| Last summer off Fort Pierce, Florida, on board the salvage vessel Cobra, my crew and I were in the process of excavating our fourth unit of the day when my friend, Dave Rust had to go pick up his girlfriend from the shore with the small boat. It was supposed to be his turn to dive and check the hole with his detector for artifacts, but I said I would check it out. (I didn't really mind because on holes 1 & 3 I had already found 20 musket balls.) After almost completing the inspection of the hole, I found a huge flat rock (6'X8') in my way. I knew I could never flip it over but I tried to move it anyway. To my astonishment it slid over (like moving a bank vault door) and I began checking under it with my metal detector. I got a small "hit" and figured I had found another one of those darn musket balls. I began fanning gently and as the sand disappeared I saw a layer of black mud below. As I continued fanning, a bright gold object began to appear. Seeing the glowing gold against the black background was absolutely incredible. After almost 300 years under a 900 pound rock, this delicate piece of jewelry was in perfect shape. Mel had told me stories like this but until it happens to you, you can never have that feeling. What a day! By the way, Dave doesn't let me work his "Holes" anymore. |  |
