Civil War Payroll gold may have been found in Elk County PA

IMAUDIGGER · Mar 18, 2018

It bothers me that there is this long standing claim that “we found the lost gold”, yet not a single picture on their web site of a single gold coin, much less any recovered treasure. Just pictures of people searching and big holes.
I say SHOW ME THE MONEY! Otherwise you are still just searching.

I will be staying tuned to see what the heck the FBI was doing out there.
If it was a big fat zero, they should be putting out a press release soon, given the media coverage.

Tom_in_CA · Mar 18, 2018

franklin said:
Here is the latest but nothing new.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...BlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories

The article starts off with this:

"A 155-year-old legend about buried federal gold appears to have caught the attention of the FBI. "

I would suggest that a more correct opening would be that the TH'rs trying to dig, and making a bureaucratic stink, is what's "brought it to the attention of the FBI" . Legends are a dime a dozen. And ... on their own .. do nothing to "catch the attention of the FBI". It's guys who go make a big drama begging to dig and insisting there's treasure, that bring the "attention". Not the legend.

Tom_in_CA · Mar 18, 2018

IMAUDIGGER said:
It bothers me that there is this long standing claim that “we found the lost gold”, yet not a single picture on their web site of a single gold coin, much less any recovered treasure. Just pictures of people searching and big holes.....

Such is the psychology of these types. We've seen it on T'net from time to time as well. Someone comes on who's "Found (past tense) a treasure !". So they have questions about which detector can go 6 meters deep. Where to smelt 500 lbs of gold, how to get govt. clearances, etc.... Various T'net members chime in to answer those questions about this "found" (past tense) treasure. But ... reading closer, you see they have not found anything yet. They've narrowed it down to a certain cave, or meadow, or swamp. Now it's just a matter of recovery and govt. loopholes. But at NO POINT are they not utterly certain they've found (past tense) a treasure.

1320 · Mar 18, 2018

Tom_in_CA said:
Such is the psychology of these types. We've seen it on T'net from time to time as well. Someone comes on who's "Found (past tense) a treasure !". So they have questions about which detector can go 6 meters deep. Where to smelt 500 lbs of gold, how to get govt. clearances, etc.... Various T'net members chime in to answer those questions about this "found" (past tense) treasure. But ... reading closer, you see they have not found anything yet. They've narrowed it down to a certain cave, or meadow, or swamp. Now it's just a matter of recovery and govt. loopholes. But at NO POINT are they not utterly certain they've found (past tense) a treasure.

And don’t forget this one...”someone beat me too it”. By my count, there have been four treasurenet members that claim to have found John Swifts silver mines, the stories are just as Tom describes. When I inquire about the mines and how was the mining and/or drilling accomplished, what tools were used the answer is generally “they extracted ore and used tools that were standard of the era.” Not one single member has offered proof of a rock shelter or proof of any mining under the guise that they don’t want to reveal the location because they have just one more hurdle to clear...lol.

I found a rock shelter in an area long considered to be a probable location of the mines. It is a very large “cave” that contains multiple deep drill holes throughout the shelter. One large boulder has a drill hole that shows how the explosive charge failed, fracturing the rock but it’s still intact, drill hole included. I shared this with the Swift community, shared the location and even offered to take anyone to it. The only shelter that displays positive proof of mining smack dab in the middle of John Swift country and no one takes me up on the offer. Personally, I do not and have never believed in the legend.

pepperj · Mar 18, 2018

Ok the FBI is on the hunt for

and then media shows up. What do they say?
Looking for a gold treasure lost or buried from the civil war era-great story, everybody loves a treasure story.
Mean while they're just digging around for Jimmy H's bones something totally different.

Old Bookaroo · Mar 18, 2018

1320: I give all credit to Michael Paul Henson for taking the wooden stake out of the heart of the Swift Silver Mine legend and bringing it back to life. There were scattered accounts before him, of course, but he really put it all together and got it out there in modern times. As for the "Diary?" Hmmm...

Are you familiar with the story of James Harrod (of Harrodsburg, KY)? In the 1930's the WPA rebuilt his fort and it is really neat!

What was he hunting?

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

Tom_in_CA · Mar 18, 2018

1320 said:
And don’t forget this one...”someone beat me too it”.....

Correct. It's never that a treasure legend isn't true. It's someone already extracted the treasure from the hole. Eh ? Or that the reason the hole is dry, is that it's a decoy-dummy marker hole , purposefully devised by those that hid the treasure 150 yrs. ago. To cleverly put you on the wrong track, digging at the wrong location.

And notice how all these yarns always have a "tip of the ice-berg" element to them. The Oak Island yarn was no different: Supposed bits of gold chain links brought up by the the drill bit ! Or like in this case: 2 bars already found. The rest must be close by ! Or in the case of Lost Dutchman: Someone comes on about ounces of gold they found in the area (panning ? sluicing ? nugget hunting?) hence the conclusion is obvious: Another ice-berg moment: The dutchman mine must be close by.

Thus no treasure story legend is complete unless it has a) tips of icebergs, b) cryptograms, c) death traps, c) Is 6 meters deep, d) insane amounts of treasure, e) govt. conspiracies, etc.. Anyone here starting to see this trend ?

Honest Samuel · Mar 18, 2018

Keep your comments only pertaining to: Civil War Payroll gold. Thanks.

Honest Samuel · Mar 18, 2018

See pictures in #306, yes, the FBI are there.

Tom_in_CA · Mar 18, 2018

Honest Samuel said:
Keep your comments only pertaining to: Civil War Payroll gold....

Ok, let's implement that :

Honest Samuel said:
See pictures in #306, yes, the FBI are there.

Ok, what's that got to do with "civil war payroll gold " ? Nothing. (unless you believe in the legend)

franklin · Mar 18, 2018

Tom_in_CA said:
The article starts off with this:

"A 155-year-old legend about buried federal gold appears to have caught the attention of the FBI. "

I would suggest that a more correct opening would be that the TH'rs trying to dig, and making a bureaucratic stink, is what's "brought it to the attention of the FBI" . Legends are a dime a dozen. And ... on their own .. do nothing to "catch the attention of the FBI". It's guys who go make a big drama begging to dig and insisting there's treasure, that bring the "attention". Not the legend.

According to what I have been able to find on the Internet, "The legend only started in the 1970's, nothing before that time. I looked on "Chronicling America Newspapers from June, 1863, absolutely nothing on anything in the Dent Run, PA area. Even the local newspapers nothing. Checked the Library of Congress on the Pinkerton Files again nothing. Really was a secretive shipment of gold? No news reports on the skeletons being found, nothing on the tar covered gold bars being found, nothing on mules found by local farmers or mules being killed. How could all of this happened with no news out in the newspapers. Reporters as well as newspapers live and died for stories like this, yet there is not a whisper. NO GOLD HERE.

Timbersnort · Mar 18, 2018

Tom_in_CA said:
I disagree. The amount of people who perpetuate a legend, and raise cane to get a circus, and LEO's stepping in to stop the circus, does not equate to : "Indeed a treasure". This does not logically follow.

Look at all the media circus, researchers, prior interest, etc... that exists at other treasure legends (Oak Island, Yamashita, etc...) and ask yourself: Does this prove anything is there ? No. It only proves that people love a good treasure yarn, and will make a big stink about them.

Maybe in CA, the media and movie culture are able to reverse engineer the SOP that professional investigators typically use here in the USA. A reasonable person is not required to "believe in the legend" to evaluate the circumstances that would be met to support a FBI and US Army convoy deployment. This authorization would be based on substantiated accounts beyond whatever is under this particular rock, and would need executive approval.

I would define potential as "having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future" and define reasonable as (of a person) having sound judgment; fair and sensible.

Old Bookaroo · Mar 18, 2018

franklin: Look at sftfda's post #237. I checked the Beers (1890) county history and couldn't find the story - but there are probably other "county histories" out there. I would think a firefight this size would be in the OR. Again, comparing this story to the money taken from the banks in New Orleans, and the bank specie that went with the Confederate Treasury south from Richmond, the owners of the gold would have spent many, many years in court to get the Federal government to cover their losses.

Where did 26 or 52 gold bars in Wheeling come from? That's a whole lot of gold in the middle of nowhere.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

Tom_in_CA · Mar 18, 2018

franklin said:
According to what I have been able to find on the Internet, "The legend only started in the 1970's, nothing before that time. I looked on "Chronicling America Newspapers from June, 1863, absolutely nothing on anything in the Dent Run, PA area. Even the local newspapers nothing. Checked the Library of Congress on the Pinkerton Files again nothing. Really was a secretive shipment of gold? No news reports on the skeletons being found, nothing on the tar covered gold bars being found, nothing on mules found by local farmers or mules being killed. How could all of this happened with no news out in the newspapers. Reporters as well as newspapers live and died for stories like this, yet there is not a whisper. NO GOLD HERE.

AAaaahhh, but see, this is where you're duped. This lack of evidence is EXACTLY what *they* want you to believe. Men in trench coats, in dark smokey rooms, smoking cigarettes and watching your every move from computer monitors . :evil6:

Tom_in_CA · Mar 18, 2018

Timbersnort said:
.... This authorization would be based on substantiated accounts beyond whatever is under this particular rock, and would need executive approval. ....

This is true, if we start with the assumption that the govt. makes no mistakes on time & tax-payer $$ spent. If you take a quick look at govt. history (google "tax payer wasted money" or whatever) and you'll see oodles of examples where tax-payer $$ is INDEED spent for things which lacked merit, were a waste, etc....

But let's just say I relent and agree to this notion . That "where there's smoke there's fire" notion. Ok, fine: Where's the gold ? :dontknow:

But that won't do any good. Because any failure to point to gold will simply mean a government conspiracy hush job. But rest assured, the gold was there. Eh? Lest why else would there have been all that "smoke" there , if there hadn't been a "fire" ? Right ?

Just as all the smoke and commotion at Oak Island wouldn't have been going on for the last 100 yrs, if the story wasn't true. Smoke = fire there too, right ?

(PS: I'm not making up that last paragraph about comparing to Oak Island above. This was actually an evidence advanced by a T'net member. During the debates that developed on a thread in that forum-subsection. In their mind's eye's: It simply HAS to exist, since, after all, all that effort and expense wouldn't be getting dumped into it, if there wasn't some truth to the story. Ie.: "where there's smoke, there's fire" essentially )

Tom_in_CA · Mar 18, 2018

Old Bookaroo said:
....Where did 26 or 52 gold bars in Wheeling come from? ....

And in 30 more years, it will be 75 gold bars.

Tedyoh · Mar 18, 2018

Tom_in_CA said:
And in 30 more years, it will be 75 gold bars.

Actually it'll be 0, I'll have it all out by then....

Tom_in_CA · Mar 18, 2018

Tedyoh said:
Actually it'll be 0, I'll have it all out by then....

But .... naturally .... there'll be no show & tell. Because, of course the IRS would want their cut, claim-jumpers would descend, thieves would target your house, and your family would be at risk of kidnappers. Thus treasures like this exist and are being found all the time. It's just that, of course .... all the big-game chasers are keeping mum. But rest assured: At no point will this ever not be iron-clad bullet proof true.

Tedyoh · Mar 18, 2018

Tom_in_CA said:
But .... naturally .... there'll be no show & tell. Because, of course the IRS would want their cut, claim-jumpers would descend, thieves would target your house, and your family would be at risk of kidnappers. Thus treasures like this exist and are being found all the time. It's just that, of course .... all the big-game chasers are keeping mum. But rest assured: At no point will this ever not be iron-clad bullet proof true.

That's right....the guy at the pawn shop didn't want the first 3 bars because of some stupid letters stamped in them....i think it was P.USGOV so I ran them down to 1 ounce each, made a cash deal at $900 per ounce....50 X 16 x $900 is $216,000....hell I haven't bothered with the other 2 yet, let alone the other 23 still out In the woods.