Detector Stuff » beach hunting locations

Carl Cladoff's Beach Hunting Tips…Cuts

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:59:33 +0000

Carl Cladoff

DetectorStuff Member Carl Cladoff recently responded to my inquiry about reading beach cuts…and how to find the goodies therein. His response (originally seen HERE) give great insight into the awesome dynamics of surf and wind…and how they factor into whether you finish a hunt with treasure…or nothing! Thanks for allowing me to publish this Carl! -Mark

Yo Mark! I usually refer to those ‘sand cliffs’ you see primarily in the fall and winter as a cut…terminology may vary depending on where you are…

This was September at Kitty Hawk:

Last fall at Kure Beach

Pine Island last winter

The sharper the edges and the steeper the drop…the fresher they are…ideal time is when they are being created by the surf but it can be the most hazardous to your own safety…not recommended…choose the calm after the storm…hunt from the bottom of the cut to the surf line.

Rip in background, some may call it a scallop…notice deep hole by the darker shade of water…excellent area for a water detector if current is weak:

Cut with rock exposure Dec'08:

Another view of erosion:

This was extracted from the rocks:

Get on high ground. Look for ‘rips’ and ‘ horseshoes’ by standing on a lifeguard stand, a hotel balcony, pier, or beach cam. Rips can be very subtle and hard to see or they can be an obvious ‘riptide’. Watch the sea foam, especially for the subtle current. Most of the water line will have foam oncoming…look where the foam seems to be outgoing. A riptide may have
seaweed that you can observe going out. Do not get in the riptide for safety’s sake. Ask any of the quaded
mobile lifeguards where the riptides are located. They can tell you the street locations. I discovered this last year.

The horseshoes’ and horseshoe cuts are much more noticeable in the fall. Tracking them
from the center of the arc towards the water usually reveals a line of coins, followed by
pulltabs and lighter rings, progressing to fishing weights and heavier gold jewelery. All
sorts of similarly weighted objects can be in the mix.

The last 2 weeks have been very slow for me due to the mid summer sand build up. I have noticed small pockets of targets, mostly coins where I have found black sand. Water hunted this weekend for 4 plus hours at low tide covering a mile stretch of troughs and holes…2 targets…a quarter and a pair of sunglasses. Many many Blue Crabs in the water and in the shallow surf this weekend…bring a chicken neck, some string, and a poled net…can fill a bushel basket in no time!

Good hunting! CC

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Caribbean Hurricane Coins – Tony Mullen

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:47:06 +0000

“Caribbean Hurricane Coins”

By Tony Mullen

Frank mullen (left), Tony Mullen (center), and Tony's daughter Suzanne proudly display their hurricane treasures. Even though Frank and Tony had high hopes for their detecting vacation they never envisioned anything like this... over 1,000 coins, a 14K diamond & emerald ring, a 14K diamond & sapphire ring, pendants, charms, earrings a bracelet, scores of keys, and more!

My father, Frank Mullen, and I are relatively new treasure hunters, but after our recent trip to the Caribbean we came home feeling like old pros. Actually, the truth is we just came home feeling old! We have been detecting for about a year now; but it is difficult for us to get together to hunt since we live 200 miles apart. I live in Claremont, North Carolina, and he lives in Roanoke, Virginia. Over the last year, however, any excuse to get together and detect was a good one.

This particular story started with a phone call at work in late August. Dad called to see if I would be able to clear my schedule in October for a trip to the Cayman Islands. All of the details were soon worked out, and the arrangements were made; but now the most difficult part had begun: a month and a half to wait. That leaves a lot of time for a treasure hunter’s imagination to run wild! You know how it is – visions of pirate’s gold, not to mention modern coins, watches, rings, and other valuables literally littering the beaches, just waiting to be scooped up! Finally, the day had come.

On October 12 I loaded up the family, my wife Teresa and daughter Suzanne, and we met my parents, Frank and Barbara Mullen, at the airport in Charlotte. We all arrived safely on Grand Cayman that afternoon.

As you know, when you fly, the big question is, where will your luggage go while you are on vacation? So, we thought it best to take our detectors as our carry-on bags. That proved to be an interesting experience, as my bag and I got a great deal of attention from security at the airport in Charlotte. After I showed them the manual for this “device,” as they called it, they had no problem allowing it on the airplane.

Shortly after we arrived on the island, another visitor blew into the country. Her name was Irene. . . later to become the infamous Hurricane Irene. The rain squalls began before we actually got out of the airport. We arrived at our condo and settled in for our first topical storm on foreign soil.

We spent most of Tuesday trying to hunt between down pours, but with little luck.

Wednesday was about the same: 40+ mph winds and lots of rain.

Despite all of this, we still managed to find a few coins, but nothing to write home about. By late Wednesday, however, cabin fever was kicking in. Finally. we just decided to hunt in the storm.

So, we hit the beach, stopping occasionally under the Australian pines for shelter.

Although we began finding a fair amount of coins, after about an hour of hurricane hunting we decided to hang it up until tomorrow.

Thursday morning came, and we were up before the sun. As dawn broke we made our way to the beach, and our hearts sank when we saw what had happened. Rough seas had eroded the beach overnight, stripping away 2-4′ of sand. I thought, “It’s all gone now”. We were standing, looking over a 3′ drop- off into the water when we saw what we thought was a coin. I jumped in to get it, and my Fisher CZ-7A went crazy! There were coins everywhere! Dad jumped in with his White’s XLT, and we were scooping up coins left and right! After the initial rush of 20 to 30 coins, we decided to settle down for some serious, methodical searching. So, we spread out regained our composure, and began searching. After about two minutes of hunting, I heard Dad shout, “Bingo!” When I turned around, he was grinning and holding up a lady’s 14K ring with six diamonds and three emeralds… the first ring he had ever found. Not a bad start! The hurricane that we thought was going to ruin the hunting turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us. All day long we continued to dig coins from the 250-yard stretch of beach. Even while we were digging, there were more coins washing up on the beach.

Money was just rolling in out of the ocean! We had never seen anything like it, and in all likelihood we probably never will again. Eventually, my mother decided to venture out, and she too began finding coins.. . without a detector! After a couple of hours we decided to head back to the condo for lunch. I couldn’t wait to tell Teresa about the morning we’d had. She was unable to get out that day because Suzanne, who is only 9 months old, was running a fever. You know how new mothers are about taking their babies out in hurricanes!

However, Teresa was not to be outdone. While doing some laundry, she had found a handful of coins in the washer and dryer at the condo where we were staying! That day alone netted us over 350 coins, three rings, a silver cross, and a pendant.

The next morning we were up with the sun once more, and, as before, the beach had eroded overnight. So, we decided to hunt the same area again. When I got to the beach, I headed south with high hopes. For some unknown reason, though, I turned around and began working my way back north. When Dad got to the beach, he asked me where I had turned around, and he started searching from there toward the south. About 45 seconds later, I hear the familiar, “Bingo!” You guessed it. There he stood, grinning again, holding up another 14K ring, this one with four sapphires and three diamonds. I could kick myself for turning around! As I said, we hunted the same stretch of beach again that day. and it was almost as productive as before. The real challenge was keeping our detectors out of the water. We were hunting in pretty rough surf that was ankle-deep one minute and waist-deep the next. It was amazing to see waves like that in the Caribbean.

As the week progressed, the weather improved. Unfortunately, as the weather improved the erosion stopped the finds decreased. Not only that, but our week was coming to an end. We were scheduled to return to the U.S. on the following Tuesday.

We decided to take an inventory of our finds before we left, and on Monday night we laid it all out and took pictures. At that time we had found 928 coins, five rings, a bracelet, numerous pendants, charms, earrings, 49 hotel keys, and a pair of sun- glasses that I wore home. (Mom wore the rings home!) After we counted the coins, we thought it would really be a shame to be that close to 1,000 and come up short. So, we decided to go for 1,000 We only needed 72 coins to make it. Determined to reach our goal, we set out early and hauled in 77 coins Tuesday morning to bring the total to 1,005 coins. We had never imagined anything like this! The heart-stopper of the trip was when Dad dug a Spanish coin dated 1792. But we found out later from a local coin dealer that the coin had been cast several years earlier for the Caymanian’s nationally celebrated Pirate’s Week.

We are now in the process of cleaning all those coins, many of which are encrusted and still unidentified. So far, we have coins from six different countries, and the oldest is a 1947 Wheat cent. However, with so many coins left to clean, I expect that we may have few more surprises awaiting us in the bunch.

The trip is over now. We have returned home to face reality once again, but we really enjoy showing the pictures and talking about all the treasure we brought home. The fact is, though, that I took the real treasure with me – the time spent and memories made with my family. The stuff we dug up was just a little bonus. Thanks for a great trip, Mom and Dad. Last but not least, thank you, Irene.. .

wherever you are!

Two happy hunters scan the sand at Grand Cayman! Thanks to Hurricane Irene, Tony and his Dad had a treasure-filled trip they'll never forget!

TONY MULLEN gave up golfing and started metal detecting about a year ago. He says he prefers detecting over golf because he takes out fewer divots!

-July 2000 western & Eastern Treasures

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Garrett Guide to Beach Hunting – Where to Search

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:56:38 +0000

Well, here you are, on the beach at last, proper detector in hand and dressed for any kind of weather. You’re equipped with a selection of digging tools, and you have the pouches and pockets to store that treasure you expect to find.

So, what next?

When you walk out onto a beach, where do you begin? How do you select the most productive areas? This is possibly the question I am asked most frequently by beginning beach hunters (and, more experienced ones as well). The answer, first of all, is that nobody should go pell-mell onto a beach and begin scanning here and there without a plan. This is truly for beginners. There is a right way and a wrong way to search for treasure. As I have stated so often in my books, “Start fight and be successful!”

You must begin by being in the right place at the right time. The following discussion of research will suggest sources that will lead you to productive sights. This Guide will also suggest how you can take advantage of tides and weather to put you there at the right time.

The dedicated treasure hunter always first answers the question of “Where?” With research. Beyond that, experience must be the teacher. Inquiring and attentive hobbyists continually pick up ideas from other more veteran beachcombers, but the final decisions must be based on individual perceptions and intuition. Experience alone will educate the beach hunter about places that never produce and other places that are often rewarding. A knowledge of storm, wind and wave action will often rescue someone studying a new beach. Later, I’ll relate how this helped me.

My books and those of other treasure hunters list numerous research sources where both general and specific leads can be found for searching beaches with a metal detector. As the hobbyist researches these various sources, techniques and abilities will improve. That’s why I urge anyone to apply himself of herself to beach hunting for at least a full year before attempting to judge this aspect of treasure hunting. And, when you seek to carry out research, I implore you not to be haphazard or sloppy. Be diligent and methodical; your progress and success will be amazing.

Always begin locally; your home territory is the area you know best. Use every source of leads and information; seek out old timers; visit or write chambers of commerce and tourist bureaus. Don’t forget to contact historical societies; leave no source untouched in your investigation of an area. To speed up work always be specific. Ask about information concerning both past and current swimming beaches, resorts and recreational areas. Throughout history, certainly that of this country, swimming has always been a popular activity. Don’t overlook the favorite beaches of years gone by, either. Also, ghost towns are not limited to mountainous areas; they can be found on beaches as well. Treasures from the past are always found in and around them.

When checking newspapers, pay particular attention to accident reports that will usually give the location or at least the name of a particular beach. Review old newspapers; be especially alert for the Sunday weekend or recreation columns that proclaim the holiday joys of swimming and sunbathing at local beaches. Advertisements of beachwear occasionally offer clues to areas of activity.

Don’t overlook old postcards; antique shops can be a good source. If there is a postcard collector in the area, pay him or her a visit. Old picture postcards can be reliable X-marks-the-spot waybills to treasure.

If you are not a member of your local or regional treasure club, consider joining. If no club exists, get together with other hobbyists and start one! While you can’t realistically expect to discover many secret “sweet spots” for finding treasure you can get to know others who share your interest and enthusiasm. I can assure you that swapping treasure tales and techniques broadens everyone’s knowledge, sharpen skills and increases success rates of members. It always helps me!

Don’t be content to work only local beaches. Broaden your scope; it may pay rewards. For example, if you live in northern California, make a study of the history of the San Francisco Bay area. Many ships have gone down there, losing valuable cargo’s of silver and gold, much of which has not been found. Violent storms often churn up ocean bottoms and cast sunken treasure on the beach. Other estuaries and harbors may not yield the precious metals of the Golden Gate, but historical study of any coastal area can often reveal locations for profitable metal detecting.

Never overlook the possibility of finding flotsam and jetsam washing ashore from offshore shipwrecks. Regardless of the age of a wreck, some cargo-especially gold, silver, copper and bronze objects-will probably remain in fair to excellent condition for years, decades or even centuries. Gulf coast and Caribbean shipwreck locations still yield silver and gold from the mines of Mexico and Peru. Gold and silver from California and other western states can be found along the Pacific coast.

When researching reports of shipwrecks, don’t overlook Coast Guard and Life Saving Service records. Newspaper files and local and state histories are good sources of information. Insurance companies and Lloyd’s Register may provide precisely the data you need.

Assategue Island, off the coast of Maryland and Virginia, has proven to be the depository of much cargo from shipwrecks of yesteryear. Treasure hunters, scanning the beaches with their metal detectors, have found valuable coins and relics, some of which “marked” the location of larger treasures. Although much of the island is controlled by the National Seashore Service, portions are open to the public. Permission to search with you metal detector can sometimes be obtained on National Seashores; it never hurts to request permission.

Stay alert to current weather conditions. You’ll want to search at low tides-the lower the better. After storms come ashore, head for the beach. When oil spills deposit tar and oil on beaches, there’s a good possibility bulldozer and other equipment used to remove it can get you much closer to treasure. Watch for beach development work. When pipelines are being laid and when seawalls, breakwaters and piers are being constructed, work these areas of excavation.

I hope these examples of potentially productive areas offer ideas that will encourage you to expand your territory. Treasure hunters often travel thousand of miles in their quest for treasure. You can do likewise, especially if there is a pot of gold (or escudos) at the end of your journey. But, I must stress that considerable local treasure is all around you-wherever you are located. I am positive of this because I know that lost or hidden treasure exist everywhere. Find what’s in your backyard first; then, hit the treasure trail!

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