🥇 BANNER American Gold Miners Buckle

[tinpan]

American Gold Miner's Buckle

Hi All


History Miner's Diary September 1852 Victoria Australia


"The three of us ,having agreed to combine for a trail of the Mt Alexander Diggings , we purchased a cradle ,large tent and tools, and provisions for two months, and gave a teamaster $20 to convey the lot to Fryer's Creek We tramped up with the waggon , making the trip in five days. On reaching Fryer's Creek we found that place crowded and gold being got in large quantities, but we fancied the good ground was all occupied, and, hearing that many were going to Cambell's Creek , we decided to head there .


The Hunt

I decided to try the large open flat above the creek where once numerous first gold rush camps once existed. Not a tree was left standing and every rock was turned over in the first rush . Over the next 160 years tons of clay and wash soil had been washed by the seasonal rain down onto the camp site . So all targets were to be found at depth, with also mineralised ground this the true element of the PI units . I have been using a GPX 4500 for last few years and had good days and bad days . The first gold miner's didn,t leave gold and this site was not the best field . One thing i will say over the past year, my partner and myself have found some of the best first gold mining relics and only little gold. With miner's from 28 countries there always something different to be found . Chinese , American , British, Hungarian, German and others .


This is one of 5 buckles found at this gold rush camp and as my post in What Is it" is the rarest

American California Miner's Buckle tinpan

 

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[el remolino]

Really nice buckle. I would be extremely proud to have found something like that. Congrats!!!

 

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[el remolino]

Really nice buckle. I would be extremely proud to have found something like that. Congrats!!!

 

[danimal03]

Sad

Only 3 or 4 of these tongues have been found since 2007 and to me knowledge no wreaths in the same time period.

 

[Ironman!]

I too have covered many sites looking for this elusive buckle. Granted, I have been rewarded with other buckle parts on my quests including the wreath for the other sought after buckle the "Eureka Buckle" or California State Seal Buckle. I finally resorted to trading a brand new White's MXT for another fine example of the miner tongue found by a fellow TNet member. I then purchased the wreath from a fellow collector and friend of mine. The attached pic. is the result and marriage of the two!

The buckle you found Tinpan is definitely worthy of a banner vote and you have mine! They are that rare...and to find it in Australia screams of some serious history that buckle is trying to tell!! If you are interested in parting with it, I found a dandy Cricket buckle in a western mining camp here in the U.S. that I would be willing to part with along with some $$$!! I attached a pic. of it also.

Again, nice find and I wish you more success on your future digs!!!!!!!

IM

 

[Ahab8]

I'm glad there's people on here that can explain just how rare and special this piece really is. When gold coins come out of the ground much more commonly than this buckle, well that really tells the story. It belongs up top and I'm putting in my vote. But as I've said in the past a Banner find is a banner find regardless if it's recognized or not. The fact that you have found this special piece does not need votes to reaffirm how amazing a piece of history it is

 

[tinpan]

Hi All For nearly 10 years i have posted facts about americans who played a major part in The Australian Federation Push of the late 1890,s

Thomas James Connelly Born in New York State in 1820's went to the California gold rush and came to Australia around 1853 , Gold miner and iron munger Settled in the gold mining town of Sandhurst [Bendigo today] Son Thomas Jefferson Connelly born in 1853 Lawyer , President of the Australian Natives Ass. Mayor of the city of Sandhurst 1887 . Friend to Sir John Quick and latter to be the 2nd Prime Minister of Australia John Deakin.

Google Thomas Jefferson Connelly and click on the the Bendigo Cemetery trust link

This buckle doesn't have any connection to these people but does it . Funny british name lol Many great men some how get forgotten . Your history , my history all things connect.

Please give time to consider what i mit do with buckle . I have never been about money . Would make great story for East and West Mag. I don,t have the skill to organize such things . America History returns home after 161 years. Sound mighty cool to me.

tinpan

 

[Tnmountains]

Very nice my vote is in.

 

[CC Hunter]

The two greatest rushes this world has witnessed to find golden wealth buried beneath the ground, were sparked in California in 1848 and then in Australia in 1851. The histories of these events are infinitely interwoven with Australians traveling to America in search of gold, and Americans in turn traveling to Australia seeking their fortune. This belt buckle find here featuring a miner digging for gold, dates from the earliest days of the two Gold Rush events. The wonderful find bears testament to the historic connection of America's Gold Rush and Australia's Gold Rush.


Edward Hammond Hargraves (1816-1891) was an Australian goldfields publicist whose astute assessment of reports of gold discoveries in New South Wales played a part in the first Australian gold rush, in 1851.

Until recently Edward Hargraves had an undeserved reputation as the first discoverer of gold in Australia and consequently held an unduly high place in popular histories of the country, for the extensive gold rushes of the 1850s in both New South Wales and Victoria had important effects on economic and social changes in 19th-century Australia and some effect on international trade and monetary development.

Hargraves was born on Oct. 7, 1816, at Gosport, Hampshire, England, the son of an army officer. He joined the merchant marine and arrived in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1832. After working the land near Bathurst, in 1833 he sought bêche-de-mer in Torres Strait and returned to England.

The following year Hargraves returned to Bathurst as property overseer and familiarized himself with the country on which gold was later found. In 1836 in Sydney he married Eliza Mackie and settled in the Illawarra District. For the next 12 years he tried without success to make a living in the hotel trade and in cattle raising on the central coast of New South Wales.

Hearing of the California gold rush, Hargraves sailed for America in 1849. He found no gold and failed as a goldfields trader but did discuss with men who knew the western districts of New South Wales the strong likelihood of gold being discovered there because of similarities with the California fields. He returned to Sydney in January 1851 determined to test his opinions, chiefly in order to establish a claim for a government reward for the discovery of payable gold.

Appointed a commissioner of crown lands, Hargraves went to the Bathurst area in February 1851 during an unusually dry summer and found only minute quantities of gold in Lewis Ponds Creek, but he taught other prospectors to construct and use the wooden cradle and dish and encouraged them to persevere, especially John Lister and James and William Tom. Back in Sydney in March, Hargraves continued his pressure for a reward after he had heard of the discovery of 4 ounces of gold. By May he had returned to the Bathurst fields, which were now attracting numerous diggers. He named the richest area Ophir, where rain had revealed the presence of considerable alluvial gold, and presided over Australia's first gold rush.

Hargraves later received £10, 000 for his trouble and in 1877 was granted a pension of £250. He also received £2, 381 from the government of Victoria. In 1890 a New South Wales parliamentary committee decided that "Messrs. Tom and Lister were undoubtedly the first discovered of gold in Australia in payable quantities." Hargraves died in Sydney on Oct. 29, 1891.



CC Hunter

 

[Steve in PA]

Fantastic find Tinpan, and even more so since it was found in Australia. I have great respect for the Gold Rush experts that have been commenting on your thread. I have heard of this buckle before, but really didn't know just how rare it was until I read the comments from CC Hunter, Danimal03, Ironman and others. You are doing a great job saving history down under! My vote is in

 

[Silver Searcher]

Well done on the banner Tinny Thanks also to CC Hunter, Danimal03 for providing great information on this well deserved Banner Buckle, I think it helped a lot in getting it up to the top.

SS

 

[BVI Hunter]

Well done on the well deserved Banner!!

 

[Ahab8]

So happy to see this go up top. This was a great example of several knowledgeable people helping the rest of us understand how special this piece really is. Awesome job all the way around

 

[Argentium]

Took me a while to get up to speed on this one - Congratulations tinpan- on an awesome banner find !! and thank you for always including
an amazing amount of historical documentation for your finds - it really enriches all of us . Thank's also to the numerous posts on this find
educating me to the importance of this wonderful buckle !

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Congratulations on your finds mate!
Love the look of all those buttons & coins!

The American Miner's Buckle find is pretty cool too!
Dave

 

[Tnmountains]

Clicked in and saw your peers voted you to 'Banner" . Congratulations it is a great find.

 

[70monte68]

Two biggest nuggets found by Brit's ..you just can't keep us boys down.
I'm amazed there hasn't been anymore reply's and Banner votes for this buckle rarity Condition and Great information about the find provided...strange, if an American had found it, it would already be up there.

SS

clown

 

[Silver Searcher]

clown

Well I would rather be a clown, than somebody who doesn't know how to read a tongue in cheek comment, not the first time you have had a pop at me, don't try for the hat trick.

And by the way, you posted in this Banner thread, just to tell me I'm a clown, and nothing about the great find, it's you that is the clown my friend.

SS

 

[Sooper Dave]

Incredible find and such an awesome post! Love the history behind the relics we dig up and this one has an amazing rich history! Congrats on the recovery and thanks for sharing!

 

[caprock]

Hi all,
First off I would like to offer congrats to tinpan on a spectacular find and wish him continued success.
The conversation generated by this find has been fantastic!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank cchunter, Ironman, Kuger and danimal for the weath of info they have provided over the years on this highly specialized topic.
Other than Max Bell's excellent book, and the info. provided by the gentlemen named above,there is little written on this subject.
I am a researcher, collector and fanatic of all things related to the California gold rush, but have been concentrating mainly on tongue and wreath buckles for the last two years. Most of my buckle s have been acquired by purchase from local experts in the field, but I continue the hunt on the ground as well.

Danimal-would love to see some pics of your button collection, please post some if you can.


Here's a little more history of the California-Australia gold rush connection. According to the Placer County Directory published in 1861, the town of Yankee Jims' was named for a miner and part time horse thief who's real name was Robinson, and was born in Sydney. He reportedly built a coral in 1849 where the town of Yankee Jim's was later established. His cabin was about a half a mile east Forest Hill.

Again, thanks to everyone for the incredible info, and please continue to post on this spectacular topic.
adios for now,
Caprock

 

[coinman123]

I think you found the wreath a few years ago, I looked at your post, "http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,204850.html"
Here is the photo of your finds with the wreath marked. I hope you still have it.

P.S. I sent you a PM with more details