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Odd Things In Wrong

Places

A

s man digs and scrapes and drills into the mysteri-ous earth, many surprising finds are made. It fol-lows that mining and farming have been fruitful

sources of curious finds in the past. We can feel strongregrets that as both occupations have become more andmore mechanized, fewer and fewer finds of value for scien-tific study will occur. The following interesting items maketwo important points. If conventional dating is followed,ancient man seems to be far more ancient than he should

be. In fact, he must have been thriving before he is sup-posed to have evolved. Second, ancient man was a verysophisticated person. There is no indication that his brain

gradually evolved. Both of these conclusions, obviously,are completely opposite to evolutionary theory.

One of the most prodigious lava flow in the history of theworld occurred in the Pacific Northwest. The lava spreadover an estimated 200,000 square miles in depths up to5,000 feet. In 1972, a competent geologist stated that theeruptions took place a mere fifteen million years ago.Much of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and portions ofneighboring states, was covered. The immense age of thedeposit can easily be imagined by the fact that the SnakeRiver has cut canyons through the deposit to depths of upto 3000 feet.

Still, there are several curious things about this lava flow.Many competent observers have commented on the re-markable freshness of the deposit, as though the eruptionstook place in very recent times. A startling find was made

in 1889 near Nampa, Idaho. While workers were boring anartesian well, a small figurine of baked clay was extractedfrom a depth of 320 feet. Above the figurine, the drill, in-side a 6-inch tubing, had cut through fifteen feet of basaltlava and many other strata. The find has never been chal-lenged except to say that it was impossible. The conclusionis unmistakable. Before the basalt flowed, sophisticatedhumans lived in the area (Velikovsky, 1955, p.87; Pensee ,May 1972, 2:2, p.18). Ancient men lived in California.

(Continued on page 3)

v. 16, n. 4 April, 2012 Going for the Gold

The News

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

Contents

If you don't read the newspaper you are unin-formed, if you do read the newspaper you aremisinformed.

-- Mark Twain

1 Odd Things In Wrong Places2 About The News6 Silver Coin Cleaning

7 Annual Prospecting & DetectingClinic at Lions Park8 Dangerous Treasure Find8 Potato Creek Johnny9 How To Tie Your Boots10 Calendar of Events11 Calendars12 Street Panning12 Breckenridge Gold & Toms Baby14 Medieval Badge Find16 Trading Post18 2012 Schedule of Events

19 Contact List

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Page 2 The News, April 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.

What have we learned in 2,064 years?

So here it is.

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,

public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom shouldbe tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands shouldbe curtailed lest our government become bankrupt. People must again learn towork, instead of living on public assistance."

- Cicero - 55 BCSo, evidently nothing.

Thanks to Mike Mehaffey

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Page 3The News, April 2012

man lived there before the glacial advance. Scientists donot want to put man in America that long ago (Folsom,1971, p.70; p.184). Such finds are no problem for crea-tionists who see no conflict for such finds within a biblicaltime framework.

A strange account comes from the little village of PlateauCity, Colorado, a short distance east of Grand Junction. Aresident was digging a cellar in 1936. At a depth of ten feet

he found paved tile laid in some kind of mortar, differentfrom any other construction in the valley. While the tilesare dated anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 years old, theylie in a Miocene formation, which could make it up to25,000,000 years old by conventional dating (Edward,1962, p.100-101).

In 1871 near Chillicothe, Illinois, well drillers brought upa bronze coin from a depth of 114 feet. This remarkablediscovery was described in the Proceedings of the Ameri-can Philosophic Society . This is additional evidence thatman had been present there. Rapid change of the terrain isalso indicated (Edwards, 1962, p.101).

Heizer notes a number of impossibilities according to com-monly accepted geological dating: a hyena tooth sawed bya flint before it became fossilized, cutting operations onthe fossilized bone of an extinct rhinoceros and on otheranimals at a site near Paris, and evidence of the use of asharp tool on the horn of fossilized rhino remains in Ire-land. Under the surface of the North Sea the trunk of anoak was removed from a long submerged forest. The trunkshowed the marks of a hatchet on it. (Heizer, 1962, p.107-114).

Should "age" depend on where you find it?

Conventional theory has early hunters migrating from Asiato America. One of the best known early projectile pointsis the Folsom point, and the identical pattern is found

both in China and over much of America. It is of particularinterest that this point is dated as early as 10,000 B.C. in

America, but no earlier than 2000 B.C. in China (Mertz,1972, p.99). Theory, however, requires the points in Chinato be older.

Conventional dating places the formation of many coaldeposits at about 300,000,000 years ago. Other coal for-mation took place in Tertiary times. Man, of course, ac-cording to evolutionary theory did not 'emerge' until sev-eral million years ago. From time to time, some very oddthings have been reported in coal. Modern methods of coalmining make other similar finds unlikely today. The fol-lowing reports have stirred considerable question and de-

bate:

In 1885 at a foundry belonging to Isidor Braun of Vockla-bruck, Austria, a block of coal was broken up. Out of it fella small iron or steel cube with a deep incision around itand with the edges rounded on two faces. Some who exam-ined it concluded that only human hands could have madethe object. The son of the owner later took it to the Linz


They worked the hardest stones, fabricated perfect granitemortars and dishes, used a circular, skillet-like vesselmade of lava, hard as iron, which had three legs and aspout, made polished stone axes with perfect holes drilledin them for a handle, and fashioned ladles, disks orquoits. They were able to bore into the bowels of moun-tains for gold and silver.

One ancient shaft was drilled 210 feet down into solidrock. An altar for worship was found there. Other findsinclude the following: a mortar for grinding gold ore at adepth of 300 feet in a mining tunnel, a mortar and pestle

weighing 30 pounds, beads, perforated stones, a 40-poundoval granite dish. One human skull was found at a depthof 130 feet under five beds of lava and tufa separated bylayers of gravel. Man came before the lava flowed, anddeep canyons have been cut by rivers since the lavaspread. An amazing number of stone relics have beenfound. The finding are almost always in gold-bearing rockor gravels (Victoria Institute , 1879, 15:193-198).

A California newspaper reported the find of an elaborately

carved rock and other worked stones weighing up to 800pounds which had been found in hydraulic operationshundreds of feet underground. The original site was anancient river bed dated long before the last Ice Age(Edward, 1964, p.109).

Nothing describes what has been discovered in Californiaquite as well as Job 28 (TEV). Similar locations have beenstudied in many parts of the world. Read this detailed andsophisticated memory of what mining in ancient times waslike.

Far from where anyone lives or human feet ever travel,men dig the shafts of mines. There they work in loneli-ness, clinging to ropes in the pits. There are mines wheresilver is dug. There are places where gold is refined. Mendig iron out of the ground and melt copper out of thestones. Men explore the deepest darkness. They search thedepths of the earth and dig for rocks in the darkness.Food grows out of the earth, but underneath the sameearth all is torn up and crushed. The stones of the earthcontain sapphires, and the dust contains gold. No hawksees the roads to the mines, and no vulture ever flies overthem. No lion or other fierce beast ever travels those lonelyroads. Men dig the hardest rocks, dig mountains away attheir base. As they tunnel through the rock, they discoverprecious stones. They dig to the sources of rivers and

bring to light what is hidden. The value of wisdom is morethan coral, or crystal, or rubies, or the finest topaz and thepurest gold.

In the museum at Moses Lake, Washington, are some verycrude scrapers on exhibit which were found under a gla-cial morain. This would appear to date man in Washingtonto a time before the Pleistocene epoch, which scientists arereluctant to do. A similar discovery was made near Sud-

bury, Ontario, Canada. Crude choppers and scrapers ofquartzite were found deep in the earth and had been tum-

bled and mixed in glacial till. Again this is evidence that

(Continued from page 1)

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- Warning -If you don't go prospecting

or detecting within the next

5 minutes, your belly button will

unscrew and your butt will fall off.

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.

Gold Glossary

Bucket Line Dredge - Unlike the modern, small scale

dredges; a bucket line dredge was very large. Instead of

sucking up water and gravel through the use of water pres-

sure, the bucket line dredges would scoop it up and run it

through a long sluice box. Only 10 cents of gold was needed

for each square yard of material to make a profit back

when these dredges were common in the 1890s and on into

the early 1900s.

Museum in Austria, but later it was lost. A cast of thecube, however, is still kept by the museum.

The debate was never closed. One authority in 1886 held itto be an iron meteorite. Unfortunately there is no longer a

way to verify that the object was actually encased in browncoal. Some hold that it is merely a cast iron object whichmay have originated in the foundry where it was discov-

ered (Thomas, 1971, p.28-29).

In 1912, some coal mined near Wilburton, Oklahoma, re-vealed a mystery which has still not been solved. Two em-ployees of the Municipal Electric Plant, Thomas, Okla-homa, came upon a solid chunk of coal too large for thefurnace. They broke it up with a sledge. An iron pot fellfrom the center where it had left an impression or mold inthe piece of coal. An affidavit was made out by the two wit-nesses, and the pot was photographed. Many persons ex-amined this strange object.

After the exhibitor died, the pot was disposed of in someway and is now lost.

The proceedings of a society of antiquities, Scotland, re-ported a similar strange discovery. An iron instrumenthad been found in the heart of a piece of coal from a minein Scotland. The instrument was considered to be modern,

but there was no sign of boring in the piece of coal.

Some years ago Henry Morris reported that he had inter-viewed a coal miner in West Virginia who had excavated aperfectly formed human leg turned into coal. Years beforein the same general area another party of miners un-earthed a well-constructed concrete building. Not enoughinformation exists to evaluate these supposed finds(CRSQ , 1970, 7:4, p.201; 1968, 5:4, p.147; Fort, 1941,p.127-128).

In the collection of the Freiberg Mining Academy, Ger-many, was an object supposed to be a fossilized humanskull in brown coal, first described in 1842, before Dar-

win's book on the origin of species. The specific source ofthe 'skull' is unknown. While the object is frequently la-

beled as a fake, the early date of its description is in itsfavor. A scientist in Germany referred to it as a puzzlinghuman skull a few decades ago. The matter is still an openquestion, but the problem is that it was found in a forma-tion too old for it by conventional dating assumptions(CRSQ , 1968, 5:4, p.132).

Other strange things have been reported found in rocks.For example, a nail was reported by David Brewster in asandstone block from the Mesozoic Era. Another reportindicates that it was discovered in Old Red Sandstone ofDevonian age. In a report of the British Association, 1845-1851, it was stated that a nail was found in a block ofstone from the Kingoodie Quarry, Scotland. The block wasnine inches thick and came from below the surface. Thepoint of the nail projected into some till and was quiteeaten with rust, but the last inch, including the head, was



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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.

Little Facts:

In 1890, billfolds came into fashion in America. What did menuse prior to 1890? Purses. There was less chance of losingone's coins.

Ever wonder why some coins have ridges on their side? Thepenny and the nickel do not have ridges because they weremade of less valuable metals. The dime, quarter, half-dollar,

and dollar have ridges because they were made of silver.People use to shave off the silver on coins to accumulate avaluable metal. The ridges would help reveal if someone hadshaved off some metal of a coin.

From The Silver Dollar NewsNorth Coast Historical Recovery Association

embedded in the stone (Charroux, 1970, p.181); Fort,1941, p.131).

Workmen quarrying rock near Tweed below RutherfordMills discovered a gold thread embedded in stone at adepth of eight feet. A piece of this object was sent to theoffice of the Kelso Chronicle in that district (Fort, 1941,p.130).

A report was carried in Scientific American that in June,1851, workmen were blasting near Dorchester, Massachu-setts. Cast out from a bed of solid rock was a bell-shapedmetal vessel. A photo of the vessel, with inlaid floral de-signs in silver, showed a remarkably high degree of crafts-manship (Fort, 1941, p.128).

In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors cameacross an iron nail about six inches long solidly encrustedin rock in a Peruvian mine. The rock was estimated to betens of thousands of years old. Iron was unknown to theIndians there. The Spanish Viceroy kept the mysteriousnail in his study as a souvenir, and the account of this find

was recorded by letter in the Madrid Archives, 1572. An-other odd report in the London Times , 1851, stated thatHiram de Witt found a piece of gold-bearing quartz in Cali-fornia. When it was accidentally dropped, an iron nail witha perfect head was found inside (Thomas, 1971, p.29).

Many of these curious reports cannot be verified to oursatisfaction today. The reports seem to this observer, how-ever, to be too varied and widespread to be nothing buthoaxes. In this section again, we see many reasons to re-spect the sophistication of men who lived long ago. Theconcept of a young earth here too fits well with the kind offinds that have been made.


Refreshment Volunteers

AprilAnson OwensMayAnne Nichols & Ray McGehee

June Need Volunteer!JulyEd & Mia EdwardsAugust Rick MattinglySeptemberDick & Sharon FrenchOctoberJohnny & Jeanne BerndsenNovember Barb Schuldt

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Silver Coin Cleaning

The following is a method of cleaning silvercoins that is probably the best way possible topreserve the value of your find. Use at yourown risk!! It is only being provided to you on thispage for informational purposes. (That's the dis-

claimer) Neither the author of this page or the authorof the following procedure makes any guarantees or

will be held responsible for any damage done by usingthis procedure.

There are many different methods of electrolysis.This is the one that works for me. I even use thismethod on Spanish reales that I find. I think it is oneof the safest IF USED CORRECTLY! This method ofelectrolysis actually expels most of the salt & mineralsabsorbed by the silver. You'll need the followingitems:

A plastic bucket--I use a one gallon bucket Some very heavy stainless steel wire (about thesame thickness as a coat hanger) Some sort of plate or even a knife blade (I used a

butter dish at first) A few (maybe three) plastic clothes pins. A power supply--I use an AC adaptor with 120 volt

AC 60 Hz 2watt input and 9volt 100milliamp output.(Too much output power will cook your coins quickly,and only in one spot.) Two alligator clips

Make a small holein each side of thebucket, about ahalf inch down.Place the wirethrough and bendeach side so it

won't come out.Then you bend theknife blade, butterdish or whatever

you have (it has tobe stainless

steel!!) so it will bedown near the

bottom of thebucket. A bit of it has to stick up enough so you canhook a wire clamp to it. I drilled a hole in each end ofmy clothes pin and fashioned a piece of wire into ahook at the top, and on the bottom (with the samepiece of wire) bent it so when a coin is clipped in it's

grasp it touches the wire. Attach the alligator clips tothe wire ends. Now you can put some water in the

bucket so that when the cloths pins are hung on the

Breck enr idge Gold His tory

In the Breckenridge or Blue River district, includingthe upper valley of the Blue River between theFront Range on the East and the Tenmile Rangeon the West had a total production of 1,000,000gold ounces of which 735,000 ounces came fromplacer deposits. In all regional stream channels,gulches, benches, etc. you can find placers. Eastand northeast of town, in area of about 5 squaremiles, there are many lead-silver mines that pro-duced a by-product gold.

In Georgia Gulch, on North side of Farncomb Hill,rich area placers discovered in 1859, area lodemines, discovered in 1880, especially the Welling-ton Mine, chief producer, it was so rich in nativegold that pockets supplied collectors and museumsthroughout the world with specimens of wire andleaf gold. Along the Swan and Blue rivers, manydeep placers worked by dredges after 1900.

wire and the coins are clamped in the jaws the coinjust gets covered by the water.

If I remember right, the negative terminal gets at-tached to the butter dish or what ever you have in the

bottom, and the positive goes on the top wire. Youmust look for the small bubbles coming off of thecoin. That will signal the right connection. Don't let

the wire touch the water, only the stainless steel. Ifthe dirt and residue start to cling onto the butter dishthen you are ok, if not, switch wires. I use two tea-spoons of soda ash in the water to speed up the proc-ess. The soda ash is the same kind as used for spasto increase the pH. NOT BAKING SODA! This is afairly slow process. Don't try to rush it! But don'tleave it unattended for long! You will need to turn thecoin every few minutes. You should take the coin outand rub it between your fingers with a paste of bakingsoda and water. If you have a coin that you thinkcould be worth a lot of money, HAVE IT CLEANEDBY A PROFESSIONAL, don't take any chances! Good

luck!

Larry Beatson, Past PresidentTreasure Coast Archeological Societyhttp://www.tcas.us/tcasclean.htm

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suitcase. So, it could be extremely volatile," said MCSOOfc. Chris Hegstrom.

About twenty-five people were evacuated from thetrailer park while the bomb squad put the briefcase in aspecial explosives trailer and hauled it away to be de-stroyed.

Ellinger said he plans to continue his prospecting in the

desert. He even runs a prospecting website."I go out there just to have fun. Its really the thrill ofthe hunt, never knowing what youll find, as you cansee," said Ellinger.

Dangerous Treasure

Find

Treasure Hunter F inds

Br iefc ase Ful l Of Dynam ite

Donna RossiReporter, KPHO CBS 5 News

June 1, 2011

MESA, Ariz. --

Aman was treasure hunting in the Arizonadesert when he came across a briefcase filledwith dynamite, the Maricopa County Sheriff'sOffice said.

Jeremy Ellinger was headed toward Bulldog Canyonnear the Salt River using a metal detector when hefound the briefcase buried under a stack of boulders.

The briefcase was locked so Ellinger took it home to histrailer near Ellsworth Road and Main Street in Mesa.

"I was thinking it was full of cash or money so I ranhome with it. I was so nervous that someone else wouldcome by and see that I found a briefcase out there andso all the nerves in me said to get it in the truck andleave," said Ellinger.

When he pried openthe briefcase, heinitially only saw oldnewspapers.

"I started peelingapart some of thenewspaper and thensaw a few itemswrapped in thenewspaper. Once Igotit fully open, I sawthe actual stick ofdynamite in thereand there was aboutsix bags like thatwrapped up in

there," said Ellinger.

The treasure hunter said he got scared and wasn't surewhat to do. He just knew he wanted it out of thehouse.

Maricopa County sheriff's deputies were called to thescene. Bomb technicians brought out special equipmentto handle the briefcase.

"It does appear to be explosives from the late 70s early80's that have been sitting out there for a while in this

Potato Creek Johnny

Potato Creek Johnnys real name was JohnPerrett. In 1883, when he was 17, he immi-

grated to the Black Hills from Wales. PotatoCreek Johnny had various jobs in the area but at 25decided that he would become a gold prospector. He

began a claim on Potato Creek (part of SpearfishCreek), which gave himhis nickname and even-tually led to his claim tofame. In 1929, PotatoCreek Johnny made his-tory when he purportedlyfound one of the largest

gold nuggets in the Black

Hills. The weight of theleg-shaped nugget was 7-3/4 troy ounces. In later

years W.E. Adamsbought the nugget for$250 and put it on dis-play in the Adams Mu-seum. A replica of thenugget is on display atthe Adams Museum and the original is stored in themuseum safe deposit box. The nugget made PotatoCreek Johnny famous in Deadwood and in the late1930s, early 1940s visitors would watch Johnny pan

gold, hear him tell tales, get his autograph, or visithim at his cabin on Potato Creek. He was a particu-larly big attraction for children because Johnny wasonly 4 feet 3 inches tall. Potato Creek Johnny died atthe age of 77 in Deadwood in February 1943. The fu-neral procession passed by the Adams Museum andcarillon chimes tolled 77 times. Potato Creek Johnnyis buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery alongside Wild BillHickok and Calamity Jane.

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1880's Placer Mining

Below is a link to a 64 page document about placer

mining from around the 1880s. It has information on

the placer gold mines operating at the time in twelve

states and the Dakota Territory. If there was a pay-

ing gold mine in a given area in 1880 thats a greatarea for you to prospect today.

The document also points out where gold miners

might come across diamonds, rubies, and other pre-

cious minerals.

Heres the LINK.

http://www.gold-prospecting-equipment.net/

category/colorado-mining/

How To Tie Your Boots

For Gold Hunting

By Rod

January 5, 2012

Tie Your Gold Hunting Boots

Now I know some of you are thinking, whatthe? Seriously, tying your boots right justmight save your life. Im not going to say therabbit goes around the hole, then he.

Think about it, every time we go hiking we walk somevery uneven surfaces and most of us either carry ourpick in our hand, over our shoulder or on a belt at-tachment. Ive seen someone fall on their pick and

believe me, you do not want to be that guy. And if theterrain is not enough of a concern, think about howone trip could send you down an old shaft.

So how do you tie your boots properly? Double knotthem, then shove the knot deep within the laces or

boot, thats how I do it and knock on wood, its neverfailed. Sometimes its the little things. As always, GoodLuck and Happy Hunting!

Arizona Gold Prospectorshttp://www.arizonagoldprospectors.com/2012/01/how-

to-tie-your-boots-for-gold-hunting/

EdCommon sense does pay off!

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Calendar of Events

MAP TO TH E MEETING PLACE

Pul liam Comm uni ty Bui ld ing

545 Cleveland Avenue , Lovela nd, 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.

Apr i l Meet ingWednesday, April 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 "Found Explosives Safety

Presentation"by Rick Mattingly. Come to the meetingand learn what NOT to pick up out in the field.

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Ap r il 2 0 12Su n M o n Tu e W e d Th u F r i Sa t

1Palm SundayApril Fools Day

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

5 6Good Friday 7

8Easter Sunday

9 10 11 12 13 14Berkely LakeDetector Outing

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28Prospecting, Detect-ing & More Clinic atLions Park

29 30

M a y 20 12Su n M o n Tu e W e d Th u F r i Sa t

1 2RMPTH PlanningSession 6:00PRMPTH Meeting 7:00P

3 4 5Keota Ghost TownOuting

6 7 8 9 10 11 12GPOC Lets GoGold Panning

13Mothers DayGPOC Lets GoGold Panning

14 15 16 17 18 19Armed Forces Day

20 21 22 23 24 25 26Clear Creek GoldOuting

27 28Memorial Day

29 30 31

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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.

Street Panning

U.S. man digging t hrough sidew alk

d iscovers t reasure wor t h $819

From ANINew York, June 20, 2011

Aman from Queens, New York, leaves onlook-ers stunned as he hunts out bits of diamonds,rubies, platinum and gold from the sidewalkcracks of Midtown's Diamond District.

Raffi Stepanian, 43, of Whitestone, comes armed withtweezers and a butter knife, and pans" the preciousparticles like an old-fashioned prospector-by hand, ina small metal basin with water and a strainer.

"The streets of 47th Street are literally paved with

gold," Stepanian told the New York Post last week.

The freelance diamond setter explained that he wassifting through "very valuable" New York City mud fortiny diamond and ruby chips, bits of platinum, white-

gold industrial loops for jewelry assembly, and goldearring backs and loops from broken chains,

watches, broaches and necklaces - all carelesslydropped.

Over six days, he says, he collected enough gold fortwo sales totaling 819 dollars on 47th Street where hefirst got the idea to mine the sidewalks after finding

gold scraps on the floor of a diamond exchange."

Mineral Specimen Identification

As part of their community outreach, Metropoli-tan State College of Denver, Dep. of Earth &Atmospheric Science, Professional ServicesDivision offers FREE MINERAL SPECIMENIDENTIFICATION. Participants will aid in the

education of future Geoscientists!

Details and specimen submittal forms withinstructions can be downloaded from:

SPECIAL OFFER FREE MINERALSPECIMEN

http://college.earthscienceeducation.net/MINPET/MINID.pdf

Breckenridge Gold &

Tom's Baby

by Johnny Walker

Breckenridge started as a small mining camp in1859, and at the peak of the gold rush wasnamed after then Vice-President John CabellBreckinridge to guarantee a post office for the town.They later changed the spelling to Breckenridge afterthe politician joined the Southern Confederate Armyin the Civil War.


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In 1887, Breckenridge became famous for the find ofthe largest gold nugget in Colorado, the 13-pound"Tom's Baby".

On July 23, 1887, the largest gold nugget ever foundin the State of Colorado was discovered in Brecken-

ridge. Tom Groves walked into the town cradling theblanket wrapped bundle in his arms, and it was ap-propriately named "Tom's Baby", weighing in at 13.5lbs.

Three days later the nugget was sent to Denver viatrain...it then disappeared for 85 years.

Rumors surrounding the nugget's 85 years of freedomare abundant, including that it was shown at theSmithsonian, the Peabody Museum, Harvard Univer-sity and Chicago's Field Museum, but none could be

verified.

Tom's Baby was essentially kidnapped.

In 1972, the Colorado State Historical Museum wasprodded into examining gold specimens that had beendeposited in a Denver bank in 1926. Sure enough,

(Continued from page 12) Tom's Baby wasfound, but over5 lbs are stillmissing.

Breckenridge isjust over the hillfrom South

Park. Geologistshave made thestatement"These goldfields containmore gold thanhas been takenout by all themining doneover the last120 years."

http://www.coloradovacation.com/history/tomsbaby.html

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Medieval Badge Find

Badge dug up in f ie ld is m edieva l t reasure

Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk,Monday 20 June 2011

Scrap of twisted silver found by metal detectorin Lancashire will be part of British Museum'sexhibition of reliquaries.

A scrap of twisted silver found a few weeks ago by ametal detector in Lancashire will take its place amongmasterpieces of medieval art at the British Museum,in an exhibition opening this week of the bejewelledshrines made to hold the relics of saints and martyrs.

The badge made of silver found by Paul King, a re-tired logistics expert, is a humble object to earn aplace in an exhibitioncalled Treasures ofHeaven, but it is unique.It will sit among gold andsilver reliquaries studded

with gems the size ofthumbnails or the sock-ets from which they were

wrenched by thieves once owned by emperors,popes and princes.

The badge, the only one of

its kind ever found inBritain, provides a link500 years ago betweenthis corner of rural Lan-cashire and the great pil-

grimage sites of mainland Europe. It shows one of thecompanions of St Ursula, one of the most popularmystical legends of medieval Europe. She was said to

be a British princess who sailed with 11,000 virgincompanions to marry a pagan prince in Brittany, butdiverted to go on a pilgrimage to Rome and in some

versions of the story, Jerusalem.

After many adventures they came to Cologne, whereall were slaughtered by Hun tribesmen. When a largecemetery of Roman era bones was found in the city inthe 11th century, they were declared the remains ofthe saint and her companions, and her cult spreadacross Europe.

King, a member of the South Ribble metal detectingclub, found the silver plaque at the end of April in afield some miles from his home in Walton-le-Dale,

where he had already found several hundred Victo-

rian coins, but returned with the blessing of the land-owner for a sweep with his new more high-poweredmetal detector.

"I knew immediately she was something special," hesaid. "I think she was hidden deliberately she wasfolded over, not damaged by a plough strike in any

way. It is extraordinary and moving to think how

much history is locked up in this little piece of metal."

Although a church in Cologne holds her shrine and awhole chapel still decorated with the supposed bonesof her companions, there were so many bones thatthe relics spread across Europe and beyond. Some ofthe most beautiful reliquaries, life sized busts of fash-ionably dressed young women, were made to hold the

bones. The badge from Lancashire is a representationof just such a shrine - and so close in style and early16th century date that it may come from the sameBruges workshop as the one in the exhibition on loanfrom the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

The Metropolitan reli-quary, of a gently smil-ing young woman withher hair in a modishplaited style, is so al-luring it has becomethe exhibition poster.The badge would have

been bought as a sou-venir by the Lancashirepilgrim from just sucha shrine.

British Museum cura-tor James Robinsonsaid he was "beside

myself with excitement" when he saw an image of thefind. "To be honest if I hadn't been working on theexhibition it might have taken me a while to clock it as it is I recognised her immediately as one of thecompanions of St Ursula. I hesitate to call it a mira-cle, but it is a most extraordinary coincidence thatthis should turn up just at this time."

He believes it is even possible that a similar reliquarymay have been the centre of a shrine in Britain, de-stroyed as the cult of relics was condemned as idola-trous and blasphemous by religious reformers.

"The badge may be the only fragile, ephemeral piece ofevidence for a cult of St Ursula in the north of Eng-land, that might have had at its centre a bust reli-quary of continental manufacture."


Silver badge of one of St Ursula's companions, found in Lancashire.

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Gold Glossary

Alluvial Or Bench Deposits - An alluvial

deposit is an ancient river-washed rock and

gravel bar that may be thousands of feet

from the nearest stream, creek, or river.

Alluvial (or bench) deposits contain un-tapped potential for finding gold because

such areas have never been worked before.

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] get permission first!

The exhibition will include reliquaries which the faithful believedonce held the breast milk of the Virgin Mary, the umbilical cord ofthe baby Jesus, the arm of Saint Luke - holding a golden pen tosymbolize the gospels he wrote - and many still containing frag-ments of wood claimed to come from the cross on which Christdied. A carved icon of the Virgin which according to tradition wastaken from the neck of the dead emperor Charlemagne, was one

of the treasures of Aachen cathedral until it was given as presentto Napoleon's Josephine. Some of the loans have never before leftthe churches or villages where they have been venerated for centu-ries. Many were believed to have miraculous powers, and madethe places that held them wealthy pilgrimage sites - as Canterburycathedral was for the relics of the martyred Thomas a Becket, andSantiago de Compostela in Spain remains to this day.

King, who has always been interested in history and spends daysresearching his finds in museums and archives, reported it underthe Portable Antiquities scheme which encourages metal detectorsto report all their archaeological finds, but she proved to be silverand so legally treasure which must be reported. When valued - the

price will be shared between King and the landowner - Robinsonhopes the British Museum will acquire her to find a permanentresting place in its medieval galleries.


Whites DFX

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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 i s ing

Spec i f i ca t i ons

(Month ly 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:Whites GMT Gold Detector. Extra bat-tery case. $600 Firm. Call Paul at (970) 482-7846.

WANTED: Silver coins - all dimes, quarters, half dol-lars, and dollars dated 1964 and before. I will pay18x face value for silver coins. $1.80 for dimes, $4.50for quarters, $9.00 for halves and $18.00 for dollars.Bring your coins to the next RMPTH meeting or con-tact me by phone. Contact Zach at (970) 308-8391.

WANTED: Used lapidary equipment. Call Kathie 970-221-1623

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.

Foreign aid might be defined as atransfer of money from poor people in

rich countries to rich people in poor

countries.

-- Douglas Casey, Classmate of

Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

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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

Double-jack hand drilling contest at Fourth of Julycelebration, Victor, Colorado 1890.

One man holds the drill bit and his partner swingsthe sledge. This method was used to drill blastingholes in the rock while mining. The only thing that

could possibly make this more exciting would be do-ing it by the flickering light of mining candles in the

mine!If you value your hands or head better hope yoursledge partner is your close buddy!

Montana Gold!

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Month Meeting Program Trip/Activity

January East Coast Silver Treasure FindBerkely Lake Detecting

No Trip/Activity Scheduled

FebruaryGold Wheel Recovery Systems Presentation

By Darrell KoleberNo Trip/Activity Scheduled

March Historic Gold Scale Presentation GPS, Compass & Map Clinic

AprilFound Explosives Safety Presentation

Prospecting, Detecting & More Clinic at Lions Park -Advertised and Open to the Public

Berkely Lake Detector Outing

MayGold and Platinum in WyomingBy Wayne Sutherland, WGS

GPOC Lets Go Gold Panning On The Arkansas EventClear Creek Gold OutingKeota Ghost Town Outing

JuneDetecting Presentation

By Tom Warne & Rick MattinglyEldora Ski Resort Detector Outing

July Spanish Treasure Trails PresentationTeller City Ghost Town TourNorth Park Sand Dunes Tour

Eldora Ski Resort Detector Outing

AugustGold Refining Presentation

By David Emslie

Ames Monument Tour and Vedauwoo Detector OutingLucite Hills Gem Outing

Vics Gold Panning Outing

SeptemberCripple Creek Historic Video

By Johnny Berndsen

Annual Coin & Prize HuntColorado Mineral & Fossil ShowDenver

Off-Road Detector Outing

OctoberRailhead Camp Presentation

By Rick Mattingly

Off-Road Detector Outing

NovemberAnnual Show & Tell &

Silent AuctionLocal Detector Outing

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

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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 Demos Bryan 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: Rick Mattingly at 1-970-613-8968

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

APRIL, 2012 ISSUE

RMPTH0412

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