Zincoln

A sad day indeed. Somehow I'd had a hunch Whiskey Jack's beverage intake was going to make him the unfortunate miner. What a way to go out. Maybe that dropped cup was full of Whiskey. One can only hope he went out with a sip of his favorite beverage on his lips! Boy, you can't make this story up!!

Been a while since I've commented on the thread GM. What I find so fascinating is that this story occurred in 1936, and not 1880. I have always thought of our country being pretty civilized by the 1900s. Heck, I was born only 34 years after this story. Surprising amount of gunplay going on. Just goes to show that when you have something of value, and wide open spaces with little law enforcement, you have a recipe for conflict. The fact that the Great Depression had just ended likely also added some fuel to the fire. Thx again for your generous sharing and daily updates! This is no small time commitment you've provided us all with! Brian

Glad it went well for you Ghostminer. You are a trooper typing out an entry today with an eye patch!! Brian

Phrunt - my first TRX was rock solid and i used it for years (in the mud, under water, etc). I put some electrical tape over the speaker to quiet it down and to mitigate any water intrusion or mud buildup and that was helpful. Finally got a leak around the power button and fried something such that it was never functionally the same. Just like you, i bought one before they were gone, and it's a little more fickle. I run mine at Power level 3 and it also gets stuck after hitting the target, on occasion. I have just learned to do a quick rebalance and move on. My biggest original problem was that it would not stay on reliably. I switched out the AA battery holder from my old machine, and the problem is basically solved. Seemed the contacts where not planar on the battery module and would not always make/stay in contact. Foam pad was new, so that wasn't the issue. Still get a little odd behavior now and then due to proper contact at startup. Probably could add a little customer foam piece and solve it...but have just learned to deal w/ the occasional hiccup. Still a great pinpointer....just wish it was as rock solid as my original. Brian

I wondered the same thing. Again, I have no real knowledge in this area, but I didn't think it was common to be able to extract gram sized 'silver nuggets' from ore. This looks like some of the traditional gold veins running through quartz that we all know, but instead its silver. I've seen ore from Alaska with a fair amount of visible silver running in veins, but I also thought you typically had to pull it from ore that also often was a compound with large volumes of lead, gold, or other minerals. The two pieces I extracted that we tested had <1% of lead mixed w/ the sample. Sadly, it doesn't present as very eye catching....just a rather dull rock with oxidized silver. I suppose I could attempt to eliminate the rock strata and leave behind a silver web.

GotAU - It was free, but I brought in scrap gold to get an appt. He was pretty busy. The only other place I found w/ the equipment charged $15 unless it was accompanied by a transaction. Didn't find a coin shop or pawn shop with equipment...even a rather large chain which was surprising.

Well, I said I'd provide an update! Turns out it looked silver....because it is silver ore. The samples we ran through the XRT were 99% pure silver. So, very high grade silver ore. Funny thing is that there weren't any silver mines I know of anywhere near by. Guessing an old gold miner had that w/ them in the old village for some reason, and eventually tossed it out. Would be fun to have them run a trace and find out where it came from....but not worth the effort. Anyway, now I know what I have....and am better educated the next time I run across anything similar!

Thank you Lanny. Should be able to get this done on Monday, and i'll let the readers know what i learned. Everything feels right, but the color isn't what one is used to. Crossing my fingers. Had a nice ore crusher made at the local iron works shop for just this occasion, so would be nice to pay it off! Pulled about 4g of material from a piece about 1/15th of the full sample. Panned out the fines after picking the 'nuggets'. Will feel silly if this ends up being something all together different.....but you gotta have hope! Did find a few little pyrite crystals that powered up when crushed in with pliers....the the bulk of this material is soft and malleable (not lead soft) and looks nothing like pyrite.

I do believe many people think it comes out if the ground like that....rather alloys of Cu for Rose, and Silver for green. Always liked the accents.

Thank you Gerry. I think you have at least given me high confidence I have something good here. Your darker examples are almost dead ringers for mine before i put them through the acid bath. This wasn't an ore dump...though i can't say it wasn't brought here from nearby hard rock mining, or wasn't part of some fill brought in from other nearby mines. You and I haven't met, but we share some common acquaintances, and I'm quite certain we've both put boots on some of the same ground. Could easily be that your samples and mine come from the same area. Think I'll head over to our local coin dealer this next week and have them give me a spectrum analysis. I have some other items to have them look at, so gives me an excuse to ask for a test. I'd take you up on your offer, but we've got about 300+ miles between us right now! Your response is much appreciated!

Thank you GB. I do have an ohm meter, and hadn't considered that. As for more, not sure if this was a random dump during the gold mining days, or possibly part of some more modern dirt moving fill....or was disturbed from its source when heavy equip came through. This was not a hard rock mining location. The day I found this, I gave up on a large piece that was deeper...before I had any idea of what I might have. It will probably take me a day or two to get a coil over it again as I didn't commit the exact spot to memory, but I have a roughly 100 yard diameter area to search. If this proves to be good (Still have the biggest piece of the sample that is full of this stuff), I'll certainly go back and spend some time locating that target.

i know of one an hour away....but will be asking some shops in my area this week to see if someone has access.

oldmancoyote - as mentioned, when i crushed a piece it flattened out nicely and held together. Not pyrite. Strong suspicion its a gold/silver/? compound. THank you.

Good day. As there are a number of very capable prospectors on the site, I'm hoping my pictures are detailed enough and that you may have some perspective/insight on what i think may be gold in an ore sample. I found this metal detecting at a known gold site in NE Oregon. While the specific site wasn't known for hard rock mining (rather placer), there was some hard rock mining a few miles away. I was getting a good low conductive signal on my V3i, and out pops this fist sized rock from about a foot down. I could see clear indications of specimens in the rock, but it had more of a silver hue (some of it appears black - like silver would oxidize) and occasionally had a brassy appearance to some of the material in question. Quite heavy. Testing done: - confirmed non ferrous with a rare earth magnet - extracted several 'nuggets' from the ore with an ore crusher. I was able to take one and flatten it out nicely with about 3 whacks from a 3 pound sledge. Not brittle. Quite a bit of very small quartz crystals in the matrix of the 'nugget' specimens. - used acid tests. The piece i flattened seems more of a silver tone, whereas others have a bit more of a brassy appearance. 18k acid did show the streak lighting up blueish, but the silver acid test showed no reaction. Took 22k acid to begin to remove the scratch. - ran the little nuggets past the V3i and the Deus - both hit in the low conductivity gold range (about the same as a 22k earing back). 'Nuggets' are all about .2g +/-. I dropped them into muriatic acid to clean them up a bit. I am not aware of any silver mining in this part of Oregon (but I'm not well versed), and i don't find ore examples of silver that have similar visual appearance. The closest thing i can find for comparison is Calaverite, but also not aware that this has been found in Oregon. This rock does seem a little out of place for the area, so it's possible it came in from elsewhere. Anyone know if we have any gold/silver compounds in Oregon ore that might produce silver hued gold? Other mineral? Next time I sell some gold I'll have to take the little flattened sample and have it analyzed with a spectrum analysis machine. First image (IMO) makes the samples appear a bit more gold than they do out of the sunlight. Piece at 3 oclock is the piece that was flattened out. For comparison Initial large sample. Lots of this material throughout the sample. Following pictures are close ups of 'nuggets'. Flattened out piece Large ore sample with areas that have more of a 'gold hue' than most. Won't be disappointed by any input...and i might learn something. HH, Zincoln

Ghostminer, Fun to hear this first person back when times were simpler. THx for sharing this....and looking forward to the daily dose of Irish Whiskey! Zincoln

Truly phenomenal! Very neat grouping! I only hope to one day add a capped bust to my finds. Zincoln

Can't even imagine finding a cob here in the Pacific NW, but i do believe Cal Cobra and Tom have done so in old California. Super find! Fun to see. Zincoln

GB - I too have found one of those large penny tokens. Notice that mine comes from Oregon and has a very close date. Think these are 20th century and issued w/ something to do w/ the masons and when their chapters were started. I'm sure someone on here knows. Here is a link describing the letters on the opposite side and what they mean. http://darkfiber.com/tomb/htwsstks.html Best, Zincoln

KS - Ghost towns of NV book has this listed with some info and directions...so it's probably far more known than anticipated. If there is a way to PM you, i can send you a picture of the information on that page. New to the site, and haven't explored direct message options. (Just figured it out and messaged you). Bad news is that is lasted for all of several months back in 1863. Zincoln

I don't claim to be an expert, but based upon some research I had done previously regarding the firing pin strike pattens and a couple quick google searches, he likely has Winchester ammunition - all be it period - as Winchester has used the H headstamp. All kinds of online references to Mr. Henry and Winchester and how that came to pass in the mid 1860's. I have also been curious as I dig up many different calibers with the same H stamp in old west locations, and i have also seen many with the single pin strike and many with the double strike. Again, not having owned an old Henry's repeater, my understanding is that they have the double tap when fired from a Henry's rifle. Other rifle/pistol brands like Winchester are probably responsible for this example. I've picked up several .56 or .58 caliber rimfires in the desert, and boy do they look intimidating when sitting next to a .44. The ballistics on those must have been entertaining out past 100 yards...but god help you if you caught one at close range. Super job on the seated! Can't beat that with a stick! Best, Zincoln

Bet your legs are sore tomorrow. That is a lot of holes represented in the pics! Great job pulling the gold ring out of the mix! Zincoln

@Steve Herschbach Thank you Steve, and thank you for hosting the site!

@OregonGreggJust expanding my horizons...and getting some new perspective! I'm sure I'll bump into you over East!

Appreciate the thoughts GB. Seems we are thinking similarly. Doubt it could reach MS60 which is where you start seeing 4 figures. I do find it odd/funny/a bit hypocritical that you can send them in to have them conserved (cleaned) before they go for grading. Essentially bringing back luster. They are most certainly using chemical treatments to remove surface impurities just like you/I could with various dips that exist. If done by a grading company, you are good to go. If done by you/I, the coin is damaged. Go figure... Zincoln

You guys nailed it with the above description. I use it for cleaning masonry. Muriatic (or hydrochloric) acid. They don't give you the dilutions or any extra added components on the labels. Believe I've been using it undiluted for cleaning. Zincoln