On Fenwick Island Delaware there is as quaint little seashell shop shop located in a small strip mall on Delaware Route 1. If you look a little closer at the building you will notice a second story which houses the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum. If you blink your eyes you will certainly miss it as I did driving by so many times. Not only are there treasures beyond belief stored in the second story of that little building you can also buy or rent metal detectors to go out and find your own treasures. Next time I get down that way I will take some pictures of the outside of the building.

My first visit to the Shipwreck Museum floored me. I never seen so much gold in my entire life except for that one show on the Discovery channel about the treasure hunters of the Caribbean. This place marvels Fort Knox except for the security. Also, the best thing of all, it’s FREE! If you wish to leave a donation they have a cool donation box on the floor when you walk in.

You have to enter the seashell shop on the street level and if you are a very keen observer you will notice a flight of stairs located near the rear of the store right next to the pirate in the glass box. There is a little sign somewhere for the museum but I forget where it is. I have probably seen it so many times that it doesn’t regester in my brain any more. Just look for the stairs and you’re good to go.

When you get to the top of the stairs you can turn left and go into a little room that has a video playing about the founders and how they acquired all the treasures you are about to see. When you leave that room don’t forget to drop a donation into the box that you are just about to trip over….oops too late. Good thing it’s bolted to the floor.

The museum is not that big but there are millions of dollars worth of gold, jewelry, pottery and other artifacts. All the treasures were recovered from the Delaware coastline and shipwrecks that are scattered along the Delaware coast. Downstairs you can buy a map of all the known shipwrecks along the Delaware coast, there are thousands of them.

Every time I go to Fenwick Island, which by the way is not really an island, I have to stop at this museum. I always get the same thing from the others…aw common dad, not the museum again? I get goosebumps as soon as I walk through the door. I would love to take my metal detector on the beach and find the WORST EXAMPLE of treasure that they have in that museum.

There is a beach near Indian River Inlet that has been labeled “Coin Beach” because of all the old Spanish coins that wash up. After a good “nor-easter” you can walk along the beach and pick up Reales or pieces of eight up off the ground if you are lucky. These guys who own this museum have found hundreds of them. I have never been to coin beach beacuse you need a surfing permit, there is no road access.

If you are lucky you may stop by when they are giving a lecture or demonstration. When that happens they bring out the “good” stuff from the back. Have you ever draped a multi-million dollar Spanish conquistidore chain of solid gold links around your neck? It feels pretty good. The demonstrations of the electrolysis is pretty cool. It’s amazing how an ugly piece of black coral encrusted garbage can be turned into a beautiful archialogical treasure.

If you are a collector of antiquities don’t miss the showcase near the metal detactors where you can purchase some of the treasures that they have brought to the surface. Take a deep breath before you look at the price tags, however.

I just received a bid on my house and we signed the sales contract yesterday! Yahoo. It’s not as much as we wanted but if the owner of the bay house that we have a contract on now will agree to take back a mortgage we should be ok. After all if we could not settle by February she said she was going to give the home to her son. Well this way at least she can get something out of it. I think her biggest problem is her ground rent that is due very soon. It’s $6900 and if she doesn’t work with us she or her son will have to pay that.

Either way I can feel my metal detectors vibrating in the closet. It’s WAY to cold to MD here in the frozen ground but it’s never to cold to swing in the loose sand. My present problem is I don’t have the time or the money to spend on gas to go down to the beach whenever the whim hits. When I get into my bay home I can drop whatever I’m doing and hit the beaches. I’m getting all tingly just thinking about that!

I am anxious to get some pictures of my finds on here. However, I don’t have anything interesting enough except maybe this ring I found at the park a few months back.

It’s white gold and has an interesting assortment of stones. I sold it to a coin dealer and he said the stones were apiusghfioawerah. That’s what it sounded like to my ears. Anyway I got $35 for it.

I would have loved to keep it but when your kids look at you with those puppy dog eyes woundering what they are going to eat you have to make sacrifices. I hate to dwell on the negative but we also had to sell our wedding rings to put some food on the table.

I can’t wait till I get to RING MECCA, I mean the beach. Then I will be able to start a collection to be proud of. The only other ring I found was many years ago when I had my Whites metal detector. It was the one I destroyed because I took it into the water one too many times. Actually the first ring I found was a very heavy gold class ring. I found that one at Lum’s Pond, another Delaware state park, and I found it in the swimming hole there.

I never took a picture of that ring so I can’t show it to. I will absolutely be taking pictures of all my finds from now on. Back then I didn’t have a digital camera. Now not only do I have a good SLR digital camera, Santa brought me a digital video camera. Nothing fancy but enough to show you pictures of the areas that I hunt. I will show you coin beach as soon as I get access. You can’t drive to coin beach unless you have a 4WD and a surfing permit. I have the 4WD but not the permit which is about $30 I think, I have to check the parks website. On top of that I have to spend $20 for a all-year pass to the state parks. I’m ok with the parks permit but my wife might give me a problem with the surf permit. We’ll see, heheh!

Oh, I almost forgot. I was going through some of my picture cards and I found some from when we went to the Shipwreck Museum on Fenwick Island. I’ll try to get those pictures on soon. I’m also putting them on my delawarepride.com blog so I’m not sure when I’ll get around to doing that. I’ve been doing a lot of Delaware Indian research and I’ve been concentrating on that for delawarepride right now. That should be done shortly.

Stick around because you really don’t want to miss those pictures from the Shipwreck Museum.

All metal detectorists should abide by this code of ethics when in the field. We encourage responsible conduct and strict compliance with all local, state and federal regulations and restrictions, as well as unconditional respect for the rights and property of others, and for those held in common by us all. Even though these values and standards may not be explicitly stated in every one of my blog posts, they are an integral part of my philosophy, efforts, and goals. I take pride in this hobby and industry I serve, and ask you to join me in observing and promoting the following Code Of Ethics.

I WILL respect private property and do no treasure hunting without the owner’s permission.

I WILL fill all excavations.

I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, and private property.

I WILL use thoughtfulness, consideration, and courtesy at all times.

I WILL leave gates as found.

I WILL remove and properly dispose of any trash that I find.

I WILL NOT litter.

I WILL NOT destroy property, buildings, or what is left of ghost towns and deserted structures.

I WILL NOT tamper with signs, structural facilities, or equipment.