WHITE GOLD QUARTZ SPECIMEN 1.15 GRAM NATURAL CALIFORNIA GOLD AND QUARTZ

Description

NATIVE GOLD QUARTZ SPECIMEN
from the
MOTHER LODE
R
uler is
1/4"
wide (6 mm). U.S. 10 cent coin is 17 mm in diameter.
S
pecimen weight:
1.15
G
ram -
17.8
G
rains
S
ize:
11.8X9X8.1
mm
Q
uartz, by itself, isn't very impressive unless it's laden with perfectly-terminated crystals. Intruded with a precious, yellow metal, it becomes something else. Now we've entered into the mystical realm of GOLD! Amongst the countless metallic mineral associations which occur in nature, this, in my book, is one of the most exciting. While not a large specimen, there's no need for a pocket lens to see the exposures of gold. Featured specimen was Born-in-the-U.S.A. and is naturally-occurring. I guarantee it.
All my rocks show visible gold and are
authentic
.
I don't sell low grade ores. I sell only gold ores with visible gold. Most are from the U.S. These high-grade beauties are expensive to obtain and even harder to find. My prices aren't based upon the amount of gold contained, but on the authenticity, rarity and collectability of the specimens.
U.S. SHIPPING - .00
(includes USPS tracking to all U.S. destinations)
INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS S&H
.50
FAST REFUND OFFERED
(If, for any reason, you're not happy with this item)
For years, I poured through old mining dumps inspecting orange-yellow-rust rock through a loupe. In all that time, I never found a solitary piece with visible gold. Doesn't that seem strange to you? It does to me, law of averages and all. Oh yeah! Tell me how easy it is to find gold. It's not! That's the reality of it, and yet, having spent eighteen years in the placer fields of North American, I still think a person stands a decent chance of locating minable gold deposits provided they have the right tools and the right claim.
Hydrothermal solutions carried gold and silica into fissures. These minerals hardened or crystallized thus creating gold veins. This is how gold quartz, as they are known, came to be. The specimen offered here comes from one of the many vein systems sourcing the immense placer deposits of the Sierra Nevada Mtns, the famed Mother Lode.
Weight Conversions:
15.43 GRAINS = 1 GRAM
31.103 GRAMS = 1 TROY OUNCE
24 GRAINS = 1 PENNYWEIGHT (DWT)
20 DWT = 1 TROY OUNCE
480 GRAINS = 1 TROY OUNCE
S & H
Discounted for combined shipments.
U.S. BUYERS & INTNL.
PAYMENTS
For U.S. buyers: We accept paypal
For intnl. customers: We accept paypal.
Pay securely with
www.paypal
.
Payment must be made within 7 days from close of  auction.  We ship as soon as funds clear. If you have questions, please ask them before bidding.
REFUNDS
We leave no stones unturned insuring our customers get what they bargained for.
If you're not satisfied with this item, contact me. Then, if the problem can't be fixed, return product within 30 days in  'as purchased' condition for a full refund
OPENING UP A HOLE
T
oo much overburden is one of a gold dredger's biggest headaches. A lot about dredging in rivers and creeks depends upon the mining history of an area or an operator's hunches. Much of the time, looking for gold wherever falls into the plain-old-prospecting realm. A dredger needs to believe he's working in the right spot before excavating a prospect hole which could take days before bedrock is ever reached. Confronted with twenty feet of overburden means terracing off large expanses of sediment before proceeding down to the next layer. This eventually allows enough bedrock to be uncovered so that any meandering paystreaks inhabiting that stretch of the creek or river might be intersected. It's easy to miss a paystreak entirely even though one might be in the vicinity. Punching your nozzle into the gravel and heading towards the bottom quickly reveals the pitfalls of this ill-advised technique. In most drainages, c
ount on overburden to hold minimal gold. You've really no choice but to pump all that barren dirt and even by terracing an excavation, there's no guarantee a paystreak's going to be waiting on bedrock. I've known of dredgers killed in cave-ins. A personal friend had his leg broke when a boulder plummeted down from behind him.
B
oulders are often encountered at or near the bottom, but at times, regardless of which strata you're working, they'll be all around you. In narrow creeks, you're more likely to encounter boulders from top to bottom throughout the sedimentary strata. Bank boulders can be just as problematic as those encountered below the water table. Boulders come in all sizes, shapes, weights, and compositions. Many times, good, paying ground awaits in their proximity. At the same time, boulders are a miner's nemesis reminding him of just how dangerous gold dredging can be. But this is gold mining. Going back through history, miners are known to tackle just about any adversity you can think of to get to the gold.
Many of these big rocks concentrated down on bedrock can be nudged out of the way with a pry bar. Many can't. Using a come-a-long or powered winch, you generally need to open up space around bigger rocks so a choker cable can be secured. Nowadays, I see they've designed super-claws which clamp onto boulders which then are high-lined away. Pretty cool concept, really. Boulders high in the overburden are extremely dangerous. If you have a powered winch, yank them out of the hole and try to move them some distance from your excavation. Whatever you do, always stay on top of boulders, not the other way around. If you're in good gold, it's definitely advisable to keep your hole and working face clear of larger rocks. With many miners, the discovery of gold sets off an instinctual 'shark feeding frenzy'. It's advisable to keep one's emotions in check and proceed cautiously, safely. Conditions are rarely the same from one dredge site to the next, from one drainage to another. Be careful, mates. Dredging is dangerous work.
Welcome to the wild, adventurous world of gold mining!
Thanks for checking out our digs.
G
old of
E
ldorado
1-14-13