Once in a Lifetime Find

[frank]

Well heres a 2 and a half ounce nugget I detected this past weekend in Arizona.
Surely doesn't happen very often.

 

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[DigginThePast]

Congrats on that awesome find!

Its just so pretty, brings tears to your eyes.

 

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[surfnturf]

That is so cool!!! I want one!
Contrats on the BANNER!!!!!

SnT

 

[camb1]

Wowzers. Christmas was a little early for you. Congrats.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Looks like you made the banner Frank--congratulations!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[jasper62]

LOL What a great story on the finding of that chunk of Gold in it's natural form.Big congratulations to ya.

 

[Breezie]

Fabulous find and Congrats on the banner! Breezie

 

[Mrs Bloom]

Congrats!!!

 

[snakeyes]

CONGRATULATIONS Glad to know there still something out there other than pull tabs and rusty nails

 

[ruck]

Thats one you gotta keep for life Dude!!!! " One of A Kind" ,and I do mean "ONE"

 

[tinpan]

No problem Rockdoc, but 1st let me say I have no clue what "Banner" means ??


I damm near didn't make it down there for the gathering. I guess somebody "upstairs" saw a way for it to happen.
I loaded up the truck at 3:30 A.M. Sat morning an took off, it was drizzeling rain an by the time I hit the 40 interstate south of Kingman I was going thru a mix of heavy rain and snow.
Slowed down to about 40-45 and had to dim the lights to see.
I considered twice about turning around an going home, thinking what am I getting into
Something kept me going foward instead of turning around.
I was thinking about seeing all the guys again and I just love that atmosphere of a group of Gold Hunters at camp swappin lies at the fire at night.
And commin back to camp each day an seeing what all was found.
Ain't nothin like it, wish I was 20 again and could look foward to another 40 or 50 years of doin it.

Anywho, it went like this,
I started off covering side hills and some flat benches above the washes, that lasted awhile then the horrible temptation to get down into the wash came !!
Just knowing what would be ahead of me in the wash I was hesitant.
I've had a summer filled with diggin holes to China in washes for the ultimate piece of trash.
Started hittin signals thru some big rocks so that involved diggin around them to form a depression to turn then over into cause they were too big to just lift.
After doing that a few times and having it turn out to be the rock I got the drift of the hot rocks there an what they looked like.
Backed OFF on the power of the 3500 a bit to alleviate that syndrome an continued on with a few pieces of trash dug.


Then I hit an
Interesting signal at first, after moving 3 good sized rocks from digging the hole the signal turned to aawww f#$% another large trash piece
(overload) at about 7-8 inches down. Then I kept digging I was using the Ol Minelab Turdy-5-hundred with a 16" NF SL mono (love that analog) and even though
I cut a good sized hole I couldn't be quite sure exactly where the signal was from with the large diameter coil on.
So I called up the hill from where I was for Glenn and Mike to come down Glenn had a 5000 with the new 6x8 NF coil on it so that was perfect for getting
a direction on the dig.
Once I got that I started digging deeper in that direction at about 12-14 inches I started taking big scoopfulls 1 at a time out and waving it over
Glenns coil
waiting for him to say signal or not. Then 1 scoop had the target and I dumped some into 1 hand and it was still in the scoop,
then I picked out this good sized rock out of the scoop and just before I waved it over his coil I looked at him an said Tell me you don't have a signal anymore thats what he said NO SIGNAL !!


WOWSA WOWSA, in my brain I knew I had something good then in my left hand a dirty rock that gave an overload, brushed it once with the other hand an saw a glint of color, thats all it took popped that baby in my big mouth and it came out a muddy hunk of gold an quartz.
Then the dancin started ,... I looked like the ol timer in Bogarts "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" jumpin an praisin Mother Earth !!!!
Then I filled the hole went back to camp where Bunk was and said go get a new set of underwear I got somethin to show ya.
After that our "long distance bartender" Shep showed up with the "Cabo Wabo" the rest is history.
But I'm still recuperating
I'm callin it the Vampire Nugget because thats what it looked like a set of vampire dentures

Hi nice nugget Never heard of back the POWER off to get around HOT ROCKS Before I thought you ran tracking on FIXED and when you hit a patch of HOT ROCKS. You Press that ground balance button on your handle. Rebalance this should screen out the Hot Rocks. Your 3500 a custom made ?


tinpan

 

[allen]

that is a beautiful sight !!!!
Congrats on making the banner !!!!

 

[strickman]

congrats ,truly banner find !

 

[schoser]

Good Lord man thats a beauty!!!!!!!

 

[fossis]

Beautiful specimen, congrats on the Banner.

Fossis.............

 

[BerntOut]

Outstanding!

 

[TheRockDoc]

No problem Rockdoc, but 1st let me say I have no clue what "Banner" means ??


I damm near didn't make it down there for the gathering. I guess somebody "upstairs" saw a way for it to happen.
I loaded up the truck at 3:30 A.M. Sat morning an took off, it was drizzeling rain an by the time I hit the 40 interstate south of Kingman I was going thru a mix of heavy rain and snow.
Slowed down to about 40-45 and had to dim the lights to see.
I considered twice about turning around an going home, thinking what am I getting into
Something kept me going foward instead of turning around.
I was thinking about seeing all the guys again and I just love that atmosphere of a group of Gold Hunters at camp swappin lies at the fire at night.
And commin back to camp each day an seeing what all was found.
Ain't nothin like it, wish I was 20 again and could look foward to another 40 or 50 years of doin it.

Anywho, it went like this,
I started off covering side hills and some flat benches above the washes, that lasted awhile then the horrible temptation to get down into the wash came !!
Just knowing what would be ahead of me in the wash I was hesitant.
I've had a summer filled with diggin holes to China in washes for the ultimate piece of trash.
Started hittin signals thru some big rocks so that involved diggin around them to form a depression to turn then over into cause they were too big to just lift.
After doing that a few times and having it turn out to be the rock I got the drift of the hot rocks there an what they looked like.
Backed OFF on the power of the 3500 a bit to alleviate that syndrome an continued on with a few pieces of trash dug.


Then I hit an
Interesting signal at first, after moving 3 good sized rocks from digging the hole the signal turned to aawww f#$% another large trash piece
(overload) at about 7-8 inches down. Then I kept digging I was using the Ol Minelab Turdy-5-hundred with a 16" NF SL mono (love that analog) and even though
I cut a good sized hole I couldn't be quite sure exactly where the signal was from with the large diameter coil on.
So I called up the hill from where I was for Glenn and Mike to come down Glenn had a 5000 with the new 6x8 NF coil on it so that was perfect for getting
a direction on the dig.
Once I got that I started digging deeper in that direction at about 12-14 inches I started taking big scoopfulls 1 at a time out and waving it over
Glenns coil
waiting for him to say signal or not. Then 1 scoop had the target and I dumped some into 1 hand and it was still in the scoop,
then I picked out this good sized rock out of the scoop and just before I waved it over his coil I looked at him an said Tell me you don't have a signal anymore thats what he said NO SIGNAL !!


WOWSA WOWSA, in my brain I knew I had something good then in my left hand a dirty rock that gave an overload, brushed it once with the other hand an saw a glint of color, thats all it took popped that baby in my big mouth and it came out a muddy hunk of gold an quartz.
Then the dancin started ,... I looked like the ol timer in Bogarts "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" jumpin an praisin Mother Earth !!!!
Then I filled the hole went back to camp where Bunk was and said go get a new set of underwear I got somethin to show ya.
After that our "long distance bartender" Shep showed up with the "Cabo Wabo" the rest is history.
But I'm still recuperating
I'm callin it the Vampire Nugget because thats what it looked like a set of vampire dentures

Yep, glad I asked because that might just be the coolest, most exciting story I have ever read on Tnet. Wow, that is amazing. I just bought an etrac in Sep, and I have a feeling that as soon as I can find a treasure or two worthy enough to validate that puchase, I will have to start workin on expanding in the direction of the type of hunting you do to add to my rapidly expanding treasure hunting hobbies.... that surely is the find of a lifetime...

Congrats sir.

 

[frank]

Hi nice nugget Never heard of back the POWER off to get around HOT ROCKS Before I thought you ran tracking on FIXED and when you hit a patch of HOT ROCKS. You Press that ground balance button on your handle. Rebalance this should screen out the Hot Rocks. Your 3500 a custom made ?


tinpan
[/quote]

TINPAN, No my 3500 is internally factory stock, I NEVER balance over or try to balance OUT hotrocks.
I have it" hotrodded" a bit with carbon upper shaft, pocket rocket battery system, Coiltek amplifier, and various aftermarket coils.
I turn the "Level" adjust knob from full on counterclockwise backing it off 1/4 to 1/5 of a turn. This lets the machine give a softer signal on deeper and surface hotrocks, making it easier to distinguish them.
Being deaf in one ear and having the amplifier turned up loud contaminates the true sounds a bit so tweeking the detector settings to suit my hearing is a valuable aid.
I would not ever balance out hotrocks in fear of losing a target, especially a GOOD target.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Great post and amazing find!!! Congrats

 

[Syrena Hunter]

Nice find! WAAAAWHOOOOO. Congrates

 

[Terry Soloman]

Congratulations again Frank! Nice to see your Nugget on the Banner! Put the Minelab story up on the AGA Facebook page, and Bunk's post on my Facebook. Happy Dancing for you in White Plains!