Boats have one more thing to deal with. They have to deal with the fury of the sea. I have seen the ocean during a hurricane with my own two eyes. It is bone chilling. It will make you realize just how small you are in the grand scheme of our wonderful planet. What was once a blue oasis of inviting water is now a massive mess of water and waves that have no logical pattern.
The ocean comes to life and the waves can surge as high as 50 feet. One wall of water after another smashes into itself, the land, the trees and anything else that is unfortunate enough to get in its way. You can't stop moving water. Waves of this magnitude will destroy anything in their path.
Now that you have the details. Try to imagine what it must have been like for these Spanish sailors in their ships that were already overloaded with massive amounts of treasure. Devastating winds, torrential rains, lightning, tornadoes and the fury of the sea sank every single ship in this convoy. Every piece of treasure these ships were carrying was now scattered along the east coast of Florida. The treasure loss is one thing, but thousands of innocent lives were lost as well.
The lone survivors made camps along the beach where they started salvaging as much treasure as they could. The Spanish would later take part in a recovery mission that would last 2-3 years. They built a large camp along the shores of the ocean, and with the help of local Indians they were able to recover a large amount of the treasure.
The Big Discovery
The treasure has managed to make its way all over the state of Florida. Pieces of it have been found far inland where local Indian tribes carried it along their daily routes, but the real history started to get uncovered in the 1950s when Kip Wagner found a piece of eight on the beach after a hurricane.
Kip put two and two together, consulted some older charts and maps and picked up an early model army surplus metal detector that was primarily used for locating land mines. Kip was able to locate the original Spanish recovery camp where he unearthed gold and silver coins, relics and pottery. The next logical step was to try and get a bird's eye view of the area.
Kip rented an airplane to help spot the wreckage of the ships. From his airplane view, he could see what looked like ships under the ocean. Kip, along with the state of Florida began salvaging the area by boat. They dove the waters and located hundreds of thousands of coins and other treasures. All of the coins they managed to pull from the ocean were in excellent condition.
This entire area has become a huge source of treasure for many eager treasure hunters. There are countless great stories from the past, and there are more being made every single time the weather in the area takes a turn for the worst.
Get Your Share of the Treasure
There is nothing stopping you from claiming your share of treasure in this amazing story, but there are a few things to consider before you embark on your treasure hunt. A waterproof metal detector that has been designed to work on the beach is going to be your best bet at finding any coins, but you can't legally use a machine in the waters here. You can only detect on the beach from the edge of the dunes down to the low tide line. You can't use a metal detector in the water, and you can't use one in the dunes either.
You should also plan your visit around any type of weather event. It could be a winter Nor'easter, or it could be a summer tropical storm or a hurricane. These types of weather events move a lot of sand and help to expose the older heavy gold and silver coins beneath. People do find coins and other pieces of treasure during any time of the year, and there have been people who have found treasure using nothing more than their eyes.
If you do go after a storm event, you can bet that you won't be alone. Eager treasure hunters descend upon this beach in droves. There are so many of them that you may find it difficult to swing your coil!
Where Should You Go?
The Treasure Coast starts just below Sebastian Inlet and extends almost all the way down to West Palm Beach. Just remember to fill in your holes, stay out of state parks, the dunes and the water. This is one treasure story where you get to be the star. Have fun and get some treasure of your own!
I could give you a more detailed map with very specific GPS coordinates, but an old pirate friend of mine would most likely keel haul me, and I don't feel like spending my final moments strapped to the hull of a pirate ship.
350 Year Old Golden Chalice
Florida's fabulous treasure coast is not the only coastline rich with treasure history. Just about any shoreline can have buried treasure. There are countless shipwrecks and past civilizations on pretty much every coastline in the world.
This awesome story takes place in the southern straits of Florida on a little chain of coral ridden islands known as the Florida Keys where the clear blue waters were a favorite among pirates and early Spanish explorers whose ships were almost always overloaded with treasure.
Enter the Treasure Hunter
20 year old Mike DeMar a former resident of Seattle, Washington moves to Key West, Florida to pursue a lifelong dream of finding buried treasure. He joined up with a salvage company by the name of Blue Water Ventures Key West, a joint venture partner of Mel Fisher's Treasures.
Blue Water Ventures Key West had been actively searching an area of the keys for over three years. They were searching for a galleon so overloaded with treasure that it weighed 480 tons. Like many other shipwrecks of this era, the galleon was carrying a little too much treasure.
A ship plump with treasure and a fierce storm always wind up becoming a deadly scenario and that is exactly what sealed the fate of this galleon. On board the ship were 143 passengers and an unfathomable amount of treasure.
Just four months into his treasure seeking adventures, Mike would make the find of a lifetime. It makes sense that this guy would find treasure in the ocean. His last name means “of the sea.”
Equipped with scuba tanks and waterproof metal detectors, team members scour the bottom of the shallow waters. They have made plenty of discoveries in the past and they know this area is rich in more than undersea life. Mike was in 18 feet of water when his metal detector signaled something buried beneath the sand.
Mike's first thought was an old beer can. It would not be the first one they had found. Unfortunately beer cans litter the floor of the ocean and they are something you have to deal with when you are hunting treasure.
Using his hands, Mike started to fan the bottom. With each wave of his hand, a small layer of sand was pushed aside until he had revealed a hole about 1 foot or .3 meters deep, and there it was staring him right in the face. An ornate golden chalice that was over 350 years old.
Initial reports say the chalice is easily worth a million dollars. That is £595,593 for you British folks. This incredible find is proof that lifelong dreams can come true as long as you put forth the effort to pursue them!
You can see this magnificent golden chalice for yourself at the following web address:
http://www.melfisher.com/goldchalice.asp
The Ringlemere Cup
The golden chalice found off the coast of the Florida Keys is certainly not the only golden cup in existence, and it is definitely not the only golden cup to be unearthed. This great find takes place across the pond in the historic town of Sandwich, England. Just curious here, but what do you think they eat for lunch in Sandwich?
In 2001, Cliff Bradshaw was searching a recently plowed field with his metal detector. It just so happens that Cliff is an “amateur” archeologist who has a fond interest in the Anglo-Saxon period.
For a period of over a year he carefully searched through a field where he was regularly finding artifacts. He knew his finds were not just random. He knew that this field must have had some sort of historical significance for the Anglo-Saxon period. If he was correct, then there had to be an ancient Anglo-saxon burial mound nearby.
Cliff noticed a slight raised area in the field. This had to be the burial mound. He immediately started searching the outside perimeter of the mound. He knew he would have a better chance of recover
ing treasure in the shallower sides of the burial mound.
It did not take him long to locate his first target, an Anglo-Saxon gilded brooch. It was buried a mere 8-10 inches or 20-25 centimeters below the surface. Of course this find excited him immensely. He continued to slowly search the outer perimeter of the burial mound. This is where he made the important discovery of what would be called the Ringlemere Cup.
Image courtesy of portableantiquities (Dominic Coyne, Young Graduates for Museums and Galleries Programme, British Museum)
The cup was badly damaged by a recent plow, but Cliff knew he was standing on top of something that would change history. He immediately called the local authorities who would later precisely excavate the entire burial mound.
A Controversy Develops
Cliff believed this site was Anglo-Saxon, but archeologists kept saying otherwise. Every other archeologist on the site said there was just no possible way this could be an Anglo-Saxon burial site. They all insisted it was a Bronze Age Barrow, but Cliff refused to believe them. He knew better. This controversy went on for a period of three years. Of course the professional archeologists knew better than some “amateur” swinging a metal detector.
This would all change in 2004 when other Anglo-Saxon burials were found on the same site just south of where Cliff made his original find. It seems he was right all along.
I almost forgot to mention. That golden cup he found was declared treasure. The value of this treasure was £270,000 or $520,000. Not bad for an “amateur” archeologist with a metal detector, huh?
As of this writing, the Ringlemere cup was on display at The British Museum.
Hoards
Hoard: A stock or store of money or valued objects, typically one that is secret or carefully guarded.
By definition alone, a hoard is something that every person with a metal detector is looking for. Wouldn't you agree? It can be great finding one or two older coins, but finding a hoard is something that most of us dream of!
It just so happens that people lucky enough to live in Europe are the ones finding these long lost treasures, and you will be amazed when you learn just how many hoards have been located and unearthed using nothing more than a metal detector.
My first guess would be in the neighborhood of maybe a dozen or so. As of this writing, there have been over 50 documented hoard discoveries over the years. If this many have been found and documented, just imagine how many hoards must still exist out there. You could be the next person to find one! What follows are some of the best metal detecting hoard finds.
The Hoxne Hoard
This incredible find has a really great story behind it. A local farm hand by the name of Peter Whatling lost a hammer while working. He decided to get in touch with a friend who owned a metal detector to help him find his lost hammer.
His friend, a retired gardener by the name of Eric Lawes was the obvious choice. What they found would wind up changing history.
During their initial search of the field, they discovered silver spoons, several pieces of gold jewelry, gold coins and silver coins as well. The two knew they had made a huge discovery so they called in the local authorities.
A team of archeologists was dispatched to the area and the entire hoard was removed in one day. The archeologists also used metal detectors to help them uncover the final pieces of the hoard.
Why this huge hoard of treasure was buried will never be known.
What Was Found?
This is a big one! 14,865 gold, silver and bronze Roman coins. The hoard also included over 200 additional pieces of treasure which included tableware and gold jewelry. In total, the Hoxne Hoard equaled 3.5 kilograms (That is 7.7 pounds for the Americans) of gold and 23.75 kilograms (That is 52.4 pounds) of silver. Could you imagine finding this with your metal detector? Here is a breakdown of this incredible find.
569 gold coins
14,272 silver coins
24 bronze coins
29 pieces of gold jewelry
98 pieces of silver tableware (spoons and ladles)
An intricate silver tigress
4 silver bowls and one small silver dish
one silver beaker
a silver vase
4 pepper pots
2 silver locks
a small ivory pyxis (a small round box used to hold women's cosmetics)
Check out the pictures of this incredible find!
This image is a reconstructed version of the box the hoard was originally found in.
Image courtesy of Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).
Four golden bracelets that were part of the hoard.
Image courtesy of Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).
The intricate silver tigress
Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindas_pictures/
A fabulous gold body chain that was also part of the hoard.
Image courtesy of Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).
Whew! I need to catch my breath after looking at those pictures.
What Was It Worth?
£3.02 million or $4,983,000
When Was the Hoard Discovered?
November 16th 1992
Where Was the Hoard Discovered?
Southwest of the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, England
Where Is It Now?
The British Museum acquired the Hoxne Hoard in April of 1994.
Interesting Facts About The Hoxne Hoard
The entire hoard was found in what was left of a large wooden box that could be thought of as a treasure chest. This discovery helped changed the local laws about metal detecting and finds that have a significant archeological significance. As of this writing, this is the single largest hoard of Roman silver and gold coins found in Britain.
The Frome Hoard
What Was Found?
A clay pot with 52,503 1800 year old Roman coins made from silver and bronze. The coins date back to AD 253 to 293.
Image courtesy of Portable Antiquities Scheme from London, England
What Was It Worth?
£320,000 or $531,520
When Was the Hoard Discovered?
April 2010
Where Was the Hoard Discovered?
In a field in the southwestern region of England known as Frome, Somerset.
Who Found It?
63 year old Dave Crisp was the one lucky enough to find this amazing hoard. Find out more about this hoard and Dave's other great finds in his book. You can find it in the UK Amazon store.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metal-Detecting-need-know-started/dp/1897738471
Where Is It Now?
The hoard was on display in 2011 at the Museum of Somerset.
Interesting Facts About The Frome Hoard
As difficult as it seems, once Dave knew that his find was much more than 21 roman coins, he chose to leave the entire hoard in the ground until some archeologists could arrive and properly excavate it. That is one decision that no one could take lightly.
The Frome hoard would wind up being the largest find of coins in a single pot in the UK.
The Vale of York Hoard
What Was Found?
A total of 617 silver coins that were later discovered to be from a 10th century Viking Hoard. The coins were not the only items found. There were also ingots, ornaments, precious metals, hacksilver and a gold arm band.
Image courtesy of Portable Antiquities Scheme from London, England
Image courtesy of Portable Antiquities Scheme from London, England
Image courtesy of Jmiall
The entire hoard was found in a bowl lined with fine silver and gold leaf. The outside of the bowl has a brilliant decorative pattern with vines, leaves and six different hunting scenes depicting lionesses.
Incredible Metal Detecting Discoveries: True Stories of Amazing Treasures Found by Everyday People Page 3