10/27/25 Report - Backyard Cache of Gold Coins. Darby Collection of Guatemalan Cobs. Hurricane Melissa.

 

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

During the pandemic, a British couple was tending their back garden when they discovered a cache of 15th- and 16th-century coins. Many of them date to the reign of Henry VIII, and some bear the initials of two of his six wives.

On November 5, the hoard of coins—63 gold and one silver—will be sold in Switzerland by the auction house Numismatica Ars Classica. According to coin dealer David Guest Numismatics, they’re worth at least £230,000 (more than $300,000).

The couple investigated the soil and found small metal discs. When their teenage son ran water over the objects, they realized the discs were gold coins. The family registered the find with the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, which records archaeological discoveries from England and Wales. Guest tells Fox News Digital that in October 2021, archaeologists found an additional six coins in the garden...

here is the link for more about that.

A Family Found These Rare Tudor Coins Buried in Their Backyard. Now, the Trove Is Heading to the Auction Block

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Melissa may reach Category 5, poses great danger to Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti

Melissa is forecast to rapidly strengthen to a major hurricane over the Caribbean and could end up being one of the strongest of the season with lives and property in peril from Jamaica to Cuba and Haiti...

Once Melissa exits the Caribbean, the closer it could eventually move toward the U.S. and significant indirect impacts are anticipated along the East Coast with assistance of the jet stream and a non-tropical storm from the last days of October to the first days of November.

There is no risk to Melissa making landfall from the Florida Panhandle, westward through Texas.

Here is the link for more about that.

Melissa may reach Category 5, poses great danger to Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti

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Melissa Projected Track.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

So Melissa is supposed to stay well out to sea.

Melissa Off Florida Later This Week According to One Model.
Source: Windy.com.

Looking at the ECWMF model, you can see how the wind is expected to go.

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

But we'll only get a little bump in the surf from it.

---

I plan to get back to my series on coin movement soon.  I'll get to the ocean side of it.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/26/25 Report - Treasure Coast Beach Conditions. Targets Still Plentiful. Manticore Performing Well. Hurricane Melissa.

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

John Brooks Sat. Afternoon Near Low Tide.

I decided to visit some beaches Saturday afternoon around low tide. I prefer to go out early in the morning when I can, but the morning low tide was earlier than I wanted to go.

In the morning, I checked the tide tables, but also some beach cameras to get an idea of what might be going on.

Here are some of the beaches as I found them in the afternoon.

John Brooks Sat. Afternoon Near Low Tide.

The beaches didn't look as good as the last time I was out.  One of the South Hutchinson Island beach cams, which I'll show below, showed that a cut had developed in the morning, but the cut was lower on the beach this time, so I didn't expect so much.  The camera view isn't too far from the beaches I visited.

I only found some very small cuts at John Brooks.  The biggest were to the north at the curve.

Frederick Douglass Sat. Afternoon Near Low Tide.

Frederick Douglass didn't look as good as the last time I was there either. I couldn't see the bar in front of the beach this time. I think the low tide was probably higher, and it wasn't quite low tide when I got there, but it didn't look nearly as interesting as last time.  I think part of that was my timing and part of it was due to sand movement.

Frederick Douglass Sat. Afternoon Near Low Tide.

You can see the small ridge at the berm at Frederick Douglass.  

Next I visited Walton Rocks.  The access road was improved, and the access was open again.

There were no cuts there.  

I tried to take some photos there but messed them up and ended up with some accidental selfies again.  I need to be more careful about that.  Sometimes I just quickly point and shoot.

Despite the mediocre beach conditions today, there was no shortage of targets.  I found a good number of green encrusted coins.  That surprised me.  It almost seems like no one has been detecting lately.  The last time I went out, there were plenty of coins. They had some depth to them, but nothing extreme.  

This was the second time I took the Manticore to the beach, and am still learning it to use it.  I really haven't done anything with it other than the elementary basics, but I have to say that it does seem to work pretty well.  I don't know if the targets were missed by others or if no one has been around.  I didn't see any other detectorists, which I found a little surprising for a Saturday afternoon near low tide.

I also was seeing a good amount of trash on the beach, which I didn't mind since I wanted to check out the Manticore's target identification.  I'm more than satisfied so far. Thet visual target ID system comes as close to showing you what is in the ground as anything I've seen, and I'm very new at it.  I'll explore that some more in the future.

Below is a beach cam sequence from Saturday morning.  The were captured about 9:30, 11:00 and 2:30.  You can see how the cut developed over that time period.   It is the South Beach Zoom View from the Fort Pierce South beach cam.

Nice enough cut, but notice that it is in front of the dunes.  A similar cut was at that location a week or two ago.  

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There is now a hurricane on the map - Melissa.

 

Projected Track of Melissa.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

 So it looks like Melissa will head north and stay out in the ocean.

For the Treasure Coast, it looks like Sunday will be very much like Saturday.  Four to six foot surf and the winds remaining about the same.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/24/25 Report - How Bullion Values Affect Coin Values. More About Checking Coin Movement on the Slope. New Cut Today.

 

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

Just After High Tide Friday Morning South of Fort Pierce Jetty.
Snipping from SurfGuru.com.

You can see a small cut that formed later this morning at this stretch south of the Fort Pierce Jetty.  This was just after high tide.  I don't think it will get much bigger.  

Notice that is lower on the slope than the seaweed line, which indicates where a previous high tide was.

I think the cut got a touch bigger than it is in the photo but am not expecting much more today.

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With Soaring Gold and Silver Prices, What Happens to Numismatics?

With bullion prices soaring, collectors face shrinking numismatic premiums as gold and silver coins trade closer to melt value than ever before...

In today’s market, many gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins that used to have some numismatic premium over the value of the metal content have lost that premium. If you are looking to sell, expect to be quoted below melt value on many U.S. and worldwide gold coins and on a wide range of U.S. and world silver coins.

The discounts are larger for silver coins right now. There is an acute shortage of silver in the London market to deliver to maturing contracts called for physical delivery. As a consequence, as of Wednesday morning this week, for example, the London silver fix spot price was $1.13 higher than quoted at the same time for the COMEX December 2025 contract. Only 1,000-ounce bars already in the London vaults were worth that premium price.

Because of record-high silver prices, great quantities of silver coins and other silver objects are being liquidated. In order to expedite processing, at least one U.S. silver refiner is currently only accepting .999 fine silver items to process. This is leading to a backlog on processing for the other refiners who are still willing to accept sterling silver items (92.5 percent purity), U.S. 90 percent Silver Coins, and other products that have less than .999 silver purity....

For collectors who may not be happy that some of the pieces in their collection cost them a little extra over metal value compared to common-date coins, try to be satisfied that the value of your overall collection may have increased because of higher precious metal prices.

Here is that link for a very informative article. 

With Soaring Gold and Silver Prices, What Happens to Numismatics? - Numismatic News

The changing price of a rare silver or gold coin will not always (if ever) be increased or decreased by the same amount that the melt value changes.  The author describes the more complex relationship between numismatic and bullion value, giving one example of how the bullion value essentially wiped out the numismatic value of some cons.  In other words, coins that had value because of their rarity, when the bullion value became higher, had the same value as less rare dates or varieties of bullion coins having the same melt value.  At high bullion prices the rarity factor became less important in those cases.  With old shipwreck treasure coins, the coins may also have other kinds of values, including premiums for historic connections, provenance, or other things that might provide added interest.

Good article, but I wish the author gave more specific examples.

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I have to go back and talk a little more about something I already talked about in Part III of my How Coins Move on a Beach series.  Although some of it is repetitive, I added a little, which I think is necessary..

I talked about throwing a test coin in the moving water to see how the coin moves.  That is a good thing to do, especially when you are metal detecting in water that is enough to move coins.  When you are working in front of a cut that bounces the water back down the slope after hitting the cut, any coins falling out of the cut can be quickly washed down the slope.

I previously mentioned that your coins might be moved down the slope, and perhaps a little to the north or south, depending upon the movement of the water, but I should have also mentioned that there can also be times when the coin is washed up the slope.  When working in front of the cut, and close to the base of the cut, coins will often be washed down the slope, and most often a bit to the south.  That is not always the case though, which is why it is a good idea to use your metal detector to track a test coin.  It is helpful to see which way the coins are moving but also helps to find out how far the coins are being moved.  Of course there will be some variation from one test to another, but you'll see a general trend.

It is very helpful to know the direction and distance coins are being washed by both incoming and outgoing water.  If you accidentally drop a new find or if you don't get a target in your scoop on the first try, and it washes away, you might have to relocate it, so if you have a good idea which way it probably went, and how far, that can help.  It can still take you a while to relocate targets like that, and in some cases, you might not find it again.  Sometimes when you don't find it again, it will be a junk item that moves more easily and farther than a coin normally would.   You can prove that by using a pull tab or bottle cap for your test target. 

Learn to track coins lower on the slope too.  The wash down there can be stronger and can move coins in both directions.  It is good practice, and you'll learn how coins move there.

After a while you might be able to estimate the likely movement of surface coins in rough water simply by looking at the water.  And we are talking about surface or near surface coins.  If a coin is under sand that is not moved by the water, the coin won't be moved either.  That sand can be moved by the next wave or two and then the coin can be moved too.

So far I've talked mostly about the slope (area above the blue line).  I'll talk about out in the water some time soon.

You can see where the slope begins and the wave is flattened out and then runs up and down the slope.  You can see the little cut at the top of the slope too..

I know I've said some of this before, and I don't like to repeat, but I think I added a little and hopefully clarified a little.

All of that depends upon your ability to work in swift water, which is not something that all detectorists do.

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Same Shot but Near the Afternoon Low Tide.

Now it is easier to see the cut I was talking about because of the shadows from the afternoon sun.

Tropical Storm Melissa from nhc.noaa.org.

Looks like Melissa will become a major hurricane and eventually turn north. I'll keep an eye on that.

Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com

This weekend we are supposed to have up to a six foot surf.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/23/25 Report - Early Explorations of Treasure Coast. Primary Ais Settlements. Evolution of the Barrier Islands.

 

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

Here is are a couple illustrations from an article you might want to read. It is an article in Florida Anthropologist entitled, The Location of the Paramount Town of the Ais Indians. The article attempts to locate the large Ais settlement by looking at historical documents, including an attempt by Mexia to map out the Treasure Coast area along with other maps and reports such as those by Brahms and Romans. Here is the introductory paragraph.

If you look at the illustration from that document, which I posted at the top of this page, you'll see some interesting things. It goes along very well with my recent series. The illustration shows some important things about sand movement, but also the history and evolution of the barrier island along the Treasure Coast.

First, you'll notice the direction of the long-shore current and littoral drift. The net effect is pushing sand southward along the coastline. You can see that in many features such as the sand that piles up on the north side of inlet and how the beach starves south of inlets that have the flow of sand cut off by jetties, etc.  The littoral drift to the south accounts in part for the average greater erosion from north'easters, which go in the direction of that predominant flow, and the net building, or accretion, effect from south winds and currents.  It will help you to understand the flow of sand on a beach.

The illustration also shows how the islands were shaped, as well as the westward movement.  Notice for example the "relict" inlets, which are inlets that once existed but are no longer open.  And the overwash lobes where high surf once pushed sand over the island and into the lagoon, extending the island to the west.  When someone like Mexia in the 17th century describes an inlet, don't confuse the inlets position as being the same as it is today.  You probably know that there were other inlets along the Treasure Coast in the past, and inlets move over time (when not aided by jetties or whatever, they migrate south), and the modern inlets are not where they once were.  For example, the inlet near Fort Pierce was north of the current inlet, which was opened in more modern times.  You should think about what that says about where you are likely to find centuries old coins.

For example, if there was an old inlet at the site, the area was washed out and you wouldn't expect sand from bygone centuries to be in place.   You would not find old sand in-place in an area, except for very deep layers.

Here is another illustration from the same Florida Anthropologist article.  

It will help you learn how to "read a barrier island."  Not just a beach.

Sorry, but the figure had the first letter of each line cut off.  I think you can read it anyway.  It is important to realize that barrier islands are among the most dynamic of landforms.  Significant changes can happen in years or decades so you have to take that into account when interpreting historical descriptions.  

I've told before about seeing after one of your major storms how close blind creek was to being opened by the erosion. 

The purpose of the article is not to document that evolution of the barrier island.  The purpose was the examine historical resources such as those by Mexia, Dickenson and Brahms and from their descriptions find out where the major Ais settlement was located.  

The article is well worth reading if you are interested in the historical documents related to those early explorations or the location of the native American settlements  during early contact periods.

The article is not easy ready and the browser is not user friendly, but if you are interested, it is worth the effort.

For several reasons it is good to know how the barrier island evolved.  It is a great illustration of how sand moves, and therefore has important implications for where old coins might be found.

Here is the link.

The Florida anthropologist - UF Digital Collections

There is a lot of good information and a lot of hints in that article if you take the time to study it.

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

Looks like a nice high surf on Saturday and Sunday.

The high tides are still high too.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/22/25 Report - Phillip II Commemorative Token. Sensing Magnetic Fields. 16th Century Oddity. Auction Schedule. Tropical Storm.

 

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

1598 Token Commenorating Phillip II.

A very spooky Dutch token from 1598. The skeleton holding an hourglass reminds the viewer of the finite nature of life. It commemorates the passing of King Philip II of Spain - the same king who famously attempted to invade England with the Spanish Armada in 1588, and failed...

Here is that link.

Top 10 Spooky Coins Throughout History: Witchcraft, Skulls, and UFOs

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Some People’s Brains Can Sense Earth’s Magnetic Field

There's a pretty long catalogue of animals that appear to possess magnetoreception, or the ability tSo detect Earth's magnetic fields, including pigeons, dogs, trout, bees, turtles and salamanders.  But researchers have never been able to determine if humans have this hidden superpower as well, despite decades of attempts. A provocative new study, published in the journal eNeuro suggests our brains may indeed detect magnetic fields—at least in some people, though it’s not possible to say if it affects human behavior in any way...

“It’s kind of intriguing to think that we have a sense of which we’re not consciously aware,” Hore, who was not involved in the study, says...

Here is the link for more about that study.

Some People's Brains Can Sense Earth's Magnetic Field—but No, It Doesn't Mean We Have Magnetoreception 'Superpowers'

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What year skipped 11 days and why?  Here is the answer.

People on social media have noticed an odd quirk in the iPhone calendar: if you scroll back to October 1582, you’ll see it jump straight from the 4th to the 15th, skipping ten entire days. It’s not a glitch or a hidden joke from Apple’s developers; those ten days genuinely never existed.

The days weren’t erased from the passage of time using a cosmic cut-and-paste tool. Instead, people in 1582 went to bed on the 4th and woke up on the 15th (not that much of the world would have realized at the time). What Happened in October 1582? As IFLScience explained in 2023, the Catholic church adopted the Gregorian calendar in October 1582. Prior to this, most of Europe had used the Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE. To understand why, we must go back to the 16th century when a major shift occurred in the way we organize days, weeks, months, and years.

And here is the link.

https://spiritdaily.org/blog/theres-a-very-good-reason-why-october-1582-on-your-phone-is-missing-10-days/

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View and Bid on Upcoming Auction! Advanced registration is now open at auction.sedwickcoins.com! Click on Get Approved to Bid to get registered, bookmark interesting lots, and place any advance bids prior to the live online auction. There are over 1,900 lots of rare coins and currency plus shipwreck coins, ingots, and artifacts in this exciting three-day auction - Don't miss it! VIEW & BID ON AUCTION LOTS Auction Schedule Thursday, November 13, 2025 Session I - Gold Cobs & Shipwreck Coins - 9:30 AM EDT Session II - Silver Cobs of Mexico City, Lima, and Potosí - 6:00 PM EDT Friday, November 14, 2025 Session III - World Coins - 9:30 AM EDT Session IV - Medals & Decorations, US Coins, US Paper Money, & World Paper Money - 4:00 PM EDT Session V - Ancient Coins, Coin Jewelry, Shipwreck & Non-Wreck Artifacts - 8:00 PM EDT Saturday, November 15, 2025 Session VI - Express Session - 9:30 AM EDT

===

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Tropical Storm Melissa is wondering around down in the Caribbean and will probably stay there.

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

So it looks like we might get a six-foot surf but that is about it.  

Now the surf is small, but we are still having those nice King high tides.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/21/25 Report - 18th Century Reale Beach Find. Napoleonic Jewel Theft. Innovation Coins. Internet Outage.

 

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

You probably heard about this one.  It is one of those things that reminds you of a movie you've seen.  It reminds me of Gru and the Minions too.

PARIS and LONDON -- Several people disguised as construction workers broke into the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, cracking open display cases and stealing jewelry that once belonged to Emperor Napoleon and his wife, officials said.

At least nine pieces of jewelry of "inestimable heritage and historical value" -- including crowns, necklaces, earrings and brooches -- were taken in the brazen heist before the thieves made their getaway on motorcycles, two ministers said.

"Investigations have begun, and a precise list of the stolen items is underway," the museum said in a statement...

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

Louvre Museum heist: Jewels with 'inestimable' value stolen from Napoleon collection - ABC News

Evidently, one of the crowns was dropped and found left behind.  It is speculated that some of the items might be broken up and sold.  That would be a shame, but events like that sometimes lead to hidden treasures.

Here is another link to that story.

The Louvre Jewel Heist Sounds Like a Bad Movie Plot Made Real

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Treasure hunter's persistence pays off with rare Spanish coin discovery on Nantucket beach.

A mysterious 18th-century coin recently resurfaced on a beach in Nantucket, thanks to one determined metal detectorist.

Hobbyist Travis Nichols found the coin — a 1782 silver Spanish one-reale — at a beach on the south shore of the island, according to an Oct. 9 report by the Nantucket inquirer and Mirror.

Nichols is known in the local community, the publication said, for helping others find jewelry and other metal objects they've lost on Nantucket's beaches...

"This coin came from Mexico City, somehow sailed to New England and then probably took another ship to Nantucket," Nichols said. He mused, "What was it doing on the south shore?"

The spot where the coin was found appears to be promising. Nichols previously found a historic penny there — notably, it was clipped to half its value...

Here is that link.

Treasure hunter's persistence pays off with rare Spanish coin discovery on Nantucket beach

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The United States Mint has unveiled four designs for the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin Program. You'll spot Apple co-founder Steve Jobs pictured on one of those commemorative coins. In the design, a young Jobs wears a turtleneck and sits cross-legged in front of a Northern California landscape of rolling hills and oak trees...

Here is that link.

Steve Jobs and the Cray-1 Supercomputer Will Be on US Dollar Coins - CNET

The Jobs coin will also show the Cray super-computer, created by Seymore Cray, who at the time worked for Control Data Corp., a company I once worked with at the same time back in the 1970s.  

Here is more about Seymore Cray.

CrayWinter1984-1985.pdf

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A major outage has affected 'half the internet', with millions of people left unable to access sites including Snapchart Fortnight and Duolingo, as well as several banking apps.

At 11:35 BST (6:35am ET), Amazon said the underlying issue has been 'fully mitigated', adding that 'most operations are succeeding normally now'.

However, the outage continues to wreak havoc around the globe, with millions of customers still experiencing issues accessing their favorite sites...

Here is the link for more about that.

Half the internet' goes down after Amazon cloud outage leaving millions unable to use Ring, Alexa, and banking apps - as experts say we 'can't rule out a cyberattack' | Daily Mail Online

Maybe you felt this.

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Source: SurfGuru.com.

So we'll have a couple days of small surf before the surf begins to increase again.

You might want to check out some low tide areas.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/20/25 Report - Some Recent Treasure Coast Finds. Part III of How Coins Move and a Test You Can Do.

 

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

Bronze Nail Found by Michael T.

I received the following message and find photos from Mike T.


Good morning Mike T here from Stuart! My wife and I got out for some hunting Friday and found a few good spots where sand had been stripped.

 
Not a lot of targets but a few good ones.

The waves were still very powerful so it was hard to get low on the beaches.

 
I was really excited to see the bronze square nail come up as I haven’t found one in a long time. It is especially cool due to the shape!

 
The other item of interest was coin shaped but as you can see from one of the photos it appears to have some rust on it so I was skeptical.  I decided to put it in some electrolysis this morning and lo and behold it’s a Mercury dime! This came from the bottom of a big horseshoe cut and was only 1 of 2 targets I dug there.

Just wanted to share. It’s good to see some sand moving these days. We are excited for the winter season and some good hunting!

By the way, I saw that you recently started using a mini lab Manticore. I’ve been using one now for about a year and I love it. It definitely took some getting used to even from my Equinox 900 but what a powerful tool it is!

Michael T.'s Finds.

Thanks for sharing Micheal.  Always nice to find some old things.  

There are times when you might not find a lot, but you find something good.  I can recommend a few days when I covered a lot of beach without a target before finally hitting a reale or two and absolutely  nothing else.  The old targets and more recent targets can be in separate layers and also farther separated by the movement of sand.  The top layer can be washed away, along with modern targets, while the older targets remain.

---

 

Part III.  How coins move on a beach.

So far I've talked about sand a lot.  On a beach you can't talk about coins moving without talking about how the sand moves.  In some cases, such as when water undercuts a dune cliff, it is the movement of sand that causes the movement of the coin, which will slide down the cliff face as the sand is eroded out from below.  The same kind of thing happens when a cut is further eroded.  I've seen coins slide down the face of a dune, and I've seen coins fall out of an eroding cut.

Furthermore, if coins are covered by sand and protected from the force of water, the coins will tend to remain stationary.  In that case, the sand must be moved before the coins will be moved.  

It might help to look at a beach as consisting of several zones.  Starting at the top, we have the dunes, which on the east coast receive a predominant east wind that, on net, blows the sand up the slope, onto and over the dunes, causing dunes to migrate to the west.    

Below the dunes you will often see a flat beach between the slope and the dune face.  On other beaches the beach will be narrower, and the slope will end at or close to the dune fact.  You'll see those two types of beaches on the Treasure Coast.  John Brooks, for example is the second type.  There is not s cut dune face there.  The beach slope is normally well out in front of the dunes.

Then there is the slope, which can vary in steepness.  Higher wave energy beaches are steeper and are composed of larger grains of sand or pebbles than more gently sloping beaches.  

Sticking with the beach, the water washes in and then out again.  Depending upon the wave period, the returning water will clash with the incoming water from the next wave.  When the water is high, the water can bounce off the dune cliff, which makes the water running down the slope much faster, but when that is the case, you also have a lot of incoming water.  That is all simple enough, but there is more to it.  One other factor is the wind.

If the wind is strongly blowing from the north or south, the waves washing up and down the beach, the water will be blown along the surface in the direction of the wind.  On a strong north wind, for example, you'll see the water not moving just in and out, but also to the south.  You'll see the water nearest the waterline running south, and the water just a little farther up the beach, making an arc along the lower slope.  You'll get that slicing action, that can erode and wash the sand and other things towards the south on its way back into the south running current.

If you've ever stood in front of a cut or dune digging newly eroded coins and failed to get the coin on the first scoop and tried to find it again in the rushing water, you not find it again right away.  Coins like that can be moved a good distance.  Not only can the water bouncing off a cut wash a coin down the slope, but it might also wash the coin north or south as well.  

It is worth doing the test for yourself.  Stand in the rushing water and drop a coin, then try to find it with your metal detector.  You might be able to track it.  You will see how far the coin moved down the slope and how far it moved either to the north or south.  That is good information.  And it is another good reason to carry a test coin.

It might not be easy if you are not comfortable detecting in rushing water.

I frequently do that test when working in rushing water.  You can find the coin once, and then let it go and try to find it again after another rush of water.   Not only is it a good test to show you how the coins are being moved, but the knowledge might come in very handy if you miss or unintentionally drop a dug coin and have to try to find it again.  You'll have a good idea how far and which direction the coin is likely to go.  I highly recommend trying the experiment for yourself every once in a while. 

There have also been a times when I couldn't find the coin again after the next rush of water.  It is another good reason to carry a spare test coin or two.

I'll end there for today, and continue with Part IV in the future.

--- 

Source: SurfGuru.com.

Sunday there were some really high King tides.

Monday the surf should be decreasing a little.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/18/25 Report - Two Recent Mystery Objects and Another Recent Find. Lab Grown Versus Mined Diamonds: Morality and Values.

 

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

Finds from Several Days Ago.

It must have been nearly a week ago now that I went metal detecting and found the items shown above.  I showed them in a previous post.  At that time there were a couple items I need to research.  I found out the little ring is 14K.

It is a signet ring that I thought might have some light engraving on it.  After looking at it with magnification, I could see that the marks were just scratches.

Scratched Signet Ring Find.

The other item I wanted to look at better, I haven't figured out yet.  It is a highly corroded piece of metal about the size of a four reale.  You can see it at the bottom right of the find photo at the top of this post. Below is the surface under magnification.

Surface of Mystery Find.

I've tried some gentle cleaning methods, which had no significant effect.  I also tried to scratch through the surface on a small spot on the edge.  It is silverish, but I didn't want to damage it enough to get a good test.  I might resort to that eventually.  It is not magnetic at all.  The entire surface is so corroded that I suspect I'll have to do something harsher than I'd prefer to do.

Two Finds.

View of Edge of Mystery Object.

To compare that with a couple heavily corroded known half reales, here are closeups of the half reales.

Two Heavily Corroded Half Reales.

The bottom line is that I'm not sure yet.  Still more testing to do.  Most of all I have a hard time imagining that the first beach item I dug with a Manticore was a reale.  Then on the other hand one of the first items I dug on the way home from picking up a new Sovereign was a gold crucifix found north of Ambersands.  For now, I'm a doubter.  I'm expecting a piece of junk.

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Here is another mystery object.

Mystery Object Submitted by Mark G.

Here is what Mark said about this mystery object.

I did not dig it it’s more of some stuff from my dads collection of coins and stuff. It’s not a ring it has a hook on the inside diameter and looks like something was soldered on the outside on the half with the slots. It has a hinge and a clasp the slotted half maybe a little bent out of round. Most likely brass.

Mark said it is about the size of a finger ring.

I'm pretty sure I have an item like that around somewhere, but the color is different and the one I have is smaller - more the size of an earring.  It is a silverish color.  My best guess on it was earring, but I never really figured it out.  The one Mark is showing seems to have a bit of a stud if that is what it is.  I don't know. 

Anyone have any ideas on what Mark's object is.

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If you decided to sell any of your gold jewelry, you might find that many shops won't pay anything for diamonds unless they are something very exceptional.  Most jewelry or pawn stores seem to have tons of diamonds and they are not selling.  Many buyers are now choosing lab grown diamonds, which are cheaper than real diamonds have been in the past.  The poplarity of lab grown diamonds is decreasing prices on most real diamonds..  It's the old supply and demand thing, but it can be discouraging if you were thinking of trading in a diamond ring for big money.  One St. Lucie store advertises that they don't buy your jewelry for scrap, but they pay jewelry prices.  From what I've seen, that isn't true.  They want to pay you maybe 80% the melt value for your jewelry unless it is a signed piece or something very special.  And they won't pay anything for most of the pretty stones or diamonds.

Below is part of an article on the issues involved with lab diamonds.

Lab grown diamonds or 'man-made miracles' according to their glossy marketing, have exploded in popularity in recent years, fueled by celebrities, influencers, and a wave of advertising telling us they're greener, fairer, and smarter than the real thing. 

Meghan Markle, Emma Watson and even Lady Gaga have been spotted wearing them. 

The pitch is simple: why spend on the 'old-fashioned' mined version when you can have an identical sparkle without the ethical baggage or the larger price tag.

But let me, as someone who's spent a career valuing everything from Victorian jewelry to vinyl-capes on Star Wars figurines, cut through the glittering spin: lab grown diamonds are not the guilt-free gems they've been sold as. 

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

What you need to know before you buy a lab grown diamond: Industry expert's verdict on the 'ethical' gems popular with stars like Meghan Markle | This is Money

The author suggests that lab diamonds aren't as morally clean as you might think.  They involve the use of dirty energy and unfair labor practices.  Furthermore, who knows what will happen with the popularity and values of lab grown and natural diamonds.  Basically, the lab grown diamonds are cheaper than mined diamonds have been, and some people do believe they are a morally better option.

Come to think of it, it isn't uncommon for treasures to come from histories that involve some of man's most deplorable acts. 

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I plan to do Part III of my How Coins Move on a Beach series soon.

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Source: SurfGuru.com.

We are still having some rough surf.  It will be a touch bigger tomorrow before slacking off.

The King tides are still nice and high too.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net