California Treasure leads

pegleglooker

Bronze Member
Jun 9, 2006
1,857
237
Banning, California
Detector(s) used
ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hey gang,
Here is a small list of some " lost " stories;

$200,000 in gold coins may be hidden near Scotty's Castle in Death Valley, today a tourist attraction. Scotty is mentioned in many stories published over the years. He may have had lots of money or he may have had none, depending upon what you read. Scotty was certainly a fascinating character.

The fortune of a French saddle maker (as we asked about mill owners, did saddle makers accumulate fortunes?) is concealed on the Rancho Santa Teresa near San Jose.

In the Trinity Mountains near Cecilville in Siskiyou County $80,000 in stolen money was hidden by "Rattlesnake Dick."

Loot from the Bentz Company robbery hidden near Biggs in Colusa County has never come to light.

Treasure from the holdup of the Bodie stage north of Bodie in Mono County and also a strongbox from the Bodie stage at Freeman Junction about 60 miles east of Bakersfield remain who knows where.

Famous bandit Joaquin Murietta hid some loot in Arroyo Cantoova and Hornitos, among many other places.

In Mokelumne Hill in along Route 49 in the Mother Lode country, a cache of $50 gold coins is said to be in an old foundation wall.

$30,000 in hijackers' loot was once stashed at Camp Oak Grove, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, and may still be there.

A bandits' underground hiding place near Avila, San Luis Obispo County, is said to have been the depository for much loot, but how can one locate the cave?

In Los Angeles a pirate treasure is said to have been buried where Elysian Park is now. If so, this might be a tough one to spirit away without notice, for the Los Angeles Police Department has a training site there.

Treasure taken from a Death Valley wagon train that was burned is, perhaps, somewhere in that vast desert area.

Treasure from the Fallbrook stage coach on the Butterfield line between Temecula and Pala in San Diego County is among the missing.

Gold bars from the Freemont Mine near Amador City are said to have been hidden in the area. One cannot help but wonder if they have anything to do with Felix Grundy Hoard.

Gold coins were lost in Horse Canyon near Tehachapi.

Treasure belonging to an innkeeper at the old Warner Ranch at Aguana in San Diego County awaits discovery.

Coins hidden in the hills near Isabella, Kern County, have never been found.
Dr. John Marsh's cache of $40,000 in gold coins, Marsh Creek, east side of Mount Diablo, near Brentwood, Contra Costa County, would be worth many multiples of that figure if it were found today.

Lieutenant Jonas Wilson's poker winnings - no description at hand - are said to be hidden somewhere in Hoaglin Valley at the foot of Haman Ridge, Trinity County.

Coins lost near Ventucopa, Santa Barbara County are still lost.

Gold "slugs" and coins, the treasure of the Mariposa tax collector, remain undiscovered on Deadman's Creek near Agua Fria, Mariposa County.

Loot from the Needles bank robbery, near Oro Grande, San Bernardino County, is supposedly still missing.

The S.S. Mollie Stevens laden with gold bullion, was lost on Owens Lake in the Owens Valley in May 1882, according to one account.1 Another account is more mundane and noted that after the Mollie Stevens had served well on the lake from about 1874, she was beached alongside the Bessie Brady so that parts from her including the steam engine could be used in the latter vessel.2 During the process, the Mollie Stevens caught fire and was destroyed.

Gold "slugs" hidden at the old Forty Mile House near Shingle Springs near El Dorado County have never come to light.

A lost cache of "octagonal gold coins" in the Panamint Mountains remains unaccounted for. Alert readers will realize the numismatic implications of this. The only trouble is that one could spend a lifetime poking around this particular mountain group and still not cover every outcrop and gully. By the way, the name is from a good wish expressed to gold miners: "I hope you pan a mint."

The "Rifle Barrel payroll" hidden near French Gulch, Shasta County, has been missing for many years.

Treasure taken by the Ruggles brothers (who were subsequently hanged) from the Redding stage and buried near Middle Creek about six miles from Redding, Shasta County, is nowhere to be found.

Assets of a saloonkeeper hidden at the junction of Greenhorn Gulch and Freeman Gulch, Kern county, await the lucky finder.

"Treasure of the San Francisco Mint" at Shelter Cove near Point Delgado, Humboldt County, no doubt would prove interesting if found.

Loot from the Sonora stage was hidden near Snelling, Merced County.

A tub filled with gold coins was hidden at Yankee Hill (old mining town) near Sonora, Tuolumne County. A washtub? Bathtub?

PLL
 

kg6yll

Hero Member
Oct 10, 2006
562
21
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT
Yankee Hill rd is across the street from my house in Columbia
 

thekid317

Tenderfoot
Mar 4, 2006
6
0
as always enjoy your lost treasures in california...........would love to know more in the ventura county, la county area ..... santa susanna pass area , simi , chatsworth.....i know there are tons of storyies of lost treasures and gold in the area , but always bits and pieces....maybe you are the man with some more detailed infor for this area :)
 

OP
OP
pegleglooker

pegleglooker

Bronze Member
Jun 9, 2006
1,857
237
Banning, California
Detector(s) used
ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello Gang,
First THANK YOU soooo much for the props... I enjoy doing this and will gladly share anything I have. Kid317 you may want to pick up 2 books one is called " a guide to California treasure " by Thomas Penfield 2001 he lists all the stories by county LA county has about 43 and Ventura has 15. He has about 125 pages of leads for just California and about 25 pgs of map coordinates for the treasure. Example:

" Deadman's Cove is a slight indentation in the Pacific coast near Portuguese Bend and west of San Pedro. It has long been rumored that pirates once used the shelter of this cove in the Palos Verde headland, and that the left a metal box here filled with Mexican gold, silver and jewels. Several unsuccessful searches have been made for this treasure, the last being record being in 1952. " Map Code 16 E-2

The map coordinates use the current Rand McNally Standard or Commercial Road Atlas. This book is GREAT for finding a lead and taking it from there. Penfield is quick to say if he thinks if the tale has merit or not. But one should always be their own judge. I don't think it that expensive and you get it anywhere, just google the name.
The other book is " Lost Mines and Buried Treasure of California " by R A Pierce 1964. It has the tales sorted by mission gold, lost mines, robberies etc., and comes with it's own map ( not really detailed but it's a start ). These stories - to me - is just something to pique your interest. If you find something you like to follow, then it's off to the library and check the microfiche to see if it's real. We all know what to do from here, but for the newbies, if you find a news article they might shed more light on location, or more detail about the actual treasure. If anyone else has a book that they like, then by all means let us know. Sometimes if we share our books it may have something we are all looking for.

Happy Hunting
PLL
 

kullme

Newbie
Feb 2, 2013
2
0
Treasure from the Fallbrook stage coach on the Butterfield line between Temecula and Pala in San Diego County is among the missing.

do you have any more information on this? i live in San Diego and i am interested in looking into this one.
 

8KCAB

Guest
Jul 12, 2011
22
11
Bakersfield
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Gold coins were lost in Horse Canyon near Tehachapi.

Went up to try and check out Horse Canyon last weekend. Ran into locked gates on two different approaches. Looks like the canyon is a mixture of BLM and private lands, with no public right of ways that I could find on the ground. It's also part of an "Area of Enviormental Concern":



image-3966378906.jpg


Was able to find a spot to hike around and eat with my three year old. Found some marker made from a bent wire or rod and a stone:



image-2797767727.jpg



image-1304502553.jpg



There have been recent improvements and power lines put in from the wind energy industry. Perhaps it was some type of survey marker.

Anyways, unless someone knows of a different way into the canyon or know the landowners, these coins may remain lost for some time!

Had fun, as always, though!
 

Garypederson

Jr. Member
Aug 4, 2020
78
182
Payson, Az, Avila beach, Ca, Naples, Florida
Detector(s) used
Fisher gold bug & Whites Spectra 3vi & Minelab Equinox
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hey gang,
Here is a small list of some " lost " stories;

$200,000 in gold coins may be hidden near Scotty's Castle in Death Valley, today a tourist attraction. Scotty is mentioned in many stories published over the years. He may have had lots of money or he may have had none, depending upon what you read. Scotty was certainly a fascinating character.

The fortune of a French saddle maker (as we asked about mill owners, did saddle makers accumulate fortunes?) is concealed on the Rancho Santa Teresa near San Jose.

In the Trinity Mountains near Cecilville in Siskiyou County $80,000 in stolen money was hidden by "Rattlesnake Dick."

Loot from the Bentz Company robbery hidden near Biggs in Colusa County has never come to light.

Treasure from the holdup of the Bodie stage north of Bodie in Mono County and also a strongbox from the Bodie stage at Freeman Junction about 60 miles east of Bakersfield remain who knows where.

Famous bandit Joaquin Murietta hid some loot in Arroyo Cantoova and Hornitos, among many other places.

In Mokelumne Hill in along Route 49 in the Mother Lode country, a cache of $50 gold coins is said to be in an old foundation wall.

$30,000 in hijackers' loot was once stashed at Camp Oak Grove, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, and may still be there.

A bandits' underground hiding place near Avila, San Luis Obispo County, is said to have been the depository for much loot, but how can one locate the cave?

In Los Angeles a pirate treasure is said to have been buried where Elysian Park is now. If so, this might be a tough one to spirit away without notice, for the Los Angeles Police Department has a training site there.

Treasure taken from a Death Valley wagon train that was burned is, perhaps, somewhere in that vast desert area.

Treasure from the Fallbrook stage coach on the Butterfield line between Temecula and Pala in San Diego County is among the missing.

Gold bars from the Freemont Mine near Amador City are said to have been hidden in the area. One cannot help but wonder if they have anything to do with Felix Grundy Hoard.

Gold coins were lost in Horse Canyon near Tehachapi.

Treasure belonging to an innkeeper at the old Warner Ranch at Aguana in San Diego County awaits discovery.

Coins hidden in the hills near Isabella, Kern County, have never been found.
Dr. John Marsh's cache of $40,000 in gold coins, Marsh Creek, east side of Mount Diablo, near Brentwood, Contra Costa County, would be worth many multiples of that figure if it were found today.

Lieutenant Jonas Wilson's poker winnings - no description at hand - are said to be hidden somewhere in Hoaglin Valley at the foot of Haman Ridge, Trinity County.

Coins lost near Ventucopa, Santa Barbara County are still lost.

Gold "slugs" and coins, the treasure of the Mariposa tax collector, remain undiscovered on Deadman's Creek near Agua Fria, Mariposa County.

Loot from the Needles bank robbery, near Oro Grande, San Bernardino County, is supposedly still missing.

The S.S. Mollie Stevens laden with gold bullion, was lost on Owens Lake in the Owens Valley in May 1882, according to one account.1 Another account is more mundane and noted that after the Mollie Stevens had served well on the lake from about 1874, she was beached alongside the Bessie Brady so that parts from her including the steam engine could be used in the latter vessel.2 During the process, the Mollie Stevens caught fire and was destroyed.

Gold "slugs" hidden at the old Forty Mile House near Shingle Springs near El Dorado County have never come to light.

A lost cache of "octagonal gold coins" in the Panamint Mountains remains unaccounted for. Alert readers will realize the numismatic implications of this. The only trouble is that one could spend a lifetime poking around this particular mountain group and still not cover every outcrop and gully. By the way, the name is from a good wish expressed to gold miners: "I hope you pan a mint."

The "Rifle Barrel payroll" hidden near French Gulch, Shasta County, has been missing for many years.

Treasure taken by the Ruggles brothers (who were subsequently hanged) from the Redding stage and buried near Middle Creek about six miles from Redding, Shasta County, is nowhere to be found.

Assets of a saloonkeeper hidden at the junction of Greenhorn Gulch and Freeman Gulch, Kern county, await the lucky finder.

"Treasure of the San Francisco Mint" at Shelter Cove near Point Delgado, Humboldt County, no doubt would prove interesting if found.

Loot from the Sonora stage was hidden near Snelling, Merced County.

A tub filled with gold coins was hidden at Yankee Hill (old mining town) near Sonora, Tuolumne County. A washtub? Bathtub?

PLL
 

Garypederson

Jr. Member
Aug 4, 2020
78
182
Payson, Az, Avila beach, Ca, Naples, Florida
Detector(s) used
Fisher gold bug & Whites Spectra 3vi & Minelab Equinox
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hey pegleg. Just saw your post as i was searching for angels camp treasures. I live in Avila beach and I have a home in Angels Camp. Am primarily a metal detectorist, not a miner. How can i get more definitive info on the Mokeluume Hill rte#49, treasure as well as the Sonoran Stage treasure in Snelling and finally the Avila treasure in my back yard in a “cave”. Thank you. My email is [email protected].
 

Tanneyhill

Jr. Member
Mar 5, 2023
84
82
In Mokelumne Hill in along Route 49 in the Mother Lode country, a cache of $50 gold coins is said to be in an old foundation wall.

A lost cache of "octagonal gold coins" in the Panamint Mountains remains unaccounted for. Alert readers will realize the numismatic implications of this. The only trouble is that one could spend a lifetime poking around this particular mountain group and still not cover every outcrop and gully. By the way, the name is from a good wish expressed to gold miners: "I hope you pan a mint."
Old thread and the OP may not be around but does anyone know anything about these $50 coins in Mokelumne Hill or the octagonal gold coins in the Panamint Mountains?

Were the Mokelumne Hill coins, $50 octagonal coins similar to those the following story (see attached).

These $50 octagonal were produced multiple times it seems. There is the famous story of the 1850 $50 octagonals the tax collector lost, a story told in more detail by the late EagleDown here on TNet, may he rest in peace.

Here is one from 1852 - these go for a hefty penny. Beautiful coins/slugs.


As far as the cache in the Panamint Mountains, where they the 1915 S Panama Pacific octagonal $50 coins minted by the San Francisco Mint or something different?
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2024-03-17 at 11.42.11 AM.png
    Screen Shot 2024-03-17 at 11.42.11 AM.png
    28.8 KB · Views: 1

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top