Description: 2 NATIVE GOLD QUARTZ SPECIMENS from CALIFORNIA Ruler is 1/4" wide (6 mm). U.S. 10 cent coin is 17 mm in diameter. Specimen weight, combined: 10.2 Grains (Troy) - .66 Gram Sizes: 9 & 10 mm long (each rock) Unlike most monster leaverites advertised in this category (meaning - leave it right there), these two don't disappoint. Who doesn't dig specimens with dried-blood, rusty-gossan vugs and high-purity gold in them? I'm reasonably sure these two come from two different locales. Oro (Au) and silicon dioxide (quartz) crystallize inside fissures, faults, and cracks to form gold veins. In many mining districts, rich chunks of rock (and gold) from contact alteration zones break off and slowly begin a downhill descent. Eventually, they travel far from their source. Considering the Mother Lode's extensive range, the vein these originated from, more than likely, was part of that auriferous belt. No, you won't get your money's worth in Au. That's because these are specimens, not bullion, jewelry, nor coinage. All my rocks show visible gold and are comprised of 100% natural minerals. U.S. SHIPPING - $4.00 (shipped via 1st Class) INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS S&H $14.00 FAST REFUND OFFERED (If, for any reason, you're not happy with this item). Contact me indicating you wish to return the item. As soon as it's received by me and everything's as it should be, you'll be issued a refund. I poured through old mining dumps for years looking at orange-yellow-rusty rock through a loupe, but I never found a piece with visible gold. Hydrothermal solutions carrying gold and silica crystallized into veins of gold quartz. This specimen comes from one of the many vein systems sourcing the immense placer deposits of the Sierra Nevada Mtns, the famed Mother Lode. Weight Conversions: 15.43 GRAINS = 1 GRAM 31.103 GRAMS = 1 TROY OUNCE 24 GRAINS = 1 PENNYWEIGHT (DWT) 20 DWT = 1 TROY OUNCE 480 GRAINS = 1 TROY OUNCE S&H Discounted for combined shipments. PAYMENTS For U.S. buyers: We accept paypal For intnl. customers: We accept paypal. Pay securely with www.paypal. Payment must be made within 7 days from close of auction. We ship as soon as funds clear. If you have questions, please ask them before bidding. REFUNDS We leave no stones un-turned insuring our customers get what they bargained for. If you're not satisfied with this item, contact me. Then, if the problem can't be fixed, return product within 30 days in 'as purchased' condition for a full refund Check any and all Gold of Eldorado feedback for disputes arising from non-authenticity of the specimens I sell. You won't find any. I deal in native minerals with visible gold, not replicas, not 'paint ons'. I don't peddle 'simulated' specimens made with minute amounts of gold or no real gold at all. No fake nuggets here, folks. I've personally bought stuff that had gold painted on it. Also purchased here have been 'natural gold quartz' specimens with tiny chunks of placer gold glued on. All of my advertised specimens, slabs, cabochons, gold ores et al are authentic and contain native gold and/or are composed almost entirely of gold (i.e. gold nuggets, gold flakes, wire gold specimens). The purity of this gold will vary, but if it's from California, you can count on the percentage being fairly high, say 80 to 90% pure. For comparision, a 14K gold wedding band is 58% pure gold. The origin of this small, rich specimen is, perhaps, an undiscovered vein somewhere in the Sierra Nevada Mtns. of California. UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH GOLD Yukon miners astride monster Cats move more ground in an hour than I did in 19 years with my 'Georgia Drag Line' and suction dredges. Of course, except for the dredges and metal detectors, I was using the same tools as lone-wolf miners through the eons have used i.e. shovels, pickaxes, rock-hammers, gold pans, pry bars, buckets, dry-washers, high-bankers (or long toms), rocker-boxes (aka dip boxes), sluice boxes, etc. A small-scale miner employs what's available and most practical. Nowadays, prospectors enjoy certain added advantages the old timers didn't have. Some examples are big Cats, excavators, front-end loaders, metal detectors, and gold dredges. Lone wolf prospectors actually get much closer to gold (literally) than heavy-equipment operators. Working with hand tools alone, one becomes selective in deciding what ground to run. Why shovel overburden or any dirt into a high-banker or drywasher if you don't know it's got gold in it? That, to me, is a peculiar notion. That's not to say running 'hungry dirt' is a foreign concept to hand miners. I've done it a thousand times. Hope remains a key element in the mining trade. In the process of failing, we also narrow down where gold might be hiding. Heaven knows we know plenty about where wild gold isn't. Even before sinking a pick in the ground, there were times I knew good gold would be at or near a precise spot. That's a very cool feeling, really, once you've developed that instinct, a keen 'nose' for finding gold. After spending almost two decades looking for the finicky stuff, the two of you, oro and a prospector become intimate. Granted, metal detectorists do this all the time, but they rely upon electronics to first give them a hit, that signal telling you some unknown target beckons. For someone to pinpoint gold hidden within the landscape without aid of electronics takes familiarity with gold's habits and haunts. For me, the 80s was an exhilarating era. It was a time when I felt like King of the Drywashermen. Of course, I wasn't, but it seemed that way. After a few years of working Arizona drywashes, I became fairly proficient at finding gold. The desert heat's too brutal in the summer to function then, so autumn seemed the logical time to tackle desert mining. Southwestern Arizona between May and November is merciless. One should think twice before opting to go desert prospecting during that interval. It's habitat that can kill you, never blink an eye, never shed a tear. Deserts in the summertime are no fun to be alone in and without resources. Winters, conversely, are sublimely well-suited, climate-wise, for long treks into the boonies. I loved packing my gear in on foot and camping overnight in the bush. Until the rains came, a guy could hike into the mountains with a drywasher strapped to his back looking for wild gold. Sometimes, with a keen eye, lots of digging, and a bit of luck, a fellow might sink his pickaxe into some honey hole and hit a sizable pocket or pay-streak - good ground overlooked by the old timers. Other drywashermen were combing local gullies; guys who worked just as hard as me. My guess is they rolled back concentrates in their recovery trays and, seeing good color, felt that same flush of excitement as me. During that era and before, going it alone on foot is just what prospectors did. The fewer people who knew where you were going, the better. Claim-jumpers are a varied and resourceful bunch of scoundrels. They come in all stripes and basically just don't care whose hole they jump. But in spite of the mercenaries I encountered through the years, prospecting fit me to a T. When you're prospecting in the desert, a person can almost taste the tranquility. Finding virgin gold, unearthing it where no one else thought to look. That was more rewarding than how much 'yeller' fell in your poke or how 'legendary' you became because your Youtube channel caught fire. Some of these big dirt-movers are very good at what they do. They're outstanding heavy-equipment operators. I tip my hat. A few are actual sourdoughs. Other's are genius mechanics, welders, electricians, all-around machinists, and the like. Most of the Gold Rush TV miners seem like they'd be genial mates; guys and gals you could work alongside and get along with. A couple demonstrate a real talent for finding gold. Most of the action on reality-TV as I see the ground and the manner in which it's worked doesn't seem like prospecting at all. It's just seeing how much dirt you can move before the next big equipment failure. I find it all very exhausting; the continual stoppages for broken machinery repair. Admittedly, I never found thousands of ounces like some of these 'legends'. If you've not mined gold, believe me, an ounce is A LOT of gold to find using only picks, shovels, physical strength, and stamina. There were entire seasons I worked like a brute and didn't pull an ounce of gold. In the SW Arizona desert, big nuggets always have been something of an anomaly. In other regions of the world, it's a different story altogether. A few years ago, ten ounce nuggets in Australia were the rule, not the exception. My stomping grounds, the regions where I prospected, wasn't ten ounce nugget country. I was a born-and-raised, small-scale American gold miner. My digs were Arizona's lean, isolated fields and drywashes where a quarter ounce lead or half a pennyweight nugget represented a memorable moment in time. They still do. Consequently, when a prospector finds something like that in our part of the world, i.e. southwestern Arizona or southeastern California, it's quite a thrill. Working hungry digs, a guy doesn't get jaded. In the bottom of a clear, water-filled vial, every little nugget, even pea-sized ones, seem like the sun itself burning inside the bottle. Nowadays, guys roar across the desert going so fast on their ATVs they don't see anything except the trail before them and the dust cloud behind. Tearing along at break-neck speed, everything flies by unnoticed. On foot, you can take it all in, read the land. In my book, that's what real prospecting is all about. That's the kind of prospecting show I intend on producing. Oh, but Mr. Turin has beaten me to it. Fancy that. I've never been a big fan of plagiarists i.e. people who pick your brain, (borrow) your ideas while taking full credit for them. FYI - I have been posting these same writeups here on Ebay for over twenty years. They're based on my own experiences and my literary contributions. Folks who 'borrow' this material and claim sole possession of it are, in my book, people of exceedingly low character. If you're incapable of giving credit where credit is due, than that's entirely on you. Personally, I believe in karma, both good and bad. Thanks for checking out our digs. Gold of Eldorado 8-13-17
Price: 32 USD
Location: Banks, Oregon
End Time: 2024-11-12T20:05:04.000Z
Shipping Cost: 4 USD
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Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
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Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Shape: Natural