5/14/23 Report - Technology and Some Ways Beach Metal Detecting Has Changed. Treasure Hunting Story After Floyd.

 

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

Yesterday I posted a photo a a small "Treasure Hunter's Logbook."  The contents as described on the cover are shown above.  While all of the items in the contents can be useful, there are signs that the logbook is old and outdated.

A written landowner's agreement is a very good thing to have if you plan to hunt on someone's property.  It is good to have all the details spelled out in writing, but there is another way to do things these days.  You can record your agreement on your cell phone, which probably has a recorder, but that requires remembering to go over all the details and getting consent verbally.  In Florida, you have to let someone know if you are recording a conversation.

The second item listed as being in the logbook is a personalized map.  Now you can get some pretty good detailed maps of locations on your digital device.  Some metal detectors provide location coordinates for logging the location of finds and also track the area you covered.  That can be handy.  It wasn't many years back when I talked about using a GPS device for that kind of thing.  I once had a Garmin unit that I discussed using in an old post.

It was actually longer than I thought.  I see a post on using GPS in January of 2014.  Time really flies, and technology rapidly changes.  See The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 1/2/14 Report - Detecting With GPS and Map Overlays, Silver Find, Beach Conditions Up North and Beach Predictions for the TC.

Beach Hunt With GPS Tracking
Submitted by One Blog Reader in 2014.

That kind of information can be useful in several ways, but I'll just point out now that the reader did what many detectorists do.  They go down to the shore from the beach access and then go north and/and or south, so you can expect the area covered by the blue tracks to be some of the most thoroughly detected.

That could lead into a discussion of search strategies and patterns, but I've done that in the past.

The planning guide and diary are also good things. You might increase your efficiency if you go into the hunt with a plan, even though you might have to change it depending upon conditions and other things.  the diary and memory jogger are also good.  I've often wish I had kept more data on both hunts and finds.

I could do a lot of these things better than I do.  By nature, I'm what I would call a minimalist.  I don't like carrying a lot of equipment or fooling with a lot of details.  I often regret that later though.  I trust my memory and then often regret that too.

----

If you have been metal detecting the Treasure Coast long enough you might remember the big painted letters in the trees along the shore that were used by the salvage boats to triangulate positions before they were using GPS.  I'll bet there are a lot of you who don't remember ever seeing those.  

If anyone has photos of those, I'd like to post them.

---

Here is a cool true treasure story that I think you'll enjoy reading.  It is published in two parts.

A True Story of Finding Spanish Treasure in the Bahamas - LetterPile

A True Story of Finding Spanish Treasure in the Bahamas, Part 2 - LetterPile

---

Since Friday we released a new Giant Swallowtail and another monarche butterfly.

---

Today the tides are moderate and the surf is only about two feet.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/13/23 Report - Big Metal Detectorist Finds: Royal Chain and Charm and 2000-Year-Old Hoard. Treasure Hunter's Logbook.

 

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

Source: See CNN link below.

It was a find of such magnitude that the amateur detectorist who discovered it was lost for words, and the expert who unraveled its mysteries spent two years researching it.

Charlie Clarke had only been metal detecting for six months when, in 2019, he unearthed a gold pendant in Warwickshire, in England’s West Midlands region.

The pendant featured the symbols of Tudor King Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon, on a chain composed of 75 links, attached by an enameled suspension link in the form of a hand. The first of Henry VIII’s six wives, Katherine married Henry in 1509...

The find was announced by the British Museum as part of the launch for the Treasure Annual Report for 2020 and the Portable Antiquities Scheme Annual Report for 2021. These show that 45,581 archaeological finds – including more than 1,000 treasure cases – were recorded in 2021, 96% of which had been found by people metal-detecting.

Here is the link for more of that article.

Gold pendant linked to Henry VIII found by amateur detectorist | CNN

I think I posted something about this before, but it is a good reminder that there is always the possibility of something amazing being found as long as you are out there hunting.

Detectorists have made a lot of contributions.

I remember introducing the term "detectorist" to a CNN reporter maybe ten or so years ago.

---

Searching a field in Wales, a man with a metal detector stumbled upon an artifact buried 2,000 years ago — then he found another. 

Metal detectorist Jon Matthews dug up the artifact and quickly realized there was a collection of buried treasures,..

 He contacted local archaeological authorities who excavated the area. Archaeologists identified the 2,000-year-old treasures as Iron Age and ancient Roman pottery vessels, the release said. Eight objects, including two complete pieces, were unearthed from the field...

 One artifact included an ox head bowl handle, photos show. The blue-green metal design has a wide-eyed ox with bowed horns. His lower lip or jaw extends outward into the handle-like loop...

Here is that link.  

Ancient Roman treasure found by metal detectorist in Wales | Miami Herald

Thanks to Rick B. for that link.

----

Treasure Hunter's Logbook.

This dropped out of another book recently.  I don't remember when I got it.  Maybe it was one of those freebees that come with a metal detector purchase.  It could be 30 ro 40 years old.  I'm not sure, but I can tell it is something from an earlier period.  

It could be helpful.  You can see the contents on the front cover.  

Treasure Signs and Symbols.

You'll see lists of treasure signs and symbols published in various publications, mostly older. I've never found them useful.  If you have, I'd like to hear about that.

I'll pick up on this topic again some time and talk about how things have changed since a logbook like this would have been published.

---

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/12/23 Report - Hallmark Identification Wizard. Fernandina Casino. Stone of Destiny. Horseshoes. War is Hell.

 

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

Submitted by Scott B.

Yesterday I posted photos of some old Florida East Coast casinos.  I asked if anyone had pictures of others.  Scott B. sent me the picture of the Fernandina Beach casino sown above as well as another good research resource.  Below is Scott's email. 

Good afternoon,

   As always, I'm enjoying your recent posts on Casinos in Florida. Somewhere near Main Beach in Fernandina Beach there was a casino back in the day. I've read about it before, but can't find any good information on it right now, but I think it may have been destroyed in a hurricane long ago.

   I also have a link below that helped me date a gold ring I found on the Treasure Coast last fall (the ring was made in1981). I'm not sure if you or your readers have ever used this link before, but by checking the markings inside, it was a good bit of information for more recent finds.

   Thanks for all you do.

Respectfully,

      Scott

The site will help you identify the assay office, purity and year of manufacture of the item, if it is properly marked.  Here is the description of the tool as described on the web site.

Gold-Traders has compiled a gold hallmark identification wizard to help decipher the markings that are stamped on your item.

Have a look at your piece of jewellery. If it was made in a country that adheres to the Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious Metals (otherwise known as the Common Control Mark), you should find a set of hallmarks / stamps.

And here si the link.

Gold Hallmark Identification Wizard (gold-traders.co.uk)

Thanks Scott.

---

I posted a link to some of the artifacts on display at the coronation of Charles III, but I don't think I mentioned the Stone of Destiny.  Maybe I did, but here is a good article.

The Stone of Destiny has a mysterious past beyond British coronations.

When Britain’s King Charles III is crowned in London on May 6, he’ll sit on an ancient chair housing a 335-pound boulder cloaked in mystery. Used for British coronations since the late 14th century, the Stone of Scone is of unknown origins and age.

Legend traces this rectangular slab to Palestine 3,000 years ago, but scientists believe it is likely from Scotland The stone is among the most prized treasures of this nation, where it was long used to crown Scottish kings. Then in 1296, it was stolen by England.

Until 1996, when it was finally given back to Scotland, the stone resided at Westminster Abbey where it is now reappearing for Charles’ grand coronation. Soon after, the boulder will return to its current home, Scotland’s Edinburg Castle.

Here is the link for more about the Stone of Destiny.

The Stone of Destiny has a mysterious past beyond Charles’ coronation (nationalgeographic.com)

---

If you've done much metal detecting you probably have found horseshoes before.  I've found horseshoes in various states of the union and on local Treasure Coast beaches.  They can be old or recent.  I found one that was obviously not a real horseshoe but was for the game of horseshoes.

As early as the second century, before the Christian Era, iron plates or rings for shoes were nailed on horses’ feet in Western Asia and Eastern Europe. In Greece and Rome athletic contests, games of different kinds generally formed some part of religious observances and festivals. One of the four Grecian national festivals was the Olympian Games. These Grecian Games consisted of boxing, putting the weight, chariot races, archery, and discus throwing. The discus was similar in form to the modern quoit but not in size and weight. Originally, it was a circular plate of metal or stone 10- or 12-inches in diameter. It was pitched or thrown with a strap or thong passed through a circular hole in the center, the strap being released by the player as he swung it so the discus would go the greatest possible distance. There is a tradition that the camp followers of the Grecian armies, who could not afford the discus, took discarded horseshoes, set up a stake and began throwing horseshoes at it. Horseshoe historians have not been able to discover when the game of quoits or horseshoes was changed so that it was pitched at two stakes, but it is pretty well established that horseshoe pitching had its origin in the game of quoits and that quoits is a modification of the old Grecian game of discus throwing.

Following the Revolutionary War, it was said by England’s Duke of Wellington that “the War was won by pitchers of horse hardware.” In 1869, England set up rules to govern the game...

Here is the link for more about that.

Historical Horseshoes - NHPA (horseshoepitching.com)

I'm still amazed by the variety of things I've found in the ocean over the years.  Besides horseshoes, I found other game pieces including bowling balls and pool balls.  I had one of the bowling balls I found in my yard for a long time until it eventually fell apart.

===

The CNN Trump Town Hall immoderate moderator missed the excellent point that there will be no "winner" in the Ukraine war.  The people who died, lost homes and family members (on both side) are certainly not he winners.  And neither country will be better off.  A few leaders or profiteers might think they will win, but their immorality will catch up with them.  The CNN propagandists missed that very important point.  That fact was evidently not on the list of permissible facts they received and chant continually.

If war is Hell, the winner of war is....

Funny thing to me is that if you believe in personal or lived truths, as opposed to an objective reality, how can there be such absolute unquestionable facts.

===

Nothing special in the weather.  Just two- or three-foot seas.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

5/11/23 Report - Historic Casinos of Florida's East Coast. The Mystery and Draw of Metal Detecting.

 

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

Casino Building at Lake Worth.

Yesterday when I went back to find the picture of the plastic encased casino chip that I found some years ago, I noticed several photos of Florida East Coast casino photos that I had posted.  One that wasn't included was the casino at Lake Worth.  The building is still around, but I couldn't find many good historic photos of the building.

Here is a good link on the history of the casino.

History of the Lake Worth Casino (colonyreserve.com)

I find myself "curating" a lot these days.  After years of research and writing, I'm gathering and organizing related material.  Yesterday I posted photos of the casino tokens I found.  I wish I had something like that from old Florida casionos, but I don't.

Here are some of the old East Coast Florida casino photos that I've posted in the past.

I should post all the links for these photos, but if you are really interested, you can find them by going to treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com and doing a keyword search for "casino."

===

I don't want to live in a city or anything close to it.  I want to be able to walk out my door and see grass and trees, not concrete and a lot of people that I know nothing about as individuals.  I'd hate to be surrounded by an artificial, noisy, bustling, concrete, steel and plastic environment.  I guess that is just who I am. I'm still a country boy.  I don't want a manicured lawn either.  I want to see the many wildflowers and let the resident turtles and rabbits do the trimming while hearing the birds in the trees.  

So what does that have to do with metal detecting?  Actually, I think it is a part of it.  You can't metal detect on concrete.  When you metal detect, you walk on sand or earth.  You might be focused on your task, but as you go, you see and feel the outdoors, the sun or weather, and at the beach, the ocean too.  You enjoy nature to one degree or another when you metal detect.  You dig into the earth, get hit by waves, feel the sun, wind and rain.  Then once in a while you are surprised by a gift from the unknown past.  Somebody had been there before.  They left a gift to remind you that they were there.  The object is a handshake with an invisible hand.  They left you a mystery to draw you to them.

The mystery draws you in.  What is it?  Who owned it?  Where are they now?  Can you find them and reunite them with the item of their past?  You become a part of your surroundings as well as the past.

Treasure hunting at its best is a quiet thoughtful activity.  Not only does it take you to another time, but it invites you to explore the quiet depths of yourself.

===

If you have information or photos about other historic Florida casinos of the past, let me know.

--

Below is a snipping from a MagicSeaWeed.com surf cam showing Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach this morning.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach.
MagicSeaWeed.com

Surf Prediction for Fort Pierce Area
Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Good hunting,

Treasueguide@comcast.net

5/10/23 Report - Finds In Protective Plastic Cases At Water's Edge. An Older Encased Find (Casino Chip) and a New Encased Find (Gemstone).

 

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

Silver Luxor Casino Chip Found
On Pompano Beach in Plastic Container As Shown.

Some guys specialize.  They hunt one type of item.  Maybe they hunt shipwreck treasure coins, or Civil War items, or modern jewelry.  I hunt a wide variety of types of things.   To me it almost seems like I take whatever is being presented to me wherever I am.  I guess I like the process and know that I can find something of interest and some value almost anywhere.  It doesn't matter whether it is Miami Beach or the hills of West Virginia, and it doesn't much matter to me if it is a million-year-old fossil or a brand new diamond ring.  There is treasure to be found almost anywhere you go.  The remnants of the  past is all around you.  

You don't have to travel to distant exotic locations, as fun as that might be, to find treasure.  But if you are not getting good results, you might consider making a change, but it doesn't have to be a big or dramatic change. As important as your metal detector is, keeping you eyes open and your mind working is just as important.

Even though I found the casino token shown above many years ago, I decided to show it again for a reason.  It was found in Pompano Beach Florida at the edge of the water.  It is from a casino in Las Vegas.  It traveled a long way to find me.  

When you find an odd item, let your mind wander.  Why was it there?  How did it get there?  You might even look at the map to see where it came from.  Even though this item isn't very old, it has a history (which gets longer every day), just like an old shipwreck coin.  A lot of research has been conducted on the treasure fleets, which adds to the known history of the items. No matter how old the item, the research can help you make more finds.

This modern find has a story too.  You might not know exactly how it got there, but it evidently made a journey.  It is not too surprising that it ended up in a tourist location. A lot of things from around the world can be found in South Florida. The token is just one of many items that tells something about travel patterns and the area as a tourist destination.\

While on the subject, here are a couple more casino token finds from the past.

Sadly, despite the rich history of Florida casinos, I've not found a token from an older Florida casino.  I've hunted in the area of several old Florida casino's.  You can use this link to see photos of some of those.  The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 3/11/14 Report - Dug Silver Casino Chip and 1920s Florida Beach Casinos

I've been calling them tokens, but maybe they are chips.  I don't know which is correct.

But that isn't what I started to talk about.  The Luxor token was found in a protective plastic case, which is why it ended up at the edge of the water.  It is rare, but nice to find items in a protective case.  Here is another.

Gemstone in Plastic Case As Found.

I took a little walk yesterday and came upon an area where there was an accumulation of shells and stones.  It is one of those areas you always want to inspect, so I did.  At the water's edge was this surprise.

Shell and Gravel Area Near At Water's Edge.

That is the kind of place where you might find glass, marbles or an occasional fossil.  There were a few bits of old rusty metal too.

Cut Gemstone - Possibly Citrine.

I don't know what the stone is yet.  I think it might be a citrine.

Again, you have to wonder why it was there and how it got there.

----

RFK Jr. is confident that the CIA was involved with JFK's assassination and there was a sixty-year cover-up.

Here is that link.

RFK Jr. doubles down on allegation CIA involved in JFK's assassination: '60-year cover-up' | Fox News

---

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Nothing special in the most recent predictions.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

5/9/23 Report - A Quick Little Walk Can Produce Something Interesting. Through the Roof. Jensen Detector Store.

 

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

I. Trager Co. Whiskey Bottle Find.

I haven't done hardly any bottle hunting lately and was itching to get out, but I went out Monday for a short time.  I didn't have a good low tide, and the water was pretty dirty, so the timing wasn't great, but I just wanted to do a little hunting.  I wasn't expecting to find much, and it didn't look like I would, but I did manage to come up with this nice brown bottle even though I didn't hunt very long.

As you can see, the bottle is embossed I. Trager Co.  Cincinnati O.

The I. Trager & Company was a distillery in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1887 until 1918 when prohibition ended this business enterprise like thousands of other companies during the “great experiment” known as prohibition. Imagine working for 40 years only to have the government shut your business down and send all your employees to the unemployment line. Sadly this was reality for tens of thousands of workers when this law was enacted in the early 20th century. The law also ended a way of life for the Trager family as they were forced to close their family business also. The company produced many brands of whiskey during their heyday, including Black Warrior, Creme de La Creme, Deerfield, Old Colony Club, Tulip Rose, Edgemont, Youghiogheny Malt, and Union Rye.

Here is the link to the site where I got that information.

I. TRAGER & CO. USED BEAUTY TO CATCH YOUR EYE! - The Antique Advertising Expert

---

Meteorite(?) That Crashed Through New Jersey Home Roof.

A metallic object believed to be a meteorite crashed through the roof a home on Old Washington Crossing Pennington Road in Hopewell Township on Monday, May 8, 2023.Hopewell Township.

The meteorite  is the property of the homeowners.

Here is the link for more about that.

A meteorite may have crashed through the roof of an N.J. home, police say - nj.com

---

I generally don't do advertising but decided to let you know that there is a metal detector store in Jensen Beach.  The owner sent me an email and said he has fifty detectors in stock.  

Especially if you are new to metal detecting, it is better to purchase your detector where you can get some advice and hands-on instruction rather than purchasing for the cheapest price online.  Experienced detectorists might want to check a detector or piece of equipment out in person before buying too.

===

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

5/8/23 Report - Technology of Fakes, Counterfeits and Deception Takes Center Stage. Checking Serial Numbers on US Bills.

 

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

Drones Create Images In The Night Sky
At the Coronation Concert.
See Drone show lights up sky above coronation concert 👑 | Drone show lights up sky above coronation concert 👑 | By The Independent | Facebook

The crowds were amazed and entertained. It was pretty but nothing compared to what is to come in the near future. We are now deep into what I will call the Age of Deception and diving deeper at an accelerating pace.

It seemed to me like the drone light displays were a new thing, but we often mistake what is new to us as being new in a more absolute sense.  It turns out it has been done before.  Below you can see similar types of drone light displays - in China nonetheless.  Who would ever guess?

See (110) Drone Light Show: Amazing Intel Chinese Drones Night Sky Light Display Show For Celebrating - YouTube

One of the first things I thought of when I saw the drone images from the Coroniation Concert was some of the pictures of UFOs that I've seen.  Some of those could have been created the same way.  I've long suspected that some of those could be optical phenomena.

Years ago I saw a speech presented by a very realistic holographic image of a movie star at Universal Studios.  It was pretty amazing, and I started thinking about how easily that could be misused, especially with continued development of the technology.

In doing a little research, I just learned the term deepfake technology.  Here is the link.

Frontiers | Don't Trust Your Eyes: Image Manipulation in the Age of DeepFakes (frontiersin.org)

Of course the impact is greatest when the fake goes undetected, so who is to say how much it has effected us so far, but it seems we are being plunged into a world of deception in politics, economics and many other aspects of life,

Referring to the Antichrist, the Bible says, "It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived."  Revelation 13:13 - 14.  Interesting chapter and verse numbers!

Below is an interesting illustration of deception provided by the frontiersin.org site (link above).

In the video published on October 29, 2020, Mexican author and journalist Javier Valdez prompts president López Obrador and his administration, to fight harder against corruption and organized crime. Javier Valdez was murdered on May 15, 2017, as his digital alter ego explains in the beginning of the video. Presumably he was killed as a consequence of his investigations into organized crime. For 1 min and 39 s, the “Defending Voices Program for the Safety of Journalists” brought Mr. Valdez back to life using deepfake technology to demand justice for killed and missing journalists. The Defending Voices Program for the Safety of Journalists is a cooperation between the Mexican human rights NGO “Propuesta Cívica” and the German journalists association “Reporter ohne Grenzen” (Journalists without Borders) (Reporter ohne Grenzen, 2020).  You might want to read more of that article.

As coin shooters and collectors we should be aware of the problem of counterfeiting coins and currency, but the problem is bigger than that.

Online estimates reveal that consumers spend millions of dollars buying valuable or rare coins, but most receive near-worthless foreign-made counterfeits. An increasing number of counterfeit coins are being seized at US ports-of-entry. For example, in April 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Chicago’s international mail facility seized 279 shipments from China containing counterfeit coins and currency. In 2020, CBP seized over $1.64 million in counterfeit cash and coins at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.  (Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | The FBI Warns the Public of Counterfeit Coin Scams)

History has shown that when a society becomes morally corrupt, civility is destroyed, the society becomes unstable, and inevitably the nation slides towards collapse.  Religion delineates the line between right and wrong, drawing the line in an indelible ink that cannot be altered as the society matures and grows.  (How the decline of moral values promote the failure of civilizations - Bible Blender)

There are those who are actively promoting the decline of America at a time when the technology of deception is being perfected and the morals necessary to hold the decline in check have eroded.   The desire to deceive and the technology that makes it increasingly possible in so many areas of life puts new demands on the individual to be intently informed and discerning.  

Deception is all around.  You will be affected in many ways whether you want to take notice or not.  So will your children.

As they say, the best way to learn to identify a counterfeit is by becoming more familiar with the real thing.  Make it a habit to study the truth.

---

Dollar Bill With Interesting Serial Number.

As I've said before, I like checking bills, and especially the serial numbers.  I just found the one shown above.  The serial number is 76667660.  A complete 666 and an incomplete 666.  Transformation anyone?  

(You might want to read E. W. Bullinger's huge book, Number in Scripture.   It is a huge book, like the other genius books by Bullinger.

Below is what the serial number checker says about the serial number of my one dollar bill.

Ok. So that serial number is fairly rare and certainly interesting, but not really into the big money.  What if the last number was a seven instead of a zero.  

Here is what the serial number checker says about the 76667666 serial number.  That would be a definite "repeater," but the numbers are interesting and symbolic numbers.  Seven is generally regarded as the number of perfection and six the number of the world (days of creation of the world).  

As long as I've been checking the bills I get, I haven't found what I would call a valuable one yet.  Still, I keep looking.

---

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

A little more surf, but nothing very exciting coming up.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net