pocket full of rocks

beekbuster

Hero Member
Jan 17, 2015
750
1,676
Detector(s) used
gpx 4500
gpz (died in a fire. rip)
Primary Interest:
Other
today did not start good. I was anxious to get out as its the first day off ive had in 2 weeks. i got to my local and figured out i left my headphones and power cable on the couch. 40 red lights later, i finally made it. what happened next was completely unexpected. i got out of my vehicle, felt some gas, so went to relive the pressure and for the first time in my adult life.......well, it was not pretty. at that moment i was really wishing there was some heavy brush around. anyways, i dealt with my unfortunate situation and hit the trail. what happened next was nothing short of amazing. i started off in a very good looking digging, my intention was to cherry pick signals, not dig everything, til i could zero in on a spot. i made my way through to the top and was surprised i hadnt nabbed a bit. over the hill i went and the type of workings changed. like ive said before i have never found a thing in piles, ever! except junk of course.......well for the 10,000th time i gave it a quick sweep and very quickly i had a signal i determined was deeper 10+ inches and sounded spongy. i figured it was a nail mostly rusted away. before long i was sifting a small pile where the target was located and i passed the rocks by the coil as i tossed them aside. well to my surprise i had my first specimen. i rubbed the mud away to have a look and there peeking out was some gold. i put it in my pocket and was very pleased as i have never found gold in these types of diggings. less than 2 feet later i had another identical signal. this time i figured it to be another specimen, and so it was. another 6 feet later another signal just like the 2 before. i was in awe, i didnt even look at it, i knocked the dirt off and shoved it in my pocket. that was the end of the dream. i dug a few nails after that and after 4 more sweeps through the spot i wandered away. a little while later that voice in my head wanted to go back and look again. i made a wider sweep around the area and i had a very loud signal in a pile of rocks. i knew the best way to find big gold is to dig big signals, so i raked the rocks out of the way. the signal was gone. i swiped over the rocks and the signal rang out. i carried that 5 1/2 lb rock for the rest of the day. it felt 10 lbs to me, i figured there was at least a pound of gold in it. it was way too heavy to have any less. well that dream ended when i did the sg test. it came out to 1 1/4 ounce. with the assistance of my pin pointer i figured out where the gold was and sliced a chunk off with my tile saw. i was surprised not to see gold in the faces of the slice. so with the pin pointer i found one half had the signal, so another slice was made. after i opened the next cut i was smiling from ear to ear. i then took the specimine with the next lowest sg, and put a slice through it. again only half had a signal. so another cut was made to expose the gold. the exact content of gold is debateable, and i have not yet re tested the cut sections, but the preliminary calculation comes out to roughly 2-3 ounces . i dont have the courage to cut the 2 with the higher gold density

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Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,180
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Sweet find. These are beyond specimen grade! :thumbsup:

I'd leave the slab saw alone. What you have there appears to be some very hi grade jewelry stone. Get it to a knowledgeable lapidary and you could bring in some very good money per cut stone. The California label will make it even more valuable.

Heavy Pans
 

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beekbuster

beekbuster

Hero Member
Jan 17, 2015
750
1,676
Detector(s) used
gpx 4500
gpz (died in a fire. rip)
Primary Interest:
Other
i had to see what was in that big one, i couldnt help myself. if anyone has a recommendation of someone who may give a good assessment of what i have and what its worth, i gladly accept advice. just pm me. thanks
 

AllenJ

Full Member
Mar 7, 2018
133
225
Northern CA
Detector(s) used
White's TDI SL, Minelab GPX5000 & GM1000, Garrett Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Great finds sir, congrats.
 

Rookster

Gold Member
Nov 24, 2013
29,382
111,597
Detector(s) used
XP Deus, F75Ltd., AT PRO, Garrett pointer
Primary Interest:
Cache Hunting
Very nice. Congrats. :icon_thumright:
 

IMAUDIGGER

Silver Member
Mar 16, 2016
3,400
5,194
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
So your following R.M.’s advice on this one I hope?
 

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beekbuster

beekbuster

Hero Member
Jan 17, 2015
750
1,676
Detector(s) used
gpx 4500
gpz (died in a fire. rip)
Primary Interest:
Other
im always learning. now i have new insight of how things were done and where to concentrate my efforts.
 

Lanny in AB

Gold Member
Apr 2, 2003
5,651
6,342
Alberta
Detector(s) used
Various Minelabs(5000, 2100, X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Gold Monster), Falcon MD20, Tesoro Sand Shark, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Well, nicely done indeed!

In addition, thanks for the accompanying story, really enjoyed reading about your discovery.

All the best, and Merry Christmas to boot,

Lanny
 

gold tramp

Bronze Member
Dec 30, 2012
1,379
2,879
Primary Interest:
Other
i had to see what was in that big one, i couldnt help myself. if anyone has a recommendation of someone who may give a good assessment of what i have and what its worth, i gladly accept advice. just pm me. thanks

Learn to polish rocks n enjoy your find.
Nice rocks,
Gt...
 

Gravelwasher

Hero Member
Jan 3, 2011
523
689
El Dorado County
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab
Great haul of rocks!!
The pc with the most au on the surface could be a good pc to keep whole. Either clean really good or heat up with torch and dip in water to shock some of the quartz off. That way no acid is used and the color of the quartz does not change.

Super good detecting going on!! Way to unravel the gold from the trash.
 

huntsman53

Gold Member
Jun 11, 2013
6,955
6,769
East Tennessee
Primary Interest:
Other
Congrats on some really nice Gold and Quartz specimens! I can't believe the old farts..uh I mean old prospectors missed those nice pieces.
 

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