Found silver and gold in one day

[trmark]

I was metal detecting for gold nuggets in the Mojave desert while trying out a minelab metal detector I got on Ebay a month ago. I had to 4x4 in as far as I thought it was safe enough, but it wasn't too safe because I got stuck and got out and continued on. I was in Last Chance Gulch and its a nasty 4x4 area, you can always expect it to be bad!! The big rain we had in California really messed up the road with lots of washouts, thats when you have to find your own way out. I came to a point where I had trouble crossing the week before and decided to walk one of the tight canyons and dig everything that beeped, I found motorcycle parts,4x4 parts, lead bullets and fragments, cartridge cases, nails and steel wire. I was half way up the canyon and got a softer tone which puzzeled me, it turned out to be a 1941 mercury dime, made me wonder how it got in here. Since my new detector was able to find silver then it should be able to find gold. The metal detector I bought on Ebay is a minelabGP Extreme for gold detecting which is a all metal detector, if you're in doubt, dig it! An hour later as I was getting close to the end of the wash I was searching I got a signal and thought I was going to dig another 22 cal. bullet, but when I dug it up it looked like yellow lead, it was alittle bit bigger than a small 22 cal. bullet. I was sweating and took my glasses off and dropped it in a mud puddle. It was so yellow I couldn't believe I actually found a gold nugget, first ever for me. Here in southern California the big rain really washed out places, I seen fresh washouts where the flood waters took out 4-5 feet of material in many places which leads me to believe that theres lots of vigin territory out there to detect and I'm going back. its really a blast when you have a good 4x4 to go play in the dirt, I'm 52 years old and it makes me feel like a kid again and no nagging old woman to deal with either. Well keep huntin, trmark.

 

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[stoney56]

Excellent story trmark. Sounds like determination paid off for you well - congratulations and welcome to the forum. HH

 

[treasure_lady]

Congratulations on finding the gold and the silver! Way to go! Happy Hunting! And welcome to the forum!

 

[Shutterbug]

That's a great story! I sure would like to find a place like that around here! Welcome to the foreum and keep us informed of your finds.... Send us a picture!

 

[spotz]

Now that's what I call GETTIN IT DONE! Great job. Have you thought about joining the GPAA. You're already doin the good stuff. Might find some good partnares. Congrats on Silver & Gold in the same day. It just doesn't get too much better. That is until THE NEXT TIME you do it again, only bigger & better. Spotz

 

[nitro]

Congrats on the great finds of Gold and Silver. If you are able to post a pic. it would be great to see. Contrats and Happy Hunting.

 

[tracey]

thats great! sounds like fun. and by the way , some of of old women dont nag!

 

[Copper]

I'm 57 and just finding time to get back into serious treasure hunting. There are a lot of us "baby boomers" who are starting to live a little after years of work.

Nice find! That's not a bad sized nugget either. I sure would check that area very carefully. The fact is, the old prospectors left behind lots of gold. They didn't have metal detectors.

Keep us all updated.

Copper

 

[omnicognic]

Oh man! I want to go hunt gold in the desert! All we have around here in FLA. are treasure fleets and granny stashes! 8)

 

[corncrasher]

that sounds like a lot of fun. I hope to make a trip to Arizona this summer, all the rain and flooding could make for some interesting detecting. I just have to get my dfx to be somewhat stable with very little discretion

 

[OnionRings]

Post a pic I would like to see it!

I'm getting a LOBO next month and I can't wait to start finding nuggets!

Onion

 

[Copper]

Oh man! I want to go hunt gold in the desert! All we have around here in FLA. are treasure fleets and granny stashes! 8)

Hey, Florida ain't so pretty bad (see photo).

Granny stashes! Now that's an idea

 

[stoney56]

Great pic. Now, what's the story. 8)

 

[Copper]

Great pic. Now, what's the story. 8)

I was just kidding. These weren't found by me?

I clean and sell coins others find. These came to me from someone who owns a large portion of the Consolacion treasure. I did this picture for ebay where they all are now. I posted it here but then read the posting instructions. I then discovered I can't advertise this type of thing here and I removed my ad.

Sorry I don't have much of a story.

ADDED: I see the coins sold on ebay already. This time it only took about 1 hour (BUY-IT-NOW). Maybe I sell too cheap?

All 7 for $300.

Copper

 

[spotz]

Well! At least we got a look at some real, genuine, certified TREASURE! Thanks for the pix & the HONEST story behind them. Good luck. Spotz

 

[Keith IL]

Great story and congrats on the silver and gold
Godd Hunting

 

[Copper]

Well! At least we got a look at some real, genuine, certified TREASURE! Thanks for the pix & the HONEST story behind them. Good luck. Spotz

You're welcome! I'm new to this forum but I'm very impressed by the good attitude of the posters. Metal detecting people are nice

I think we all would love to be onboard a true treasure seeking ship. Well, at least until the weather got bad If one is able to convince a few rich folks that there's a remote chance one knows what one is doing, well, one just might be out there (for a while) with the big boys. Personally, I can't convince my wife that I'm capable of fishing off a pier without drowning. And the fact I once owned one of those toy ant farms may not impress rich folks as to my leadership abilities.

I get something of a kick just emailing some of these people and buying a few scraps of what they work hard to find. They'll all tell you that the most fun in all this is in the search and actual moments of the first big discoveries. Most of us miss all that but then we don't have to pay the price either.

I enjoy holding shipwreck coins that are still as found and dream of what it must have been like to have found it on the bottom of the big pond. Then as I clean away the encrustation (boy does it stink!), I have the pleasure of being the first person to actually see and touch the surface of that coin since it was packed for the original voyage (this is something even original divers missed out on).

Sorry for the long post...I get carried away with this subject.

Copper

 

[stoney56]

Copper, just a guess but I think those were way too cheap! Somebody got a good buy.

 

[Copper]

Copper, just a guess but I think those were way too cheap! Somebody got a good buy.

You're right. But then, the only way you can get what something is worth is if you have the confidence of the buyer public. A famous treasure hunter group can get what this stuff is really worth because people know and respect them. And to, there's more of an emotional aurora (if I can call it that) surrounding treasure that was purchased directly from those who had some part (although maybe remote) in the actual recovery. These same cobs were easily worth $175 to about $575 each. But, I'm not a famous treasure hunter.

I'm not a coin investor myself. But, if I were young and was looking to make a future investment, I'd buy Spanish cobs (pieces of eight) and sock them away. But be sure you can tell the real from the fakes. The difference is usually obvious but still one needs education.

Something many don't know is that they (the big treasure hunters) aren't finding as many nice cobs today as they were in the 80's. Talk to anyone hunting off the Florida coast and they'll most likely tell you the good finds today are far and few between. The point: They're running out of genuine pieces of eight (good ones). Of course, the same goes double for gold.

Just a little tip from the peanut gallery.

Copper

 

[stoney56]

Thanks for the insight. HH and keep smilin'.