Beachcombers Find 18th Century Navigational Device

Beachcombers are a common sight on Long Beach Island. But the occasional lost class ring or buffalo nickle can't hold a candle to what Diana Adam found in a tidal pool one October morning ten years ago.

A metallic object, obviously deposited after a blowy nor'easter, was there just begging to be picked up and added to her collection of "beach junk." So she did, labeling it a "sextant" in her mind on the way home.

Recently, however, appraisers at the Antiques Roadshow said the quadrant would sell for $1,000 at auction but belongs in a museum and is priceless because of its age and the nature of its discovery.