1565 & 1715 Items St. Augustine Treasure Coast

[Whydah]

Some things are worth more than GOLD... Rich with history St Augustine was very good to me a few years ago... Although I didn't get any silver pieces of eight that season... I did manage a few nice buckles that were scattered along the beach that day.... These buckles came from the 1715 Fleet area....
On my next trip down south, I was lucky enough to score yet even more buckles from the Menendez / Ribault Massacre area of the beach... I found these 3 buckles that date back to the 1575 period... I love the larger buckle, it has an anchor for the latch part of the buckle... Not sure of their worth, but to me they are priceless... Thanks for following my posts... Happy Hunting....

 

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[DnD]

The renourishment of Anastasia Island is extensive and there is more going on now in the state park. But hope springs eternal!!

Those kind of finds are excellent conversation pieces and heck, you can actually let your family touch and hold them...unlike a museum. Finding them is more than just a matter of scarcity, a lot has to do with geography, timing and the weather.

For kicks and giggles, i attached a map to show the approximate 230 mile drive from St. Aug down to the treasure coast's 1715 fleet. St. Aug is horribly sanded-in and probably slim-pickens until a hurricane comes through.



Next, here is an image of the proximity of the gulf stream along the Atlantic coast. Its NE Florida's natural buffer to diverting many hurricanes, but lower and south Florida are far riskier to ships. In comparison to the south, the north has fewer sunken ships and of those ship that did sink, the weather is less likely to move keepsakes from the ocean floor to the beach.



Another nifty little map of landfalling hurricanes from 1950-2004.

 

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[birdman]

That is so amazing! I really would love to hunt a shipwreck with some historic value. Another bucketlister.

 

[diggummup]

Don't know but heard that detecting isn't allowed in St.augustine.
Any truth to that?

Yes true however, there are no actual beaches within St. Augustine city limits. The only beach within city limits (excluding the intracoastal) is Anastasia State Park which extends to the inlet and north of the inlet is Villano beach which is not city property. As far as I know "St. Augustine Beach" (a different city) is not included in the ban and beach hunting is not off limits.

PS- Those are some sweet buckles you found WHYDAH. Thanks for sharing.

 

[NCGREG]

actually its called JELOUSEY

If I may toss in my .02 ... I agree with you 100%, Our Govt. would rather let these small, but very interesting historical items stay hidden and rot, than to let an average citizen find them. We have the same problems here in my area. Very nice finds, I love old ship wreck stuff especially when it's found within reach in the surf.

 

[DnD]

The county website is equally clarifying & confusing. The map shows St. Johns county and the city of St. Augustine. Of the various cities/territories of St. Johns county, St. Augustine is labeled on (5 of 10) total zip codes. Most of the "Old Town" area or historic district (c.1500's) is in 32084, leaving a small part in 32080 and 32095. Historic is a contextual statement, as a big part of the county was settled mid 1800's. So, there are public beaches in St. Augustine...


I'm sure some of you are curious so I'll go ahead and share that there are forts and various small landmarks in the surrounding areas of St. Augustine, but these are so well identified / guarded / patrolled it would be like trying to MD at the White House. Another point is although St. Aug is considered to be the oldest city in the U.S., it was really a small outpost. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of settlers came to Chesapeake in the 1600-1700's. It was also a main location for raw material (exports) and finished goods (imports) such as guns, glass & metal cookingware, etc. Using statistics, there are millions of more chances to find artifacts in the North as there are in Florida.

-David

 

[mr_rich]

Cool finds! I used to search the Matanzas area but only found beer cans and tabs! lol! I was looking for a cannon ball in that area just know some have to be out there.

 

[diggummup]

The county website is equally clarifying & confusing. The map shows St. Johns county and the city of St. Augustine. Of the various cities/territories of St. Johns county, St. Augustine is labeled on (5 of 10) total zip codes. Most of the "Old Town" area or historic district (c.1500's) is in 32084, leaving a small part in 32080 and 32095. Historic is a contextual statement, as a big part of the county was settled mid 1800's. So, there are public beaches in St. Augustine...

-David

Zip codes and the city designations they use are totally confusing too. My sister lives in Campton, Ga., yet her mailing address is Monroe, Ga.. My other sister lives in Walnut Grove, Ga, yet her mailing address is Loganville. I'm sure if you addressed something to St. Augustine and the person lived in the city of St. Augustine beach, it would still be delivered based on the zip code but... The city of St. Augustine and the city of St. Augustine Beach are two completely different cities.

St. Augustine- ftp://ftp.bocc.co.st-johns.fl.us/gis/media/MapMart/st.augustine11x17.pdf

and St. Augustine Beach- ftp://ftp.bocc.co.st-johns.fl.us/gis/media/MapMart/st.augustine_bch11x17.pdf

Two different entities. Are you saying that beach hunting is off limits in the city of St. Augustine Beach?

 

[DnD]

Are you saying that beach hunting is off limits in the city of St. Augustine Beach?

The following information can be found publicly on the Archaeological Resources Protection Acts, State of Florida & Florida counties ordinance webpages, as well as contacting the local sheriff's office for each county. Based on that information, I believe the following to be true:


NOT ALLOWED:
Historic areas, private property, conservation areas (commonly the grassy dunes along beach), and "the keeping of artifacts from any other location" (see Florida.gov's definition of artifacts and the Archaeological Resources Protection Acts).

INDIVIDUALLY SPECIFIED:
Many state parks do not allow metal detecting unless you have acquired permission and arranged a meeting day/time to metal detect for a special cause., e.g. filed a police report with photo evidence of a lost wedding ring. In this situation you can google-search and find many stories about people who were escorted and supervised by park rangers or similar enforcement agencies to search a limited area for a limited time.

ALLOWED:
Areas with public beaches allow "beach combing" in the sand --- sand that is located between the edge of the surf and the base of the grassland / sand dunes. HOWEVER, many area's of beaches are randomly roped off to protect seasonal visits from wildlife and are then restricted from entry & excavation.

So if you look at google.com's map of St. Augustine Beach, you'll find the area north of the beach is a state park and allegedly off-limits. The area's west and about 8-miles south of it also have state parks, historic areas, and wildlife conservation areas. If you are near these borders, take the necessary steps to know what you can and cannot search. Keep in mind, St. Johns county sheriffs have A LOT of 4x4 SUV's that, almost hourly, pull off A1A and drive the beaches. -my $0.02

 

[diggummup]

The following information can be found publicly on the Archaeological Resources Protection Acts, State of Florida & Florida counties ordinance webpages, as well as contacting the local sheriff's office for each county. Based on that information, I believe the following to be true:


NOT ALLOWED:
Historic areas, private property, conservation areas (commonly the grassy dunes along beach), and "the keeping of artifacts from any other location" (see Florida.gov's definition of artifacts and the Archaeological Resources Protection Acts).

INDIVIDUALLY SPECIFIED:
Many state parks do not allow metal detecting unless you have acquired permission and arranged a meeting day/time to metal detect for a special cause., e.g. filed a police report with photo evidence of a lost wedding ring. In this situation you can google-search and find many stories about people who were escorted and supervised by park rangers or similar enforcement agencies to search a limited area for a limited time.

ALLOWED:
Areas with public beaches allow "beach combing" in the sand --- sand that is located between the edge of the surf and the base of the grassland / sand dunes. HOWEVER, many area's of beaches are randomly roped off to protect seasonal visits from wildlife and are then restricted from entry & excavation.

So if you look at google.com's map of St. Augustine Beach, you'll find the area north of the beach is a state park and allegedly off-limits. The area's west and about 8-miles south of it also have state parks, historic areas, and wildlife conservation areas. If you are near these borders, take the necessary steps to know what you can and cannot search. Keep in mind, St. Johns county sheriffs have A LOT of 4x4 SUV's that, almost hourly, pull off A1A and drive the beaches. -my $0.02

I already knew all of this. I was just under the impression that you thought beach detecting was off limits, that's all.


Sorry to hijack your thread WHYDAH.

 

[DnD]

I already knew all of this. I was just under the impression that you thought beach detecting was off limits, that's all.
Sorry to hijack your thread WHYDAH.

It's all good Dig'm -- figured this would be for all the "lurkers"

x2 about hijacking whydah's thread

-David

 

[lookindown]

Nice buckles and great history...congrats.

 

[CPGs1]

Hey all,

Anybody have a contact info for William Bartlett or anyone who's currently doing work in St Augustine? Thanks!

 

[birdman]

Fantastic buckles, I have a cousin in Jacksonville. I went up last year but did not even try to detect.