how much raw gold equals "A Treasure" ?

BillA

Bronze Member
May 12, 2005
2,186
3,218
Drake, Costa Rica
an idle question prompted by another thread on treasure hunting
when using the word "treasure" I am generally thinking of something man-made,
however those of us here prospect or mine as a principal activity -

so it occured to me to ask: How much raw gold is 'needed' to qualify as a "treasure" ?
- found at one site at one time (season?)

a couple of pounds?
20 kilos ?
what ?
 

Upvote 0

JeffA

Jr. Member
Jun 13, 2019
65
63
RI
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I think the answer to that is in the eye of the beholder. To me, if I find ANY color at the bottom of the pan I've found treasure. That's the reason I'm out in the wild, so any little yellow spot is success for me.
 

OP
OP
BillA

BillA

Bronze Member
May 12, 2005
2,186
3,218
Drake, Costa Rica
Jeff, so your definition of treasure is "any little yellow spot is success for me"; and good for you.

I think most use the word 'treasure' a bit more expansively.
For language to function, words must have agreed meanings;
I was seeking to explore what constituted 'treasure', yours may be the lower limit.
 

Last edited:

TerryC

Gold Member
Jun 26, 2008
7,732
10,991
Yarnell, AZ
Detector(s) used
Ace 250 (2), Ace 300, Gold Bug 2, Tesoro Cortes, Garrett Sea Hunter, Whites TDI SL SE, Fisher Impulse 8, Minelab Monster 1000, Minelab CTX3030, Falcon MD20, Garrett Pro-pointer, Calvin Bunker digger.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
To me: treasure is anything of physical or emotional value sought after and ultimately gained through research, effort, and discovery. ╦╦C
 

G

ghostminer

Guest
At least 1000 ounces. We have a government report from back in the 1960's on one area of our mine. There was a guy who I will not name digging on one of the faultlines. The year was 1934. The report goes into detail but breaks down to this : At the 55 ft depth he came upon an area of raised bedrock & removed about 1000 ounces of gold. He showed the gold while in poor company & was murdered. That to me is a treasure. Unfortunately for the miner it was a death sentence. Be careful what you wish for. Be even more careful who you show your gold to.
 

Last edited:
OP
OP
BillA

BillA

Bronze Member
May 12, 2005
2,186
3,218
Drake, Costa Rica
was thinking along those lines, for me a 'treasure' would of necessity be life-changing
made money all my life, not a treasure
 

TerryC

Gold Member
Jun 26, 2008
7,732
10,991
Yarnell, AZ
Detector(s) used
Ace 250 (2), Ace 300, Gold Bug 2, Tesoro Cortes, Garrett Sea Hunter, Whites TDI SL SE, Fisher Impulse 8, Minelab Monster 1000, Minelab CTX3030, Falcon MD20, Garrett Pro-pointer, Calvin Bunker digger.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Terry, my definition of recovered treasure is little different; how much in raw gold ?
As JeffA alluded to, it would be difficult to say. I would settle for an ounce of gold in the poke. The amount of effort I would put into "the hunt" would also affect the definition. If I were spending thousands to find gold, I would expect finding millions would constitute treasure. I'll just settle for my ounce. ╦╦C
 

alaskaseeker

Sr. Member
Jun 22, 2019
382
749
Ak,Tn
Detector(s) used
Minelab, Fisher
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Gold is very hard won, believe me any I find is treasure... IMG_0030.JPG
 

Esotericvalue

Jr. Member
Feb 10, 2019
22
36
WA
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I chose my forum name in answer to this question without having had it asked, but I believe that the most important "value" placed on any thing you find or discover is what you value it at, not what anyone else does
 

OP
OP
BillA

BillA

Bronze Member
May 12, 2005
2,186
3,218
Drake, Costa Rica
Ev, thanks for the input but you did not address the question

for you, how much raw gold would you have to find/mine (at one instance) to call it a 'treasure' ?

Jeff says any color, as does alaskaseeker
Ghostminer says 1000 oz

edit: yes, the question does relate directly to how each of us define 'treasure' as measured in raw gold
 

Last edited:

Esotericvalue

Jr. Member
Feb 10, 2019
22
36
WA
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
And my answer is it depends, it is not a concrete threshold for me, depends on where I am and what my expectations are, if I am in Washington where I live the amount and size of the gold is much less than if I am in Northern California around Grass Valley
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
For some reason I associate "Treasure" as something owned by man.
In other words, if I found 100 ounces of gold in my sluice box, it wouldn't become treasure until I secured it for safe keeping or lost it in some manner.

If I were to find that same 100 ounces in a buried container, it would be found treasure immediately.

Weird how my mind works sometimes.

By the way treasure comes in all different sizes. Small treasures, large treasures..
 

A2coins

Gold Member
Dec 20, 2015
33,807
42,606
Ann Arbor
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Depends who you ask
 

brianc053

Hero Member
Jan 27, 2015
972
3,359
Morris County, NJ
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
XP Deus 2
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
how much raw gold equals "A Treasure" ?

(Error - see next post)
 

Last edited:

brianc053

Hero Member
Jan 27, 2015
972
3,359
Morris County, NJ
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
XP Deus 2
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
For some reason I associate "Treasure" as something owned by man.
In other words, if I found 100 ounces of gold in my sluice box, it wouldn't become treasure until I secured it for safe keeping or lost it in some manner.

If I were to find that same 100 ounces in a buried container, it would be found treasure immediately.

Weird how my mind works sometimes.

By the way treasure comes in all different sizes. Small treasures, large treasures..


I agree with Digger’s sentiment. I’m a recreational miner, and in my world if I find a picker or nugget it’s great - but I would not have called it a “treasure” (though now after this thread maybe I would...)



I hate to play word games, but I “treasure” my pickers/nuggets found in the wild, but I would not call them “Treasures”.



Like Bill, though, if I found a gold ring or a jar with gold nuggets I would call that Treasure.

And maybe the next time I find a picker I’ll call it a Treasure.



Brian
 

OP
OP
BillA

BillA

Bronze Member
May 12, 2005
2,186
3,218
Drake, Costa Rica
IMAU - I have the same association
but what if you encountered a (hidden) crack and over a bit of time pulled say 150 oz
I would have no difficulty saying I found a treasure, the crack that was a bonanza

only Ghostminer has stated something of a threshold at 1000 oz
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Bill, I don't think there needs to be a threshold established.
If you had a pound of nuggets and gold coins in your safe, you would probably consider it a "treasure".
I know I would. Let's find some!
 

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,684
40,651
Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
10
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
In your context, it would not just be something of value. In weight, that would be relative. The two things from what I'm reading out of the comments, especially yours, would be, to be considered a treasure at least 50 x the cost of your endeavor and your time. In other words, if you spent $1,000 and 100 hours and you valued your time @ $10 per hour, cost would be $2,000. Any amount recovered below or within 2 x cost I would think of as a hobby, something to spend money on. At 5x over cost, a low paying job. At 50, then you have a treasure.
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
In your context, it would not just be something of value. In weight, that would be relative. The two things from what I'm reading out of the comments, especially yours, would be, to be considered a treasure at least 50 x the cost of your endeavor and your time. In other words, if you spent $1,000 and 100 hours and you valued your time @ $10 per hour, cost would be $2,000. Any amount recovered below or within 2 x cost I would think of as a hobby, something to spend money on. At 5x over cost, a low paying job. At 50, then you have a treasure.
Smokie, who are you addressing?
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top