Coin Beach (Delaware) find

[brianc053]

Hi Detectorists. I normally post on the gold forums, but think I have something worth posting about on these forums, and I definitely have some questions, so here goes.

My family and I are spending Columbus Day weekend in Bethany Beach, DE, just down from Coin Beach (famous for the wreck of the Faithful Steward in 1785). My son and I have searched the beach before, but only with our older White's Prism. This was the first trip where we could try the MXT on the beach.

Just after high tide this morning we his the Beach and to the north of the access road we found...a lump, pretty close to the water's edge and about 6-8 inches down. We pocketed the lump (which I now know is a concretion) and moved on.

This afternoon I took the lump to a local who runs a museum (on the second floor of a store - you may know the one) and he was nice enough to crack the conception open in his "preservation area". I did ask "do you hate when people pull things out of their pockets?" But he seemed very willing to help.
He spent about 10 minutes on the find, and as time went by I got more hopeful.

When he brought out the finds I was amazed. We'd found two things in one concretion: an iron "spike" and what looks like a watch key (about the size of a dime). I asked about whether they were from the Faithful Steward, and while the expert couldn't say definitively...it appears the items are likely from the wreck.

Here's where I have questions, which primarily pertain to the iron spike. Is the spike the whole fiber-y looking thing in the concretion? (I've included pictures of it as it looked after it was first split apart, and some hours later after soaking in fresh water and as the concretion started to fall off.). How do I preserve it?
The local expert talked about letting it soak in fresh water for a very long time, and then letting it dry out, and then applying....something (?) to it that would preserve the metal.
So...those fibers are the spike? They aren't the wood it was driven into? (It looks like wood to me...).

As for the watch key, does anyone know how to research the origins of something like that? I'm not an artifact expert. It looks like it has some letters ("L"..."O" maybe) and some stars.
Any thoughts on preserving this artifact?

Thanks in advance all.

- Brian.

The concretion with the spike:


The concretion after 4 hours in fresh water:


The watch key:

 

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[OBN]

Dale is one of the best for sure. On the wood I would say linseed oil or impregnate with carbo wax to preserve the wood.....

 

[BARKER]

Hi Brian; About the Watch Key. I believe it is definitely Nautical in it's Nature. There appears to be more Lettering and Designs on it tan just LO. If you take a piece of paper, place it over the key and do a pencil rubbing you may be able to make out further details on it. Also some of the Lettering & Designs are covered over by concretion. Soak them some more for several days and that stuff will come off making it easier to ID ok. Post the pictures of BOTH sides when done. We may be able to hellp you more then ok. PEACE:RONB

 

[brianc053]

Thank you guys. Here's a picture of the other side of the key. I'll do as you suggest, Barker, and after I get it cleaned up better l'll post more pictures. (I had taken the key out of the water already - its back in now.) - Brian

 

[smokeythecat]

Keep them underwater. Fresh water. After 2-3 weeks, change out the water, repeat for a couple months. Test the salinity of the old water before dumping by using a hydrometer from an aquarium store. That will give you the salt content. When done I've seen professionals use diluted Elmers' glue with water used to soak through the item to keep it from falling apart. BTW there was more than 1 wreck from that beach. The Three Brothers went down in the same spot in 1774.

 

[brianc053]

Good morning! I've attached a picture of what the water looks like this morning. I'm assuming this is normal (?). And I should resist the temptation to rinse out the water and make it clear again, smokythecat? I can do that (though it's hard to resist the temptation).

How long should I keep the watch key in the water? Can it be gently cleaned with a dental pick or wire brush?

Is anyone interested in periodic updates as the weeks go by and I try to preserve this iron spike?

- Brian

 

[brianc053]

I had to move the items to a new container for transport back home today, so here's a pic with fresh water.

I love that you can see the black imprint left by the original spike shape in the concretion on the right. It looks like the spike had a rounded top. Can that concretion be saved as-is to preserve that visual?

Given the state of decay of the spike itself, do you (the experts) think this spike can be saved? I'm reading about all the steps required and I'm up for the challenge. The spike does seem to be "solid"; there are two concretion pieces still connected, one at the top and one at the bottom, held together only with the spike, and the whole thing felt solid when I moved it to the new container.

- Brian

 

[deldave]

Interesting finds. I was there early, way too rough for me. I find quite a bit of lead sinkers, etc. Many hours, few finds, and never a coin yet. They are found regularly as surface finds but not by me. I still search north and south of the inlet after storms, mainly keeping an eye out for sea glass, etc. Hope to try a little later in the week. Good luck and HH

 

[brianc053]

Good luck Deldave. Keep searching - you'll find something!
I mentioned that my son and I have been going there for years now, but I didn't admit that before this find we hadn't found much of anything.
Well, we did find an old spoon once but it was about 100 years old (still cool, but not from the wrecks. A different local suggested it may have been from the old life saving station).

My most discouraging trip to Coin Beach: we were there after Hurricane Sandy, on the day that they reopened the beach. We had to flee NJ during the storm and were staying down in Bethany at a family condo. On that day when the opened the beach my son and I were there early, and were maybe the 2nd pair on the beach. A few hours later there were dozens of metal detectorists. There were some "professionals" that showed up on the beach and they had super high-end equipment and radios to coordinate their searches. We were about 10 feet from one of the professionals when she found one of the infamous Coin Beach half-pennies. She wasn't very nice; she would only let my son (10 years old at the time) glance at the coin from a distance, and then she shoved it in her pocket and moved on. Not my kind of detectorist. She found a second coin a short time later.

We found nothing but garbage. I wish I had a "Hurricane Sandy Find" story, but I don't. I've learned not every search will turn up something noteworthy.

One more story from the weekend: my son and I went out on Sunday after the rain stopped (about an hour before low tide) and we found a coin! We got so excited, but upon further examination it looks like a very corroded Roosevelt dime. I wonder if the bank would even give me $0.10 for it...

If you use your imagination you can see Roosevelt's neck and chin:


And on the back you can kind of see the center torch and the branch on the left (sort of, blurry pic sorry):


My son had a great time and wanted to go back over and over. And that's what REALLY matters to me!


- Brian

 

[brianc053]

Here are pictures (front and back) of the supposed watch key after cleaning.
Anyone have any further thoughts on what this could be and what the markings are?
- Brian

 

[smokeythecat]

Pics look nice. I got there and there were already 20 or more people on the beach. I saw the "pros" too. They did ok. But I didn't find any coppers until Thanksgiving week and come the new year found a full gold guinea lying on top of the dry sand! Pros don't get it all. I was there Sunday and got nothing but some sea glass. Need some winter storms first.

 

[OBN]

There were some "professionals" that showed up on the beach and they had super high-end equipment and radios to coordinate their searches. We were about 10 feet from one of the professionals when she found one of the infamous Coin Beach half-pennies.

I honestly have to say I have yet to see a Pro.. other then Dale The good thing about this hobby even the weekend hunter can make a killer find. I was there for a hours just walking around checking out everyone.. no detecting this trip, I like to check out the competition before I hunt.. And really there is no secrets other then just getting out there and doing the time, treasure can be any where with a storm of this strength