found a time capsule

[Jeff95531]

I'm 58 so I was around 8 when my Dad got this gift of gold in a split shot plastic container from his fishing buddy Tim in Warren Idaho. Tim was a die hard old school prospector whom I haven't seen since...well 30 years ago when he woke me with a kick to the shoulder and pointed a Colt 45 in my face demanding to know WTF I was doing on his claim?! Fortunately there was nothing wrong with his memory and he holstered it. I posted that story somewhere here before...

Anyway, I looked for and found a time capsule of sorts in my storage unit. This is the first item. Before I left FL to retire, I took it into a jewelry store to see how much they would give me but they said it was too "dirty" and weren't interested. So guess what? I know how to pan now and I have a Miller Table too so frick them! There was even enough to teach Karen how to pan and she did good till she started seeing it get out of the pocket. (all kinds of sizes and not easy). I did test with a magnet and only about 5% was magnetic sand so I left it in. When it hit water for the first time after 50 years? It repelled it even with jet dry and eventualy there were tiny floating tar balls of black sand and when you poked them they burst open and were filled with fine gold. Cool!

Hope you enjoy.

50 year old Warren Idaho Gold Finally Recovered!













Going Treasure Hunting tomorrow!

 

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[GA_Boy]

You did OK. Nice pictures.

 

[EddyMoney]

Nice job.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Nice haul Jeff!! Did you weigh it out? ...

Could you get Karen to take a pic of the gold?

Have her use the 300mm and stand back about 10 ft. Once I
crop it the gold will look much better. Cell phones just don't
do gold justice..

 

[goldenIrishman]

Now remember Jeff... That DOES NOT go towards your total for the year!

 

[Asmbandits]

Thats a great story and great gold! I'll have to look for the full story sounds like a good one, It reminds me of some gold that my dad gave me when I started prospecting. He owns a auto body shop that specializes in old willys jeep trucks/wagons and had found a vial of some coarse gold when tearing out the headliner of one of the trucks he had bought. Wasn't much maybe only a gram but it sure is some coarse stuff.. He said that he purchased that one at a ranch in the hills near Jackson CA...

 

[Jeff95531]

I'm drying it out right now and will run it on the Miller Table next. The table is much better at recovery than me and then I'll get the weight then. I'll see if Karen will do the photos too and I'll see if I can reduce it enuf to post.

 

[Jeff95531]

Now remember Jeff... That DOES NOT go towards your total for the year!

Actually I promised Karen a new gold wedding band so it all goes in the kitty. And hey...I'm recovering it!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Actually I promised Karen a new gold wedding band so it all goes in the kitty. And hey...I'm recovering it!

Great idea...and she certainly deserves it after puttin' up with you for so many years, and
being kind enough to tolerate having the likes of me around for a week...

Seriously, that's an awesome use for your gold. Last I heard it takes 5-7 grams
to make a decent gold band, so with that nice haul you're probably not too
far off..

 

[Jeff95531]

Kevin has been there/done that. I think his weighed a bit more but not sure.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Actually I promised Karen a new gold wedding band so it all goes in the kitty. And hey...I'm recovering it!

But you didn't dig it out of the ground. Well ok... take half the weight then. And set out the three largest nuggets. One for a necklace and two for ear rings. She's going to want to "accessorize" the new ring. (and it make you look even better)

 

[Jeff95531]

Oh don't go there. You're just jealous cuz the Grass Hopper is pulling gold out of thin air. I make it look so easy...Sorry!

 

[delnorter]

Nice write up about the gold and your plans for Karen's ring Jeff. I'm planning the same thing for my wife. I found a really neat chunk of red, striated jasper over by Susanville this summer and am going to try to get the jeweler to make the band with a nugget setting from my gold, placing a piece of the jasper in the center.

Mike

 

[KevinInColorado]

Kevin has been there/done that. I think his weighed a bit more but not sure.

Yup! It took about 5 grams of gold as I recall and the goldsmith added a couple grams of alloy metals to get down to 14k so it would be durable. That was two years ago, the ring still looks great and she never takes it off :-D

You could make a band with a little less if you wanted it less wide than hers is - it's a bit wider than a normal woman's ring so as to have room for the engraving on the outer surface.

Also, you get about a gram back, the excess from the casting process. Finally, be sure to ask the goldsmith to give you the casting material so you can pulverize and pan it...sometimes an air bubble in the casting material will get filled with gold. Amazingly they don't check for that..."not enough to be worth it"...ha! My guy gave me a little container full of casting material from several projects and I got over 1/4 gram of 14k gold out of it! It was plaster of Paris type material so I dissolved it with vinegar and panned what remained.

 

[nh.nugget]

Oh don't go there. You're just jealous cuz the Grass Hopper is pulling gold out of thin air. I make it look so easy...Sorry!

He's pulling it out of something don't know about air! LOL!

 

[Hoser John]

Since I'm not married-thankfully-I put the gold in for my crowns and had them fabbed from my own found gold and not 12k as usual but 16k for more color but still hard enough to last-John

 

[63bkpkr]

Jeff, I read one of your lines kinda quick and I almost fell out of my chair when I heard you were "recovering". Of course my mind jumped to a far fetched notion that your were recovering from Gold Fever. Glad to know it was a mental drop out on my part. Seems to me like you are having a lot of fun, keep it up!...............63bkpkr

what I ride in and out of gold country, 1992 Bronc

 

[Aufisher]

Nice score Jeff!

 

[Jeff95531]

Just a teaser on my treasure hunt. We got off to a late start today but I wanted to share that my first rushed research to boots on the ground trip today was absolutely 100% successful. (Thanks to Clay and Land Matters AND my CA DVD.) It was literally like finding the X on the spot. I originally went into the area looking for nails from a 100 year old sluice with my MD but eventually found my way to THE old/abandoned placer mine. Problem is (as always) it ALL looks so good. Tailing piles, tons of gravel already classified from a 100 years ago. Abandoned equipment. Yum!

Rains return tomorrow and I will have plenty of time to think about it. I got a gallon or so of unclassified dirt at the base of an 8" pipe. It was a diversion from a creek and fed either a sluice head or water cannon connection. Very cool! I'll do a separate thread later. Sore. Tired. Happy.

 

[nh.nugget]

Rain, we don't care about no stinking rain! That's why we have rain coats! LOL! And you're supposed to be sore that means you worked hard enough for the gold. Remember no pain no GOLD!