Search This Blog

Saturday, September 13, 2025

9/14/25 Report - Ancient Metal Figures. Repurposing Lead Finds. Peseta Values and Silver Prices. How Caches Happen.

 

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


Me

AARHUS, DENMARK—The enigmatic Nuragic civilization that flourished on the island of Sardinia during the Bronze Age is most recognized for building monumental stone towers known as nuraghi. However, they are also well-known for their small bronzetti figurines, which often depict warriors, gods, or animals. Scholars have long speculated about where the metal—mainly, the copper and tin—to create these tiny sculptures came from. According to a statement released by Aarhaus University, researchers recently used cutting-edge isotope analysis to examine 48 bronzetti fragments from three prominent Nuragic sites dating to the early first millennium b.c....

Here is the link for more about that.

News - Metal in Sardinian Figurines Underscores Bronze Age Trade Networks - Archaeology Magazine

I just can't pass up on metal figures like that.  That is the kind of thing I really like.  It reminds me of the metal soldiers and other characters I had as a child.  I also a heater and pot for melting lead and casting my own metal soldiers.  They'd never let kids have something like that today.  You can, however, get something very similar for melting lead and making your own sinkers, lead shot, ingots or whatever.  

Below is an example.


You can melt all you scrap lead finds and make something useful or fun.

It would take more expensive furnace to melt silver and gold.

----

The following title just showed up on my computer; Got any old Spanish pesetas? They may be worth more than you think!  

It made me think of the 1966 100 peseta coin (shown above) that I found some years ago along the side of the Indian River Lagoon.  It was a surprise when I found it.  I caught a glimpse of the reverse (shown above) and my first thought was that it was a fake reale, and I quickly stuck it in my pocket without giving it much attention.  

I didn't expect it to be worth lot because, as I often say, rarities are rare. But now curious enough to check it out.  I thought I should at least check it out, and knew that it contained enough silver that with current prices, it would be worth a bit.

The article continued as follows: Although they ceased to circulate more than two decades ago, old pesetas still hold value. Many of these coins and banknotes have transformed from mere souvenirs into sought-after collector’s items. The key is knowing whether the ones you have are worth more than you realize.  

Here is the link for the rest of that article.  Got any old Spanish pesetas? They may be worth more than you think!)

So I looked my coin on the Numista site.

Other side of the same peseta shown above.

Here is the table of values I found.


As is usually the case in numismatics, not only does the value depend upon condition, which you'd expect, but there are other details to check.  In this case, inside those impossibly small stars on the coin are the numbers 66, 67 68,69 0r 70.  They can make a big difference in price, but are so small they are almost impossible to see.

Using my photos I could barely make out the small numbers, but it looks like a straight "9".   I'll have to get the coin out and put it under my microscope to see if I can see it any better.  While the coin is a nice condition, it certainly isn't uncirculated, so I'm not expecting much.  

But again, the price of silver is now around $42 per oz. and there is almost a half an oz. of silver in the coin, so doing a little arithmetic, the coin would be worth around $20 just in melt value.

So, after all of that, I still am not sure of the numismatic value, but I'm still ok with the melt value. 

---

The price of gold, as you probably know, recently hit new record highs.  That brings a lot of talk and articles about investing in gold.  They start trying to get buyers when the prices are high and they can make a killing.  I'd rather buy when things are near their lows rather than being so high, but it is natural to get excited about an investment when it is soaring and feel like selling after prices have already fallen.

Here is an article I noticed that addressed the pros and cons of investing in gold.  Most of the tips were common sense, but here is one of the tips I'll discuss a little.

5. Let someone you trust know about hidden gold.

Hiding gold around your house is generally not a good idea. But if you go this route, let someone you trust know about the investment and hiding place. That way, if you pass away suddenly, your loved ones don’t lose the gold hidden inside a sofa or under a floorboard.

That is how a lot of caches are created.  Something is buried or hid and then someone passes away or for some other reason is unable to retrieve it.  As the years go by, you can simply forget things like that.  Therefore, while you might think you'd remember, it is a good idea to keep a record in multiple places that you will access more than the secret hiding place.  The record should not by itself be clear to anyone who has not been otherwise somewhat informed about the item and location.  And the records should be kept in more than one location.  Something can happen to one set of records, so you'll want more than one, just in case.

I won't address the topic of things buried outside right now, but there are several precautions you should take if you want to bury things outside too.

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Still looks like this one has a good chance to develop, but it might stay out in the Atlantic like some of the others this year.  Keep watching.

For more detail, check out the site Tim M. recommended.  Here is the link.

Live Florida Hurricane Tracker and Model Mixer | jacksonville.com


Source: SurfGuru.com.

Looks like the Treasure Coast surf will remain around two or three feet.

The high tides are still nice and high.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net


Friday, September 12, 2025

9/12/25 Report - The Bulldozer Hoard of Sebastian and Treasure Coast Land Sites. Chivas Bottle Find. New Storm Tracker Site.


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

Treasure Found Map.
Clip From Google Maps.

Many of the so-called treasure maps are supposed to show you where treasure was hidden or lost and might be found.  Above you see a Google Maps clip that shows where treasure was found back in the mid-1970s.  It was a hoard of Spanish coins, which were mostly dated 1713 - 1715 and therefore thought to be from the 1715 Fleet.

Local resident and detectorist John Durham, discouraged that an area he liked to metal detect was being developed, decided one follow the tracks of the bulldozer that was clearing the land for what would become the Sebatian Walmart.  That turned out to be a good decision.  He found a Spanish eight-reale was found and then another and went home to get his metal detector and found many more coins.  John ended up with a couple hundred nice 1715 Fleet coins in especially nice condition, having never been corroded or roughed up by the sea.

Some of those coins have come up for auction and can been seen in auction catalogs.  The hoard is often called the Bulldozer Hoard or Bulldozer Bonanza.

I tell you about that to remind you that not all shipwreck treasures are found in the sea or on the beach.  They have also been found at inland sites.

In the Jensen area, the ridge overlooking the river and sea have produced some good treasures.  I've shown some of those before.  Below is an example of what can happen when you turn a little earth.



Of course, there are many other good examples.  

You might start by browsing some old maps.  Just to get your juices going, you might take out an old Frank Hudson book and scan maps like the one shown below.


I've heard from readers who have actually found treasures exactly where indicated by Frank's maps.  I've also head about people showing up to find what they thought looked like a hole from a previously removed treasure.

I'm sure there is still a lot of treasure just below the surface still waiting to be discovered.

---


CHIVAS BROTHERS ABERDEEN SCOTLAND 
Embossed Green Bottle.

Here is a bottle find that probably dates between 1949 and 1961, according to what I've been able to learn.  It reads: CHIVAS BROTHERS/ABERDEEN SCOTLAND.


CHIVAS BROTHERS ABERDEEN SCOTLAND
Embossed Green Bottle.


Chivas Brothers traces its history back to a grocery business selling quality provisions, wine and spirits in Aberdeen in 1801.

In 1836, James (26 years) and John Chivas (22 years) left their home in Overton of Dudwick, to find work in Aberdeen.

Their cousin Alexander Chivas found them jobs – James working for William Edward, the grocer in Castle Street, and John with D.L. Shirres, merchant and hat maker in George Street....

Charles Stewart Howard started blending for Chivas Brothers when he and Alexander Stewart took over Chivas Brothers in 1895.

By 1909, Chivas Brothers had extensive knowledge and expertise on aging and blending whiskies and had built up extensive stocks of maturing whisky.

The first Chivas Regal was created by Master Blender Charles Howard, a blended whisky containing whisky 25 years old produced primarily for the North American Market. Often considered the world’s first luxury whisky....


Source: Our Story | The Chivas Brothers Story


Very soon I'll be posting more on this bottle and its history on my TGBottleBarn.blogspot.com site.

---

Tim M. uses and recommended this storm tracker site, which offers more than just that.



He said, It is pretty comprehensive and very easy to understand as it tries to clarify what some of the storm related mumbo jumbo thrown out there really means.

The site offers the spaghetti models, radar maps and much more.  Take a look.

Thanks for the recommendation, Tim.

---

It looks like one system forming in the middle of the Atlantic.  Something to watch.

The Treasure Coast surf remains at two to three feet for the next week or so.

We are really having some nice high tides lately.  Today's will be big too.

Good hunting,
Treausreguide@comcast.net

Thursday, September 11, 2025

9/11/25 Report - Rare Hoard of Gold Coins Found by Detectorists Auctioned. Treasure Coast Drambuie Bottle Find. History. Real or Reale.


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


A small hoard of five British Iron Age Gold Coins (staters) discovered in Whitwell, near Worksop in Derbyshire, by David McIntyre Haigh and his wife Judy Haigh is estimated to fetch in the region of £5,000... 

“This find is particularly special and unusual, being the largest hoard of Corieltauvian Staters found in Derbyshire. Only one other hoard has been found in the area to date, and it comprises two Staters, one of which is broken into fragments.”

David started metal detecting back in 2010, with Judy joining him two years later...  They invested in two Deus Mk 1 Detectors and later the Deus11, an Equinox, several probes, and a Suzuki Vitara 4x4 Jeep to enable them to access ploughed fields and farmland. They chose to investigate parts of north Nottinghamshire and the Trent Valley due to its Roman history, never expecting to find an Iron Age hoard instead.

Back in 2019, the duo unearthed five Staters of the Corieltauvi, initially believing they had found simple brass buttons. David describes it as “the find of a lifetime.”...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

The Whitwell Hoard of British Iron Age Gold Coins Discovered by Metal Detectorist in Derbyshire to be Sold at Noonans - Numismatic News

The auction was held on the ninth, but I haven't seen the results yet.

---

Here is another Treasure Coast bottle find.



This bottle is embossed on the heal: THE DRAMBUIE LIQUEUR CO. LTD.,/ EDINBURGH SCOTLAND.  The bottom of the bottle has a high kick up and says, BOTTLE MADE IN UNITED KINGDOM.

The shoulder is embossed with the FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE message, which indicates a date of between 1935 and 1964.

Drambuie was first commercially produced in Union Street in Edinburgh in 1910. Only twelve cases were originally sold. In 1916, Drambuie became the first liqueur to be allowed in the cellars of the House of Lords and Drambuie began to ship worldwide to British Army officers' messes.

About 1940, the company moved to bonded premises in Dublin Street Lane where the liquor was compounded (the process of flavouring and sweetening the whisky spirit). The bottling plant was in the same lane while the company office was in York Place. After a short period at nearby Broughton Market, in 1955 the operation was moved to premises at the foot of Easter Road in Leith. Further expansion led to a move to purpose-built premises on the western edge of Kirlinsin 1959. These premises were vacated in 2001 and thereafter production was contracted out, in the first instance to the Glenmorangie bottling plant at Broxburn and, in 2010, to Morrison Bowmore Distillers.   Source: Wikipedia.


I found a very long and detailed description of where the recipe came from, as well as how it related to historical events.  Below are a few excerpts.



Skipping down to the end...



Here is a link for much more of the history.

History - The Drambuie Liqueur Company Ltd

I also added that bottle with some additional infromation on my TGBottleBarn.blogspot.com site.

---


I've seen numerous discussions online wondering why so many people use the spelling "reale" to refer to a Spanish colonial silver coin when the singular in Spanish would be real (without the e).

Some say that the correct spelling would be "real" rather than "reale," and I can accept that if you want to use the Spanish word.  (Look the word "real" up in your Miriam Webster.  You'll be hard pressed to find that meaning.)  But while adopting the Spanish word, we notice that there are multiple primary meanings for the Spanish word real.  One is authentic, another is royal and the other refers to the unit of currency and weight.  Indiscriminately adopting Spanish words in an English sentence, I could write something like "Is the real real real" to ask if the Royal reale is authentic.  Correct or incorrect, it seems to me that both the capital R on royal and the extra "e" on real helps clarify the meanings. 

Real is commonly used and widely understood to refer to a coin or cob among the community of treasure hunters and numismatists, but not so much among the general population.  Again, check your English language dictionary for the meanings of the "real."  

It is interesting to me, and perhaps relevant, that the English speaking colonies and early states that commonly used Spanish coinage in everyday life did not adopt the Spanish terms entirely but used instead used the terms piece of eight and bit or bits.

I am not trying to convince you that my spelling of the word is correct.  I'm just explaining why I use the spelling I use, and that is because I've found it useful.  And evidently, I'm not the only one. 

I've never been one to see language as a static list of words and set of rules.  Its primary purpose is to communicate.  It evolves.  With frequent usage, words like television quickly becomes TV.  

Besides being a means of communication, language is also an art and a form of personal expression. 

---


There is a new yellow blob coming off Africa on the National Hurricane Center map.  I'll keep an eye on that.

The Treasure Coast surf is now up around two or three feet and will stay that size for several days.

We are getting some nice high tides.

---

24 years since the Trade Towers fell.  That was a shocking site.  Hard to forget.

---

If you are easily triggered, keep your safety on.

---

So here we are

---

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

9/10/25 Report - Remarkable Roman Helmet Recovered. Treasure Coast Bottle Finds: Kerr and Parsons. Gold New Record High.

 

Written by the Treasure Guide for he exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.



A recovery that sheds new light on one of the most significant episodes in ancient Mediterranean history. A bronze helmet of the "Montefortino" type, in an extraordinary state of preservation and complete with paraguances, was brought to the surface...

The artifact comes from a sea area charged with memory: that in which, in 241 B.C., the Battle of the Egadi was fought, the decisive clash of the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage.  The helmet, of the type used by Roman troops between the fourth and first centuries B.C., represents one of the most important finds in recent years, both for the integrity of the find and for the historical context to which it refers.

“The Montefortino helmet is one of the most beautiful and complete ever recovered,”... “These findings not only enrich the historical knowledge of the 241 B.C. battle, but also strengthen the image of our island as the custodian of a unique cultural heritage. This is an extraordinary achievement, the result of the joint work of the Superintendence of the Sea, the professionals involved in the research and the support of international institutions and foundations. We will continue to invest in the protection and enhancement of this heritage, aware that it represents a fundamental identity and cultural resource for Sicily.”

Here is the link for more about that.

Art meets the mountains in Pinzolo: Fondazione Caritro's works at 2,101 meters (7,880 feet)

You might find the wording a bit odd due to the translation from Italian.

 ---

Here are couple Kerr canning jars found on the Treasure Coast.  Along with Ball and Mason, Kerr is one of the more common types of canning jars found here.  There are also some others, such as Tropical and Presto.

Canning Jar Embossed:
KERR
SELF SEALING
TRADE MARK REG.
WIDE MOUTH MASON.

 

Kerr Mason Jar with AHK Mark on the Bottom.


"Businessman and entrepreneur Alexander Hewitt Kerr organized this company in Portland, Oregon in 1903 under the name Hermetic Fruit Jar Company.  The official name was changed in 1904 to Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company.  Kerr did not actually manufacture glass during the earliest years  but was, more accurately, a sales company/distributor during the period from 1904 to 1909 and had jars made for them (with the Kerr name embossing) by other glass companies.

The first jars made for Kerr were evidently the KERR-ECONOMY brand jars, and that type was made in the earliest years  (c.1903-1909) by Illinois-Pacific Glass Company of San Francisco, and also by the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company (based in Washington, PA and later at Wheeling WV) from 1906 to 1909.

Here is the link for more information.  I just added these jars with additional information to my TGBottleBarn.blogspot.com site.

You can also find more information about the Kerr company by using this link.

Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corporation - Maker of Fruit Jars (glassbottlemarks.com)

The most common canning jars I've found on the Treasure Coast are Ball, Presto and Kerr.  Also a couple others such as Tropical.

---

Everybody knows about Clorox, which used to be more common than today, but another related produc, is the Parsons cleaning product.  

PARSONS' HOUSEHOLD CLEANSER Bottle
Found on the Treasure Coast.


This bottle is embossed: PARSON'S HOUSEHOLD CLEANSER.

Other Parson's bottles that I've found are embossed PARSON'S SUDSY AMMONIA.  Below are some other Parson's bottles that I've found.


Parsons Ammonia and Cleanser Bottles.


Parsons Household Ammonia was first offered in 1881. That makes it one of the older consumer products in the United States. Today, it has a new life as a sister product to the Brillo pad.

The brand was originally a product of the Columbia Chemical Works of Brooklyn.

Ammonia has a slew of uses. Today it is mostly seen as something that is used in window cleaners, but it was once a common laundry product.  


Source: Parsons the Classic American Ammonia | BrandlandUSA



Ad source:

1909 Ad Columbia Chemicals C. C. Paron's Ammonia Cleaner Rag Cleanser – Period Paper Historic Art LLC

I just added this one to the TGBottleBarn.blogspot.com.

---

The metals are doing well.  Gold hit a new high.


Source: Gold Spot Prices | Silver Prices | Platinum & Palladium | KITCO



---


Surf Chart for the Fort Pierce Inlet Area from Surfguru.com.

No new storm activity in the Atlantic or Caribbean.

The surf is slightly increasing, as you can see from the chart.

We are having some good high tides on the Treasure Coast.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net



Tuesday, September 9, 2025

9/9/25 Report - Early Naval Artillery Including the Hailgun. Coronado's Trail Reports. Problems of the Internet. Gold New High.

 

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


Source: See link below.


I just learned of the hailshot gun (shown above).  It was a handgun held against the rail of a ship when shot.  It fired the square shot shown in the photo on the right. The hailshot gun seems to be rare and was used in the 16th century.  One was found on the Mary Rose.  [If you look up hailshot or hail gun, you'll have a hard time finding this type of gun.  Instead, you'll find a lot about guns shot to prevent hail damage to crops.  I didn't know about that either.]

This one comes from the following source, which asks the question if there was such a thing as naval artillery in the Modern period.  The idea is that most naval artillery of the period was actually military guns brought on board rather than being designed for ships.  

Here is the conclusion to the chapter.

To sum up, it can be said that artillery used on board warships of the Modern period always followed a shape previously designed for land use. Even guns made specifically for naval use, such as those made within Venetian and Genoese workshops, fundamentally followed this design. Both from surviving examples and pieces recovered from shipwrecks it seems that only swivel-guns and the hailshot cast iron guns from the Mary Rose were made for naval use. The former were made in various materials with different shapes. Some of them present unidentified marks, which have been ascribed to different areas of production

And here is the link if you want to read the entire chapter on naval artillery.


I know this illustration is too small for easy reading on the blog page, but I wanted to show it as one example of the excellent illustrations from a series of studies and a web site on the topic of archaeology related to the Coronado Trail by Nugent Brasher.  While the author produced the absolutely best web site of its kind, it has one problem that holds me back from recommending it, and that is the fact that it is not encrypted and comes up marked as NOT SECURE.  Therefore, instead of giving the link, I'll refer you to Nugent's several reports in the New Mexico Historical Journal, which are available online, but which are not individually nearly as easy to read or as good for our purposes as Nugent's web site.  

I'll give you two options.  First, is going to the New Mexico Historical Review site and searching the review using Nugent Brasher and Coronado or similar terms as keywords, or, alternately, if you are confident with your security measures, you can search for his web site using the keyword CHICHILTICALE and his name.  It is a great web site with many photos of artifacts, historical background, maps and the details of his explorations.  

---

On Sept. 1 of this year, I reposted one of my all-time most-read posts: the story about the three-year-old who found a 16th century gold reliquary while holding a metal detector..  I posted the story again, not only because it was very popular post that I originally posted fifteen years ago and the original links, which no longer worked, needed to be replaced.  That story exploded on the internet even though it is at least a fifteen-year-old story.  And I'm not claiming to be the one that started it, but I've been seeing it everywhere.  I just saw the story told in a foreign language with what appeared to be AI generated video that showed a metal detector coil going back and forth over a hole.  That part of the video clip was obviously from some other source that had nothing to do with the story.  You'll see a lot of that these days.  A lot of the time a picture or video clip borrowed from somewhere on the internet will be used to embellish a post, YouTube video or whatever.  The only thing about these posts that is actually from the original story is the title or plot.  The rest is embellishment and often AI generated.  

I was going to mention some of these internet trends anyhow.  Check the illustrations.  Very often they actually have nothing to do with the actual story.  Also, when I see a story on the internet, I assume it is a new story, but a lot of stories, posts, or whatever, are old news - in some cases very old.  And they many are online without any hint of a publication date, so you don't know how old the story is, or if it a new breaking story or not.

The first thing you'll see on my posts is the date of the post, and if I repost something I post the original link or refer to the original post.  I wish all stories displayed a publication date.

But another big problem now is all the AI generated material, including videos, that give no hint that they are AI generated.  You have to be careful.  It is becoming very difficult to distinguish AI generated fictional material.

---

The price of gold hit a new record high of $3700 per oz. this morning.

---

Surf Chart for the Fort Pierce Inlet Area from SurfGuru.com.

Nothing much has changed since yesterday.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

Monday, September 8, 2025

9/8/25 Report - Treasure Coast Mystery Object Find for ID and Cleaning. Factors Influencing Metal Detector Conductivity Readings.


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


Mystery Object Found on Treasure Coast by Vance D.

Vance D. sent the above photo along with the following message.

Not sure what it is I was wondering what I could soak this in to de-rust it to better identify it without destroying it if it's something important

Thanks Vance.

Of course it is impossible to tell what it is from a photo without any measurements or other information.  If there is nothing in a photo to suggest the size measurements would be helpful.

But from what I can see, the shape looks like a strap hinge (see below) to me, and maybe a bolt on top.



My preferred procedure would be to first soak it in distilled water to leech out the salts (do that with any suspected encrusted iron object) then mechanically remove as much of the surface rust as possible.  After getting a better feel for how solid the item is under the crust, perhaps try electrolysis or a rust remover.  

Here is a previous post on electrolysis. It provides a number of additional links.

Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 7/5/25 Report - Electrolysis: Options and Use on Treasure Coast Beach Metal Detector Finds. Instructional Resources. 4th One More Time.

And here is a link to some posts on EOs.

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 6/24/19 Report - Encrusted Objects (EOs), Clumps and Conglomerates and Their Contents.

Any reader guesses on the object or recommendations on cleaning?

---

I recently mentioned in one post that metal detector conductivity numbers are not sufficient alone to identify the metallic composition of a buried target flawlessly.  An old test I conducted showed a very large range of numbers in response to a variety of gold targets.  In the past, I've posted a number of tests that I conducted to determine the metallic composition of differenti kinds of targets.  Today I wanted to look at a couple of those tests to show some of the factors that can affect a metal detector's conductivity number reading.

The first test that I'll mention involved large coins, including a gold American Eagle coin, a 1922 Peace dollar and a 1971 clad Kennedy half. The American Eagle coin is 91.67% gold, 3% silver, with the remainder being copper with a reeded edge. It is 1.287 inches (32.70 mm) in diameter, so in diameter the gold coin is a little smaller than the Peace dollar but bigger than the clad Kennedy half.

The Equinox 600 produced conductivity numbers mostly in the range of 32 -34 on the Kennedy Half, and 37 - 38 on the Peace dollar, which was consistent with the numbers produced by these coins in other tests. The American Eagle gold coin produced numbers that centered on 26 - 28. The conductivity numbers are more consistent when the detection depth when the depth was moderate.

When the coil was close enough to the coins, the conductivity numbers obtained on these three coins were different enough and consistent enough to reliably discriminate between the three coins used in the test. .

In that test with large round coins laying flat, the Equinox conductivity numbers very well reflected the conductivity of the metallic composition of the coins. Silver has a higher conductivity than copper by a small amount, and gold is lower than silver and gold and the conductivity numbers obtained in the experiment reflected that very well.

Here is the link for more detail. 

Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 2/12/23 Report - Would You Correctly Identify A Buried Gold Coin Or MIss It? I Was Amazed by One Thing I Learned.


So it would appear that under certain circumstances the metallic composition of objects can be consistently identified by metal detector conductivity ratings.  However, there is more to the matter.


In another experiment I used Spanish reales of different sizes, and different shapes.  Although there could be differences in the amount of alloys in these coins, I assumed that they were pretty similar.

The Mexican half reale weighs less than half a gram and gave readings from 5  - 12, depending upon the sweep.

The second was test coin was a Postosi half reale from Jupiter, which was pretty round and weighed 0.8 grams.  It produced a steady conductivity number of 19.

The next reale reale weighed 2.7 grams.  It rang up consistently as 16 or 17.

Fourth at 4.7 grams was a Carlos and Juana two-reale.  Carlos and Juana reales are thinner and more round than most 1715 reales.  This one resulted in a very solid 20 on the Equinox.  Not too far off the Jupiter reale, which is also pretty found but much lighter.

And last is a four reale that weighs 13.8 grams.  It produced a solid 30.

So there you have it.  The conductivity numbers varied with size and shape, not just metallic composition.

Here is that link for additional details.



Targets that are round and large and not too deep will produce numbers that are more consistent, but when targets are irregular in shape or deep enough to not give a strong signal, or very small or deep, the numbers are not so consistent.  The position of the item can also affect the reading.  Place a coin on edge and you'll see the reading vary depending upon the amount of surface area presented to the coil and direction of the sweep.
l
Targets of very different shapes and alloys, such as various pieces of jewelry, will also cause greater variation in the numbers reduced.  Most objects are not purely one metal but will contain some alloys.  The exact composition will not always be known.  You'll also note some deviation in the numbers when the target is not well positioned under the coil on various sweeps.

To sum it up, there are circumstances when the conductivity numbers are pretty accurate, but there are also factors that will cause inconsistency, making the numbers less accurate and useful as indicators of the metallic composition of the target.

--- 

Historically we are right at the peak of hurricane season, but there is nothing on the hurricane map.  


Source: SurfGuru.com.

It looks like the Treasure Coast surf will be increasing a bit.

The high tides are now pretty high.

Good hunting,
Treausreguide@comcast.net

Sunday, September 7, 2025

9/7/25 Report - Early Spanish Conquest Visita and Maya Resistance. More On Dug Button. Other Links. 2022 Quarter Errors Worth Money.

 

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



archaeological-perspectives-on-confronting-social-change-at-the-sixteenth-century-visita-town-of-hunacti-yucatan.pdf


Hunacti was established as a visita mission site — a satellite community visited periodically by Franciscan friars from larger convent centers. Its layout reflected Spanish ideals: Gridded streets radiated from a central plaza where a T-shaped church rose against the backdrop of pre-Hispanic pyramids and administrative buildings. Three large elite houses, built in a Spanish style with plastered walls, arched windows and niches, surrounded the plaza.

Historical records suggest the site’s founding leaders enjoyed privileges rare for Maya elites under early colonial rule — access to horses, ownership of a cacao orchard and control over significant labor for construction...

While Hunacti’s short occupation might be seen as a failure in colonial terms, Masson and her colleagues interpret it differently. The settlement’s leaders appear to have shifted from early cooperation to a more self-sufficient, resistant stance, limiting engagement with Spanish trade networks and maintaining control over religious life...

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

Study Reveals a Maya Town’s Defiant Stand in Early Colonial Era | University at Albany


Here is an excerpt from a more detailed academic report on the same subject.

 Hunacti and Its Historical Context In the mid-1500s, ordinary Maya peoples far outnumbered Spanish authorities (Hanks 2010:41; Restall 1997:25). Franciscans in particular were few in number in the first decades of colonial rule.  Visita towns like Hunacti were distant from Franciscan centers,inhibiting regular visitation and impeding the friars’goalsofconverting the populace (Chuchiak 2009; Hanks 2010:41, 46). The site was rural and required at least two days’ travel (52 km along modern roads) from the nearest Franciscan convent center at Maní in the mid 1500s (Figure 1). Visita towns struggled to meet economic demands imposed by multiple institutions within the Spanish regime (Chuchiak 1998)....

And here is that link if you want to dig deeper into that story.

Archaeological Perspectives on Confronting Social Change at the Sixteenth-Century Visita Town of Hunacti, Yucatán | Latin American Antiquity | Cambridge Core

----

Yesterday I showed a couple dug pewter British military buttons from somewhere around 1800.  After a little additional cleaning I found a back mark on the 54th regiment button.



It isn't very easy to see in the photo, but the backmark is clearly "LONDON."




Here are a couple links you might want to check. 

First is the database of British Military Buttons.


And here is a site by the U.S. Army Center of Military History.  


British Uniforms during the Revolutionary War in the Revolutionary War Journal.


===

Several notable minting errors appear on 2022 quarters.  Here are some described in Rare 2022 Quarter Errors Worth Money (with Pictures) - CoinValueChecker

Drooling Washington or Drooling George
Wart on the nose or cold sore
Nesting bird quarter error

These errors are named after the position of the die mark on the coin’s surface.

The Drooling George or Drooling Washington error occurred when a die gouge created what looks like a drool over Washington’s chin. Maya Angelou’s 2022 quarters with this error sell for as much as $1,900

The Wart on the Nose error, also known as the Cold Sore, is an error in which die marks appear on the President’s face and most prominently on his nose.

The other sought-after error is the Nesting Bird quarter error, where a die crack resembling a twig seems to be carried by an eagle on the reverse. A 2022 P Maya Angelou quarter with a Nesting Bird error can fetch as much as $480, but some in uncirculated condition have fetched up to $1,000.
2022 Dr. Sally Ride Quarter Errors

Sally Ride 2022 quarters have a prominent error on the reverse, popularly known as the Ghost Comet Tail error. This error appears as a line behind Ride’s neck and shoulder and can also be seen next to the Earth...

2022 Wilma Mankiller Quarter Errors

The Wilma Mankiller quarter has the most minting errors in the 2022 series. The most prominent is the retained die break at the corner of the rim on the obverse side.

The reverse side of the coin also features a prominent vertical die crack error down. Such a crack occurs the same way—when a crack in the die fills up with metal, which is then impressed onto the planchet, appearing like a raised line on the coin’s surface.

A 2022 Wilma Mankiller quarter with die breaks on the obverse and reverse can fetch as much as $1,200, but some examples are being sold for as much as $1,500, depending on the coin’s condition.

Another prominent error found in the 2022 Wilma Mankiller quarters is the so-called Scarface and Deformed C error. On the reverse, you will notice die marks on Mankiller’s face, specifically her cheek, from where the name Scarface is derived.

The C in the Native American writing underneath the phrase PRINCIPAL CHIEF also appears deformed or filled in, which might result from a filled-in die crack that was impressed on the planchet.

Collectors will pay up to $1,500 for a 2022 Wilma Mankiller quarter with Scarface and Deformed error. On the other hand, a 2022 D Quarter Wilma Mankiller Quarter with a Misprint in the Star can sell for as much as $1,000.
2002 Nina Otero Quarter Errors

Another error, the Drooling George with Flowers in Hair, will fetch up to $500 for uncirculated pieces, while the Nose Scars on the reverse portrait sell for as much as $350.

A Nina Otero-Warren 2022 quarter priced at $8,300 on eBay broke the record. This particular coin has two die cracks, one on the obverse and the other on the reverse.
2002 Anna May Wong Quarter Errors

An Anna May Wong Tear Drop 2022-P quarter error sells for between $90 and $100, depending on the coin’s condition...


I think the values might be on the high side, but it does sound like it could be worth checking your 2022 quarters.

Good luck.  Let me know.

---

The system I've been watching in the Atlantic has disappeared.


Surf for Fort Pierce Area from SurfGuru.com.


Don't expect anything much bigger than two feet on the Treasure Coast for the next several days.

Good hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net



Friday, September 5, 2025

9/6/25 Report - A Couple Finds Out of An Old Box: Pewter Regimental Buttons. History and Research. A Ball Bottle. NHC Scene.

 

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


Old Box of Miscellaneous Finds Opened Once Again.

I decided to go back and open a box of old finds.  Written on the top of the box was a list of objects - suggesting the contents, but the list was not totally accurate.  In fact only about half the items listed on the top were actually in the box.

The contents included quite a variety, including old pot shards, porcelain and plate shards, shell artifacts, bone tools, and metal detector finds, including a crotal bell, a rusted skeleton key, a Spanish Colonial find, a piece of soldier art, a silver earring, several bags of things, such as a bag of small lead shot, and more.  About the only thing common to the items was that they all were old or older, and none were gold.

I'm going to look at a couple of the item from that box today, but first here is a bottle find and what I know and don't know about it.

---

3.5 Inch Tall Ball Bottle.

This bottle is a Ball bottle, but unlike most, which are the familiar canning jars.  This one is small and was only shows the mark of the Ball Brother's Glass Manufacturing Co. on the bottom of the bottle.


This small bottle stopper type bottle is embossed on the neck. 2 1/2 OZ.

The bottle is 3.5 inches tall.

The Ball maker's mark on the bottom is the type that was used from around 1933 to 1960.  The applied top makes me think it is towards the bottom end of that range.

I don't know what product it held.  My best guess would be a product dealing with fruit canning or something related such as pectin, which would be used for canning or jelly/jam production and in relatively small amounts like 2.5 ounces.  

This is the first bottle I've posted for a while.

Any additional information you can provide on this bottle would be appreciated.  I just posted this in my TGbottlebarn.blogspot.com site also.

---

You will gain knowledge and skill as you continue in the hobby and as you spend more time with your finds.  

Two items I discovered in tet box shown above are two old British military buttons that were my first old military button finds. I remember being happy when I dug them up.  I remember where they were found and what other things were found around them.  But I didn't know a lot (actually nothing) about them, but I did my research and learned a l little about them, but I still do not know as much as I'd like to know about them, and they've never been expertly cleaned and conserved.  As you'll see, I'm still not exactly sure how I'll go about that, even after decades have elapsed. 'Here they are.

76th and 54th Regiment of Foot Pewter British Buttons.

My research shows that the 54th Regiment button type was used from 1757 to 1881 and the 76th button with the HINDOOSTAN wording from 1807 to 1812, a much smaller range.  The same button type worn by officers, it seems were silver.  (Encyclopedia of British Military Buttons.)

It didn't take me long to identify them after finding them, but for a long time, I found no record of the 54th and 76th regiments being where the buttons were found.  According to what I could find, I thought they were probably from right around 1800.  That was my best guess back then.

After opening the box and getting the buttons out and jumping into the research again, I found the following.  The 54th regiment sailed for North America in 1776, fighting in the War of Independence (1775-83). It returned home in 1781, gaining its county association with West Norfolk the following year.

During the French Revolutionary Wars (1793-1802), it served in Guernsey (1793), Flanders (1794) and the West Indies (1795).

So there are two periods when the 54th was in the West Indies, first, during the War of Independence 1775 -1783, and then again during the French Revolutionary Wars, 1793 - 1802.

I have no way of knowing which of the two period my finds were lost.  From the other items I found, I think the buttons were lost during a battle. There were musket parts shot, and ot her old items all in a small area.  Also included was the button from the 76th regiment.

I found that the 76th Regiment of Foot served in the West Indies from 1834 to 1841, a deployment that lasted approximately seven years.  Their West Indies service was part of a broader pattern of British Army deployments aimed at maintaining imperial presence and stability in the Caribbean during a period of post-Napoleonic restructuring and colonial tension.

I always figured that the cluster of items was from an incident during a battle, perhaps the Battle of Saints or the Battle or the Battle of 

There is a problem though.  The records I've found so far do not coincide.  I've not found evidence of the two regiments being there at the same time.  It is possible that the two buttons were lost at different times.

If they were lost at the same time, it had to be after the 76th was received the honor "Hindoostan" but before the regiment quit using the pewter buttons.  The 76th button shows an elephant and the words "Hindoostan Peninsula" for their efforts in India. 

Here is the solution proposed by Copilot:  Most likely between 1807 and 1815, after the regiment received its “HINDOOSTAN” honor but before pewter fell out of favor for military use.

It looks like I don't yet have a perfect explanation.  There is no overlap between the times I've seen for when the two regiments were there and there are other inconsistencies.

Perhaps members of the regiments were at the site at times other than those I've found, or the items were not lost at the same time but ended up together before found. There are other possibilities too, but I've carried this on long enough, so I'll leave it at that.  I'm left with possibilities but no convincing answer.

---

I never did a complete job of cleaning and conserving those buttons.  Pewter can be difficult.  These buttons have a very hard and difficult to separate crust.  Below is a closeup of the 76th regiment button after a few attempts of gentle cleaning.


That beige crust is really stubborn, and old pewter can be easily damaged.

Here is a closeup of the 54th regiment button.  I added an angle of light on this one to show the dirt or corrosion better.



If you look closely, you can see the tough layer and how it is difficult to separate from the surface of the button.  It looks like removing the crust will remove some of the surface so I haven't attacked that.

There are some sites that recommend techniques for cleaning and conserving pewter, however the items they illustrate do not have the same kind of surface corrosion. 

Here are a couple links anyhow.

Experts's Guide: How to clean and seal pewter buttons — Patriot Relicsz

Here is another technique I found online.


Pewter • Wipe with a polishing cloth. • Brush very gently with a high quality brass brush. CAUTION: Some pewter is very soft and may scratch easily. • Use the outer leaf from a head of cabbage, as a polishing cloth, then buff with a soft cloth. • Use Turtle Wax or chrome polish. 

I've decided to go slow.  I'm trying some gentle techniques and see if any of them work well.  I don't want to use electrolysis in this case.

So much for the first items I pulled out of the box, and they are still holding some of their secrets.


---

Gold went higher today, as expected.

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.



This system has decreased a little, and when I ran the ECMWF model again, it showed this one falling apart before it gets to us.  Keep watching.


Surf Chart for the Fort Pierce Area from Surfguru.com.


No big change in the surf forecast.

Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net