Re: Silver Coins 1783
No, this was shown as an example. I have not divulged any information on a Swift coin to anyone other than Ralph Hurst as of yet and will not until the book comes out. BTW - the date is also different on a Swift/Montgomery minted Crown. Also, there are GOLD Crowns minted by Swift/Montgomery!
The reason I put this example up is that several people were referring to Pillar Dollars as "Swift Coins", when they are NOT. Swift and Montgomery minted Silver and Gold Crowns. The Melungeons minted the Pillar Dollars. Several caches of Pillar Dollars have been found in different areas (including the Water Cave) and people were led to believe they found one of Swift's Caches (some even thought in error that the Water Cave find was the Great Cave Swift mentions in his journals). This is another reason I want to put the book out, as there is soooooo much WRONG lore when it comes to Swift - heck, some people even print articles/books stating Swift minted DOLLARS, when the first Dollar didn't come out until 1794!
There is one thread on here I recently replied to where someone mentions finding "something" by going 50 poles West. They had confused the direction WEST with the WEST MINE. Swift stated go 50 Poles SOUTH of the main furnace rockhouse and you will find the WEST MINE!
Don't worry, I am going to try and get out to search for the Great Cave tomorrow and try to hurry things up, as I am going to start/finish my book as soon as I find the Great Cave. I have all the pics, maps, journals, notes etc. I just need to organize everything (which might take a few weeks in and of itself due to the massive amount of information and 1000's of pics I have). HOWEVER, WHEN MY BOOK FINALLY DOES COME OUT, IT WILL BE THE DEFINITIVE WORK ON SWIFT AND HIS SILVER MINES, PLUS WILL SHOW EVERYTHING MENTIONED IN THE JOURNALS IN DETAIL AND EVEN GIVE CLEAR DIRECTIONS TO FINDING EVERYTHING FOR YOURSELF (IF YOU WISH TO DO SO)!
On an interesting note, while we are speaking about coins/silver, I found the half-moon shaped rockhouse Swift mentioned in his journals a year or so ago (when I found the Rich Mine). Swift and Co. had poured the silver from a large rock onto another rock below that had a hole cut out for the PIGS! This was an awesome find, as I could picture them pouring the hot silver ore into these to make the pigs. However, I did find my former mentor's sifter behind this rock, where he had gotten up all the slag years ago. This is an interesting story I will mention in my book itself, as I couldn't find the main furnace rockhouse and waterfall, after finding the first mine and was in contact with this person after finding the first mine. He did lead me to the correct creek (turned out I was reading the map incorrectly and thought I was on the correct creek, but was not). However, in the end, turns out he was using me to make sure he had gotten all the slag and had covered his tracks, leaving no ore, coins or slag behind! However, I left his sifter in the half-moon rockhouse. If nobody finds/steals it, the readers of the book, when they travel there, will still be able to see it in the rockhouse (though, I moved it to the back of the rockhouse, while I checked for slag near the rock where the silver was poured into pigs). In the main rockhouse (near the waterfall), the right side has been dug out about six ft. (where the cache was hidden). However, there is a HUGE coffee table shaped rock in the middle of the rockhouse where Montgomery and/or Swift made the Crowns (I will have pic of this in the book as well - this is near where I found the old Pre-Civil War ball peen/chasing hammer believed to have been used to knock the silver out of the moulds).
It is so relaxing and wonderful out in the Mountains - especially when you KNOW you are at a place where Swift and Co. mined ore, melted ore, hid crowns, etc. etc. I can say this with certainty - ALL of the places are JUST AS SWIFT DESCRIBED THEM IN HIS JOURNALS! ALSO, ALL OF THE DISTANCES SWIFT GIVES ARE PRECISE! Also, right over the slope West of the Rich Mine was the Buffalo Rock (though, someone and I have an idea who, had chipped away Swift and Co.'s carvings on the bottom of the rock) and directly above it was the TABLE TOP ROCK, just as Swift described!!!!
-Ki-
