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Cleaning Coins

Bui ld ing Your Ow n Elect rolys is Machine

By Jim McCulloch

As all detectorists are aware, long-term burial incorrosive soil, or immersion in salt water,doesn't do the appearance of most metallic ob-

jects any favors. Regrettably, tarnish, rust, and corro-sion are the natural consequences of chemical inter-action with most metals.

Many methods have been devised to remove the vari-ous forms of oxides, sulfides, carbonates, chloridesand assorted types of verdigris from metallic objects.The method employed most often by professional con-servators of recovered metallic objects is electrolysis,a process wherein the object to be cleaned is sub-

merged in a special, electrically-charged chemical so-lution which causes to corrosion to disintegrate.

The purpose of this article is to inform TreasureQuest readers how they can build an inexpensive elec-trolysis machine which will do a splendid job of clean-ing coins or other small metal artifacts.

The first thing you will need to obtain, if you don'talready have one, is a 9 to 12 volt AC adaptor, oftencalled an AC/DC convertor, or battery eliminator. Thisis the same electrical device which plugs into an elec-trical wall outlet and lets you operate portable radios,

cassette players, and so forth, without the use of bat-teries.

When choosing the AC adaptor for your mini elec-trolysis machine, take note of its rated output. This

will be printed somewhere on the adaptor, and willusually be listed in milliamps (1/1000th of an am-pere) which is designated by the symbol "mA," as in

(Continued on page 3)

v. 16, n. 1 January, 2012 Going for the Go

Rocky Mountain Prospectors &Treasure Hunters Newsletter

The News

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

Contents

"There is no greater harm than that of timewasted."

- Michelangelo

1 Cleaning Coins2 About The News4 Train Station Watches

6 Rare Brasher Doubloon Sold7 Colorado RhodochrositeAuctioned

8 Find Of The Year Awards8 Did a Comet Cause the Great

Flood?10 Calendar of Events11 Calendars12 Troy Michigan News12 Tarryall (Whiskey Hole) Colorado13 Understanding Gold13 Sluice Clean-Up

14 Gold Country Flakes And Pieces16 Trading Post17 Ancient Viking King18 2012 Schedule of Events19 Contact List

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Page 2 The News, January 2012

The News is the official newsletter of the RockyMountain Prospectors and Treasure HuntersClub (RMPTH): our mailing address is P.O. Box

271863, Fort Collins, CO. 80527-1863.

Opinions expressed in The News are those of theauthors and do not necessarily reflect those of the

club or its members. Publication of information inThe News constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Useof any information found in this publication is at thesole risk of the user. NeitherRMPTH, nor its coordi-nators, nor The News, nor its editors or contributorsassume any liability for damages resulting from useof 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 forpublication 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 havequestions about a submission, please contact the edi-tor for information.

Copyright

Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit groupsmay reprint or quote from any articles appearing inThe News without prior permission, provided thatproper author and publication credits are given andthat a copy of the publication in which the article ap-pears is sent at no cost toRMPTHat the above mail-ing address. Clubs wishing to exchange newsletters

withRMPTHare invited to send a copy of their news-letter together with an exchange request.

About The New s Adver t is ing

Classified advertising for topic related items is freefor non-business ads. See the Trading Post sectionfor donation pricing of camera-ready display ads. Do-nations for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are avail-able on request.

About RMPTH

RMPTHis an independent nonprofit hobbyist socialclub, open to anyone interested in prospecting, detect-ing or treasure hunting. Its purpose is to provide aneducational and social forum of mutual benefit formembers.RMPTHholds a monthly meeting and con-ducts various field outings, as well as offers specialpresentations and seminars. Active participants have

voting privileges. The monthly newsletter, The News,is readily available on the Internet. Persons wishing toreceive the newsletter in hardcopy, mailed format arerequired to provide the amount of $24 per year re-quired to print and mail. Otherwise, no annual duesare charged as the social club functions strictly bydonation.

Treasure Hunters Discover Antique Gold Chain off Florida CoastMarch 25, 2011

Divers from Mel Fisher's Treasures in Key West have recovered an antique gold chain believed to be from theNuestra Seora de Atocha, which sank during a 1622 hurricane. In 1985, these same treasure hunters hadpreviously found more than $450 million in artifacts from the wreck.

Experts are evaluating the 40-inch chain, believed to be centuries old, and which may be worth as much as

$250,000. The divers were searching for a part of the 17th century Spanish galleon that has not yet been foundwhen they made the discovery.

Yahoo News reports that the chain has 55 links, and holds an enameled gold cross and a two-sided religiousmedal with the Virgin Mary and a chalice engraved on it. If it is indeed from the Nuestra Seora de Atocha, addanother quarter of a million to the total booty for the Fisher crew.

It must be gratifying to recover such ancient treasure from shipwrecks. Just the word "treasure hunters" mightraise a few skeptical eyebrows as a legitimate line of work, but in this case, Mel Fisher and his crew might onceagain be laughing all the way to the bank.

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Page 3The News, January 2012

into the solution, over the edge of the cup opposite thespoon, and use one of your spare alligator clips (or aclothes pin, etc.) to secure that artifact-holding wire inplace. You want to be sure that the object to becleaned is fully immersed in the solution, and sus-pended more or less at the same level in the cup asthe bowl of the spoon.

Once that is done, you are now ready to begin theelectrolysis cleaning of your artifact. Making sure thatthe two electrodes are not touching, plug the adaptorinto the wall socket. Within moments, the object to becleaned should start producing bubbles. If not, un-plug the adaptor, and reposition the alligator clip onthe artifact, preferably at a point where metal is show-ing. Then plug the adaptor back into the wall socket.

Once the coin or artifact is merrily bubbling away,then everything has been done right. So what is takingplace? During electrolysis, ions (atoms which eitherhave an excess or deficiency of electrons, and thus are

electrically charged) are liberated from the poles, andthese migrate through the electrolyte solution to theoppositely charged pole. The cathode, to which theartifact is attached, is the point of entry of anions(negatively charged atoms with a surplus of electrons)into the electrolyte solution. The liberation of anions,from the chemical compounds which constitute thecorrosion on our artifact, triggers chemical changes

within those compounds, causing them to disintegrateinto less complex chemical substances. Proof of these


"350 mA." The higher the output, the faster the clean-ing effect; I recommend the selection of an adaptor ofat least 300 milliamp output.

You will also need several small electrical "alligatorclips," a stainless steel spoon, a non-metallic cup or

small bowl, water, and some common table salt.

To convert your AC adaptor into an electrolysis ma-chine, first cut off the little plug device from the end ofthe wire. (The "plug" referred to here is the one thatconnects to the radio, cassette, etc., NOT the one thatconnects to the wall socket) Once you've removed thatlittle plug, you will note that the wire to that little plugis a double-strand wire; beginning at the cut off tip,

very carefully separate (pull apart) those two individ-ual strands of insulated wire for a distance of about 6inches, leaving the insulation intact on each of the

wires. Next, strip away about a quarter to a half inch

of insulation from the tip of one of those loose wires,and where the insulation has been removed firmlyaffix (crimp into place) an alligator clip. Be sure thatthere is a good electrical contact between the bare

wire and the alligator clip. Now, repeat that procedureto the other strand of wire. You will now have two sin-

gle-wire sections, each with its own alligator clip.

Now, make up an ample supply of electrolyte solution,at the ratio of 1/2 teaspoon of common table salt forevery 8 ounces of water. Pour some of this electrolytesolution into the cup, nearly filling it. Place both alli-

gator clips into the solution, being careful not to letthem touch one another. Remember, once we plug theadaptor into the wall socket, electrical current will beflowing to the alligator clips, and if they touch one an-other, the adaptor will short out, and be ruined.

After you've made sure that the alligator clips are notin contact with each other, plug the adaptor into the

wall socket, and watch to see which of the two alliga-tor clips begins to produce bubbles. The one that be-

gins to bubble is the cathode, or negative pole of theAC adaptor. The side that does not bubble is the an-ode, or positive electrode. Unplug the adaptor, re-

move the alligator clips from the solution, and insome way mark the polarity of the wires.

Bend the stainless steel spoon into a sharp "U" shapeso that, when hung over the lip of the cup, the "bowl"of the spoon can reach about half way deep into thecup.

Hook the cathode ("bubble side") alligator clip to theportion of the spoon which is outside the cup. Hookthe anode to the object to be cleaned, and suspend it

(Continued from page 1)

RMPTH 2012 Events

Planning Session

On Thursday evening, January 12 we will beholding a planning session to determine theagenda of club activities for the coming year.We will be meeting at the Loveland Perkins Restau-rant, 2222 West Eisenhower at 6:00pm. This locationis on the south side of Eisenhower just east of the Wil-son Avenue intersection. Participants are expected to

order something from the menu to compensate forour use of their meeting room.

Now, if you cannot make this planning session pleasepass along your ideas to any club coordinator.

Lets make the coming years activities the most inter-esting and productive for all!

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I HAVE C.M.S.

CAN'T MEMBER STUPP

TREASURE HUNTERSCODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect private property and do no treasurehunting without the owner's permission.

I WILL fill all excavations.

I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of naturalresources, wildlife, and private property.

I WILL use thoughtfulness, consideration, and courtesyat 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 leftof ghost towns and deserted structures.

I WILL NOT tamper with signs, structural facilities, orequipment.

Train Station Watches

Were Just the

Beginning

If you were in the market for a watch in 1880, wouldyou know where to get one? You would go to a store,right? Well, of course you could

do that, but if you wanted one that was cheaper and a bitbetter than most of the store watches, you went to thetrain station! Sound a bit

funny? Well, for about 500 towns across the northernUnited States, that's where the best watches were found.

Why were the best watches found at the train station?The railroad company wasn't selling the watches, not atall. The telegraph operator

was. Most of the time the telegraph operator was locatedin the railroad station because the telegraph lines fol-lowed the railroad tracks

from town to town. It was usually the shortest distanceand the right-of-ways had already been secured for therail line.

Most of the station agents were also skilled telegraphoperators and that was the primary way that they com-municated with the railroad.

They would know when trains left the previous stationand when they were due at their next station. And it wasthe telegraph operator who

had the watches. As a matter of fact they sold more ofthem than almost all the stores combined for a period ofabout 9 years.

This was all arranged by "Richard", who was a telegraphoperator himself. He was on duty in the North Redwood,Minnesota train station one

day when a load of watches arrived from the east. It wasa huge crate of pocket watches. No one ever came to

claim them.

So Richard sent a telegram to the manufacturer andasked them what they wanted to do with the watches.The manufacturer didn't want to pay

the freight back, so they wired Richard to see if he couldsell them. So Richard did. He sent a wire to every agentin the system asking them if they wanted a cheap, but


Gold Glossary

Mother Lode - Every miner hopes of finding their own"mother lode" or source of the gold that's laden in the riv-

ers. A mother lode is where the gold is trapped inside veinsof quartz on mountain sides. The erosion of land causes thegold to break away from this source and eventually wash

down into the river. The larger the pieces of gold beingfound in the river, the closer one is to the mother lode.

Mother lode also refers to the vast area in Central Califor-nia where gold was found. It was called the mother lode,

because the whole area was a source, not just a small tar-get area.

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Property WantedFor Detector Hunt

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

past historical activity. If you have such property orknow of someone who does, please contact Paul Lange

or Rick Mattingly to plan a club field outing event.

Refreshment Volunteers

January Lisa LarivaFebruary Bob Miller & Dave LongmireMarchFred HartAprilAnson OwensMayAnne Nichols & Ray McGeheeJune Need Volunteer!JulyEd & Mia EdwardsAugust Rick MattinglySeptemberDick & Sharon FrenchOctoberJohnny & Jeanne BerndsenNovember Need Volunteer!

good, pocket watch. He sold the entire case in less thantwo days and at a handsome profit.

That started it all. He ordered more watches from thewatch company and encouraged the telegraph operatorsto set up a display case in the

station offering high quality watches for a cheap price toall the travelers. It worked! It didn't take long for theword to spread and,

before long, people other than travelers came to the trainstation to buy watches.

Richard became so busy that he had to hire a profes-sional watch maker to help him with the orders. Thatwas Alvah. And the rest, as they

say, is history. The business took off and soon expandedto many other lines of dry goods.

Richard and Alvah left the train station and moved theircompany to Chicago -- and it's still there.

It's a little known fact that for a while in the 1880's, thebiggest watch retailer in the country was at the train sta-tion.

It all started with a telegraph operator:

Richard Sears and his partner Alvah Roebuck!

Absolutely true; check Sears's own archive:http://www.searsarchives.com/history/history1886.htm

Thanks to Tom Warne


The first Stetson

hat was made by

John B. Stetson inCentral City.

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Rare Brasher Doubloon

Sold

NEW ORLEANS (AP)

An exceedingly rare 1787 gold Brasher dou-

bloon has been sold for $7.4 million, one ofthe highest prices ever paid for a gold coin.

Blanchard and Co., the New Orleans-based coin andprecious metals company that brokered the deal, saidthe doubloon was purchased by a Wall Street invest-ment firm. Identities of the buyer and seller were notdisclosed.

Minted by Ephraim Brasher, a goldsmith andneighbor of George Washington, the coin contains

26.66 grams of gold slightly less than an ounce.Worth about $15 when it was minted, the gold valuetoday would be more than $1,500.

The Brasher doubloon is considered the first Ameri-can-made gold coin denominated in dollars; the U.S.Mint in Philadelphia didn't begin striking coins untilthe 1790s.

Thanks to Bud Yoder

Rare 1787 Brasher Dabloon

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Colorado

Rhodochrosite

Auctioned

Specimen from: Good Luck Pocket, Main Stope,Sweet Home Mine (Home Sweet Home Mine),Mount Bross, Buckskin Gulch, Alma District,

Park Co., Colorado, USA

The history of precious metal mining is filled withmines that were oversupplied with optimistic backersand undersupplied with valuable ore. The HomeSweet Home Mine in Buckskin Gulch above Alma,Colorado, is a prime example of this. Were it not for a

brief mention of some Rhodochrosite that was foundhere while mining for Silver in 1878, chances are thatthe specimen seen here would still be quietly resting

in the cold, wet and dark interior of Mount Bross,where it formed some 30 million years ago. As it is,that mention, along with a few others, sparked theinterest of a combined group of determined mineralcollectors, miners and financial backers, who fundedand executed a serious mining venture designed tofind and recover treasures like this one.

In the course of their mining operations, this speci-men was recovered from what is certainly the premierfind of this mine's history - arguably the premier min-eral find of all time as well. The "Good Luck Pocket"

was discovered on September 21, 1992 and meas-

ured 4 x 3 feet and was only 2 to 6 inches across. In-side were found brilliantly lustrous, simple rhombiccrystals of the most amazing deep red color imagin-able. This notable specimen features two cherry-redrhombs up to 1 inches on edge that slightly inter-penetrate each other with a minor third crystal off tothe right side. There is a tiny amount of Chalcopyriteand Tetrahedrite on the obverse side, but otherwiseno other minerals are present. The size and perfec-tion of form and luster, coupled with the intense redcolor produce an effect that is absolutely un-Earthly.There is no damage and the condition is as good as it

gets, largely thanks to the care with which this speci-men was recovered. That it was a part of the re-nowned Houston Museum's collection speaks volumesas to the comparative ranking of this specimen rela-tive to its peers. It was originally purchased by theMuseum in 1993 and was considered one of the Mu-seum's more significant specimens. It was only de-accessioned when a larger specimen from the samepocket was donated to the Museum. Measuring 4inches wide by 2 inches high by 1 7/8 inches thick,it sits on an acrylic base.

Chief among those offerings was a magnificent, deep cherrycolored Rhodochrosite from the Good Luck Pocket, Main Stope,Sweet Home Mine, Mount Bross, Buckskin Gulch, Alma District,

Park Co., Colorado, which realized a jaw-dropping $358,500auction June, 2011.

Heritage Auctions, Inc.http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=6061&lotNo=49017&type=around-coinnews-tem061811

In 1861 the mining town

of Central City

recorded 217 fistfights, 97 revolver

fights, 11 Bowie knife

fights and one dog fight.

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Did A Comet Cause The

Great Flood?

Over 175 cultures have flood myths, telling of acatastrophic inundation of the Earth. Bruce

Masse, an environmental archaeologist at LosAlamos National Laboratory, has theorized that thesewidespread flood myths may have originated from anactual flood caused by a gigantic comet crashing intothe Indian Ocean several thousand years ago, nearly

wiped out all life on the planet. Furthermore, Masseand other scientists have found evidence of such acollision.

Masse theorizes that some 5,000 years ago, a 3-milewide ball of rock and ice smashed into the oceanoff the coast of Madagascar. This injected plumes of

superheated water vapor and aerosol particulates intothe atmosphere and sent a series of 600-foot-high tsu-namis crashing against the worlds coastlines. Withinhours, the heat and moisture blasted into the jetstreams, spawning gigantic hurricanes across theEarth.

Additionally, the impact sent tons of material into theatmosphere, plunging the Earth into darkness. Thus,the origin of the great flood stories found in almost allcultures around the world. The bible tells of Noahsark enduring a deluge for 40 days and 40 nights.

In the Gilgamesh Epic, the Mesopotamian hero saw apillar of black smoke on the horizon before the sky

wentdark for a week. Afterward, a cyclone pummeled theland and caused a massive flood. Indigenous South

American myths also tell of a great flood. According toMasse, these stories all describe what the survivors ofsuch an impact would see.

Two flood myths helped Masse pinpoint the date ofsuch an impact. The Hindu flood myth describes thealignment of five planets, which has happened onlyonce in the last 5,000 years. A Chinese story men-

tions a great flood that occurred at the end of thereign of Empress Nu Wa. These led Masse to date theimpact on May 10, 2807 B.C.

Flatirons Facets Newsletter March-April 2008

T

he Find of the Year Program was held at theDecember meeting. Category winners bypopular vote for the year were as follows:

Best Jewelry: Bud Yoder - Walking Half Dollar SilverRing

Oldest Coin: Tom Warne 1866 Three Cent

Most Valuable Coin: Tom Warne 1901-O BarberQuarter

Best Bottle: Tom Warne - Denver Hanigan Blob TopSoda

Most Raw Gold: Jim Thompson - 1 gram & 13 penny-

weight South Boulder Creek

Largest Raw Gold: Bud Yoder - Clear Creek Nuggets

Most Unique Find (Non- Excavated): Paul Mayhak -1866 Store Card Token

Most Unique Find (Excavated): Tom Warne - 1867Pocket Derringer

Rock, Gem, Mineral & Fossil: Tom Warne - ColoradoOpal

Great Finds & Congrats to all

the 2011 Winners!

Find Of The Year

Awards

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Old NewsThe Gazette Montreal, July 6, 1936

Mans Evolution To Detecting

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Calendar of Events

MAP TO TH E MEETING PLACE

Pul l iam Communi t y Bu i ld ing

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 fromthe doorway on the south side of the building (not the main entrance on Cleveland Avenue!).

RMPTH DUESRMPTH is an unincorpo-

rated Social Club withno income generated. Allexpenses are covered bydonation. Members arerequested to considerdonating a minimum of$1.00 at each monthlymeeting to cover club

expenses.

January Meet ingWednesday, January 4. We will meet at the PulliamBuilding in downtown Loveland at 7:00PM. Refer tothe adjoining map for directions.

Meeting Agenda6:00 - 7:00 Planning & Social Hour7:00 - 7:30 Business, Announcements & Find of

the Month Program7:30 - 7:45 Break7:45 - 9:00 "Digging Berkely Lakeby a group of

RMPTH treasure hunters. Plus, an incredible watertreasure recovery in Maryland.

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January 2012Sun Mon Tue W ed Thu Fri Sat

1New Years Day

2 3 4RMPTH PlanningSession 6:00PRMPTH Meeting 7:00P

5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12Planning Session atLoveland Perkins6:00P

13 14

15 16Martin Luther King,Jr. Day

17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

February 2012Sun Mon Tue W ed Thu Fri Sat

1RMPTH PlanningSession 6:00PRMPTH Meeting 7:00P

2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20Presidents Day

21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29

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RMPTH Field Outing Statement

NOTE: The Coordinators and participants stay in touchand continue to review and plan upcoming presentationsand outings for the year on a monthly basis. Our editorRick 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 programsare in the newsletter and on line at the clubs website.

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

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

fieldtrips, outings, and programs.

The best made plans may change at the last minute dueto 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 ifthere is any question of an event being cancelled or

changed at the last minute.

Troy Michigan News

December, 2011

Ahome remodeling project almost paid off for a

homeowner after sheets of cash were foundinside a wall, according to the Troy Police De-

partment.

The only problem: The money found by workershired to remodel the master bathroom on Kirk Lane

was counterfeit, Lt. Robert Redmond said Thursday.The workers found six 8 1/2-by-11-inch sheets ofprinted $5 bills in the wall, Redmond said.

The homeowner, who haslived in the house for more

than a decade, reportedthe find Monday. Policeforwarded the bills to theSecret Service.

Tarryall (Whiskey Hole)

Colorado

W

hen prospectors arrived here in 1859, theyfound the ruins of a few log cabins believed

to have been those of miners killed by Indi-ans as much as ten years earlier. This may have beenthe sight described by John Fremont where "Parson"Bill Williams, beaver trapper and guide, made a golddiscovery in 1849, one of the first such discoveries bya "Yankee" in Colorado. The 45'ers, perhaps drawn bythe old cabins, panned gold "as big as watermelonseeds" in the creek here. Impressed with their findand feeling magnanimous about it all, they said, "Letus tarry all and share the wealth of the area".

Their invitation was carried far and wide. Before longfortune hunters were flocking here by the hundreds.

But instead of the hospitality they expected, theyfound all the best sites were staked out and the wel-come was a cold one indeed. In disgust they dubbedthe camp "Grab All" and moved on to locate their owncamps and claims. The names of the camps theyfounded included Fairplay, Hamilton, and Jefferson.

Enough managed to stay on at Tarryall to found a city- laid out in 1861. Several hundred persons werehere, and Tarryall became the County Seat of ParkCounty for a short while. John Parsons set up a pri-

vate mint and turned out $2.50 and $5.00 goldpieces. However, the "watermelon seeds" soon gave

out. Many residents left. The town was all but de-serted when some new strikes were made, keepingthe town alive for a few more months. Most of theminers moved to the cities that grew as a reaction tothe treatment received during the first months of Tar-ryall. Others moved to Como, an important station onthe newly constructed railroad. Tarryall was deserted

by 1875.

The Prospector's Quill, November, 2005

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Sluice Clean-UpBy Jim Foley (Alaska)February 4, 1998

H

i folks - Nothing to do here in the cold and darkso I thought I would write something useful. I

am sure a lot of you already know this info. Ifyou do, bear with me, If you don't, enjoy. I use a 5" triplesluice Keene and this clean-upmethod will work with anything 4" and over.

After you have emptied your sluice into a suitable tub,screen the cons with 1/4" screen into a five gallon bucket.Only screen 2-3 scoops at a time so you can carefullycheck what is left in the screen for large nuggets (grin).This process will take less than 5 minutes. I use a 4'metal sluice with armor-weave expanded metal overribbed carpet which I fasten to the end of my dredgesluice. You can fasten it with vise grips but be careful toget it straight or it will funnel water to one side more

than the other.

Be careful that there are no leaks between the twosluices. Start your dredge and let it idle, you should beable to adjust the incline of the sluice with increased ordecreased water flow. If you cannot get it right, placesome rocks under the sluice. I like to have the vee wherethe water necks down in the sluice about 3" downstreamof the place where the expanded metal begins. You cantest it with some lead shot. My setup never allows gold totravel any more than 4-5" down the riffles. I feed thecons into the dredge sluice well upstream of the secon-dary sluice (make sure the carpet and riffles are re-

moved from the dredge sluice). You can feed it in with asmall scoop while watching to make sure that the ex-panded metal in the secondary sluice does not load up.

This works very well for me and gets rid of most of theheavies (mine are magnetite and garnet). Now you canempty what is left in the secondary sluice into a bucket.It should be less than 1/4 of a standard gold pan. Theamount that you now have will be the heaviest of theheavy material. This also can be very hard to pan downso I have made an even smaller sluice out of a three inchsquare conduit channel. The only thing I put in the bot-tom of this sluice is black ribbed rubber matting. I thenset it in the dredge sluice and feed the remaining heaviesinto it very slowly, this will leave very little to pan down.Like most instructions, this seems like a long processbut I can do a dredge cleanup in twenty minutes.

Hope this has helped someone.

From the heart of the Arctic----Jim

Understanding Gold

In the United States the purity of gold is designatedby karat. Pure gold is 24k, but, because of its soft-ness, it is not suitable for making jewelry. Othermetals such as copper, silver, nickel, and zinc areadded to gold to strengthen it. What is added and how

much is added determine the color and karat of thegold.

To make this easier to understand let's take an imagi-nary ring and examine it. The color of the metal isimmediately apparent. Gold comes in several colors,

but let's pretend that this ring is pink gold. Inside thering is stamped 10k. What do these things tell us?First, that the gold was mixed with copper, silver andzinc to make yellow gold. The pink look was achieved

by using a larger quantity of copper. The 10k markassures that 41.67% of the metal is pure gold, and theother 58.33% is copper, silver and zinc. It also indi-

cates that the piece was made in the United States.(other countries do not use 10k). A 14k stamping

would mean that the ring contained 58.33% gold and41.67% other metals. If the ring was marked 18k, it

would contain 75% pure gold and 25% other metals.

In Europe gold is stamped according to its fineness.Pure gold is 1000 fine; 18k gold is 75% or 750 fine.Consequently, an 18k ring made in Europe would bestamped 750. Below is chart of the most commonkarat markings:

US/Karats - %Of Gold Fineness24 100%100022 90%90018 75%75015 62.5%62514 58.33%5831041.67%417937.50%375

Dental Gold

A gold inlay, bridge, crown or other dental appliance

contains gold. Only a small portion of the cost of thistechnical work is due to the cost of the precious met-als used. The knowledge and skill of your dentist andthe laboratory work comprise the majority of the cost.However, there is value associated with the preciousmetal scrap in your old dental work and it is worth

your time to exchange it for cash. The alloys used indental material can contain gold, silver, platinum andpalladium and they all have a cash value.

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Gold Country Flakes

And Pieces

By Jib Favor

When you read books and articles about gold and

prospecting it isnt long before you notice that thereare same statements which are often repeated and

stressed In book after book. These are key phrases that pro-vide much factual information for the recreational gold pros-pector. In addition, these phrases are usually quite easy toremember and they also provide a framework of valuable dataabout all types of placer gold mining. Lets take a look at a fewof these key statements.

All that glitters is not gold - and all gold does not glitter! Acatchy yet very instructive sentence! Many non-gold items glit-ter and can easily fool the beginning prospector. Iron pyrites(commonly referred to as fools gold) almost always glitter inthe pan or sluice as do pieces of mica which frequent goldbearing gravels. On the other hand, there are often pieces ofreal gold which do not glitter because of their high copper con-tent or other mineral or metal contamination. Sometimes goldis hidden within pieces of quartz or iron ores: and is not recog-nizable as gold. Sane nuggets found in desert areas often donot look like a nugget at all and they must be cleaned beforetheir true gold appearance is evident.

Gold s extreme weight makes it move downhill, downstream,and down deep. This is a truth that is basic to all placer goldmining. It is the principle behind all types of placer miningequipment. It is fundamental to the art of prospecting. If therecreational prospector forgets all else - this principle can notbe overlooked!

Trying to get down to bedrock is nearly always a main objec-tive after locating color in any area.

Gold is where you find it! This is probably the most frequentlyused phrase in all gold mining terminology! It is an irrefutablefact! After one has prospected for a few years it becomes evenmore obvious. Gold is often not where you think it should beand very often is where you would never expect to find it! A

very large number of the great gold discoveries in the UnitedStates (and elsewhere) occur in areas where a gold depositwas most unlikely. Many a prospector stumbled onto an out-crop or a placer accumulation. Each of us hopes that somedaywe too will find a hidden pocket. Its one of the fundamentalcharacteristics of gold fever! It spurs us on to keep looking.

Look for gold where others have found it before. Few, if any,locations are ever totally cleaned out. No matter how often the

gravels have been washed there are pieces of gold that weremissed. Also, the early day miners were looking for the richpockets and untouched placer deposits. When the good stuffran out they moved on to the next big find and left much of thegold where it was. Dredge tailing piles often contain a lot ofmissed gold. Many placer gravels on the fringe of the mainoperation were never even touched. Many rich pockets havenever been found. Nuggets lurk where least expected and fre-quently exist where gold has been found before.

Never leave gold to go look for gold! Do not walk away fromgold! This is especially true for the metal detector operator.Where a nugget (large or small) has been found there areprobably more in that same area. Furthermore, there is usuallyalso finer gold present which is not detectable with the detector

bat could be retrieved with other types of equipment. Also, inplacer areas the sluice operator or panner should not leave alocation where the gravel contains gold. Where the little flakesexist, the big ones may not be very far away! In addition,streaks there may be some good pay streaks which furtherdigging will uncover. Persistence in areas with known golddeposits is very important. In places where a glacier haspushed the gold around persistence is doubly important sinceglacial areas are always very spotty and you never knowwhen you will dig into some very rich gravel that will make yourday.

So it pays to remember these oft repeated phrases about gold.They are basic to prospecting success. They dont tell it all bat

they do provide some very fundamental knowledge for the rec-reational prospector. In fact, these statements may well beworth their weight in gold!

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Gold Glossary

Long Tom - Similar to a

sluice box, but longer andskinnier.

Symbol: AUAtomic Number: 79

Atomic Weight: 196.967

Melting Point: 1063 (1945 F)Specific Gravity: 19.2

MOHs Scale of Hardness:2.5 - 3

Karat

24K = 100% Pure Gold18K = 75% Pure Gold14K = 58% Pure Gold10K = 42% Pure Gold

Troy Weights

1 grain = 0.0648 grams24 grains = 1 penny

weight (DWT) = 1.552 grams20 DWT = 1 ounce =

480 grains = 31.10 grams

Gold Fac t s

YOURADVERTISEMENTCOULD BE HERE!Call Rick Mattinglyat 970-613-8968or [email protected]

chemical changes are seen not only in the artifact be coming pro-gressively more clean, but also in the discoloration of the electro-lyte solution as dirt and various chemicals are released into it.

How long does it take for an object to become clean? That de-pends on how badly it is corroded. After a few minutes, unplug

the adaptor, remove the coin or artifact from the solution, andgently rub it with your fingers or a soft toothbrush to remove loos-ened corrosion, then rinse it thoroughly in clean water. If it is ac-ceptably clean, then there is no further need for electrolysis. If itstill needs further cleaning, return it to the solution, and resumeelectrolysis. This process may have to be repeated several timesfor badly corroded or heavily concreted objects. During this proc-ess, should the electrolyte solution become notably discolored,replace it with fresh solution.

Several things should be kept in mind regarding electrolysis.First, it should be remembered that corrosion progressively af-fects the metal of the object, and in advanced stages of corrosion

little or none of the original metal may be left; in other words, allthat may be left is a lump of corrosion more or less resemblingthe original object. This is especially true if the object was madeof thin metal to begin with, or if the metal was one that corrodesespecially easily, such as tin, aluminum, etc. Sometimes, severelycorroded objects will crumble away to nothing when submitted toelectrolysis. Thus, you will have to make the decision whethersubmitting a particular object to electrolysis will likely be worth-

while.

Also, don't be in too big a hurry to clean every object you recover.Keep in mind that cleaning off the layer of corrosion will merelyreveal "what's left" of the object, and in some cases, that is not

very impressive. If the object has reasonably good patina and isaesthetically pleasing, leave it "as is."

A word of caution: from time to time, feel the AC adaptor to deter-mine if it is getting too hot. If so, disconnect it, to let it cool off.Such overheating will occur as the artifact becomes progressivelycleaner. This, in turn, allows for a greater flow of electrical cur-rent to pass through the adaptor, increasing its temperature.Thus, never leave your electrolysis machine on and unattendedfor any length of time.

Careful use of your mini electrolysis machine will help transform

many of those ugly blobs of corrosion into beautiful coins and rel-ics.

With permission of Treasure Quest Magazine


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All mistakes and

misspellings wereintentionally made so

that you could have thepleasure of finding them.

Trading Post

About Trading Post

The News runs classified ads in Trading Postfor 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 TradingPost contact Rick Mattingly at (970) 613-8968evenings

or e-mail at: [email protected]

Commerc ia l Adver t is ing

Spec i f ica t ions

(Monthly Donat ion Rate)

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

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

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

[email protected].

FOR SALE: Keene High Banker, includes stand, hoseand 5 HP Briggs and Stratton pump. Great condition,$900.00 or Best Offer. Contact Cindy Bone at (970)669-8247.

FOR SALE: Prospecting equipment: 4" Dredge andmore plus Whites VSAT Gold Detector. ContactHomer at (970) 224-4244

WANTED: Federal or state duck stamps; mint orused. Contact John Hart at (307) 778-3993.

NOTE:Purchase arrangements are between the buyer and

seller only and involves no financial benefit to RMPTH.

"I love deadlines. I likethe whooshing sound they

make as they fly by."

- Douglas Adams

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WEEKEND & SMALL-SCALEMINERS CODE OF ETHICS

I WILLrespect other prospectors claims and not workthose claims without the owners permission

I WILL have on-site all necessary permits and licenses

I WILLbuild fires in designated or safe places only, andin accordance with current State and Federal guidelines

I WILLbe 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 anddebris that I find -I will not litter

I WILL be thoughtful, considerate and courteous tothose around me at all time

I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of naturalresources, wildlife, fisheries and private property, andrespect all laws or ordinances governing prospectingand mining

I WILL NOTremove stream bank material, destroynatural vegetation or woody debris dams, nor dischargeexcess 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 NOTprospect in areas closed to prospectingand mining

Offer Your Assistance To AnyOf Our Program Coordinators

Amateur Treasure

Hunter Unearths

Ancient Viking King

Published December 15, 2011

CANFORTH, England A British man rewrote medieval history on hislunch break when he unearthed evidence of a previously-unknown Viking king.

Darren Webster, a metal detector enthusiast, stopped bya field near Canforth, northern England, to practice hishobby and uncovered a hoard of silver Viking treasureburied three feet (0.9 meters) below the earth, The(London) Times reported Thursday.

"My machine was telling me that I'd found some kind ofsilver," Webster said. "So I was slightly disheartenedwhen I saw a lead pot. It was as I was lifting it that silverpieces started falling out of it."

The 201 silver objects -- including 27 coins, 10 arm-rings, six brooch fragments, two finger rings, a fine wirebraid and 14 ingots -- were put on display at the BritishMuseum.

Dr. Gareth Williams, the museum's curator of early me-dieval coins, said the haul probably would fetch a "highfive-figure sum."

When the exact value of the silver hoard is calculatednext year, Webster will be allowed to keep half of itsvalue under the UK's Treasure Act, with the owner of thefield, who wished to remain anonymous, taking the otherhalf.

Most interesting among the haul was one of the coins,which experts believe bears the name of a previously un-known ruler of Northern England. The coin reads"Airedeconut" -- thought to be an attempt to representthe Scandinavian name "Harthacnut," according to somereports.

Other coins in the collection date to the time of Alfredthe Great, who reigned 871 to 899.

Researchers now will try to uncover more details aboutthe mysterious king, who would have ruled Northum-bria, northeastern England, at a time when the Vikingswere settling in Britain and converting to Christianity

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Month Meeting Program Trip/Activity

January East Coast Treasure FoundBerkely Lake Treasure Recovered

No Trip/Activity Scheduled

February No Trip/Activity Scheduled

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

NovemberAnnual Show & Tell &

Silent Auction

DecemberAnnual Find of the Year Awards &

Christmas PartyFlatirons Mineral Club & Model Train Show

Good Hunting in 2012!

Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club2012 Schedule of Events

Planning

For201

0Under

way-

StayTun

ed!

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Rocky MountainProspectors & Treasure Hunters

Contact ListRMPTH Coordinators Home E-Mail

Coordinator Paul Lange 1-970-663-5776 [email protected]

Coordinator Robert Crain 1-970-484-6488

Coordinator Bryan Morgan 1-970-416-0608 [email protected]

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

The News Staff

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

Assistant Editor Dick French 1-970-482-2110 [email protected]

Internet Web Site

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

Volunteers/Coordinators

Find of the MonthJoe JohnstonBetsy EmondPaul Mayhak

1-303-696-69501-970-218-02901-970-482-7846

[email protected]

[email protected]

PresentationsPaul LangeJohnny Berndsen

1-970-663-57761-970-667-1006

[email protected]

Club Historian Peggy Stumpf 1-307-632-9945 [email protected]

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

Panning DemosBryan MorganDarrell Koleber

1-970-416-06081-970-669-2599

[email protected]@yahoo.com

Setup &Refreshments

Volunteer Needed!

Door PrizeTom WarneJacob WoottonJohnny Berndsen

1-970-635-07731-970-980-60161-970-667-1006

[email protected]@yahoo.com

General Information Contact: Paul Lange at 1-970-663-5776

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

Lets Go For The Gold !

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The NewsRocky Mountain Prospectors &Treasure Hunters Club

P.O. Box 271863Fort Collins, CO. 80527-1863

JANUARY, 2012 ISSUE

RMPTH0112

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