GOLD QUARTZ w/MARIPOSITE SPECIMEN from CALIFORNIA
Ruler is 1/4" wide (6 mm). U.S. 10 cent coin is 17 mm in diameter. Specimen weight: 2.47 Gram - 38.2 Grains
Size: 21.3X12.9X7.6 mm Here's an awesomely-cool gold specimen. At one end, inside a crusty bed of brownish calcite, is a sizable zone of gold covering an area roughly 11X16 mm. A green mineral, Mariposite, also inhabits this zone. The gold isn't 'salted'. No human planted the gold in this rock. My source says it was found in California's Mother Lode. I know that's a vast area and wish it was possible to narrow the source down. Since I didn't find it, it's impossible to shed more light on the provenance. I do know this. It's an amazing rock and your collection will be richly-enhanced. For those who've kept track of my store these past twenty years, you know I don't sell low-grade or faux specimen. If it shows gold, it can't be low grade and if it's 'as found in nature', it can't be fake. This rock is way too cool for any old salty has-been digger to hang onto. I deal in naturally-occurring gold ores with visible gold. These high-grade beauties are hard to find and expensive to obtain. No, you won't be getting your money's worth in gold, however, my prices aren't based upon the amount of gold contained these rocks, but on the fact that it's there. S & H Discounted for combined shipments.
U.S. BUYERS & INTNL.
PAYMENTS 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
MINERS, CLAIMS, AND THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH This specimen is representative of the
higher grades of gold quartz mined during the California Gold Rush. Rock this rich,
containing a good deal of visible gold, isn't what would have been
considered ‘run-of-the-mill’ such as miners were mucking
from hard rock
mines active
during that period.
The
lion’s share of ore mined and processed back then was much
lower in tenor. Most would have assayed less than an ounce of gold per ton. Many Mother Lode districts produced
higher-grade ore as placer float, chunks of gold-bearing
quartz which had broken off richer sections of a vein. I suspect this is a piece of 'float rock'. Of a similar
nature was
pocket gold dug from close-to-the-surface outcroppings. These epithermal deposits were characterized by the presence of 'caprock' or oxidized iron with gold mixed in. Featured rock certainly fits the description. It’s a well-known secret that during the Gold Rush’s first
years, when opportunities presented themselves, hard rock miners purloined,
high-graded, i.e. stole rich
specimens from those mines where, in most cases, they were employees. Some finders of gold
in quartz, whether it was ‘high-graded’ or legally mined, undoubtedly milled it up. In that manner, they could extract gold from rock themselves and leave few clues behind in the process. Seeing ore intact, uncrushed, many locals could most likely have identified some source mine. Once separated from worthless gangue
material
(useful as evidence, maybe), gold could be assayed, melted, weighed, and sold. Primitive methods of smelting and refining would have rendered gold unrecognizable from gold found anywhere in the world. Other miners, and one can but speculate on the particulars involved
in such
transactions, probably
brought high grade rocks they found to assayers whose job it was to
determine gold purity and to check ores for their tenor (i.e. value). Seemingly, this would be an integral part of any major underground mining operation where it was imperative that values be known in advance before ore bodies could be developed. Assayers may also have had sidelines like, for instance, and this is pure conjecture, processing and/or buying high
grade ore
(rock
like this). One could also surmise that likely as not every merchant
in these flourishing Mother Lode towns would, by this
time, have learned plenty about the ins and outs of gold mining. Chances are,
they knew most miners and what diggings were being worked by
whom. They would have known how
well
different mines and miners were faring. It
stands to reason
the
majority
of local
towns-folk and business-owners would be acquainted
with area mines and claim
owners. One might think that as
stake-holders, any and
all interested parties in these
communities would be
well-informed about
claims and mine status, mine ownership,
mining technologies,
about buying and selling gold, processing ores, refining
gold,
assaying gold, et al.
Thanks for checking out our digs. Gold of Eldorado 1-14-13
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