AMAZING! The girlfriend finds horde of silver coins at gold rush 49er site!!!!

perdidogringo

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Apr 21, 2011
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I still get an adrenaline rush and my heart skips a beat when I think back to what happened last week. My girlfriend and I were at a site in Latin America (sorry can't give the exact country) that was once a rest stop from 1848 to about 1855 for those on their way to and from California for the gold rush. We've detected here before and have found a few coins and relics and even a little gold (a gold nugget and a gold pendant). But this didn't prepare us at all for what was found this time- 147 buried gold rush era silver coins from one hole!

God only knows why the person who buried it never recovered the coins. Perhaps the owner of a hotel, saloon or other business on the property buried a bag of coins and died before he/she could recover it? Perhaps he /she just forgot where it was buried? Maybe a 49er buried it for safekeeping while lodging at the site and died, whether due to illness or murder? Your mind really starts to get creative after you find a horde like this! I never thought I would witness it happening right before my eyes and I surely never thought my girlfriend would be the one to find it- a cute 20 something Latina who has only been detecting for less than 2 years!

Anyway, this is how it happened- We were both detecting this spot, located deep in the jungle near an ancient trail used first by the native Americans of the region, then by the conquistadors, and finally by the 49ers for a few short years in the mid-1800s. She had just lost her pin pointer and I was giving her the business for being so careless. However, she then recovered it somehow in the deep foliage, which in itself was a miracle (thank God the new Garrett pin pointers are orange!). Not 10 minutes later she yelled to me that she found a coin. I maneuvered my way to her and she invited me to dig at the same hole as she was getting more signals (yes, I have a GREAT girlfriend 8-)). I subsequently dug up 2 more coins in amazement. Since it was her hole, I dropped my shovel, picked up my phone to start filming and told her to continue. That's where this video picks up. Please excuse the numerous cuss words I use but I was genuinely amazed to be watching this unfold before my eyes. Truly, a once in a lifetime experience. I hope you enjoy watching the video 1/2 as much as I enjoyed watching it happen live.

 

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pepperj

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I usually can't stream a video and couldn't enlarge this one as it wasn't permitted. But even in the small screen the digging up the hoard was amazing, and would be a dream come true for everyone that loves to dig in the dirt. Congrats to your partner and her short lived loss of the pinpointer, it's a story(dark cloud) that truly had the silver lining to the ending.
 

GB1

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Dang! I wish I could find something like that
 

Sleepy

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Jan 20, 2013
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Incredible! Congratulations!
 

CMDiamonddawg

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Outstanding , bet finding that set off all the bells and whistles . Your girl friend gotta luv that :occasion14: every diggers quest is to hit a silver cache ....... fortunate for both . Good Day
 

OP
OP
perdidogringo

perdidogringo

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Apr 21, 2011
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Thanks

Thanks for all the positive feedback, guys! I'm real proud of the girlfriend as she just learned to use her AT PRO and Garrett Carrot in the last couple of years. As you can see, she's gotten pretty good! She's addicted to the hobby as I am. Might be time to get her the new AT Max after this find.

In terms of cleaned up photos of the coins, it will take some time as they are currently being transported to my home country as we speak. I do have one photo of all of the coins after cleaning them under the faucet. It's not the best photo, though. And I did take photos of one of the most common coins of the horde- the 1849 French Franc. I'll add betters photos eventually.
 

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Blak bart

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Truly incredible and one of the better finds ive read about on this site. Congratulations. Wow !!
 

Mzjavert

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Hunting in a jungle I couldn't handle the heat. :dontknow: Glad you can handle it.

Simply amazing. Those close-ups are beautiful. Congratulations to your gf.
 

TheRingFinder

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Really happy for you both - Great job!!!!! Now get back out there and find some more. :occasion14:
 

jeff of pa

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Amazing Finds ! I bet there is more there !

Congrats to your GF !

Is she a Member here for more then a Month ?
(normally I prefer 6 months minimum but)
that would be an Automatic Banner on me :notworthy:

Though I really Don't like when the camera is Held in that position,
[sideways Wide Screen is better]I was hoping the Video was longer :laughing7: I was enjoying watching that
 

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Bill D. (VA)

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Congrats on discovering that amazing early cache! What a rush that must have been for you guys! I would search the heck out of that place as there could easily be more piles of silver waiting to be uncovered.
 

Old Pueblo

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Mar 7, 2017
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Our best theory at this point is that the horde was left by a French 49er. A lot of people don't realize that that up to 1/3 of the 49ers were actually non-Americans like French, English and others. Here are a couple of excerpts from the Wiki page on the gold rush:

...By 1855, it is estimated at least 300,000 gold-seekers, merchants, and other immigrants had arrived in California from around the world.[SUP][46][/SUP] The largest group continued to be Americans, but there were tens of thousands each of Mexicans, Chinese, Britons, Australians[SUP][47][/SUP] French, and Latin Americans,[SUP][48][/SUP] together with many smaller groups of miners, such as African Americans, Filipinos, Basques[SUP][49][/SUP] and Turks.[SUP][50][/SUP][SUP][51]

[/SUP]...The gold then left California aboard ships or mules to go to the makers of the goods from around the world. A second path was the Argonauts themselves who, having personally acquired a sufficient amount, sent the gold home, or returned home taking with them their hard-earned "diggings". For example, one estimate is that some US$80 million worth of California gold was sent to France by French prospectors and merchants.[SUP][115][/SUP]


Also, there is a book written specifically about the French participation in the gold rush: http://truewestmagazine.com/rush-to-gold-the-french-and-the-california-gold-rush-1848-1854/

Sorry, I just assumed you were down in Mexico. Maybe you are, maybe you arent. Either way, thats an amazing find. You're one lucky guy!
 

OP
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perdidogringo

perdidogringo

Sr. Member
Apr 21, 2011
411
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El Dorado
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Amazing Finds ! I bet there is more there !

Congrats to your GF !

Is she a Member here for more then a Month ?
(normally I prefer 6 months minimum but)
that would be an Automatic Banner on me :notworthy:

Though I really Don't like when the camera is Held in that position,
[sideways Wide Screen is better]I was hoping the Video was longer :laughing7: I was enjoying watching that

No, the girlfriend isn't a member here but no worries on the banner. I've learned to so much from and been inspired by the members on here over the last 5 years that I like to contribute whenever I can.

Yes, sorry about the lousy camera work but I really wasn't expecting this would be such a huge find. I do have 2 other parts that represent the next 5-6 minutes after this initial video. Would there be interest in me posting the additional parts as well (spoiler alerts: we find more silver coins and I use more cuss words :laughing7:).
 

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Old Pueblo

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I also know that many immigrants participated in the California Gold Rush, but I had no idea so many people came up through Latin America. Very interesting stuff. I even have some ancestors that participated in the California Gold Rush and later the Pikes Peak Gold Rush in Colorado.
 

jeff of pa

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No, the girlfriend isn't a member here but no worries on the banner. I've learned to so much from and been inspired by the members on here over the last 5 years that I like to contribute whenever I can.

Yes, sorry about the lousy camera work but I really wasn't expecting this would be such a huge find. I do have 2 other parts that represent the next 5-6 minutes after this initial video. Would there be interest in me posting the additional parts as well (spoiler alerts: we find more silver coins and I use more cuss words :laughing7:).

LOL I've heard allot of cuss words over the years.
even used worse ones & I don't even dream of burning in the Devils Playground.
But I can't speak for those with virgin ears who have not even heard the sentence "oh Darn" in their lives.
they may actually melt like the wicked witch in OZ .

But I'd probably check out the rest
 

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