10/7/21 Report - 2000 Gold Coins Found. Some Great Numismatic Articles. Mystery Item ID.

 

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

 A birdwatcher has stumbled across a hoard of 2,000-year-old Celtic gold coins worth £800,000 that date back to the time Boudicca was at war with the Romans.

The keen metal detectorist, who has not been named, spotted a glint of gold while looking at a buzzard in a recently ploughed field in eastern England. 

Having rubbed off the mud to reveal a 2,000-year-old gold stater coin, he dashed home to pick up his metal detector and returned to carry on searching.

After several hours, and to his utter disbelief, he unearthed about 1,300 coins, all dating to circa 40-50AD...

Tne finder described the find as follows.

'I bent down and picked up what I thought was an old washer, rubbed it and felt its thickness.

'I saw the glint of gold and realised it was a beautiful Celtic gold stater, which made me sit down in sheer shock.

'I then spotted the second coin 2ft away and rushed home to get my (detector).'

He returned and hovered the device over the same area and got a 'really strong' signal.

After digging down around 18ins, he recovered what looked to be a copper bangle, but was in fact the rim of what would have been a jug or urn that housed the coins.

 Here is the link.

Birdwatcher stumbles upon £800,000 hoard of 2,000-year-old Celtic gold coins dating from time Boudicca was at war with the Romans - STATIONGOSSIP

That is another good example of a sight find leading to detector finds.

Anytime you see a recently uncovered coin along the water line at the beach, check with your detector to see if there might be more.

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Tales from the Vault is a series of articles designed to highlight the lesser-known parts of the ANA collection. 

These columns feature interesting and informative stories about individual objects or groups of objects that do not often (or ever) get to see the light of day.

The collection within the ANA vault holds  approximately 275,000 objects ; however, we only have space to show a tiny fraction of these hidden gems. Check back regularly for an inside look at the ANA vault  and the marvelous collection we are excited to share with you.

There are a lot of nice articles about coins and money on the site.

Take a look.

Here is the link.

Tales From The Vault | Coin Collections & Numismatic Object Blog | American Numismatic Association (money.org)

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After adding the new views of the lead mystery object, I received this from Robert J.

Couple lead soft lure fish

If the hook of the one on the bottom right was rusted away, it would look very much like the mystery object. 

Robert customizes his , to fit his requirements.   

I'm sold on this ID now.

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Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/6/21 Report - Big Gold Nuggets Found In The Southeast U.S. Mystery Object Photos. King Tides on Treasure Coast.

 

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

On May 28, 1845, John Reed, the owner of the property where the first documented discovery of gold in the United States took place, died. In 1799, Reed’s son, Conrad, found a 17-pound yellow rock in Little Meadow Creek. Conrad brought it home where it was used as a doorstop for years. The elder Reed made several unsuccessful attempts to discern the rock’s value. In 1802, a merchant in Fayetteville paid the family $3.50 for it. Later Reed discovered that the rock was in fact gold and that the merchant received $3,600 from its sale.

In 1803, after turning a substantial profit selling nuggets found along the creek, Reed ventured into a partnership to purchase slaves to search for gold. The venture was rewarded with a 28-pound nugget, the discovery of which sparked an era of gold fever. The Reed Mine helped establish North Carolina’s mining industry 20 years before the California gold rush. So much gold was discovered in the Charlotte area that, in 1837, the Federal Government established a branch United States mint there to transform it into currency. In recognition of the mine’s contribution to state history, the Reed gold mine is now a state historic site...

Here is the link.

John Reed and the North Carolina Gold Rush | NC DNCR (ncdcr.gov)

The gold rich areas in North Carolina are within an area known as the “Carolina Slate Belt,” which is a auriferous region that crosses from north to south through the state, and also spans across Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia. You will also sometimes hear it this region called the “Georgia Slate Belt” or the “Georgia Gold Belt.”...

There are many mines in Stanley County that have resulted in large gold nuggets. There are many creeks that produced a huge quantity of nuggets by the early miners.

Some exceptional gold in quartz specimens have also been mined here too. In fact, the first gold/quartz lode mine in the United States was established in North Carolina. Some of the ores were exceptionally rich, with gold-per-ton assays that were as rich as any goldfield in the country....

Here is that link.

Eureka! Big Gold Nuggets Found in North Carolina - RareGoldNuggets.com

The article says that the creeks and mines of North Carolina have been worked out, but I bet there are still some very nice nuggets waiting to be found by the creative and persistent detectorist.

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Below is shown a couple photos of a lead mystery object I posted a few days ago.  As it turns out, what I presented was a negative example.  Although it was a negative example, it was a useful one, even though I didn't do it intentionally. 

I didn't provide enough views to give you a good chance to figure out the identify of the mystery object.  And I should have cleaned it up better before taking the photos.  After cleaning it up a little, I could see an additional feature that could be important.

Here are  the three new photos I took from three different views after cleaning it up some.

Three Additional Views of the Same Object.

After cleaning the object, I could see a hole, which I would guess goes all the way through even though I couldn't thread a small wire through it.  Maybe the hole is blocked.

I said it was a negative example.  I should have cleaned the object first, and I should have shown the additional angles to begin with.

Joe D. thought the object might be a jig head, and it could be something like that.  Most jig heads I've used and seen have the hole facing left to right instead of front to back, but I don't think that is a disqualifier.  The hole is about the size needed to thread a light weight fishing line through it even though it would be a tight fit.  

Remember this if you submit objects for identification.  You'll have a better chance of getting a good identification if you do a little cleaning first and if you submit multiple views.

The new views are important.  The side views that I presented first would not show the hole even if I cleaned the object first.  And that could be a very important feature. 

Another thing I realized while trying to take the new photos is that some modeling clay could be used to hold the object in various positions and thereby make it easier to take photos of small objects at different angles whjile leaving your hands free for focusing the camera or whatever.

Sorry I didn't post better pictures to begin with, but there is a lesson to be learned from it.

Did the new photos help you identify the object?  Let me know.

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Florida will be having King Tides from Oct. 5 - 11.  Maybe you noticed the high tides.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Not much out thee now, and the yellow area isn't expected to develop into much of anything.

The surf predictions shown nothing higher than a 2 - 4 foot surf for the Treasure Coast this week.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net.

10/5/21 Report - Nokta Makro Invenio Metal Detector Reviews. Thorough Coil Coverage Patterns. Shipping Valuable Coins.

 

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

Typical Metal Detector Coil Coverage Pattern.

In past years I warned about how much can be  missed as the result of a casual or careless sweep pattern.  I made the above illustration and posted it years ago to show what a typical coverage pattern actually looks like (See  The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast. for example,)/  The black area shows what the coil goes over when a detectorist walks along swinging his detector and the white area shows what is missed.  

Nokta Makro Ivenio.

I recently saw an advertisement for the Nokta Makro Invenio metal detector, and since it seemed to have some new and advanced features, I decided to look into how it actually works. 

The Invenio has a 3D imaging system that provides images that look something like those that were talked about and even advertised decades ago but which never seemed to materialize.   I wondered if the Invenio actually offered some of the advancements that we have long been led to expect., so I was eager to see how it was implemented.

One of the first things that struck me was the image of the ground being covered by the coil.  Here is an example as shown on the Invenio imaging system..

Area Covered By Coil (black)
As Shown On The Invenio Imaging System.

Look familiar?  That is actually a useful image.  It shows what the detectorist has covered, and more importantly, the ground that was missed.  I assume that the Invenio image is accurate.  I can't say it is for certain without doing some tests.

 In the video you could see how difficult it was for the detectorist to make sure he covered every inch.  You might want to watch that part of the video carefully.  .

The area shown covered appeared to be more narrow than the coil.  In the past I recommended some techniques for testing the coverage of your coil and the areas of sensitivity.  See The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 3/29/15 Report - Importance and Method Of Determining The Shape Of The Area Of Target Sensitivity For Your Metal Detector Coil..

The imaging hardware is rather bulky and although it appears that it can be operated by a single person, it would seem easier if one person carried the imaging hardware while the other person actually used the detector.   In its current configuration, I can't imagine a single person swinging the coil with precision while watching the screen.  I would expect future attempts to miniaturize and better integrate the imaging system.

I've seen the Invenio offered for under $8000.  That is a hefty price - not to say it isn't worth it, but that price obviously wouldn't be justified unless you were going after something more than random coins.  The video indicated that the purpose of the detector was for hunting caches.  

I'm not sure at this time how much benefit the 3D imaging provides.  I did notice in the video that many of the small objects detected by the Invenio were also detected by an Equinox detector.

I wouldn't mind having an Invenio to play with, but without the right application it would be little more than an expensive  toy.  The expenditure could be justified if you were hunting the right kind of target in the right type of environment, but for me, more testing would be required to better understand the system's capabilities.

The video brings up several interesting issues.  You might want to take a look.

Here is the link.

(15) Nokta / Makro Invenio Pro 3D How to use Full Tutorial in English / Gold metal Detector #Sanjaypassi - YouTube

And here is another.

(15) TESTING £8499 NOKTA MAKRO INVENIO - YouTube

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How would you ship valuable coins?  

Most coin dealers recommend USPS Registered mail.

JM Bullion says, In our combined decades of experience in the bullion industry, USPS Registered Mail is better than 99.99% effective.

Every time the package is handed off from one post office agent to another there is a documented signature.  This legally documents a parcel’s custody transfer beginning with your shipping it… all the way to the adult signature required upon your parcel’s safe delivery.

Since only a few agents at each mail facility are permitted to sign for registered mail packages, which are kept safely locked while at the facitlity, the process can be slow, especially if the authorized agents are on vacation or something.  A package can remain at one facility for days awaiting the signature of an authorized postal worker.

Registered Mail is used by the diamond industry and for mailing U.S. government classified information, 

Strangely, your regular postal carrier can end up at your door and handing you the package without requiring your signature.  Perhaps Covid has something to do with that.

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We are now getting some nice big high tides, but the low tides are not very low.

The surf is running around three feet.  Nothing more than that this week.

The National Hurricane map hasn't changed much.  

The only thing interesting is the area that might develop right off of our coast, but it doesn't really look like it will help us much.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

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10/4/21 Report - Methods of Analyzing Precious Metals Compared. What If You Find A Hoard. What happened 100 and 350 Years Ago.

 

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

Comparison of Methods for Analyzing Precious Metals.
See Thermofisher link below.

You might find this chart helpful, but it was constructed by a manufacturer of XRF devices so can hardly be considered objective and fair.  Nonetheless, I think it is mostly accurate but one thing it leaves out is the prohibitively high price for purchasing and XRF analyzer, which is too high for any individual unless it is a big part of your business.  While the cost per test might be low if you do a large number of tests, the purchase price for even the lowest price portable XRF analyzer is higher than most any detectorists would be willing to pay.

You might want to look at the article to learn more if you are seriously interested in considering the various options.  

Here is the link.

5 Precious Metals Analysis Methods - Analyzing Metals (thermofisher.com)

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What do you do if you find a hoard of valuable coins?  Below is a link to the advice of one coin dealer.  

Found a Hoard of Old Coins? Here's How to Proceed (scvhistory.com)

Worth considering.

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What happened Sept 23, 1671 (350 years ago).

On Aug. 26, 1664, 350 years ago Tuesday, a flotilla of four British frigates led by the Guinea, which was manned by 150 sailors and conveying 300 redcoats, anchored ominously in Gravesend Bay off Brooklyn, between Coney Island and the Narrows.

Over the next 13 days, the soldiers would disembark and muster at a ferry landing located roughly where the River Café is moored today, and two of the warships would sail to the Battery and train their cannon on Fort Amsterdam on the southern tip of Manhattan.

Finally, on Sept. 8, the largely defenseless settlement tolerated a swift and bloodless regime change: New Amsterdam was immediately renamed New York. It would evolve into a jewel of the British Empire, endowed with a collective legacy — its roots indelibly Dutch — that distinguished it from every other American colony...

Source: NYTimes.com

And how about 100 years ago?

The country was coming out out of the Spanish flu pandemic., the auto industry was gettting ramped up, and women got the right to vote and the average life expectancy was around 54.

Source: 100 Years Ago Today: Life in 1920 vs. Now • FamilySearch

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

There is a little activity close to Florida, but nothing that will help us much.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

The surf is 3 - 5 feet along the Treasure Coast today, but will be decreasing through the week.

The high tides are pretty high now.  Too bad there isn't more surf.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/3/21 Report - Cuzco Fortress And Conquest of Peru. Mystery Object. Much of Country Considering Secession.

 

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

Source: See link below.

The Sacasayhuaman (also Saksaywaman or Saqsawaman, meaning 'Royal Eagle') fortress-temple complex lies at the northern edge of the former Inca capital Cuzco.. Constructed during the reign of Pacahuti (1438-1471 CE) and his successors, its massive, well-built walls remain today as a testimony not only to Inca power but also the skills of Inca architects and their approach of blending their monumental structures harmoniously into the natural landscape. The Sacsayhuaman is still used today for reenactments of Inca-inspired ceremonies....

The Sacsayhuaman did operate as a fortress during the Spanish conquest of Peru from 1532 CE. The Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro, conquered Cuzco shortly after killing the Inca ruler Atahualpa in 1533 CE but then faced an organized and sustained siege from a large Inca army. Pizarro sent his brother Juan to attack the Sacsayhuaman using cavalry and then climb the walls with ladders. The offensive was successful, even if Juan died in the process, and the occupation of the fortress allowed the Spanish to resist the siege.

Following the collapse of the empire after the European invasion, most of the stones of the Sacsayhuaman were reused elsewhere in the colonial buildings of Cuzco. The ruins were covered in earth by the Spanish to prevent their use by rebel Inca forces and the site was not rediscovered until its excavation in 1934 CE. Today the ruins of the fortress are the location for the annual Inca reenactment festival the Inti Raymi, held on the winter solstice...

Here is the link for more about that.

Sacsayhuaman - WorlHundreds of priceless coins dating back thousands of years have been unearthed in Sharjah.

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A few days ago I asked about a couple mystery items. One is the small lead object shown below.

Here is what Joe D. said about the lead item. The lead piece looks either like part of a jig head, or a lead foot for a toy!!😁 And maybe the "button" was a brass or copper snap!👍👍 Joe D.

John L. said, Likely, only a sailor would recognize this object, and I happen to be one of those types!😀

The object is almost certainly a led keel from a model sailboat. I have found one or two myself before.

The flat "side" on top is where it attaches to the hull and the lower portion is "winged" meaning the model was relatively modern (within 40 years I would guess as this keel design first appeared on a 12m yacht in the 1983 Americas Cup).

It also appears to have been from a very small model.

Side and Top View of Small Unidentified Lead Find.

My first thought was that it went on a fishing rod somehow, but at the same time I don't think so. Those are good ideas. Thanks guys. Maybe I'll post some more views. I didn't show the front to back view, which was a mistake.  More views are almost always better.

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A new poll found that roughly 4 in 10 (41%) of Biden and half (52%) of Trump voters at least somewhat agree that it’s time to split the country, favoring blue/red states seceding from the union.

Here is that link.

Startling Poll: Majority Of Trump Supporters Lean Toward Secession (spiritdaily.org)

So much for the administration uniting the country, but that was never their goal.   Before building back better, they must break down first, and that was always the intent despite what they say.  It is very easy to decode the administration.  They are very predictable and consistent.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Despite the new developments off of our coast, the surf today will only be 2 - 4 feet, with a peak surf of up to five feet Monday.

Happy hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net.

102/21 Report - Ancient Silver Coin Hoards Found. Most Popular U.S. Mint Coins. No Big Change In Beach Conditions.

 

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

Source: msn.com link below.

Ancient silver dirham coins minted one millennium ago in Morocco, Persia, Al-Rai, the Khorasan region, Armenia and Transoxiana have been discovered in Sharjah.

A team from Sharjah Archaeology Authority made the discovery in the central region of the emirate.

The Islamic coins were stored in an Abbasid-style pot dating back to the 9th or 10th century AD...

Here is the link for more about that.

1,000-year-old Islamic coins discovered in Sharjah (msn.com)

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Source: TheNationalNews.com link below.

Hundreds of priceless coins dating back thousands of years have been unearthed in Sharjah.

The 409 silver coins were recovered from a heavy pottery jar found at Mleiha.

The artefacts were discovered in February and the Sharjah Archaeology Authority has now revealed more about the find, which it described as hugely significant...

Here is that link.

Treasure trove of priceless silver coins discovered in Sharjah (thenationalnews.com)

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I was looking through a bunch of dug Buffalo nickels yesterday and noticed that less than half had readable dates.  The dates were very vulnerable to wear but those older coins showed a lot of corrosion from the time they spent in the ground.  Most were heavily pitted from salt water.  That is a problem with beach dug coins.  I don't think one was in better than "good" condition.

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Here’s the listing of the U.S. Mint’s most popular numismatic products for the week ending Sept. 26:

1. 2021-S Proof Silver Eagle, Type 2 (+59,972 to 284,169)
2. 2021 Proof Set (+4,548 to 352,556)
3. 2021 Silver Proof Set (+1,468 to 229,883)
4. George H.W. Bush Coin & Chronicles Set (+407 to 7,510)
5. 2021 Birth Set (+344 to 24,584)
6. 2021-P Proof Christa McAuliffe Silver Dollar (+255 to 45,929)
7. 2021 Reverse Proof American Silver Eagle Two-Coin Set (+197 to 124,448)
8. 2020 American Innovation Dollar Proof Set (+182 to 96,149)
9. 2018-S Proof American Innovation Dollar (+156 to 236,303)
10. 2021-P New York American Innovation 25-Coin Rolls (+135 to 6,335)

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I think it was yesterday I posted about the PAS saying that a lot of finds were being made during the Covid lockdowns as people were doing things like weeding and gardening around home. One message you might take from that is to not overlook your own property and nearby areas.

It appears that for some, home of where the hoard is.

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Sam and Victor are still out there but no threat to us.

The surf predictions show nothing more than a three or for foot surf for the Treasure Coast for the next few days.

Happy hunting.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/1/21 Report - Divers Find 1,500-year-old Gold Coins. PAS Says Lockdowns Lead To Finds.

 

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

Source: See LiveScience link below.

Two amateur divers swimming along the Spanish coast have discovered a huge hoard of 1,500-year-old gold coins, one of the largest on record dating to the Roman Empire.

The divers, brothers-in-law Luis Lens Pardo and César Gimeno Alcalá, discovered the gold stash while vacationing with their families in Xàbia, a coastal Mediterranean town and tourist hotspot. The duo rented snorkeling equipment so they could go freediving with the goal of picking up trash to beautify the area, but they found something far richer when Lens Pardo noticed the glimmer of a coin at the bottom of Portitxol Bay on Aug. 23, El Pais reported...

Here is the link for more about that.

Amateur freedivers find gold treasure dating to the fall of the Roman Empire | Live Science

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The Portable Antiquities Schene of the British Museum said the Covid lockdown resulted in unexpected discoveries.

Here are a few examples.

63 gold coins evidently deposited around 1540 were found by a family while weeding their property.

50 South African 1 oz. gold Kruggerand coins minted in the 1970s were found.

Another find was a 13th century medieval seal matrix.

Ian Richardson, treasure registrar at the British Museum, said: "People during lockdown have been spending more time at home and maybe turning to pursuits that they hadn't engaged with so much before...

Here is the link.

Lockdown finds: Gold coins among garden finds - BBC News

I doesn't seem to me that 1970s Krugerrands should fit under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, but maybe they do.

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I was channel surfing and noticed that Oak Island now has a group of archaeologists working on the island.  The scientific perspective and discussion provided a welcome relief and made the show bearable during the segments that were uninterrupted by the ex-spurts.

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On Nov. 17, 1978...

Back in Jonestown, Jones commanded everyone to gather in the main pavilion and commit what he termed a “revolutionary act.” The youngest members of the Peoples Temple were the first to die, as parents and nurses used syringes to drop a potent mix of cyanide, sedatives and powdered fruit juice into children’s throats. Adults then lined up to drink the poison-laced concoction while armed guards surrounded the pavilion.

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更好地构建

Build back better in Chinese.  It actually sounds better in Mandarin than English.

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Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

With summer long over, this summer provided no good beach metal detecting.  It was a summer of mostly southeast winds and building beaches.  You had to hunt long to find very the few spots that provided a few small openings. 

Sam and Victor are out there but will head north in the Atlantic.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net