Fear of a Gold Bubble

Are you becoming paranoid now that the price of gold is trending downward?
Well, don’t be. Remember, gold is a very volatile commodity and prices fluctuate all the time. Very seldom do gold prices remain quiet so it is not uncommon for the price of gold to move up or down dramatically. Many times pricing has changed by as much as one hundred dollars per ounce in just a few days. If this alarms you, maybe gold should not be part of your investment portfolio. Instead, maybe a nice dividend stock is the right choice for you. Or maybe a money market vehicle earning what, about half a percent? If you are looking for a recommendation, sorry but this article is about gold.
Fundamentally, gold is and will remain a solid investment for many years to come. The long term trend continues upward and macro-economics have not changed that. If anything, they have added even more underlying support to gold’s value. More and more of the world’s governments are trying to print their way out of bad situations only to make it worse in the long term. Countries (especially the United States) continue to devalue their currency making gold the only viable option of monetary value acceptable worldwide. After all, you can only kick the can down the road so far until it becomes time to pay the piper. Furthermore, when a government tries to control devaluation through austerity measures, it only seems to incite violent protests which in turn further supports the value of gold.
Some states have even contemplated designing their own currency , thumbing their noses at the U.S. dollar but because this would violate Article 1, Section 10, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution which forbids a state to “ coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver a tender in the payment of debts…”, they are exploring other options. In fact there are some businesses that are promoting gold as a form of payment for many types of merchandise even groceries. They simply weigh the gold item and apply a value relative to 24 karat and the spot price. These are people who have lost all faith in the United States dollar and are hedging their bets on the continued decline of it’s value. This scenario isn’t likely to end any time soon, if ever.
So be patient and consider a substantial decline in the gold price to be a buying opportunity not a reason to panic.

The Lost Gold Mines

One of the coolest things about gold prospecting is the dream of stumbling across a fortune that has been overlooked by others for hundreds of years. It doesn’t happen often but now and then you will read an article or see a news cast about some lucky stiff who has found a huge gold nugget or some other long lost treasure and you only wish that you could have your own Eureka! moment.
Explorers are always searching for the lost treasures of sunken ships, pirate booty and of course gold mines. Tales of lost gold mines are as common and exciting as the tales of pirates roaming the high seas. In every state of the union there are seemingly endless stories of lost mines and Treasure Hunting Books that go with them.
One of the most famous and sought after mines in American history is the Lost Dutchman Mine. It is named after Jacob Waltz who was actually a German immigrant. Said to be located in the Superstition Mountains, east of Phoenix, Arizona, it is reported that each year about 8,000 people still try to find it. Of course no one can be sure that it is even located in Arizona but one thing that cannot be disputed is the belief that it does exist.
Another great story involves a man named Walter Scott (Scotty). In the early 1900’s, Walter Scott, suffering from illness, decided to move to Death Valley, California in an effort to improve his health. There he convinced his friend, Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson to invest in his gold mine and to help him build Scotty’s Castle. Legend has it that somewhere nearby is a fortune in gold that was hidden by Scotty long ago. At least if you decide to search for this treasure, you won’t be completely disappointed. The tour of the castle is amazing and something to be remembered.
One of the most entertaining stories has to be about the Lost Pegleg Mine. Thomas L. Smith, brother of the famous frontiersman Jedediah Smith, was really nothing more than a horse thief and con man. There are different accounts as to how he acquired the nickname “Pegleg” including losing his leg as the result of a gunfight, an Indian arrow, or that he broke it when falling from his horse. But as luck would have it, one day on the way to Los Angeles to trade furs, he stumbled across an unusual sight. On his trek through the desert in an area that is now believed to be near the Salton Sea, he found some odd looking pebbles that appeared to have some value. He stuck them in his pocket and continued on.
After reaching Los Angeles and indulging in his favorite libation, he began thinking about the pebbles he had found. Curious, he took them to an assayer who informed Pegleg that these were gold nuggets which had been encrusted with a black varnish. Pegleg was ecstatic and soon would set out to rediscover his treasure. He would never find it again and so the legend continues.
These stories coupled with the continuing rise in the price of gold, compel many people to begin their journey in seeking fortune and fame.
Many start out with just a shovel, pick and a pan but as the gold fever escalates, so do the tools. For those who are partial to rivers and streams, there are sluice boxes and even dredgers. For the desert rats, there are drywashers and Metal Detectors. No matter what your choice in tools, it is quite an adventure.

Striking it Rich

Present day gold prospectors have a distinct advantage over the old timers simply due to technology. Modern equipment include Metal Detectors(something that the old timers couldn’t even imagine). Even the pans have been improved. There are classifier pans, screened pans,large pans and small pans. Small ridges have even been added to help prevent the placer gold from being washed out of the pan as it is swirled back and forth. Of course this is still back breaking work and after a long day of panning, you will probably have to break out the ice pack.

On that note, the old timers hold the advantage as they were tough old birds who hit the creeks and streams daily searching for the mother load. This back breaking work did not discourage them in trying day after day to turn up enough gold nuggets to finance their nightly trips to the local saloon for a few drinks and a few hands of poker where they would usually spend everything that they had earned that day only to rise bright and early the next morning to start the whole process over again. Hangover was not in their vocabulary.

On that note, modern day prospectors have a disadvantage. They are not as tough and grizzled and sometimes will get discouraged and give up if they are not immediately successful in their quest for the shiny stuff. Although coming up empty handed can be discouraging, lack of trying means lack of success. There have been many prospectors who have gone years without finding more than a couple specs of gold here and there. But they didn’t give up and usually were rewarded for their continuing efforts. Another disadvantage is that gold is alot harder to find these days. So where do you look? Some of the best advice is to look for gold where it has already been found. There are many Treasure Hunting Books that include maps with locations of past discoveries. There are books showing discoveries made in creeks and streams around the world. There are even books showing discoveries made in the desert. Some books are devoted to old mines including some of the lost mines which have yet to be found. This will get your juices flowing. Imagine being the one to stumble across one of these lost treasures. You never know! Be very careful in these locations and never go alone. Good hunting.

Gold Rush

Striking it Rich

With the price of gold skyrocketing and no apparent end in sight, many families are joining the gold rush hoping to cash in on their fair share of the fortunes that are being made. And the truth is that the price of gold can only continue higher as governments around the world print money without any concern for the devaluation of their country’s currency.

Of course you have to get lucky enough to find a substantial amount of the shiny stuff but it isn’t impossible and can be a lot of fun. Every now and then, there is a report of a new discovery. Not too long ago it was reported that a California man who had stopped on the side of a desert highway for a rest, wandered a short way into the desert where he stumbled upon a 9 ounce gold nugget. The nugget is not for sale but would probably fetch around $15,000.00 - $20,000.00 in today’s market as a natural gold nugget always commands a premium above the spot price of gold. Talk about luck! But there are others too. Just recently in England, a young boy who had received a metal detector as a birthday gift found gold artifacts reported to be worth over one million dollars. What a nice birthday gift that was!

So it is no wonder that moms, dads, aunts, uncles, kids and even grandparents are putting together their gold panning kits and venturing out to their favorite creeks and streams in search of a lucky spot where they can stake a claim. It usually starts off with a simple pan but as the gold fever grows, so do the prospecting tools. There are sluice boxes(small and large) which will allow the miner to process a lot more material, enhancing the possibilities of retrieving more gold. There are mechanical washers which will even help process more material. And there are dredgers which can get quite expensive, but will process a huge amount of material and increase your odds even further in finding your fortune.
The main thing to remember is to make it an adventure. Buy a fewTreasure Hunting Books and keep it fun because many times you will come back empty handed and depressed. But don’t despair. There is nothing like the feeling you get finding your first gold nugget. It can be a blessing and a curse. Because now you have gold fever!