My wife Reba smiled towards me as the aging small plane began it's final descent down through the massive billowy white clouds. Below us lie the now familiar rugged coastline and emerald green waters of the Caribbean Sea. For over a decade now the warm tropical sunshine and lure of lost treasures have kept us coming back to a string of small islands off the coast of Venezuela. Although an avid Civil War relic hunter since the early 1960s, the exploration and settlement of the New World in the Americas by the Spanish and other European super powers has also through the years been of great interest to me as well. Last summer our ongoing efforts here were rewarded by the discovery of seven British 24- pounder iron cannon barrels found along this isolated coastline. Efforts to salvage and restore these 18th century pieces are still underway.

This years research had brought us to a site that we realized had once provided a safe harbor from the seasonal hurricanes for both trade and war ships. A series of former military fortifications silently stretch out along a rugged high ridge that today consist primarily of stone ruins and rocky outcroppings. With temperatures nearing 100 degrees in the daytime we found it much easier to hunt during the early mornings and in the late afternoons. This is definitely an area where a rugged ,lightweight, versatile, top notched detector such as the Shadow X-5 is mandatory! The sites are often very difficult to reach even by a vehicle. Our four wheel drive often followed trails that were washed out and so badly rutted to the point that they became only narrow goat paths up the steep mountain sides. One day we simply had to park and walk in eight miles to reach one of the remote ruins. Laptops and GPS devices are also most helpful! Locating such sites as these do however provide opportunities for some rather remarkable finds. While digging in a "trash pit" using the seven inch coils we recovered four nice British belt plates, hat ornaments, and a fine collection of early French and English buttons. It was here at this same location resting among numerous musket balls and broken glass we unearthed the gold coin. It is not unusual to find copper or even silver Spanish coins at this site when one coincides this area had been occupied for over two hundred years! However the excitement and awe of seeing such an old gold coin freshly dug as it glimmers in the noon day sun is ... well ....beyond words. The coin is a Dutch 1632 Ducat. I am told these were, much like the Spanish gold euscudos, used as trade coins during the early colonization of the Americas. Our only regret was that our time
there ran short and we walked away from the trash pit realizing there
were still definitely many nice artifacts there yet to be recovered. We
are sure of one other thing as well......... our return trip's luggage
will this time include a new Troy's 5 inch coil!.

Here are Mark Swann's Shadow X5 finds from the "Legends of Relic Hunting" hunt held in Fredricksburg, Virginia in October of 2002. These beautiful plates and buttons, along with the 1852 gold coin came from a hut site Mark excavated during the hunt weekend.

Hello folks, Here is a photo of some of our recent finds from our return trip to a string of British forts along the coastline of Venezuela.The fragile French hat plate that dates to the Napolianic Era was recovered from a depth of well over one foot! The surrounding buttons are one and two piece British navy and artillery 1780-1840. A most interresting piece the Shadow located was a medal apparently worn and lost by a soldier recognizing thier service in several battles including the now legendary Waterloo .An article in the latest Silver & Gold annual issue of Western & Eastern Treasures highlights what the four of us using 4- SHADOWS recovered in a 10 day trip including photos of the "killer" 1632 Dutch gold coin. The small five inch Troy coils we used exclusivly on the X-5s were deadly in the heavily mineralized rocky soil conditions that we encountered. Troy ... you are THE MAN !!!!!!!

May 12, 2004