IdahoPeg

On the Treasure Coast we can detect essentially from the base of the dunes to the water/low tide line. Can not disturb the dunes and can’t go in the water here...everything in the water belongs to the professional salvagers with the leases. However, I’ve seen people at low tide in the trough...nobody bothers them. If you find something there though, say it was on the beach lol! Re your buddy’s catch & release fun....here’s one I watched a couple weeks ago...pretty cool!

Soaking it in aluminum foil with baking soda and hot water helped start to get the oxidation off. Plus tried coating it in spit(rec by a YouTube video I found), wrap in foil, and squeezing it tightly for a minute or two, rinse and repeat....surprisingly that worked pretty good! Could hear fizzing and smell sulfur. Then gentle brushing w baking soda. We find a lot of “space junk” here from the rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, and it looks kind of like that, but I’ve never found them oxidized like this.

The beaches here have been so socked in, but we finally had a one day event recently where there was some erosion and nice cuts. When that happens, we all drive frantically along the coast looking for the best spots to hunt...lots of competition. I got lucky and found a nice area with a big cut and only one other detectorist. Since this part of Florida is not touristy, you don’t find a buhzillion rings like Gerry does(see his recent post). This is what we dig up.... I did manage to find a nice tungsten ring with a gold band though, but I was more excited about the old nail...maybe from one of the shipwrecks? Also got a nice old tack... Along with this stuff....was REALLY hoping the item on the bottom of pic was a small Spanish reale.... But when I carefully cleaned it up, no sign of the cross etc...bummer. It’s actually 2 thin layers... So not sure what it is....rings in at 19/20 on my 600, same as some of the small reales found before by others here. I’ll have our Local Legend Terry Shannon look at it. And yes, HE found a nice half reale with visible cross etc that day! Hopefully, some day it’ll be my turn!

Love the stylish modeling of your finds amongst the other gifts from the sea!

You’ve all seen my pics of the tiny gold I get from the Boise Basin area up by my cabin....imagine my surprise when I unearthed this! For sure thought it was going to be a bullet lol!

Lunk, that is an absolute stunner! Very cool specimen!

Well, that’s a bummer! You’re right, maybe that’s why it was named “Nothing” lol.

Wow Lunk, that’s incredible! You da man! Congrats 🙂

Considering I must be the only LOSER out there who hasn’t found a gold ring yet, this thread was helpful. Reminded me the tid’s are all over the place for them! Are gold rings usually a pretty solid hit, or do they sometimes bounce between a couple numbers? Thanks!

Wow, what a nice haul! Congrats and great detecting!

Sorry no gold, Nevada can be tough like that sometimes. Cool about the cat tracks. I often see antelope there too.

Hi Finkster, and welcome! I lived in Ashtabula, Ohio late 80s/early 90s and belonged to a bicycle touring club up there....lots of beautiful rides along the lake near your neck of the woods! Good luck detecting before those infamous “lake effect snows” hit!

Beautiful nugget! Enjoyed the video. Have fun in the goldfields this winter! 🙂

Gerry I think it was 2010 or so when I purchased that 1st detector from you, a used Gold Bug 2; I guess being out in the sun and dry winds of the gold fields just make me look like it was 20 years ago lol! Seriously though, I can’t emphasize enough how much your training has helped me enjoy this wonderful hobby! By the way, I loved that used GP3500...I remember you let me split up my my hands-on training so I could do that one day in Oregon, then another at Rye Patch, so I could experience different types of ground etc....very cool. Thanks so much for the kind words and support! p.s. now if I only could have some success on the beaches of the Treasure Coast down here in Florida! 🙂

Time flew by up at the cabin and on my little claim this season. I continued to clear, detect, and drywash the decomposed granite bench areas. Here’s a nice clean out from one drywash session: I also reworked the sides of some oldtimer Diggings, filling in their ditch as I go....lots of work here for little return lol! Found some nice nuggies when I uncovered some crevices in a different bedrock...biggest piece was almost .6gram, decent size for up here: A highlight of the summer was having my nephew’s boys visit. They learned drywashing, running the concentrates through the recirculating sluice, then how to pan. Each ended up with a couple grams(hmmm....maybe a little “salt” in those concentrates lol): AND the season ended on a positive note! Found a nice handful in this small scraping from a new spot....definitely will setup the drywasher here next year! Ended up with just shy of 12 grams total up here for the season....not much gold, but tons of fun and memories! 🙂

I have a 2014 Polaris Ranger 570 I use up at cabin....carries all my gear, has a dumpbed, good gas mileage....no mechanical issues. Very happy with it.

You did fantastic there Gerry! Great gold and crystal! Speaking of crystals, look at this cluster the owner of the mine I dug at this week in Arkansas found(after he cleaned it and soaked it etc)! Hope what I found turns out ok after I clean 🙂

Great report and congratulations on finding some nice Rye Patch gold!

Drone pics of your camp are cool....whole lotta space and solitude out there! Nice.

Mitchel, you guys did great! Congrats! And yes, we’ve all heard Chet’s stories! (Inside joke for those of us who go on lots of outings with him....just teasing, Chet!)

Congrats on a great season! That big one is amazing!

Wow, nice! Thanks for sharing...I have the 600 but like to use my Gold Monster on the tiny gold in my area...need to experiment more. That hillside seems like a nice place to try the drywasher too,

Wow, that’s some nice big gold! Congrats!

Gerry- yes, I’ll have to get you up here to check out my stomping grounds and break in that 800!

Wow, great finds!