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Has any one detected one of these. A Ballarat Miner's Safety hook. Miners soon discovered that… A Ballarat Miner's Safety hook. Miners soon discovered that even with a windlass and rope, pulling up a bucket of 'Wash Dirt' could be dangerous, especially to people down below, if the lip of the bucket caught and the contents dumped back down. to remedy this, they fashioned a Safety hook, which saved many headaches whilst also easy for disengaging the bucket at the surface, 33 cm long

Photo 1: Eric in fine form with an early Aquasport PI detector ( early 1980’s I’m guessing) Photo 2: Eric in his mad scientist laboratory making something awesome Photo 3: Eric in Australia testing something (about 10 years ago) Photo 4: Eric down at West Bay beach in Dorset UK. I think he was using his modified Vallon VMH3CS Feel free to add more photos if you have them. I have one more to find in my archives which is Eric enjoying a pint of beer at an English pub. Tony

A 19 minute UTube.

What are 3 facts about the Eureka flag? The flag was first raised at a Ballarat Reform League meeting at Bakery Hill on 29 November 1854. (today) It was then moved to the Eureka Stockade where it was flown until torn down after the battle on 3 December, only five days later. The flag is 2.6 metres high and 4 metres wide – more than double the size of a standard flag. The Ballarat miners revolt. 168 years ago. The Ballarat Reform League came into being in October 1853 and was officially constituted on 11 November 1854 at a mass meeting of miners in Ballarat, Victoria to protest against the Victorian government's mining policy and administration of the goldfields. More than 10,000 angry miners rallied at Bakery Hill in Ballarat. The Southern Cross ('Eureka') flag was flown for the first time and gold licences were burned. https://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/political-unrest-on-the-goldfields/ for more history.

It is with great sadness that I announce my good friend died Friday of an aggressive brain tumor. Eric was not only a genius, but he was a kind hearted soul. He will always be known for his many inventions in his life. God rest your soul Eric.

N° 2 and N° 4 Grandkids wanted to do a bushwalk with me so I took them to the start of the Australian Alps Walking Track as we only had my vehicle it had to be a there and back exercise from Walhalla to the Thomson River and back. The Australian Alps Walking Track is a long distance walking trail through the alpine areas of Victoria, New South Wales and ACT. It is 655 km long, starting at Walhalla (a historical gold field), Victoria and running through to Canberra. The track goes mainly though Australian national parks It ascends many peaks including Mount Kosciuszko, Mount Bogong, and Bimberi Peak. To walk the whole trail can take between 5 to 8 weeks. Now the boys insist on doing the next section to the STEEL BRIDGE as soon as time permits. The history of the track.

A proposed mine at Hecla, Wy (near Cheyenne), is currently in the permitting process, and independent economic studies estimate over 2000 jobs will be opened by it. The company is CK mining, and are proposing a site of about 900-acres to be quarried there. The company’s website has some interesting historical information and a geological report about the area: https://www.ckgoldmine.com/site-history https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_d9c22c808a6c7fec48fed1b6f801c02c/usgoldcorp/db/332/1560/pdf/Copper+King+Report.pdf[1].pdf

This place reminds me of a small-scale Ballarat. Do we have any Canadians on the forums? B.C. history brought to life in Gold Rush town of Barkerville - Victoria Times Colonist

The Yarra river flows through the heart of Melbourne an interesting Video of gold history area. ....Utube Link....

Today was Nugget Finder cleaning and rod installation day (yes I have a different day for Coiltek coils) 😉 (I picked up some of @Doc’s awesome new lower rods) and while pulling them all out, stumbled across a magazine cover that caught my eye…. Look at those baby faces and check out that GPZ 2500 he’s using 😉 @Jonathan Porter if you don’t have a copy of this edition, private message me your mailing address and I’ll drop this copy into the post for you. Jen

Had a business trip to a cyber security conference in Las Vegas and wove in a side trip to my Spanish outpost site. It's been hammered pretty hard for the past ten years or so, but I still managed to make some finds. It was hot as he!! and the ground was parched bone dry. In my experience at this particular site, the Equinox tends to do better when the ground's damp versus bone dry, so I have hope that there could still be some future finds to be made during the winter or spring time, but it's definitely time to find a new site 🤠 Does anyone have any idea what the button is I found at 1:05? It's a two piece, probably Civil War era more or less, and looks to represent some European Monarchy given the crown. I ruled out Spain and Mexico already, but couldn't find something similar.

Just found this browsing for mining history, it’s about the history of gold mining in Montana: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/docs/2021-07/THE ROAD TO GARNET'S GOLD (002).pdf

LIFE ON THE DIGGINGS. ROBBERS' EXCHANGE OF GUNS By C. R. C. PEARCE. The great army of diggers at Bendigo did an immense amount of work in an incredibly short space of time. Vast areas of ground were turned over to the bedrock and rifled of their treasures. Forests of great ironbark trees, with their dense underwood, quickly disappeared. So thick and dark were these forests that people had often lost their way in the daylight. After the winter of 1852 almost all the natural beauty of Bendigo had disappeared. Earth and clay reduced to a powder, lay on the roads ankle deep, and the slightest puff of wind raised it in blinding clouds. Mr. George Mackay, in his "Annals of Bendigo," relates that Mr. Joseph Crook, who afterwards lived in South Yarra, camped with three mates at the bottom of Long and Ironbark gullies in April, 1852. They lost a horse, and in searching for it in a dense ironbark forest they discovered a very rich gully, in which they picked up 9oz. of gold from the surface in two hours. In order to find their way back to this spot they cut marks in the trees when passing on their way to American Flat through California Gully. A rush to California Gully occurred on the following day (Sunday), and on Monday so much timber had been destroyed that Mr. Crook and his mates were unable to find the track. At a new rush diggers were shovelings up the gold between one an- other's legs, but Mr. Crook's party could not get within a mile and a half of the scene, as all the ground had been taken up. At Pegleg they got gold at 2ft. 6in., but not in large quantities. Thinking that they knew all about their claim they moved on. They were chagrined later to see men whom they regarded as new chums shovel up gold almost in bucketful's. Eluding Black Douglas Black Douglas and his gang were the terror of diggers when they were taking their gold from Bendigo to Melbourne in 1852. Mr. Crook, it is recorded in the "Annals of Bendigo," related how he chiselled four chambers 8in. by 3in. by 4in. in the bed of a dray, and after placing four chamois leather bags in the chambers covered them up with wooden lids and filled the crevices with clay. Mr. Crook and his party were not "stuck up" by Black Douglas, but a neighbouring camp of diggers was robbed at Carlsruhe on the night they were there. A successful digger, who had fortunately sent his gold to Melbourne by escort, was robbed on his way to Melbourne. The robbers took all his money with the exception of a few shillings. They also took his double-barrelled gun and gave him an old single-barrelled gun in exchange. The digger took this gun to England as a memento, and some time afterwards a young friend tried to draw the charge. The first thing he pulled out was portion of a 5 note. A blacksmith unscrewed the breech and took out notes amounting to 150. A man at the third White Hill valued his horse at 150, and he used to sleep with the bridle rein round his wrist. One morning he found that the rein had been cut and that the horse had been stolen. About three months afterwards he found the horse outside his tent with a new saddle on its back and 20lb. of gold in the saddle bag. The owner of the gold never appeared. Diggers when they entered a store to make purchases emptied the contents of their matchboxes, filled with gold dust, on to white paper on the counter. The store keeper blew the dust and put the rest in a fine sieve, afterwards paying for it. Mr. H. Brown, in "Victoria as I found It," says that he saw innumerable grains of gold in the dust on a counter and directed the attention of a storekeeper to the loss of gold. Laughing, the storekeeper brushed the gold off the counter with his sleeve, and said that the dust was worthless. It was only when alluvial gold became scarcer that this fine dust was saved. "The police have commenced their search for the licenses of gold diggers" wrote the Bendigo correspondent of "The Argus" on October 17, 1853. "They have dropped the musket and bayonet, and have taken to the baton." The principal objection of the diggers to the gold license was the method of collection. In the "Annals of Bendigo," it is recorded that some diggers were chained to logs for hours in the blazing sun. It is to the credit of the diggers that the first balls which they attended were held in aid of the foundation of hospitals. At the first diggers' ball in Bendigo, the "ladies numbered 60 or about one in ten to the gentlemen, and they did credit to the classes on the diggings. Despite the assurance of the committee that full dress would not be exacted a great number of the men were attired in garments that exhibited a gentlemanly taste. The scarcity of women dancers is reflected in the reports of other balls which followed at Forest Creek and Ballarat. At the Forest Creek ball 600 people were present, but there were only 100 women among the dancers. At a Christmas ball held in Bendigo in 1853 some of the dresses cost 10. The program ranged from the opening quadrille to Sir Roger de Coverley. New rushes were frequent in 1853 and 1854, but an exciting rush which occurred at Bendigo was not for gold, but for cabbages. An enterprising man brought from Brighton to Bendigo late in 1853 the first cartload of cabbages seen on that field. The cabbages were quickly sold at 3/6 each. Commenting on this "rush," the correspondent says "The promise of the surveyor-general to give every digger a cabbage-garden near the mines is hailed with gladness." How well the miners of Bendigo and Ballarat and other districts took advantage of the opportunity to grow vegetables, fruit, and flowers was shown in later years by the beautiful cottage gar- dens which adorned the mining towns. Though the price of flour was decreasing the bakers were charging 3/6 for the 4lb. loaf on the White Hills in 1853. Cats were in great demand on the Bendigo field. Good mouse cats brought from 2 to 3 each. Cricket at Back Creek The first cricket match in Bendigo took place on January 2, 1854, between the married and single members of the Bendigo Cricket Club. The bachelors were "shame- fully defeated," and the correspondent re- corded: "The wicket was pitched on a tolerably level piece of ground at Back Creek. In a spacious tent an excellent dinner was provided for the members of the club. The wines were excellent, and were pretty fully discussed, so that towards the close of day the meeting of cricketers wore anything but a dull aspect. Several gentlemen from the Camp, commissioners, and others visited the tent during the afternoon, and the best possible feeling was displayed toward them." On the Back Creek cricket-ground in later years Mr. George Mackay and Mr. Angus Mackay, sons of the recorder of this first match, gave an impetus to cricket on the Back Creek ground which resulted in the production of many fine players in Bendigo. Mr. R. Brough Smyth, in the "Goldfields and Mineral Districts of Victoria," re- corded that in 1858 147,358 adult miners, including 23,673 Chinese, were employed on the goldfields. In 1856 2,985,9910z. gold, valued at 4 an ounce (11,943,964), were exported. From the discovery of gold in 1851 to 1868 the amount of gold exported from Victoria was 147,342,767, and Mr. Brough Smith calculated the average for each man at 1,699/8/3, or 98/10/4 a year. "But these figures are not a true test of the success of individuals," he added. "The measure of success of the gold-mining industry must not be summed up by the exports. Immense sums were expended in the construction of roads, rail- ways, and other public works. Large towns, with fine buildings, good streets and parks, supplied with water from reservoirs of large extent, arose, so that no small share of the wealth the mines have yielded has been profitably used in turning a wilderness into a habitable abode." The Argus 1930 http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4232417?searchTerm="Eluding Black Douglas"

The way it was, a lot of photos. The quality and speed can be selected at setting icon. I turned the volume off when I watched it. At the 20 minute mark in the second video, it goes religious

This is a list of Greater than 10 Tonne Gold found and recorded (a lot of early finds were not recorded) in Victoria Australia.

The 'Berlin Rush' beginnings, August 1868 when Alexander Clelland sank a shallow shaft outside John Catto's Paddock and found a 60 oz nugget at the bottom. The Government rewarded him 100 pounds for the discovery of what he called "Bervie" Gold field. This name was spelled incorrectly and became Berlin in the official register. The Rheola area became famous for its beds of large nuggets scattered through the gullies. Some of the gold nuggets found during the 19th century include: The Needful found in 1869, Rum Ton found in 1870, Viscount Canterbury found in 1871, Precious found in 1871, Viscountess Canterbury and the Crescent found in 1872. John Catto's Paddock was the location of both the Precious and the Viscount Canterbury. The Precious was Victoria’ fourth largest nugget, weighted at 1,717 ounces. Well that's the way the cookie crumbles 😢

Why was there a mint in Georgia? https://coinweek.com/us-coins/why-the-charlotte-and-dahlonega-mints-were-built-part-2/

I was out metal detecting a area I have wanted to detect for a long time. I ended up finding this cool old rail car. I has a big pot looking bucket in the middle. Any guesses for what it was used for? I is a bit of a different kind of relic to find. I was in a old railroad area and maybe it was moved here and forgotten may years ago, only remembered by the graffiti artists. The rest of the metal detecting finds are coming as soon as I clean and sort them out.

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....

Everything changed in California and THE WEST. Every year there is a different version of the same story. It was not the first gold discovered in the west but it is the discovery credited with starting The Gold Rush which did change everything. https://www.fairfieldsuntimes.com/opinion/great-american-stories-the-original-49ers/article_bd9b9762-eb2c-5c8a-9c86-0b40fab7794b.html

Here a video link to the richest pocket gold mine in the gold country if not the state. Take note of the depressions from the wooden cross ties of ore cart tracks. A lot of barren quartz broke a lot of want to be mine owners but when they mined into a crossing the gold was in sheets. The contact was along the north south trending limestone formation. Later the drifts were used for passage ways between the cathouses and underground speak easies. Back in the 1950’s one of the sons of the then mine owner ran an ore cart off the tracks into a support timber. He discovered enough high graded gold buried under the foot of the timber to buy himself a new pick up truck and then some. Years later I would have the privilege of remodeling one of the above ground madam’s room, which was connected to this mine, into a bank manager’s office. The original cathouse door with glass window advertising, which led many a miner, logger & cowboy in the wrong direction, is still around back. I still own stock in that bank. Enjoy, few are alive that have ever got view inside of this historic mine.

Christmas day I was climbing the walls to do a little detecting, so with little time to hunt before dinner I decided to hit my neighbors 18th century house. After two wheaties and some modern clad I got my first good target. It was an odd piece of copper/bronze doo dad. Looks familiar but I just can't put my finger on it. My last good Target was what I thought to be a key of some sort, Well not so much. After I got home I cleaned the (key) off and found it to be an odd medallion. A date of 1876 and a liberty bell and some people shaking hands emerged. After a little Google research I found it to be a 1876 Philadelphia Exposition medallion. It was the first worlds fair. It was called the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and products of the soil and mines. Kinda cool since I found it in the soil Ha Ha. 10 million people attended from 37 countries and was held in Fairmount Park. I believe only 2 buildings that were constructed are still standing today. It's a nice find for me, but I sure wish it had the rest of the pieces. It's funny how the detecting gods throw a little important history at you from time to time.

As if that were not enough, after having to create a new straight rod for the detector that I used immersed for 20 minutes, considering the new storm that arrives, today I have chosen an even worse scourge ... I have been waiting for months to complete a decent trolley that will help me transport cylinders and dpv without sinking into the sand and today might be the day🤣. It is out of the question that I buy balloon wheels at that price and I don't like the Idea of punctures happened in the past. So I'm recreating from a scratch the trolley with a bigger contact surface hopefully good to better distribute the weight on 6 wheels. Now the big problem that separates me from finishing the structure and mounting the containment sides Is a mix of aluminium and stainless steel not properly friends when soldering. Question now Is: Will this project finally see the light?🤣 At the worst, this crap will finish with bolts😁...

Just been cruising the hills in search of. I have been enlarging my detecting area around the original site so here are some recent finds. Little heart shaped piece of gold was when I told my wife the DEUS will find gold and it did. I will add that all but the gold was found by the 800

Riddle of the rainforest coin. Ancient Egyptian visitors to Australia or miner's mishap? ....Link to Coin....