Don't Flaunt Your Gold

[Jim Hemmingway]

I enjoy viewing the natural gold, silver, or other minerals that forum members find. I doubt with most photo contributors that it has much or anything to do with boasting, but rather it is the fun and enjoyment of sharing your recoveries and experience with everyone. Natural specimen photos and scenery shots are a great way to illustrate posts, provide encouragement to fellow hobbyists… especially the newcomers, and photos doubtless enhance overall readership interest.

It seems to me that the circumstances surrounding this fellows demise has little or no relationship to what we do on this forum. If you can’t share your discoveries here with similarly interested hobbyists, then where can you?

Jim.
 

[goldbrick]

Well said Jim, well said.

[mn90403]

On 7/18/2016 at 0:43 AM, goldbrick said:

Well said Jim, well said.

Ok Merton ... let's see YOURS!  

[Steve Herschbach]

Sad the guy getting killed, but all I could think was that I wish more people would wear gold chains like that to the beach.

The post your finds thing comes up now and then, pro and con. Many people think it is showing off or showboating. Well, if nobody ever posted metal detector finds it would make for boring forums. I like seeing other peoples finds and I do think it offers encouragement to those new at it or those who have not had any luck yet. Jim nailed it.

I sure don't carry my gold around to show off however, or even keep it in my house. I know some people do not trust banks but I trust Wells Fargo to keep my gold safer than I could keep it and with less risk of attracting the wrong element.

[Hard Prospector]

Nearly retired from the fire service, this past year I started to identify myself as also a part time gold miner. When some people hear this, you wouldn't believe some of the looks I've gotten.  Its like people just can't believe that its  possible for a man, working alone to actually extract real gold from the earth! They would be more likely to believe me if I said I was running for US Senate or the CEO of a fortune 500 company than a real gold miner! 

Well after being in that position a few times and not feeling like I should have to explain myself to anyone, I had an idea. A few months back I started carrying around some of my finds, usually an oz of gold in a vial or a 4-6 gram nugget. Not every day but often and now when I tell someone that I prospect and mine, I'm usually  pulling out the gold from my pocket at the same time. It's amazing how the Au speaks for its self and shuts down the nay- sayers . That's pretty much the extent of my gold  bragging.

[Au4Gold2]

Hard Prospector,

 

 Its interesting how many miners carry a nugg in their pocket....it's not the first time I have heard of this. Up here in the Sierras a know a number of fellas who keep one as if it was a good luck charm...I personally don't as I hate losing things I find....I work hard enough and would kick myself in the ass if I lost one.

 

[Hard Prospector]

1 hour ago, AuWanderer said:

Hard Prospector,

 

 Its interesting how many miners carry a nugg in their pocket....it's not the first time I have heard of this. Up here in the Sierras a know a number of fellas who keep one as if it was a good luck charm...I personally don't as I hate losing things I find....I work hard enough and would kick myself in the ass if I lost one.

 

I ran into this old miner working his claims once while I was doing some prospecting/detecting up in the Inyo mountains and he showed me his "lucky nugget', a 2 ouncer that he said he carries on himself always since he found it back in 1969

Oh, and I've only lost gold (from my pocket) once and luckily "rediscovered it" in the washing machine tub......before my wife

[Steve Herschbach]

For the longest time I wore one of my early "big nugget" finds on a chain to show the uneducated what a nugget looks like, and as my own lucky charm. Guys and gold chains kind of got out of fashion though so it went in a drawer. There are times people ask however and it would be nice for show and tell, so maybe time to dig it out and wear it again.

[Desert Dawg]

Its always nice when any of the guys in our group bring along nuggets they have  found in the past to have a look at in camp, use for testing coils, detectors, etc. I never tire of looking at nuggets.