9/30/25 Report - South Hutchinson Island Beaches Show Up to Four Foot Cuts Run for Miles. Improved Beach Metal Detecting Conditions.

 

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

John Brooks Beach Monday Afternoon.

I went out to the beach Mondayy evening.  In the afternoon, on the Fort Pierce South Jetty beach cam, I noticed a cut beginning to the south, so I thought the erosion might continue and went out later in the afternoon to see how the beaches were developing elsewhere.

I first stopped at John Brooks, probably around six o'clock, and found the cut shown above.  Up to the north a ways, the cut was about four feet high.  That is the best I've seen in quite a while, but the water was still petty high.

There was one detectorist just leaving the beach.

John Brooks Beach Monday Afternoon.

Then I went to Frederick Douglass beach.

John Brooks Beach Monday Afternoon.

As usual, Frederick Douglass lookded very much like John Brooks.

John Brooks Beach Monday Afternoon.

The cut continue down to Middle Cove, as you can see below.

Middle Cove Beach Monday Afternoon.

The cut continued way to the south of there.

Middle Cove Beach Monday Afternoon.

Then I farther south to Walton Rocks.

Walton Rocks Beach Monday Afternoon.

Walton Rocks beach wasn't cut. 

Walton Rocks Beach Monday Afternoon.

I didn't look up around the bend.

I saw the cut developing north of John Brooks and the condos earlier in the afternoon.

The erosion was the best I've seen for quite a while.  

There will be some treasure coins found during these conditions, that using my old beach conditions rating scale, I'd call at least a level 3.  

If it was not for all the summer accumulation and remaining renourishment sand, it would be even better.

I didn't get time to see the Indian River County beaches this afternoon. 

I'll be watching to see how things continue to develop, but we are off to a good Fall season.

I wanted to post these pictures posted early.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/29/25 Report - Higher Surf Showing Up on Treasure Coast Beaches. Beaches Around the Treasure Coast. Not Much Cutting Yet.

 

South Beach Zoom View from the SurfGuru.com Fort Pierce Jetty Beach Cam.

Here are some beach shots from just after 9 AM Monday morning - a little after the morning low tide.

As you can see the higher surf has begun.  The winds at these areas are indicated as being from the north, but so far the surf seems to be hitting most beaches directly from the east.

On the cams I saw no cuts yet, which would be expected from the direction of the waves and the timing.

There will however undoubtedly be some erosion where the beach bends and the angles are right.  Although the surf seems to be hitting from the east at most locations.  The beach is not straight north/south but has bends so I'd expect some erosion where the beach angles are right.  

Unfortunately, the beach cams only provide limited views, so we can't see everywhere.  For example, I'd like to see the waterline just north of the view provided by the South Beach view at the Fort Pierce Jetty area.  

Jupiter Beach Cam - North View.

There is still a lot of sand in front of where the beach cobs were found years ago.  Beach renourishment extended that beach a lot.

Sebastian SurfGuru.com Beach Cam - North View Just After 9 AM

About a hour later I captured the following view looking south.

SurfGuru.com Beach Cam - Sebastian South View.

It looks like the surf has become rougher in the past hour.

SurfGuru Fort Pierce Jetty - South Zoom View Just After 10 AM.

I hope to get out to the beach some time later today.

Wabasso Beach Cam from SurfGuru.com Around 10:30 AM.

Here is a view of Wabasso.  The surf is coming from the east and not doing much at this spot yet.

Imelda.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Looks like Imelda will be turning out to see earlier than previously predicted.  

Surf Chart for the Fort Pierce South Jetty Area from SurfGuru.com.

I'm not see a lot of change to morning surf chart - just some small differences.

If Imelda goes out to sea like shown in the last issue, I wouldn't be surprised if we see the surf sizes for decrease for the near future.

As you can see, SurfGuru is still predicting eight- and nine-foot seas in a few days, which is good, and this time of year we should be having decent high tides.  I'd like to see more north surf though.  The above chart shows some northeast surf today and tomorrow.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/28/25 Report - Time to Get Ready for Improved Beach Metal Detecting Conditions. Higher Northerly Surf Predicted.

 

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

ECMWF Model as Shown on Windy.com for Monday.

The big news and important thing for me today is the weather and Treasure Coast beach metal detecting conditions.  It looks like the beach metal detecting conditions will improve some in the next couple of days.  It has been quite a while since we had some good surf to move sand to give us a better shot at better beach metal detecting conditions. You should get your metal detectors charged up and your equipment in good shape.  By the look of things this morning, you might want your rain gear too.  And watch out for lightning.

The above clip shows the position of what is now tropical depression nine and Humberto on Monday according to the ECMWF model.  That will be when Nine is closest to us.  The thing I wanted to see is the wind.

As you can see by inspecting the clip, when the center is just off shore, we'll be getting some north winds.  The angle of the winds was what I was looking for there, and it seems pretty good.  As the system moves north the angles will change, first being more easterly and then changing to what you see in this clip.  Humberto, farther out, looks like it will also be adding to the surf coming our way.

Here is what the National Weather Service (Melborne) is sayding.

Thanks to DJ for that.

Showing the South Beach Zoon from the Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Cam.

As of just before 8 AM Saturday, this is what the Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach looks lie..  It is dark and rainy.  The surf is slightly higher.  You can see that the beach might have steepened some, but no cuts there yet due to the easterly angle of the surf.

Sebastian Beach Cam Saturday Morning.

Checking the Sebastian Beach Cam, we see it is windy.  The surf is rough but not real big yet, and still coming in from the east.  

The low tides now are close to sunrise and sunset.  The high tides aren't quite as high as they were a week or two ago.

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

We haven't seen a chart this encouraging for quite a while.  Check surf angle for later Monday.  Nice northerly surf that doesn't straighten out much until a few days later.  

And check out the surf size on Thursday and Friday.  That is a good high surf, which could be hitting some dunes.  That kind of surf has produced some nice old finds.  

To sum it up, it looks like we might be in for some good beach hunting for the next week or so.  

Get ready,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/27/25 Report - Big Surf for Treasure Coast. Atocha Coin Finds. Testing Gold. Eureka! Gold Crown & Bathtub. Lead Leads.

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

Recent Atocha Finds.
Source: Email from Mel Fisher's Treasures Orgnaization.

The last few days on the Atocha site have been busy! Divers uncovered an exciting discovery — what appears to be a pair of scissors along with a silver coin. To date, approximately 30 pairs of scissors have been discovered on the Atocha and Margarita sites.

Today, the Dare crew has recovered two more coins! As you can see from the picture, these pieces are much smaller than the well-known 8 reales.

Two Coins Recently Found on the Atocha Site.

The above photos and text is from an email from the Mel Fisher's Treasure organization.

 ---

Over the years I often mentioned in this blog about lead being a good sign that there might be gold nearby.  That opinion came from my own experiences and observations..  

Both metals are relatively dense, bt not extremely close in density.  I'm not sure that it is just because of density.  There could possibly be something else to it.  Lead is often found in the form of musket balls or sinkers whether that is significant or not, I don't know.  It just seems that they are so often found not too far apart. They seem to end up at similar depths and locations.  Of course, there isn't a perfect correlation.  You don't always find gold when you find lead, but it seems that there is a better chance.  

I was somewhat surprised to recently read somewhere that Mel Fisher often said, 'Lead leads to gold!"  I lost track of where I read that but if I find it again, I'll post the source.

---

I just received the following email from Mark G. concerning testing gold.

... I have several items I would like to be gold but they may be brass. I bought the acid test kit for silver and gold testing however what I am finding is that brass will act very similar to gold in the 10K acid test. If something is marked then there is no question or need to test however pieces that have been in the surf can degrade especially silver and some 10K gold and loose there markings. I do several checks of course first; magnet if not magnetic then I scratch if no base metal then acid test. Be aware if you rub a plated piece on the stone the gold plate will test positive so visual check is necessary. So what is the next best tester? I asked copilot for an affordable gold tester I could buy on Amazon, there are several:

Below are the best gold testers as provided to Mark by Copilot.

Mark also provided the instructions for density testing, but I won't include all those here.  If you want you can look them up, but I doubt many people are going to try that method.  It isn't the easiest method, particularly when the items are small.  Surface tension is one problem, and, as you all know, gold is seldom pure, so you would be measuring an alloyed metal.

I should also say that some gold items are marked incorrectly.  Not often, but it does happen.  

You might remember the story about Archimedes taking a bath and having a Eureka moment when thought of a way to test a gold crown.  I don't know how many years it has been since first hearing that story, but it must have been in grade school or high school. Maybe it was the bathtub and gold crown, or maybe the "Eureka" exclamation. 

If you went to school in more recent years, you might know that story, so here it is as presented in a Scientific American piece.

Let's begin with the story: the local tyrant contracts the ancient Greek polymath Archimedes to detect fraud in the manufacture of a golden crown. Said tyrant, name of Hiero, suspects his goldsmith of leaving out some measure of gold and replacing it with silver in a wreath dedicated to the gods. Archimedes accepts the challenge and, during a subsequent trip to the public baths, realizes that the more his body sinks into the water, the more water is displaced--making the displaced water an exact measure of his volume. Because gold weighs more than silver, he reasons that a crown mixed with silver would have to be bulkier to reach the same weight as one composed only of gold; therefore it would displace more water than its pure gold counterpart. Realizing he has hit upon a solution, the young Greek math whiz leaps out of the bath and rushes home naked crying "Eureka! Eureka!" Or, translated: "I've found it! I've found it!"


Several millennia later, the scientific world is replete with the exclamation, and many people have received inspiration in the shower. The mathematical conjectures of Henri Poincar¿, Einstein's theory of relativity, Newton getting dinged on the head with an apple and discovering gravity--all have been described as eureka moments. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a prose poem to science by that title and the prospectors of California's gold rush were so fond of the phrase that it crept into that state's motto. Even the American Association for the Advancement of Science calls its breaking scientific news site EurekAlert...

Here is the link for the rest of that piece.

Fact or Fiction?: Archimedes Coined the Term "Eureka!" in the Bath | Scientific American

The motto "Eureka" was adopted as part of the Great Seal of California during the 1849 California State Constitutional Convention. The phrase was fittingly adopted to symbolize the discovery of gold in California, which began in earnest in 1848 when James Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill, sparking the California Gold Rush.

Seal of California.

I don't know how many of the 49ers were familiar with Archimedes and Classical Greek, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of them did know about the practical applications of the Archimedes Principle and maybe even a bit Classical Greek. Of course, the term could have been a part of the English language by then.

I just did an ngram search on the frequency of use of the term "Eureka" in published materials.  Below is what I found.

It looks like the word was used a little in English language publications in the 1920s but really took off with the Gold Rush.

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Besides Humberto, we now have tropical depression nine, which is predicted to become a hurricane.

Predicted Track of Tropical Depression Nine.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

The predicted track of Tropical Depression Nine takes it east of the Treasure Coast as a storm and then becoming a hurricane well north of us.

Surf Chart for the Fort Pierce Jetty Area from SurfGuru.com.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

This is interesting.  If you've been watching the surf chart the increased surf is predicted to arrive a little sooner, but now we see any even bigger surf several days out.

The 4 -7 surf will help, but it would be really nice to get that early November 8 - 10 feet.  That is getting up there.  We had something like that later in November in both 2020 and 2022, if I correctly recall.

Anyhow, I'd be getting my equipment ready.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/26/25 Report - Silver Atocha Find. Design of Hapsburg 8 Reale. Divers Salvage Titanic's Sister Ship. Bigger Surf Coming.

 

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

Source: Email from Mel Fisher's Treasures.

===

Divers recovered artifacts from the Titanic’s sister ship Britannica.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Divers have recovered artifacts from the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, for the first time since the ocean liner sank in the Aegean Sea more than a century ago after striking a mine during World War I. 

The Culture Ministry in Greece said Monday that an 11-member deep-sea diving team conducted a weeklong operation in May to recover artifacts including the ship’s bell and the port-side navigation light...

Here is the link for more about that.

Divers recover artifacts from the Titanic's sister ship Britannic for the first time | AP News

---

First struck in 1497, the Spanish 8 Real quickly rose to prominence and became emblematic of a truly global empire and general financial stability. The high purity of this coin was so consistent that 8 Real coins were accepted as quality silver over time from Spain to Australia. Further proof of their universality can be extrapolated by the sheer quantity minted for over 450 years and the fact that many examples exist with countermarks from local authorities certifying their authenticity and purity.

In the mid-14th century, the king of Castile and Leon, known as Pedro the Cruel, established the silver Real. It would be over one hundred years until the 8 Real was first introduced by Isabella and Ferdinand in 1497...

These coins were struck in 1538 at the Mexico City Mint by mint assayer Pedro de Espina only two years after the mint was established by royal charter in 1536. The earliest recorded mention of this type can be found in the 1545 mint report of Francisco Tello de Sandoval. The design of this coin was highly symbolic and influential in numismatic history. It first introduced the Pillars of Hercules to Spanish coinage. The trapezoidal banner with the word PLVS, meaning more, would become a staple of Spanish numismatic imagery and eventually evolve into the $ symbol. PLVS was a reference to the ancient motto of NE PLvs ULTRA as the Spanish monarchy was refuting the ancient Greek belief that nothing existed past the Straits of Gibralter...

Here is the link for more about Spanish Reales.

The Evolution of the Design of the Hapsburg Spanish 8 Real

===

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

We have some weather just east of the Treasure Coast that will have an effect on us.

It looks like we'll be getting some higher surf Monday, which is about a day earlier than was predicted by Surfguru a day or two ago.

Surf Chart for the Fort Pierce Jetty Area as Presented by SurfGuru.com.

The surf is supposed to be higher Monday and peak Tuesday.  That will be a help, but unfortunately the angles aren't real encouraging.  Mostly from the east.

The tides remain high but a little off previous levels.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/25/25 Report - Largest 17th Century Gold Coins from a Famous Collection Buried Before WW II. Aucilla River Project. New Tropical Storm.

 

Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Reportl

An amazing hoard that was buried before World War II was part of the one of the most amazing collections ever assembled.  It is known as the Traveller Collection. The 17th century Ferdinand III gold coin is expected to bring in over 1 million dollars.

The highlight of the upcoming auction is a 100-ducat gold coin (shown above) of Ferdinand III of Habsburg, minted in 1629. Weighing an extraordinary 348.5g of fine gold, it is the largest denomination of a European gold coin ever minted in historical times. One of only three known specimens, this coin has an initial estimate of CHF 1,250,000 but is expected to realize over CHF 2 million, which would make it the most expensive European gold coin ever sold at auction. The auction is also notable for being the first time two 100-ducat coins have been offered in a single sale.

CHF indicates Swiss francs. A Swiss franc is now worth about $1.26 US.

But the really good story isn't the coin.  This coin is only a small part of the collection and a bigger more fascinating story. 

Here is some of that story.

A collection of 15,000 historical coins, known as the Traveller Collection, is set to be auctioned by Numismatica Ars Classica (NAC), with experts estimating its value at over $100 million...

The collection features coins from more than 100 territories around the world, spanning centuries and including extremely rare coins in exceptional preservation condition, with some traceable to the greatest collections of the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

The original collector, whose identity remains undisclosed, began amassing coins in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. By the late 1930s, he and his wife had traveled extensively across Europe and the Americas, acquiring coins and meticulously documenting their origins. Fearing a Nazi invasion during Hitler's rise to power, he buried his coin collection, a decision made in the face of growing unrest on the continent. He carefully packed his acquisitions into cigar boxes, sealed them in aluminum wrappers, and buried them deep underground, where they remained for over five decades. Not long after the Nazis occupied parts of Europe, he died of a stroke. Only he and his wife knew the location of the buried coins, which included more than 10,000 coins hidden in their garden...

Source: The Traveller Collection's $100 million coin trove heads to NAC auction | The Jerusalem Post

In the mid-1990s, the collector's widow, now elderly, decided to retrieve the buried treasure, realizing it was time to unearth the collection. She enlisted the expertise of Numismatica Ars Classica (NAC) to oversee the sale and produce an inventory and evaluation.

What NAC uncovered was extraordinary, and it took more than a year to catalog the coins. "It was like being in a candy store every day,"...

Second Auction of Record-Breaking Traveller Collection Presents Rare Central European Coins

and...

Rare Gold Coin, Buried for 50 Years, Could Command $2.5 Million at Auction

The above coin is only one of many examples in the collection.  Here is just one of many more possible examples in the collection..

===

Here is a resource you might like.  It is the newsletter of the Aucilla River Prehistory Project, which came to an end in 2000.  You'll find many notes about the project that focuses on a little out-of-the-way corner of Florida that has a rich archaeological history.  

In the last issue of the Aucilla River Times you'll find information on quite a variety of topics, including paleo Indians, mounds, a person sometimes referred to as Florida's first archaeologist and how to tell the different between various species of mammoths and mastodons from tusk patterns.  If you are interested in Florida archaeology, I'd recommend taking at least a quick look.

Here is the link.

Aucilla-River-Times-Vol-XII-No-1-May-1999.pdf

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Busy Atlantic.  We have a new tropical storm - Humberto. and some developing weather over the Bahamas.

Source: SurfGuru.com.

So it looks like we'll get a nice little increase in the surf next week.  Combined with the high tides, that should cause a little sand movement.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

9/24/25 Report = Hoard Found. Great Florida Stone Point Gallery. Checking Couple Small Finds. Systems Developing Off Florida.

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

Rare coins from Jewish rebellion under Roman rule excavated in Galilee

The coins, bearing the images of Roman emperors Constantius II and Constans I, were found hidden in a pit at the end of a narrow tunnel inside a large underground hiding complex

Israeli archaeologists have discovered a rare hoard of 22 bronze coins dating back more than 1,600 years in the ancient settlement of Hukok in the Lower Galilee this week. The coins, bearing the images of Roman emperors Constantius II and Constans I, were found hidden in a pit at the end of a narrow tunnel inside a vast underground hiding complex.

Researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Zefat Academic College believe the treasure was stashed during the Gallus Revolt (351–352 CE), the last known Jewish uprising against Roman rule.

“This shows that hundreds of years after these tunnels were dug out, they were reused,” say the researchers. “The hoard provides – in all probability, unique evidence that this hiding complex was used in one way or another during another crisis – during the Gallus Revolt – a rebellion for which we have only scant historical evidence of its existence,”...

Here is the link for more about that.

Rare Coins From Jewish Rebellion Under Roman Rule Excavated In Galilee - i24NEWS

The photo at the top of the article seems to be a stock photo instead of the actual coin hoard.  Many internet articles are doing that now, so be aware of that.  They should make it clear like I am now.

---

I found a couple more small items: a silver chain and an earring.  I hoped I added a few more grams of gold but needed to check.

Small Silver Chain Marked OTC and 925 Italy.

First, I checked the small chain shown above.  On one side the tag was marked OTC and on the other side of the tag, was 925 and Italy.  Nice little chain, but no gold.

Looking up the OTC mark, here is what I found.

For over four decades, OTC International has been a leader in the fine jewelry industry through an unwavering commitment to design artistry, quality craftsmanship and superior customer support. OTC's global workforce shares a common mission of delivering exceptional products at values that resonate with today's consumer. Delivering value in today's market requires constant innovation. OTC combines state-of-the-art manufacturing with global sourcing to deliver its retail clients superior quality and value.

The other item I found was a small yellow gold colored earring.

Earring With No Mark.

I found no mark on the earring, so did a rubbing on a touchstone.  The blue arrow at the top of the picture shows where I did the rubbing. The plating wore right through.  

I don't like acid testing because the rubbing leaves a mark on the item, but sometimes it doesn't matter.

Below is a handy device.  I don't think it is really a bench pin, but maybe that is the right term.  I don't really know what it is called, but it is handy for holding small items in just the right position if you are working on the item or are just trying to get the right angel for a closeup photo. 

For illustration purposes, the left arm on this one is now holding a penny. 

---

Dr. Ripley P. Bullen collected information about Florida projectile points from avocational and professional archaeologists for decades. First presenting his typology in the 1960s... Bullen’s stone tool typology was meant as a starting point to understand the variety of this type of artifact to address archaeological cultural groups through time. It is still one of the most highly used stone tool typologies for Florida. Bullen anticipated that it would be further refined and built upon through the years...

first presented in the 1960s and was reprinted in the 1970s due to high demand (Bullen 1975)... The intent of this new digital version is to provide a comparative research tool, increase access visually, and stimulate discussion and continued research of this renowned collection (e.g., Dunbar 2007; Farr 2006; Milanich 1994; Thulman 2007).

Here are just a few examples from the gallery.

And here is the link to the gallery.

Bullen Point Types Gallery – Florida Archaeology & Bioarchaeology

Get your point finds out and see if you can match them up.

In my opinion this is the type of thing archaeology should be producing.  Congratulastions.

It is a useful tool.  I've been saying for years, archaeology should be sharing more, especially since the internet has made it so easy.  Archaeology is often said to save history for the public, but they still aren't very transparent in many cases.  

===

So there is a lot of weather happening to just to the east.  You can see that both of those disturbances have a good chance of becoming cyclones.  

I took a look at Windy.com, and captured the following clip for Monday.

Source: Windy.com  (MWF Model showing Monday Projection)

So it looks like Monday the nearest of the two systems will be over the Bahamas.  

Below is what SurfGuru.com is predicting.

Source: SurfGuru.com Surf Chart for the Fort Pierce Inlet Area.

So despite all the activity in the Atlantic to the east of Florida, the surf is not expected to be high for the next several days, and only two to four feet Monday, which the systems are closest to us.

Another thing is that the surf direction will be consistently from the east.  Not the best situation for beach erosion.

Keep watching for changes.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net.

9/23/25 Report - Another Type of Treasure to Be Aware of. Inverted Jenny and Other Valuable Treasures. The Ephemera Equivalent to Coin Collecting.

 

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

Old Copy of Treasure Island Child's Book.

I said one time that I thought my first exposure to pirates and treasure was Peter Pan, but I found this old book in my old books and I'm now thinking that Treasure Island could have been it.  The book is what first got some children interested in pirates and treasure.

I have something different today.  It isn't something you could find with a metal detector, but it is one more type of treasure.  It is a type of ephemera and was once a pretty popular hobby.  I haven't been much involved with it lately, but it was a part of my life at one time.  

Here is a link to a site that presents 14 valuable old postage stamps.

14 Rare Stamps That Could Be in Your Junk Drawer – Decluttering Mom

I just ran into that site and was looking at my old stamps just a couple days ago.  

Yesterday I mentioned a nice ring that was found in a handbag purchased at thrift store and I suggested several tips about items unintentionally left in donated thrift store items.  Stamps are one of those kinds of things that can sometimes be found.  Although there are some stamps that are very valuable.  Stamp collecting is much like coin collecting and most kinds of collectibles.  Valuable items are rare and not easy to find.  And with coins, condition is extremely important.

I once picked up a stamp album with some old stamps in it.  Of course, the cost was almost nothing.

I first started stamp collecting when I was about six years old.  I was in the hospital for an appendectomy, and my parents got me a bag of used stamps.  It gave me something to do, going through the stamps and placing them in a scrap book, which was actually a book of new greeting card samples provided by a greeting card company to the store where my grandmother worked.  She brought home the old used books, which I used, after removing the greeting cards, to put my stamp collection.  I remember the bags of stamps to this day.  Several years later I starting moving the stamps I accumulated from the old scrap book to a stamp album that had a place for every type of stamp, including the various countries.

Stamp Album with Bag of Stamps.

I haven't completed the collection.  I haven't been into them for many years.  

Among the items with the stamps, I also found this envelope with an old stamp on it.  I recognized the address as being where my mother was born.  I didn't know anything about the stamp but realized it was pretty old, so I did a little research.

Old Envelope with Old Cancelled Stamp.

Like I said, it is much like coin collecting.  Fortunately, we have better research tools now, including both internet tools and a good camera for taking closeup pictures, just like I do with my coins.

1 1/2 Cent US Stamp Circa 1930.

The camera was a big help, just like it is for viewing coins.  You can see everything you need to see.

Unfortunately, this stamp is like some coins or bottles.  The stamp does not show a date, and the postmark date isn't on the cancellation, so I looked it up and found a date.  It is around 1930.  The internet tools are very handy.  I didn't have that when I started my stamp collection.  I have a Maritius stamp that looks like one of the very valuable ones, but I doubt that it is.  More research is required.

As for the Harding stamp, as I expected but didn't know, it isn't worth much even though it is fairly old.  

Coin collecting and stamp collecting are very similar in many ways.  Unfortunately, with very few if any exceptions, valuable stamps have to be very rare and in great condition.  Nonetheless, you can learn a lot from a stamp collection, and some people like it.  Thank goodness for the new technologies and research tools.

Stamp Collecting, like coin collecting, covers the world and will teach you a lot of history.  

Stamps, like coins, can be valuable because of rarity, but there are also errors, such as the upside down plane on the early air mail stamp known as the inverted Jenny. 

Keep your eyes open stamps are small and easy to conceal and can sometimes be found between book pages, on old envelopes or almost anywhere.

Stamp collectors, again like coin collectors, generally like brand new mint examples rather than used cancelled stamps that show a lot of wear.  

For me, these stamps and albums, like many of my metal detector finds, bring up a lot of memories.

I've done several posts in the past about post cards, which besides being an area of collecting also can provide pictures of old sites which might be good metal detecting sites.

Here is a link to one of those.

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: Search results for postcards

I did once or twice pick up somebody's old stamp collecting album at a thrift store for practically nothing.

I like ephemera too.  Some of it is good for its content, which can be interesting even when not in excellent condition.  Ephemera can provide a lot of information that could prove useful to the detectorist.

Personally, I like used well-worn coins and cancelled stamps better than mint examples even if they aren't as valuable. Know about values but collect what you like.

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

There is a lot to see on the National Hurrican Center map.  Gabrielle is past us now, but two other systems are out there.  The orange area isn't going to develop much but will at least give us some northish winds for a short time.  The red system could develop more, but is expected to stay farther out.

Source: surfguru.com.

As you can see, SurfGuru isn't predicting much of an impact.

The high tides are still nice and high though.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net