Has This Ever Happened To You!?

[Gold Catcher]

Here a story that I am sure all of you have had plenty of. Some days ago, I was hiking in a river canyon and checked the bedrock side walls with my SDC. Then, after several hours checking, I got a really good signal from one of the rocks that was part of a larger bedrock formation on the ground. The coil in the pic is at the location with the strongest signal. The rock was super hard and I could not chip anything off with my pick. So, a couple of days later I hiked down again to the rock, armed with all my equipment and a heavy rock hammer. I worked on the rock for 4 hours. I was pounding it really hard and the signal got stronger and stronger, despite getting only about 2-3 inches deep. I was completely exhausted and with a bloody thumb (no big deal). I was just to give up for the day, as finally on the bottom of the rock a bigger piece broke loose. To my surprise, a crevice opened underneath that wasn't visible before. I put my pin pointer all the way in and got a signal. So, I started digging for another hour. Finally, I was able to reach the target with a long crevice tool, while lying flat on my stomach in the mud. It turned out to be a screw cap!!  I first thought from the 40's or 50's, but actually, it turned out to be much more recent (post message note, Thanks, GoldTree! )The Rock was completely sealed and I had to hammer it open. I have no idea how it got underneath there. But it's all good, I'm at peace (for) now.

 

[nebulanoodle]

Angry Orchard has been around that long!? Or is this photo a re-enactment 😂

[Gold Catcher]

1 hour ago, GoldTree said:

Angry Orchard has been around that long!? Or is this photo a re-enactment

No you are right! Just googled it and they were founded in 2012. Even more amazing how it got in there. Thanks!

[nebulanoodle]

10 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

...Even more amazing how it got in there...

Trash has managed to find its way into some pretty baffling situations. Just goes to show that some places aren’t quite as remote as we might think.

“Why!?” -Me, every time I think I’m the first visitor in 140 years... heck 90 years!

[Chase Goldman]

27 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

No you are right! Just googled it and they were founded in 2012. Even more amazing how it got in there. Thanks!

I apologize for hiding it there.  The bloody thumb part made me feel guilty enough to confess.  

Seriously though , perhaps a flash flood in the wash jammed it up in there and buried it.  Who knows.

In relic hunting, if you are not digging this  you aren't really trying.

And that's with a GPX wit iron reject...

[Gold Catcher]

1 minute ago, Chase Goldman said:

I apologize for hiding it there.  The bloody thumb part made me feel guilty enough to confess.  

Seriously though , perhaps a flash flood in the wash jammed it up in there.  Who knows.

Thanks! I have to admit, I am no expert in anything else that isn't gold, so I assumed that it must be from a longer time ago. This whole area is prone for flush flooding and it is part of a tributary to the American River. The fact that I had to hammer it open for the crevice to be revealed means that it had to have sneaked in there by a different way. The bedrock is foliated with cracks in other areas, so I am sure it got in that way. Good to know though that the SDC picked it up through the rock. And it is Motherlode country, so you never know what's hiding  🙂

[Gold Catcher]

11 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

if you are not digging this  you aren't really trying.

I could not agree more. Some people claim to distinguish trash from gold just by the sound. I am not on that level and don't think it is a reliable way since so many factors influence the target sound. This was a smooth symmetrical  low/high, as you would expect it from deeper gold. Oh well, that's why I have such a huge drum of trash 🙂

[Gold Catcher]

It's not all trash though what you find there. Here are some representative small nuggets from that area.

 

[mn90403]

I'll never trust the programmer or the company that makes it.

[GB_Amateur]

18 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

In relic hunting, if you are not digging this  you aren't really trying.  (Attached photos left off of this quote -- ed.)

Much of what you showed in those photos are called 'relics' by some detectorists.  I think the cliche' one man's trash is another man's treasure was created by a relic hunter after a long backbreaking day without so much as a coat button.  Many a day I've gone coin hunting only to end up with some of those priceless relics.  Come to think of it, that's probably why Steve named a subforum here with dual title "Detecting for Coins and Relics".  😉