A colleague forwarded the following to me in an email.
“I don't know if any are aware but Janice's husband Mason Coggins was very involved with the Arizona Mineral Museum and their acquiring the Stone Maps. Mason was from the Bisbee, Morenci, area of eastern Arizona. Mason was in charge of acquisitions for the Museum for many years. Mason had an office at the Mineral Museum up until his retirement sometime around 1997. I visited there often with Mason and Nyle Nymeth the geologist for the museum. Mason told the story of how the Mineral Museum came into possession of the Stone Maps and how the Flagg Foundation was later involved. I met Janice at their home on a couple occasions, they were both extraordinary people”
Thought it appropriate to elaborate on a couple of things. So I registered and …
First, Mason Coggin was not enamored with the Stone Maps. When asked about them one of his favorite replies was: “Give me a Dremel Tool and I’ll make you all the stone maps you want.” He said this to me more than once as the subject came up in my book.
Second, Mason and Janice both came from Bisbee, and Mason certainly had an office at the old Department of Mines and Mineral Resources (DMMR). He was the director of the DMMR – who, I believe, at that time ran the Arizona Mineral Museum
Third, Mason told me back circa 1998/’97 he had worked for the DMMR for only five years. That the DMMR was the first salaried position he had had in years. He worked most of his life as a consultant and traveled much of the globe as an expert in mining and geology. He would often say that to be a good mining engineer one had to be one hell of a geologist!
Fourth, the DMMR never owned the Stone Maps. The maps were loaned to the DMMR. There is a paper trail to this statement. That paper trail is documented in one of my new books: Treasure Tales of the Superstitions - Clues, Maps and Twice Told Tales. That book will follow the first book, Jacob Waltz and the Legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine. Both books are now at the editors.
And yes, Mason and Janice were extraordinary people! I have missed Mason for many years and often wished I could simply take one more trip into the back country to old mining sites and listen to him tell about the geology, and the whats and wherefores of what happened and didn’t happen. The day we went to Rich Hill was one for the books!
Thank you (I am not one for normally posting to forums so this is likely to be a singleton)
T E Glover