RUSTY BUTTERSCOTCH GOLD QUARTZ SPECIMEN 1.08 GRAM NATURAL GOLD IN QUARTZ

Description: ORANGE-STAINED GOLD QUARTZ SPECIMEN from CALIFORNIA Ruler is 1/4" wide (6 mm). U.S. 10 cent coin is 17 mm in diameter. Specimen weight: 1.08 Gram - 16.8 Grains Size: 14.7X10X6.7 mm Beautiful crystals of gold burst from one corner of this cool, butterscotch-stained bull quartz. My source says it's from California's Mother Lode which, admittedly, is a vast area. Nonetheless, your collection of micromounts will welcome this splendid addition. For those who've been keeping track of my store these past twenty years, you'll know I don't sell low-grade specimens. If it shows gold, it can't be low grade ore. I deal in naturally-occurring gold ores with visible gold. These high-grade beauties are hard to find and expensive to obtain. My prices aren't based upon the amount of gold contained, but on the fact that it's there. U.S. SHIPPING - $3.00 (includes USPS tracking to all U.S. destinations) INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS S&H $14.50 FAST REFUND OFFERED (If, for any reason, you're not happy with this item) I poured through old mining dumps for years looking at orange-yellow-rusty rock through a loupe, but I never found a piece with visible gold. Hydrothermal solutions carrying gold and silica crystallized into veins of gold quartz. This specimen comes from one of the many gold-bearing vein systems of California, The Golden State. 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 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 visible gold, isn't what would have been considered ‘run-of-the-mill’ ore such as was being extracted from most hard rock mines active during the period. The lion’s share of ore mined and processed was much lower in tenor assaying less than an ounce of gold per ton. A ton of ore comprised of specimen gold like this little piece would have made it's finder a very popular patron at one of the local saloons. Many districts in the Mother Lode produced high grade ore similar to this specimen as placer float, chunks of gold-bearing quartz which broke off from richer sections of a vein. Of a similar nature was pocket gold dug from close-to-the-surface vein outcroppings. These epithermal deposits were characterized by the presence of 'caprock' or oxidized iron with gold mixed in. Featured rock certainly fits this description. It’s a well-known secret that during the Gold Rush’s first years, when opportunities presented themselves, hard rock miners high-graded i.e. stole richer specimens from the mines and mine owners who employedthem. Some miners, once they found gold in quartz, whether ‘high-graded’ or mined legally, undoubtedly milled it up. In that manner, they extracted the gold from the rock themselves with no clue of where the gold came from remaining to incriminate anyone. Afterwards, once separated from the worthless gangue material (useful as evidence, maybe), the gold could be assayed, melted, weighed, and sold. Other miners, and one can only speculate at the particulars involved in such transactions, probably brought in high grade rocks they had found to assayers who, in addition to determining the purity of gold and overall richness of the vein filling discovered inside various ore bodies, may also have been in the business of processing and buying larger amounts of high grade ore (rock like this). One may 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 the miners, what diggings were being worked by whom, and how well different mines were faring. It stands to reason the majority of local towns-folk and business-owners were acquainted with mine and claim owners thereabouts. One might think that as stake-holders, any and all interested adults in the community 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

Price: 25 USD

Location: Banks, Oregon

End Time: 2023-11-11T19:37:55.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3 USD