IRB question.

[LM]

Acronym needn't be elaborated on for the benefit of google or 'casually interested parties'.
Those capable of answering the question will know what it means.

Anyone having any luck around here?
I hit a Spanish coin beachside.

 

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[Jolly Mon]

Acronym needn't be elaborated on for the benefit of google or 'casually interested parties'.
Those capable of answering the question will know what it means.

Anyone having any luck around here?
I hit a Spanish coin beachside.

Shipwreck mystery unfoldsBelleair Bee - Tampa Bay Newspapers

 

[Salvor6]

I know what it means and no, there is nothing significant on Indian Rocks Beach. Head further south.

Jolly Mon, I posted the original article from the Bee that indicates a 1800's era vessel that sank of
IRB. I doubt that its the same vessel that that Joe Mecko found 15 miles off shore.

 

[Jolly Mon]

I know what it means and no, there is nothing significant on Indian Rocks Beach. Head further south.

Jolly Mon, I posted the original article from the Bee that indicates a 1800's era vessel that sank of
IRB. I doubt that its the same vessel that that Joe Mecko found 15 miles off shore.

This article? Treasure hunter donates artifactsLargo Leader - Tampa Bay Newspapers

I don't believe the discovered artifacts travelled 10 to 15 miles to shore...not a chance...but it certainly seems that someone has been finding shipwreck items in the OP's area of interest. I suspect he knows of the stories...

 

[Salvor6]

Yes Jolly there is shipwreck debris washing ashore on IRB but it is not from the wreck 15 miles out.

 

[ScubaFinder]

I hunt IRB regularly, no old silver or gold yet but I do pretty good there on modern jewelry. I also find quite a bit of native American pottery sherds and artifacts (keep your eyes peeled). My fiance works on IRB and one of our best friends lives in Shipwatch just across the ICW. I have hunted extensively at the end of Ulmerton and also the area up between 16th and 20th streets. I did find one piece of copper sheathing that looked like authentic shipwreck material to me but that is it. Lots of rust flakes that look like coins around that area, probably from the 1800's wreck.

You say you hit a Spanish coin beachside, any date guesses or better yet, pics?

Jason

 

[LM]

You say you hit a Spanish coin beachside, any date guesses or better yet, pics?

Beach'ish

Its mostly encrusted but definitely a coin, appears to be a 4. Will post pics later.

 

[ScubaFinder]

Beach-ish may be my new favorite word. LMAO Can't wait to see the pics...I've always had sort of a hunch about IRB (not based on any psychic impressions of the area just north of there). I just get a feeling of impending goodness whenever I'm hunting there. Congrats on the find!

 

[GatorBoy]

Love the quotes!
"Beach-ish" "impending goodness"
Makes my swinging arm start to twitch!

 

[ScubaFinder]

I was on IRB last night just before sunset. Didn't have a detector but I eye-balled a few pieces of pottery and this object. It sure looks "worked" to me, is there such a thing as an arrowhead or point made out of bone? The material is certainly bone, it looks to have some serious age to it, and the shape is pretty close. Should probably post it in the native American or What Is It forum to be sure, but thought it fit nicely into this thread too. Any luck on the coin pic LM?

 

[LM]

I'm going to put the pic on hold for now. Will post it eventually.

That's definitely interesting. I'm a huge fan of artifact hunting (even though I never get to actually go out and do it) but by no means an expert. I do know that things that are shaped like arrowheads as a result of natural coincidence are 10X more common than arrowheads themselves. Would be interesting to find out just how old it is.

 

[ScubaFinder]

I agree with that, this is actually the 2nd arrowhead shaped bone piece I have found this year. The other was found at a known paleo site and was verified by a museum official who I tried to donate it to (he told me he wouldn't have it in his museum because I had looted it and no provenance could be established in an academic fashion, whatever). I think I will take all of my IRB pieces and have them looked at...one of my pottery sherds has some markings on it and they all seem to have the same look and feel. Would like to know more about who made them, and I'm a recent transplant to the bay, haven't studied the local culture as much as I should have by now.

 

[GatorBoy]

If you're positive it is bone I would say no.. however saltwater tends to put a black patina on Flint and chert artifacts.
It looks like just a fortunately shaped fossil to me.
Points were made from bone but most always are socketed or made like a "pin" .

 

[LM]

(he told me he wouldn't have it in his museum because I had looted it and no provenance could be established in an academic fashion, whatever).

Those people make my blood boil.

Some years back, I had a conversation with Jack Williams, a St. Augustine resident who, through intelligent research, purchased the property that was eventually proven to be Fort Mose. Prior to 'inviting' in the academics to validate what he had, he did plenty of fieldwork on his own and excavated some artifacts. He told me a similar story about being chided by some cubicle-archaeologist regarding the work he did.

Of course, the irony is that if we had left it up to academicians, Fort Mose would have been lost forever under condos. The actions of this one guy who not only took the time to put the puzzle together but put his money where his mouth was in a big way, actually buying the site itself is why Fort Mose is known, yet he gets berated by these classroom idiots.

There are a few issues where the chasm between do-ers and 'teachers' is just impossibly wide. This is one.

 

[LM]

If you're positive it is bone I would say no.. however saltwater tends to put a black patina on Flint and chert artifacts.
It looks like just a fortunately shaped fossil to me.
Points were made from bone but most always are socketed or made like a "pin" .


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If you're an experienced artifact hunter

 

[GatorBoy]

If you're an experienced artifact hunter, I own a site a few hundred feet wide by about 1/4 mile long- within a mile of Lake George and Drayton Island where the N.A. artifacts are common as air- that is probably worth investigating further.

Lots of NA. history on that lake.
I would love to have permission to investigate..or at least answer any questions you might have.

 

[LM]

Sure, go ahead and send me a PM. We can get ya out there if you want.
We can discuss details when I'm back on the internet later this evening.