A little piece of history on a Florida beach

[SDBob]

Beautiful day to be playing in the sand here in Florida. Found a handful of coins including a wheatie, sinker, a metal shim (?) unless someone knows what it is. Also found a 50 caliber shell about 10 inches down. It has SL 43 on the top and a google search shows it was made at the St Louis Ordnance plant in 1943. I was detecting at Sunset Beach just north of St. Pete beach. Does anyone know if planes did target practice along the gulf in this area in the 1940's?

 

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[ARC]

Go behind Caddys...
and parking lots around it.

 

[ARC]

You are in the wild south east... heh...
everything happened here.
But now you are in the central wild Florida...
Everything ELSE happened here.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Were you detecting in the water? (ie.: in and out of the ebbing surf)? Or on the high-dry sand ? I just read on another forum that any item over 50 yrs. old "from the water", has to be turned in to the appropriate state official or archie. So .... I'm assuming you're speedily on your way to state capitol, at this very moment, to do-your-duty, right ?

 

[ARC]

"parking lots" tend to be in the dry areas

 

[Peyton Manning]

I think it used to be legal to strafe the beaches when the Canadians came down

 

[SDBob]

Were you detecting in the water? (ie.: in and out of the ebbing surf)? Or on the high-dry sand ? I just read on another forum that any item over 50 yrs. old "from the water", has to be turned in to the appropriate state official or archie. So .... I'm assuming you're speedily on your way to state capitol, at this very moment, to do-your-duty, right ?

It was in the sand

 

[ARC]

Its sunset beach my friend...
tis laid back...
That beach has had a million detectors on it... as well as every other beach in florida...
no one really cares... As long as you follow the rule of filling your holes.
BUT do not let this discourage you...
It also had had 50 million tourists a year...
IF you find an ancient something or another (which I highly doubt)...
But if you do... then as long as you are on the sand AND NOT IN DUNES...
you are O.k....
Now something ancient from the water... ehhh welp... that is on you man.

 

[ARC]

Been years since I have been down there... I am north of there...
But I lived on Sunset beach... back in ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh prolly late 70's-80's...
and lived all over those beaches till 16 or so... been back many times...
LAst time I detected there... I ended up in dirt parking lots...
nailed it... ton of change... particularly around the parking meters.
But rings pop up there... the drunks at night get in fights ... or sloshie... whatever...and lose crapola everywhere.

 

[Eddie Current]

I found the same type shell, from the same armory, at the same beach about 3 months ago. The area was used for training during WW2 and these things show up every once in a while. When they dredge & replenish the sand the stuff comes in for us to find. I have been told there is even civil war munitions found in the area every once in a while. One guy found a hand grenade in front of the Trade Winds Hotel a few months ago that made the local news and was posted on this forum. Dig with care...

 

[cambria09]

Beautiful day to be playing in the sand here in Florida. Found a handful of coins including a wheatie, sinker, a metal shim (?) unless someone knows what it is. Also found a 50 caliber shell about 10 inches down. It has SL 43 on the top and a google search shows it was made at the St Louis Ordnance plant in 1943. I was detecting at Sunset Beach just north of St. Pete beach. Does anyone know if planes did target practice along the gulf in this area in the 1940's?
View attachment 1118905 View attachment 1118906

Hello SDBob. Apparently it is not uncommon to find ordnance like yours near FL coast lines. I have found ammo like this on several FL coast sites. See link. Thanks for the post and HH. C9

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/441408-big-ammo-misc-relics.html