes over an hour both ways, at a minimum, so I've been doing some other things, especially hunting bottles, which I can do close to home and not waste any time driving.  While bottles might not interest everybody, at least when I get the urge to hunt, I can do that, and usually find a little something of interest.

The meg tooth shown above is not a Florida find, but meg teeth can be found in Florida.  Fossils, including shark teeth, can be found at times on our Treasure Coast beaches and I've seen a few in the Indian River Lagoon.  

My point is that there are a lot of things to be found, and when you can't hunt one thing, or maybe conditions aren't so great for what you prefer to do, there are other options.  I'll bet there are treasures close to your home that you pass by all the time without thinking about it.  I was amazed last year, how much there was to be found right next door to my own home, including metal, though not many coins, old bottles and other things of interest.

Some of those other types of treasures are worth a good bit.  Take, for example, the meg tooth shown above.  $1400 is more than most shipwreck coins found on the beach.  I enjoy finds that tell a story of what went on in the past, especially locally.

Yesterday, along with some metal-detected finds, I showed a Miami Biltmore Dairy bottle that requires some more research.  Someone was interested in buying it.  I found some other bottles the same day.  They weren't as nice, but they help to tell the story of the Treasure Coast as it was a 100 years ago.

One of those finds was this broken Springfield Breweries bottle from Massachusetts.  It is broken and so worth nothing, but I'll add it to my documented Fort Pierce-area bottle finds because of what it adds to the story.

Another bottle that I found the same day provided less information, but I picked it up because I think it will sun-purple nicely.  It has a nice big round bubble and is only very slight purple tinge now (below left).  I have another similar (I'll call it a pickle bottle.) that I've had sitting in the sun for a while and is nicely purpled (below right).  Too bad the photo doesn't show the color very well.

Two Old Unidentifiable Pickle Bottles

Iron in sand gives the glass a range of colors from light green to dark amber, depending on the amount of iron in the sand. To overcome this problem, some factories that used iron-bearing sands added manganese to their batch as a decolorizer. While this produces colorless glass, that glass will turn a light purple or amethyst color when it is exposed to sunlight...

Both historical and empirical evidence indicate that the previously accepted earlier date (1880) for the beginning of popularity of colorless glass container use in the United States as suggested by bottle collectors may be slightly incorrect. Popular use seems to have begun by at least the mid-1870s and was solidly in place by 1890. This dating cannot be generalized to all glass artifacts. Manganese was used in tableware by 1865 and in flat (window) glass in the U.S. long before 1880. A practical end date for manganese use in all but specialty bottles is about 1920, although some use continued until the early 1930s. The end of manganese use is generally concurrent with the end of mouth-blown bottle production.

Source: Front Matter - 40(2) (sha.org)

So if you find sun-purpled glass, the possible date range would appear to be mid-19th century up onto 1930.

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Nothing interesting in the forecasts.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/22/22 Report - Mel Fisher Finds. Message In A Bottle. Couple Old Planks and Some Miscellaneous Finds.

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

Bottle Found With Message Inside.

Source: See wtkr link below.

A family was boating and started collecting bottles. An older Pepsi bottle on a little cliff at the edge of the river.  A message was inside.  By using social media the person that put the message in the bottle 44 years ago was found. 

Here is the link.

Williamsburg family finds message in a bottle while boating on York River (wtkr.com)

That is one of those No Deposit No Return bottles that might sell for a couple dollars these days.  Not very old.  

Thanks to DJ for that link.

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Two Recent Coin Finds by the Mel Fisher Organization.
Source: MelFisher.com on Twitter.

Another recent find from the Mel Fisher organization was an olive jar neck.

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First time in quite a while I took my metal detector out for a little while.  First I found this corroded silver-looking fork.

Corroded Old Fork.

Then a small lead ball.

Small Lead Ball Find.

Next, a small shard of black glass.

And then in the water close by, I saw two large planks in the water, which I never saw before.

12-Foot-Long Plank.

The two planks were large.  One was about 12 feet long and over a foot wide at places, and the other was just a touch longer - maybe fifteen feet long.  It was hard to get them to show up in the photos.

Interesting group of finds.  I've suspected this general area for quite some time.

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The day before, Wednesday, I took a walk looking for bottles.  I cleaned this one up a little, but it still n needs cleaning and I need help with research.

Half-Pint Embossed Miami Biltmore Dairy Bottle. 

As it makes clear, it is a deposit bottle.

The front reads:  DEPOSIT BOTTLE; PHONE 4-2260: BILTMORE DAIRY PRODUCTS; MIAMI. FLA.

Back of Miami Biltmore Dairy Bottle.

The back reads: DEPOSITE BOTTLE on the shoulder and in huge letters below DEPOSIT BOTTLE.

So far I've only been able to find information on a Biltmore Dairy in North Carolina.  My suspicion is this bottle could have had some connection with the Biltmore Hotel in Miami.  I don't know if they had their own dairy or received products from North Carolina.  

If anyone can find more on the Miami Biltmore dairy products, I'd appreciate whatever you can find.

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Raina and thunder in the Fort Pierce area this morning.  No tropical activity on the NHC map though.

The surf remains small, but an increase up to four feet is expected for next Wednesday.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net