in The Southeast . . . . How & Where to Find It

By: Andy Sabisch

Everyone has heard of the famous gold strikes and the ensuing rush to strike it rich that took place in California, Alaska, Arizona and but did you know that gold was first discovered on the East Coast of the United States in the 1700’s?

In 1799, twelve-year-old Conrad Reed was fishing in Little Meadow Creek on his family’s farm in near present-day Charlotte, NC when he found a seventeen-pound gold nugget. Mining activities dominated the surrounding area for several decades and millions of dollars worth of gold was recovered. As a matter of fact, the U.S. Government opened a little-known mint in Charlotte in 1837 to process the gold being mined and produced gold coins bearing the “C” mintmark. It remained in operation until the Civil War broke out and over its short lifetime, produced more than $5,000,000 in gold coins!

In 1828, gold was discovered in north Georgia near the town of Dahlonega (even though isolated mining took place in the surrounding area for more than a decade earlier) and the next big was on. Miners swarmed into the area displacing the Cherokee Indians, and as was the case with the Charlotte strike, recovered millions of dollars in gold from the streams and rivers throughout the Georgia hills. With the amount of gold being found, another mint was opened in Dahlonega designated with the “D” mintmark (not to be confused with the Denver mint that did not strike gold coins) and operated from 1838 to the start of the Civil War.

When gold was discovered at Sutters Mill in California in 1848, a stampede of fortune seekers abandoned the eastern gold fields and headed west. The assayer of the Dahlonega mint, Dr. M.F. Stephenson, attempted to keep local miners from leaving the area and in 1849 coined the now famous phrase “Thar's gold in them thar hills” referring the vast amount of gold that remained in North Georgia. As time marched on, large scale slowly faded into the history books on the East coast as larger, more easily accessible strikes were made out west or in other areas. But what Dr. Stephenson said more than 160 years ago still holds true today and there are literally millions of dollars in gold waiting to be found not only in Georgia but in many states east of the Mississippi River including Alabama, North & South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Tennessee to name just a few where gold has been found in significant quantities. But before you start making plans to quit your job and take up gold prospecting, there are a number of differences between the type of gold one finds throughout the Eastern United States and the techniques used to recover it and the gold found in places such as California, Alaska or Australia.

The first major difference to discuss in east coast prospecting is the form in which most Eastern gold is found. Formed in a different manner than that found in the western or Australian gold fields, the vast majority of Eastern gold is what is called “flake” or “flour” gold. Nuggets have and are still are found on occasion; however, they are not the size of what prospectors find in other gold areas. Typically they are “pickers” or pieces of gold just large enough to pick up with tweezers or your fingers but with the specific gravity of gold, even small pieces like these tend to add up in weight fairly quickly. In almost every area, gold on the east coast is found in combination with black sand. Often prospectors will locate the black sand first and then as one digs down towards bedrock, the gold will start to appear with any nuggets usually close to or in the actual bedrock itself.

Copyright © 2019 * Treasure Hunting Outfitters All Rights Reserved – No reproduction Permitted Without Written Authorization Another major difference between gold prospecting on the east coast and the western states or Alaska is the accessibility to productive locations. Out west, there are tens of thousands of acres of public land administered by multiple governmental agencies where prospecting can be done on a recreational scale. While there have been recent restrictions in areas such as California in terms of what form of prospecting is allowed, there are still vast areas that are open to the recreational miner. Unfortunately this is not the case on the East coast where there is very little land that is open to public prospecting. What this forces prospectors to do is seek out the few areas where public access is available or utilize one of the “pay-to-prospect” properties that exist.

High banking is a popular form of gold prospecting on the East coast since many of the old pay streaks are now well above the current water level. (Photo courtesy of The Thermal City Gold Mine)

The first step you should take is to do some research and find out where gold has been found in the past as it stands to reason the old miners did not find it all and there should be some yet left to find. The Internet is a great place to start and a few well-defined searches should help you zero in on where the gold producing areas near where you live are . . . and you might in fact be surprised just how close they might be. In the late 1980’s I moved to north Georgia and was shocked to find out that one of the original gold bearing streams in the area mined as far back as 1819 was literally within walking distance of my house. During the time I lived there I recovered a decent amount of gold from that and other nearby streams. Check with your local historical society if gold was mined in the past as they often have old maps and other material that is not available on a wider scale and you can often get an edge over prospectors that live a distance away and can not access the records you can. A great source of maps that will identify where gold has been found before (as well as some great leads to metal detecting sites) is Big Ten, Inc. out of Cocoa Beach, Florida. Visit their website at http://www.GoldMaps.com for more information on their material and see if your state or area of interest is covered.

Once you have zeroed-in on the areas that have the greatest potential to still hold gold, the next step will be to gain access to the areas and do so LEGALLY. Ignoring No Trespassing signs or trying to slip in unnoticed is a sure fire way to develop a close personal relationship with the local sheriff as well as an irate property owner and helps ensure areas are closed to future prospecting.

The Gold Prospectors Association of America (GPAA) and it’s sister organization, the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association (LDMA) are the most well-known organizations dedicated to

Copyright © 2019 * Treasure Hunting Outfitters All Rights Reserved – No reproduction Permitted Without Written Authorization obtaining access rights to gold-producing property across the country and making it available to members and their families. They have chapters in almost every state as well as property you can prospect on within a few-hour drive from virtually anywhere along the East Coast. The GPAA membership of less than $70-per-year is a real bargain when you consider the benefits it provides such as access to proven areas, discounts on equipment and a group of fellow prospectors willing to “show you the ropes.” More information is available on-line at http://www.GoldProspectors.org.

There are a number of “pay-to-mine” locations that offer the potential to find decent quantities of gold with the investment of some sweat equity. Many people plan vacations – ranging from a weekend to a summer – at one of these places. Check out advertisements in Lost Treasure or do a search on the Internet and see what might be in your area or locate a destination the family might want to travel to. Some well-known locations include The Alabama Gold Camp (Lineville, AL), Gold-n-Gem Grubbin (Cleveland, GA), The Crisson Gold Mine (Dahlonega, GA), Coker Creek (Coker Creek, TN) Thermal City Gold Mine (Union Mills, NC), The Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine (Marion, NC) and The Cotton Patch Gold Mine (New London, NC) to name just a few. These types of sites are situated in areas where gold is being found on a regular basis so they eliminate your need to conduct hours of research in the hope of finding a potentially productive location.

The creeks on the property contain gold that is recovered on a regular basis with gold pans and sluice boxes. (Photo courtesy of The Cotton Patch Gold Mine & Campground)

The third option to gain access to a productive location is to simply ask for permission from the current landowner once you have narrowed down an area to search. If you approach them the right way and ensure them that you will not destroy their property, many will give you access to select areas on their land. If you live in the area and know the landowner (or know someone that does), it can be quite easy to obtain access to your own piece of the “Mother Lode.” Most counties

Copyright © 2019 * Treasure Hunting Outfitters All Rights Reserved – No reproduction Permitted Without Written Authorization now have tax records available online which makes it quite simple to find out who owns a specific piece of property and allows you to add a personal touch when asking for permission.

So you’ve done your homework and found some sites that are sure to contain some of the Eastern gold you are hoping to find. You’ve ordered some DVD’s or books on electronic prospecting which show what’s involved in finding nuggets at depths exceeding a foot or more. You’ve bought a highly-rated gold detector and a bunch of other equipment which should be all you need to guarantee success right? So why then did you come up with little to show for your efforts the first weekend you spent in the field?

While there may not be one ounce plus nuggets waiting to be found like in Alaska or the Western US, when you see a pan of Eastern gold after your dredge has been cleaned out you know you’ve had a great day in some beautiful territory! (Photo courtesy of The Alabama Gold Camp)

Remember we talked about the difference in the type of gold you will be looking for in the east; i.e., flake or flour with the occasional small nugget or “picker.” Most of the books and videos available on electronic prospecting focus on the type of gold found in western states, Alaska or Australia. After all, showing pictures of large nuggets worth $10,000 or more tends to excite even the most jaded of prospectors. On the other hand, showing a small vial containing a few grams of gold “dust” resulting from a few hours of panning would hardly impress very many people. When selecting a for east coast prospecting, its sensitivity to very small pieces of metal is often far more important than how deep it can detect a larger piece simply due to the fact that the gold you are seeking will be the smaller size. A trick that will help you master whatever detector

Copyright © 2019 * Treasure Hunting Outfitters All Rights Reserved – No reproduction Permitted Without Written Authorization you opt to use and find the small pieces of gold typically found on the east coast is to practice with lead buckshot or very small fishing weights. Lead and gold are very similar in how they respond and learning what type of signal a tiny piece of gold produces will pay off when you hot the gold fields. You will find that the response is far different than what you get from say a coin, bullet or piece of gold jewelry with your standard detector even at extreme depths and if you are not listening for those subtle signals, you may very well be walking over pockets of small nuggets.

Another feature that will prove to be invaluable is a manual ground balance control or at least the ability to “lock” the ground balance to a specific level. A great use for a metal detector on the east coast is to search for concentrated pockets of black sand and then work that area with a pan, sluice or dredge until you get close enough to bedrock to be able to detect the small pieces of gold that may be trapped there in crevices.

Other equipment that will be needed include gold pans of various sizes (larger ones for general processing and smaller ones for final separation), a sucker bottle, vials to hold your gold, shovels, and 5-gallon buckets to collect concentrates. Stepping up from panning, you may want to invest in a sluice box, high banker, rocker box or dredge depending on your level of enthusiasm and what you are finding on your first few trips. Most of the commercial operations mentioned above rent equipment so you can try it out before buying it. Many east coast electronic prospectors carry along a handful of wooden stakes that can be used to mark areas found to contain concentrations of black sand that warrant closer scrutiny. For example, when I am prospecting a creek, I search for pockets of black sand over a 100’ to 200’ stretch before digging them out and seeing what the sands may hold in terms of gold content. If I am working with a partner, one can pinpoint possible areas with the metal detector while the other snipes the areas to see which are worth bringing in additional equipment to work.

Luckily gold recovery equipment works no matter where in the world it might be used so once you have selected the right equipment based on the type of gold you are searching for and gained access to the right site, technology and technique should guide you to success. While fist-sized nuggets are not the norm on the East coast, being able to fill a vial with flour gold a short drive from a downtown area brings a sense of excitement all its own. So do a little research, rub your lucky rabbit’s foot and give East coast prospecting a try . . . as they say, once you’ve been bitten by the Gold Bug, it’s hard to forget the feeling you get when you see that shiny yellow metal peeking out from amongst the dirt and rocks. Good luck in your searches!

Copyright © 2019 * Treasure Hunting Outfitters All Rights Reserved – No reproduction Permitted Without Written Authorization LOCATIONS IN THE SOUTHEAST TO MINE FOR GOLD

The biggest difference between prospecting for gold on the East Coast versus the Western States and Alaska is that there is very little public property that one can search for gold on. There are several commercial operations that offer prospectors the opportunity to search for gold in its natural state and several are listed here:

 Gold n Gem Grubbin: 75 Gold Nugget Lane, Cleveland, GA 30528; phone: (706) 865-5454. Website: http://www.goldngem.com/. area – no charge other than the material you want to process. A campground with hookups and tent sites is available on premises.

 Alabama Gold Camp: 1398 Co. Rd. 5, Lineville AL 36266; (256) 396-0389. Website: Camping ranging from tent sites to full RV hookups are available as well as cabins for those that want additional amenities. Equipment rentals are available including dredges and high bankers. Gold can be found in addition to garnets, fossils, citrine and Indian artifacts. Metal detectors are welcome.

 The Crisson Gold Mine: 2736 Morrison Moore Parkway East, Dahlonega, GA 30533; Phone: (706) 864-6363. Website: http://www.crissongoldmine.com. The site of one of the original gold mines in Dahlonega. Tours of the old mine are provided and a full line of mining equipment is available for purchase.

 Thermal City Gold Mine: 5240 US 221 North Highway, Union Mills, NC 28167; Phone: (828) 286-3016. Website: http://www.huntforgold.com/. Offering gold prospecting and gem mining on premises. Camping is available. Mining equipment is available for purchase in the store.

 The Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine: 251 Lucky Strike Lane, Marion, NC 28752; Phone: (828) 738-4893. Website: http://www.luckystrikegoldandgem.com/. Offers both gold and gem mining. A campground is available on-site as is a diner with a mining theme for the menu.

 The Cotton Patch Gold Mine and Campground: 41697 Gurley Road, New London, NC 28127; Phone: (704) 463-5797. Website: http://www.cottonpatchgoldmine.com/ Offering gold panning, sluicing, high banking and detecting opportunities. Originally opened as a commercial mine in the 1860’s, it began offering prospectors a destination

 Coker Creek: 13431 Hwy 68, Coker Creek, TN. 37314. Website: http://cokercreekgpaa.com/. This is a GPAA-affiliated property that offers members full access to pan, sluice, dredge, high bank and metal detect. As mentioned in the article, GPAA membership is a real bargain when you look at what you receive with membership and if you are in the Tennessee area, access to this site alone more than offsets the membership cost.

Copyright © 2019 * Treasure Hunting Outfitters All Rights Reserved – No reproduction Permitted Without Written Authorization