Question on buying "pay dirt"

[Seacap1947]

I was at the WA gold show a few weeks ago and saw plenty of people selling bags of pay dirt. Now I'm not a stranger to buying pay dirt, but it was at an Alaskan gold mine several years ago. $10 bucks a bag, and what I found in today's dollars would have been $50+ but that was, as I said, years ago. Do any of you buy these bags of dirt, and if so, are they worth it, or are they just to have something to do when it's storming outside and you've got the itch to pan something? Next question is, if you do buy it, any recommendations?

 

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[smokeythecat]

Welcome. I do buy some. I have three dealers I like. I do it for fun, you'll never get your money back on these things.

 

[Ammoman]

I see it as a way to blow money and time. Nothing wrong with it if its what you like to do.

 

[smokeythecat]

That's what retirement is for!

 

[firebird]

The best paydirt I've ever found is from this guy running a rock shop on the way to Mariposa along Highway 140. He's selling bags of paydirt for $10 each that have at least 0.24 grams of gold on it. If any of you ever pass on the way, check it out. He's just getting the gold from the creek behind his shop.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Y...bd1700b63e1684c!8m2!3d37.480137!4d-120.026536

 

[Seacap1947]

Thank you for the tip. I doubt I'll ever make it that way, but if I do, I'll stop by. It was fun looking at the map and seeing the places mentioned. I just finished reading Jesse Coffey's book "Bacon and Beans from a Gold Pan" for the umteenth time. I've had the book 30 years and I bet I've read it 50 times. He talks about the Agua Fria, Maraposa and the area. It was nice to put a place to the names in the book.

 

[Seacap1947]

Greetings, and thank you for your reply. I've been away for quite a while and am just now getting back to emails etc. You mentioned three dealers you like to work with. Would you share their names with me? I realize that you never get your money back, but it's a way that I can teach my grandkids how to pan.

 

[smokeythecat]

Private message sent.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

That's a great idea. When my son was young, he was having a birthday party at the park.
I put together a bag of pay dirt for each kid at the party.
They all got to keep a vial of gold with $10 in gold in it.

Some obviously were not interested, others made sure to thank me that they got to actually keep the gold.

Cheapest route is to buy some placer gold, then go out and pan some gravel from a nearby stream. Divide the concentrates and add equal amounts of gold.