The Many Lost Treasures of Mariposa, CA (Photos Added)

[racefanrob]

Hi Eagle,

Great pictures as usual. For some reason I keep hearing my name being called when I look at them. It's like I am supposed to go there lol... One of these days I will be there, hopefully it will be soon. I will check the link you posted and try and plan from there. Have a great weekend my friend!

Rob

P.S. Do you know anything about meteorites Eagle?

 

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[EagleDown]

Hi Eagle,

Great pictures as usual. For some reason I keep hearing my name being called when I look at them. It's like I am supposed to go there lol... One of these days I will be there, hopefully it will be soon. I will check the link you posted and try and plan from there. Have a great weekend my friend!
Rob

P.S. Do you know anything about meteorites Eagle?

As much as I hate to admit that I don't know everything, I only know what I've read about them in Tnet.

I did find some boulders about the size of a mans head that I often wondered if they were meteorites. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone willing to pack a 50# rock up the hill and then a mile or so back to the truck, just on the chance that it might be one.

 

[EagleDown]

Find a Meteorite with Magnets!



Magnets and Meteorites
Meteorites and meteorite hunting are growing in popularity, especially with new awareness through television shows like Meteorite Men. Strong neodymium magnets are a great tool to have in any meteorite search.

Learn about finding meteorites, using magnets in your search, and which specific magnets to use. Click link to read the full article: http://www.kjmagnetics.com/blog.asp?p=magnetic-meteorites

FYI; I've been buying from this company for several years. They have been responsive and customer friendly.

 

[racefanrob]

Hi Eagle,
I was just asking because I have some rocks that a rare earth magnet sticks to strongly and I want to get them checked somewhere for nickel. Just asking around, but haven't gotten too many leeds yet. Thanks for the tip though.

Rob
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,391800.0.html

 

[EagleDown]

~~~\/~~~

A Lost Gold Shipment


During one of my trips to the area of El Portal, I was visiting my old prospector friend (page #4, picture #9,) when he told me about an armored truck that was lost in the river. He said it was loaded with an unspecified number of gold ingots that were being transported to Mariposa, where they were to be shipped to the San Francisco Mint.

If you look at the picture mentioned above, in the lower right hand corner of the picture, you can see a stone wall bordering the highway. This stone way goes all the way around the curve of the highway, to where, a short distance up-river, it stops. Then, a little further up-river, another stone wall begins. I know it doesn’t do much for keeping a car or truck from going into the river, but I guess you could consider it a sort of curbing to keep your wheels from drifting off of the pavement.

Anyway, on this particular day, he told me that back in the late 20s or early 30s, an armored truck was transporting gold bullion from the Clearing House mine. Evidently, there was absolutely no foul play involved as the owner of the mine was following the armored vehicle into town, since he would have to be present to sign the necessary papers for shipping the gold.

Nobody was quite sure about what occurred that day, perhaps the driver fell asleep at the wheel, or maybe the brakes failed at an inopportune moment, but whatever, the outcome was deadly for the driver and the guard.

In the stone wall up-river from the one in the picture, I use to be able to see signs of it having been repaired from where the armored truck hit it on its way into the Merced River. The river was near the peak of its “run-off” period, and neither the armored truck, gold, or its passengers stood a snowballs chance.

When the run-off was over for the summer, the river was checked as well as possible and a few parts of the truck were found. A fender, the spare tire, etc. but, the spot where the truck “dumped its load” of bullion has never been found. Of course, back in those days, they didn’t have the help of our modern technology. So, somewhere (probably just a short way) down-river from picture #9, (or perhaps even within the picture,) there’s a small fortune waiting on a lucky treasure hunter.

I hope you found this one interesting.

Eagle

 

[strickman]

Eagle ,none of your stories are anywhere around my area .But still I am truly fascinated by them ,the history -the what if 's -and mystery are intriguing. I would love to sit by a campfire ,eat a hearty meal ,sip on some coffee and hear every one of them . You are a very rich man .In a lot of ways ,maybe not cash on hand, but every other way .That my friend is priceless. Your wealth of knowledge is immense ,your understanding of life in general is truly respectable .I admire your morals and honor . If the spirits were testing you , you have definitely passed the test .So many people get caught up in the fortune and glory of this hobby. But in reality the fortune is not gold and the glory is not in the news. Please keep it up ! I just wish I could hear them in person.

 

[racefanrob]

Hi again Eagle,
Thanks for another great story! That would be too sweet finding a treasure like that. I bet the truck was just ripped apart in the river. I wonder how far that much weight could have traveled? It sure would be fun looking for it someday. I also wanted to address your earlier post about the 50 pound rock you found. I have a dolly and bungee cords ready to go...lol If you remember where it was we can go get it one day. Take care Eagle and have a great weekend.

Rob

 

[EagleDown]

Thank you strickman!! High praise indeed though I'm not sure that I'm worthy of it.

But, you're right in one aspect, (at least to me.) I have always recieved more satisfaction from hearing about something, then searching for it. There has been more than one occasion that I have found the location of something then rather than following up on it, went off looking for something else.

I know it doesn't make much sense to some people, but that's just the way I am. I definately get more pleasure out of telling where something is, then watching someone else find it than I ever would by finding it myself.

Who knows, perhaps one of these days we WILL sit down by the fire and share a cup of coffee together.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Hi again Eagle,
Thanks for another great story! That would be too sweet finding a treasure like that. I bet the truck was just ripped apart in the river. I wonder how far that much weight could have traveled? It sure would be fun looking for it someday. I also wanted to address your earlier post about the 50 pound rock you found. I have a dolly and bungee cords ready to go...lol If you remember where it was we can go get it one day. Take care Eagle and have a great weekend.

Rob

You're very welcome Rob!! As far as the 50 pounder, I know exactly where it is. But, we'd have to wait until late summer when the river level is down.

You have a great weekend too my friend.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

Hi again Eagle,
Thanks for another great story! That would be too sweet finding a treasure like that. I bet the truck was just ripped apart in the river. I wonder how far that much weight could have traveled? It sure would be fun looking for it someday. I also wanted to address your earlier post about the 50 pound rock you found. I have a dolly and bungee cords ready to go...lol If you remember where it was we can go get it one day. Take care Eagle and have a great weekend.

Rob

Halito Rob,

While browsing back thru this thread, I thought I'd take the time to answer a question of yours. i.e.; Well, the bit about the truck just being ripped apart is more of a correct assessment than a question. I've thought about how far the gold might have traveled and frankly, I've found too many variables. Such as; did it hit the river "nose first"? Or, due to the weight of the gold, did it land with the rear down? If it landed rear first, the gold might have slid/been tossed to the rear of the truck, thereby managing to remain in the truck for a few minutes. And, if the truck landed nose first, the gold might have been tossed to the front where it "could" have traveled even longer. Then, there's the possibility that the roof could have been immediately ripped off, allowing the gold to be dumped out near the point of impact. In that scenario, I believe we could all agree that the gold would probably be within a few feet of where it disembarked from the truck.

I do know, from my exploring, that about 200 yards down-river from the initial accident, the bedrock drops about 8 feet straight down that I could see. I have no idea how much more it might drop under the boulders and gravel that's deposited there. In my thinking, that would be the first place I would want to try.

Hope everyone is having a nice Easter!!

Eagle

 

[calisdad]

Hi Eagle,
Hope you are enjoying your Easter.
Going back over this thread there is so much. I'm gong to have to start taking notes.
Was thinking of taking a ride down to Briceburg but I checked out the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne yesterday and boy is there water. My wild a** guess is 200% of normal. Too fast for fishing thats for sure.
With all the interset in this thread I'd expect an expedition is bound to happen this summer.
enjoy-
C-dad

 

[Lanny in AB]

Eagle--another fascinating story about the armored truck. What a great find that would be. You are the undisputed grand master of the treasure story. I only wish that you could still dredge in California--I'd run one of my dredges down and we'd have at it--we'd be over the legal limit for fun in no time at all, what with all of your knowledge of the local honey holes and all.

Thanks again for a great story, and the great dream of finding a fortune in gold ingots.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[EagleDown]

Halito Lanny, Thanks for dropping by. I always welcome your posts here.

Hopefully, it won't be much longer before I'll be able to drive down-river. The Tourist Information Center at Briceburg is scheduled to open April 30th. Perhaps they'll have the slides/trees off of the road shortly.

It would be great if they lifted the ban on dredging. But, rest assured, when they do, I'm going to be after you to come on down to dredge with me. Actually, if they don't make it seasonal, winter is the best time to dredge. As the water starts rising, it flows over places that can't be dredged at any other time of the year. Of course, around March or April, I would generally find areas where there is not much current. You difinately do not want to be out in the flow during the spring thaws.

I've been putting off going to Briceburg until the road is open, as I would like to get some more pictures. Especially of the places I missed due to not having enough room on my camera card. Plus, I wasn't familiar enough with it to know that I could erase the funky ones that I didn't like.

I need to stop by the county recorders office to check on which claims are valid (or not.) Due to the distance I have to travel, I'd prefer being able to go to the county offices and the river in one trip.
So, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

As usual, thank you for your kind words.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

My ship finally came in!!

Unfortunately, even though I was at the dock, I didn’t have enough money to pay the fare.

Friday, I made a rare (for me) stop at a yard sale as they were displaying a couple of items that I thought I might be interested in. While there, I looked in a box and saw a number of coins. I asked, “How much”? and the woman said; “Make me an offer”.

I picked out a 1964 Washington quarter in very fine to AU condition and a 1945 Washington that would probably go for fair condition. Then I picked up an 1889 Morgan dollar. I asked if she would take $20.00 for all three of them and she said; “Sure”. All in all, not a bad deal, especially since silver is now over $46.00 an ounce. (There was also a 1862 seated Liberty dollar, but I had to let her know that it was counterfeit. (See, I do learn.)

Anyway, after I got home, I remembered someone posting in “Today’s Finds”, about a category of collectable dollars called “VAM”, so I did a little surfing and came up with the following:

1889-O VAM-2A Oval O, Far Date

This coin is a Top 100 Morgan VAM

2A III2 8 C3b (Oval O, Far Date) (181) I-3 R-5
Obverse III2 8 Die chip between loops of first 8 on right side. Double die clash lines from neck. Formerly VAM 17.

COMMENTS: Probably more common than VAM-2, the difference is the large die chip in the date. Same premiums as VAM-2.

Price History:

PCGS MS62, VAMQuest, 4/2008 sold for $1575
PCGS MS64, PP Sale, 7/2005, $2500 (Finest known)

I’m not a coin collector and have no idea of its value, or even where to sell it. So, other than having ownership, I’m dead in the water. I did take it to Mike’s coin shop. He’s been in business for about 20 years or so and has an excellent reputation. He looked at it under a magnifying glass, (looked like a microscope,) and said that it fit all of the criteria for the VAM2 Morgan dollar and that he would consider it as fine condition. But, other than that, he knew nothing about VAM varieties. So, no help there. Here are some pictures of the Morgan:

 

[EagleDown]

It's easy to see the "Oval 0" and date being an extra dentical away from the point of the neck. Now, if you look closely at the right side of the first 8, (in the date,) where the upper and lower curves come together in the center, you can see the spur that was caused by the chipped die.

So, there's my little pot of gold for the weekend. Now, all I have to do is find a buyer.

Eagle

 

[calisdad]

WTG ! Kind of like the lottery-- if you don't play you can't win.
Nice coin Eagle.

what does VAM stand for?
is the 'M' on her neck for the designer Morgan?

C-dad

 

[EagleDown]

I took the following off of the VAMlink.com site:

What is a VAM? The heart of collecting Morgan and Peace dollar varieties is based on the idea of a "VAM," which is an acronym for the names of the two men credited with starting this fascinating area of collecting. In the early 1960's Van Allen and Mallis (VAM) developed the system of cataloguing Morgan and Peace dollars that we use now, where each different variety is designated a VAM with its own identifying Number. It's as simple as that.

Right, the M on the neck is the designer. (Morgan)

I don't buy lottery tickets, the odds are too high. BUT, I do buy "FantasyFive". Comes out daily and the odds are much better, though the "Big One" seldom gets over half million. Guess what? I haven't won the "Big One" on that either.

I have had 3 numbers come in quite a few times with pay-offs of $12 to $19. Since I generally invest $4.00 each time, and some of the numbers are repeated in my choices, I've won double pay-offs 5 times in the past year. (The last one was for $32.) And, I'm still in the hole!


At least with this Morgan, just in melt value, I'm ahead of the game.

Eagle

 

[racefanrob]

Nice find Eagle. I am glad to see you back on here also. I was thinking about the truck trying to picture what type of truck it was. I was thinking if it hit the wall on the passenger side most likely went nose first from the weight of the motor. Then maybe flipped over from the current of the river so the rear end of the truck may have been blasted open and the gold started surfing down river a bit. Sure would love to go check that area out soon.

I hope you can find a buyer for your sweet silver dollar. I am bummed about my find though. Those rocks I found turned out to be earth rocks. I was hoping they were space rocks, but those darn odds are too big with that area too. Let me know if you would like one of them. Hopefully they can help someone you know. I think they are magnetite with iron ore in them, but I am not a geologist. I hope you had a great Easter my friend. I am looking forward to your next memory sir. I hope your fingers are limber and the touch typing begins soon!!!

Rob

 

[EagleDown]

Halito Brother Rob,

Sorry to hear about the "let-down" with your rocks. I'm not sure, but I know a Shaman who might have a use for one of them. He works with rock energies. Mostly crystals, but who knows? I'm getting some Eagle Feathers together to send him and I could include the rock, just in case he would have a use for it.

As for the truck, I kind of visualise it as a late '20s, (or early 30s,) heavy duty pick-up style with a large box on it rather than a flat bed. But, I don't really know.

Now, one thing I do know is, when the gold left the truck, it would have hit the bottom almost immediately. If the over-burden was hard-packed enough, it might have rolled/slid along for a little ways, but at the first obstruction or soft over-burden, that's where it stopped. And, if over the years, it worked its way down to bed-rock, even the "great flood" in the mid-fifties would not have moved it. A ten pound ingot is not very big, but it is very heavy for its size. Keep in mind, it's been my experience that most gold from the Merced River checks out to a minimum of 22k by volume. Not pure, but very close.

Thanks for the well wishes on my Morgan. Right now, I'm open to offers. I'm not greedy.

Eagle

 

[EagleDown]

EPIPHANY (A warning?)​

I was sitting here, working on my latest memory to share with you, when I paused to take a sip of coffee.

Since the story I’m writing about occurred during the “Great Depression”, I was thinking of how people survived during it, when it suddenly occurred to me: “Depression”, “Recession”, “Inflation”, it really doesn’t matter what names you apply to it, it all boils down to the same pot of stew; we do without the simple things that get us through times of extreme stress. AND, our “fearless leaders” in the Federal Government take the opportunity to consolidate their positions by passing draconian laws that do more to subjugate the citizens, than to protect them.

For instance, F.D.Roosevelt and the Gold Act of 1933! I know a lot of you are familiar with this, but for the ones who are not, let me iterate;

During those days, there were only three forms of “authorized” monetary exchange: Gold, Silver and Federal Reserve Notes, (printed and issued by a PRIVATE BANK, [Factually, the Bank of England] owned by the Rothschild’s of Germany) So, what he did was confiscate all of the gold in the United States and then, turned it over to the richest family in the world, thereby removing the strongest monetary backing of our Republic. (Incidentally, this also had the effect of negating our Constitutional Monetary Act.) In any case, since silver was the only coinage left to the people, it was necessary that business had to be conducted with this private bank’s fiat money, which today, has absolutely no backing, other than taxes collected from the citizens of the United States of America!! (And, we pay this private bank interest on the monies they print (and LOAN TO US, whether we want it or not.)

Sorry, I see that I’m turning this “epiphany” into a literary rant, so, back to what I realized.

I have an online website selling gas-saving devices of my invention. A couple of years ago, when the price of gas went up radically, I had to hire help so that I could keep up with the orders that were coming in. At this time, the price of gasoline here is higher than it was before, (and still on the increase.) BUT, my orders are much less than they were two years ago. And this is what led to my “epiphany”:

During the “Great Depression”, there were three types of businesses that survived virtually unscathed; Entertainment (movies and baseball,) Recreation (mostly of the alcoholic persuasion,) and Money Saving Products.

>Segue<​

Actually, one company became a mega corporation from a simple money saving product. I once met an ex-salesman who had made his fortune selling this product during the depression. He went door to door showing people how they could make their lampshades(among other things,) last longer by using this product. People “ate it up”. Perhaps you’ve heard of : Scotch Tape!!


The name “Scotch Tape” stuck and became a household name after a repeat customer said:
“Hey, the stuff’s great, but why are you so “Scotch” with the glue”??

Anyway, in observing businesses in general, and the increasing costs of day to day living, I have come to the thought that this time; the “Great Depression” is going to seem like a “Walk In The Park”.

What does it matter, if there’s more than enough to go around but you don’t have the money to buy it, or, you have plenty of money, but it’s so expensive that you can’t afford it??

I sincerely hope that all of you (my friends) are prepared.

Love and Respect,

Eagle