AzNuggetBob 1,550 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 (edited) Can't figure out the gallery so I'll post these pics her-Down N' the Dumps-literally in French Gulch. Cool condo-JohnCool and the condo was born, with deck. I like the kitchen extension too.and the privy is close by. what more could you ask for.John I used to hang out up there in French Gulch when I lived in Redding.That's were I first got into gold.used to fish Whiskeytown lake too, Big Bass. loved it.AzNuggetBob Edited October 7, 2014 by AzNuggetBob 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ssweat 118 Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 (edited) When not prospecting I hunt parks around the valley and wherever I may roam. I found this 1876 trade token in a small park in Scottsdale AZ all the way from Philadelphia. One of my favorite finds. I found my 20th gold ring this year a class ring weighing in at 7.8 grams.The coinInfo I found on itFrontand the back side Edited October 18, 2014 by ssweat 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick in Havasu 394 Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Just in time.......... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sonoran Dave 2,139 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Just in time..........Wth? A restroom token? Thats rough! You can pee...but only if you pay!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mineralcreekmike 1 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 (edited) OK OK, now I see this is supposed to be your best NON NUGGET find. Oh well, this is my best find & I'm sticking to it......lol My best find ever was three, half ounce gold nuggets in one hole......on a hillside. Was following an ancient channel up the hill from the present creek with my detector, fighting mosquitoes all the way and inhaling a few, when I got a faint signal. After digging through moss and 10 inches of half frozen dirt, I found a small pothole in the bedrock about 8 inches across. Carefully scraping away more dirt I uncovered a half oz. nugget, well worn. Running the detector back over the hole again I received another signal. I continued to carefully scrape the dirt away and uncovered 2 more half oz. nuggets as well as about 50 smaller piece in the 10 grain range in this small pothole. This was in Alaska at my favorite creeks where a 55 oz. nugget was recovered as well as lots of em in the 10 - 25 oz. range. My goal is to find one over 1 oz.Mineralcreekmike Edited December 19, 2014 by mineralcreekmike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weaver hillbille 488 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 from the AZ pegmatite belt.. FOund it face up Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mn90403 969 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I have many non-nugget finds. Many more than nuggets. When you live in a city near one of the best beaches then that can happen but:I found a pot boat. It was filled with suitcases and was abandoned on a beach near LAX. The boat and motor were new but I didn't know what was inside the cases until later. I was told it was worth over a million as it was near 1 ton.Later I inquired about getting the boat and motor which was a Mexican panga but they never gave it to me as a reward. They also told me that if I had done anything other than call 911 they would have taken my metal detector and me to jail.It makes for a nice story remembering a bunch of police crawling all over it taking their pictures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lone Lobo 16 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 My very best non nugget find is my wife of over 50 years. Having said that, let me proceed. In 2006 while prospecting in south west Arizona I popped out a single military dog tag belonging to Elvin Browning. I continued beeping and several hours later, in a separate hole, distant from the first one, out came the matching dog tag. What are the odds of that happening? After returning to Ohio I thought I would try and return Elvin's tags to his next of kin. At first I had little success. Finally a member of this form provided me with a phone number to call in Oklahoma. To my surprise Elvin Browning himself answered the phone. He was then 90 years old. I was able to return Elvin's dog tags back into his possession after being buried in the Arizona desert for over 60 years. I have had my share of good fortune in the field but this has been one of my most rewarding finds. God bless these old vets and all that serve both past and present. Lobo 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rimshot 181 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) Pretty cool story Lobo!I think my best find was a gold pendant. Must have been an ounce of gold in it. It had what i think was pearl inlay with gold going around it and a figure 8 raised up in gold.My guess it was owned by an 8 ball player. Edited February 18, 2015 by Rimshot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AZMark 128 Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I just watched Gold Trails with Kevin Hoagland, and the "newbie" found his first hot rock. I have my first hot rock in my back yard. I'm guessing it weighs 40 or 50 lbs and is green. The fun part was lugging it back through the sandy wash and up the hill. all the while imagining the gold trapped inside. Thus began the lesson of hot rocks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nugget Shooter 4,611 Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Indeed and a lesson learned by all of us here at one time or another and I will still drag them home sometimes 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Swampstomper Al 1,336 Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Drag it home for sure..!I don't know about out y'all's way, but here in the east greenstone can contain Au..I have no idea if it's even the same kind of rock though.. I've never seen pieceslarger than about a third of a protien Power Bar; about the same thickness too..They sorta look like 3rd tier 'skippers'..Ergo I have a hard time imagining what we know as greenstone being pieces brokenaway from what you are describing..If someone would explain the difference between the two it would be appreciated..In the meantime I'd crush a piece, just to see if anything taps to the upper edge of a pan..SA 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DolanDave 701 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Nice finds everyone, like reading these types of posts. 5 Years ago, I found a huge womens gold and diamond wedding ring outside the women's bathroom at a gpaa show in Las Vegas, I turned it into the main booth, and asked them if no one claims it in 6 months could I claim it, the lady behind the booth said they don't have a lost and found, but call the main office. So I called, and they have no record of it, and I didn't get the ladies name, darn it.... next time if there ever is one, Ill just give them my phone number. Over the years found numerous old silver coins, multi pounder meteorites.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LowPoint 1,255 Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Have you ever had one of those: "HOW IN THE @!#@ DID THIS GET HERE FINDS???" Many moons ago I was detecting down in a tributary-wash between Bumble Bee and Cleator Arizona. I was working up the wash on a steep-grade-area of exposed bedrock when I got a very strong signal. When I finally worked the target out of a semi-deep crevice (crack), I was "shocked" to see the rusted-lower-hook-part (remnant) of a fish hook??? After taking a "Double-Take-Look" ( a couple of times) I tried to rationalize what I had just found, but began to get a headache. ....Have you ever had one of those moments when you just stop, look around, and ask yourself: "What in the @!#@ is this doing here??? This was one of mine. ...For those of you who are "Not" familiar with this area: ...The nearest lake of any size is at least 50 (or so) miles away; ...All of the washes and their supplying tributaries are always bone-dry, where the only water running down them is during the monsoon season; ...There where no stock tanks anywhere even close to the area; ...Black Canyon, (the major wash that runs thru the area from the north) is at least 2-miles away, has "no fish" in it, and is normally dry (other than during the winter, and monsoon season). On top of all of the above, I was about half way up on the side of a mountain, (not just a hill) a rugged, rocky mountain. I am still baffled by it to this day??? What did I do with the fish hook remnant??? I thought that I might share my experience, so I put it back in the crevice with hopes that someone else will detect over it eventually and consider it to be an interesting and "baffling" find as I did. Gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chrisski 823 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I was in the Agua Fria River at Black Canyon and some of the deep huge puddles that never dry out have fish in them. I was prospecting, but a hiker walked by and told me he had seen people fishing those puddles before. I did also walk on dead fish bones where the puddles had dried up. What surprises me about the agua fria just south of Black Canyon city is it is always running, although it's mostly under the gravel. There's a couple of points where it surfaces along the bedrock just south of the ghost town, but even though the water still flows, it seems like just less than a trickle. Another thing that surprsied me was that some of these big puddles are about 30' by 20' and when I walk up on them, I started to sink into the mud.I put a large rock to stand on, but I kept sinking. It was like quicksand. Black Canton city is a bit south of Cleator, but I remember looking at photos of Turkey creek, and it had puddles in it, although a bit smaller than the ones I talked about, so I suppose there is potential for fish to live there. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle Ron 1,489 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 8 hours ago, chrisski said: Another thing that surprsied me was that some of these big puddles are about 30' by 20' and when I walk up on them, I started to sink into the mud.I put a large rock to stand on, but I kept sinking. It was like quicksand. I have been surprised to encounter quicksand here in the big AZ ... I got stuck in some in Turtle Wash in Wickenburg ... At first I thought it was funny, but quickly realized this was the real deal and was able, with effort, to pull myself out! Cheers, Unc 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SanDomingoJim 458 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 5 minutes ago, Uncle Ron said: 8 hours ago, chrisski said: Another thing that surprsied me was that some of these big puddles are about 30' by 20' and when I walk up on them, I started to sink into the mud.I put a large rock to stand on, but I kept sinking. It was like quicksand. Reminds me of a patch of quick sand that I run into north of Lake Pleasant. Pretty scary stuff especially if you are not prepared for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chrisski 823 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 One other thing about the quick sand, if I'm in the desert and I'm at a waterhole and there's no animal tracks, I suspect quicksand right off. I never expected to find quicksand in the desert. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weaver hillbille 488 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) My latest piece of baublite is made up of several skeletonized quartz pockets surrounding an 80 pound albite rock "matrix" . It has a 3-fluted MACHINIST TAP( appears to be a machinist tap, anyway) sticking out of one side... the tapered end, definitely, and there's an entry hole on the other side about 10 inches away. WTF ... Someone needed a hold down and just happened to pick a nice quartz pocket to drill in? I am no miner, but am baffled by the use of this tap and why it's in the rock. Edited December 31, 2016 by weaver hillbille Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sonoran Dave 2,139 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 That is odd. Most rock bolts are wedge style anchors and just need a hole to secure them. I'm sure there was a reason...maybe it's an old practical joke. Imagine returning from your lunch break to finishing drilling that hole and some smart guy had pounded that hardened tool steel in your drill hole. I imagine it would be frustrating when your hole wouldn't get any deeper.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weaver hillbille 488 Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 18 hours ago, ArcticDave said: That is odd. Most rock bolts are wedge style anchors and just need a hole to secure them. I'm sure there was a reason...maybe it's an old practical joke. Imagine returning from your lunch break to finishing drilling that hole and some smart guy had pounded that hardened tool steel in your drill hole. I imagine it would be frustrating when your hole wouldn't get any deeper.... Dave, I thought so, too. THere's no trace of iron/any equipment around, and I noticed a similar hole adjacent, only the metal ( call it a "bolt remnant") is flush to the surface of the boulder. What's even more odd is that theboulder was easily pulled out of the ground surface "puzzle" of other rocks, by hand.. YOur silver/lead ore sounds similar to what we found up the hill on the old Jack of Diamonds prospect near Kirkland. Bryan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sonoran Dave 2,139 Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 (edited) I'm assuming old miners were just as bad at playing jokes on one another as they are today. I don't think my little stringer will amount to much. As was stated in the thread, with no facility to process the ore, it's just a pretty rock. Bill might get upset with a smelter on his property Edited January 1, 2017 by ArcticDave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weaver hillbille 488 Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 On 12/31/2016 at 0:23 PM, ArcticDave said: That is odd. Most rock bolts are wedge style anchors WEll, I was totally off in my asssumption it was some sort of machine tap. Upon further inspect, I saw another that looked like a couple of beefy spiral ,nails twisted together, poking out nearby with another remnant close to the major triangular 1/2" dia tower of something -nonferrous -at least all my real machine taps are attracted to a rareearthmagnet- but not what I thought was sticking out of this rock. NOw I'm really scratching my head and googling, "triangular minerals" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sonoran Dave 2,139 Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Weird! No idea Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AzNuggetBob 1,550 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 On 12/31/2016 at 0:55 PM, weaver hillbille said: My latest piece of baublite is made up of several skeletonized quartz pockets surrounding an 80 pound albite rock "matrix" . It has a 3-fluted MACHINIST TAP( appears to be a machinist tap, anyway) sticking out of one side... the tapered end, definitely, and there's an entry hole on the other side about 10 inches away. WTF ... Someone needed a hold down and just happened to pick a nice quartz pocket to drill in? I am no miner, but am baffled by the use of this tap and why it's in the rock. Can we get a photo here? before the alien theories start popping up. Sounds like sheered off drill steel to me? AzNuggetBob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.