6/30/23 Report - Dagger Found by Detectorist On Site Thought To Be Hunted Out. Bronze Age Artifacts Found. Good Reading.

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

A dagger uncovered on an ancient battlefield. Archäologischer Dienst Graubünden.
Source: See link below.

Lucas Schmid, who volunteers for the local archaeological association, uncovered the artifacts using a metal detector at a remote southeast corner of Switzerland, near the Crap-Ses gorge between the towns of Tiefencastel and Cunter.

The finds – including a dagger, well-preserved slingshot stones, coins, nails and part of a shield – are assumed to have been left on the battlefield after a clash between Romans and a local tribe at around 15BC.

Other artifacts had previously been unearthed at the location, but the site was considered to have been picked clean by previous sweeps.

Schmid proved this was not the case after discovering a 2,000-year-old Roman dagger. “The signal from the metal detector was very inconspicuous and quiet. At first there was nothing to suggest such a large find,” Schmid told SWI swissinfo.ch...

Here is the link for more about that.

How a hobby archaeologist uncovered a Roman battle site - SWI swissinfo.ch

It is not uncommon for the last finds from a site to be the oldest and best.  I've talked before about how to do what I call a step search.  See The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 7/22/14 Report - Tropical Depression Two Moving West & How To Conduct An Intensive Step Search.  

There might be a lot more in the ground than you think.  See The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 3/26/18 Report - First Investigation Ever To Really Answer Two Big Questions: How Much Is Actually In The Ground As Compared To How Much Will Be Found Using A Metal Detector.

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Around 80 rare artefacts from the late Bronze Age, including jewellery, sickles and axes, have been discovered in the Albula region in southeast Switzerland...

Here is that link.

‘Exceptional’ Bronze Age artefacts unearthed in Switzerland - SWI swissinfo.ch

Those sickles remind me of the four blades I found a two years ago at the site of what appeared to be the railroad wreck site. I spent  alot of time on that site.  Besides the scythe blades, there were also buried sledge hammer heads and various other tools.  See Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 5/3/21 Report - Artifacts From Maryland's First English Settlement. More Artifacts From a Treasure Coast Site. (tbr2020.blogspot.com)

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Two days ago I did a post on shards.  I found a good article on Spanish Olive Jars.

Here is the link.

(PDF) Spanish Olive Jars from the Tortugas Shipwreck. Florida (1622) (researchgate.net)

I plan to add that one to my reference link list.

There is already a lot of good reading in the reference lists for both this site and the older treasrurebeachesreport.  Try AtochaMargarita2016-2018PermitRenewalReportv2019-01-14_Redacted.pdf (melfisher.com) for example.

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I have too many bottles and a lot of duplicates.  If you see something you like in the tgbottlebarn send me an offer.  

I'm adding bottles almost daily to that site.

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The wind has shifted but there is little of it. 

Nothing in the reports that would suggest a change in beach conditions real soon.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/29/23 Report - Discovery of DeSoto Artifacts and Travels. Meteotsunami Data. WWII Canteen.

Written by the Treaureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report

Under a former Native American village in Georgia, deep inside what's now the U. S., archaeologists say they've found 16th-century jewelry and other Spanish artifacts.

The discovery suggests an expedition led by conquistador Hernando de Soto ventured far off its presumed course—which took the men from Florida to Missouri —and engaged in ceremonies in a thatched, pyramid-like temple...

A continent and five centuries away, an excavation organized by Atlanta's Fernbank Museum of Natural History found buried glass beads, iron tools, and brass and silver ornaments dating to the mid-1500s. The southern-Georgia location—where they'd been searching for a 17th-century Spanish mission—came to be called the Glass Site...

Blanton called the finding a "stunning surprise." Prior to the discovery, it had been generally accepted that de Soto and his men had crossed a river about 100 miles (160 kilometers) upstream of the site, but archaeologists hadn't suspect that the expedition had ventured so far south and east.

The trove of items—all of which could fit into a shoe box – represents the largest collection of early 16th-century Spanish artifacts ever found in the U.S. interior outside of Florida, according to Blanton, whose work was funded in part by the National Geographic Society's Committe for Research (The Society owns National Geographic News.)

Here is the link for more of that.

Conquistador Was Deep in U.S.: "Stunning" Jewelry Find Redraws Route? (nationalgeographic.com)

That isn't a new article, but I don't recall mentioning it before.

Too bad they didn't show a photo of any of the artifacts.

Below is the beginning of an article tracing DeSoto's travels.

De Soto’s fleet sighted the western coast of Florida near Tampa Bay on May 25, 1539. He landed with about 600 men and about 220 horses, and from there he proceeded northward to present-day Tallahassee, where he and his men spent the winter of 1539-40 in the territory of the chiefdom of Apalachee.

On March 3, 1540, De Soto and his army departed from Apalachee. By day’s end they had reached just inside the southern border of what is now Georgia, a few miles south of present-day Cairo. When they reached the Flint River, they built a crude boat and ferried everyone to the western side of the river. From there they proceeded to the Chickasawhatchee Swamp, where they came to the chiefdom of Capachequi...

Here is the link for much more.

Hernando de Soto in Georgia - New Georgia Encyclopedia

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I previously reported on a meteotsunami that occured on the West Coasst of Florida.  A meteotsunami  is something like a tsunami but caused by meteorological rather than a seismic cause.  The water level increase was around 2.5 feet above normal.

Tom L. sent the following email and data capture that shows what happened.

Since there is a full NOAA weather station on Pier 60, I pulled water levels graph for you to see.  Other data is available, wind speed, direction, temperature.

Thanks for your excellent blog!

Thanks Tom.

Here are some definitions.

Mean Lower Low Water

The average of the lower low water height of each tidal day observed over the National Tidal Datum Epoch. For stations with shorter series, comparison of simultaneous observations with a control tide station is made in order to derive the equivalent datum of the National Tidal Datum Epoch.

Mean Low Water

The average of all the low water heights of each tidal day observed over the National Tidal Datum Epoch. For stations with shorter series, comparison of simultaneous observations with a control tide station is made in order to derive the equivalent datum of the National Tidal Datum Epoch.

Mean High Water

The average of all the high water heights of each tidal day observed over the National Tidal Datum Epoch. For stations with shorter series, comparison of simultaneous observations with a control tide station is made in order to derive the equivalent datum of the National Tidal Datum Epoch.

Mean Higher High Water

The average of the higher high water height of each tidal day observed over the National Tidal Datum Epoch. For stations with shorter series, comparison of simultaneous observations with a control tide station is made in order to derive the equivalent datum of the National Tidal Datum Epoch.

I read that the rip tides on the west coast of Florida have taken several lives lately.  I think the last I thing I read said that there were eleven drownings over there.

Here is a find that I had with the bottles that I am trying to sort and box.

US VOLLRATH 1943 WWII Canteen

I suppose it came from all the WWII training activity on South Hutchinson Island.  Cleaned up very nicely.  The 1943 date makes me wonder if the fellow that lost it on the Treasure Coast ended up in the D-Day invasion.

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Looks like the wind is now out of the north, but the surf remains one or two feet.  That is not supposed to change for a few days.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.n

6/28/23 Report - Beach and Other Treasure Coast Pottery Shards or Sherds: European, Indigenous and Modern.

 

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

Pot 

Pot Shard Found by Warren D.

Warren D. sent me the following email and two photos.

I found this several weeks ago while walking a treasure coast beach checking the shell piles. 

I showed it to an experienced treasure hunter and he said the appearance of the finger/thumb impressions on the inside wall while it was being formed on a spinning table are the clue.

It also slightly sounded off on my pulse inductor metal detector and he said when they made these pots they laid them on piles of straw and lit the straw on fire to "fire" or harden the pottery. The carbonization from this firing is what my detector detected. Similar looking stone like objects on the beach didn't sound off and didn't have the finger impressions.

It didn't have any writing on it, too bad.

Warren D.

_Other Side of Pot Shard Found by Warren D.

===

I didn't know what I was going to talk about today until I got Warren's email. I then decided to stay on the topic of pot shards today.  I haven't looked at my own for quite a while but have been thinking of doing the topic again anyhow.  Most beach shards are found, as Warren suggested, in shell piles.  Below is one shard that is a little smaller than the one shown by Warren.

Inside of Surface of Pot Shard
Showing Finger Potters Finger Marks.

That isn't a good photo, but I think you can see what I'm talking about.

Below is a partially conserved jug, which is about sixteen inches tall.  You can see the rings on both the inside and outside surfaces.

Nice Old Partially Conserved Jug.

The top rim has been coated for preservation.

Some red shards you find on the beach will be from roofing tiles or drainage pipes. I once did a post on how to tell the difference. Most of the modern pieces are extruded rather than thrown on a wheel. You can see that by looking closely at the material.

Many thrown pieces are smoothed on the outside using a tool called a rib, but on the inside, which is usually not smoothed, you can see the horizontal circles from the potter's fingers.

Now I'll switch to indigenous shards.

Incised Shard.

Notice the horiztal incised line near the top of the shard.

Below is a nice rim shard showing three incised lines.  Looks like it had some nice decoration.

Outside and Inside Views of the Same Incised Shard.

Below is a check-stamped example.

Check Stamped Pot Shard.

The check stamped example was found on private property on the surface next to a road.

You can see more examples of check stamped pottery here.

Florida-Check-Stamped-Pottery (peachstatearchaeologicalsociety.org)

Mound material was sometimes used to build roads in Florida. That is unfortunate to say the least, but you can occasionally find items like that around old roadways.  And before the roads were built, the waterways were the roads.

.I believe the next shards might be what is called corded, but this is one of the many subjects I know very little about, and I'm not sure if they are really corded or not.

Those three shards, unlike the other indigenous shards shown today, are from West Virginia.  All the above examples are from the Treasure Coast.

Decorated Indigenous Shards.

The shards shown below are bottom rims from what I presume would be European pottery.

I estimated the diameter of the light colored one, if whole, would have been around fourteen inches. The red one is from a smaller vessel.

See The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 10/6/12 Report - Preserving Finds

See also The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 2/23/16 Report - Various Beach Shards. Frozen Gold TV Program.

And lastly, here is a look inside a piece of 1800s stoneware container. This is the most modern piece shown today (2800s) but still shows the impressions on the inside.  Too bad you can only faintly see them in the photo. I suspect a tool was used since the rings on the inside are so uniform.  There were a lot of these made, so the process was probably mechanized to whatever extent possible.  I'd like to learn more about that.

Broken J. Bourne and Son Master Ink Stoneware Bottle.

I've shown the same kind of stoneware master ink bottles from the same company that are whole. This broken one allows a cutaway view of the inside.  

See The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 12/29/11 Report - J. Bourne Bottle & More

Master ink bottles just like this were found on the SS Republic. I think you can probably find them for sale online.

If you can find any more information on the manufacture of these or other stoneware containers, please send me links.  

I'd also like to find good online sources for the indigenous pottery.

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One thing that really aggravates me is the lack of academic articles on the internet.  Many of the academic sites are only available through institutional accounts.

Previously I was able to access the thesis and dissertations of the nautical archaeology program at TAMU.  Now they appear to be restricted access.

Archaeology always claims to save the past for the public, but they won't publish their articles where they can be viewed by the public.  You have to subscribe to expensive academic journals.

The internet is loaded with all kinds of garbage, but that compounds the difficulty of finding quality information.

Here are a couple others that are restricted access.

International Journal of Nautical Archaeology | Nautical Archaeology Society

Search Results for “ship gold” – The Nautical Archaeology Digital Library (shiplib.org)

One of the best sties I've found to see indigenous pot shards (or sherds) is the PeachTreeStateArchaeolgicalSociety.org web site.  They are doing what archaeology is supposed to do - make information available to the public.

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Just the remnants of Cindy in the Atlantic now.  Nothing that will help beach conditions right now.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/27/23 Report - Portion of Poet's Quote Found on Pot Shard. Stories and Science Related to Treasure Hunting. Meteotsunamis.

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

A tiny fragment of a Roman jar that once held olive oil, produced in what is now southern Spain, has left archaeologists delighted, puzzled and “saucer-eyed” after they deciphered a quote from the ancient poet Virgil that was cut into its clay by an unknown but erudite hand 1,800 years ago.

The highly unusual find, thought to be the first time a literary quotation has been discovered on a Roman amphora, was turned up by researchers from the universities of Córdoba, Seville and Montpellier who were excavating a site in the town of Hornachuelos, in Andalucía’s Córdoba province, seven years ago...

Here is the link for more about that.

Virgil quote found on fragment of Roman jar unearthed in Spain | Archaeology | The Guardian

Marks on finds increase the value.  Whether you are talking about a mint mark, date, hallmark, maker's mark, owner's initials, or phrase, the added information can be very helpful and add to the value of the find.

The thing I like about cobs is the wide variety of shapes and strikes.  They are so different, individual and unique.

One thing I like about pottery is when you can see the finger marks of the potter who formed the item.  When you talk about touching history, which is one thing that many detectorists say they like, that makes it feel even more personal.  That adds a personal touch to the story of the item something like a name or initials on a piece of jewelry.

When we find objects, we find stories .  The stories may not be complete, but over time can be filled in by conducting research.

Sometimes it seems that we are really in search of stories as much as objects.  Provenance clearly adds to the value of treasures.  Auction catalogs to prove the value of provenance.

When treasure hunters make a find, one of the joys is fleshing out the story behind he object, but there is also the story of the hunt which can be shared with others and remembered for years.

I've notice over the years that I've been doing this blog, how people enjoy seeing finds made by others and learning where and how the objects were found.  Not only is the story interesting, but it is also helpful, as it informs others of what can be found and how things can be found.

Our culture is being taken over by stories many of which are incomplete or manufactured with little regard for the truth.  Science and objectivity have been slaughtered.  Some stories are true, while others are imagination or myth.

Technology is not science.  And neither is someone's opinion, even if the person claims to be expert.

Here is what Wikipedia says.

The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge...  It involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation.  It involves formulating hypotheses via induction, based on such observations; the testability of hypotheses, experimental and the measurement-based statistical testing of deductions drawn from the hypotheses; and refinement (or elimination) of the hypotheses based on the experimental findings....

You can manipulate genes, invent light bulbs and electric cars, but is not science. It is technology, which is based upon knowledge, but it is not science. Technology is the application of knowledge for achieving practical goals in a reproducible way.  It is Sheldon Cooper on the Big Bang show versus Howard.  

Some TV shows are irritating and exasperating simply because they lack any degree of skeptical self-reflection.  Ancient Aliens is particularly exasperating because there is one answer to everything, and it is all described by the title.  

Imagination is great.  It is necessary for science, but a scientific attitude keeps it from becoming delusion.

A scientific attitude will help any treasure hunter or detectorist.  Penetrating detailed observation must be balanced by rigorous skepticism.  You might ask yourself, what am I seeing, and how do I know.  You need evidence to overcome skepticism.  You find ways to test your conclusions.  You try to disprove your conclusions not prove them.  There is an important difference there that I won't get into now.

If you adopt a "scientific" attitude, you will not quickly jump to conclusions.  You will search for alternate answers.  

You learn more from finding out where you were wrong than where you were right.

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Meteotsunami

Meteotsunamis only last about an hour because once the leading edge of the storm passes onto land, the action subsides.

The meteotsunami was about 2.5 feet (0.8 meters) higher than the forecast wave height and around 4 feet (1.2 meters) higher than average sea level.

Six-foot (1.8 meter) and higher meteotsunamis have been recorded around the world...

Here is the link for more about meteotusnamis.

.Was that actually a tsunami that hit Florida? Yes, but not the kind you think | AP News

I don't really thing this phenomena justifies the name. 

I've said several times before that a local rainstorm can throw off increased wind and waves and cause a little erosion.  The erosion might not be enough to change beach conditions much on its own, but when you have a beach that is already eroded, the little additional erosion can improve metal detecting conditions.

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Nothing much on the National Hurricane Center map to see right now other than the remnants of Cindy out in the Atlantic.

Expect more south and west winds for a few days.

Good hunitng,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/26/23 Report - Titanic Salvage Diver Dies. Fossils: Jaw Boning. Treasure Coast History in Bottles.

 

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

The French diver who died in the Titan submersible had spent two decades working with a controversial company with the sole right to retrieve and display items from the Titanic wreck site.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the most prolific Titanic divers in history, led five expeditions for the private salvage firm RMS Titanic Inc. to collect more than 5,000 artifacts from the ship. The artifacts included items as small as shaving kits and pipes and as large as chandeliers...

Here is the link for more about that.

French diver who died in the submersible helped a private company excavate 5,000 artifacts from the Titanic (msn.com)

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Three Partial Fossil Jaw Bones.
Horse, Gator, Peccary.

Most detectorist like finding old things. Among the oldest things you can find on the Treasure Coast are fossils, some dating back millions of years.  Here are three fossil partial jaw bones from the Treasure Coast some with teeth.

Three Partial Jaw Bones - Two With Teeth.

Of course, fossils aren't found with a metal detector, but can be found on our beaches and elsewhere around the Treasure Coast.  They are, however, a good sign for a detectorist.  If you are finding items that are thousands of years old, you are in an area where there might well be other old items.  If old fossils are being found, especially those that are dense and just being uncovered by erosion, you'd definitely want to check the area with a metal detector.

I think the small bottom one might be a peccary, but am not completely sure.  I'd have to do some more research or get an expert opinion.

Recently I've been showing old bottles.  Of course, they are not that old.  But that is another kind of item you can find along the Treasure Coast.  While neither fossils nor bottles will normally be classified or gathered with coins, there are times when such diverse things will be found together.  For example, when a dune face is being eroded, multiple layers can be dropped to the foot of the dunes where items of various densities and types can remain intermingled for a while.  In time nature will usually separate those items by density and shape, but there is that short time when they are intermingled.

I've been sorting and storing some bottles lately, which is one reason I've been posting so many of them.

As you would expect, there are some that are found in greater quantities than others.   Below is shown seven McCormick & Co, Baltimore embossed bottles.  I only posted one example before, but there are seven varieties shown below.  Evidently a common product used in the local area.

McCormick & Co. Bottles.

The one in the middle is an odd shape.  It is more like a pharmacy bottle.  I looks like a bottle maker embossed a type of bottle for McCormick that was also used for medicines.  I should check out the maker's marks.  I suspect there was some kind of shortage or event that affected McCormick's usual supplier.  That will take some research.

Below are six Castoria bottles.  I posted one of each of these.  The Pitcher's name was taken over by the Hatcher's name.

Six Catoria Bottles.
Three Dr. S. Pitcher's (left) and Three Chas. H. Fletcher's (right)

The Hatcher's bottles are not quite as old as the Pitcher's bottles.  The one on the far right is a screw top.

I'm trying to organize finds for storage.  Bottles take a good bit of space.  I like to have good photos so I won't have to get them out of storage as often.

The same thing goes for coins.  It is a good idea to have good photographs and then store them in a safe organized way.

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Windy.com is showing nothing more than a one foot surf for the Treasure Coast for the next few days.

Source: Windy.com.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/25/23 Report - Changes in Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting Technologies Over the Decades.

 

Written by the TreaureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treaure Beaches Report.

Yesterday I mentioned that blowers (mailboxes) have been used in treasure salvage since 1962.  That is over sixty years ago, and they haven't changed much in all that time.  

Metal detecting has been going on for a long time and hasn't changed a lot when compared to things like telephones and other technologies.  To me it is surprising how little metal detecting has changed over the decades.  The technology has improved some, but for me it is more a matter of tweaking rather than any revolutionary changes.  For decades there have been claims about metal detectors that can actually show you the shape of the target in the ground.  I don't know what has happened with that, but I haven't seen it anything like that either advertised recently or in the field.

The biggest changes in metal detectors might be the improvement in depth and target ID.  To me, those are small incremental advances - nothing really revolutionary.  As I look back over several decades, I'm actually surprised by how little metal detecting has changed in those years.

One of the most creative or innovative things I've seen in recent years is the recovery tool developed and used by Robert J.  Instead of using a scoop, he developed a tool that employs an electric drill and auger to lift targets into a bucket, instead of using a scoop.  

Below is how Robert J. described that.

I'm a daily reader of your blog and have been for years now.  I was reading your blog today and had to smile a little.  I'm a systems engineer by trade and am always looking to make a better mousetrap. The auger was one of my attempts.  Not sure if I'm the one you saw, but as far as I know I was the first to use it.  If it was me you saw, I would have most likely been on one of the more popular treasure coast beaches last Winter and had a protected cordless drill attached to an auger bit inside a bucket.  If not, imitation is one of the greatest forms of flattery!

Believe it or not, the "post hole digger" works much better than you would think it would. It especially shines in the shallow surf where traditional scoops can be frustrating.  The wave action actually helps to retrieve the object by sifting the lighter material (sand/shell).  It's also capable of quickly digging multiple targets without the concern of losing them.  Last November, my record was 11 musket balls and multiple other various pieces of lead in the bucket when I finally emptied.

There are however a few cons with the auger apparatus.  For one, it only weighs a pound or two more than a scoop but doesn't drag as easily behind you and is certainly bulkier.  Two, my drill clutch wore out after a year.  I guess not too bad since I estimate I dug well over 1000 holes.

I have made several improvements and variations to my original "post hole digger" now and am just waiting for the right conditions to put the latest version to use!

Of course, there are other innovations. For example, Warren D. has experimented with scoop handles and has come up with designs that are more effective and ergonomic than the scoops most detectorists use.

It just seems to me that both treasure salvage and metal detecting has changed very little over the years.  Of course we all benefit from technologies that are not specific to those activities.  GPS is a huge change for treasure salvage.  And we all benefit from general purpose digital technologies.  We always have a quality phone, camera, and other digital technologies at our fingertips.

Of course there are advanced technologies like LIDAR and submersibles, but th arose kinds of things are not generally used by hobbyists and beach detectorists.

It takes a lot of varied skills to develop new tools.  And it takes even more for those advances to become widely accepted. 

I suspect that detectorists are not characteristically early adopters. I know I am not, although I have been an innovator in the fields of biofeedback and computer science. Like John P., I enjoy exploring new solutions, but when it comes to making a purchase, I often prefer the tried and proven products. There are times when I love to experiment and solve problems, but it is time consuming, and you can't do it in every area of your life.

For one thing, metal detecting is just a hobby.  That is little different for treasure salvage, which involves greater commitment and investment.  

There is always a better way.  That is my belief.  But it takes a lot to develop a better solution, and it takes a lot more for an innovation to be widely adopted and successfully used.

Sometimes things fall into place.  It can involve accident or luck.

The mailboxes were originally conceived by Mel Fisher to send clear water to the bottom so divers could see what they were doing.  It was then discovered that it actually had the benefit of moving the sand.

Successful and widely adopted innovations involve several stages.

• Idea generation: brainstorming and selecting the best concept to pursue.
• Advocacy and screening: pitching and evaluating the idea for its feasibility and potential value.
• Experimentation: testing and refining the idea through prototypes and feedback.
• Commercialization: launching and marketing the new product or service to the target market.
• Diffusion and implementation: spreading and adopting the innovation across the organization or society.

It takes a lot to come up with revolutionary new ideas.  That is why they are so rare.  Creative people may come up with great ideas but not be interested or able to develop them.  It requires knowledge of the activity or discipline, and when people are doing something relatively satisfactorily or successfully according ot their own standards or criteria, few of them will not be motivated to change things very much.

Failure can be a good motivator, but it can also cause people to quit.  You can use failure as motivation.  Or you can simply raise your standards beyond what you are currently doing, and let that be the motivation.

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If you've come up with alternative solutions or approaches to treasure hunting or metal detecting, tell me the story.  I'll be glad to hear from you.

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Treasure Coast Penslar Bottle Find.

Penslar sold products like toilet water and face creams.  I'm not sure what this bottle held.

Below is an old advertisement showing some of the Penslar products.

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Bret has dissipated, and Cindy will do the same before doing anything for our beach conditions.

Expect west and south winds and a one foot surf for the next several days.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/23/23 Report - 1715 Fleet Gold Coin Found. Two Tropical Storms Now. Changing Face of Metal Detecting(?)

 

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

Bogota 2-Escudo Found at Nieves Site Recently.
Photo submitted by one of this blog's readers.

We've had a lot of good weather for treasure salvage work so far this year.  There has been a lot of smooth surf.  This escudo was recently reported found near the site of the Colored Beach wreck (aka Nieves or Douglass Beach Wreck).

Congratulations guys!

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I saw on the internet where a fellow was talking about how metal detecting was changing.  He was saying that there weren't as many coins anymore.  I talked about that years ago.  People aren't using money much anymore.  They use digital payment methods more these days and carrying less money.

And just a couple years ago I went to a State Park that I had visited many times before, but this day they told me they weren't taking cash.  You had to pay by card.   

People don't carry as much cash, and as a result, they don't lose as much change.  And they don't lose as much paper money either.

You can find cash too.  I've found cash washed up with seaweed.  There was one dip in the water off a popular resort in Fort Lauderdale where bills collected.  You could snorkel out and look for it.

I also remember one time when I was metal detecting in shallow water and a twenty dollar bill came floating by about a foot under the surface of the water.  

But this fellow was talking about how there seems to be fewer coins.  

When I began metal detecting, like many people I targeted coins.  I tried to find more coins on each outing.  I kept track of the number of coins I found.  I've talked about that before.  I counted the number of each type of coin, how many I found and the total face value.

I remember telling the fellow that ran Pot of Gold near the Fort Lauderdale airport (Jerry) when I found enough coins with my aquanaut 1280X to pay for the detector.  As I recall, the price over $600 and  I found enough to coins in the first year to pay for the detector.  That seemed pretty good to me at the time.

But when you think of it, paying for your metal detector is only part of your expenses.  There are batteries, travel expenses, parking fees, scoops etc.  So the change didn't pay for your total expenses if you treated it like a business.  But it paid for some expenses, and there were other finds of value like rings and jewelry.  

I wasn't a coin shooter very long.  I was at the beginning.   That is how I judged my success at first, but it wasn't long before I quit keeping track of the coins.  I then targeted gold instead.  I then kept track of my silver and gold finds.  I wasn't a coin shooter anymore.  I was only a coin shooter for maybe a year or two.  I don't remember how long off hand, but it wasn't real long.

One good find, like a diamond ring or Rolex watch, is worth many thousands of routine coins. Coins provided good information while hunting, but contributed very little to the total value of my finds.  So for me, finding fewer coins is not a big deal. 

Modern coins, shiny or crusty, provide good information on what is going on at a spot or a beach, even if they aren't valuable.  I learned a lot by analyzing the distribution of coins.  The same could be said of junk finds.  I learned a lot by looking at coin lines and coin holes, for example.  But I was no longer a coin shooter.

Of course there are coins and there are coins.  There are old coins and gold coins that are worth a good bit.  And there are the shipwreck coins that gave the Treasure Coast its name.  But they haven't been lost for a long time and the only way they are decreasing in numbers is by continually being found.  That isn't what the fellow was talking about.   He was talking about metal detecting being changed in a big way by the fact that there are fewer coins to be found.  But that is only a significant change for you if modern coins are what you target, and I haven't targeted modern coins for many years, so that won't change much for me. 

Coins, as I suggested, do provide some information, and having fewer coins on a beach does mean you will have a little less information to help you assess the state or condition of a beach or area.  If you find a crusty coin or older coin, that tells you something even if the coin isn't worth much.  Having fewer coins will only change the basic nature of metal detecting for people who are actually targeting modern coins, and I don't think there are a lot of those anymore, especially on the Treasure Coast.

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Metal detecting hasn't changed very much over the decades.  Some people point to advances in technology, but for me, those changes don't seem very dramatic.  I know some people see it differently.  Some people like the target ID and use it a lot, for example.  For me, its ok, but no biggy.  In the larger scheme of things, by itself, I don't think it will make a poor hunter into a good hunter.  

There are a lot of new things, but many of them are expensive and not of great valuje.  Of the detectorists that you know, how many have adopted a new technology that resulted in a great find?  If you have a story about that, I'd like to post it.

In my view, things have changed very little over the past forty years or so.  Did you know that the mailbox (blower) was invented in 1962.  That is over sixty years ago, and nothing has replaced in in over half of a century.  Innovation is slow.'

Tomorrow, or someday in the near future, I'll talk more about innovation in metal detecting and why things do or do not change very quickly.

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Tropical Storm Cindy.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

We have two tropical storms now.  Bret is supposed to stay well south of us, and Cindy is predicted to turn north, staying well east of us and pretty much falling apart.

After looking at some of the maps and models, it looks like Cindy will be sending more south winds towards our part of Florida.

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Looks like a lot of people have discovered the TreasureBeachesReport.blogspot.com.  It is getting thousands of views daily.

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Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

6/22/23 Report - Runic Artifact. Gaming Pieces: Precontact, Colonial, and Modern. Storms. 1715 Fleet Gold Found.

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

An old sewer pipe needed repair in Trondheim in mid-Norway last year. A last-minute dig to save possible archaeological objects yielded a surprising and rare result: a gaming piece with runes...

The inscription is quite clear, according to Holmqvist, and reads siggsifr.

“Inscribing names on small items such as these was quite common, and Sig- is a commonly known start of many names, both female and male, such as Sigurd and Sigbjørn, or Sigfrid and Sigrid,” Holmqvist says...

“So perhaps this is a hitherto unknown name meaning ‘battlebrother’,” Holmqvist suggests.

The name could belong to the person who made the gaming piece, or the person who owned it.

Archaeologist Solem suggests another explanation – that the piece could have been a King chess piece...

Here iss the link to the original article.

Medieval gaming piece with runic inscription discovered in Norway (sciencenorway.no)

Items without another clearly identified purpose are often thought to be either gaming pieces or religious items.  I've commented on that before.

I've posted a variety of dug gaming pieces in the past.  They include things like casino chips, and things like that, as well as other items that are not so easily and confidently identified, such as a discoidal or other blank round shaped piece of shell or flattened piece of lead. 

Silver Sam's Twon Casino Chip.

 I found an abstract to a good article on colonial period ceramic gaming pieces.  It is Heads or Tails? Modified Ceramic Gaming Pieces from Colonial California, by Panich, Lederer, Phillip and Dylla.  Below is the abstract.(See Heads or Tails? Modified Ceramic Gaming Pieces from Colonial California on JSTOR

I'd like to read the entire article, but I haven't been able to get it yet.  It really aggravates me when scientific articles aren't freely available to the public - especially archaeological.

  

Below are some examples from the peachstatearchaeologicalsociety.org site.  They call them game stones.

And here is a very similar one found on a Treasure Coast beach.

Discoidal Found on Treasure Coast Beach.

I've also shown a flat rounded piece of shell that could possibly be a game piece or something else.  It could be a piece that hasn't been finished.

Rounded Shell Piece From Treasure Coast Beach.

This could easily be called a game piece, but in my opinion it could be any of a number of things.  It certainly has been painstakingly rounded.  I feel the same way about the runic example shown at the top of the post.  

Maybe a talisman or good luck piece, for example, or what might be called soldier art.

The art of artifact interpretation is an interesting human activity and leaves a lot of uncertainty at times.  It involves perception and common daily mental processes that extend to how humans attribute meaning to things such as small ambiguous objects as well as things on a much greater scale, such as the meaning of life itself.

If I had a hundred years of life left in me I'd be tempted to attempt to quantify the ambiguity in objects.  That would be a mathematical exercise.  It would be applied also to UFO and paranormal sightings, which involve a lot of perceptual and cognitive uncertainty.  It might be possible to develop statistical techniques such as those used in quantitative scientific methods to estimate significance levels.  That would be psychological, physiological and philosophical as well as mathematical.

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I got a report that 1715 Fleet gold was found by treasure salvors on what is often called the Nieves site.  I plan to post a picture tomorrow.

This has so far been a very flat-water summer allowing lots of treasure salvage time along the Treasure Coast.

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Windy.com Projection Showing Bret's Predicted Position Saturday.

As you can see, the ECMWF chart shows Bret Passing south of Cuba and Santo Domingo.  

Tropical depression four (east of Bret and shown below) is predicted to turn north and stay out to see, passing well east of Florida.

From what I'm seeing, I'd say it won't affect the Treasure Coast much at all.  Expect more calm surf.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net