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Tuesday, September 22, 2026

8/22/26 Report - Higher Surf Coming as Seasons Change. No-FG Error Coin to Find in Circulation. Popularity of Metal Detecting?


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


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

Hooray!  I hear the train a comin, its comin round the bend...

It has been a very long summer with nothing but flat seas.  I'm so glad to see the beginning of the seasonal transition.

In the 2020s, October has been one of our better detecting months.  I'd be happy to see that again.

A six-foot surf isn't really bunker busting, but it is a welcome change from what we've had for months now.

Up north...  

Coastal flood and wind threats begin to escalate ahead of first fall nor'easter

The first nor'easter of the fall is developing, bringing gusty winds and rain to parts of the Mid-Atlantic as winds and coastal flooding increase through Wednesday. The storm is expected to emerge off the coast toward the end of the week and is expected to bring pounding surf, strong winds and severe beach erosion as the weekend progresses...  

For more about that see  Coastal flood and wind threats begin to escalate ahead of first fall nor'easter | Fox Weat

The Atlantic NHC map is only showing tropical storm Fay and one other area over by 
Africa at this time.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

At the same time the Pacific NHC map is showing a lot of activity.


Source: nhc.noaa.gov

One headline announces: Pacific Ablaze as Hurricane Polo grows into a monster storm.

Here is the link for more about that.


This year that has been the trend - a lot going on in the Pacific while almost nothing in the Atlantic.

The bottom line is that I'm glad to see us moving into Fall weather and hope to see some nice northeasters moving into Florida before long.  2020 and 2022 Octobers produced a lot of good Treasure Coast finds.

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Coinweek said the no-FG is a variety you can still find.  If you look under the left leg of the eagle on te reverse of a Kennedy half, you can check for the letters.  It is the eagle's left leg, but the one on the right as you look at it.  

You've probably found some Kennedy half dollar coins.  I've found quite a few although I seldom see them in circulation anymore.  One local store gives them in change anytime you have change coming for 50 cents or more.  Other stores look at them strangely.  One clerk refused to take one in payment.  You can still get rolls if you ask your bank.  

Of course, the first thing I always check is to see if they have any silver.  Some are 90 percent silver (1964) and some 40% silver (1965 - 1970).  The 40% silver coins are worth somewhere around $15.

I checked through a good stack of Kennedy halves but didn't find any no-FG examples.

Here are a couple links.

No FG Kennedy Half Dollars: The Missing Initials Every Collector Should Know

Here are some general price ideas for no-FG Kennedy halves.

  • Circulated condition (average wear): Around $10–$35 

  • Uncirculated (AU50–AU58): About $40–$150

  • Mint State (MS63–MS65): Roughly $200–$800

  • Superb Gem (MS66+): $1,500–$3,500+

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It seems to me there are a lot more detectorists these days, but that impression might be wrong.  That impression is undoubtedly heavily influenced by social media, which seems to distort or magnify everything.  It makes it difficult to get a good measure.

These days there seems to be as many metal detecting web sites as detectorists, but that is probably because from the comfort of my armchair, I can see virtually every metal detecting YouTube video, Facebook page and forum that exists, but when I go to the beach, I only see the few detectorists that are there at the same time as me, so while it seems to me there must be many more detectorists today than there were a few decades ago, I'm not really sure how true that is.    

The international range and scope of the media provides a lot of information for anyone that is interested. Back in the day, I was aware of some of the locals and what the metal detecting magazines showed and what I read in a few books obtained from the library, but many of the top Florida detectorists in those days were very secretive.  They were there but you seldom saw or even heard about them.  They avoided being seen and didn't share their hard-earned information. They didn't want others to know their success and didn't want to encourage or assist the competition, but now it seems that what many people seek is attention and fame, and social media has made it possible for many to have a national and even international forum.  

It is difficult to compare or tell the true difference between the popularity of metal detecting now and in the past.  Things change.  Many detector companies went out of business while others seem to be thriving. You see things come and go.  You accumulate a catalog of memories and look back over them fondly.  It is good.  I guess that is one thing I like about doing these posts.  It helps me think through things so I can express them somewhat clearly as I record my experiences and observations and learn from them, and by putting them out there, hopefully others will benefit from them too.


Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

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