This 1/2 oz gold nugget was found in the bottom of a fire pit.

It was on one of our HGS claims in 1994 when a large group of us were camped out near the old 49er claim.I had been searching with my Lobo metal detector for several hours when I came across a fire pit ringed with large rocks.When I ran my Lobo over the pit I got a signal of a target and dug it up at about 2 inches down, just as I thought, it was a melted beer can. I put in my trash bag that I carry to get rid of junk so I will never find it again.I ran the Lobo over the pit again and pulled out more junk, nails, wire, you name it. Then I put the detector on discriminate and got a signal of a coin. At about 4 inches down I found the 1936 Mercury dime shown in the picture. Not a bad day I thought as I started looking for more coins as I dug through the old black charcoal and ashes.

I got another loud signal and found this 1/2 oz gold nugget at about 8 inches down in the fire pit. The nugget had been melted by the many fires that had been built in this pit over time. It was almost all black with ash but I could see the glint of gold shinning through. As I cleaned of the ash, I could see that the nugget had taken the shape of a bird, a Golden dove I thought, but maybe I should call it The Phoenix because it rose from the ashes.        

Capt. Dan McCarty