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Gold gets stolen and stories get told. Here is the first part of a series on the 20 greatest gold heists. They are an interesting read. I'm sure there are others out there you've heard of also. https://coinweek.com/bullion-report/the-biggest-gold-heists-of-all-time-part-i/

Burma Thai Railroad... Pows died here building this railroad, very solemn sorrowful place... Good to know History and never forget these heros who gave their all...

The man who discovered GOLD first in Australia..pdf

These discontinued Minelab products are really cool to look at and read about. I was amazed. The Golden Hawk looked cool! Wonder what the Klondike looked like. https://www.minelab.com/usa/support/knowledge-base/discontinued-products

Anyone remember the old Popular Science ads? I thought this was a good classic to share. Even though this ad pre-dates me by 6yrs, it puts a smile to my face :)

I just fired up the Lobo and placed the coil to the ground, then it beeped or quacked as some would have it but I like the sound's my Lobo makes. I'm starting to understand it with every hour we spend together and I think we have begun a fine relationship with each other, for she rewarded me with my very best find ever. The target was positive as I waved the coil over the ground , so I then began to recover the item and I popped out this badge which was covered with a fair amount of soil. Just like most of the other badges that I find I just put them in the bag and carry on but then when I got home I couldn't find it and was worried I'd have to look for it again. Then my wife said here it is thank goodness she found it, so we cleaned it up with some water to take a closer look. This is where it get's interesting, I can see now that it's a R.A.F. Squadron Badge. So I look for the Squad number and it showed 518, then I thought I've heard of this Squadron somewhere before, then it hit me D-Day these guy's radioed Churchill directly from the plane confirming the weather was good enough for the landing of D-Day. I could not believe what I had in my hand, a Squadron Badge from the 518 Squadron. So I did some background work and found out that it's the real deal. Some insignias show the hand holding the key to the right but mine was facing to the left so I checked some more on this and it is supposed to face left. I do hope we have some WW II historians with us so they could give me some more information on what I have found. I also know there were 28 flights in the Squadron with 8 men crews so that's only 224 men in this squadron. I also found out that to this day, some of the where bouts' of couple of these guy's is still unknown one from Australia. Man this is real live history I have here, there's so much information on this Squadron and it's a great story too, so if you haven't heard about these guy's you should check it out for sure. Now if you are familiar with this story, please pass on what information you could supply me with. This must have a lot of historic value and speaking of value what would you think it would be worth to the right buyer? My question now is, should I have it restored or do we leave these kind of things alone? This is my best find ever and a day I'll never forget. I found some real live history about 70 Year old iconic world history. This is Great I Love My Lobo. B.T.W. My camera is Sh#*, so please excuse the photography and my other camera is also no, is a digital microscope and can only zoom out to 50X. http://www.oldnautibits.com/features/aerofeature5.php http://www.aniodhlann.org.uk/tag/518_squadron/ https://www.wikiwand.com/en/No._518_Squadron_RAF https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/raf-518-squadron-coastal-command-480919770

“The Nevada State Museum will be hosting this years’ 150th anniversary of the Carson City Mint. Numerous events will be taking place to commemorate the anniversary, which holds significant value for coin collectors, due to the 1870 Liberty Seated Half Dollars’ historic and monetary value. On Thursday, the coin press that minted the original coins with the famous “CC” mark in 1870, will be recreating this very coin in the same building that produced the originals. These replicas will be incused with “copy” and placed in a card bearing its series number. The event will be going on from 5 to 8 p.m. with tickets at $150 or $142 for Nevada State Museum Members. Attendees will be receiving a pure silver planchet, admission to the party, and a mint history program.” More at https://mynews4.com/news/local/carson-city-mint-150th-anniversary

My how things have changed ? https://streaming.britishpathe.com/hls-vod/MEDIA-4/archive/BCM6/2014-07-07T112551Z_1_LVA7938RY0N5P64BJN28M3DG6MCB_RTRWNEV_F_AUSTRALIA-PROSPECTORS-USE-ELECTRONIC-DETECTORS-TO-FIND-GOLD.MP4.m3u8?fbclid=IwAR1cKC1x1tqxLKOe1gl1PlYIcvLlTMUjJNC9WIvw9p3w1DHcCBnwymeffU4

This month in 1979 I bought my first metal detector a Bounty Hunter RB7, took me almost 3 years of pure frustration to get my first nugget,(pic below) after many 100s of hours, I know now I sure went over heaps of detectable gold, and still do, but not the heaps I went over then,...…...I hope...……... Below is some photos, I wish to share with DP members to celebrate, unfortunately I did not take many photos, straight into the crusher smelted down and off to the mint, have scanned what I could find from the old "shoe boxes". Plus a couple of recent ones, the specimen last is highly magnified, gold in limestone, and although no weight is probably the most valued by me, not just because it was my first piece (found with that RB7), but because of its uniqueness. Consider myself very privileged to live in this era, it has enriched my life not just in its monetary value, but given a challenge and still does that I suspect has no equal. MN I`ve gone and done it and not even close to the 30th of February.

https://eshop.ramint.gov.au/Mutiny-and-Rebellion-The-Eureka-Stockade/10188.aspx This is a must for Vic gold prospectors and may other prospector.

... the first of the 49'ers from the eastern US states, Australia, England, and Mexico were now beginning to arrive in the California gold fields. Hopes were high that they would "see the elephant," an allusion to participating in a truly spectacular, life-changing event. The California Gold Rush, from 1849 to 1857, was one of the most significant world-altering events in modern history. While metal detectors have replaced gold pans and rocker boxes, those of us who pursue "the elusive yellow metal" are the brethren of those intrepid 49ers. A post-gold rush ballad states "... and I often grieve and pine... for the days of old... the days of gold... the Days of 49..." I hope you all "see the elephant." HH Jim

Finally got to hunt an old home site yesterday evening. The elderly gentleman had given me permission to hunt all his property and he had kindly given me a little history of the different home site that were on the property. I listen intently to every word to obtain as much information as possible of each locations. One of the sites was a home assembled using wooden pegs. He proceeded to explain that he tore the home down and burned the balance then proceeded to get a dozer to grade the property and fill in with dirt. He did explain that anything there would be over a foot deep and he was correct, I couldn’t find anything that would date the property to the early 1800’s. The second site I hit yesterday and even though I didn’t find any nice relics I had a lot of fun just hunting. Moving around in the area I noticed a section where the Equinox would give many false high tones. Knowing this usually meant iron I opened up the screen and every sweep revealed multiply low tone iron signals. After a while I decided to start digging these low tones that gave an ID of -3 and found my answer, cut nails. Wow, that means I’m on an old site, yes, excitement overwhelmed me for a few minutes. Noticed the Ole man walking up the field to where I was I waited for his arrival. Knowing he would have more to say and the very first thing out of his mouth was, “have you dug any cut nails yet?” My answer, yes sir and handed him one and the story unfolds more detail of the site. He said when he was a child there was only a few foundation rocks left of this house, no wood but only the rock foundation. That was 80 years ago and he estimated the site may have been 200 years old. At that point I got extremely excited at what might be here until the very next statement from the gentleman. “Mark, I had the site leveled many years ago.” “But I pushed all the dirt to level the lot in one direction and I would guess your best bet of finding anything would be along the banks of the hill.” Well, yet another let down, a site dozed, that destroys the originality of where and what could have been found. But I’ll continue to hunt while I can and digging cuts nails is still fun. "Nails provide one of the best clues to help determine the age of historic buildings, especially those constructed during the nineteenth century, when nail-making technology advanced rapidly. Until the last decade of the 1700s and the early 1800s, hand-wrought nails typically fastened the sheathing and roof boards on building frames. These nails were made one by one by a blacksmith or nailor from square iron rod. After heating the rod in a forge, the nailor would hammer all four sides of the softened end to form a point. The pointed nail rod was reheated and cut off. Then the nail maker would insert the hot nail into a hole in a nail header or anvil and form a head with several glancing blows of the hammer. The most common shape was the rosehead; however, broad "butterfly" heads and narrow L-heads also were crafted. L-head nails were popular for finish work, trim boards, and flooring. Between the 1790s and the early 1800s, various machines were invented in the United States for making nails from bars of iron. The earliest machines sheared nails off the iron bar like a guillotine. The taper of the shank was produced by wiggling the bar from side to side with every stroke. These are known as type A cut nails. At first, the heads were typically made by hand as before, but soon separate mechanical nail heading machines were developed that pounded a head on the end of each nail. This type of nail was made until the 1820s. By the 1810s, however, a more effective design for a nail making machine was developed; it flipped the iron bar over after each stroke. With the cutter set at an angle, every nail was sheared off to a taper. With the resulting nails thus all oriented in the same direction, it became possible for the same machine to automatically grip each nail and form a head in a continuous mechanical operation. Nails made by this method are known as type B nails. Cutting the nails leaves a small burr along the edge as the metal is sheared. By carefully examining the edges for evidence of these burrs, it is possible to distinguish between the earlier type A nails and the later type B nails. Type A nails have burrs on the diagonally opposite edges, while the type B nails have both burrs on the same side because the metal was flipped for each stroke. This kind of evidence can be used to establish the approximate period of construction or alteration of a building. Type B cut nails continued to be the most common through most of the greater part of the nineteenth century. With the rapid development of the Bessemer process for producing inexpensive soft steel during the 1880s, however, the popularity of using iron for nail making quickly waned. By 1886, 10 percent of the nails produced in the United States were made of soft steel wire. Within six years, more steel-wire nails were being produced than iron-cut nails. By 1913, 90 percent were wire nails. Cut nails are still made today, however, with the type B method. These are commonly used for fastening hardwood flooring and for various other specialty uses."

I wanted to get this posted on the anniversary of D-Day. I'll let the picture of this copper plaque speak for itself. The back story is personally significant, but is inconsequential to the recovery itself. I am honored to present it to this forum on this date.

Inspired by the recent thread: I've thought up the following question. This is (obviously) a hypothetical/ficticious situation but I think the replies might answer the question in this topic title. Suppose a Genie shows up providing you with the following opportunity. You will be transported back in time for a 10 year period, starting time is your choice. Once the 10 years are over you return to June, 2019 as if you never left. Once transported you will not have any knowledge/memory of the future ('future' defined as anything after the date of your arrival) but will have a passion for treasure hunting. You will be 30 years old, single, with a college degree in science education and a high school teaching job (and salary) consistent with that degree. You get three months per year off (you get to choose the months). You will be provided with a 4WD camper, an initial $3000 (important, January 2019 dollars!, to account for inflation) or the equivalent in the country of your chosen location. The purpose of this money is to buy a metal detector (that existed at that time -- no taking a modern detector back with you!) and other appropriate recovery equipment and materials. In addition, each succeeding year for 9 years you will get an addition $1000 (2019 equivalent). To drive home this $3000, 2019 equivalent, here are some actual year amounts for the initial stipend: 1951--$300. 1956--$317. 1961--$352. 1966--$376. 1971--$470. 1976--$657. 1981--$1028. 1986--$1294. 1991--$1590. 1996--$1824. 2001--$2086. 2006--$2342. 2011--$2601. 2016--$2798. You can answer for either coin/jewelry/relic/beach/cache detecting or electronic prospecting. That is, your 'passion' can be in one or the other. When, Where, Why?

I found this old newspaper article from the New York Times that I really enjoyed reading, it's just as relevant today as it was in 1999 when it was printed. One paragraph in it really stood out to me, and it's very true. 'This is an art,'' said Mr. Vega, the Long Beach beachcomber. ''It's knowledge. You have to know the elements and you have to become one with your machine. Your machine talks to you and doesn't lie. But the machine is as good as the guy that's operating it.'' Here is the article, it's very much worth reading https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/15/nyregion/finding-happiness-with-metal-detectors.html I've found in the past sometimes articles like this are restricted, and this article says its for subscribers only but overseas people can sometimes read them when locals can't, seems odd to me but it's happened before. In case you're unable to read it here it is Finding Happiness With Metal Detectors By ALLAN RICHTERAUG. 15, 1999 ''THERE'S something,'' Hugo Vega said suddenly, halting the metal detector that he had been sweeping across the sand in slow arcs. He listened as the detector beeped into his headphones. ''Sounds like a coin,'' he said. Mr. Vega took a clump of wet Long Beach sand with his scoop, plucked out a shiny quarter and deposited it into a mesh bag around his waist. A quarter mile of beachfront later, he was $2.50 richer. Mr. Vega, 50, has retrieved a fair share of garbage, including rusted nails, soda-can pull-tabs, even hypodermic needles in his 13 years of detecting. But he estimated that he has also found more than $30,000 in jewelry and $5,000 in coins. ''I'm a wet-sand guy,'' Mr. Vega said, staking a position with the die-hards among Long Island's estimated 1,500 treasure hunters. Most treasure seekers avoid the hard work of digging in heavy wet sand, even though it's a natural spot to find jewelry lost by swimmers as cool ocean waves finish the ring-loosening job begun by tanning oil. ''If you throw a Frisbee into the water and you have suntan lotion on, there goes your ring,'' Mr. Vega said. The Island's prospectors are hardly homogenous in the places they look or the things they seek. Some look only for historical relics and avoid the beach. Most stick to the dry sand and don't care whether their coins were minted just a few years ago. A few hard-core hunters don wetsuits and wade up to their necks with sophisticated waterproof detectors and floating sand sifters. From there it's just a degree or two of separation from the big-time treasure hunters who search the globe for sunken galleons. But whether the take is doubloons or dimes, the hobbyists all seem to share a passion for the thrill of the surprise. Archeologists say human artifacts dating back 10,000 years can be found on Long Island. Metal relics from the early 17th-century arrival of Europeans onward are most likely to send signals bouncing through prospectors' detectors. But sharp-eyed treasure hunters have retrieved stone arrowheads and other non-metal artifacts from the region's once-dense Indian populations. ''The metal detector is like a time machine; it takes you into the past,'' said Michael Chaplan, a Richmond Hill, Queens, epidemiologist and treasure hunter whose searches have turned up a Lincoln campaign button and a Revolutionary War cannonball. His oldest find: a fishtail-shaped stone arrowhead from an aboriginal group called the Orient Focus Culture that lived on the Island about 3,000 years ago. ''You never know what's going to be in that hole that you're going to dig,'' Mr. Chaplan said. Even veteran treasure hunters said they would have a tough time making a living from prospecting with metal detectors. Nonetheless, some enthusiasts come by the occasional windfall. Lillian Rade and her husband, Ron King, were scouring an East Hampton potato field near their home nine years ago when Ms. Rade found a rare 340-year-old New England sixpence. The $35,200 the coin fetched at auction became a down payment on their home, Ms. Rade said. ''Now I want to move to a bigger house, so I need another coin,'' she said. Enough treasure hunters are similarly enticed to account for about 500 prospecting permits issued annually by the regional office of the state Parks Department. The estimate of 1,500 treasure hunters working the Island came from Tony D'Angelo, president of the local Atlantic Treasure Club, a 26-year-old group with 45 members that meets monthly in Eisenhower Park. A second group, the Patchogue-based Long Island Treasure Hunters Club, was revived this year and has 47 members. Capt. Richard O'Donnell of the state Park Police said that the state required treasure hunters to turn in items valued at $20 or more. (Unclaimed stuff is returned to the finder after as little as three months and as long as three years, depending on the value.) The hobbyists have also operated as an informal lost-and-found outside the parks. Last winter, Sonny Mincieli, 17, of Lake Grove, lost a $1,500 diamond-studded gold ring that his parents gave him as an early graduation gift. A treasure hunter, Glen Pagano, was recruited and found the ring after a two-hour search in the snow-covered backyard of Sonny's girlfriend. Sonny suspects he lost the ring in the yard of the Saint James home two nights earlier, when the teens were out late using a telescope. ''If I wouldn't have found this ring and if it wasn't for this guy I would have been in real trouble with my parents,'' Sonny said. ''My mom would've killed me. This ring has nine diamonds in it. Thank God for metal detectors.'' Not everyone shares the sentiment and metal-detector enthusiasts nationwide worry that opponents could legislate the hobby out of existence. Area archeologists said that detector-lugging treasure seekers pose less threat to Long Island's archeologically significant sites than reckless developers and property owners with no regard for history. Still, Jo-Ann McLean, an archeologist at Garvies Point Museum in Glen Cove, remains wary of the prospectors. ''Once you go into the ground and remove an artifact from its original place you lose all context,'' Ms. McLean said. ''Being able to name the artifact doesn't tell us anything. We want to know what the people were doing, what the culture was like. If people are out there digging these places up, we may never get to properly excavate the sites to know if there are holes in our understanding.'' David Bernstein, director of the Institute for Long Island Archeology at SUNY Stony Brook, said: ''It's as if people are going around and randomly cutting pages out of history books. There's a threat to archeological sites on Long Island from looting in general, and the use of metal detectors is just one small part of the problem.'' Hobbyists say that not all treasure hunters are out to warehouse historical relics as strictly personal trophies or collect a handsome profit from an unfortunate bride's lost wedding ring. In any case, Long Island prospectors and state, county and local officials said that they have settled into a peaceable relationship. Of Long Island's 20 state parks, 13 are open to detector-toting hobbyists. On top of that, Suffolk County allows detecting on its beaches, though not in its parks. Nassau County rules are more relaxed and ask only that hobbyists leave public grounds the way they found them. Mr. D'Angelo, a 67-year-old Massapequa resident, traced today's harmony between metal detector hobbyists and parks authorities to meetings in 1997. When Mr. D'Angelo began negotiating with state parks officials, he arrived with brass knuckles, a razor-sharp deer hunting arrow and 45 rounds of ammunition retrieved from Hecksher State Park. His effort to dramatize the hobbyists' civic contribution removing dangerous materials worked. Among other concessions, parks officials opened more beachfront to the treasure hunters and lifted some restrictions on access to picnic grounds. Veteran treasure hunters tend to avoid making unnecessary holes in the ground by being able to hear the differences between metals. But they know not to ignore pull-tabs, which have similar conductive characteristics to gold and may send the same signals. (Metal is detected when radio signals bounced into the ground are interrupted.) And like meteorologists, enthusiasts who hunt year-round know to look for a nor'easter -- next winter's storm may uncover this summer's bounty. ''This is an art,'' said Mr. Vega, the Long Beach beachcomber. ''It's knowledge. You have to know the elements and you have to become one with your machine. Your machine talks to you and doesn't lie. But the machine is as good as the guy that's operating it.'' The TimesMachine archive viewer is a subscriber-only feature. We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com. A version of this article appears in print on August 15, 1999, on Page LI14 of the National edition with the headline: Finding Happiness With Metal Detectors. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Bob Canaday worked for White's Electronics for 33 years and was one of the true experts in the metal detecting community, posting on White's Forum, Findmall, and Friendly Forums as rcsnake. I used to Google and read all his posts that I could find. Bob was particularly knowledgeable on the White's V3i and wrote Hunting in Mineralized Ground with the V3i My condolences to Bob's family and friends. Robert Moore Canaday obituary Bob explaining the White's V3i Factory Reset....

The two prominent Trails into the Klondike interior were originated thru Skagway and Valdez Alaska, I guess I had been inadvertently studying these trails for many years, as I was very interested in this Gold Rush, the antics of some of the characters involved and of course the many waypoints they established...After some thought I decided the Chilcoot trail was to far away for me to ever spend much time looking, but the Valdez trail basically came thru my own back yard...I poured over books written by these characters and it was quite an interesting education....I'm not going to get into that part too much as it is a lot to talk about so I will confine this into the area that is close to my home in Copper Center.. The trail came up the Valdez Glacier then turned and followed the Klutina Glacier to the beginnings of the river it formed.. At the bottom of the Glacier was Boulder Camp not much left of that area because the Glacier had receded a lot but you could see why it was called that it truly is a boulder patch. The other camps leading to the main stopping point were pretty insignificant but Sawmill camp, the place where boats were constructed to float the Roiling Klutina River to the Copper was really a relic hunters paradise. However, it is a look and don't touch now as it is part of the massive Wrangel Park.. it took a Super Cub with large tires to fly myself and companions there but we explored took photos and really enjoyed looking at the piles of gear those old timers had packed over the Glacier and left Behind.. Whomwver is interested in knowing more can find a copy of Basil Austins "Diary of. 98er" this particular book has hand drawn maps of campsites etc all the way to the Klondike. I found Basil Austins personal copy in Powells bookstore in Portland Oregon in the 70s ..I almost choked when I picked this book up and started looking thru it..lol I couldn't get to the Check stand quickly enough... Very interesting reading, however keep in mind that most of these sites are off limits as they run smack dab thru this massive park system. I just wanted to point out a few important things about history. If you want to find Things of Old, choose something and research, research, research, it carefully...for myself I spent years doing just that and unexpectedly I found a treasure map in an old bookstore.....the one site I will talk about is very close to my home in Copper Center.. Stampeders walked all over my land, some paid the ultimate price and are resting in the cemetery constructed by their mates very close to the Copper River...Lots of relics I have found are in the little museum on the bypass road in Copper Center, it is a very nice place to visit if you are ever there.. I've spent hours scouring that area listening for a golden whisper that so far has eluded me, I did find 5 coins at one of the sites all dated before 98, I'm happy with that as the Quarter, dime, nickel, and Indian heads hold a special place for me.. Hope you enjoyed my true story.....

The historic mining area includes a museum in the miner's bunkhouse, the Mohawk Stamp Mill, Bushman five-stamp mill, stables, a blacksmith shop, and the Assay office. Located in Plumas County, California, USA

.... what an old Fortyniner did when he struck it rich panning for gold near Placerville (aka "Hangtown") California circa 1849 or 1850. Tired of eating grizzly bear, deer, and biscuits, he went to the Cary House Hotel Restaurant in Placerville, and asked what were the most expensive food items available. "Eggs, oysters, and bacon" was the answer. The Argonaut ordered up an omelet made of those items, which became known as "The Hangtown Fry." It has become the most "iconic" food item from California Gold Rush. HH Jim

Just thought I would share this picture!?

I came across an old letter about metal detector I sent to a mate, "My first detector was a hired Whites 5000. I got a new Garrett Deepseeker for the September school holidays 1980, for my wife. It was too hot (weather) in wedderburn for her during the first summer and I ended up with it. Got her a whites coinmaster 6000 for the next trip as it had motion discrimination and was easier and quieter in the hot ground. It took a while for me find any detector that exceeded the Garretts. However I found that my White goldmaster (1986 ) was much easier to use in the Victorian gold fields. I made a PI detector with a hand made Teflon coated wire coil before 1986 that would go deeper than the Garrett Deepseeker but was too slow to use in the field and I did not like the sound of the clicking sensor. .........." Do you have fond memories of your first one (detectors that is ?)

On my FB a few weeks ago I posted a photo of a thin metal tin rectangular in shape that had Chinese writing on it. Yes I know it is an opium tin, but what does the symbols say? Found these 3 at an old mining site with Equinox. Thanks for your help.

A prospectors yarn from the West Coast of New Zealand. 1881. Enjoy. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18810115.2.50?query=lost gold in the cascade JW

The ads came from mags dating back to 66. I can say I remember them all. Just maybe you remember some if not all. Chuck

All the treasure mags this time is in the early 70’s.