I decided to make this thread because I get so many questions about The Shark Pit & most of them are the same. So here is the story of The Shark Pit & F.A.Q.s.
The Shark Pit was a huge pier out over the waters of the Chesapeake Bay from about 1899 to 1930. It had games of chance, snack bar, boats, fishing, crabbing.... It also had a beach area where people would picnic & swim. It all got knocked in the water a few times over the years from bad storms & rebuilt each time. About 1930 it got hit real bad by a storm, but because of the hard times back then (the depression era) it never got rebuilt and the land was eventually sold. It is now all on private property. People would still swim there well into the 1960's.
I was told about this place from some old timers who have been hunting it for years. I call them old timers not because they are old & gray, because they’re not. (They’re mostly in their 50's) I call them that because they have been Mding for many, many years. I have a Ton of respect for each one of them & they have taught me a lot. They know about some really great spots to hunt & what machine to use when you get there. You should see their collection of finds from The Shark Pit & other spots!! It would blow you away! I am glad to have them as friends.
They/we have a good relationship with the current owners & are allowed to park on the property and walk down to the water. They have sworn me to secrecy about the location of this place because of the property owners & other reasons. I would never want to break this trust they have in me. So PLEASE do not PM or email me to ask or guess where this place is. I just can not say. I'm sure you can understand.
Now for the frequently asked questions:
Why is it called The Shark Pit?It was named the Shark Pit by AWOL T-Net member Floater. He called it this because of all the sharks teeth I find there. The name just stuck.
Why do you find so many sharks teeth there & are sharks still there?The Chesapeake Bay is full of sharks teeth. Some people just walk the beaches looking for them. But because I am out in the water a ways from shore & I’m digging down in the earth, I tend to find more than people who just find the ones that wash up on a beach. A shark's teeth are normally replaced every eight days. An average shark goes through 30,000 teeth in their lifetime. Millions of Sharks over Millions of years = One heck of a lot of Shark Teeth for me to find!
No, there are no sharks at the Pit now. All the teeth I find there are prehistoric and some are from species that no longer exist.
How do you find sharks teeth and bottles with a detector since they are not metal?The teeth just come up in my scoop with the metal target I am digging.
The bottles also sometimes just come up in my scoop. But most of the time I find them when I step on them. Then I just kick them in my scoop & pull them up.
How long have you been hunting there?Since September 2004.
Why do you find so much stuff there?30 years of big crowds on a big area = many targets. Plus all the times everything was knocked in the water from the storms over the years. There is also a ton of trash & debris out there. Also they did not have detectors back then so nothing was ever recovered when it was lost in the water or the sand. And many things that are nice finds today (like bottles) were trash back then. And sadly people dumped trash there back in the day.
What are Cookie Coins?They are coins I find there that have a thick crust on them from being under salt water for 75 to106 years. They are really pennies, dimes, quarters, half dollars....any coin that’s not a nickel. (or gold coin) I got this name from the old timers.
Why don’t the nickels have a cookie crust on them?For some reason nickel stands up to being under the salt water for 75 to 106 years much better than silver or copper. (which all the cookie coins are made of ) Most of the time the nickels do have a light cookie crust on them when I pull them up. But all I have to do is turn the coin on edge & rub it across my sifter screen & it falls off. Sometimes I can do this same thing with a penny cookie coin & it will work but it will be very thin when it comes out if it does not just crumble. That is why you will see a penny or two with all the nickels & cookie coins in some of my post. I can only tell that it is a penny that I can try this on if I see a little bit of copper sticking out on the edge. You can not do this with a silver cookie coin because it will crumble or snap in two every time. The nickels do suffer some wear from all that time under salt water, but for the most part are always readable.
Have you ever tried to clean the cookie coin to remove the crust?Yes. Many, including myself have tried with mixed results. To see some of these attempts click here.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,102635.0.html http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,20518.0.html http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,38858.0.html http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,39336.0.html http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,20318.0.htmlHave you ever tried to clean the Bottles??Yes! Click here to see.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,57165.0.htmlAre you diving for these finds?No. I am wading in the water about chest deep depending on the tide & waves. I am about 30 to 60 yards off shore. The bay is very shallow for a long way out at this spot.
What do you wear when you are out there?In the spring & fall I wear a wetsuit with dive boots & rubber coated gloves.
In the heat of the summer I wear jeans & a long sleeve t-shirt with dive boots & rubber coated gloves. I wear the dive boots because they give me great feel for the bottom. I wear long sleeve t-shirts in the summer because the jelly fish will get you if you don’t! The rubber coated gloves protect my hands from the sharp shells & broken glass as I push stuff though my sifter screen.
What kind of detector and tools do you use out there?I use a Fisher CZ-20 detector, a 4' scoop with a home made floating sifter/screen. To see this set up click here.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,19522.0.htmlWhat is your best find at The Shark Pit?The one's that means the most to me is the WW1 Dog Tag I found there last summer. I was able to trace the soldier that it belonged to all the way to his grave at Arlington Nat. Cemetery.
I am proud that this find & the thread about it was voted into “The Best Of Treasure Net” section of this site. Click here to see that thread.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,27899.0.htmlAnd the 1963 class ring I found & returned it to the owner after 43 years! I am also proud that this find is listed under the "Honorable Mention" section of this site! Click here to see:
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,57059.0.htmlWhat do you do with your finds? Do you display them? Do You Sell Them?I keep everything I find at the Shark Pit. I do have a display case set up in my basement. To see this display click here & scroll down. I Do Not Sell Any Of My Finds From The Pit!
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,139683.msg993797.html#msg993797 Do you keep count of everything you find there?Not everything. But I have done “The Best Of The Shark Pit & Grand Totals” threads to kinda show everything that I have found and add things up.
To see The Best Of The Shark Pit & Grand totals Threads click below.
For Part One Click here.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,18502.0.htmlFor Part Two Click here.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,21670.msg142911.htmlFor Part Three Click here.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,42307.msg301279.htmlFor Part Four Click here.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,52642.0.htmlFor Part 5 Click here.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,98867.new.htmlFor Part 6 Click here.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,116394.new.htmlI hope this helps answer any questions you have about The Shark Pit!
if you were registered and logged in!
