Admit it! Everyone who has ever listened for that buzz of a detector locating its target has dreamed of unearthing great wealth. Even in a sedate, well-kept part where one really can’t expect to find an outlaw cache or pirate treasure, there’s always the possibility of an antique piece of jewelry or a priceless old coin. At the ocean’s edge, the imagined treasures grow even grander. On a more practical note, most hobbyists are just as happy to dig up a single coin and are overjoyed to find more than that. The Typical beach hunter would gladly settle for just the coins and rings lost daily by those who use the water for recreation and commerce.
Thus, if should be a continuing goal of hobbyists to search where targets are most plentiful… to seek treasure where it is hiding, if you will. You can believe me when I say that it has been my experience over decades of treasure hunting that beaches will yield treasure more valuable and in greater quantities than sites away from water.
Think of all the coins, jewelry and other valuable objects that fall into the sand. While you scan a metal detector over the beach or ocean bottom, constantly keep this vision in mind: only a few feet beneath the sand’s surface a veritable “blanket” of treasure awaits the treasure hunter. And, this blanket is continually being replenished!
My advice to any metal detector hobbyist, therefore, is to become a beachcomber. The joys are countless, and the rewards are constantly surprising!
Just what is a beachcomber, anyhow? I describe him or her simply as a person who searches along shorelines. And, what is being sought? Just about anything! There’s always plenty of flotsam, jetsam and other refuse. Often, it’s merely junk, but it can be lost wealth. Out of sight below the sand lies that blanket of treasure awaiting the metal detector. Always remember, however, that the value of any treasure is ultimately determined only by its finder. Keeper finds can be anything from a weathered float to a costly piece of jewelry. Oftentimes, the greatest joy for the beachcomber comes simply from walking the beach, from experiencing soft winds off the water and feeling the sand under bare feet while listening to the tranquilizing sounds of surf and sea breeze. The rewards of a metal detector are but an added bonus.
While beach pickings can be good almost anytime, certain seasons, months and even hours of the day will prove to be better than others. This Guide will point these out. Let me caution you here and now, however, that as a first-time beach hunter, you will probably meet with disappointment. But, don’t most great ventures begin awkwardly and without great reward? Persistence is the key! After just one year, a pleasant “season in the sun and sand”, most reassure hunters will find themselves forever hooked on beachcombing. Too, they’ll be richer for the effort, both in pocketbook and spirit.
Where people congregate, treasure can be found. There can be no disputing that statement; it’s that simple. Try this test. Visit any local park on a pleasant spring or summer day. Count the people and watch their activity. How may did you count? Chances are that you saw a few dozen. What were they doing? They were probably walking, picnicking or perhaps engaged in some sports activity.
Now, drive to a local swimming beach. Make the same observations. How many did you count and what were they doing? You probably counted the same few dozen, plus several hundred more who could lose valuable treasure. And, they too were walking, picnicking or engaged in some sports activity. But, their frolicking and horseplay in the surf or dunes seemed far more likely to dislodge jewelry and other treasures than the sedate activities park.
You can be sure that treasure will be lost at that beach every day. And, I don’t mean “cheap” treasure. People consistently wear expensive jewelry while sunning or swimming. They either forget they have it on, or they don’t understand how they could lose it. It can’t happen to me, they must think. But, it will… and does!
Beach treasures awaiting the metal detector include coins, rings, watches, necklaces, chains, bracelets and anklets, religious medallions and crucifixes, toys, knives, cigarette cases and lighters, sunshades, keys, relics, bottles, fishnet balls, ship’s cargos and other items that will soon fill huge containers. And, for some lucky, persistent and talented hunters, their dream will come true. They will indeed find that chest of treasure hidden by some buccaneer or 17th century Spaniard who never returned to claim his cache.
It’s hard to understand why people wear jewelry to the beach. Yet, they do, and they often forget…even about valuable heirlooms and diamond rings. But, whether sun bathers and swimmers care about losing their possessions or not, it’s just the same for the beachcomber. All rings expand in the heat; everyone’s finders wrinkle and shrivel in the water and suntan oils merely hasten the inevitable losses. Beachgoers play ball, throw frisbees and engage in horseplay. These activities fling rings off of finders and cause clasps on necklaces, bracelets and chains to break. Into the sand drop valuables where they quickly sink out of sight to be lost to all save the metal detector.
How many times have you watched coins, jewelry, keys and other beach “necessities” being placed oh-so-carefully on the edge of a towel or blanket? Then, in a hurry to escape a sudden storm or just through carelessness, the sunbather grabs and shakes the blanket. There go those “necessities” into the sand. Even though the valuables are sometimes immediately recovered, many are never found except by a metal detector.
Boys and girls play in the sand. Holes are dug, and sand is piled up and made into castles and other elaborate structures. In this process toys, coins, digging tools, jewelry, knives and other possessions are lost until the metal detector or keen observer discovers them.
The tale of one such pair of keen eyes on the beautiful beaches of Grand Cayman was related by my good friend Robert Marx. This beachcomber spotted something shining on the sandy bottom in shallow water. To his astonishment it turned out to be a gold cross covered with diamonds. Without telling anyone, he returned later with scuba equipment and really struck it rich. Using only his hand to fan away thin layers of sand, he recovered a fantastic cache of treasure, including a large bar of platinum dated 1521, various bars of silver bullion, a silver bracelet in the form of a serpent covered with emeralds and a large gold ring bearing the arms of the Ponce de Leon family. Since there is no evidence of a shipwreck ever having occurred in the area, the treasure – perhaps the booty of a conquistador – was probably buried ashore and washed out into the shallow sea as the beach eroded.
Few are this lucky –and, believe me, luck is important to the treasure hunter, no matter how great his skill and training-but beach treasures await all of us, ready to sing out in response to the signal of a modern metal detector.