Probably, the nicest find today was this dragon pendant made of solid silver and weighing in at almost two ounces. The eye had a red garnet gem stone in it but don't you know it came out and was lost while cleaning (down sink drain). Everything silver in the springs turns sulphur looking after a while.
Though everything found today was silver, I know tomorrow will bring gold.
Didn't have much time this weekend for treasure hunting but did manage to stop at West Side Park in Gainesville, FL for an hour before sundown. Aside from three dollars in change, the only other find was this gold cross with scroll work on it. It is a strange looking piece with a hole in the center of the cross. I wonder if it signifies anything?
Well, I should not complain. At least I found some more gold. Yeah!
Both of these pendants were found in the water at Crandon Park Beach, Miami, Florida.
The horn-type pendant is made of silver but is hollow and very light in weight. The oval pendant is twice as heavy yet is smaller than the horn-type pendant.
After about the twentieth foil signal one deserves to dig something besides foil. This 20 inch, .925 sterling silver necklace was one of those finds. It was not deep, but only a couple inches under loose sand at Brandon, Florida's only elementary school playground.
After waiting most of the afternoon the tide finally went out all the way and with the wind blowing briskly off shore, more of the bottom normally under water, was exposed. That's when I found this terrific 14k gold cross and chain just under the sand in light surf far from the normal low tide line. The chain was attached but the clasp was broken.
It has been almost a year since hunting Jacksonville Beach, Florida until yesterday. Now, I will probably go back again--but I will make sure it is extra low tide with offshore wind exposing new territory first. Obviously, this is where most of the treasures are kept hidden from the locals.
Florida went into daylight savings time a few weeks ago, giving me almost 3 hours of daylight after work. Today I took advantage of it.
To the right is a very nice, heavy sterling silver necklace with a piece of either gold or brass bracelet. I found both pieces at one of Gainesville, Florida's local parks in the sandy area by the swings. Summer is on the way and I love it. Now I am NOT limited to weekend hunting only.
Somehow, somewhere this pendant was stepped on and broken. Luckily I found both pieces. It is fourteen karat gold and was found in beach sand at Port Lucaya Beach, Grand Bahamas Island.
The Bahamas Island beaches are International playgrounds for the wealthy. Most yield good quantities of jewelry lost by those visitors vacationing there.
This quarter-ounce gold pendant was found in the Bahamas Islands at Zanadu Beach, Port Lucaya-Freeport. Zanadu Beach has been good for other gold pieces of jewelry in past hunts, as well.
Metal Detecting in the Bahamas Islands is no different than hunting the beaches of North America except the beaches there are 100% more productive.
The pendant pictured to the left is probably my most valuable find to date. It is an eighteen karat, one-half ounce gold eagle clutching a one-half karat, cross-cut blue diamond. Appraised value: $1,200. It was found at six inches depth in very hard packed clay in a one-hundred and fifty-year-old Gainesville, Florida park. The jeweler said this pendant is probably better than one-hundred years old by the cut of the diamond.
Here are all three, three pendants that is, and a necklace. Every bit of this find is 14 karat gold. Oh yeah, I found this in about four feet of water at Hart Springs in Gilchrist County, Florida.
Some of my best finds to date have come out of the many crystal clear springs in North Central Florida
This gothic pendant is typical of the finds in the numerous springs in North Central Florida. This .925 sterling silver cross complete with chain was found in one of them.
Most of the jewelry I find in springs are in excellent shape due to the purity of the water. And, then, too, most of the finds are recent losses. There are others who hunt the springs as well. I guess I let the cat out of the bag after announcing finding early 1920's coins in some of them.
Funny, but when I saw part of the gold rope chain sticking out of the sand at Ft. Meyers Beach, Florida, I still swung the coil over it before I dug it up. It was high up on the beach and yep, it sounded sweet to my ears: the unmistaken sound of gold. The onyx stone pendant? Probably never would have found it without the rope chain. The gold on the stone alone registered as foil.
You know, I'm not sure what this stone is, or if it is real or not. I really do like the find, though, because it is another treasure. It is just a small pendant I dug up from a sandbox at a local elementry school yard.
Yup, it's gold all right. And right off hand I would say this pendant was a gift to a senior of some high school in 1980. I found it in about four feet of water in Poe Springs out of High Springs, Florida. Love them springs!
Poe Springs originally belonged to the Women's Club of Alachua County, Florida but was turned over to Alachua County. Since then the park has grown in popularity.
This was a surprising find. It came from the yard of a one-hundred-year-old school house close to the University of Florida at about six inches depth under grass. This pendant is gold and holds four diamonds totalling over one-half karats. Certified appraisal: $595.
I can just picture a small child taking mom's jewelry to school and promptly losing it in the playground.
While waiting for my son to come out from band practice at school, I combed the sand and gravel parking lot with my Fisher. In a matter of only a few minutes I came up with this gold pendant.
It seems like some of my best finds come when I am just casual hunting, usually while killing time. A metal detector makes a great adult pacifier.
