MontAmmie

Welcome, G!

1 hour ago, Swampstomper Al said:

I did hit the end of 520 yesterday (Sun) afternoon BTW for low tide (low tide?, what low tide??) in total disregard to web cam advisement and common sense.. Waste of time and guzzeline.. Still all slope, roil and rip.. Mebbie after this front moves through late tomorrow things will finally flatten out..

Swamp

Dang, Al, nothing?  I was thinking about going up there in a day or so, when it quits raining, the surf calms down, and the low tide time gets a little more convenient.  The only problem is that we're also supposed to get a little preview of January in a day or so.  Wednesday's high is only supposed to be 74, which is almost pleasant unless you're in the water or wet.  The water is still warm, so it might not be too bad.  Man, I hate to see winter coming.  I really despise having to hunt in a wetsuit.

Better enjoy the beach "erosion" while we can.  The big sand dump is still right on schedule for late 2018, early 2019.

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2017/06/02/beach-project-rides-rocky-road/355384001/?hootPostID=67f7b180b8bfcc5496069749fc0cc93c

On 10/20/2017 at 8:51 PM, steveg said:

  I managed about 5 bucks in clad, a junk earring, and a junk necklace pendant, plus the usual assortment of pull tabs, ring tabs, lead weights, zipper pulls, etc. etc.

Steve

Steve, if you don't mind me asking, how many hours did it take you to acquire that magnificent hoard?  That would be about 10-12 hours worth on our barren beaches.  My results may be skewed since I don't usually dig low-high tones unless signals of any kind are REALLY scarce.  About the best thing you're gonna get on our beaches with a low-high is a quarter, and I have yet to see one worth digging out a foot of sand for.  

Our beaches around Indiatlantic are weird.  Jewelry of any kind is rare.  I'm doing really well if I find one piece in a 4 hour hunt, BUT out of the jewelry I do find, about half is either gold or silver (mostly silver).  At Cocoa, about 12 miles north of here,  I can collect a pouch full of fake crappy bling in about 2 hours.  But out of about 10 trips up there this year I've managed only one thing that was the real deal. Strange.

Happy Hunting!

Sherry

3 hours ago, IdahoPeg said:

One more month and I'll be there hunting too! The surf has looked really rough on the Sebastian Inlet webcam. :-)

Hey, Peg!  Rough ain't even the word for it!  I got in about knee deep today and I thought that riptide was gonna take my scoop and my arm off right along with it.  Maybe we could go down to Turtle Trail and find us some "real" reales when you get back!

1 hour ago, steveg said:

MontAmmie --

VERY nice find!  LOVE the ring (along with the possible Reale)! 

I just got a taste of beach hunting for the first time (down in Destin, FL); let's just say I have ALOT to learn!  Also, I borrowed an Infinium LS from a friend, as I had considered taking it with me on that beach trip (instead of a Minelab FBS machine)...but...WOW.  Having never swung a PI unit before, that thing was CONFUSING!  I tested it for quite awhile in my "test garden," and I simply could NOT wrap my brain around how to decipher all the noise that thing made, and how to decide which noises "mattered" and which did not!  Sure, I could hear many of the coins I have buried, but I could also hear a bunch of other stuff that was noise/falsing/EMI and who knows what else!  So I gave it back, and took my trusty Minelab!

I am impressed not ONLY with your finds, but your ability to understand the Infinium's strange language so well as to be able to MAKE those finds!

Steve

 

Thanks, Steve.  The Infinium is just like any other detector, you just gotta spend the quality time with it to learn its language. Once you do, you really won't be digging much more trash than with a VLF machine.  If you live near any sort of civilization, it was probably EMI you were hearing.  Mine will get noisy if I'm close to Cocoa Beach Pier or even a beachfront hotel sometimes.  Did you find anything at Destin?  I'm thinking about making it one of our stops next spring when we leave Indian Harbour Beach.

Sherry

Rod, I don't know where in PA you live, but it can't be too far from some New England beaches?  The stuff they are finding up there in the rocks after the sand is washed away by autumn storms is amazing.

5 hours ago, Swampstomper Al said:

Welll, they don't call it Half-rial Beach for nuttin', if that's where you were.. 
Even wiped & pitted clean they are still nice finds..!

Swamp

I'd rather have a big gold ring. 

On 10/18/2017 at 9:42 PM, rod-pa said:

MontAmmie,

You could take it to a coin/jewelry shop that has an XRF analyzer, to see if it is 90%, sterling, etc.  That would narrow it down quite a bit for foreign or US, then a good diameter measurement would help further.  With that much metal gone, weight is obviously out the window for ID.  

I'm not that curious, Rod.  It was an interesting find, but I'm after gold when I'm out there digging.  I learned something today that I'll share with ya'll.  When you encounter a tent stake graveyard.....like 10 of them all in one little area in shallow water... sloooow down and search every inch of it.  Sometimes it holds other goodies, like 14 K men's wedding bands.  

2 hours ago, steveg said:

I'd be interested in hearing your take on interpreting Sanborn maps; I have used them and generally know what they show for the most part, but you mentioned that they'd show "where the biggest tree in the school yard was."  I guess I don't know everything there is to know about reading the maps, because I don't recall seeing trees noted on the maps.  How are they depicted by Sanborn?

Steve

I looked at some of my maps and you're right, no trees.  Not sure where I dreamed that up from.   

I do see what I think may have been outhouses.  Small square "sheds" behind the houses without an "X", which would indicate a stable.  Even if they weren't, there would have been foot traffic between the main house and the shed.

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

You seem to have gotten into a good relationship with that Infinium since you purchased it earlier this year.  Well done.  Goes to show one doesn't need a $5k PI to find good stuff.  Hope you have a true 18th Century or earlier Spanish coin there, even if it's deteriorated to the point of no detail.  

I love my Infinium and I think it's an awesome machine to hunt our beaches where the targets and scarce and deep.  I sadly put my "maybe coin" in my "never know" ziploc bag.  Just makes me want to go find a better one when/if it quits raining!

50 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Intriguing, for sure.  It seems quite circular.  Aren't the early Spanish American-Colonial coins way out-of-round?

Does it ID close to the dime?  (Looks a bit smaller than the dime, but if silver it should still hit pretty high.)

I got it with the Infinium, so no ID.  I'm thinking it may be what's left of a half reale. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part!  The date is really close to the edge, so the outer circular decorated part is totally gone, if it is.  The diameter is right at about 15 mm. Did I mention that it's really thin too?  Here's one on FleaBay.

About six inches down in the ankle-deep surf.  It's very thin and worn almost beyond recognition.  But it's obviously old, round and silver, and it was found on a treasure coast beach.  You can almost make out a date on one side, 1720-something...if you hold it at just the right angle in bright light.  One side is completely gone...as in slick as a billiard ball.  The yellowish coin is a modern US dime. Anybody have any ideas?

5 hours ago, Tiftaaft said:

Thanks Ammie,  I did find some Sanborn Maps at the local library online, so great suggestion!!  Now I just need to figure out how to read them. 

If you need help, just shoot me a PM.  I've been reading those things since I was 25, which was about 10 years ago. 

When dirt hunting for jewelry I go for the easy pull tabs and can slaw.  If my sun-ray pin pointer won't find it (2-3 inches, tops), I skip it.  I think it's a numbers game in city parks and such.  Maybe one out of 100 targets will be something good?  Deft can probably answer that question.  Last time I went to the park, I gave up after pull tab number 34.

See if you can find a Sanborn map with the school on it.  Check and see if your local college or university has them in their library, some even have them online for free.  If you find one with the school, it should show, 1) where the outhouse was, and 2) where the biggest tree in the school yard was.  Those 2 locations would be tops on my list.

The photo-bombing cat did it for me. Click.

2 hours ago, 57buick said:

Here in Oregon it's nice crystal clear water and rarely any kind of vegetation just gravel and no crocodiles lol Heck even snakes are almost non existent here in Western Oregon. But these swim holes not only have jewelry from the summer swimmers but are also in gold country in the mountains so could be some gold down there too

I have read about all these detectors before was just curious to see if one was significantly better than the others but sounds like it just comes down to price and preference.

I also have to get some kind of Hookah setup for diving in the river. I don't know how long it will take me to buy all this stuff lol

If those swim holes are anything like the ones in Montana, I hope you've got a nice, thick wet suit.  I do, and that snow melt still takes my breath away!  My only advice about your choice of detectors is to read everything you can find about PI vs VLF.  I have one of each, and they are vastly different beasts. Also, please be careful with that Hooka river diving and never go alone!

48 minutes ago, Swampstomper Al said:

What Steve said..

Neither do I dive, nor do I have much interest in oozing and squooshing my way around the vast majority of fresh water repositories central FL has on hand..

Swamp

Neither do I, Swamp.  I've seen too many large, hungry-looking reptiles lurking around the edges of said repositories.

8 hours ago, 57buick said:

Whats a good detector to try out for diving 20 to 30 feet in rivers in swim holes etc....... Maybe something I could pick up used? I was thinking maybe an Excaliber II or Garrett Infinium?

I've never used an Excal, but I do have an Infinium that I use in the ocean at least 2-3 times a week.  There's not as much trash in the seawater and the wet sand, but I still dig every tiny piece of it.  For rivers and lakes that are probably full of bottle caps and pull tabs-I'd pick the Excal every time. 

My low bar expectations for my new EQ, which is hopefully being assembled by MineLab at this very moment:

1.  Lightweight.  I am no spring, summer or even fall chicken, and my shoulder joints remind me of that every time I go out.

2.  Waterproof.  I think the majority of what's still left to be found is in a river, ocean or lake.  Just MHO.

3.  Be reasonably reliable and tough.  

4.  Perform as well as my 13 year old DFX.  And this includes positive ID on a stupid bottle cap.

If it does nothing but these 4 things, I think I'll be happy with my new EQ.  

9 hours ago, tvanwho said:

I always heard it was easy pickings after Florida storms? Maybe thats just an old wives tale thing?

I've lived here in Indian Harbour Beach for 4 years and have been metal detecting the beaches off and on for most of that time.  I've never seen "easy pickings" here, maybe Swamp has. Maybe at some of those "touristy" beaches south of here? IMHO, our biggest problem is all that new sand they dump on the beaches every year or so, just like clockwork.  Every time the storms come and some sand leaves and detecting starts getting a little better, HERE they come with those dump trucks and ruin it! 

With that said, I did find my first diamond ring last week, and probably due to the hurricane erosion, but I had to work for it.  We're talking waiting two weeks for the high surf to calm down a bit so I could finally get in a cut just off the beach (upper beach is still sanded in), and still getting slammed around pretty good and fighting a rip current.  The ring was at least 6-8 inches down, and since I was using a PI machine I had to dig at least 25-30 pieces of trash first.  It might have been easier with a VLF machine, but the heavies were deep, so I don't think my DFX would have gotten it, even if it was waterproof.

I love beach hunting, mostly because I love the beach and it's a great workout.  But honestly, I found more good "stuff" in the dirt in Tennessee.

Good Hunting Everyone!

Sherry

PS. Photo is sunrise, Canova Beach yesterday.

21 hours ago, Swampstomper Al said:

On Friday the beach was virtually abandoned -- to the point I was actually able to grid off the prime towel lines at Sheppard Park and detect well over 100 perpendicular feet from dune toe to water's edge, and within that area I recovered 4 dimes and nine pennies recent drops and two nickles + one quarter deeply buried.. That was it..!

This tells me whatever was there is now in the water.. So I guess I've finally run out of excuses for failing to replace my busted good water scoop and better do so pronto, cos if there's any stuff to be had that's where it now is..

 

Swamp, you did better than I did at Peppered Shark last week.  I got 12 cents and one corroded fake earring. 

I'd just like to add two words to what Swamp said, if I may. 

Renourishment Sand. 

Anything that washes out of the dunes sinks halfway to China in a matter of hours, if not minutes, in that stuff.  Especially with the big waves and high tides we've been having since the hurricanes.

5 hours ago, Swampstomper Al said:

Wait..! What..??

Ohai.. Welcome back, me.. Sure has been fun cleaning up after Irma.. Even my kids were neater..

Sherry, where you talking about..? I had no idea there's beach S of Pineda Cswy whos community has mandated detecting illegal..?

Swamp

Hey Swamp,

This is from an email exchange last June with Indian Harbour Beach Official City Person (aka Fun Prohibition Orificer) -

"The code that prohibits digging applies to all the parks, including beach parks. This code is not enforceable for the areas north or south of the beach parks." (yeah, only because Brevard County owns that real estate).

Me-"So you can't dig in the sand on the beach at one of your city parks?"

Fun-Prohibition Orificer- 

"Thank you Ms. Young!

 The City Code adopted in 1980 states that any excavation on the premises of a park is prohibited.  Therefore,  digging in the sand for buried treasures is a technical violation of this code.  However, is the city going to go patrol the beach and cite a family digging in the sand, making sand castles, or digging to cover up a patron in the sand? No, an officer will utilize his or her discretion.  However, if a park patron is digging near the dunes or a sea turtle nest I am confident the officer utilize this code to protect the environment, the dunes, and the park."

Thankfully, most of the beaches are owned by Brevard county.  I politely told them I would be voting against the city of IHB acquiring any more beachfront.  My original question didn't even concern the beach parks.  Imagine my surprise when they told me "don't even think about it in ANY of our parks!"

Yeah. I left my real last name on it.  Like you can't type MedStock Photos into Google and find out who I am, where I live, and what I had for breakfast.

Glad ya'll made it through Irma.  I hope we're done with hurricanes this year.

Sherry

 PS.  I think they are full of shite about having jurisdiction over beach sand.  The state of Florida owns all beaches up to the high tide line.

On 9/24/2017 at 8:11 AM, GB_Amateur said:

  Maybe I'm the one needing a new calculator....  How much do you want for that old, worn out Garrett?

Well, since it found me a diamond ring a couple of days ago, I guess I'd better keep it a little longer.  

4 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Looks like, while you're at it, you should replace your Garrett calculator with a Minelab. 

??????

$899 x 85% = $764.15

So the 800 will be about $764 with the military discount.  Yes!  Now, if they would just get me one out of R&D and into production I would be a happy camper.  Come on, Minelab, hurricane season only comes 'round once a year!