7/31/23 Report - Gold Coins in Bay of Portitxol. Old Coins Dredged Up Onto Beach. Quantum Physics and Explainging UAPs.

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

The bay of Portitxol is an area well known for the abundance of underwater archaeological remains, where studies have previously found anchors, amphora, ceramics, and artefacts associated with ancient navigation.

In a series of underwater studies, researchers recovered 53 Roman coins from the late Roman period around the 4th and 5th century AD, consisting of coins depicting Valentinian I (3 coins), Valentinian II (7 coins), Theodosius I (15 coins), Arcadius (17 coins), Honorius (10 coins), and an unidentified coin. The team also discovered nails, in addition to deteriorated lead remains which may belong to a sea chest...

Here is the link for more about that.

Hoard of Roman gold coins recovered from seabed | HeritageDaily - Archaeology News

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There were some interesting articles in the 1948 newspapers, starting with the discovery of some coins by fishermen. The April 10 New York Herald Tribune printed an article entitled "N.J. Fishermen Find Rare Gold Coins in River" and the next day, "Owner of Beach Trying to Stop N.J. Gold Rush." The same event was described in various newspapers for a few days in 1948.  The discovery ended up in a conflict described as a "war" between treasure hunters and "beach owners."  I don't know the laws concerning beach access or ownership at that time in New Jersey, but it was a dramatic scene that got the attention of the newspapers.  The few days later the New York Times wrote, "Jersey Gold Hunt Turns to Comedy as Beach Owners Battle Diggers.  All-Day War is Waged, with Bungalow Colony and the Police Making Sallies on Invaders - No Booty Found."

One source said the coins were apparently thrown up on the beach by a dredge clearing a channel in the Shrewsberry River. It says the first coin was found on top of a bank, not in the river as one headline might be taken to suggest.

There have been times when dredged coins were distributed on beaches where they were later found. That happened years ago at the Boca Raton inlet for example. A few years ago, many modern U.S. silver coins were found at Ambersands after it was filled from material coming from the Sebastian River. Those are just two examples.

In cases like that, it is hard to tell how many coins were actually found, since they are found by different people and some, maybe most, are not reported. In some cases, there would be no reason to report them.

In the case of the 1948 finds, at least 35 coins were known found. They coins dated from 1736 to 1768. No wreck or source was mentioned in the reports. The 35 coins included mostly Brazilian 6,400 gold reis coins.

Let that be another little reminder that coins can get dredged up and accidently dumped on a beach.

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UAPs seemed to defy classical physics, and it seemed to me that quantum physics would better explain some of the phenomena, so I did a search using Quantum Physics and UAPs as search terms, and that led me to the best analysis I've seen on UAPs. While I'm not sure it provides the final answers, and I think there are other possibilities, the site is worth considering. It is lengthy but by far the best analysis I've seen. Take a look.

UAP Theory - Explanation of Unidenfified Aerial Phenomena

One of the big theories of UAP movement, which is explained, is bending the spacetime dimension.

Notice the similarity between my UAP photo and some of those shown in the article. Among other things, it explains the wavey lines that are often seen around many of the UAPs in photos.

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Today, there are growing prospects that Americans may once again be able to use multiple currencies to conduct commerce. As of the end of 2022, the states of Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming had adopted laws granting gold and silver legal tender status for payments – assuming the other party to a transaction was willing to accept them. Several more states have adopted such laws thus far in 2023.

If the purchasing power of the dollar continues to decline faster than it did in years past, you may see even more American businesses posting their willingness to accept payments other than in U.S. dollars.

Source: Conducting Commerce Using Multiple Currencies - Numismatic News

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Bad education had to come before Badenomoics.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Thee is some activity out there but nothing coming our way to rip our beaches.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/29/23 Report - Fort Capron Payroll Treasure Story. Old Indian River Inlet. Bag of Silver Coins. Millions of Dollars In Recycles.

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

Owned by an elderly Oklahoma woman, this still-sealed canvas bag of 2,000 silver half-dollars struck at the Denver Mint in 1963 is expected to sell for $100,000 or more in an auction conducted by Rare Collectibles TV on July 27, 2023. Photo credit: Rare Collectibles TV.

A canvas bag containing 2,000 silver half-dollars struck in 1963 at the Denver Mint and sewn shut there 60 years ago will bring a pretty penny for an elderly northeast Oklahoma woman who received the coins as a gift from her father a half-century ago....

Elderly Woman's Bag Of Silver Halves May Be Worth $100K+ (coinnews.net)

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A California family that pocketed $7.6 million by recycling cans and bottles in California has been accused of fraud by the US state. In a felony complaint filed this month, state prosecutors alleged that eight members of the family imported used cans and bottles from Arizona and recycled them in California.

Over the course of eight months, the Riverside family some 178 tons of cans and bottles to earn $7.6 million through the state’s recycling scheme.

According to CBS News, the California Beverage Container Recycling, or the CalRecyle program, offers 5 or 10 cents for each can or bottle returned to one of the state’s 1,200 recycling centers. The program is funded by consumers, and only cans or bottles purchased in California are eligible for recycling...

Here is that link.

Family that made $7.6 million by recycling cans and bottles could end up in jail for fraud (moneycontrol.com)

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I've been posting about sites where coins and hoards have been found.  I skipped most of the 1715 Fleet sites because they are already well known by most who read this blog, and I've talked about them a lot in the past.  Today I'll mention the Fort Capron payroll treasure, which is well known by many Treasure Coast detectorists, but perhaps not as well-known as the 1715 Fleet wrecks.

The Fort Capron payroll was transported on the schooner William and Mary and transferred to a smaller boat that capsized while trying to enter the shallow Indian River inlet resulting in the loss of gold and silver coins. You probably know something about the coins and how they were found by a couple guys out lobster hunting.  The story gets more intriguing as not all of the recovered coins were reported.  Some have appeared in Sewick auctions, as well as other auctions and some are in the Florida Collection.

There is a 1968 article by Carl Clausen published in the Florida Historical Quarterly that describes the loss and recovery of the Fort Capron treasure, so I'll simply give you the link so you read more about it.

Here is that link.

Fort Pierce American Gold Find (ucf.edu)

Great article on an important local treasure.

For me, the most interesting thing in that article is the map showing the location of the old inlet.  

It wasn't long ago that somebody asked me the location of the old inlet.  If you lay the above map over a modern map, I think you'll be able to tell where the old inlet was.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Not much activity showing on the map now.

Windy.com shows waves and swell of about two feet, but we have been having some decent tides.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/28/23 Report - Fort Harrison Seminole War Fort Hoard. Hinsdale Farm Site. Getting Hooked On Lures.

 

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

A Very Few of the Fishing Lures I've Picked Up.

Like almost anything, fishing lures are collectible and vintage lures in great condition can be worth a lot.  

While the finest antique lures can be worth a lot, they are something like modern U/S. coins - its not likely you will find one in the wild that is in great condition.  And that is what collectors want.

I still look and am glad to find the rare vintage wood lure.  I once found a mid-century glow-in-the-dark lure.  It worked like the old plastic icicle tree Christmas tree ornaments that when exposed to light, phosphors int eh plastic would be activated, and the icicles would glow for a while after the lights were turned out.

I collect the lures I find not because they are valuable, but because I can use them after I put new hooks on them.  I like trying out various types of lures to see how they work.  So when I find a lure it is worth what I might have paid for it minus the cost of new hooks.

I also pick up lures because to me they are pop art.  They can be colorful and have interesting shapes.  I might someday try to create some found art from my lure finds.  I've have some ideas for that.   Seems they would make a nice mobile.  I could say they are alluring.

I once got alure stuck in my foot when foot fanning for a target in shallow water, so removing them might keep someone else from getting hooked.

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I've been posting a little information on a variety of coin and hoard sites.  I'll mention a few more today.

A hoard of 40 half dollars dating from 1841 to1843 was found at the original site of Fort Harrison, which was built during the Second Seminole War.  The fort was on a pine bluff overlooking Clearwater Bay/

According to the records of the War Department of the United States, Fort Harrison, formerly Clearwater Harbor, Florida was established April 2nd, 1841. It was located in latitude 28 about thirty miles west of Fort Brooke, and stood on a pine bluff twenty five feet above the level of the sea, fronting on a bay been two and three miles wide...

Location. 27° 57.433′ N, 82° 48.244′ W. Marker is in Clearwater, Florida, in Pinellas County...

Here are a couple links for more on that fort.

Fort Harrison Historical Marker (hmdb.org)

Also: Fort Harrison, Florida - Wikipedia

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Many coins were found on the Hinsdale Farm, a historic site near Pensacola, which was occupied from 1750  to 1821.  The coins included a lot of Charles III reales as well Charles IV, Philip V, and Ferdinand VI coins.  

Back a few decades ago I hunted the Pensacola area frequently when I visited the Naval Air Station on consulting jobs.

Fortunately, air travel was much better back then.  I would leave Fort Lauderdale on an early flight and arrive for work in Pensacola by 9 AM, being benefited by the time zone change.  No TSA lines.

Speaking of lines.  A few days ago, a number of news articles were talking about the very small crowds at Disney over the 4th of July weekend.  I remember one mentioning the smallest crowds in a long time.  I forget the time period they mentioned, but I know it was wrong in that detail.  I was there on two occasions when I'm sure the crowds were smaller.

One was right after 911.  I was in Orlando for a professional conference at a hotel on Buena Vista Drive, or is it Boulevard, and went over to Disney.  It was empty.  The flights were shut down and nobody was traveling.  NO lines.  Almost no people.  You could walk onto any attraction without pausing or or waiting at all.

The second time was right after the Covid pandemic started.  Most of the resorts were closed and not reopened for a long time. No lines or waiting.  

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A single 1739 eight-reale was said to be found at Lake Eustis in 1955.  I can't make out any more details in my notes.  I'll leave it at that.

Of course, if you are interested you can follow any of these leads by doing your own research.  There are many places to hunt and still a lot to be found.

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

I checked one of the models on windy.com and it looks like none of these areas will develop into anything that will improve beach conditions much.

I'm just seeing more south and west winds, but nothing big.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

Pensacola area, Hinsdale Farm, archaeological excavation.  Habitationof site appears to range fro 1750 - 1821.  Mostly Charles III, but also Charles IV,  Philip V, and Gerdinand VI.

an Eight reale was found a Lake Eustis.

7/27/23 Report - Free Ebook on St. Augustine Antiquities. Most Valuable Coins. Treasure Coasts UAP Sighting.

 

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

Map in Book Authored by George Fairbanks Published in 1881.

In my notes on old coin sites are many in the St.Augustine area.  I won't attempt to detail those, but I will give you a link to the book Antiquities and St. Augustine Florida by George Fairbanks (1881).  While you are probably already familiar with much of the history of St. Augustine, you will probably find something interesting in the book such as the old map shown above and others like it.

Here is the link to that book, which you can read free online.

Image 1 of History and antiquities of St. Augustine, Florida | Library of Congress (loc.gov)

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Some of the most valued coins in the world are:

• The 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, which sold for $18.9 million in 2021.
• The 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, which sold for $10 million in 2013.
• The 1787 Brasher Doubloon, which sold for $9.36 million in 2018.
• The 1343 Edward III Florin, which is estimated to be worth close to 5 million GBP.
• The 723 Umayyad Gold Dinar, which sold for $6 million in 2011.

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Wednesday congress held a hearing on UFOs.  It appears that UFOs (or UAPs) are not only accepted as real by many in government now, but there was also testimony that the government has possession of wrecked UFOs (any treasure onboard?) and also has found biologic nonhumans.  

Given the big UFO news, I couldn't pass up revisiting my Treasure Coast UFO sighting.  

Unidentified Object Just Above and To the Right of the Lip of This Bottle.

The Tic-Tac shaped object showed up in my photo.  Below I zoomed in on it.

Closer View of UFO-line Object.

Of course it could be something else, but to me it looks a lot like the Tic-Tac UAP.  It even has some wavey lines around it, which is common on UAP photos.

I originally posted this several years ago after discovering the object in my photo, but these days such things seem to be taken more seriously than they were back then.

My brother-in-law (now deceased) was a big UFO fan and thought I was very fortunate to catch a photo of a UFO.

He, along with his mother and my wife had a sighting back sometime in the early 1970s.  It was a huge black square, that sounded like one described by one of the witnesses to congress yesterday.  It stood motionless and soundless over them for a while before disappearing.  About a year before he passed away, I asked him to draw a picture of it for me, but I lost track of the drawing.  I discounted that sighting as probably something else when I was told about it, but these days it seems more possible.

Of course, and the government, "scientific community" and public talks about the sightings mostly in terms of technology and biology.

There are others, however, who talk about them in terms of spirit, good and evil, angels and demons.

Is it pure coincidence that it is becoming an acceptable subject during what I call the age of deception, involving fakes, counterfeits, AI, deepfakes, misinformation, disinformation, photoshops, holograms, and all kinds of fascinating imagery and illusion.  That goes right along with a spiritual view of things.

Check out the following for examples.

How AI is bringing film stars back from the dead - BBC Future

Intel's deepfake detector tested on real and fake videos - BBC News

For me, I'm interested in it at another level - the epistemological.  Epistemology addresses the question of how we know.  It is a foundational question.  It is about the process of sensing, perceiving, interpreting, testing and concluding what is true versus what is fake. It applies to both the physical and spiritual domains.  It is at the same time a physical and spiritual question, but at the root, it is a philosophical question.

It might take more than physicists, biologists and engineers to give a satisfactory answer.  Reality, in my opinion is deeper than that.  It is also psychological, philosophical, and spiritual.  

To make "good" decisions, you must get beyond what most consider the realm of science.   The word "good" by itself tells you it is a value judgement - a matter of morality.  

Science involves value judgments.  It must.  It values certain things, even though it pretends to be beyond that.  Objectivity, for example, is valued.  Why?  Why is it not just as good to sit and hallucinate whatever fantasy you like?  And by the way, there is more argument lately for drug induced expanded mental facilities (not to mention those of the past like Timothy Leary) by pretty mainstream leaders.  

You can not avoid value judgements.  No matter what argument you make, value judgements are involved.  Face it.  If you do not have an absolute, you are stuck in an infinite tangle of relativity.  

The UAP question is timely.  It might help people take another look, question, and investigate the process of how we know - how we decide what is true.  I assure you, those who earnestly start down that path will fall many times in the process, but hopefully will arrive at a deeper understanding and be closer to the ultimate answer.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

The map is cleaner today.  Not so much out there.  But there will be more.  Keep watching.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/26/23 Report - Atlantic Heating Up. Hunting With Multiple Metal Detectors. Some Detecting Sites in The Florida Keys.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Looks like the Atlantic is heating up.  It is that time of year.

I checked windy.com and still don't see anything much coming our way in the next few days other than a change in wind direction.  There won't be much development.  We won't get much wind or waves for at least a few more days.

You can check the tide charts with the link on the bottom of my reference list.

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Yesterday I posted a comparison of three metal detectors including the new MDT 8000, Equinox and GPX.  I've mentioned in the past the strategy of using multiple detectors on some sites to take advantage of the strengths of the different detectors. 

A beach can be divided into three zones.  There is the dry beach, the slope which is periodically washed by the tides to various levels, and there is the shallow water, which for present purposes I'll consider to be part of the beach.  I'm also overlooking for now the dunes, which generally cannot be detected anyhow.

Objects dropped on the dry beach tend to stay pretty much where they were dropped.  Of course, they are moved a little both by human activity and the forces of nature.  And items from the dunes can drop to the dry or flat beach under some circumstances.  Each of the three zones is different and should be detected differently.  You might choose a different detector for the dry beach than you would select for the other two zones.  For one thing, you won't have as much salt mineralization.  You might have more junk.  Aluminum and other junk will stay in place longer when high tides or surf do not clean the zone.  Human traffic and activity patterns are more important in the dry sand too.  You will probably use different metal detector settings, and even use different recovery techniques in the dry sand. 

Moving to the slope, which is periodically hit to some degree by the high tides and surf, items in this zone tend to get classified more.  This is the zone where you'll more often find coin lines and holes, which I've talked so much about in the past.

And then the shallow water, which is always stirred or affected to some extent by the moving water, might require a different detector and techniques.

Although the slope and shallow water might have the same amount of junk, the junk on the slope will be more sifted and sorted and therefore might be less of a problem.  Dealing with junk will therefore not be such a high priority when it comes to selecting the detector you choose when working those areas.  

You might use multiple detectors on a single site too, changing detectors as you change the distribution of items at the site.  Your strategy might be to remove junk and surface targets or simply survey the site on your first visit to a land site.  If you've removed most of the junk and easier targets, you then might switch to a deeper seeking detector.  At that point, dealing with junk is not so much of a consideration.

What I'm saying is that your choice of metal detector for a particular hunt, assuming that you have more than one metal detector, should involve a variety of factors.  Many people, though, use the same detector all the time, which is ok if you hunt the same areas and the same way all of the time, but I'd consider using different detectors at different times.  The detector that is best for one hunt might not be the best for another hunt.  

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I had been posting some sites where coins have been found in the past, but skipped doing that for a couple of days simply because I had some other things I wanted to post.  I mentioned one of the 1733 sites down in the Keys.  Today I'll talk a little more about some detecting sites in the Keys..

First, there is the wreck between Davis and Little Conch Reef off Plantation Key.  John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a nice park to visit, but you can no longer metal detect some of the areas there due to the development of the park.

Besides the wrecks, you can run into almost any type of treasure in that general area.  Plantation Key has such a rich history including everything from Indians and battles, to wreckers, to big name crime families, rum running and gambling.  I won't get into all that now, but here is link to a good history of the Plantation Key area.

History Of Plantation Key (keyshistory.org)

I think I could mention every area of the Keys as being a good metal detecting site, but I will just mention one more of the 1733 wreck areas.  That one is just south of Conch Key, which, by the way, you won't find on the early maps.  It was created.

If you want to metal detect the Keys, which I always liked doing despite the long drive, I suggest you do some additional research.  There is just too much for me to mention it all.

I will mention that you can find some good areas for metal detecting modern jewelry down there too.  I mentioned in the past one particularly good site for that.  It is just off the road and doesn't look like a good detecting site at all.  It is covered with mud and weeds.  When you walk out, you will sink in up to your ankles.  Although I didn't spend much time down there, every time I detected that particular site I found gold because if you stick your hand into the mud, it will come out without whatever you had on your fingers.  It is a sticky natural gold jewelry trap.  I forget the location details now, but think it might have been between Plantation Key and Matecumbe Key.  Look for a flat weedy area next to the road.

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Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/25/23 Report - Another Area on the Hurricane Center Map. A New Metal Detector Compared. Western Stoneware.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

There is a new development on the National Hurricane Center Map, and it is close to the Treasure Coast.

I checked a few models on windy.com and didn't see anything that looked like it would affect us much.  It looks like South Florida will be getting some east winds, though nothing big, and North Florida will be getting west winds.  We are kind of in the middle.   Here is what NHC says about it.

1. Near the Windward Islands (AL95):
A tropical wave located just east of the Windward Islands is  
producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms 
while moving quickly westward.  Some slow development of this system 
is possible during the next day or two before it moves into a region 
of unfavorable upper-level winds.  Even though development is 
becoming less likely, locally heavy rains and strong gusty winds are 
expected across portions of the Lesser Antilles during the next day 
or so.  

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Kellyco has been advertising a new metal detector - the Tarsacci MDT 2000, so I looked into it a little.  A fellow that goes by Relics and Rings on  YouTube gave the following report. He did a comparison of the MDT, Equinox, and ATX on a test site.  Below is what he concluded.

Source: Youtuber Relics and Rings.

The MDT was priced at just under $2000 on the Kellyco site.

Notice that each detector seemed be a little different and they had different strengths.  One was iron avoidance, one had better target ID, and one seemed to have more depth.

The difficulty with these types of tests is that you are on one type of site.  If the soil conditions were different, the results could be different, and if the settings were changed, the detectors might perform differently.  

Typically, only one set of settings for each detector is being tested, and given all the choices, there are many possible ways to set up each detector.  Nonetheless, such a test can give a feeling about a metal detector's effectiveness, but only in that one type of setting.

The fellow was testing in a setting similar to where he hunts a lot.

I'll get into some other implications of this test some other time.

I've talked about the difficulties of testing metal detectors before.

Here is one post on the problem with air tests.

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 1/19/15 Report - Some Problems With Air Tests: Physical & Psychological. Calm Surf and Sandy Beaches

And here is a post on test gardens.

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 9/14/15 Report - Good Test Garden Ranking Of Several Detectors. Test Garden Benefits and Limitations. Area Sampling.

You'll find more if you search the treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com blog site, which is still getting hundreds of views daily.

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I posted a stoneware foot warmer that I found a few days ago.  I cleaned it off enough to see the hallmark including the label Western Stoneware on a maple leaf.

After Some Cleaning the
Western Stoneware Mark Was Visible.

 

Foot warmers were filled with hot water or coals or something.  The one I found has a small hole, I presume for adding water.

In 1906 the Western Stoneware Co. was formed by the merging of seven different stoneware and pottery companies, these companies were now known as Western Stoneware Co. Plants One Through Seven. This new company kept the same style of maple leaf logo that the Monmouth Pottery Company had used previously. It just seemed to fit as the city of Monmouth is known for it's maple trees and is often referred to as "Maple City". Many of the early Western Stoneware vessels such as crocks and jugs were marked with the maple leaf logo that now read: Western Stoneware Co. Plant 1 or 2 or whatever number of the seven plants that had produced it.

See The Western Stoneware Company (bluewhitepottery.org)

I don't think of the Treasure Coast as being where you'd find a foot warmer, but it does get nippy occasionally.

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Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/24/23 Report - Balboa Free Ebook. Cache of Spanish Gold Coins Found. More About a Treasure Coast Find. Interpretation.

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

Source: link below.

Here is a interesting book you might like.  Take a look.  

Sails & swords ; being the golden adventures of Balboa & his intrepid company, freebooters all, discovers of the Pacific : Strawn, Arthur, 1900-1989 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

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Below is another 100-year-old newspaper clipping describing an old cache discovery.

1912 Newspaper Clipping.

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I've done a little research to see if I could get any information on the find shown below.  It was found by Dan K.  I haven't found a lot of information but do have some thoughts on this very enigmatic figure. 

Like clouds, ambiguous figures tend to be seen as something more familiar or meaningful.  The uncertain shape is seen as approximating something familiar.  Ambiguous stimuli are interpreted by our mind.  That is how projective tests such as the Rorschach work.  Perception is an interactive process.  If you are a writer, you know that people often think you said something other than what you actually said.  They read into your words something other than what is clearly stated.  Some people have a greater capacity for being objective than others and it seems some find it nearly impossible.

When you see a figure with outstretched arms and holes in the hands, your mind might immediately jump to crucifix.  That is natural.  The crucifix is a very common and significant image.  On Dan's figure the arms are bent unlike most crucifix figures, but the mind tends to mold the figure into something recognizable.  Your mind might see the arms as being straighter than they are to more closely match your expectations. If you look at the figure and then attempt to draw it a few days later, you might find that remember the arms as being straighter than they actually are.

The figure is female.  That presents a bit of a problem.  That is unusual.  It is not what you would expect.  

It is almost impossible to find imagery showing a female figure on a cross.  There are, however, a few examples of females shown on a cross.   

My initial impression was that it might be pagan or Wiccan, and I did find a couple clearly imaginary pictures of females on a cross that appear to be pagan.  Those were clearly imaginary rather than realistic.

I did find the following picture online, which shows Mary and a baby Jesus on a cross.  Mary does not appear to be attached to the cross though.  She is holding the Christ child.

 

According to what I've read, the cross wasn't a Christian symbol until a few centuries after the crucifixion.

According to at least one source, "Mary on the cross" is a phrase that was used as early as the fourteenth century. 

I also read of a Passionist Nun called "Mother Mary Crucified."  (Passing of Ven. Mother Mary Crucified, CP — Passionist Nuns )  It appears that the idea of Mary on a cross is not a totally strange idea to Christianity, even though it seems to be very scarce online.  (That doesn't mean a lot because the internet is so overloaded with garbage and very significant realities get lost in the mess.)

There are modern songs which refer to "Mary on the Cross."  If you do an internet search for that phrase, you will find many references to the phrase in a song by a group called Ghost.  In that song the phrase is used as you might expect a modern hard rock group to use it.   It isn't very intellectually or spiritually satisfying.

In Galatians 2:20 Paul uses the very important phrase, "crucified with Christ."  Paul uses that phrase to teach a very important lesson for all Christians.  It applies to all Christians without regard to gender.  Although female figures shown on a cross are scarce, it is not inconsistent with the Christian faith or history.

At this point I really can't say much about the figure found by Dan.  I can't say with a lot of confidence that it is or is not a part of a crucifix, but that is my most likely guess at this point.  The holes could actually be for something else - perhaps something was to be shown as held in the hands.  That is just a possibility without any evidence.  

My research was fruitful even though I haven't positively identified Dan's find.  Powerful images evoke, concentrate and mirror the inner being.  Dan's image, ambiguous as it was, led me to research and led me to other images and then to a remembrance of the suffering and passion of Christ.  

A tree is judged by its fruit.  And that tree was good.

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I once did a radio sermon on two trees - the tree of life and the tree of Calvary.  Are they the same?  

Maybe I should find a way to post my old radio programs.

---

Don is still in the North Atlantic and won't affect us.

The other system is turning a little north, but I don't expect it to affect the Treasure Coast very much - just a little change in wind direction.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/23/23 Report - Shower of Coins. Glass Tube Gold Finder. Stoneware Foot Warmer. Walt Disney History.

 

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

Stoneware Piece Found Saturday.

I haven't been hunting much lately due to some family medical issues, but I did get out for a little walk Saturday.  I didn't find much, but I did pick up this broken stoneware piece that I think was a foot warmer.  It would be filled with hot water.  Maybe with some cleaning I can find some marks.

I also picked up the worn body of an old wood fishing lure.  Too bad it wasn't more complete.

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Yesterday I posted a clipping about a man in Miami sluicing his yard after his daughter found gold coins making mud pies.  Today I have another Miami treasure clipping, but this one (above) ends with different results.

1915 Newspaper Clipping.

I'm curious about the "glass-tubed instrument which he contends indicated either gold or silver was buried at the spot."  I wasn't able to find anything like that when I looked but seem to recall a similar device in which samples of the desired materials were placed.  I think maybe it was something like a dowsing device, but I'd love to find out more about it even if it didn't work.  It might be interesting to compile a brief history of quack gold finding devices.  The problem is there would be a lot of disagreement about which are fakes.

I didn't really plan on doing this, but while I have these clippings in hand, I better post them now before they get misplaced or forgotten. 

Here is a clipping that describes a shower of coins.  

1915 Newspaper Clipping.

So here is a cache of Spanish and U.S. coins from the 1850s accidentally discovered by workmen, as so many are.

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In the modern era, Disney became a large part of modern Florida history.  I've read a few books on Walt Disney, but the one shown below is one of the more complete at nearly a thousand pages.  Talk about a treasure story!  There is more history in the parks than you might think.  For example, if you visit the Wilderness Lodge or the Animal Kingdom Resort, you'll see a lobby that shows the influence of the Jackson Lake lodge (which I've commented on in the past) that Walt visited when making a documentary.

Large Walt Disney History Book.

Still living up north, I visited Disney World not long after it opened.  I have picked up a few Disney artifacts on the Treasure Coast.  You can undoubtedly find them anywhere.  I once posted a picture of a broken Donald Duck figure I found, that if unbroken and new would have looked like the one below.

In the past I posted some great Disney finds, such as a very nice gold Mickey Mouse ring found by one of the readers of this blog.  For example, see The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 9/23/11 Report - Gold Mickey Mouse Ring Find & Mucking the River Banks

For those interested in Florida history, how the land in Central Florida was secretly purchased for the theme parks might be of interest.  It sure changed Central Florida.

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Source:  nhc.noaa.gov

I have several things planned for the near future.  For one thing, I'll probably get back to some of the wreck and coin sites in the Keys.

Don is still a tropical storm but will do nothing for us.  The other weather to the south will develop a little but will not help us out either unless there is some surprising change.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/22/23 Report - Four-Year-Old Finds Coins in Miami Mud Pies. Ordnance Off Pepper. Steamship Wrecking Yields Gold.

 

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

Thanks to DJ for submitting that.

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I've been posting some Florida treasure sites and hoards that I found described in some of my old notes.  Here is a great example.

Kids should play outside and get dirty.  There are many benefits, as the following 1928 Miami Herald newspaper clipping shows.  

Many treasures, including treasure chests have been discovered in the Coconut Grove, Miami and Key Biscayne areas.  Each of those, being close together, had wells or places where ships would stop for fresh water.

The coins, dating from 1683 to 1793, and being both British and Spanish silver and copper, sounds like a true hoard.

I've talked about the benefits of sifting coin bearing ground in the past.  I like this fellow's technique.

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The next clipping is from 1923.

Source of photo: SS Yorktown - Wikipedia

Again Id like to have more information about the coins, which might have come from Spanish prisoners of war..  Can't say for sure though.

Back then there weren't as many photos.  Most illustrations were drawings.

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I took a look at Windy.com to see if that system to the south might come our way.  It looks like it will stay south and hardly affect us.

It does look, however, like the wind direction will change in a few days, but not be very strong.

I would have taken a walk to search for surface items yesterday, but it was so hot and I was so tired that I passed on it.  I am turning into a real whimp.  Spent a couple days this week with mom on medical issues on top of normal daily duties, which was stressful and tiring.

Yesterday I talked about some good sites in the Florida Keys.  I plan to do more of those in the near future.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/21/23 Report - 100 BC Gold Coins Stolen and Melted. El Rubi Segundo and Treasures of the Keys. Art McKee.

 

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

BERLIN (AP) — Investigators looking into the theft of hundreds of ancient gold coins from a German museum have found lumps of gold that appear to have resulted from part of the treasure being melted down, but still hold out hope of finding the rest intact, officials said Thursday.

Four suspects were arrested on Tuesday over the Nov. 22 break-in at the Celtic and Roman Museum in the Bavarian town of Manching in which 483 Celtic coins discovered during an archaeological dig in 1999 were stolen. The coins date to around 100 B.C...

The coins and a lump of unworked gold were discovered during excavations of an ancient settlement in Manching, and authorities have said they are considered the biggest trove of Celtic gold found in the 20th century.

The deputy head of Bavaria’s state criminal police office, Guido Limmer, told reporters in Munich that authorities have examined 18 lumps of gold that were recovered this week. Each is believed to be the result of four coins being melted down, and Limmer said that the non-standard alloy largely matches that of the treasure, though a further analysis is ongoing.

“We know that about 70 gold coins have apparently been lost irretrievably in their cultural and historical significance,” said Bavaria’s state culture minister, Markus Blume. “But that means that of course there is still hope of perhaps being able to find the rest of the gold coins, and so the majority of the gold treasure.”...

Here is the link for more about that.

German police find melted-down gold after theft of Celtic coins, seek rest of treasure | AP News

Thanks to Norbert B. for that one.

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Continuing to comment on various Florida treasure sites listed in some of my old notes, I'll now mention a few sites located in the Florida Keys.  I won't discuss the Atocha and Margarita, about which so much has already been said, but I will discuss some that have resulted in coins or treasure being found on land by detectorists.  The first of those is from the 1733 Fleet.  It is the Capitana El Rubi Segundo, which was found well offshore at the location indicated on the following map.

Locaton of Capitana El  Rubi Segundo.

I haven't detected any of the sites in the Keys extensively but have visited some of them a few times.  Years ago when I visited some of those sites, I simply drove down route 1 and pulled off the road and detected the shoreline.  Unfortunately, I'm having trouble remembering those sites well today.  While I remember what they looked like and what I found, in some cases I don't remember for sure exactly where the finds occurred.

Of course, the scatter of the wrecks can cover a relatively large area.  Also, some of the treasure was additionally spread by indigenous tribes and wreckers who salvaged and secreted the treasure along the Keys.  Treasure chests have been recovered in the Keys in the past and are described in various books and articles.

If you go to the Keys there are also places where modern treasure can be found along the roadside beaches.  I had a few favorites, some of which I've described in the past.

In recent years more has been published online than I had scribbled in my notes about these wrecks, so I'm able to provide some good links.  I liked hunting the Keys a lot, and if it wasn't for the distance of the drive, would have done it more often than I did.

Fast forward to 1938, when Reggie Roberts, a commercial fisherman spotted a cannon protruding from a pile of stones off Plantation Key. He notified Art McKee who began to explore the area and in doing so, McKee uncovered Spanish silver coins and one gold escudo which was dated 1721...

Over the next 10 years, Art McKee and his associates continued wreck diving on this site, along with numerous others shipwrecks from the same era.

Their efforts from the Capitana alone produced all sorts of Spanish treasure including silver coins, statues, daggers, swords, pistols, jewelry, navigational instruments, ship's gear, pewter, galley items, cannon, cannon balls, ballast, timber, rope, religious artifacts and pillar dollars...

By 1949 Art McKee had amassed considerable Spanish treasure, but he also wanted to share his findings with the world. Towards that end, he sought out different means to raise funds, and three years later he was successful in his efforts...

Source: Capitana El Rubi Segundo, Harboring Spanish Treasure? (florida-keys-vacation.com)

Despite being salvaged and heavily worked over the decades, there is a lot to be found in the Keys and I seldom came away disappointed.  I know that things have changed since then.   Like everywhere else, there are areas I hunted where you can no longer metal detect.  One of those is the park on Plantation Key.   

I've mentioned before that I ran into Art McKee on one trip to the Keys.  Art was a true pioneer and innovator who freely shared his experiences and knowledge.  Below are a couple of previous posts in which I talked about Art and his museum in the Keys.

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 9/16/11 Report - Bronze Atocha Seal Find, Florida Bison, More on McKee

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 4/26/18 Report - Treasure Hunters Cookout Saturday. Art McKee in the Florida Memory Project.

You will definitely want to read this article on Art McKee.

Art McKee (keyshistory.org)

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

We now have a little more activity on the National Hurricane Center map.  I'll keep an eye on that.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net