California Gold ... OT: What CA Gold Coins are made from ... First Time Gold Prospecting
ctf_error_coins
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I took up a new hobby this last weekend and went out for the very first time gold prospecting in the California Deserts.
California has vast deserts and you just can't go anywhere.
Before my first trip I did some intensive research on the internet, maps, and gold claim maps. Google Earth was extremely useful in my search. Everywhere I drove, I had google earth in my head and knew where to go.
The first trip was for information and I got a lot more information than I had thought I would.
Very fun and I only broke an axle on my truck.
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I was actually telling my friends that if we find enough, we should mint our own coins, or perhaps have a talk with D Carr.
Off topic again but with all a this water we have got in Northern California, where I live, and all the earth moved by the water at the Oroville dam, down hill from where I live, there is a LOT of speculation of a LOT of gold being uncovered. The feather river has a history of kicking out a lot a gold. So!! The gold rush is on just as soon as the water goes waaaaaay the hell down. Butte creek too. So get your mule and get up here
I have traipsed through the ice cold Cosumnes River panning for gold, but damn it was fun - especially when you see colour.
There are extensive reports in Mint archives (NARA) covering gold fields of California, Nevada, Colorado, etc. These include assays of native placer gold from different locations. There is also considerable information about gold assays in the book "From Mine to Mint."
The US Mint assayed California gold tokens and found that 25-cent and 50-cent pieces contained from 2 to 5 cents worth of gold.
YesI have been aware of the high water in NoCal and we have a week long trip planned to go to a working gold mine on the Mokelumne River and look for the yellow stuff. Really looking forward to this trip. Goal is one ounce.
So there is no water in the desert and most people use dry wash plants which are extremely dusty.
I will be trying a recirculating sluice box instead, I just have to bring about 100 gallons of water with me.
Interesting stuff. Bringing your own water is tough sluicing indeed.
It's probably worth putting a lot of effort into research and prospecting as you're quite limited in the amount of material you can process, but the upside is that you can land on good ground that's been left untouched in the past (due to lack of water)
Looks like you really scored! Not just dust but nuggets!
Looks like a blast too!!
Right on!!!
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The area I am in has been worked extensively, it is a known gold deposit, that is why I went there. I did notice notice quite a bit of virgin land in the area that could be worked. The plan is on the next trip, to dig many test holes until we find a good one. Then process as much material as we can on the spot.
Is it safe to say that all S and CC Gold and Silver coins were minted with Au and Ag from CA and NV mines?
http://macrocoins.com
I am curious about this too. I read that CC coins were minted with Nevada mining metals. That's a given considering Virginia City was so close to the Mint.
But I read that might not be the case with San Francisco coins because of all the immigrants coming in bring silver and gold.
I like the before (nugget) and after (coin) pictures
i think the moffat looks just like that nugget you found...color-wise. so yeah, you should do that!
Second that!
Since you are finding nuggets, it may also be cool to have some minted with actual nuggets on them like the Virgin Gold ones from Alaska (photos by Holabird):
Wow that gold nugget coin is bizarre. The best use and most value of most nuggets would be in raw form to be used as jewelry. The fine and flake gold would be good to mint gold coins.
Its a fun hobby! Wish I lived in an area that was more rich in gold. Guess its all about the hunt, but it would be nice to find something now and again.
I follow Alaska exonumia and the gold nugget pieces are always very cool to see. I'm still not aware of the history and reasoning behind these pieces but there are a number of them out there.
I would love to do a little gold hunting some day, but the closest to me would be in the Smokies, and there isn't much there.
I have panned gold in New Zealand, California, Arizona and Washington State...also did some gold metal detecting... Great fun when you see 'color' in the pan....Those are nice little nuggets in the OP.... I still have two nuggets I found MD'ing ....Nuggets will sell for a premium over melt... Cheers, RickO
If I was about 45 years younger I would try panning for gold.
Very cool, in my area of Virginia we have a hot spot "Goldvein" fauquiercounty.gov/home/showdocument?id=5338
near me. I hope to one day to mine near there. I have a family member that owns a couple of acres with a small creek.
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