Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
The following check list will help you conduct a more complete examination of finds, which will help you interpret, identify, date, document and share your finds. You will not be able to apply every checklist item to every find. Some items will not be practical or helpful on some finds.
This is the first version of my FEC checklist. There may be future modifications.
The items are not always mutually exclusive. There may be some may overlap.
The checklist will also be helpful when you attempt to seek advice on an item. You will get better results by providing too much information rather than too little information and possibly missing a small but critical detail.
Photos are not as good as personally holding an item in your hand, manipulating and inspecting it in various ways. Photos can be blurry, and a single photo will only present one side of an object from a single perspective. Multiple views will usually be necessary to present all the relevant details.
You will obviously not be able or need to apply every checklist item for any specific case, but going through the checklist will help you do a more complete investigation.
Treasureguide's A - Z Find Examination Checklist.(TG - FEC)
Determining type of metal.
a. XRF analysis. Most definitive but not always available.
b. Acid or other precious metals tests. Only determinative for precious metals.
c. Density. Can be determined. See www.wikihow.com/Find-Density
d. Magnet test. Ferrous or not.
e. Hardness. Tap, dent, bend or scratch tests.
f. Color and appearance.
g. Patina or encrustation. Yes/No. Yes: Color and appearance.
h. Sound test. For example, silver coin will tinkle when dropped on porcelain tile.
i.. Stamps or marks indicating metal or purity,
j. Mold seams or other marks from manufacture.
Additional observations.
k. Weight, size and other dimensions.
l. Corrosion and/or extent of cleaning.
m. Wear from use. Type and extent of wear.
n. Tooled holes or tabs and their likely function.
o. Breakage. Appearance of breaks, edges or exposed areas.
p. Original surface finishes, including all surfaces.
q. Xray. May be helpful but often not available.
r. Optical magnification.
s. View the item lighting it from various angles.
t. View the item using various types of lighting, ie. ultraviolet.
Document recovery related observations.
u. Environment. Beach, water, undisturbed land, recently plowed field, depth and soil.
v. Cultural context. Nearby wrecks, ruins, and other possibly associated finds.
w. Metal detector readouts. Numbers or target indicators.
x. Preserve photographs of recovery site.
y. Make drawings of recovery site.
z. Date, time, tides or other relevant conditions or details during recovery.
Some items will not be worth the effort to complete such an exhaustive investigation, but when you really want to know, do it as thoroughly as you can.
Even if you decide to just breeze through the checklist, it might still suggest that one additional key observation you needed.
I could elaborate on each and every item in the checklist but have already done that in the past for most of the items.
I consider this to be version 1.0 of my checklist. If you have additional items or suggestions for modification, just send them to TreasureGuide@comcast.net.