8/14/26 Report - Very Old Octagonal Ring Found. WWII History and Educational Technology and How It Applies to Metal Detecting.

 

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

Dug Eight-Sided Roman Ring.

An Archaeologist was digging through a drainage ditch and found a 1,600-year-old Roman ring

Here is that link.

Rare eight-sided ancient Roman ring discovered in UK drainage ditch after 1,600 years | Fox News

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When a story like this one appears online, you can usually find the same story in several places.  This one can also be found in Popular Mechanics, NewsBreak, and the History Blog, to give some examples.  There are undoubtedly more.

The thing about that is that various publications will often include different details.  One of the sources I read, said the ring was bronze, while most others referred to it as copper alloy.  Yes, bronze is a copper alloy, but it is more specific.  Sometimes one source or another will provide a unique detail left out of the others.  Sometimes you can find contradictions.  

I believe I've found a couple octagonal rings, but right now I can't say where they are, I doubt I could find them quickly if I tried.  That is a common disappointment - to know that you have an item somewhere but not know where to find it.  I guess I really wouldn't care that much, because I know where the really good stuff is, and I might not care much about some of the other stuff if I didn't want to use it as an example in my blog.  I do know, however, that an item can be overlooked for years as something not very interesting before learning something that I need to check out more thoroughly at a later time.  That can result in dismissing something that is really very interesting before it as recognized for what it is.  

I also found a square ring before, which I initially mistook for a washer or something and put it away until sometime later when I noticed when it was silver and even had a small stone.

Things like this octagonal ring can be misleading. Simple shapes without much detail can easily be misleading.  I'd wonder, at least momentarily, if it might not be a finger ring.  From what you can see, it could be something more utilitarian like maybe a spacer or gasket type of thing.  I found that one article (not the first that I read) mentioned the ring showed faint symbols of the zodiac on it.  I guess those features might suggest something other than a purely utilitarian item but still wouldn't necessarily prove it to be a finger ring.  My mind goes to a possible connection between the shape and number of signs and the zodiac or constellations, but I'd want to do more research on a decent connection there that is consistent with other details related to the find.  

The inside of the ring looks rough and not very round, but that might be the result of corrosion or maybe it was crudely made.  You can't tell that from the photo.

There are other similar items in the PAS database listed as Roman finger rings.  This one is classified as a Henig Type IX.

Henig’s classification system groups Roman rings by shank and bezel form, with sub‑types for variations. Type IX is one of the main Roman period types (I–XIII) and is characterized by a polygonal profile - usually having 6, 7. or 8 facets, and typically dates to between 200 and 400 A.D.  Some of them are gold or silver.

One article described the ring as very "tactile," and other sources indicate it is on the bulky side.  I'm not sure if those adjectives are referring to the same quality or something slightly different.  Bulky seems to refer mostly to size, or bulk, while tactile might have as much to do with the shape.  From the articles that much isn't clear.

If you wonder why a ring would be octagonal rather than round like most bands, could it be the aesthetics of the designer or wearer, or might there be more to it.  The octagon could have symbolic, religious or mythical meanings. In religion it is often associated with resurrection or the spirit/body connection while in the Roman world having associations with stability or comfort.  Again, though, it could simply be the result of the available tools and materials or aesthetics. More detail on any symbols might help.

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My first two college degrees were in psychology, so I look at a lot of things, including many of those having to do with metal detecting, through a human information processing lens.  My Master's level education in Clinical Psychology was unusual for its emphasis on information theory.  I'm glad about that.  It ended up helping me and being used in ways I never would have anticipated throughout my consulting and teaching career.  You may have noticed how many times I take that view or approach in this blog.

In my consulting career I always liked and appreciated the management level people coming from a World War II background.  They didn't sweat the small stuff.  A flight maintenance manager at Federal Express once took me aside and told me he didn't care if I sat in an office all day and played the violin if I occasionally gave him great ideas.  I spent a few months commuting from Fort Lauderdale area to Memphis every other week or so on a consulting basis but didn't want to take a job there because at that time I was heavy really heavy into metal detecting and there was no way I was going to leave the beach.

I just read an article on World War II educational technology and training methods.  Probably the greatest training effort of history, they trained thousands of thousands of men for a wide variety of jobs extremely efficiently.  They could make a person functionally literate in a rare language, like maybe Inuktitut, in 144 hours.  Their training methods were highly effective.  The ingenuity and efficiency is inspiring.  It puts our modern educational efforts to shame.  It was training (as distinct from education - whatever educational philosophy you might use), and the goal was to train to competency as quickly as possible. 

We can actually use many of the same principles and techniques to increase our effectiveness as detectorists.  I'll give you an example of one training technique and then show it applies to metal detecting.

They trained personnel many to quickly identify different types of aircraft at a glance.  The WEFT (wings, engine, fuselage, tail) method involved identifying planes by looking at individual parts, but that was replaced by a right-brain Gestalt (seeing the whole) process that employed technologies such as the T-scope.  Here is a quick esample.

The efficacy of tachistoscopic training dates back to research during the WWII era when the military was investigating training protocols to improve combat readiness. One study involved training pilots to better recognize enemy aircraft. Renshaw used tachistoscopic training to teach U.S. Navy pilots how to quickly and accurately recognize airplanes. 

In 1945, Renshaw used tachistoscopic training to demonstrate an increased functional visual proficiency in perceiving forms, sizes, positions and distances. He summarized that; “Tachistoscopic training with digit patterns produces marked increase in reading comprehension and speed, measured by standardized tests. It enlarges form fields, in the vertical as well as horizontal meridians, and assists in the reduction of myopia. Used in Naval Aviation, the method has made a useful contribution to the more accurate and speed...

A T-scope flashes various forms of content very quickly on a visual field.  The speed can be altered.  The information can be presented so fast that you don't know if you saw it or not.  But with training, you can learn to take in more information more quickly.

Research has demonstrated that tachistoscopic training can increase the size of the peripheral field of view and reading speed. This ophthalmological study gave evidence that tachistoscopic training has the potential to teach individuals to process increased visual information more rapidly, and at the same time be more aware of a larger volume of visual space during a single glance.

This research can be interpreted as a reason to apply tachistoscopic training to marksmen so that they can more rapidly and accurately locate targets and counteract the above mentioned ‘tunnel vision’ that can occur during combat or stressful situations. Although not directly related to tachistoscopic training, other research studies support the concept that enhancement of visual skills can have a positive effect in military related performances. For example, training mental imagery has proven to enhance marksmanship scores. And another study conclusively links gains in visual function and pistol shooting performance following a three-month visual training program...

Here is the link to read more about that.

C:\safe\archive\sally\jbo\jbovol14\godnig14-2.vp

I can't get into the many interesting and helpful processes, but there is right-brain and left-brain processing.  The left-brain processes information more analytically or part by part sequentially, while the right brain is more a visual field or Gestalt parallel processor.  

I know I'm not explaining this all but the point is that you can process more information more quickly.  Think about speed reading for example.  But on the beach, you can look at the beach feature by feature.  You might look for a cut, notice how high it is, its shape, and length.  You might then look at the type of sand or shells, and then the direction of the water.  You can look at all the parts piece by piece and analyze the situation, or you can look at the beach and in a more right-brain Gestalt way, instantly get a grasp of what is going on.  Sometimes people describe that as feel or intuition.  But the process can be developed with experience or training.  A beginner will likely look for one thing or another, like with the WEFT method of identifying aircraft. With experience, the detectorist will begin to see things in a more wholistic manner.  He will begin to process more information more quickly.  He doesn't have to think through every step or add up every separate observation.  

I have to wind this up now.

This topic, even though I didn't take time to make it real clear, goes right along with the local viewing process.  Though not fast, it is about right brain processing.

I wanted to post a picture of a WWII pocket handbook for identifying aircraft, but it isn't where I thought it was, so maybe I'll do that some other time.  Taking time to organize is one thing I haven't learned to do well.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Not much new there.  The surf will still be down around one or two feet all week.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/13/26 Report - One Ton Clump of Coins Found. Gold Rainbow Coins Metal Detected. Passing of Colonial Newsletter.

 

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

The clump shown above is actually a cache of coins stuck together by corrosion.  It was discovered by two detectorists.  It looks like it was deep but would give off a good signal. The prior with dirt and coins weighed over a ton.  The clump was removed and each coin separated.  Over 69,000 coins was in the clump and each coin was removed one at a time.

Same Clump of Coins with Dirt Removed.

Above is the clump after most of the dirt was removed, but before the clump was disassembled.

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

Digs & Discoveries - Ka-Ching! - Archaeology Magazine - July/August 2017

The article provides some interesting notes on how the coins were cleaned.

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Gold Celtic Rainbow Cup Coins.

These coins, referred to as rainbow cups, were found by a detectorist. 

They are actually Celtic coins but received the name of "rainbow cup" coins in the 19th century.

The lore around rainbow cups is that they fell from the sky, and as such were considered to be lucky charms and healing objects. They date to between 125 and 30 BC.

These are concave and bear no other marks, but I've seen some online that do appear to have markings. 

Here is the link for an article about rainbow cup coins.

Rare Hoard of 2000-year-old Curved Celtic Gold Coins Found in Germany | Ancient Origins

You'll find other articles on rainbow cup coins found by detectorists.

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Several days ago, I posted an article from the Colonial Newsletter.  Last night I found that they are making changes.  The Colonial Newsletter ceased publication.  The new journal will be the Journal of Early American Numismatics, which is not free like the Colonial Newsletter was so unless you are willing to pay for a subscription or can find it through a student or library subscription, you just lost a good resource.  Hopefully the old newsletter issues will remain available online for a while. 

Here is a link to the article about the Newsletter's passing.

‘The Colonial Newsletter’ ceasing publication, to be reborn as new journal

And the next link will take you to a list of articles in the now deceased Colonial Newsletter.  You might want to access any articles of interest before they all disappear.

C4N-Index-Author-Winter-2025.pdf

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Yesterday I introduced what I called a "local viewing."  I could have written a lot more about engaging with coins in that way but decided it was something that I'd leave to those who are interested to investigate farther for themselves, but I also recommend meditating on detecting sites.  If you are the type of person to try it, and are willing to really chance it a chance, you might be surprised by the results. 

The human brain is naturally wired to search for danger.  It is also wired to validate existing beliefs. That creates predictable loops, which is something detectorists as well as the general public has to deal with. At times, you will want to break those loops and habits. 

The brain registers and dwells on negative stimuli much faster than positive ones.

 Habitual negative thinking physically carves out pathways in your brain over time.

You cannot easily erase an old mental habit, but you can consciously choose to replace it.

That is something else I'll leave for those of you who are interested to investigate on your own.

---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

So Cristobal has moved far away from the U.S., while two other areas of possible development head in our direction.  Those areas are not expected at this time to affect the continental U.S.  I checked the ECMWF projections on windyty.com.  

Below is Wabasso Thursday morning.  Very quiet.

Wabasso Thursday Morning from the Wabasso Live Beach Cam.

The surf predictions show 0 - 1 foot all week.

The high tides are over three feet and the low tide will be slightly negative.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/12/26 Report - Big Brother Video Cameras. Hydrogen Fueled Cars. Exploring Finds with Local Viewing Procedure.

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

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

The peak of hurricane season is near and things are picking up.  Still, the ECMWF model doesn't show anything that will threaten the U.S. East Coast for the next week or two.  Of course, things could change.

If you are one of those people that plans a metal detecting trip to the Treasure Coast in advance, you might want to check windyty.com for long summer storm forecasts.  You can check the winds and changes in storm formation.

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Till now electric vehicles have been seen as the future of sustainable transportation but the recent developments in hydrogen fuel cell technology has led to new possibilities of what the future of green transportation holds. Recently a newcomer in the automobile industry named NamX has announced its innovative hydrogen-powered car, NamX Hydrogen Utility Vehicle (HUV). The car utilizes removable hydrogen cartridges as its fuel source.

The most impressive thing about this car is the fact that it actually refuels in just 5 seconds and boasts an impressive range of 1,500km (approximately 932 miles)...

Here is that link.

Hydrogen Car Achieves 1,500 km Range with 5-Second Refuel Time - Vehiclesuggest

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You probably knew that Big Brother is keeping an eye on you.  Here is an article about the many cameras that read your license plate number and stores that data for 30 days.

Flock Safety, a surveillance equipment company, says it partners with more than 5,000 law enforcement agency partners across 6,000 communities. Is your city one of them?

The Flock cameras are solar-powered license plate readers that collect data as they record. Agencies that partner with Flock can then search the database for license plate numbers, car make and models, or identifying features like bumper stickers.
Proponents argue the cameras help law enforcement solve crimes, but critics say they data could be misused to track anyone, even those not accused of crimes, with little oversight...

Here is the link for that article.

Flock camera map: How many are in your neighborhood?

And here is a link that you can use to check where the cameras are in your neighborhood.

https://maps.deflock.org/

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I've been struggling with the next topic and that is why my post is late.  It isn't that I couldn't think of anything to say.  Quite the contrary.  My problem was avoiding going off on to many related topics that that I find very interesting.  The post could have been a hundred pages long.  I had to delete a lot that I wrote, otherwise the post would have been on philosophy, psychology, physiology, epistemology, scientific method, pop culture and more.  Anyhow, here goes....

People often look at a new find and say something like "If only it could talk." When a find looks old or interesting, it is natural to want to know it's story. but too often we don't really make the effort.  An item often speaks a lot and very clearly, but it depends upon you understanding what it is saying.  That demands a lot of you.  You have to be somewhat informed.  You'll probably have to do some research to understand the clues.  You already know a lot about the processes of observation, documenting, and researching, but I'm going to suggest something a little different today. 

If you want an item to speak to you, you have to take time to listen. I've talked before about remote viewing, and that turned out to be a surprsingly popular topic.  Today I'll propose something that I'll call local viewing.  

Only some people seem to be successful at remote viewing. It doesn't seem to come naturally for most folks, and even those that appear to do it well benefit from training.

People are different.  They have different strengths and weaknesses.  On the whole, that is probably good. 

Remote viewing requires certain characteristics, and I think the same thing is true for what I'm suggesting today.

The first step is being quiet.  I don't mean just sitting still and not talking for a couple seconds.  I'm talking about inner quiet.  You might think of meditation as being similar.

Most people are not interested in meditation these days, and it is very uncommon for modern man to be inwardly quiet.  It seems that even when we are not actively seeking, we are pumped some source of chatter or noise into our brains.  Inner peace and quiet is rare.

Back in the 60s and 70s meditation became popular for a short while, but it was quickly replaced by more materialistic forms of mental transformation, and we got the disastrous drug epidemic.  I have to really restrain myself here to avoid going off into any of several rants.

What I'm recommending today is simply quieting the mind and sitting with the object in view and relaxing body and mind.  I know that only some of you will be able to comfortably do this.

Depending upon your philosophical perspective, you might view this as either a matter of intuition, insight or imagination.  In either case, it can still be beneficial, if you can do it at all.

The intent is not to put too much of yourself into the object, but to let it speak.  That is what objectivity is about.  Letting the data, or in this case, object, speak.  (I think you can probably see here how I could go off on a variety of different essays.).

If you take the time to regard the object passively for a while, you are likely to have some new insights, or questions, or hypotheses.  They can all be tested later.  But don't hurry that.  Take more time than you think is necessary, but try not to force anything.

The first thing you will encounter is yourself.  Who you are will determine a lot about how you interpret an artifact.  Some people will see a coin as an item of economic value.  Others might see the same coin as personal accomplishment, a goal achieved, or art, history, culture, power, or something else.  The goal of the process I'm trying to describe is to put yourself aside to some extent for a brief period of time so you can consider the object more objectively.

There are a lot of proven benefits to deep relaxation, whether it is achieved through meditation or more modern scientific techniques such deep muscle relaxation or biofeedback.  Deep relaxation will help you encounter objects in a more objective manner.

The same procedure can have benefits in the field too. It might help you become more open and aware of the environment.  You might find that it enhances you intuition.

This procedure, which I've called local viewing, is something you might try if you are so inclined.  A few people will probably take to the procedure, and many others will find it impossible or even silly.  Nothing wrong with that in either case.

---

For the time being the surf remains small and there is no tropical weather threatening our area.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/11/26 Report - Exceptional Survey of a Large Sample of Colonial Era Metal Detector Coin Finds. Atlantic Tropical Activity Increasing.

 

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

A Small Sample of the Coins Surveyed in the Article Referred to Below.
Source of image: See the Wayne-Shelby-Survey Link Below.

In my previous post, I posted a great article about how some detectorists found what appeared to be an old post hole bank.  I didn't take time to comment on the article a lot, but there were a lot of good tips in that article.  

For one thing, maybe you noticed that the finds were made in steps over a number of hunts.  First they found shallow coins in a relatively small area on multiple hunts.  At that point, there was little to suggest a cache.  

Many times I've talked about returning to a site that provides promise and detecting it over and over.  I   even described what I call an Intensive Multiple Step Search procedure (The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 7/22/14 Report - Tropical Depression Two Moving West & How To Conduct An Intensive Step Search).  That is very close to what the detectorists in that article although not exactly.  For example, they didn't use different types of detectors on different outings. That is something that is often advisable.

Maybe you noticed that the detectorists didn't discover the cache until after a number of hunts.  The scattered near surface coins were first.

Then when they discovered the first coins of the cache, there were still multiple hunts and layers.  After the first group they went back and found there were more coins deeper.  And then they dug the hole wider and deeper until they were down about six feet.  There were definitely stages the discovery.

I generally don't post articles to simply show that somebody found something.  There are usually a number of tips of lessons.  In this case, the detectorists used the lack of bricks, iron, and other items, and wondered why so many coins were scattered out in the middle of an open farm field where there was no evidence of a building or structures.  

When you read of finds, see what other lessons you can find in the article. In this case, the article presented some very interested questions and showed the line of thought used in attempting to answer those questions.

But there is even more.  The detectorists kept detailed records and analyzed coins found at a variety of sites in New Jersey.  That included 90 different sites and 1,079 coins divided by type, date, country of origin and/or ruler. There were also 185 coins that were so deteriorated from their years in the ground that specific attribution was impossible.

Below is just one little excerpt from the many pages of the article.

Of the many coins in the survey, 117 were Spanish American, and the vast majority of them being from the Mexico mint.  They were almost 1/2, 1, and 2 reales with each denomination being represented by a similar number.

Of the 305 English coins found and included in the survey, around 200, came from that one post hole cache, so that probably skewed the numbers considerably.

There is really a lot of interesting information in this paper, and I'd highly recommend at least browsing it.  As the table indicates, a good number of the finds were Spanish American.

The survey also reported on holed, cut and counterfeit coins.

The site is a great resource.  It illustrates a lot of things I've often recommended such as keeping detailed records and analyzing finds.  The articles are free to the public and the value of metal detecting as an archaeological and numismatic tool is demonstrated.  I really appreciate the web site.

So that is another of the quality resources of introduced to you in recent days.  One other was ArchaeologyInk, which also was also an open access free resource.

Here is the link.

Wayne-Shelby-Survey.pdf

Take a look.  I'm sure you'll find it interesting.  It is nice to see metal detector finds recorded and analyzed as a valuable source of archaeological and numismatic data.

Coincidentally, the predominant denomination and mint of the Spanish coinage appearing in this survey is coincidentally very much like what I've seen from some of our 1715 Fleet beaches - mostly low denomination and Mexico minted coins.

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There has been some recent activity in the Atlantic.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

As you can see there are three areas of development.  The northern most is going away from the U.S., but the southern areas show some promise of additional development.  However, the ECMWF model at this points suggests that whatever develops there will turn north and also stay far away from the U.S.

Image Showing Projected position of cyclone on Aug. 18 as Derived from the ECMWF Model.
Source: Windyty.com.

Still, the Treasure Coast is expected to see a very small surf for the next week.

Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com.

That is really a flat surf.  I don't think I've seen such a flat chart before.

There will also be a negative afternoon low tide, so shallow water hunting should be very easy.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/9/26 Report - Detectorists Discover 18th Century Post Hole Bank. Why Only Some Profit from Numismatics. Tropics Stirring.

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

Source: See link below

I found a truly exceptional article about how what appeared to be a post hole bank filled with hundreds of 18th century coins was discovered by detectorists, documented and analyzed.  You seldom find such a good article.

The hoard was found in a plowed farm field that showed no signs of a previous structure existing in the area produced a number of shallow coins in one small area, but that was only the beginning. 

Below I'll give you a few excerpts from the article and give you to the link so you can read the entire article.

It was on this day that Winzinger, upon getting a deep but faint signal on his metal detector, dug down one foot before reaching and recovering the cause of the signal - another colonial halfpenny. It is always wise to “recheck” a productive “dug hole” and when swinging his metal detector over the hole once more Winzinger realized there was a stronger signal coming from even deeper in the hole. To his surprise the deeper Winzinger dug the more coins he started to recover, some of which he was able to pull out in handfuls. All in all, Winzinger dug the hole down to a depth of three feet before he felt the entire hoard of coins had been recovered...

They returned to the site and made an amazing discovery (Figure 3). It was on this day that Winzinger, upon getting a deep but faint signal on his metal detector, dug down one foot before reaching and recovering the cause of the signal - another colonial halfpenny. It is always wise to “recheck” a productive “dug hole” and when swinging his metal detector over the hole once more Winzinger realized there was a stronger signal coming from even deeper in the hole. To his surprise the deeper Winzinger dug the more coins he started to recover, some of which he was able to pull out in handfuls. All in all, Winzinger dug the hole down to a depth of three feet before he felt the entire hoard of coins had been recovered... 

DECEMBER 30: Thinking the hoard overview was completed, Shelby received a surprise call from Winzinger concerning how he and Cook had revisited the hoard site to re-dig the original hole wider and deeper. Armed with a post-hole digger and shovel they dug down to where they had stopped in their previous excavation. At that point Winzinger received some solid signals from his metal detector indicating more targets were deeper in the hole. Once again and as if in a dream, Henry was scooping out handfuls of English halfpennies. When this coin-well finally ran dry it was estimated that the hole was now down between 5 and 6 feet deep, as well as widened to 3 feet within the lower 2-foot portion to ensure that the entire hoard had been recovered. All in all, an additional seventy-three coppers were discovered through this re-digging process...

The hoard of British halfpence found in a New Jersey field were metal detected in two groups. 281 coins, referred to as the “cache coins,” were ultimately recovered from a single hole which was between 2 to 3 feet in diameter and extended down nearly 6 feet in depth. A second group of 36 halfpence, referred to as the “field coins,” were found individually scattered in the surrounding field at detectable depths up to 10 inches deep. All of the coins were British halfpence... 

The article provides some good hints on metal detecting and concludes with a discussion of the analysis of the coins and the whys and hows of the hoard.

Here is the link.

Shelby_Moore_Knight_Spring2022.pdf

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As Bill purchased collections from customers over the years, he would ask them two questions.  First, he wanted to know if they were selling at an overall profit or at a loss. Second, he asked how long they had been a coin or currency collector.

The results almost completely split into two directions. He said that some people had begun “investing” in coins strictly for potential financial gains, and didn’t have an interest in becoming a numismatist. Of these sellers, Bill told me that 90 percent of them sold at a loss.

In contrast, those who had begun even as casual collectors out of change that passed through their hands, but had become interested enough to study numismatics for at least five years, sold at a profit about 90 percent of the time....

With respect to numismatics, it is usually true that what you earn depends on what you learn...

Here is the link.

What You Earn Depends on What You Learn - Numismatic News

That is a good lesson that I'm sure applies to a lot more than numismatics.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov

So there is finally a little something to watch on the tropical map.  They show the possibility of development.  There has been very little tropical weather to watch this summer.

In recent years are most productive beach metal detecting has been in the Fall and Winter.  October and November have been pretty good, but some cobs were found last December and a few later in the winter.

As I've said many times we don't need a hurricane some nice storms can work nicely.

But at this point the surf is still small.  Look at this.  

Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com.

That is still very small.  

We've been getting some rain on beaches.

We're have some slightly negative low tides too.

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Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/8/26 Report - Jensen and Sewall's Point Areas: Treasure Spots and Finds. Pirate Don Pedro Gilbert. Probing.

 

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

You've undoubtedly heard of Gilbert's Bar, but did you know it was named for Don Pedro Gilbert, a pirate, sometimes referred to as the last pirate of the Atlantic.   His ship, the Panda, was capable of sailing deep water but also managing shallow waters, which would make it perfect for pulling into shallow inlets and hiding in shallow waterways.  There is a picture of the ship below.

On the Treasure Coast we focus a lot on the 1715 Fleet, but there are a lot of other shipwrecks and treasures besides that.  The Jensen and Sewall's Point area, for example, has a lot of history but has been very much neglected in the treasure lore.  I'm amazed that one of Frank Hudson's books lists 133 Florida treasure shipwrecks but completely skips the area between Jupiter and Fort Pierce.  Bit another of his books (Buried Treasures of Florida's East Coast) does list a number of treasure treasure spots in the same area though. 

Don Pedro Gilbert, born Pedro Gilbert, was born around the year 1800 in Catalonia, Spain. He first worked as a privateer for the government of Colombia. A privateer was a “pirate with papers,” for governments authorized privateers to rob the merchant ships of rival nations. Privateering was already a lucrative job, yet privateers often made extra money robbing vessels they were not authorized to target, which moved them into piracy. Gilbert became a pirate once he started raiding American merchant ships off the coast of Florida...  His ship, the Panda, was painted black with a white streak down the middle, and Gilbert would regularly wait with his crew in coves for the chance to lure a merchant ship with a fabricated distress call. The Panda could sail in shallow waters as well as the deep, but the merchant ships responding to Gilbert’s signal for help would often crash in the shallow water.  (Source: Don Pedro Gilbert – The West End Museum)

a

Gilbert and his crew robbed an American ship, the Mexican, in the Bahama Straits while she was headed from Salem to South America with 10 boxes, each holding $2000 in silver along with other goods.  The crew of the Mexican was locked below deck and expected to go down with the ship, which was to be set fire and blown up, however haste caused by sight of another ship resulted in a botched job that allowed the crew of the Mexican to escape and prevent the destruction of their ship.  The Panda sailed to Africa and sought refuge with a black slaver before being caught by the British and extradited to Boston for trial.  Gilbert and many of his crew were executed in 1835.  The trial proceedings are documented.  Here is an excerpt.

While at Prince’s Island, Capt.  Gilbert bought a magnificent dressing case worth nearly a thousand dollars and a patent lever watch, and a quantity of tobacco, and provisions, and two valuable cloth coats, some Guinea cloth and black and green paint.  The paint, cloth and coats were intended as presents for the African king at Cape Lopez.  These articles were all bought with the money taken from the Mexican.  After arriving at the Nazareth, $4000 were taken from the trunk, and buried in the yard of a negro prince.  Four of the pirates then went to Cape Lopez for $11,000, which had been buried there.  Boyga, Castillo, Guzman, and the “State’s Evidence,” Ferez, were the ones who went.  Ferez took the bags out, and the others counted the money; great haste was made as the mosquitoes were biting intolerably. $5000 were buried for the captain in canvas bags about two feet deep, part of the money was carried to Nazareth, and from there carried into the mountains and there buried.  A consultation was held by Capt.  Gilbert, De Soto, and Ruiz, and the latter said, if the money was not divided, “there would be the devil to pay.”  The money was now divided in a dark room and a lantern used; Capt.  Gilbert sat on the floor with the money at his side.  He gave the mate about $3000, and the other officers $1000, each; and the crew from $300 to $500, each.  The third mate having fled, the captain sent him $1000, and Ruiz carried it to him.  When the money was first taken from the Mexican, it was spread out on the companion way and examined to see if there was any gold amongst it; and then put into bags made of dark coarse linen; the boxes were then thrown overboard.  After the division of the money the pirates secreted themselves in the woods behind Cape Lopez.  Perez and four others procured a boat and started for Fernando Po; they put their money in the bottom of the boat for ballast, but was thrown overboard, near a rock and afterwards recovered by divers; this was done to prevent detection.  The captain, mate, and carpenter had a conversation respecting the attempt of the latter, to blow her up, who could not account for the circumstance, that an explosion had not taken place; they told him he ought to have burst a barrel of powder over the deck and down the stairs to the magazine, loaded a gun, tied a fish line to the lock and pulled it when he came off in the canoe.  (Source: The Pirates Own Book eBook)

Here is another link for the court proceedings.

Trial of the Twelve Spanish Pirates of the Schooner Panda, a Guinea Slaver - Google Books

I've read several times about it largely being a myth that pirates buried their treasures, but the above is evidence that it did happen.

But back to the Treasure Coast and the treasures of the Jensen and Sewells Point areas.  Here are some of the signs of treasure and finds made in the area that I know of besides those you'll find listed in Frank Hudson's book on Florida's buried treasures.

A cannon ball was found by a lady in her garden in the Jensen area.

A small hand cannon was found in a yard on Sailfish Point.

Ruins in the Jensen area found by a 19th century survey team believed to be a pirate's hangout.

The "bleach yard" mentioned on old maps.

A musket barrel at Indian Riverside Park.

There was once a TV show that I've seen a few times that shows Brent and Jonah and another fellow or two magging for a wreck off Jensen Beach. At the end there was a find. If I remember that one correctly, it was a sword hilt.

Then there are the middens at Mount Elizabeth and Mount Pisgah, and the remnants of a coquina building thought to be a pirate hangout (probably the same as the above).

There was a novel written by a local author who conducted a lot of research and had maps and documentation of tunnels and gold at Sewall's Point.

There is also the story about a motel worker and maintenance man at an old motel that no longer exists that was located just north of the current Jensen Beach park who found a box or barrel of gold after a storm.

All that said, it is a very historic area with a lot of treasure lore.

Here is a little additional history of Sewell's Point.

http://sewallspoint.org/community/history/

In summary, the area has a long and interesting treasure history, and the Treasure Coast has much to offer in addition to the 1715 Fleet shipwrecks and beaches.

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One more thing today.  I wanted to remind you of probing.  

Many people use probes for finding bottles and other things.  They are actually used for things like locating septic tanks or taking soil samples.

Here is an example of one you can buy online.

I've seen people use them for bottle hunting around the Treasure Coast, but they can be used for a variety of purposes.

For bottle hunting in shallow water, I prefer something that covers a wider area even if it doesn't go as deep.  I use a rake or something like that, which can be dragged along.  You'll hear the screech of glass when it passes over a bottle or piece of glass.

One of the disadvantages of using a probe is occasionally breaking the bottle.

In any case, give some thought to how you might use a probe in addition to metal detecting and assist in your treasure hunting.

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Still no hint of developing storms in the Atlantic and not much in the way of bigger surf on the Treasure Coast.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/7/26 Report - Stories, Alerts and Cautions for Beach Detectorists. The Less Published Side of the Story.

 

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

Wabasso Beach Friday Morning.
Typical Late Summer Beach Conditions.

You've heard the great stories about how a detectorist finds an old ring and spends hours or weeks or years in research, eventually being able to return the ring to the over-joyed owner or in some cases the family of the deceased owner.  I posted two of those stories in a post just a few days ago.

The stories of detectorists volunteering their time to search for a ring having great sentimental value are common.  You see pictures of grateful owners who thought they'd never see their precious ring again getting it back.  You've seen those too.

But detectorists can also tell you stories about times when things didn't go so well.  I don't think you'll be surprised to learn that there are some people who don't always act like perfect saints on the beach.  You seldom hear about when detectorists are made painfully aware of that reality. 

Starting with something simple and all too common, we all realize that all of those aluminum beer cans, and other junk didn't spontaneously materialize on the beach.  And you have probably seen examples of rowdy, rude, mean or simply inconsiderate behavior on the beach.  If you step on a piece of broken glass in the water and cut yourself, as I've done, or get a fishing lure stuck in your foot, there is someone to thank.  Detectorists don't always remove all the litter they dig, which is something I recommend, but neither did they put it there to begin with.

And all those holes on the beach weren't dug by detectorists. Some of the bigger ones were dug by kids.

Then there are the old ladies that scream at you to get off their beach.  Or security guards that claim the resort or hotel owns the beach that sits on renourishment sand paid for by the taxpayers. 

It has been decades since I detected crowded beaches.  Now I usually go out of my way to avoid the crowds.  I often detect early in the morning when few others are out other than maybe some fishermen, or on rainy stormy days or on beaches that are far away from the crowds.  Avoiding the crowds has  minimizes the problems you'll run into.  When I do go to the beach, I go to metal detect and focus on that.  I'm jealous of the little time I have on the beach these days and prefer to not have many distractions.

One morning when I went out very early morning, a young lady came up to me and wanted to talk.  She followed me around and was very upset that I wasn't interested in carrying on a conversation.  She didn't like it and let me know that. One reason I went so early was to avoid exactly that.  I try to be nice to people when there are others there, I answer questions and search for lost items, and there are some people that I do enjoy, but some act like you are a public servant and owe them your time and attention, never thinking that you might have something you want to do.  I would never presume that someone else should quit what they are doing to do what I want them to.  But that kind of thing is the least of it.

When I was detecting the busy beaches of South Florida, I ran into a lot of different kinds of people.  You never knew what you were going to get.  There was everything from simple rude pushy behavior to craziness and outright threatening criminality.  The Treasure Coast is much more peaceful and saner than that, although there are occasional conflicts on the Treasure Coast too.

I've been surprised how often I've searched, found and returned lost items without hearing as much as a simple thank-you.  That seems odd to me.  I just assume that after you go out of your way to help someone, they would show some sign of appreciation or some gratitude of getting their item back, but that isn't always the case.  

I can understand why one detectorist at Jupiter years ago told me if someone wouldn't pay $20 for him to search for their item, he wouldn't do it.  I know that most detectorists will happily search for lost items without any expectation of payment or reward, but I can understand where he was coming from.  If it isn't worth anything to you, why should he spend his time hunting it.  I really think that is reasonable, although not what I do or any other detectorists that I know these days.  Detectorists just want to help and generally have no expectation of reward or payment, but to me it is still surprising that some people do not show any sign of appreciation for your efforts.  

But it is sometimes worse than that.  There are people who will claim they lost some valuable item just to watch a detectorist waste their time looking for it while hoping something good would be found so that they could claim it.  That is why I've explained that it is necessary to get a good, detailed description of any lost item before searching.  I know of at least two cases when a person tried to claim an item I found when it was not the one they lost.  Believe it or not, not all people are honest. Some will try to con you.  There are thieves and con men out there looking for any chance to grab a piece of gold.  I've seen a necklace ripped off one young lady at the beach by a run a thief that just ran by and broke it off her neck.  

In Dade County I knew of one detectorist who had his car broke into at least five times while he was metal detecting.  When he had nothing inside to be stolen, the car was still damaged.  In one case, when there was nothing else in the car, the spare tire was stolen from the trunk.  I've seen cars broken into on the Treasure Coast too, but not nearly as often as down south.

One day when I went past one of the worst parking lots, car alarms were blaring all over the lot.  I think it was 46th St., if I correctly recall.  You could almost count on your car being broken into in that parking lot.  As a result, I parked at another lot a good distance away by a manned fire station and walked a good distance to the beach where I wanted to detect.  But many other parking lots were almost as dangerous.  Maybe it is better these days.  I hope so.

Back a few decades ago, I'd detect on crowded beaches or shallow waters.  Kids would stick their face and hands in your scoop or just get in the way so you couldn't safely swing your coil.  Older people would crowd you and rowdy people could be a problem too.  I learned how to deal with all that. You had to be alert to avoid problems.

I've told before about how one detectorist had a jar full of cobs stolen from the trunk of his care while metal detecting at Jupiter.  It can happen anywhere.  As the signs say, don't leave valuables in car.

One time at a Dade County parking lot, I parked and headed to the beach with my equipment and noticed a suspicious looking young couple.  As I passed them on my way to the beach, I noticed the girl keeping a very close eye on me while the fellow went back to the parking lot.  It seemed like she was being a lookout, so I went directly back to the car and prevented a break in.  My scoop could make meat balls out of people.  But it is good to be aware of what is going on in your surroundings. It isn't easy with earphones on and focusing on your metal detecting.  It is easier, though, on a beach with no one else around.

If I pull into a parking lot and there is anybody or anything suspicious, I'll either wait until the situation seems clear or go somewhere else for a while.  From my experiences in South Florida, I learned to be very cautious.   

Back to the Treasure Coast, I remember after one of our good treasure storms when a fellow detectorist found a gold eight escudo on the beach.  There were two fellows on the beach without metal detectors, but one had a machete.  My friend said he thought he heard one of two say, it (referring to the gold coin) makes you want to stick him, doesn't it, or something to that effect.  My friend hightailed it off the beach in a hurry.

Don't get me wrong.  I didn't write about all the negative experiences I've had or seen over several decades of metal detecting, but the vast majority of my interactions on the beach have been friendly and enjoyable.  I enjoy showing nice well-behaved kids about metal detecting and what I'm finding, but others kids are uncontrolled and have no boundaries.  Most people are nice and I enjoy talking to them, but what I've described above is the other side.  

The other side is real but not widely published.  I'd rather write about the positive stories, but I tell you in order to make you aware so you can avoid bad experiences.  If you are aware and take precautions, you'll be able to avoid most of the negative or dangerous situations.

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There is a rip current advisory in effect on the Treasure Coast today.

It is raining on Fort Pierce beach this morning.  We've been having a lot of thunderstorms in the ocean and on the east coast beaches lately.

Surf chart from SurfGuru.com

Nothing interesting there, and nothing on the NHC maps.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/5/26 Report - Detectorist Etiquette. Archaeology Ink and Spanish Battling the Long Bow. Beach Metal Detecting Modern Jewelry Tip.

 

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

Wednesday Morning at Fort Pierce Beach.

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Junk Beside Unfilled Hole
Photo by Mark G.

Here is an email I received from Mark G.

Thank you and I agree with you; time spent on the beach does equal finds. And I also encourage people, if you have a detector bring it to the beach, so many people come up to me while we are on the beach and say oh, I have one of those. This morning I had a bad experience and would like to vent as well as ask detectorists to at least respect the work that goes into becoming a good detectorist, and part of that is respecting other detectorists.

Sunday morning, I planned to hunt JB dry sand north end, the cameras showed crowded towel lines over the weekend. I entered the first entrance, ground balanced and set out. Halfway to the water another detectorist entered from the farthest north end and was ground balancing. He was griding surf to dune. I was griding parallel to the surf. I turned halfway through my grid north and gave him the north half until he moved south then continued north, having to go over his grid. 

I could not believe what I was finding. None of his holes were filled in, and if they were it was to hide trash, none. I came across more than several holes with the bottle caps or pull-tabs laying right there by the hole. I have to dig a lot of trash to find one thing nice and I bring it all home because I don't want to dig it up again next time. By time I realized what he was doing, he was heading off the beach, and I noticed he didn't even have a finds pouch on him. 

Now I'm not perfect, I do discriminate against a bottle cap once in a while, but I don't dig it up and leave it...

Thanks for sharing Mark.

And leaving unfilled holes at the beach doesn't do the hobby any good.  There are those that would like to prohibit metal detecting and they don't need any excuses.  

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In a recent post, I recommended checking out an online free archaeology journal called Archaeology Ink. The journal focuses on Spanish colonial archaeology in the U.S. South.  The web site seems to be relatively new but presents a number of good articles on topics such as the Luna and De Soto expeditions and settlements.  I recommended that you at least browse the journal if you are interested at all in Spanish Colonial history in the U.S.  

Today I'll give you a few brief excerpts from journal articles.

One article addresses the subject of battle between the Spanish and the indigenous tribes, the effectiveness of the long bow against the Spanish and the how wounded Spanish soldiers could receive financial help.

Indian in Body Paint, ca. 1585 of a Carolina Algonquians, with a long bow as tall as himself, and quiver on the left hip. 

One account says that an arrow would easily pierce the Spaniards defensive gear including chain mail, however the article also says that the indigenous learned to aim at arms and legs, rather than the protected chests of the Spanish troops.  That doesn't seem to me to go together.

Here is one excerpt from the article about the longbow and the damage it caused.

Thus, it was that in one of the skirmishes which the Spaniards had with the Indians of Apalache, the Camp Master Luis de Moscoso was struck in the right side by an arrow which penetrated a leather jacket and the hauberk (chain mail) which he wore underneath as well…The arrow had continued through a quilted doublet and wounded him, though not fatally since it came at a slant.

Here is the link to that article.

Archeology Ink | Luna Articles - A Research Journal by Caleb Curren, Archeologist

In another article on the site...

In 2015, 19 years later, a local man found a sample of Spanish artifacts dating to the 1500s on a residential construction site on the East Pensacola Heights Site. He took his finds to UWF and within a very short period of time UWF proclaimed that they had definitely found the Luna Settlement Site. They then went to the media with their claim. UWF is still claiming that the site is the Luna Settlement Site despite a significant lack of definitive archeological data to support their claim. UWF has certainly found more Spanish artifacts dating from the 1500s but they were found with a majority of Native artifacts. Once again, it confirms previous investigations that the site is a Native village that had contacts with various Spanish incursions into the area during the 1500s. UWF has thus far failed to prove that the site is the actual Luna Expedition Spanish settlement...

The University of West Florida (UWF) has deliberately downplayed this fact since finding Spanish artifacts at the site dating from the 1500s, claiming that the site is the Luna Colony site. In doing so, they have put their credibility in jeopardy. The Spanish documents of the Luna Expedition never mentioned a Native village at their colony site. Remarkably, UWF has attempted to explain away the Mississippian pottery as brought to the site by interior Spanish expeditions into Alabama...

Here is the link if you want to read more about that.

Archeology Ink | The Saga of Archeological Investigations at the the Alleged Luna Settlement Site, Pensacola, Florida - A Research Journal by Caleb Curren, Archeologist

And below is a map from the journal that shows the UWF proposed Luna site as well as several places I've detected in the past when I was frequently in the Pensacola area for consulting work at the Navy station.

I had some interesting detecting at Milton (at the top of the map), for one example, as well as several of the ocean and bay beaches in the area.  

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There was a time when I was doing a lot of detecting for modern jewelry.  Early on in my detecting I hunted the towel line a good bit, but one place that was very productive was around the beach chairs.  

The chairs will normally have some metal and be hard to detect around.  Not only does the metal in the chairs cause problems, but it is hard to get your coil in and around the tight spots.  I found that the beach chairs would often provide a lot of coins as well as some jewelry.  In the old days, they also produced a lot of hotel keys.

I got pretty good at detecting around the chairs.  You can learn to detect there despite the false signals caused by the metal in the chairs.  It is like learning to detect along a chain link fence.  Don't sweep to and from the metal, but along with it whenever that is possible.  You'll get a signal from the metal, but also any objects.  You'll learn to detect the signal among the noise.

In the case of beach chairs that often remain in the same spot a lot, coins and jewelry can accumulate.  That is one place you'll find more pairs of earrings.  Other places you'll most often find a single lost earring, but around the chairs, the ladies will often take both off and they slip or get dropped on the sand without anyone realizing it.

Also, occasionally someone will drag a chair from its usual location, leaving a nice space to detect where things might have accumulated for some time.

Of course, you'll also have to deal with the usual small metal trash, but I'd rather detect the beach chairs than a towel line, even though both can be productive.

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Surf Chart from SurfGuru for Fort Pierce Area.

Expect a little increase in the Treasure Coast surf this week but not much.

No tropical developments showing on the NHC map yet.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/4/26 Report - Time Flies in Different Ways. A Great Article on the Oak Island Search. 1000-Year-Old Ring Find. AI Again.

 

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

Why did the man throw his clock out the window?  He wanted to see time fly.

That is a corny old joke that a bunch of young children laughed over under the trees in front of grandma's house a little over seventy years ago.  It was one of those youthful summer days in the fifties when a small group of country kids ran in sporadic random bursts under the sheltering shade of the oak, ash and birch, pausing only briefly for jokes, laughter and other forms of play. 

They did see time fly - first this way and now that.

Gazing upon a newly uncovered old coin in your hand, can also be a form of time travel, but like a shattered crystal ball running out of power, straining produces only the faintest image.  This image, lacking surviving personal experience, requires more pieces to help Re construct the image, as incomplete as it is - still an attempt at time travel, but in another direction.

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Here are some excerpts from an exceptionally good article on a subject I've talked about in the past - Oak Island.

... While no treasure has been found, peripheral discoveries—apparent clues, possible traps, and geological curiosities—have compelled searchers onward, even as historians dispute the more sensational claims surrounding the treasure...

In the 1860s, a professor of languages from Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University examined the stone and determined the code was a substitution cipher saying: “Forty Feet Below Two Million Pounds Are Buried.” But another attempted translation in the 1970s interpreted the code as a Coptic Christian warning not to forget your duty to the Lord...

Specialists at Harvard University confirmed the parchment’s authenticity, though it’s unclear whether that meant it was “authentically” a folio full of secrets or a scrap from earlier inhabitants of the island...

the Lagina brothers own the majority of the tour company that operates on the island, plus a TV show promoting that island...

in 1720 the Crown chartered private companies together with the British military to do business on Oak Island—including pine tar works, brass making, and wire drawing—to help clear debt. It was the largest industrial development in Canada at the time...

Fader says under the right circumstances, a sinkhole can be 130 to 165 feet across. He is adamant this phenomenon is the true origin of the Oak Island Money Pit...

Below is the link to that article.  I recommend reading the entire article if you are interested in Oak Island.  It is the best article I've read on the subject.

The History of the Oak Island Money Pit | Oak Island Treasure

I've complained several times about the program, including the continual neglect of both actual history and natural phenomenon.  This article addresses both.

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Image from Popular Mechanics Article (link below)

• A retired volunteer unearthed a rare 1,000-year-old Pictish ring during excavations in Scotland.
• The ring is one of the few Pictish rings ever discovered and offers insights into the Pictish kingdom’s history.
• The find sheds light on the Picts, a powerful group who defended Scotland from invaders and mysteriously vanished by the end of the first millennium.

Herei is the link to that article.

Archaeologist Finds 1,000-Year-Old Ring With Huge Implications

In addition to the ring image above, the article begins with another image showing two rings that look nothing like the one above.  I guess that was a stock image or something.  I wish publishers would be more responsible and accurate.  

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AI has become unavoidable but very useful tool, including many applications for metal detecting and treasure hunting, I've previously documented many of those in this blog.  

I'll continue to investigate AI and its applications.  Below are some personal observations.

My wife was recently trying to estimate the value of several items and used AI.  The results were mixed.  

AI helped.  It correctly identified some items and provided good estimates, but it some cases it was way off.  It completely misidentified the work.  But worse yet, it seemed very confident even when it was wrong.  It often required additional information, but the original answer it provided was given so matter of factly that it fooled my wife and I at first.  After additional research and correcting AI, it eventually came up with better answers.  I have no problem with that.  At times it just seemed to be throwing answers at the wall to see if they would stick.  At times, there was no hint of uncertainty or need for additional information.  It would have been easy to simply accept the incorrect answer, but you can't just assume that it is going to be correct every time.  When you are not certain or when you need to be sure to have the correct answer, double check with other resources.

I've also noticed more articles on metal detecting produced by AI. Those articles might sound good to a relative beginner, but they usually contain significant inaccuracies.  To a more serious detectorists, those articles offer nothing of value.  You'll see the name of an author, but it is evident that the author knows very little about the subject.

There are a number of clues that are typical of AI generated articles.  Someday I should try to list and describe the common clues, but I probably won't get around to it, and it might change by that time anyhow.

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Surf Chart from SurfGuru.com.

As you can see, a slightly higher surf is expected towards the end of the week, but nothing very significant.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net