GeekyBeach Metal Detecting

GeekyBeach Metal Detecting

Metal Detecting & Lost Item Recovery

Category: History

Uncovering History at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary

Just north of San Francisco, the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary overlooks 900 acres of open water that is closed from October 1 to March 31 each year to…

Lyford House

A Winchester bullet shell found on the beach property near the Lyford House.

Just north of San Francisco, the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary overlooks 900 acres of open water that is closed from October 1 to March 31 each year to serve as a sanctuary for migrating waterbirds. This beautiful property is maintained by the Center with trails and gardens that are open year round, summer camps, a youth conservation leadership program, and numerous volunteer opportunities.

As a metal detectorist, I’m interested in the history of the property which includes the Lyford House – a home originally located at Strawberry Point, moved by barge in December 1957 when threatened with demolition. Once owned by Benjamin Lyford (1841-1906) and Hilarita née Reed (1839-1908), it is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

After speaking with the Center Director and obtaining permission to metal detect on Lani’s Beach lining the property, I am now cataloging my finds and learning more about the history of the property and its owners.

Beach metal detecting finds including a spoon, shoe buckle, and metal scraps

A group of finds from Lani’s Beach on the Audubon Center Property

Because this is not a tourist beach in the traditional sense, the items found on this property are more likely to be relics of another time or items washed up from Richardson Bay. Some items discovered so far include Winchester bullet shells dating from 1901-1920, what appears to be a shoe buckle, mystery pieces of metal, vintage lead fishing weights, pieces of a small statue, and more. I’m excited to see what turns up after I spend more time on the beach.

Close up view of a Winchester brand

Close up view of a Winchester brand “Repeater 1901” No. 12 shotshell headstamp. Manufactured between 1901 and 1920.

It would be no surprise that in the early 1900s this would be a good spot for hunting. So far I’ve found four of these shells on one small area of the beach along with some other smaller caliber shells as well.

Detail view of what may be a metal shoe buckle

Detail view of what may be a metal shoe buckle

Small bronze loop

Photo after finding a small bronze loop.

I encourage locals to volunteer at the Richardson Bay location, or plan a visit! Let them know that GeekyBeach sent you.

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Change from Chile

Today was beautiful – the water was warm, clear, and calm enough to get out for nearly three hours in the water to search for some cool finds. My favorite discovery…

Today was beautiful – the water was warm, clear, and calm enough to get out for nearly three hours in the water to search for some cool finds.

My favorite discovery today made its way to my clear blue waters from Chile! It’s 100 pesos, so certainly not a big dollar value find, but it’s beautiful and in great condition. It reminded me of a poker chip when I first saw it in the basket – I hope it’ll be my new lucky coin.

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Rugged Russian Rubles

Coins are pretty much the guaranteed find when out on the beach. Sometimes I come across a few together (a pocket lost all at once), and occasionally something special. In…

Coins are pretty much the guaranteed find when out on the beach. Sometimes I come across a few together (a pocket lost all at once), and occasionally something special.

In this case, what I originally thought was a nickel turned out to be a Russian ruble at inspection time! It’s the first Russian coin I’ve found on the beach. At the moment, one Russian ruble is worth about 0.016 of a U.S. Dollar. So I’m not going to bank anytime soon!

However, this particular coin was minted in 2008 making it worth perhaps as much as a dollar (if it were in good condition)! The composition is “Cupronickel” which is copper-nickel – an alloy of copper containing nickel, iron and manganese.

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Maria Del Rosario De San Nicolas

This find is another one in the “I thought it was a coin” file. the size made it seem like a U.S. quarter, but when I wiped away the sand…

This find is another one in the “I thought it was a coin” file. the size made it seem like a U.S. quarter, but when I wiped away the sand using my thumb and fingers, I could feel that there was a raised area.

What is that?!

I thought perhaps it related to the Catholic faith and so did my parents and sister, who I roped into the mystery over text messages.

Looks like a person holding a kid to me.

Yeah it does. Maybe St. Joseph?

Saint holding baby Jesus?

Saint Christopher?

Mother Mary?!

I’ll ask a Catholic person, haha

 

It took quite some time, after the pendant dried, to make out the words which are: MARIA DEL ROSARIO DE SAN NICOLAS

Knowing that, I was only a Google search away from knowing more about this relic. Maria Del Rosario De San Nicolas or in English, Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás is a title of veneration of the Virgin Mary in Catholicism. It dates back to the 1980s in the city of San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Argentina. The image of a standing Madonna offering rosary beads to the faithful, resembles Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

So we weren’t too far off! That puts the date on this sometime after 1984. Judging by the look of this relic, it had been buried for a long time. This was found after a storm that washed away several feet of sand and exposed many older items for me to find.

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A Tribute

The beach police decided to cut my detecting short tonight…on Valentine’s Day! What better gift to a detectorist than to be out on the beach finding metal goodies? He even…

The beach police decided to cut my detecting short tonight…on Valentine’s Day! What better gift to a detectorist than to be out on the beach finding metal goodies? He even made fun of me a bit for “not having anything better to do” on Valentine’s Day.

How that made me feel:

He didn’t realize how much he hurt my feelings. On the beach is just where I wanted to be after a day of horrible news from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Not too far from me, I had friends and family reaching out to see if I’d heard the news. I cried thinking about those young people and how abruptly they lost everything.

So my finds picture tonight is a heart shape not for Valentine’s Day, but for the victims of that horrible shooting and their family members who will go through so much pain.

 

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