Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Newsletter

The News
v. 17, n. 9 September, 2013 Going for the Gold Visit RMPTH On The Internet At http://rmpth.com

Contents
1 2 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 13 14 15 16 18 19 The Gold Coins That Never Were About The News UPS Aircraft Repair Checklists Colorado Treasure Tales Father-Son Team Digs Into The Past Annual Paul E. Lange Detector Coin & Prize Hunt The Many Survival Uses Of Coffee Filters Calendar of Events Calendars Good Reasons To Own A Metal Detector Badger Unearths Medieval Treasure Raising Chicago Trading Post 2013 Schedule of Events Contact List

The Gold Coins That Never Were

Feds seize gold coins worth $80 million from Pennsylvania family From rt.com federal judge has upheld a verdict that strips a Pennsylvania family of their grandfathers gold coins worth an estimated $80 million and has ordered ownership transferred to the US government. A federal judge has upheld a verdict that strips a Pennsylvania family of their grandfathers gold coins worth an estimated $80 million and has ordered ownership transferred to the US government. Judge Legrome Davis of the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a 2011 jury decision that a box of 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle coins discovered by the family of Israel Switt, a deceased dealer and collector, is the property of the United States. In the midst of the Great Depression, then-President Franklin Roosevelt ordered that Americas supply of double eagles manufactured at the Philadelphia Mint be destroyed and melted into gold bars. Of the 445,500 or so coins created, though, some managed to escape the kiln and ended up into the hands of collectors. In 2003, Switts family opened a safe deposit back that their grandfather kept, revealing 10 coins among that turned out to be among the worlds most valuable collectables in the currency realm today. Switts descendants, the Langbords, thought the coins had been gifted to their grandfather years earlier by
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"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it." - Mark Twain

About The News

Advertising Classified advertising for topic related items is free for non-business ads. See the Trading Post section for donation pricing of camera-ready display ads. Donations for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are available on request. About RMPTH RMPTH is an independent nonprofit hobbyist social club, open to anyone interested in prospecting, detecting or treasure hunting. Its purpose is to provide an educational and social forum of mutual benefit for members. RMPTH holds a monthly meeting and conducts various field outings, as well as offers special presentations and seminars. Active participants have voting privileges. The monthly newsletter, The News, is readily available on the Internet. Annual dues are $25 payable in June. Applicants joining in any month other than June pay partial dues of $2 per month for months remaining prior to following June plus $1.

he News is the official newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club (RMPTH): our mailing address is 278 Sierra Vista Drive, Fort Collins, CO. 80524. Opinions expressed in The News are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the club or its members. Publication of information in The News constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information found in this publication is at the sole risk of the user. Neither RMPTH, nor its coordinators, nor The News, nor its editors or contributors assume any liability for damages resulting from use of information in this publication. Submissions

Articles, letters and short items of interest on prospecting, detecting and treasure hunting topics are welcome and encouraged. All items submitted for publication are subject to editing. Submittals for publication may be made in writing or, preferably, in ASCII text format on IBM-compatible disk. If you have questions about a submission, please contact the editor for information. Copyright Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit groups may reprint or quote from any articles appearing in The News without prior permission, provided that proper author and publication credits are given and that a copy of the publication in which the article appears is sent at no cost to RMPTH at the above mailing address. Clubs wishing to exchange newsletters with RMPTH are invited to send a copy of their newsletter together with an exchange request.

CLUB MEMBERS TAKE NOTE

Club Hats, Shirts, Jackets, & Patches are again available. See Paul Mayhak at the club meetings to purchase your club items! We will be running a 50/50 Drawing at each club meeting. At the end of each meeting Tom will split the pot 50/50 and a lucky member will go home with more money than they came with.! The remaining 50% goes to the club treasury.
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Mint cashier George McCann and took the coins to the Mint to have their authenticity verified, but the government quickly took hold of the items and refused to relinquish the find to the family. The Langbords responded with a lawsuit that ended last year in a victory for the feds.

remove their own items and transfer property back to the state. "This is a case that raises many novel legal questions, including the limits on the government's power to con-

Because the government ordered the destruction of their entire supply of coins decades earlier, the court found that Switts family was illegally in possession of the stash. Even though they may had been presented to the dealer by a PhilaRarest of the rare1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle delphia Mint staffer, Judge Davis agrees with last years ruling that fiscate property. The Langbord family will be filing an Mr. McCann broke the law. appeal and looks forward to addressing these important issues before the 3rd Circuit," Barry Berke, an "The coins in question were not lawfully removed attorney for the Langbords, tells ABCNews.com from the United States Mint, the judge rules. Despite this decision, though, the attorney representing Switts family says the government has no right to

UPS Aircraft Repair Checklists

Just in case you needed a laugh. emember it takes a college degree to fly a plane, but only a high school diploma to fix one: After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a gripe sheet,' which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (marked with a P) and the
The News, September 2013

solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.... P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. S: Almost replaced left inside main tire. P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough. S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft. P: Something loose in cockpit S: Something tightened in cockpit P: Dead bugs on windshield. S: Live bugs on back-order. P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent
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Colorado Treasure Tales

La Caverna del Oro (The Cave of Gold)

ong before the white man ever came to the United States the legend of La Caverna del Oro, the Cave of Gold, was passed down from generation to generation by the Indians. When the Spanish explorers arrived in the fifteenth century, monks translated the legend and the gold was eagerly sought by the explorers. Caverna del Oro, 13,000 feet high upon Marble Mountain, was believed, by the Indians, to be plagued by demons. However, in 1541, three Spanish monks from the Coronado expedition forced the Indians into slave labor to extract gold from the cave. Finally, the Indians staged an uprising against the monks and two of them were killed. However, the third monk, De la Cruz, convinced the Indians that he was able to subdue the "evil spirits lurking underground in the mine. With the help of the slave-miner natives, vast amounts of gold were brought forth from the subterranean passages. Later, when the Indians had served their purpose, De la Cruz and his small group of surviving Spaniards killed the Indians, loaded up their treasure on pack mules, and fled south back to Mexico. The cave was then left unexplored until about 100 years ago, when it was found again by Elisha Horn. Climbing on Marble Mountain, only a few miles from the town of Westcliff, Horn stumbled upon a skeleton clad in Spanish armor, with an arrow sticking out of its back. Painted on the rocks above the skeleton was a very old red cross, which can still be faintly seen to this day. Near the cross was the entrance to Caverna del Oro. In the 1920s, the cave was explored again by a Colorado Mountain Club led by a U.S. Forest Ranger. The Ranger had been told by a 105-year-old Mexican woman that there was gold buried deep within the cave. The woman said that when she was a child, she could remember journeying to the cave where miners would come out with loads of gold. She claimed that within 500-700 feet of the cave entrance there was an oaken door, which was the entrance to the rich Three Steps Mine. She explained that the treasure lay behind this set of padlocked
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"There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure." - Mark Twain

Gold Glossary
Drywasher - A common desert mining tool. The drywasher is like a highbanker but lacks the need for water. A drywasher operates by the use of wind. The light junk material is blown off the top of the sluice in the drywasher and the gold stays on the bottom. The sluice riffles in a drywasher are backwards for better recovery.

TREASURE HUNTERS CODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect private property and do no treasure hunting without the owner's permission. I WILL fill all excavations. I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, and private property. I WILL use thoughtfulness, consideration, and courtesy at all times. I WILL build fires in designated or safe places only. I WILL leave gates as found. I WILL remove and properly dispose of any trash that I find. I WILL NOT litter. I WILL NOT destroy property, buildings, or what is left of ghost towns and deserted structures. I WILL NOT tamper with signs, structural facilities, or equipment.

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wooden doors. The Ranger and the club members explored the many rooms and passages in the cave, climbing down as far as 500 feet into the cave, but did not discover the wooden doors, nor any gold. However, they did find many other interesting items, including a 200 year old ladder and a hammer which was made sometime in the 1600s. Lower down on the mountain, hidden amongst the aspen trees the club members found the ruins of an old fort as well as many arrowheads, which were scattered about the hillsides. Many people have since explored the cave and have uncovered other old items including a windlass (rope and bucket), a clay jug and a shovel left by earlier explorers or miners. In addition, one group found a human skeleton chained by the neck to a wall deep down in the cave. Nevertheless, no gold has ever been found (or at least, none that anyone is talking about.) Some people think that the entrance by the cross might have been an escape route, rather than the true way in, and the "real entry to the cave lies hidden lower down on the mountainside. Regarding the mystery of the wooden door, behind which lies the treasure, some theorize that the door has since been hidden by a rockslide. La Caverna del Oro sits at 13,000 feet on Marble Mountain, just over Music Pass to the northeast of the Great Sand Dunes.

Mineral Specimen Identification

As part of their community outreach, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Dep. of Earth & Atmospheric Science, Professional Services Division offers FREE MINERAL SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION. Participants will aid in the education of future Geoscientists! Details and specimen submittal forms with instructions can be downloaded from: SPECIAL OFFER FREE MINERAL SPECIMEN http://college.earthscienceeducation.net/MINPET/ MINID.pdf

Property Wanted For Detector Hunt

Refreshment Volunteers
September Barb Schuldt October Dick & Sharon French November Ted & Faye Croswell

RMPTH is looking for private property on which to hold an organized club detector hunt. Obviously, it would be most ideal if this property is known to have seen some past historical activity. If you have such property or know of someone who does, please contact Rick Mattingly to plan a club field outing event.

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Father-Son Team Digs Into The Past

By TIFFANY RONEY Reflector-Chronicle Wednesday, July 10, 2013

know youre in the cargo. From treasurer hunters to history preservers When the Hawleys first began searching for sunken steamboats, they were basically treasure hunters, Minick said. He said their driving question when sifting through archives was, What boat would be most logical to have stuff that would be of value still on it? With this question in mind, the Hawleys looked through the manifests, or archival records, for a boat with valued cargo. If its going taking lumber upstream, you wouldnt mess with it, Minick said. If it was taking salt pork, you wouldnt mess with it. If it contained all kinds of goods for a frontier settlement hmm, maybe. Thats how you would sort out which ship youre going to look for. Because the Missouri Packet had no cargo of value, the Hawleys did nothing with the boat and moved onto the Steamboat Arabia, which they had read of in books before coming across it in the archives. After a year of searching up and down the river, the Hawleys found what they were looking for. Since the boat sank in 1856, property in Kansas had changed hands, and the Hawleys realized, like with the Packet, the Arabia was actually on someones personal property. Hawley contacted the property owner, Norman Sortor, and told him there was a 19th century boat on his property. Hawley said he offered Sortor 15 percent of profits from the cargo, and Sortor agreed to let them dig. Four weeks into the project, Sortor changed his mind he traded the 15 percent for museum artifacts. When Hawley and his team started digging for the boat, they ran into water about 10 feet down. He said their largest expense in excavating the boat was getting rid of the water. The team used 20 pumps 24 hours a day to reach the boat, according to a video on the museums website, www.1856.com. When the cargo rose to ground level, Hawley and his team found extensive cargo on board: barrels of salt, leather shoes, a wool coat, a container of gooseberries and shiny brooches and jewelry, among other items. They had to dig 45 feet below the surface to get everything off the boat. Altogether, from the excavation to transporting the boat to their museum, the team spent $1.4 million. As the story that Ive heard, some of the first things that they brought out is a big wedgewood dish, and, Oh wow, wow, look at that, and then here came another case,
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he engine of a steamboat built in 1819 rose above 4th Street in Abilene.

Unlike when it rode the Missouri River in its heyday, the steamboat was not floating on water. Instead, it was held by ropes to a tow truck, on its way from a local mechanic to a Kansas City museum. The engine belonged to a steamboat known as the Missouri Packet. From Refrigerators To Steamboats I used to be in the refrigerator business, but this routed it out, Bob Hawley, co-owner of Arabia Steamboat Museum, said. Hawley and his son, Dave, have spent the past 25 years researching and excavating antique steamboats and setting them on display in his museum, which is located in the Kansas City River Market. Though the museum derives its name from a boat called the Steamboat Arabia, the Missouri Packet is the first boat the Hawleys uncovered. They learned of the boat through the archives in the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Joe Minick, antique engine restorer and Abilene resident, said more than 400 steamboats sunk on the Missouri River alone, and they are recorded in the archives. After learning of the Packet through the archives, the Hawleys looked to local newspapers from the early 1800s for headlines like, steamboat sunk last night south of bluff, Minick said. Then, using maps of where the Missouri River used to be, they took a metal detector out to the area described in the newspaper and verified the location by drilling into the ground with a core drill. They found the Packet on personal property near Boonville, MO. The land owner agreed to let them dig. If you hit wood, well, you know you hit a ship, which would be the deck, Minick said. And if you start bringing up pieces of beaver hat or jewelry or something, you
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2013 ANNUAL PAUL E. LANGE DETECTOR COIN & PRIZE HUNT POT LUCK LUNCH AND TAILGATE SWAP MEET SATURDAY, September 7 2013 10:002:00 Bob & Darlene Miosek Property 3413 Meining Road Southwest of Berthoud, Colorado
This fun detector hunt is open to all. Cost for active dues-paid RMPTH members, immediate family and guests will be $10 per adult, $5 for 13-16 of age and no charge for 13 or younger. Fee for non-member adult guests will be $20 and $10 for non-member children 16 and younger. The field will be planted with colored pennies which will be redeemed for antique coins, and prizes. This will be a hunt based purely on luck rather than skill, with easy to locate and recover targets for all. Remember to bring your membership card!

Map to Miosek Property southwest of Berthoud, Colorado 2013 Annual Paul E. Lange Detector Coin Hunt

September 7th Paul E. Lange Detector Coin & Prize Hunt

Just a few additional notes about the upcoming hunt: Please follow the directions to the Mioseks provided above and remember that bathroom facilities will be limited. We want to thank Bob and Darlene in advance for opening their property to the club once again for this annual event. Remember, a fun event like this with good friends is hungry business! So, bring your favorite foods for the potluck after the hunt. The club will provide eating utensils, plates, cups, napkins, and coffee. Also, this year we will again have a Swap Meet after lunch , so bring your items for sale or trade!

The News, September 2013

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The Many Survival Uses Of Coffee Filters

By Jeff Mann August 19, 2013

here are many things you can do with Coffee Filters and it requires very little money. I like the big once available at Sams, and any dollar store. Every Survival Kit & Bug-Out-Bag should have these added. I have listed some of my uses below. There are many other uses that did not come to mind as I wrote this. Pre-Filter any water needed for drinking, cooking, or cleaning when in the woods or trails. This will help save your water filter. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain used frying oil through a coffee filter. It will be ready for its next use. Use as a snack bowl for chips, nuts, popcorn, etc. Just trash or burn once done. Use to start fires, rip it up and it will burn with just sparks. To sprout seeds. Just dampen the coffee filter, put the seeds inside, fold the filter over once, and place it into a zip lock baggie until they sprout. When storing a cast-iron skillet. Put a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust. You can stack others with it and use a filter for each. No rust! Stop the washout of dirt in your potted plants. Place the coffee filter at the bottom of the pot covering the drainage holes. Then put the dirt in over top of the filter. Water can leave and the filter will keep all the dirt in your pot. Use under any grease filled foods. Coffee filters will soak up grease and make the food much better to eat. Then use the grease filled filter to start your fire. Great for stopping bleeding on small cuts and nicks. Much better than toilet paper for razor cuts on your face. When sewing or embroidering, use as a backing for soft fabrics. The coffee filter is easy to tear away once complete. To filter gas when near the bottom of the can. The
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trash collects at the bottom and a screen filter is not fine enough to remove it all. The coffee filter will get everything. Use when waterproofing or polishing your shoes. It is lint free and will not leave surface fibers like cloth. In the kitchen hold any chopped foods to be added later or for weighing chopped foods. Makes it easy to put on the scale. Use one coffee filter for each food type. Clean glass, polish chrome coffee filters will not leave marks or fibers. They are lint free and great for any general cleaning. Put baking soda into the filter and tape or tie the top closed. Use the baking soda ball in the cooler or refrigerator to absorb odors. This ball will last for 30 days. Re-use it in other coolers. These are just a few uses that coffee filters have in survival kits and Bug-outBackpacks. Throw some in yours and they will save you time and energy. 1,000 filters cost about $8.00 Survival|Guide PioneerLiving.net http://www.pioneerliving.net/the-manysurvival-uses-of-coffee-filters/

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here came another case, her come boots, here come Wait a minute, were getting into more than just treasures, Mincik said. Everybody should get to see this; not just us. And then the guy progressed into, Okay, weve got to preserve this. A Packet Of History Speeding forward to the summer of 2013, the Hawleys found themselves in Abilene to get the Missouri Packets engine fixed so the engine could join the Steamboat Arabia in their museum. The team found this boat, the Missouri Packet, near Boonville, MO, using the same old-map method they used to find the Steamboat Arabia. Like the Steamboat Arabia, the Packet had sifted beneath the surface of someones personal property. Though they found the boat more than 25 years ago, the Hawleys only began to work on it this summer. For a quarter of a decade, they left the find fallow. We left it there when we found it, Bob said. It wasnt worthy of excavation, and it didnt have cargo on it. This year, though, the Hawleys returned their hand to the Packet. They had already put the boilers away in storage, but they shipped the engine to Abilene, to be refurbished under Minicks care. Minick met the Hawleys through the Steamboat Arabia refurbishing project, which Minick worked on with his late friend Fred Schmidt, a musical instrument repairman who had a love for antique engines. Schmidt was writing an article about steam engines, and someone told Schmidt they had heard of the Hawleys digging up a steamboat, so they might have been a beneficial source for his article. Schmidt set up an appointment with the Hawleys for lunch, and they told him all about the Arabia and the cargo they had unearthed from it, as well as and their desire to preserve its contents. Hawley told Schmidt he wanted to open a museum, put the boat inside and have a big paddle wheel running in a puddle of water so visitors could get a sense of what the boat was actually like. Schmidt shared the dream with Minick. He said, Joe, we could do that, and I said, Fred, what are we getting ourselves into? Minick said. And he said, No, we could do it, and so we bid on the project and got the bid, of course, and went from there. With the Packets engine refurbished, the Hawleys are ready for their next hunt. They are in the process of planning a dig for a steamboat they read of in the archives that is reported to be loaded with cargo. According to the archives, the steamboat was filled with trading beads and other items settlers used in trading for furs with American Indians.

Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement.. - Mark Twain

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Calendar of Events
September Meeting Wednesday, September 4. We will meet at the Pulliam Building in downtown Loveland at 7:00PM. Refer to the adjoining map for directions. Meeting Agenda 6:00 - 7:00 Planning & Social Hour 7:00 - 7:30 Business, Announcements & Find of the Month Program 7:30 - 7:45 Break 7:45 - 9:00 Battery Facts by Batteries Plus

RMPTH DUES
RMPTH is an unincorporated Social Club with no income generated. All expenses are covered by $25 annual dues. Members are requested to consider minor donations at each monthly meeting to cover refreshments.

Visit RMPTH On The Internet At http://rmpth.com

MAP TO THE MEETING PLACE Pulliam Community Building 545 Cleveland Avenue, Loveland, Colorado

Directions: The Pulliam Community Building is situated on the west side of Cleveland Avenue in Loveland, Colorado. Park at the rear of the building (west side). Entry to the meeting room is from the doorway on the south side of the building (not the main entrance on Cleveland Avenue!).
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September 2013
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 8
Grandparents Day

2
Labor Day

3 10 17 24

4
RMPTH Planning Session 6:00P RMPTH Meeting 7:00P

5 12 19 26

6 13 20 27

7
Annual RMPTH Coin & Prize Hunt

9 16 23 30

11 18 25

14
Denver Gem & Mineral Show

15
Denver Gem & Mineral Show

21
Historic Fort Laramie WY Tour

22
1st Day of Autumn

28

29

October 2013
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 6 13 20 27 7 14
Columbus Day

2
RMPTH Planning Session 6:00P RMPTH Meeting 7:00P

3 10 17 24 31
Halloween

4 11 18 25

5
Off-Road Detector Hunt

8 15 22 29

9 16 23 30

12 19 26

21 28

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RMPTH Field Outing Statement

NOTE: The Coordinators and participants stay in touch and continue to review and plan upcoming presentations and outings for the year on a monthly basis. Our editor Rick Mattingly needs timely event information for each issue of The News. Please get information about any particular event to him by the 15th of the month to meet the printing deadline for the next issue. Planned trips, outings, activities, and meeting programs are in the newsletter and on line at the clubs website. Planning is a work in progress and additional outings and activities are added and sometimes deleted on an ongoing basis. Events planned in the upcoming month are emphasized to the attendees at the monthly meetings. Contact the Presentations Coordinators or Editor if you have any suggestions or ideas throughout the year for fieldtrips, outings, and programs. The best made plans may change at the last minute due to the illness of the Trail Boss, weather, land access, vehicles breaking down, wrong meeting sites, etc. Please be understanding of extenuating circumstances and contact the coordinator or Trail Boss of a specific event if there is any question of an event being cancelled or changed at the last minute.

Very rare specimen of Native Gold on matrix from Leadville, Colorado! The Native Gold is a mesh of fine semicrystalline growth and is quite solid all the way through. In other words, there is no give to the mesh. It sits atop the Quartz matrix and peeks out in veins all the way down to the bottom. This impressive specimen was found in July of 2008 by Ed Muceus during a collecting trip at the Ibex #3 in about 10,600 feet of elevation. From the Ibex #3 Mine, Leadville, Lake County, Colorado. Measures 5.5 cm by 4 cm by 1.6 cm in total size. Ex. Vorpahl, Bernardi Mineral Collections The Mineral Gallery, Inc.

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The News, September 2013

Good Reasons To Own A Metal Detector

1. Metal detecting is one of the few hobbies that really pays for itself with every day finds such as old and new coins, diamond rings, gold jewelry, valuable relics and even buried and hidden treasures. Jars of coins, metal boxes with paper money, gold coins and valuable jewelry were all buried for safekeeping and while many of them have been rediscovered with a metal detector, there's lots more still waiting to be found. 2. Searching for treasures with a metal detector has proven to be a great stress buster for thousands of people. Problems seem to disappear when your detector discovers a buried target. You can get away from everyone if you want solitude, or you can meet new people to join you for company.

hunts where there are prizes galore, and they even have special hunts for kids. 7. Metal detecting opens up interests in other hobbies. A large number of metal detector users found themselves and family members becoming enthusiastic coin collectors. And why not? A penny recently sold for $41,000! You will want to look closely at each coin you recover in coin books or online. Coins are often worth far more than face value. 8. You can now vacation closer to home. There are dozens of places of interest for metal detector users within a short drive from your home. In fact, you can start right in your own city or town. You can arrange weekends for places where people vacation and hunt for their lost coins and jewelry. Weekend camping trips gives your whole family a vacation with more places for you to use your metal detector.

9. Hundreds upon hundreds of treasures that have been lost and discarded can be discovered with a metal detector. The 3. Using a metal depopular television tector can be good for show, Antique Road your health. Getting Show, has shown milout, breathing in fresh lions of people that air, and walking, as treasures come in all New Treasure Commander X2 you must, to find difsizes and shapes. Old ferent treasures is a toys, banks, lead soldiers, pens, watches, jewelry, litgreat form of exercise. Plus, bending down to dig up a erally anything you find might be an unexpected treastarget is an excellent way to trim your waistline. ure. You may easily discover treasures in the ground but also in antique shops and general stores on your 4. You will certainly make more friends on your quest way or coming back from a treasure hunting outing. for valuables and treasures. Many people have been interested in obtaining a metal detector and will find 10. Metal Detecting for treasures is one this countries ways to talk to you about what you are doing, where fastest growing hobbies and has been for the last ten you bought it, what you found, etc. Many of these peoyears. There are numerous treasure hunting clubs ple might also share a story or two about interesting and groups in many cities and towns that welcome areas they know you might find old coins or relics. newcomers with open arms. These clubs go treasure hunting to areas that have been well researched. They 5. You'll learn about your local history and may even have get-togethers, travel to interesting places and find yourself reading books about the area you're livshare their knowledge freely. If there are no clubs in ing in. There are probably books containing lots of your area it means you can be the first to search out historical information that go back 50 to over 100 all the good areas years or more. You may even start going to the library more often. 6. Searching for treasures with metal detectors is a perfect way to get your family involved in doing an activity together. More and more families are joining metal detecting clubs, attending planned treasure
The News, September 2013

Kellyco http://www.kellycodetectors.com/

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Badger Unearths Medieval Treasure

By Marc Lallanilla, Assistant Editor August 15, 2013

fallen from a horse." Another grave held the skeleton of a woman with a coin in her mouth. According to ancient religious beliefs, people were often buried with coins to pay a ferryman to transport them across the river that separated the living world from the realm of the dead. This badger-assisted archaeological find isn't the first time historical artifacts have been discovered in unusual ways. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd boy who was searching for a sheep that had strayed from his flock. He threw a rock into a cave and, instead of a bleating lamb, heard the sound of pottery breaking, leading to the scrolls' discovery. And earlier this month, the buried remains of the residents from Bedlam, Europe's oldest insane asylum, were uncovered during the construction of the Crossrail subway line in London.

S
tools.

ome archaeologists pore over old maps and manuscripts to make historical discoveries. Others rely on pick axes, trowels and other

But archaeologists in Germany simply turned to badgers, the digging mammals that are the bane of gardeners everywhere. A badger living in the countryside near the town of Stolpe recently uncovered a remarkable site: the 12th-century burial ground of eight people, two of whom were apparently Slavic warlords.

The archaeological Two sculptors who finding in Germany is live in the area had significant because it been watching a occurred at a place and badger digging a time of conflict between large sett (den). heathen Slavic tribes Upon closer examiand Christians, said nation, they noticed Thomas Kersting, an The grave of a medieval Slavic warlord, with a bronze bowl at his feet, was a pelvic bone inside archaeologist at the uncovered in Germany by a digging badger the sett. "We pushed Brandenburg DepartCredit: Felix Biermann, Georg-August-Universitt Gttingen a camera into the ment for Monument badger's sett and Protection. took photos by remote control," Hendrikje Ring, one of the sculptors, told Der Spiegel. "We found pieces of One of the warriors' graves appears to have been jewelry, retrieved them and contacted the authorities." robbed of its sword, Kersting explained. "If someone went to this grave and opened it in full view of the loOne warlord was buried with a two-edged sword and cal castle and took out the sword, that's a sign that a large bronze bowl at his feet, The Local, an Englishsomething's not working anymore," Kersting told Der language news site, reports. "At the time, such bowls Spiegel. "It highlights the time of upheaval when the were used to wash the hands before eating," archaerule of the Slavic tribes was coming to an end." ologist Felix Biermann of Georg-August University in Gttingen told The Local. "The bowls would be a sign that a man belonged to the upper classes." Follow Marc Lallanilla on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original The same warrior also wore an elegant bronze belt article on LiveScience. buckle in the shape of an omega, with the head of a http://www.livescience.com/38899-bad...alstylized snake at each end. "He was a well-equipped ground.html warrior," said Biermann, who is leading the team excavating the site. "Scars and bone breaks show that he had been hit by lances and swords, and had also
Page 14 The News, September 2013

Raising Chicago
he city of Chicago was founded in 1833, on the coast of Lake Michigan and within the Mississippi River watershed. Its location -- near rivers which lead south and adjacent to a conduit eastward as well -lent itself to rapid growth. Only 200 people were living in Chicago at its founding on August 12 of that year, but it quickly grew. By 1840, well over 4,000 people lived there; by 1860, Chicago had 112,000 residents. For its first century, it was widely regarded to be one of the fastest growing metro areas in the world. But growth comes with a price, especially in a city which is just five hundred feet or so (182 m) above sea level. When it rained, it flooded. Everywhere. Chicago, into the 1850s, did not have a working municipal sewage system. So water just collected and collected. Where water sits, disease brews, as Chicagoans quickly learned. Typhoid fever, dysentery and cholera struck the city year after year. In 1854, a cholera outbreak killed as much as six percent of the city's population. Fixing the problem, though, came with a problem unto itself -- how do you build sewers where the buildings already are? The solution: Raise the buildings. No, not raze. Raise, as in to lift up. If the city could figure out a way to elevate four- and five-story (and larger!) buildings a few feet, they could install new foundations, allowing for the construction of a municipal sewage system. A few years later, they did exactly that. In January of 1858, the first building -- a four story high brick structure weighing 750 tons -- was placed on two hundred fifty jackscrews (this is what a jackscrew looks like) and successfully lifted more than six feet over its original height without damaging it. Over the next decade, much of central Chicago was similarly lifted so that the sewage system could be constructed. Most impressive, perhaps, was the lifting of a row of buildings 320 feet (nearly 100 m) long on Lake Street -accomplished by roughly six hundred men over the course of five days. One hotel, the Briggs House, required dozens of men, as seen above (larger version of what appears to be an engraving here), and survived the lifting just fine. In other cases, the city also had to raise the sidewalk, roads, and anything else installed too low for a sewer system to run underneath. In general, the lifting was successful; there are few reports of damage. (Ironically, many of the buildings lifted -- including the Briggs House seen above -- were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire of 1872). And the city took the lifting as an opportunity to do something else: it gentrified. Wooden frame buildings, which were looked at as lesser, poorer structures than the brick and iron ones, were lifted -- and then removed, driven out of the city. As Wikipedia notes, the practice of putting these buildings "on rollers and moving them to the outskirts of town or to the suburbs was so common as to be considered nothing more than routine traffic." Bonus fact: If you're ever in Chicago, try the garlic and onions. The word "Chicago" comes from a Native American word, transliterated into French as "shikaakwa" (say it aloud), which over time became the term we know today. "Shikaakwa" means either wild garlic or wild onion, both of which were plentiful in the region before settlers of European descent arrived in the area. Now I Know http://NowIKnow.com
The News, September 2013

Gold Glossary
Flour Gold/Gold Dust - Gold that is so fine that it looks and feels like flour or dust. "The bread and butter of prospecting." Nuggets are just a bonus.

Gold Facts
Symbol: AU Atomic Number: 79 Atomic Weight: 196.967 Melting Point: 1063 (1945 F) Specific Gravity: 19.2 MOHs Scale of Hardness: 2.5 - 3 Karat 24K = 100% Pure Gold 18K = 75% Pure Gold 14K = 58% Pure Gold 10K = 42% Pure Gold Troy Weights 1 grain = 0.0648 grams 24 grains = 1 penny weight (DWT) = 1.552 grams 20 DWT = 1 ounce = 480 grains = 31.10 grams

YOUR ADVERTISEMENT COULD BE HERE! Call Rick Mattingly at 970-613-8968 or rickmatt@q.com

Page 15

Trading Post
FOR SALE: Keene high banker/ 3 in. suction dredge. Near new 10 HP motor [less than 10 hours] with 330 GPM pump. All hoses included with extras. Retails for over $2,000. Sell for $900 firm. Contact Darrell 970 669 2599. FOR SALE: Jewelers propane/oxygen torch, many cabochons, beads and tools. Contact Ann at (970) 6667-3705. FOR SALE: Tekonsha Prodigy Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 4 Axles - Proportional, Model 90185. High quality, popular brake controller at a great price. Proportional brake controller. Includes digital display, 3 boost levels, battery protection and continuous diagnostics. Easily transfer between different automobiles and using this brake controller it is simple and easy. Comes with mounting bracket, vinyl cover, and instructions. Requires separate purchase of proportional wiring adapter for your make and model tow vehicle that is available off the Internet. $45 includes shipping within the U.S. E-mail Nick Kerpchar at mtview4us@msn.com FOR SALE: A "MUST HAVE" T-Shirt for every Prospector and Treasure Hunter. Quality 100% cotton tees. See and order from: http://BestBlackandGold.com. FOR SALE: Minelab SD2200 Gold Nugget Metal Detector: 10-1/2" Mono Super Coil, 10-1/2" SD Series Super Coil, two batteries w/wall & car charger, headphones, backpack, waist battery pack, signal enhancer, extra lower stem, instruction booklet & video, carry case. Ready to go for the gold: $1900. Contact Paul at (970) 482-7846. FOR SALE: 5HP pump motor, Gold King 3" Hi-banker with dredge attachment w/adjustable stand, Gold Grabber Hibanker, 125 feet hose, Rock net and steel cable, misc. fittings and valves & large metal bucket. Prefer to sell all together for $1,350 but negotiable. Call Eric Stickland at (303) 833-6848 or estick@live.com. WANTED: Used lapidary equipment. Call Kathie 970-2211623 WANTED: Federal or state duck stamps; mint or used. Contact John Hart at (307) 778-3993. YELLOWSTONE FAREWELL Wyoming adventure novel. Diamonds, Gold, Volcanic activity, Prospecting. Factual geology; Fictional story. $18.00 + $4.00 S&H. Spur Ridge Enterprises, POB 1719, Laramie, WY 82073. Internet: http://yellowstonefarewell.com/

About Trading Post The News runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads for topic related items up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Rick Mattingly at (970) 613-8968 evenings or e-mail at: rickmatt@q.com Commercial Advertising Specifications (Monthly Donation Rate) Full Page (8 1/2" X 7") Half Page (3 1/4" X 7") One Third Page (3" X 4") Business Card (2 3/4" X 1 1/2") $30 $20 $15 $ 5

Ads must be received by the 15th of the preceding month. Contact Rick Mattingly for information on this service at (970) 613-6968 evenings or e-mail at: rickmatt@q.com.

All mistakes and misspellings were intentionally made so that you could have the pleasure of finding them.

NOTE: Purchase arrangements are between the buyer and seller only and involves no financial benefit to RMPTH.

Page 16

The News, September 2013

WEEKEND & SMALL-SCALE MINERS CODE OF ETHICS

I WILL respect other prospectors claims and not work those claims without the owners permission I WILL have on-site all necessary permits and licenses I WILL build fires in designated or safe places only, and in accordance with current State and Federal guidelines I WILL be careful with fuels and motor oils and be cognizant of their potential destructive effect on the environment I WILL remove and properly dispose of all trash and debris that I find - I will not litter I WILL be thoughtful, considerate and courteous to those around me at all time I WILL appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, fisheries and private property, and respect all laws or ordinances governing prospecting and mining I WILL NOT remove stream bank material, destroy natural vegetation or woody debris dams, nor discharge excess silt into the waterways I WILL NOT refuel motorized equipment in the stream I WILL NOT allow oil from motorized equipment to drip onto the ground or into the water I WILL NOT prospect in areas closed to prospecting and mining

(Continued from page 3)

S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground. P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear. S: Evidence removed. P: DME volume unbelievably loud. S: DME volume set to more believable level. P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. S: That's what friction locks are for. P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode. S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode. P: Suspected crack in windshield. S: Suspect you're right. P: Number 3 engine missing. S: Engine found on right wing after brief search P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!) S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious. P: Target radar hums. S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics. P: Mouse in cockpit. S: Cat installed. And the best one for last P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer. S: Took hammer away from the midget

Offer Your Assistance To Any Of Our Program Coordinators

The News, September 2013 Page 17

Rocky Mountain Prospectors and Treasure Hunters Club 2013 Schedule of Events
Month
January

Meeting Program
Bottle Hunting By Rick Mattingly
Relic Hunting By Tom Warne

Trip/Activity
No Trip/Activity Scheduled

February

No Trip/Activity Scheduled

March

South Pass, Wyoming History By Rick Mattingly

Colorado School of Mines Museum Tour Detecting Clinic at Lions Park Advertised and Open to the Public Wyoming Geologic Survey Tour & Diamond Prospecting Clinic Phoenix Mine & Argo Mill Tours Lets Go Gold Panning On The Arkansas Event Prospecting Clinic at Lions Park Advertised and Open to the Public Clear Creek Gold Outing GPS, Compass & Map Clinic Clear Creek Gold Outing Diamond Hunt Outing State Annual Gold Panning Championships

April

RMPTH Prospecting DVD Overview & Patent Searching By Rick Mattingly

May

Ghost Towns of the Rockies By Preethie Burkholder

June

Detecting England By Ed & Mia Edwards Burrows Cave By Russell Burrows GPAA Presentation By Rick Messina - President Casper Chapter GPAA and State Director

July

Butcher Knife Draw WY Gem Outing South Pass, Wyoming Gold & Detector Outing Eldora Ski Resort Detector Outing

August

Meteorite Hunting

Ames Monument Tour and Vedauwoo Detector Outing Vics Gold Panning Outing Annual Coin & Prize Hunt Denver Colorado Gem & Mineral Show Fort Laramie Wyoming Tour

September

Battery Facts By Batteries Plus

October

Gold & Silver Refining Presentation By David Emslie Annual Show & Tell & Silent Auction Annual Find of the Year Awards & Christmas Party

Off-Road Detector Outing

November

Local Detector Outing

December

Flatirons Mineral Club & Model Train Show

Good Hunting in 2013!

Page 18 The News, September 2013

Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Contact List

RMPTH Coordinators President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Bud Yoder Tom Warne Dick & Sharon French Heidi Short Home 1-970-635-0773 1-970-482-2110 1-970-532-1167 E-Mail bydu812@yahoo.com goldigger48@msn.com dickyf99@centurylink.net heishort@gmail.com

The News Staff Editor-in-Chief Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968

rickmatt@q.com

Internet Web Site Web Master Volunteers/Coordinators Find of the Year Joe Johnston Betsy Emond Paul Mayhak Rick Mattingly Barbara Schuldt Barbara Schuldt Joe Johnston Bryan Morgan Darrell Koleber Bob Smith Shane Menenti Paul Mayhak Johnny Berndsen 1-303-696-6950 1-970-218-0290 1-970-482-7846 1-970-613-8968 1-970-407-1336 1-970-407-1336 1-303-696-6950 1-970-416-0608 1-970-669-2599 1-303-530-4375 1-970-590-9183 1-970-482-7846 1-970-667-1006 cjoej1@peoplepc.com pjmcolo@q.com Rick Mattingly 1-970-613-8968

rickmatt@q.com

Presentations Club Historian Club Meeting Greeter Club Librarian Panning Demos

rickmatt@q.com
cjoej1@peoplepc.com brymorg@frii.com gutshot1016@yahoo.com bob15smith@hotmail.com menentiwe2@msn.com pjmcolo@q.com

Meeting Setup

Door Prize

General Information Contact: Rick Mattingly at 1-970-613-8968

Visit RMPTH on the Internet at: http://rmpth.com

Lets Go For The Gold !

The News, September 2013 Page 19

The News
Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters Club 278 Sierra Vista Drive Fort Collins, CO. 80524

SEPTEMBER, 2013 ISSUE