After irma finds : colonial era bridle rosettes, gold wedding band, hardwood logs

Blak bart

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Jun 6, 2016
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Its been a long hard grind we really took a beating. I had no power for 2 weeks and just got internet and cable last thursday. I lost my kitchen to a broken pipe behind my cabinets and wall and have been struggling with water problems too. Im finally getting back to some normalcy. Demolition on my kitchen starts tomorrow so I may hunt treasure and make myself gone. I was lucky to get out 2 times since the storm to hunt spanish treasure. I got lucky the second day with some bridle rosettes from my 1733 galleon survivor camp spot. photo-641.JPG
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There are 2 rosettes stuck together like nested bowls. They are brass and others that ive found at this spot have been silver plated, and a couple pieces have been solid silver. Also found some strap keepers and other decorative pieces here. This is one I found after the hurricane photo-635.JPG the one on the bottom was found earlier this year and shows what they look like cleaned up. The clean one is also solid silver. I know that its not the most impressive spanish treasure but when put in context with the rest of the parts that have been found over the last year and a half, it starts to make more since. I have not cleaned them yet and they are still soaking in distilled water. Heres the rest of this collection. photo-634.JPG
The clear cups at the top are my new additions still soaking. The story behind the bridal parts are still a mystery. There could be more than one and they were being shipped back to europe from the new world, or maybe its one elaborate carriage harness, or perhaps it was a parade bridel for a high ranking officer or nobleman. Whatever the case there were some very decorative pieces that you would not have seen on the averge mans bridal of the time. photo-632.JPG
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I started to find these parts in nov. of 2015. If you search " colonial era bridal rosettes" you will see a couple that are exact matches to some of mine.i have found coins mixed in with this stuff dating from 1621-1733. Gonna try for more tomorrow if weather permits. We have gale warnings, ripcurrent warnings, a king tide, coastal flood watches, and a tropical wave moving in tonight. Already seen 40 kts. today. Almost all my free time has been spent hunting down the biggest hard woods that have been blown down. 20170922_110953.jpg many of these trees are endangered and protected under federal law. They can only be taken when downed by storm or permitted by the county and a bioligist.im slabing these giants and cureing as much as possible before they go to the mulcher. The big dollar tree is the west indies mahogany by far. others include black iron wood, wild tamarind, jamacian dogwood, buttonwood, sea grape, Lignum vitae. To name a few. This may be the biggest treasure I ever recover in my life, as I have already gathered tens of thousands of dollars worth. This is hard dangerous work that is not for the faint of heart. Its an opportunity I cannot miss though. This is us cutting our way to a downed mahogany and an iron wood. photo-656.JPG heres my new mill saw. wore out the old rig one week after the storm. 20171003_192909.jpg
94 CCs with 36 inch bar. This saw stands about shoulder height. A kick back with this saw can split a person pretty good if not kill you. Last but not least I got a nice heavy 14k wedding band in my front yard. photo-652.JPG photo-651.JPG I was dragging limbs to the front yard, and decided to pull some hurricane beaten shrubs and bang out pops this ring from one of the root balls. Dose not belong to any one in my family so must have been the previous owners. Right now the treasure hunters are every where. People are picking through trash piles, there are scrap metal guys, appliance pickers, and ive even met 2 seperate cutting crews from up north hunting and harvesting downed hardwoods like me. Its a free for all treasure hunt right now. Even had my trash pile picked last night by 2 old cuban woman. They got my rusty old gun cleaning kit and were super excited about there find. Sorry for rambling on, its been a long time without posting so I got a little excited. Good luck and happy hunting everyone !!
 

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ZR2guy

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Jan 6, 2011
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Good stuff! Keep it coming!:icon_thumright:
 

dsdigger

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Jan 5, 2017
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Nice finds and good to hear that things are headed back in the right direction if a bit slowly. Take care with the wood harvesting and let us know how it's going there. GL:icon_thumright:
 

CASPER-2

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Jan 3, 2012
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villagenut

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Oct 18, 2014
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Glad to see you up and running BB. That horse tack is all pretty elaborate, probably wouldn't have been on my horse if I was living back then.Good stuff!
 

RustyGold

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Aug 16, 2013
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Awesome finds and great post. I wonder if some guitar builders would be interested in that Mahogany?
Best of luck and stay safe around that mill.
 

Davers

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Jan 8, 2013
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Great post.

Glad yr saving all the Wood, & nice old relics. Lucky / Good eye Ring to.
 

coinman123

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Feb 21, 2013
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That wood is breathtaking! Amazing finds from the beach, good luck with your kitchen too!
 

penzfan

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Glad you made it through the storms with life and limb intact. I've lived thru many hurricanes from 1979 thru 2017 and know the fury they are capable of delivering...
 

Louisiana Ken

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Sep 17, 2012
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Neat finds and congrats on the gold!!!!
 

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