Go to Sanibel Island---off Florida's Gulf Coast---and head for the beach at low tide or after a storm. You will see an odd procession of bent over beachcombers, crabbing along the shoreline and seaweed patches, looking for treasure. If they are lucky, they will find a piece of sea-scoured beach glass or some of the most fascinating shells to wash up on any beach. Sanibel and Captiva, Marco Island, Anna Maria Island and other barrier islands are legends in the annals of shell-seekers. Common finds are pen shells, cockleshells, Venus sunset clam shells, sand dollars and small conchs. However, in an area where up to 400 species of shells have been found, you are bound to find most anything. The best-preserved shells are the ones that are most often still inhabited, and should be tossed back into the sea. To see what the most dedicated shell-seekers have discovered over the years, head for Sanibel's Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum.
Sanibel and Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce
1159 Causeway Road
Sanibel Island, Florida 33957
239-472-1080
sanibel-captiva.org
Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road
Sanibel, Florida 33957
239-395-2233
shellmuseum.org
Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce
5313 Gulf Drive N.
Holmes Beach, Florida 34217
941-778-1541
annamariaislandchamber.org
Marco Island Chamber of Commerce
1102 North Collier Boulevard
Marco Island, Florida 34145
239-394-7549
marcoislandchamber.org
Try your luck in Atlantic City---not in the casinos but at the beaches. Metal detectors are popular hobby gear for beach treasure seekers. Old-time collectors mourn the beach restoration process that dumped tons of new sand on the hidden treasures of two centuries of habitation. It may be tougher to find historic artifacts, like old horseshoes from boardwalk vaudeville shows or silver spoons from the eighteen hundreds, but Atlantic City gets millions of visitors each year, and where there are people, there are treasures to find. Diamond rings, gold necklaces, belt buckles, charms and pocket change---all nestled just under the sand---are waiting to be discovered. Early morning---when the beach is not picked over---and late afternoon---when the crowds thin out---are prime times for prospecting. After a storm is a good time, as well. Check the tide line and any seaweed clumps or shell mounds, to see what the sea has tossed up, then check the rest of the beach, to find what the beach-goers have left behind.
Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority
2314 Pacific Avenue
Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401
609-348-7100
atlanticcitynj.com
Norman Island---at the tip of the British Virgin Islands---is only two and a half miles long, but it is legendary in pirate lore. Treasure Point---at the edge of a bight that today shelters visiting yachts and hosts a couple of sailors' bars, replete with their own legends---has a series of caves, reputed to be burial sites for pirate booty. At the turn of the last century, a local family that was treasure hunting in a storm, took shelter in the island's famous caves, where they are said to have found a chest of gold doubloons. Other tales of Norman Island link it to buried stolen treasure from a number of shipwrecks. The island is uninhabited, but can be visited by boat. Nearly every Caribbean beach has its own Blackbeard, Henry Morgan or Calico Jack buried treasure legend, related to it.
Norman Island
British Virgin Islands
Latitude:18.3156
Longitude:-64.6179
(William Thornton Floating Bar
Norman Island Bight
VHF Channels 16 or 74
284-496-8603
