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!