RMPTH JUNE 2014 NEWSLETTER

What’s That Diamond Worth? by Waymon Cox April 25, 2014

G reetings from the Arkansas Crater of Dia-monds State Park! One of the most common questions we hear from our visitors is, “Are

diamonds found here worth anything?” The answer depends on your definition of the word. As employees at a state park, we are not trained to appraise the monetary value of diamonds or any other rock or mineral. However, for those seeking answers we offer information about Crater diamonds of known value, including those that have been sold to collec-tors or appraised by gemologists. It was recently revealed in the news, for instance, that 14-year-old Oklahoman Tana Clymer sold the 3.85-carat yellow diamond that she found here last Octo-ber for $20,000. Like many Crater diamonds, Tana’s gem was sold as an uncut stone. Many collectors have an eye for the beautiful facets and metallic shine of our rough diamonds and will often pay more for a nicely-shaped natural crystal than for a cut dia-mond. However, a diamond’s value is usually deter-mined by what are known as the 4 C’s: Color, Carat weight, Clarity, and Cut. Though most of our dia-monds remain in their rough form, there have been a few instances over the years in which our diamonds have been cut, officially graded, and appraised. For example, the 2.44-carat white Silver Moon Diamond, discovered here in March 2011, was later cut into a 1.06-carat pear brilliant shape, graded as an “F” color and VVS2 clarity, and appraised at more than $21,000. The 2.09-carat white Dream Angel Dia-mond, found here in November 2008, was cut into a

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v. 18, n. 6 June 2014 Going for the Gold

Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Newsletter

The News Visit RMPTH On The Internet At http://rmpth.com

Contents

"There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure."

- Mark Twain

1 What’s That Diamond Worth? 2 About The News 4 Find Of The Month Winners 5 SS Central America Gold Again 6 Colorado’s Last Train Robbery 7 1849 Mormon $10 Gold Coin

Auctioned 7 Legally Pan For Gold In Colorado 8 2014-2015 Annual Dues Are Payable at June Club Meeting 9 Zip Lock Baggies .... Who Knew? 10 Calendar of Events 11 Calendars 12 Diamond Hunt Outing 13 Used Couch Surprise 14 Spider Warning 15 Federal Mining Claim Information 16 Trading Post 17 Colorado Treasure Tales 18 2014 Schedule of Events

The News, June 2014

T he News is the official newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club (RMPTH): our mailing address is 278

Sierra Vista Drive, Fort Collins, CO. 80524. Opinions expressed in The News are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the club or its members. Publication of information in The News constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information found in this publication is at the sole risk of the user. Neither RMPTH, nor its coordi-nators, nor The News, nor its editors or contributors assume any liability for damages resulting from use of information in this publication. Submissions Articles, letters and short items of interest on pros-pecting, detecting and treasure hunting topics are welcome and encouraged. All items submitted for publication are subject to editing. Submittals for pub-lication may be made in writing or, preferably, in AS-CII text format on IBM-compatible disk. If you have questions about a submission, please contact the edi-tor for information. Copyright Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit groups may reprint or quote from any articles appearing in The News without prior permission, provided that proper author and publication credits are given and that a copy of the publication in which the article ap-pears is sent at no cost to RMPTH at the above mail-ing address. Clubs wishing to exchange newsletters with RMPTH are invited to send a copy of their news-letter together with an exchange request.

About The News Advertising Classified advertising for topic related items is free for non-business ads. See the “Trading Post” section for donation pricing of camera-ready display ads. Do-nations for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are avail-able on request. About RMPTH RMPTH is an independent nonprofit hobbyist social club, open to anyone interested in prospecting, detect-ing or treasure hunting. Its purpose is to provide an educational and social forum of mutual benefit for members. RMPTH holds a monthly meeting and con-ducts various field outings, as well as offers special presentations and seminars. Active participants have voting privileges. The monthly newsletter, The News, is readily available on the Internet. Annual dues are $25 payable in June. Applicants joining in any month other than June pay partial dues of $2 per month for months remaining prior to following June plus $1.

CLUB MEMBERS TAKE NOTE

Club Hats, Shirts, Jackets, & Patches are again available. See Paul Mayhak at the club meetings to purchase your club items!

We will be running a 50/50 Drawing at each club meeting. At the end of each

meeting Tom will split the pot 50/50 and a lucky member will go home with more money than they came with.!

The remaining 50% goes to the club treasury.

The News, June 2014

1.04-carat cushion brilliant shape, graded as a “D” color and VVS2 clarity, and appraised at around $22,000. The Strawn-Wagner Diamond, a 3.03-carat white gem found in 1990, was eventually cut into a 1.09-carat round brilliant shape, graded as a “D” color and VVS1 clarity (the only “perfect” diamond ever graded by the American Gemological Society), mounted in a gold and platinum ring, and sold to the State of Arkansas in 1998 for $36,000. These are just a few notable examples of Crater diamonds that have been given monetary value. However, most visitors who find diamonds here never sell them or have them appraised. Fortunately, the ideas of “worth” and “value” reach far beyond the monetary aspect. We have a tendency to assign value to a variety of sub-jects, from the places we go (a worthwhile destination) to the people we meet (a valuable employee). The same goes for all diamonds and other rocks and min-erals found at the Crater, regardless of their size or what you do with them: if they are important to you, then they have enormous value! Most recent significant precipitation: April 6, 2014 Diamond finds for the week of April 6, 2014 (100 points = one carat): April 6 –Keith Goodwin, Tulsa, OK, 3 pt. yellow; Al Fling, Leadville, CO, 69 pt. brown April 7 –Perry Stone, Allegan, MI, 42 pt. white; Adam Hardin, Norton, OH, 2 pt. white, 4 pt. brown, 4 pt. white April 8 –Thomas Jerele Jr., Millstadt, IL, 16 pt. brown; Mike Ellison, Kings Mountain, NC, 3 pt. white; Perry Stone, Allegan, MI, 2 pt. white, 5 pt. yellow April 9 –Nora Ross, North Pole, AK, 3 pt. white; Bobby Jones, Plain Dealing, LA, 17 pt. brown April 10 –Vance Turner, Millstadt, IL, 2 pt. white; Adam Hardin, Norton, OH, 2 pt. white April 11 –The Casey Family, Chambersburg, PA, 2 pt. white, 9 pt. brown April 12 –Raymond Tucker, Meridian, MS, 3 pt. yel-low; Sandra Kwiathowski, Tomball, TX, 5 pt. white Crater of Diamonds Website 209 State Park Road Murfreesboro, AR 71958 Email: [email protected] Phone: (870) 285-3113 (870) 285-3113 FREE

(Continued from page 1)

Recent find sold for $20k uncut

Another recent find after being cut. Appraisal as yet unlisted.

When you are over sixty who gives a Crap?

I got caught taking a pee in the

local swimming pool today. The lifeguard shouted at me so

loud, I nearly fell in.

The News, June 2014

TREASURE HUNTER’S CODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect private property and do no treasure hunting without the owner's permission. I WILL fill all excavations. I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, and private property. I WILL use thoughtfulness, consideration, and courtesy at all times. I WILL build fires in designated or safe places only. I WILL leave gates as found. I WILL remove and properly dispose of any trash that I find. I WILL NOT litter. I WILL NOT destroy property, buildings, or what is left of ghost towns and deserted structures. I WILL NOT tamper with signs, structural facilities, or equipment.

Gold Glossary Mother Lode - Every miner hopes of finding their own "mother lode" or source of the gold that's laden in the rivers. A mother lode is where the gold is trapped inside veins of quartz on mountain sides. The erosion of land causes the gold to break away from this source and eventually wash down into the river. The larger the pieces of gold being found in the river, the closer one is to the mother lode. Mother lode also refers to the vast area in Central California where gold was found. It was called the mother lode, because the whole area was a source, not just a small target area

Find of the Month Winners

May, 2014 Most Valuable Coin: Mike Noll - 1914D Wheat Cent Oldest Coin: Joe Johnston - 1880 Indian-head Cent Largest Raw Gold: Bud Yoder - Gold Ore Specimen Most Raw Gold: No Entry Best Bottle: Mike Noll - Black’s Bullion Bottle Best Jewelry: Dale Bordewyk - 10k Gold & CZ Ring On 14” Necklace Most Unique Find (Excavated): Barb Schuldt - Antique Suspender Clip Most Unique Find (Non-Excavated): Tom Warne - Military Crossed Sabers Cavalry Pin Rock, Gem, Mineral & Fossil: Tom Warne - Gold Ore Specimen Nice weather brings nice finds!

The News, June 2014

Property Wanted For Detector Hunt

RMPTH is looking for private property on which to hold an organized club detector hunt. Obviously, it would be most ideal if this property is known to have seen some

past historical activity. If you have such property or know of someone who does, please contact Rick

Mattingly to plan a club field outing event.

Mineral Specimen Identification As part of their community outreach, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Dep. of Earth & Atmospheric Science, Professional Services Division offers FREE MINERAL SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION. Participants will aid in the education of future Geoscientists! Details and specimen submittal forms with instructions can be downloaded from: SPECIAL OFFER FREE MINERAL SPECIMEN http://college.earthscienceeducation.net/MINPET/MINID.pdf

Refreshment Volunteers June —Fred Sugden July — David Longmore August —Ray Hettinger September — Heidi Short October — Barb Schuldt November — Sam Banulis

SS Central America Gold Again

Famous shipwreck still delivering California Gold Rush Gold

A new recovery company is continuing the re-covery operation of the SS Central America shipwreck from 1857 off the coast of South

Carolina. Hard to imagine but the wreck is still pro-ducing gold coins, raw nuggets and bullion bars after the original recovery operation was completed in 1987. In an even more bizarre turn of events the original recovery company, Columbus-America Discovery Group, is suing claiming they have exclusive rights to the wreck. This claim is being made even though com-pany owner Tommy Thompson is a wanted fugitive for not paying investors from the 1987 recovery op-eration. Thompson's whereabouts are supposedly un-known. The majority of the original gold recovered was sold for over 50 million dollars, money which Thompson reportedly absconded with. Thompson must really have big brass ones (or maybe gold ones) to sue from his hiding place .... Amazing!

The News, June 2014

COLORADO'S LAST TRAIN ROBBERY by Canton O'Donnell

H aving fun with my father T. J. O'Donnell, after he, I and my brother, Ottomar, were in a train hold-up at Sawmill curve on the West side of Marshall Pass

(elevation 10,856 ft. 240 miles from Denver) on Sunday morning, July 13th 1902. When I must have been 14 years old, we left Denver one Saturday night, Dad, my brother and I, on NO. 315 of the Denver & Rio Grande and in the morning changed to the narrow gauge at Salida. I think we probably had breakfast in the narrow gauge Pullman. At that time, I think the upper berths were still in it, although it was used as a parlor car. In any event, in those early days, the porter served break-fast to the parlor car or Pullman passengers. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and as we got up on the pass, my brother and I sat up on the back platform, it was an open plat-form, no vestibule, no observation car railing or anything of that sort and chatted with tour-ists who were mar-veling at the beau-ties of the trip. Suddenly, the train stopped at and unex-pected place, and I was sitting on a lower step of that open back platform and in a moment or two heard a shot. I looked out and could see the engine and several men there with masks and carrying rifles. Just at that moment, one of the bandits clubbed his rifle, struck the engineer, who had descended to the right-of-way, over the head, and as people looked out over the sides of the cars, they fired a warning shot or two, to keep us inside of the cars. After this clubbing, the engineer was out of commission and he died some days later. The fireman, under the robber's direction, uncoupled the express car from the train and proceeded perhaps 25 or 30 yards down the track, where the robbers blew up the express company safe, partially demolishing the express car. After that, the robbers sent the brakemen through the train to herd us all out on the track, and they stood on each side of the train so no one could get out. My father took what money he had except a $5.00 bill and some change and his gold watch and chain, and we shoved it under the Pullman seat. He took from either my brother or me a dollar Inger-soll watch with a steel chain, as I remember it, and wore that in lieu of his regular watch. For the same reason, he kept $5.00 and a little change in his pocket.

We went out on the curve and all lined up and a man walked behind the brakeman who carried a sample sack and we all made contributions as the collection party went along. I remember distinctly that my brother had a dime and I had two dimes and the robber's remark was that every little bit helped. Some woman was worrying about her pocketbook. My fa-ther scraped a hole with his toe in the right-of-way, and we dropped her pocketbook in that hole, kicked some dust over it and stood on it while the robbers went by. We were later able to restore her pocketbook to her. The robbers disappeared in the brush, the train was con-nected to go again, tore off the broken part of the express car, left it there, and proceeded to Sargents, where a posse was organized. The engine tuned around on a Y and picked up the parlor car for use by the posse. I went back with my father and the posse to the scene of the crime, and we scurried around the brush, I proudly carried my .22 rifle which, after the robbers had gone, I removed

from my suitcase, my father not permitting its removal until after the danger of re-taliation on the part of the robbers was past. As I said before, this was a Sunday morning, and we always believed that the ban-dits held up the train on the theory that the express car would have a lot of cash, probably the payroll for our mine at Lake City, the Hid-den Treasure. They were

fooled, because the banks did not ship money on Saturday nights, and their net gain was negligible. They killed the engineer, and for a long time I had a copy of a bulletin that was posted all over the country after this robbery, with a reward offered, but the robbers were never found. Incidentally, we stopped shipping currency after that rob-bery. We made an arrangement with the Merchants & Min-ers Bank in Lake City, a Thatcher bank, to cash our checks drawn on a Denver bank - probably the Denver National - almost certainly so, because Dennis Sullivan had an interest in the mine, and the local bank cashed the checks at our expense. (Canton O'Donnell was a well know lawyer in Denver at the time of the robbery and this article was written by Spencer and ran in "The Denver Republican", published 1882-1913.) Buffalo Commons http://buffalocommons.org/site/en/stories/144-colorado-s-last-train-robbery-by-canton-o-donnell

The News, June 2014

1849 Mormon $10 Gold Coin Auctioned

Fetches $705K At Auction SALT LAKE CITY (AP)

A $10 Mormon gold coin fetched $705,000, and a $20 Mormon gold coin sold for $558,000 at auction this week.

They were the rarest of a seven-piece collection of Mormon coins made in 1849 that brought in nearly $2 million at an auction staged by Dallas-based Heri-tage Auctions. The territorial coins, put up for sale by a collector, went to an undisclosed buyer. Bidding ended Thurs-day night. Tyson Emery, a coin expert at All About Coins in Salt Lake City, said coins and currency were scare when Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah in 1847, and the settlers began making their own coins primarily to buy goods from the East. "The gold that they used to make these Mormon gold coins came from the original California gold strike, probably right from the American River at Sutter's Mill," he told the Deseret News (http://bit.ly/1h1t3cv ). Only 46 of the $10 gold coins were made, and just a few are still around. Emery had predicted the $10 piece would sell for at least $500,000. The equipment used to make the coins was crude, and not a lot of coins were made as a result. While rare, Mormon coins are put up for sale from time to time, Emery said. Mormon currency came in denominations including $2½, $5, $10 and $20. Simple and rugged designs showed clasped hands, with uneven lettering and numbers. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints His-tory Museum has a replica display featuring coins, dies and other equipment. The prices for the other coins that were sold at auction this week ranged from $64,625 to $235,000. Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com

Legally Pan For Gold In Colorado By Aminah Paden, eHow Contributor

G old panning locations in Colorado are easily identifiable. They are well documented and information about these locations are avail-

able to prospectors. The federal government keeps track of gold claims and mining locations through a variety of agencies. Gold mining clubs are a valuable resource for information on the topic. Individual prospectors also are often more than willing to share information and resources. With a little bit of re-search, a prospector can find a wealth of gold panning locations in Colorado. Contact the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado. The bureau manages 8.4 million acres of public land and maintains data on mining claims, including aban-doned mines. Information on all mining claims may be found on the GeoCommunicator.gov website or the BLM LR2000 system that maintains data on bureau land and mineral use authorizations. Join a local mining club. Local mining clubs help new miners learn about gold panning. A club will have al-ready identified the best places to mine for gold in Colorado. Clubs may own mining claims for members to use. Contact the U.S. Geological Survey. The survey main-tains maps and reports on gold mining locations in Colorado and other states. Maps are available for pur-chase. Tips & Warnings • Recreational gold pan-ning is allowed on Bureau of Land Management prop-erty without special per-mits. • Obtain permission to pan for gold from private land and claim owners. Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_8288680_identify-legally-pan-gold-colorado.html#ixzz2zTDR2G7X

The News, June 2014

2014-2015 Club Dues are payable at the June

4th Club Meeting.

Annual Dues are still a bargain at $25 for single

or family!

New membership cards will be issued beginning

at the July Club Meeting.

Remember, displaying a

current Membership Card will be a requirement for participating in some Club

Events!

Before You Buy That Metal Detector Handbook Check:

http://www.mdhtalk.org/articles/before-you-buy-hb/before-you-buy-handbook.pdf

Amazing Sunken Vehicle Facts

Your Treasure Map to 100-Plus Cars and Trucks Rusting in Houston's Sims and Brays Bayous

Ed: Maybe it's just me but the following article leaves me speechless. How many vehicles can be hidden in one city's streams, ponds, and bayous? Truly amazing. Maybe they should be on the lookout for Jimmy Hoffa's remains?

A spokesman says the Houston Police Department has “long been aware” of most of the 127 vehicles Texas Equusearch found submerged in Houston bayous

back in 2011, when the nonprofit search-and-rescue organi-zation used a sonar-equipped boat to hunt for the rented car of an elderly woman who had gone missing. But until Equusearch went public with the data this week, it appears no one from law enforcement had bothered to bring the rusting cars and trucks to the attention of environmental organizations, families of missing persons, wrecker drivers, classic-car collectors and restorers, bayou boaters, noo-dlers, or other groups that might have wanted to know. No matter, now: Above, courtesy of Texas Equusearch and the Houston Chronicle, is an interactive map identifying the coordinates and descriptions of the vehicles — including at least one full big rig — that have been gently rusting at or near the bottom of Brays and Sims Bayous for at least 2 and a half years. The Chronicle data appears to exclude the half-dozen or so transportation options Equusearch search-ers found beneath the waters of the relatively un-trafficked Buffalo Bayou. But you can spot some of them in the upper portion of this screen capture published with Joel Eisenbaum’s original report for KPRC of a similar map: The biggest wet-car graveyard appears to be focused on the stretch of Brays Bayou around the Forest Park Cemetery on Lawndale St., where, according to Eisenbaum, 23 cars are resting in peace. But if you’re looking to find definitive data on the city’s greatest concentration of submerged vehicles, you’d want to note that the mapped spots are only those Equusearch came across in its search, which was limited to areas they believed the woman they were searching for might have traveled. The body of that woman, Lillian High, was eventually found inside a black Dodge Avenger in a re-tention pond off Old Galveston Rd. near the Beltway, after a 4-month search. http://swamplot.com/your-treasure-map-to-100-plus-cars-and-trucks-rusting-in-sims-and-brays-bayous/2014-05-14/

The News, June 2014

Zip Lock Baggies .... Who Knew?

W e went with friends to a restaurant on Sun-day for lunch and sat in the patio section beside the store. We happened to notice zip

lock baggies pinned to a post and a wall. The bags were half filled with .... water, each contained 4 pen-nies, and they were zipped shut. Naturally we were curious! The owner told us that these baggies kept the flies away! So naturally we were even more curious! We actually watched some flies come in the open win-dow, stand around on the window sill, and then fly out again. And there were no flies in the eating area! This morning I checked this out on Google. Below are comments on this fly control idea. I'm now a believer! Zip-lock water bags: #1 Says: I tried the zip lock bag and pennies this weekend. I have a horse trailer. The flies were bad while I was camping. I put the baggies with pennies above the door of the LQ. NOT ONE FLY came in the trailer. The horse trailer part had many. Not sure why it works but it does! #2 Says: Fill a zip lock bag with water and 5 or 6 pennies and hang it in the problem area. In my case it was a particular window in my home. It had a slight passage way for insects. Every since I have done that, it has kept flies and wasps away. Some say that wasps and flies mistake the bag for some other insect nest and are threatened. #3 Says: I swear by the plastic bag of water trick. I have them on porch and basement. We saw these in Northeast Mo. at an Amish grocery store& have used them since. They say it works because a fly sees a re-flection& won't come around. #4 Says: Regarding the science behind zip log bags of water? My research found that the millions of mole-cules of water presents its own prism effect and given that flies have a lot of eyes, to them it's like a zillion disco balls reflecting light, colors and movement in a dizzying manner. When you figure that flies are prey for many other bugs, animals, birds, etc., they simply won't take the risk of being around that much per-ceived action. I moved to a rural area and thought these "hillbillies" were just yanking my city boy chain but I tried it and it worked immediately! We went from hundreds of flies to seeing the occasional one, but he didn't hang around long.

Zip Lock Fly-Be-Gone

The News, June 2014

Calendar of Events

MAP TO THE MEETING PLACE Pulliam Community Building

545 Cleveland Avenue, Loveland, Colorado

Directions: The Pulliam Community Building is situated on the west side of Cleveland Avenue in Loveland,

Colorado. Park at the rear of the building (west side). Entry to the meeting room is from the doorway on the south side of the building (not the main entrance on Cleveland Avenue!).

June Meeting Wednesday, June 4. We will meet at the Pulliam Building in downtown Loveland at 6:00PM. Refer to the adjoining map for directions. Meeting Agenda 6:00 - 7:00 Social Hour & Finds Program 7:00 - 7:30 Business, Announcements & Find of the Month Program 7:30 - 7:45 Break 7:45 - 9:00 "Metal Detecting” By Paul Mayhak and Rick Mattingly. Learn tips and tricks for metal detecting. Also, short video on panning and sluicing for gold …. and diamonds!

Visit RMPTH On The Internet At http://rmpth.com

RMPTH DUES

RMPTH is an unincorpo-rated Social Club with

no income generated. All expenses are covered by $25 annual dues. Mem-bers are requested to

consider minor donations at each monthly meeting to cover refreshments.

The News, June 2014

June 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 RMPTH Finds Program & Social 6:00P RMPTH Meeting 7:00P

5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 RMPTH Board Meet-ing 6:00P

13 14

15 Father’s Day

16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 Diamond Hunt Outing

28 Diamond Hunt Outing

29 Diamond Hunt Outing

30

July 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 RMPTH Finds Program & Social 6:00P RMPTH Meeting 7:00P

3 4 Independence Day

5

6 7 8 9 10 RMPTH Board Meet-ing 6:00P

11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Eldora Ski Resort Detector Outing

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Clear Creek Gold Outing

27 28 29 30 31

The News, June 2014

RMPTH Field Outing Statement

NOTE: The Coordinators and participants stay in touch and continue to review and plan upcoming presentations and outings for the year on a monthly basis. Our editor Rick Mattingly needs timely event information for each

issue of The News. Please get information about any par-ticular event to him by the 15th of the month to meet the

printing deadline for the next issue.

Planned trips, outings, activities, and meeting programs are in the newsletter and on line at the clubs website.

Planning is a work in progress and additional outings and activities are added and sometimes deleted on an ongo-

ing basis. Events planned in the upcoming month are emphasized to the attendees at the monthly meetings. Contact the Presentations Coordinators or Editor if you have any suggestions or ideas throughout the year for

fieldtrips, outings, and programs.

The best made plans may change at the last minute due to the illness of the Trail Boss, weather, land access, ve-hicles breaking down, wrong meeting sites, etc. Please

be understanding of extenuating circumstances and con-tact the coordinator or Trail Boss of a specific event if there is any question of an event being cancelled or

changed at the last minute.

Diamond Hunt Outing

T he weekend of June 27-29, Friday through Sunday, we will hold a Diamond Hunt in northern Colorado. The hunt location is near a

proven diamond mining area and is the site of numer-ous found diamonds during past hunts by a few club members. For those who wish to remain on site for the week-end, we will be dry camping on National Forest land at the hunt site. No supplies or fuel are available in the immediate area, so be forewarned and plan on being self-sufficient. Diamonds have been uncovered in the surrounding area using gold pans and gold sluices. No fuel-motorized equipment please. Additionally, diamonds have been uncovered using “black light” units at night, as some diamonds do fluoresce. This is a very nice area and great for the whole family. Saturday evening we will be holding a group potluck dinner so bring a food item to share around the campfire. Bring your Two Way Radios for this outing to stay in touch. We will be using Channel 10. Maps and further information regarding the top se-cret location will be available at the June 5th club meeting. If you are a dues-paid member but cannot make the June meeting please contact Rick Mattingly at [email protected] or (970) 613-8968 for more info.

Raw Diamonds

The largest U.S. diamond was the 40.42 carat Uncle Sam,

found at Crater of Diamonds around 1918. Second largest is the 34.46-carat Punch Jones,

names for the West Virginia boy who spotted it while playing

horseshoes in 1928. A more re-cent find is the 14-carat Lewis and Clark, picked up by Mrs. Darlene Dennis while walking on a gravel road near Craig,

Montana. It is currently owned by Alexander Acevedo, a New

York antiques dealer.

The News, June 2014

Used Couch Surprise NY roommates buy $20 used couch, find $40K

in cash stuffed inside By: The Associated Press Posted: 8:05 PM, May 15, 2014 NEW PALTZ, N.Y.

F or all the screaming and carrying on, their neighbors thought they'd won the lottery. But it was a lumpy old sofa stuffed with $40,000 in

cash that had three young roommates raising a ruckus. And here's the other side of the ticket: They returned the money to the 91-year-old widow whose couch had been given away. "We just pulled out envelopes and envelopes," said Cally Guasti, a social worker with Family of Wood-stock who shares an apartment with two friends in New Paltz, 75 miles north of New York City. "My mouth was literally hanging open -- everybody's was -- it was an unfathomable amount." Guasti told The Associated Press on Thursday that she and her friends had bought the beat-up couch and a chair for $55 at a Salvation Army thrift shop in March. They noticed the arm cushions were weirdly lumpy. Then, one night in April, one of them, State University of New York at New Paltz student Reese Werkhoven, opened a zipper on one arm and found an envelope. It contained $4,000 in bubble-wrapped bills. Guasti, Werkhoven and roommate Lara Russo opened the other arm zipper and started mining the treasure stashed inside. They counted it up: $40,800. "Honestly, I was a little overwhelmed," Russo said. "I wanted to put it back in the couch and like re-find it in the morning when I can process it better." Gausti said they spread the money on the bed and started counting. "And we were screaming," she said "In the morning, our neighbors were like, 'We thought you won the lot-tery.'" Mixed in with the cash was a deposit slip with a woman's name on it. Werkhoven called her the next

Whoops …. Daydreaming again!

morning. "She said, 'I have a lot of money in that couch and I really need it,'" Guasti said. They drove to the home of the woman, who turned out to be the elderly woman. She cried in gratitude when they gave her the cash she had hidden away. The woman's family had donated the couch to the Sal-vation Army while she was having health problems. "It's not our money, said Werkhoven, of New York City. "We didn't have any right to it." Guasti said the cash simply wasn't theirs. "I think if any of us had used it, it would have felt really wrong."

Treasure is anywhere and everywhere!

The News, June 2014

Spider Warning

F rom a friend: About 4 years ago I had a Doctor appointment.

That morning they called and postponed it because our Dr. was in surgery. Two days later they called back and cancelled my appointment because our Doc-tor had died on the operating table. We thought that he was the one doing the operating He had been bitten by a Brown Recluse. He had tried treating himself in-stead of getting help. He was fairly young (late 40’s) and the best Doctor we had ever had. Brown Recluse Spider At this time of year, this is worth seeing. Show these picture to your spouse, your kids, grand kids, and friends. It could save their lives. Remember what this Spider looks like and be careful while clean-ing, as told below. It's summertime and cleanup is going on. Be careful where you put your hands. They like dark spaces and woodpiles. Also cool areas in the attic. The Brown Recluse Spider is the most dangerous spi-der that we have here in the USA. A person can die from it’s bite. We all should know what the spider looks like. Send this around to people you love, be-cause it is almost summer time. People will be digging around, doing yard work, spring cleaning, and some-times in their attics. Please be careful. Spider bites are dangerous and can have permanent and highly negative consequences. They like the dark-ness and tend to live in storage sheds or attics or other areas that might not be frequented by people or light. If you have a need to be in your attic, go up there and turn on a light and leave it on for about 30 minutes before you go in to do your work. Thanks to Ginger Borgeson for sharing

The dangerous Brown Recluse Spider

"A liberal paradise would be a place where everybody has guaranteed employ-ment, free comprehensive healthcare, free education, free food, free housing, free clothing, free utilities, and only law enforcement has guns. And believe it or not, such a place does, indeed, exist: It's called prison." Sheriff Joe Arpaio Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff's Office

The News, June 2014

Gold Glossary Open Pit Mine - In search of rich veins of quartz, open pit mines are common today. Because of the dan-ger associated with drifts, open pit mines are dug from the ground down and are never tunneled. They can be best described as, "A big hole."

Symbol: AU Atomic Number: 79

Atomic Weight: 196.967 Melting Point: 1063° (1945° F)

Specific Gravity: 19.2 MOH’s Scale of Hardness:

2.5 - 3

Karat

24K = 100% Pure Gold 18K = 75% Pure Gold 14K = 58% Pure Gold 10K = 42% Pure Gold

Troy Weights

1 grain = 0.0648 grams

24 grains = 1 penny weight (DWT) = 1.552 grams

20 DWT = 1 ounce = 480 grains = 31.10 grams

Gold Facts

YOUR ADVERTISEMENT COULD BE HERE! Call Rick Mattingly at 970-613-8968 or [email protected]

Federal Mining Claim Information

How to Find Federal Lands That Are Open to Gold Mining Claims

T he federal government owns thousands of acres of property where members of the public can prospect for gold. Individuals who find an area with significant amounts of gold will want to file a claim for

the area, which gives you a right to remove the gold from the property and provides certain protections from other people mining the property. The first step in filing a federal mining claim is to determine which pieces of property are available and still eligible for claims. The process will in-volve searching specific maps and contacting both county and federal gov-ernment officials. Pick a state to begin your search for federal lands that can be claimed. The U.S. Department of Interior lists the following states as being the most likely areas to find valuable minerals on federal land: Alaska, Ari-zona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Order a Surface Management Edition map from the appropriate regional office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Once you've selected a state to begin your search, you can determine which regional office of the Bureau of Land Management to contact by visiting the bureau's website. The Surface Management Edition maps show which areas of a state are owned by the federal government, and thus potentially available for a mineral claim. Narrow your search to a specific plot of ground on federal property. Gen-erally a federal mining claim must be made on a piece of property 20 acres or less. Once you've identified a piece of property that you believe has mining potential, very clearly mark its location on your Surface Man-agement Edition map. If you have access to GPS technology, also mark its GPS coordinates. Contact a property ownership officer in the county courthouse in which the property is located. Often property ownership information can be found in county offices with names such as Register of Deeds, County Assessor, County Appraiser or County Clerk. Show the appropriate county officer the map location or GPS coordinates of the plot you are researching. Ask for a legal description of the property. The legal descrip-tion lists the township number, range number, section number and sec-tion quadrant. Use the legal description to request a claim report for the plot of ground you are researching. The regional office of the Bureau of Land Manage-ment will have the claim report. The claim report will list any mining claims that have been filed on the property, and list whether they are ac-tive and in good standing. If the plot of property does not have any active claims, it then can be considered a piece of federal ground open to a min-ing claim. ehow.com

The News, June 2014

All mistakes and misspellings were

intentionally made so that you could have the

pleasure of finding them.

Trading Post

About Trading Post

The News runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads

for topic related items up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Rick Mattingly at (970) 613-8968

evenings or e-mail at: [email protected]

Commercial Advertising Specifications

(Monthly Donation Rate) Full Page (8 1/2" X 7") $30 Half Page (3 1/4" X 7") $20 One Third Page (3" X 4") $15 Business Card (2 3/4" X 1 1/2") $ 5

Ads must be received by the 15th of the preceding month. Contact Rick Mattingly for in-

formation on this service at (970) 613-6968 evenings or e-mail at:

[email protected].

FOR SALE: Whites MXT. Lightly used. Price includes fab-ric carrying case. Asking $400.00. Call 303 747 2305 or e-mail [email protected] WANTED: By NRA Card Holding Law Abiding Private Citizen. Colt S&W Ruger Taurus .357 Wheel Gun/Revolver for Home/Personal Defense. If you have a Collector’s Item, Please keep it. I’m looking for a gun to shoot/Not display. LMK what ya got. Thanks. 970.222.2323 FOR SALE: Jewelers propane/oxygen torch, many cabo-chons, beads and tools. Contact Ann at (970) 6667-3705. FOR SALE: A "MUST HAVE" T-Shirt for every Prospector and Treasure Hunter. Quality 100% cotton tees. See and order from: http://BestBlackandGold.com. FOR SALE: Minelab SD2200 Gold Nugget Metal Detector: 10-1/2" Mono Super Coil, 10-1/2" SD Series Super Coil, two batteries w/wall & car charger, headphones, backpack, waist battery pack, signal enhancer, extra lower stem, in-struction booklet & video, carry case. Ready to go for the gold. New Price: $1625. Contact Paul at (970) 482-7846. FOR SALE: 5HP pump motor, Gold King 3" Hi-banker with dredge attachment w/adjustable stand, Gold Grabber Hi-banker, 125 feet hose, Rock net and steel cable, misc. fit-tings and valves & large metal bucket. Prefer to sell all to-gether for $1,350 but negotiable. Call Eric Stickland at (303) 833-6848 or [email protected]. WANTED: Used lapidary equipment. Call Kathie 970-221-1623 WANTED: Federal or state duck stamps; mint or used. Con-tact John Hart at (307) 778-3993.

NOTE: Purchase arrangements are between the buyer and

seller only and involves no financial benefit to RMPTH.

Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum Golden, Colorado

Contact us: 303-273-3815 or

[email protected]

Identification of specimens is performed between 10 a.m. and noon, Tuesdays and

Thursdays.

The News, June 2014

Colorado Treasure Tales Lincoln County

I n 1847, $100,000 was stolen by bandits in Sacra-mento, California during the California Goldrush. It is said that the gold was hidden in a gulch sev-

eral miles east of Clifford in Lincoln County. The spot was supposedly marked by three stones, each bearing the date 1847. This story was further supported when a flat stone bearing the inscription "D. Grover and Joseph Fox Lawe, Aug. 8, 1847" was discovered near Clifford many years ago.

WEEKEND & SMALL-SCALE MINER’S CODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect other prospector’s claims and not work those claims without the owner’s permission I WILL have on-site all necessary permits and licenses I WILL build fires in designated or safe places only, and in accordance with current State and Federal guidelines I WILL be careful with fuels and motor oils and be cog-nizant of their potential destructive effect on the envi-ronment I WILL remove and properly dispose of all trash and debris that I find - I will not litter I WILL be thoughtful, considerate and courteous to those around me at all time I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, fisheries and private property, and respect all laws or ordinances governing prospecting and mining I WILL NOT remove stream bank material, destroy natural vegetation or woody debris dams, nor discharge excess silt into the waterways I WILL NOT refuel motorized equipment in the stream I WILL NOT allow oil from motorized equipment to drip onto the ground or into the water I WILL NOT prospect in areas closed to prospecting and mining

Offer Your Assistance To Any Of Our Program Coordinators

Ram's Horn

This "ram's horn" is the world's largest known specimen of wire gold. It was mined at the

Ground Hog Mine in Eagle County in 1887. It weighs 8 troy ounces and measures 5" in

length and an inch in diameter at the base.

Three older ladies were discussing the tra-vails of getting older. One said, "Sometimes I catch myself with a jar of mayonnaise in my hand in front of the refrigerator and can't re-member whether I need to put it away, or start making a sandwich." The second lady chimed in, "Yes, some times I find myself on the landing of the stairs and can't remember whether I was on my way up or on my way down." The third one responded, " Well, I'm glad I don't have that problem; knock on wood," as she rapped her knuckles on the table, then told them "That must be the door, I'll get it!"

The News, June 2014

Month Meeting Program Trip/Activity

January Battery Facts

By Batteries Plus No Trip/Activity Scheduled

February Found Explosives Safety By Rick Mattingly No Trip/Activity Scheduled

March Gold Wheel Recovery

By Darrel Koleber Colorado School of Mines Museum Tour Internet Research Clinic - Rick Mattingly

April Crack, Crevasse Prospecting

By Bryon Morgan

Prospecting & Detecting Clinic at Lions Park - Advertised and Open to the Public Phoenix Mine Tour Idaho Springs

May Geophysics and Excavation of Alonzo

Allen Cabin Site Near Allenspark By Heidi Short

Clear Creek Gold Outing ‘Let’s Go Gold Panning On The Arkansas’ Event – GPOC

June Metal Detecting

By Rick Mattingly & Paul Mayhak

Clear Creek Gold Outing Diamond Hunt Outing

State Annual Gold Panning Championships

July Wyoming Prospecting

By Wayne Sutherland—WSGS Eldora Ski Resort Detector Outing - Robert Crain

Clear Creek Gold Outing - Darrel Koleber

August The Great Diamond Hoax

By Rick Mattingly Off-Road Detector Outing Vic’s Gold Panning Outing

September Bottle Hunting

By Rick Mattingly

Annual Coin & Prize Hunt Fort Laramie Wyoming Tour

Denver Colorado Gem & Mineral Show

October Emergency Planning

By Light House Ready Grassland Detector Outing

November Annual “Show & Tell” &

Silent Auction No Trip/Activity Scheduled

December Annual Find of the Year Awards &

Christmas Party Flatirons Mineral Club & Model Train Show

Good Hunting in 2014!

Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club 2014 Schedule of Events

The News, June 2014

Let’s Go For The Gold !

Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters

Contact List RMPTH Coordinators Home E-Mail

President Bud Yoder ———————– [email protected]

Interim Vice President Shane Manenti 1-970-590-9183 [email protected]

Treasurer Dick & Sharon French 1-970-482-2110 [email protected]

Secretary Heidi Short 1-970-532-1167 [email protected]

The News Staff

Editor-in-Chief Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968 [email protected]

Internet Web Site

Web Master Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968 [email protected]

Volunteers/Coordinators

Finds Program Paul Mayhak Betsy Emond Joe Johnston

1-970-482-7846 1-970-218-0290 1-303-696-6950

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Presentations Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968 [email protected]

Club Historian Barbara Schuldt 1-970-407-1336 ———————–

Club Meeting Greeter Barbara Schuldt 1-970-407-1336 ———————–

Club Librarian Joe Johnston 1-303-696-6950 [email protected]

Club Photo Librarian Heidi Short 1-970-532-1167 [email protected]

Panning Demos Bryan Morgan Darrell Koleber

1-970-416-0608 1-970-669-2599

[email protected] [email protected]

Meeting Setup Shane Menenti 1-970-590-9183 [email protected]

Door Prize Paul Mayhak Johnny Berndsen

1-970-482-7846 1-970-667-1006

[email protected] ———————–

50/50 Drawing Woody Hogdon 1-970-667-5010 [email protected]

Coin Raffle Shane Manenti 1-970-590-9183 [email protected]

General Information Contact: Rick Mattingly at 1-970-613-8968

Visit RMPTH on the Internet at: http://rmpth.com

JUNE, 2014 ISSUE

The News Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Club

278 Sierra Vista Drive

Fort Collins, CO. 80524

RMPTH JUNE 2014 NEWSLETTER

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Transcript of RMPTH JUNE 2014 NEWSLETTER