Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Newsletter

The News
v. 15, n. 10 October, 2011 Going for the Gold Visit RMPTH On The Internet At http://rmpth.com

Contents
1 2 2 6 7 7 8 8 10 11 12 14 16 17 18 19 Some Coin Hunting Tips About The News Book Review Huge Silver Haul Rare Roman Coin Recovered Local Treasure Tales Recognizing A Stroke Tales Of Gold Hill, Colorado Calendar of Events Calendars The History Of Gold Rhodochrosite Trading Post RMPTHVaried Interests 2011 Schedule of Events Contact List

Some Coin Hunting Tips

By Eric L. Nielsen

ecause many people engaged in the hobby of treasure searching have chosen coin hunting as their primary activity, it seems like a good idea to pass on a few tips that could help to increase their success. As with any activity, the more you learn about it and the more you practice, the better you become. There are a few basics that must be considered before more advanced techniques can be applied. Most important is the choice of the metal detector necessary to be adequately successful. Although most detectors manufactured today will detect coins at shallow depths, it takes a very good detector to reach the good old coins buried very deep. If finding a lot of clad coins and zinc pennies is all you care to do, just about any discriminating type detector will suffice. In most localities the top 4 inches of soil has been pretty well depleted of older coins. To reach the depth where the remaining coins reside requires a detector that has excellent ground balance capabilities to minimize the effect of minerals on the electromagnetic field of the detector coil. The field must reach deep enough to detect the coins. The detector must also be sensitive enough to provide a good signal at that distance from the coil. The general rule is that if it won't detect it in the air at that distance, it won't detect it in the ground. To qualify this, it is necessary to do air tests in a location that doesn't have electromagnetic interference in the air. This can sometimes be a challenge. To make the choice of the right detector you must take into consideration the locations you will primarily search. Mountains may require a different detector than the prairie or farmland. Red iron rich clay soil will probably require a different choice than black humus rich farmland. Alkali soil, salt water beaches, clay rich soils, and abundant black magnetic sand all create their unique problems for the coin detector.
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"Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things." - Unknown

About The News

Advertising Classified advertising for topic related items is free for non-business ads. See the Trading Post section for donation pricing of camera-ready display ads. Donations for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are available on request. About RMPTH RMPTH is an independent nonprofit hobbyist social club, open to anyone interested in prospecting, detecting or treasure hunting. Its purpose is to provide an educational and social forum of mutual benefit for members. RMPTH holds a monthly meeting and conducts various field outings, as well as offers special presentations and seminars. Active participants have voting privileges. The monthly newsletter, The News, is readily available on the Internet. Persons wishing to receive the newsletter in hardcopy, mailed format are required to provide the amount of $24 per year required to print and mail. Otherwise, no annual dues are charged as the social club functions strictly by donation.

he News is the official newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club (RMPTH): our mailing address is P.O. Box 271863, Fort Collins, CO. 80527-1863. Opinions expressed in The News are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the club or its members. Publication of information in The News constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information found in this publication is at the sole risk of the user. Neither RMPTH, nor its coordinators, nor The News, nor its editors or contributors assume any liability for damages resulting from use of information in this publication. Submissions

Articles, letters and short items of interest on prospecting, detecting and treasure hunting topics are welcome and encouraged. All items submitted for publication are subject to editing. Submittals for publication may be made in writing or, preferably, in ASCII text format on IBM-compatible disk. If you have questions about a submission, please contact the editor for information. Copyright Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit groups may reprint or quote from any articles appearing in The News without prior permission, provided that proper author and publication credits are given and that a copy of the publication in which the article appears is sent at no cost to RMPTH at the above mailing address. Clubs wishing to exchange newsletters with RMPTH are invited to send a copy of their newsletter together with an exchange request.

Book Review
By Paul Lange his month, I am taking you to school. I received a catalog in the mail entitled The Great Courses Fall 2011. It enables one to enjoy brilliant college lectures at home, on a laptop anywhere or in your car. Looking through the many course offerings there is one entitled The History of the United States, 2nd edition covering 84 lectures and The American Civil War covering 48 lectures. The best part of these courses is there is no homework, tests or grades. Learn from the best university professors and experience the pure joy of learning, any time, anywhere. Choose CDs or DVDs. Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed and your purchase is replaceable if the product breaks, warps or gets damaged as long as the course is in production. Check them out online at www.ordergreatcourses.com Review their privacy policy and other benefits of enrollment. You might find other course offerings that are to your liking. Learning doesnt get any more fun than this.

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Some form of circuitry to discriminate the desirable targets from the undesirable is essential, unless you are searching an area with minimal junk metal, or you are in an area where it would be productive to dig every target to make sure you miss nothing of value. When searching, it is a good idea to set the discrimination level to reject rusty nails and small iron pieces. Any more than that and you will probably miss small gold coins and rings. It is a good idea to hear the signal trash targets give so that you can learn to discern the difference between them and good targets. Remember, it is not uncommon to have a coin below or beside a trash target. Hearing both can allow you to make the judgment call on whether to dig or move on. A hunting partner of mine found a nice Walking Liberty Half Dollar at a depth of about 4 inches, a couple inches below a large rusty nail, at an old fairground which we were searching years ago. It had been worked hard by coin hunters over the years and there were very few old coins left that were not very deep. He had recovered a few Barber Quarters at depths of 9 inches there. He said the signal sounded like junk, but gave an almost good signal when scanning it from the other direction. He decided to check it out and was glad he did. Other coin hunters had left that nice old silver half dollar because it didn't give a good signal. It is absolutely necessary to know what your detector is telling you. It is common knowledge that some of the most successful coin hunters often set up what is called a test plot to experiment with their detectors. This can be done by clearing all metal objects from an area 12 to 15 feet by 6 feet at a location that won't be likely to accumulate junk metal by searching it thoroughly with your detector in the all metal mode, then carefully burying a variety of targets in rows at various increasing depths at distances about a foot and a half apart, with as little disturbance to the integrity of the soil as possible. Soil disturbance can affect detection depth until it has time to get back to normal. The ends of the rows can be marked by putting some larger good or junk targets at a measured distance from each end. The idea is to have enough distance between targets to swing the coil as you would when normally searching. You want to know exactly where those 'too deep to detect' coins are when you want to retrieve them, so precisely placing them in position on a straight line is important. A friend of mine used a masonry drill bit in a battery operated drill to drill the holes at precise depths in the ground after it was frozen. He then placed the coins in
The News, October 2011

the holes, double checked depths and verified that they were properly placed before the holes were backfilled. Positioning some coins oriented vertically or at and angle is also a good idea so you will know how your detector responds to these situations. Coins can be oriented at any angle in gardens and lawns that were roto-tilled before being reseeded. Deep vertical coins can be very difficult to detect. Also, be aware that sometimes, at some locations, one direction of search will detect coins better than any other directions, so if you can determine a difference, always search the area thoroughly going the direction that works best. I don't know what causes this phenomenon, but occasionally it occurs. If time is available, I search in all directions including diagonals in order not to miss targets. If you choose to not leave good targets buried in the ground, a metal pipe corresponding to the same size of PVC pipe (no larger than 2 inches OD) can be driven into wet ground at a shallow angle with the surface to a vertical depth of 12 to 14 inches or more to the bottom end in a place that contains no metal. I suppose the hole could be drilled with a very large bit or small auger. When the pipe is carefully pulled out by twisting it, the soil should remain inside the metal pipe leaving a hole in which the PVC pipe can be inserted. By placing your gold coin or whatever else you may want to experiment with in a small plastic bag and attaching it to a string, you can push it with a dowel to any depth at which you wish to test your detector. The actual vertical depth from the surface can be calculated by using the angle of your tube and distance the object is lowered inside, using a little trigonometry, or more easily by placing a long straight dowel down to the end of the tube with the other end extending the same distance out of the tube, making sure it stays tight along the bottom. Measure from the ground surface vertically up to the exposed portion of the dowel at distances corresponding to the depths at which you wish to experiment and mark the dowel at these points with a felt tip pen. Because the angle of the tube from the surface up is the same as from the surface down, all you need to do is mark your string at these intervals and lower your practice target into the tube to the depth you wish to check. Make sure your tube is cut off to the level of the ground surface, and plug the end when not using it to keep it from filling up with grass, leaves, and other trash or soil. The integrity of the original ground above the target will not be disturbed when using this technique
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and it is easy to experiment at different depths with the same target. This works okay for experimenting at depths greater than 4 inches, but because there is no soil in the space within the tube, it is not as effective in testing at very shallow depths. It is wise to also experiment with discrimination levels at various depths, because depth can also affect it. Digital displays or older VDI meter displays may not reliably display true depths or identification of deep targets. Mineralization can also affect depths and displayed information about the target. Many searchers believe that a larger coil will find the deeper coins. This may be true, but, remember that the larger coil sees more mineralization which may have an adverse effect. It covers a larger area which also means more targets may be under the coil at the same time, making identification, discrimination and pinpointing more difficult for your detector. In areas of minimal trash, larger coils may help gain depth, but are probably better suited for detecting deep large objects. In areas with a lot of metal junk, a smaller coil may be a better choice. It will go between junk targets to find the coins. The small coil may not have the depth capabilities to detect deep coins. Experimentation is necessary to determine what an individual detector and coil combination will accomplish. Practice at pinpointing is necessary until you can precisely pinpoint the coin so that large holes or plugs do not have to be dug. A friend who purchased a new detector which was very different from his older detector in the way it operated was amazed when he read forum information and watched videos on the Internet demonstrating how to pinpoint and recover coins with the new detector. He said these supposed experts were pinpointing to an area of about 4 inches by 4 inches and digging a big plug, disintegrating it as necessary to recover the coin. While that might be fine in an open lot or field, my experience has been that anyone with a well manicured lawn would not be pleased and permission to hunt would be quickly rescinded. I guarantee that word travels quickly throughout a neighborhood, so doing it right is essential. Practice at pinpointing can be accomplished by placing coins down while you have your eyes closed and covering them with a towel. You should learn to precisely center over the coin. If you don't know exactly where the sweet spot is on your coil where it pinpoints, you would be wise to determine this exact spot and mark it on top of the coil so you can use it when you pinpoint. Many coils may pinpoint an inch or more from center and double D coils are more difficult to learn to pinpoint with than concentric coils. Your test plot may provide insight into how your detector is pinpointing. Many times in real
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"Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know." - Daniel J. Boorstin

Gold Glossary
Drift - In mining, a drift is defined as a horizontal passageway that is excavated along a rich vein of ore. Hard rock mines usually use drifts to obtain the rich ore, though, some hard rock mines are open pit.

TREASURE HUNTERS CODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect private property and do no treasure hunting without the owner's permission. I WILL fill all excavations. I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, and private property. I WILL use thoughtfulness, consideration, and courtesy at all times. I WILL build fires in designated or safe places only. I WILL leave gates as found. I WILL remove and properly dispose of any trash that I find. I WILL NOT litter. I WILL NOT destroy property, buildings, or what is left of ghost towns and deserted structures. I WILL NOT tamper with signs, structural facilities, or equipment.

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situations there is a trash target next to or near a coin and, because most detectors pinpoint in an all metal mode, the detector might pinpoint the junk target more readily than the coin. I never dig a plug in a lawn without permission. I pinpoint the spot, then use a probe made from a small diameter long shanked, high quality Philip's screwdriver with the tip ground off and rounded as smooth as a ball bearing to locate the coin. I used a long, square shanked, large screwdriver with the blade tip parallel to two of the flat surfaces of the shank. This gives a larger surface area to lift a coin. All sharp edges and corners are filed round and polished so there will be no damage to a coin while it is being extracted from the ground if care is used. I probe until I tap the coin, slit the grass sod with the large screwdriver almost down to the coin, then push the blade down under the coin and, with the flat side used like a small spade, I lift the coin with a prying motion, using my fingers of my other hand as a fulcrum. With practice, most times the coin is easily lifted to the surface, but occasionally it will tip off the screwdriver on the way up. If this happens I reach into the slot with my fingers to get the coin. If for some reason the coin is not readily found or the ground has small pebbles which make recovering coins more difficult, soil can be easily removed from the slot to great depth and easily replaced after the coin is recovered. After any soil which was removed is replaced, it is easy to squeeze the incision in the grass together and, after being firmly pushed down, it is very difficult to see. No damage is done and you can't tell where I have extracted coins. I have never had a property owner complain about the way I extract coins. This technique does not work well if the ground is dry. Dry ground can be problematic when searching and recovering coins. I have always found more and deeper coins when the ground is wet. In most cases detectors seem to detect deeper in wet soil. It is much easier to extract coins from wet ground without damage. Carry a transparent plastic bag to cover your detector electronics in case you are caught in the rain. Hunting in the rain works fine as long as there is no lightning, but be aware that even though you have protected the electronics with a plastic bag, condensation will occur within the bag. These are a few tips that may help make the search for coins more successful. Variations of some of these tips
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Property Wanted For Detector Hunt

RMPTH is looking for private property on which to hold an organized club detector hunt. Obviously, it would be most ideal if this property is known to have seen some past historical activity. If you have such property or know of someone who does, please contact Paul Lange or Rick Mattingly to plan a club field outing event.

Refreshment Volunteers
October - Johnny Berndsen November - Dave Montoya

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have been published in magazine articles and books over the years, so the basic information has been available for quite awhile. I just modify it so it is more effective. You should learn all you can and modify the techniques you learn to fit your style and situations to increase your success. The most important thing is to practice until you know exactly what your detector is capable of doing for you under any situation. Extracting valuable old coins efficiently without damaging them or doing damage to well kept lawns is an art that can only be learned by recovering hundreds of coins. With practice it can be done very quickly and efficiently. One final tip is to keep a log book or journal describing the location, age, conditions, soil, weather, and list of coins found and where they were found at the site and depths of recovery, and any other information you may be able to use later. Over the last 20 years coin detectors have improved considerably. I hope they continue to improve. You never know when you will have the opportunity some time in the future to search a great site with a much better detector that will detect coins that were undetectable in the past. Memory is fickle. Write down all relevant information. I have used these techniques to find some nice old coins, and have taught others to use them. They have also been successful. One guy used what I taught him to recover more than 1000 silver coins and many thousands of Wheat Head Pennies and clad coins. In fact, he finally concluded that the most efficient use of his time is to find as many clad coins as possible and use them to buy gold coins. You can be successful by learning everything you can and practicing what you learn. Also, persistence pays, so don't give up. Keep working at it until you succeed. Pulling a nice old Barber coin or silver dollar from the ground is an incredible thrill. Actually, recovering any old coin, whether silver, copper, nickel or bronze is a thrill. I hope your coin hunting successes will be equally or even more thrilling.

Huge Silver Haul

(AFP) 09/26/11 MIAMI

hen the SS Gairsoppa was torpedoed by a German U-boat, it took its huge silver cargo to a watery grave. Seventy years later, US divers said they are working to recover what may well be the biggest shipwreck haul ever. Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration on Monday confirmed the identity and location of the Gairsoppa and cited official documents indicating the ship was carrying some 219 tons of silver coins and bullion when it sank in 1941 in the North Atlantic some 300 miles (490 kilometers) off the Irish coast. That's worth about $200 million today, which would make it history's largest recovery of precious metals lost at sea, Odyssey said. "We've accomplished the first phase of this project -- the location and identification of the target shipwreck -- and now we're hard at work planning for the recovery phase," Odyssey senior project manager Andrew Craig said in a statement. "Given the orientation and condition of the shipwreck, we are extremely confident that our planned salvage operation will be well suited for the recovery of this silver cargo." Recovery is expected to begin next spring. After a tender process the British government awarded Odyssey an exclusive salvage contract for the cargo, and under the agreement Odyssey will retain 80 percent of the silver bullion salvaged from the wreck. The 412-foot (125-meter) Gairsoppa had been sailing from India back to Britain in February 1941, and was in a convoy of ships when a storm hit. Running low on fuel, the Gairsoppa broke off from the convoy and set a course for Galway, Ireland. It never made it, succumbing to a U-boat's torpedo in the contested waters of the North Atlantic. Of the 85 people on board, only one survived. The Gairsoppa came to rest nearly 15,400 feet (4,700 meters) below the surface, but Odyssey is insisting that won't prevent a full cargo recovery. "We were fortunate to find the shipwreck sitting upright, with the holds open and easily accessible," Odyssey chief executive Greg Stemm said. "This should enable us to unload cargo through the hatches as would happen with a floating ship alongside a cargo terminal." Odyssey, a world leader in deep-ocean exploration, recently conducted remotely operated vehicles from its main ship, the Odyssey Explorer, to inspect the shipwreck. It said it acquired still and video imagery from the site which were used to confirm the identify and evaluate the condition of the Gairsoppa.

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Rare Roman Coin Recovered

Duo find rare Roman coin buried in a Furness field Published Sunday, 18 September 2011

We like to go back and show them what we have found. Then they come out with all sorts of stories and it tips you off to look in other areas. Its great. Also, with us on the land, it means they have an extra pair of eyes out. Its added security. As these Roman coins were found separately and are from different eras, they cannot be classified as treasure, but both Mr. Miles and Mr. Taylor hope that one day they will come across a hoard. Mr. Taylor said: It takes a lot of patience. We are out every night. Youre always hoping to make that little line in the history books. Its like winning the lottery. If we were to find a hoard, I would rather keep it locally, maybe in the Dock Museum. Its history from this area, so it should stay here. Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

Metal detectorist duo Dave Taylor and Ian Miles, from Dalton, unearthed the coin along with another Roman coin. Dr David Shotter from Lancaster University identified the artefacts and estimated the coins were from 67 AD and 119 AD, when Emperors Nero and Hadrian ruled. In his findings, he reported the Nero-era coin was quite rare. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Miles have only been detecting together for a few months and have already made a number of discoveries. Mr. Taylor said: When we are walking through the fields in the pouring rain for ages and the fields are like a mud bath, its great when you hear that beep. When you see a glimmer of silver, it makes it all worth it. Its such a buzz. It gives you that kick to carry on. The friends found each of their coins in quick succession while searching the same field. Mrl Taylors rare discovery was made first. Mr. Miles said: He came running across the field like a 10-year-old with a lollipop. He was like a child, shouting Ive found a Roman coin. Mr. Taylor said: Its amazing to think that you are touching something that no one else has been in contact with for 2,000 years. The pair are members of the National Council for Metal Detecting and believe honesty is the best policy when detecting. Mr. Taylor said: We would always split any of our finds 50/50 with the farmers. Even if we arent selling it, we would find out how much it was worth and give them half the money. We cant thank them enough. Without their permission, we couldnt do anything.
The News, October 2011

RARE Roman coin has been discovered in the fields of Furness.

Local Treasure Tales

Weld County, Colorado Sucked Down And Gone n the 1880s there was a man who sold some cattle and received gold coins in payment. His name in some stories was Vickers and the amount given has various totals, but it was supposedly upwards of $20,000 or a bit higher. According to the story he was heading towards Fort Collins to place it in the bank for safe keeping. But before he reached Fort Collins, a gang of outlaws, some say it was the Curry gang, tried to get his gold. Vickers somehow held off the gang, but had also tossed his gold into a pool of water below a water fall, figuring he could fish the money out later. Vickers lived thru the attempt to kill him for the gold and when he later tried to get the money out of the pool, he could not find it. What Vickers did find was it appeared the falls had formed a sort of underground river and his money was sucked away into a crevice somewhere.

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Recognizing a Stroke
Read and Save Someone's Life! neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke .... totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough. RECOGNIZING A STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters .... S.T.R. Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions: S - Ask the individual to Smile. T - Ask the person to Talk and speak a simple sentence coherently - i.e., "It is sunny out today." R - Ask him or her to Raise both arms. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999 / 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher! New Sign of a Stroke .... Stick out Your Tongue. Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

Tales of Gold Hill, Colorado

arly Colorado Gold Mining History.

"Before the Denver Mint opened on July 20, 1860, gold dust was the principal medium of exchange. It was taken at every store and for every transaction except for mailing letters at the Pony Express Office. Prospectors carried the dust in their buckskin bags and everyone had his own gold scale. Stores had their scales too, but if none happened to be available, one pinch equaled twenty-five cents. Scales weren't universally adjusted, there was loss in measuring and some grades of gold contained impurities. Counterfeiters added brass filings. Amalgamated gold dust was worth $14 an ounce, scale gold $14.75 to $16 an ounce and lump gold $18 to $20 an ounce. When I needed to obtain the coins necessary to mail a letter I traded some gold dust at the exchange in Denver. In buying gold, they were very careful to extract all the dirt and black sand before weighing it. First it is placed in a mortar and broken, and after having been ground sufficiently, it is turned into a tin tray and subjected to the blowing process (which they always prefer to perform out of sight) which separates the dirt from it, after which the magnet is run through it, taking out the black sand, when it is weighed (and here, if you are not sharp, mistakes are often made), then the ounces, pennyweights and grains are counted and figured up, and you receive the value in coin." M. M. Clark, "A Trip to Pike's Peak" 1861. Clark was an early miner in the Gold Hill District above Boulder, Colorado.

A placer mining claim is normally 20 acres, generally measuring 660 by 1,320 feet. The long direction of the claim is usually oriented parallel to the stream. Remember, valid claims may exist with no visible markers. If there is an error in the location description, the marker on the ground rules.
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Dog For Sale

A guy is driving around the back woods of Montana and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: 'Talking Dog For Sale ' He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there. 'You talk?' he asks. 'Yep,' the Lab replies. After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says 'So, what's your story?' The Lab looks up and says, 'Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.' 'I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running.. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.' 'I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired.' The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog. 'Ten dollars,' the guy says. 'Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?' "Because he's a liar. He never did any of that crap."

I called my stockbroker and asked him what I should be buying. He said, "If the current administration is in office much longer, canned goods and ammunition are your best bet."

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Calendar of Events
October Meeting Wednesday, October 5. We will meet at the Pulliam Building in downtown Loveland at 7:00PM. Refer to the adjoining map for directions. Meeting Agenda 6:00 - 7:00 Planning & Social Hour 7:00 - 7:30 Business, Announcements & Find of the Month Program 7:30 - 7:45 Break 7:45 - 9:00 "Bottle Hunting by Rick Mattingly and others. Bring your own found bottles to display!

RMPTH DUES
RMPTH is an unincorporated Social Club with no income generated. All expenses are covered by donation. Members are requested to consider donating a minimum of $1.00 at each monthly meeting to cover club expenses.

MAP TO THE MEETING PLACE Pulliam Community Building 545 Cleveland Avenue, Loveland, Colorado

Directions: The Pulliam Community Building is situated on the west side of Cleveland Avenue in Loveland, Colorado. Park at the rear of the building (west side). Entry to the meeting room is from the doorway on the south side of the building (not the main entrance on Cleveland Avenue!).
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October 2011
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 9 16 23 30 3 10
Columbus Day

4 11 18 25

5
RMPTH Planning Session 6:00P RMPTH Meeting 7:00P

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

8 15 22 29

12 19 26

17 24 31
Halloween

November 2011
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 6 13 20 27
The News, October 2011

2
RMPTH Planning Session 6:00P RMPTH Meeting 7:00P

3 10 17 24
Thanksgiving

4 11
Veterans Day

5 12 19 26

7 14 21 28

8 15 22 29

9 16 23 30

18 25

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RMPTH Field Outing Statement

NOTE: The Coordinators and participants stay in touch and continue to review and plan upcoming presentations and outings for the year on a monthly basis. Our editor Rick Mattingly needs timely event information for each issue of The News. Please get information about any particular event to him by the 15th of the month to meet the printing deadline for the next issue. Planned trips, outings, activities, and meeting programs are in the newsletter and on line at the clubs website. Planning is a work in progress and additional outings and activities are added and sometimes deleted on an ongoing basis. Events planned in the upcoming month are emphasized to the attendees at the monthly meetings. Contact the Presentations Coordinators or Editor if you have any suggestions or ideas throughout the year for fieldtrips, outings, and programs. The best made plans may change at the last minute due to the illness of the Trail Boss, weather, land access, vehicles breaking down, wrong meeting sites, etc. Please be understanding of extenuating circumstances and contact the coordinator or Trail Boss of a specific event if there is any question of an event being cancelled or changed at the last minute.

rines, masks, cups, diadems, and jewelry, plus hundreds of decorated beads and buttons. These elegant works of art were created by skilled craftsmen more than 3,500 years ago. The ancient civilizations appear to have obtained their supplies of gold from various deposits in the Middle East. Mines in the region of the Upper Nile near the Red Sea and in the Nubian Desert area supplied much of the gold used by the Egyptian pharaohs. When these mines could no longer meet their demands, deposits elsewhere, possibly in Yemen and southern Africa, were exploited. Artisans in Mesopotamia and Palestine probably obtained their supplies from Egypt and Arabia. Recent studies of the Mahd adh Dhahab (meaning "Cradle of Gold") mine in the present Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reveal that gold, silver, and copper were recovered from this region during the reign of King Solomon (961-922 B.C.). The ancient civilizations appear to have obtained their supplies of gold from various deposits in the Middle East. The gold in the Aztec and Inca treasuries of Mexico and Peru believed to have come from Colombia, although some undoubtedly was obtained from other sources. The Conquistadores plundered the treasuries of these civilizations during their explorations of the New World, and many gold and silver objects were melted and cast into coins and bars, destroying the priceless artifacts of the Indian culture. Nations of the world today use gold as a medium of exchange in monetary transactions. A large part of the gold stocks of the United States is stored in the vault of the Fort Knox Bullion Depository. The Depository, located about 30 miles southwest of Louisville, Kentucky, is under the supervision of the Director of the Mint. Gold in the Depository consists of bars about the size of ordinary building bricks (7 x 3 5/8 x 1 3/4 inches) that weigh about 27.5 pounds each (about 400 troy ounces; 1 troy ounce equals about 1.1 avoirdupois ounces.) They are stored without wrappings in the vault compartments. Aside from monetary uses, gold is used in jewelry and allied wares, electrical-electronic applications, dentistry, the aircraft-aerospace industry, the arts, and
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The History Of Gold

A precious metals importance to the world By Harold Kirkemo, William L. Newman, and Roger P. Ashley

old was among the first metals to be mined because it commonly occurs in its native form, that is, not combined with other elements, because it is beautiful and imperishable, and because exquisite objects can be made from it. Artisans of ancient civilizations used gold lavishly in decorating tombs and temples, and gold objects made more than 5,000 years ago have been found in Egypt. Particularly noteworthy are the gold items discovered by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in 1922 in the tomb of Tutankhamun. This young pharaoh ruled Egypt in the 14th century B.C. An exhibit of some of these items, called "Treasures of Tutankhamun," attracted more than 6 million visitors in six cities during a tour of the United States in 1977-1979. The graves of nobles at the ancient Citadel of Mycenae near Nauplion, Greece, discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876, yielded a great variety of gold figuPage 12

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medical and chemical fields. The changes in demand for gold and supply from domestic mines in the past two decades reflect price changes. After the United States deregulated gold in 1971, the price increased markedly, briefly reaching more than $800 per troy ounce in 1980. Since 1980, the price has remained in the range of $320 to $460 per troy ounce. The rapidly rising prices of the 1970's encouraged both experienced explorers and amateur prospectors to renew their search for gold. As a result of their efforts, many new mines opened in the 1980's, accounting for much of the expansion of gold output. The sharp declines in consumption in 1974 and 1980 resulted from reduced demands for jewelry (the major use of fabricated gold) and investment products, which in turn reflected rapid price increases in those years. Gold is called a "noble" metal (an alchemistic term) because it does not oxidize under ordinary conditions. Its chemical symbol Au is derived from the Latin word "aurum." In pure form gold has a metallic luster and is sun yellow, but mixtures of other metals, such as silver, copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, tellurium, and iron, with gold create various color hues ranging from silverwhite to green and orangered. Pure gold is relatively soft--it has about the hardness of a penny. It is the most malleable and ductile of metals. The specific gravity or density of pure gold is 19.3 compared to 14.0 for mercury and 11.4 for lead. Impure gold, as it commonly occurs in deposits, has a density of 16 to 18, whereas the associated waste rock (gangue) has a density of about 2.5. The difference in density enables gold to be concentrated by gravity and permits the separation of gold from clay, silt, sand, and gravel by various agitating and collecting devices such as the gold pan, rocker, and sluice box. Mercury (quicksilver) has a chemical affinity for gold. When mercury is added to gold-bearing material, the two metals form an amalgam. Mercury is later separated from amalgam by retorting. Extraction of gold and other precious metals from their ores by treatment with mercury is called amalgamation. Gold dissolves in aqua regia, a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids, and in sodium or potassium cyanide. The latter solvent is the basis for the cyanide process that
The News, October 2011

is used to recover gold from low-grade ore. The degree of purity of native gold, bullion (bars or ingots of unrefined gold), and refined gold is stated in terms of gold content. "Fineness" defines gold content in parts per thousand. For example, a gold nugget containing 885 parts of pure gold and 115 parts of other metals, such as silver and copper, would be considered 885-fine. "Karat" indicates the proportion of solid gold in an alloy based on a total of 24 parts. Thus, 14-karat (14K) gold indicates a composition of 14 parts of gold and 10 parts of other metals. Incidentally, 14K gold is commonly used in jewelry manufacture. "Karat" should not be confused with "carat," a unit of weight used for precious stones. The basic unit of weight used in dealing with gold is the troy ounce. One troy ounce is equivalent to 20 troy pennyweights. In the jewelry industry, the common unit of measure is the pennyweight (dwt.) which is equivalent to 1.555 grams. The term "gold-filled" is used to describe articles of jewelry made of base metal which are covered on one or more surfaces with a layer of gold alloy. Quality marks may be used to show the quantity and fineness of the gold alloy. In the United States no article of gold alloy coating of less than 10-karat fineness may have any quality mark affixed. Lower limits are permitted in some countries. No article having a gold alloy portion of less than onetwentieth by weight may be marked "gold-filled," but articles may be marked "rolled gold plate" provided the proportional fraction and fineness designations are also shown. Electroplated jewelry items carrying at least 7 millionths of an inch (0.18 micrometers) of gold on significant surfaces may be labeled "electroplate." Plated thicknesses less than this may be marked "gold flashed" or "gold washed." Gold was produced in the southern Appalachian region as early as 1792 and perhaps as early as 1775 in southern California. The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in California sparked the gold rush of 1849-50, and hundreds of mining camps sprang to life as new deposits were discovered. Gold production increased rapidly. Deposits in the Mother Lode and Grass Valley districts in California and the Comstock Lode in Nevada were discovered during the 1860's, and the Crip(Continued on page 15) Page 13

Rhodochrosite

he history of precious metal mining is filled with mines that were oversupplied with optimistic backers and undersupplied with valuable ore. The Home Sweet Home Mine in Buckskin Gulch above Alma, Colorado, is a prime example of this. Were it not for a brief mention of some Rhodochrosite that was found here while mining for Silver in 1878, chances are that the specimen seen here would still be quietly resting in the cold, wet and dark interior of Mount Bross, where it formed some 30 million years ago. As it is, that mention, along with a few others, sparked the interest of a combined group of determined mineral collectors, miners and financial backers, who funded and executed a serious mining venture designed to find and recover treasures like this one. In the course of their mining operations, this specimen was recovered from what is certainly the premier find of this mine's history - arguably the premier mineral find of all time as well. The "Good Luck Pocket" was discovered on September 21, 1992 and measured 4 x 3 feet and was only 2 to 6 inches across. Inside were found brilliantly lustrous, simple rhombic crystals of the most amazing deep red color imaginable. This notable specimen features two cherry-red rhombs up to 1 inches on edge that slightly interpenetrate each other with a minor third crystal off to the right side. There is a tiny amount of Chalcopyrite and Tetrahedrite on the obverse side, but otherwise no other minerals are present. The size and perfection of form and luster, coupled with the intense red color produce an effect that is absolutely un-Earthly. There is no damage and the condition is as good as it gets, largely thanks to the care with which this specimen was recovered. That it was a part of the renowned Houston Museum's collection speaks volumes as to the comparative ranking of this specimen relative to its peers. It was originally purchased by the Museum in 1993 and was considered one of the Museum's more significant specimens. It was only de-accessioned when a larger specimen from the same pocket was donated to the Museum. Measuring 4 inches wide by 2 inches high by 1 7/8 inches thick, it sits on an acrylic base. Heritage Auctions, Inc. http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx? saleNo=6061&lotNo=49017&type=around-coinnewstem061811

Chief among offerings at recent Heritage Auction was a magnificent, deep cherry colored Rhodochrosite from the Good Luck Pocket, Main Stope, Sweet Home Mine, Mount Bross, Buckskin Gulch, Alma District, Park Co., Colorado, which realized a jawdropping $358,500 auction June, 2011. Good Luck Pocket, Main Stope, Sweet Home Mine (Home Sweet Home Mine), Mount Bross, Buckskin Gulch, Alma District, Park Co., Colorado, USA

Clean That Coil Cover

You should always utilize a coil cover to protect that expensive detector coil from damage. However, should your detector ever become unstable, giving false signals, etc., suspect the coil cover. Carefully remove the cover from the coil and clean both the cover and the coil itself. Even though coil covers provide a tight fit, over time mineralized dust can accumulate inside the coil cover and result in false signals. Make this simple procedure a part of your normal annual maintenance.

Page 14

The News, October 2011

(Continued from page 13)

ple Creek deposits in Colorado began to produce gold in 1892. By 1905 the Tonopah and Goldfield deposits in Nevada and the Alaskan placer deposits had been discovered, and United States gold production for the first time exceeded 4 million troy ounces a year-a level maintained until 1917. During World War I and for some years thereafter, the annual production declined to about 2 million ounces. When the price of gold was raised from $20.67 to $35 an ounce in 1934, production increased rapidly and again exceeded the 4-million-ounce level in 1937. Shortly after the start of World War II, gold mines were closed by the War Production Board and not permitted to reopen until 1945. From the end of World War II through 1983, domestic mine production of gold did not exceed 2 million ounces annually. Since 1985, annual production has risen by 1 million to 1.5 million ounces every year. By the end of 1989, the cumulative output from deposits in the United States since 1792 reached 363 million ounces. Consumption of gold in the United States ranged from about 6 million to more than 7 million troy ounces per year from 1969 to 1973, and from about 4 million to 5 million troy ounces per year from 1974 to 1979, whereas during the 1970's annual gold production from domestic mines ranged from about 1 million to 1.75 million troy ounces. Since 1980 consumption of gold has been nearly constant at between 3 and 3.5 million troy ounces per year. Mine production has increased at a quickening pace since 1980, reaching about 9 million troy ounces per year in 1990, and exceeding consumption since 1986. Prior to 1986, the balance of supply was obtained from secondary (scrap) sources and imports. Total world production of gold is estimated to be about 3.4 billion troy ounces, of which more than two-thirds was mined in the past 50 years. About 45 percent of the world's total gold production has been from the Witwatersrand district in South Africa. The largest gold mine in the United States is the Homestake mine at Lead, South Dakota. This mine, which is 8,000 feet deep, has accounted for almost 10 percent of total United States gold production since it opened in 1876. It has combined production and reserves of about 40 million troy ounces. Thanks to the Prospectors Paradise website: www.prospectorsparadise.com

Gold Glossary
Drywasher - A common desert mining tool. The drywasher is like a highbanker but lacks the need for water. A drywasher operates by the use of wind. The light junk material is blown off the top of the sluice in the drywasher and the gold stays on the bottom. The sluice riffles in a drywasher are backwards for better recovery.

Gold Facts
Symbol: AU Atomic Number: 79 Atomic Weight: 196.967 Melting Point: 1063 (1945 F) Specific Gravity: 19.2 MOHs Scale of Hardness: 2.5 - 3 Karat 24K = 100% Pure Gold 18K = 75% Pure Gold 14K = 58% Pure Gold 10K = 42% Pure Gold Troy Weights 1 grain = 0.0648 grams 24 grains = 1 penny weight (DWT) = 1.552 grams 20 DWT = 1 ounce = 480 grains = 31.10 grams

YOUR ADVERTISEMENT COULD BE HERE! Call Rick Mattingly at 970-613-8968 or rickmatt@q.com

Page 15

The News, October 2011

Trading Post
NOTICE: As part of our community outreach, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Dep. of Earth & Atmospheric Science, Professional Services Division offers FREE MINERAL SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION. Participants will aid in the education of future Geoscientists! Details and specimen submittal forms with instructions can be downloaded from: http://college.earthscienceeducation.net/MINPET/ MINID.pdf" Uwe Richard Kackstaetter, Ph.D. (Dr.K) Assistant Professor of Geology Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Metropolitan State College of Denver Office: SI2014 | (303) 556-3070 kackstae@mscd.edu FOR SALE: Keene High Banker, includes stand, hose and 5 HP Briggs and Stratton pump. Great condition, $900.00 or Best Offer. Contact Cindy Bone at (970) 669-8247. FOR SALE: Prospecting equipment: 4" Dredge and more plus Whites VSAT Gold Detector. Contact Homer at (970) 224-4244 FOR SALE: Two CoilTec coils for MineLab GP or SD Series: 14" Round Mono, $150.00. 5" x 10" Joey Mono, $75.00. Like New. Plus Shipping. Call (307) 886-3937 or Cell (307) 654-1432. WANTED: Federal or state duck stamps; mint or used. Contact John Hart at (307) 778-3993. FOR SALE: Garret Treasure Ace 300 Detector.- $225 OBO. Contact Roger at (970) 622-0821.
About Trading Post The News runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads for topic related items up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Rick Mattingly at (970) 613-8968 evenings or e-mail at: rickmatt@q.com Commercial Advertising Specifications (Monthly Donation Rate) Full Page (8 1/2" X 7") Half Page (3 1/4" X 7") One Third Page (3" X 4") Business Card (2 3/4" X 1 1/2") $30 $20 $15 $ 5

Ads must be received by the 15th of the preceding month. Contact Rick Mattingly for information on this service at (970) 613-6968 evenings or e-mail at: rickmatt@q.com.

NOTE: Purchase arrangements are between the buyer and seller only and involves no financial benefit to RMPTH.

All mistakes and misspellings were intentionally made so that you could have the pleasure of finding them.
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot.

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The News, October 2011

WEEKEND & SMALL-SCALE MINERS CODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect other prospectors claims and not work those claims without the owners permission I WILL have on-site all necessary permits and licenses I WILL build fires in designated or safe places only, and in accordance with current State and Federal guidelines I WILL be careful with fuels and motor oils and be cognizant of their potential destructive effect on the environment I WILL remove and properly dispose of all trash and debris that I find - I will not litter I WILL be thoughtful, considerate and courteous to those around me at all time I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, fisheries and private property, and respect all laws or ordinances governing prospecting and mining I WILL NOT remove stream bank material, destroy natural vegetation or woody debris dams, nor discharge excess silt into the waterways I WILL NOT refuel motorized equipment in the stream I WILL NOT allow oil from motorized equipment to drip onto the ground or into the water I WILL NOT prospect in areas closed to prospecting and mining

RMPTH Varied Interests

By Rick Mattingly RMPTH Newsletter Editor and WebMaster ocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club a big name that may not really fully explain who we are and what we do. On first glance it may appear from our moniker that our primary interest is gold prospecting. The treasure hunting portion of our title is a bit obscure. While it is true that a large portion of our members are dedicated gold prospectors, about fifty percent are dedicated detectorists people who are interested in detecting for coins, tokens, jewelry, relics and even gold nuggets. And, in all of our pursuits, most of us are also interested in related history. Hey, not only is history fascinating, it also tells us where to look. Now, in addition to gold prospecting and detecting many of our members are also into bottle hunting, gem hunting, dump digging and, yes, cache and treasure hunting. In fact, many of us are interested in all aspects of what the club has to offer. So, no matter what your collecting interests are, rest assured that there is a place for you within our ranks. Rocky Mountains Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club a big name that covers a lot of interests. Come join us to share in the thrill of the hunt and to meet others with similar interests.

Did you know that money is not made from paper? Money notes are not made from paper, it is made mostly from a special blend of cotton and linen. In 1932, when a shortage of cash occurred in Tenino, Washington, USA, notes were made out of wood for a brief period. The wood notes came in $1, $5 and $10 values. The world's largest coins, in size and standard value, were copper plates used in Alaska around 1850. They were about a metre (3 ft) long, half-a-metre (about 2 ft) wide, weighed 40 kg (90 lb), and were worth $2,500. A collector of paper money, coins, tokens, and related objects is called a numismatist. A collector of paper money is called a notaphilist. - info supplied by didyouknow.com
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Offer Your Assistance To Any Of Our Program Coordinators

The News, October 2011

Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club 2011 Schedule of Events
Month
January

Meeting Program
Club Business and Open Forum
Love Token Coin Presentation By Rick Mattingly

Trip/Activity
No Trip/Activity Scheduled

February

No Trip/Activity Scheduled

March

Update on Mining Laws, Permits and Land Access for the 2011 Prospecting Season, What the Future Looks Like. By Ben Higley, President, Gold Prospectors of Colorado Gold and Platinum in Wyoming By Wayne Sutherland, WGS

GPS, Compass & Map Clinic

April

Clear Creek Gold Panning

May

Detecting Presentation By Tom Warne

Lets Go Gold Panning On The Arkansas Event Prospecting, Detecting & More Clinic at Lions Park Advertised and Open to the Public Nugget Shooting Clinic at Lions Park Eldora Ski Resort Detector Outing

June

Gold Nugget Shooting Presentation By Rick Mattingly

July

Gold Refining Presentation By David Emslie

Manhattan Ghost Town Detector Outing Gold Nugget Shooting Outing

August

Crack & Crevasse Prospecting By Bryan Morgan

Ames Monument, Vedauwoo & Wyoming State Museum Tour

September

Meteorite Presentation By Dr. Robert Brownlee

Annual Coin & Prize Hunt Colorado Mineral & Fossil ShowDenver Lucite Hills Wyoming Gem Outing

October

Bottle Hunting Presentation By Rick Mattingly

Off-Road Detector & Cache Hunt

November

Annual Show & Tell & Silent Auction Annual Find of the Year Awards & Christmas Party

Local Detector Outing

December

Flatirons Mineral Club & Model Train Show

Good Hunting in 2011!

Page 18 The News, October 2011

Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Contact List

RMPTH Coordinators Coordinator Coordinator Coordinator Coordinator Paul Lange Robert Crain Bryan Morgan Rick Mattingly Home 1-970-663-5776 1-970-484-6488 1-970-416-0608 1-970-613-8968 E-Mail plange50@msn.com brymorg@frii.com rickmatt@q.com

The News Staff Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor Rick Mattingly Dick French 1-970-613-8968 1-970-482-2110

rickmatt@q.com
dickyf99@comcast.net

Internet Web Site Web Master Volunteers/Coordinators Find of the Month Joe Johnston Betsy Emond Paul Mayhak Paul Lange Johnny Berndsen Peggy Stumpf Joe Johnston Bryan Morgan Darrell Koleber Volunteer Needed! Tom Warne Jacob Wootton Johnny Berndsen 1-303-696-6950 1-970-218-0290 1-970-482-7846 1-970-663-5776 1-970-667-1006 1-307-632-9945 1-303-696-6950 1-970-416-0608 1-970-669-2599 1-970-635-0773 1-970-980-6016 1-970-667-1006 cjoej1@peoplepc.com pjmcolo@q.com plange50@msn.com johnnyberndsen.com circlestar@yahoo.com cjoej1@peoplepc.com brymorg@frii.com gutshot1016@yahoo.com goldigger48@msn.com jacob-wootton@yahoo.com Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968

rickmatt@q.com

Presentations Club Historian Club Librarian Panning Demos Setup & Refreshments Door Prize

General Information Contact: Paul Lange at 1-970-663-5776

Visit RMPTH on the Internet at: http://rmpth.com

Lets Go For The Gold !

The News, October 2011 Page 19

The News
Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Club P.O. Box 271863 Fort Collins, CO. 80527-1863

OCTOBER, 2011 ISSUE