Gold Question of the Week for Feb. 21,2007

From mid February through mid March, how many potential miners passed through San Diego on average per day in 1889 to reach the gold placers in the Santa Claras? How much is estimated to have been spent on mining equipment and supplies as a whole on the venture, and how many dollars worth of gold was estimated to have been extracted.

ANSWER: The gold rush to the Santa Clara's came at the end of the large rushes to the north, and was joined by many who had been there, but a little late. They quit jobs, left families, and journeyed south for their dream. 300, on an average day, passed through San Diego on their way to Mexico and were plaqued at the border with restrictions and delays. It is estimated that a quarter of a million dollars was spent by these people before mid March was over, for the total dollar amount of $20,000 worth of gold that was extracted. The experienced miners did the best with the Mexicans coming in second. The first group knew what they were doing and the second helped each other. The rest had no clue what to do, how to do it, or what to do when the water ran out. San Diego History.org will give you the rest of the story. And it is a fascinating one to read.

Gold Question of the Week for Feb.14, 2007.

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Glenn with 2 n's for being the first, correct, qualified, COMPLETE answer to the question for Feb. 14th.

Hooked On Gold's QUESTION OF THE WEEK: February 14, 2007.

Which is more rare - A 5 carat Diamond or a 1 oz. gold nugget? PART TWO: Since it is Valentines Day, give me your answer to this question as well. Which is more rare - the answer to the first part of the question or true love?

When you send in the answer to the first part, include your source as the question is pretty easy to guess. I want to know that you looked it up.

NO COPY AND PASTE ANSWERS, PLEASE.

There were lots of quick obvious answers here, but no sources were submitted with them. Congratualtions to Glenn for sending in his answer WITH the source.

ANSWER: A one ounce Natural Nugget is more rare than a 5 carat diamond. One source for this answer is at: fairfield.k12ct.us. Search: gold nuggets and diamond facts You will also find a great site under this search about not getting ripped off from auctions and buying gold nuggets in general.

Is a one ounce natural nugget more rare than love? The overwhelming vote was that true love is more rare than a natural one ounce gold nugget, and finding it is even more rare. Are any of us surprised?

Gold at the Tucson Show

From top, Nevada gold specimen,California gold specimen, Tiger Eye from Australia.

For those of you who don't know about the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil show held each February in Tucson, Arizona, you are missing one of the real treats of the winter. The shows span about 4 weeks, with many overlapping each other. We had heard about this show for many years, but were unable to attend due to work conflicts. This was the first year we were able to go, and it was all we had heard and 10 times more.

Both wholesale and retail venues abound, and it was hard to find what we wanted to see in the 4 days we were there. We settled on making sure we saw the vendors we know personally, buying gold, and catching a small part of a couple of the wholesale gem shows. We saw a lot and missed a lot more. The shows are so big you could pick one to attend and not see all of IT in 4 days.

The gold we saw and bought was abundant, but not as much as there had been a few years ago when gold was the show theme. However, we did see and photograph fabulous gold specimens from the U.S. and around the world, and bought gold nuggets at reasonable prices. Remember, I didn't say "sand" prices, but reasonable "gold" prices. Special specimens were shown from California (with a couple of large specimens being bought by collectors before they were even seen), Nevada, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Australia, and Arizona. Do you notice a pattern with gold places beginning with the letter A? LOL!

Shuttling from place to place is recommended, as the shows blanket the city. Parking, trying to drive everywhere, and finding your venue is a dunting task that the shuttle drivers can relieve you of. Traffic can be a problem and will be worse next year as Tucson plans to be working of the downtown bidges and freeway interchanges. We had no problem finding restaurants with little waiting for seating. We had anticipated a problem with this due to the number of people in town for the events, but this proved not to be the case.

If you have a passion for gold, gems, minerals and fossils this show is a must at sometime in your future. If you have been there, you know it is a treat to be there. The weather in the middle of winter is an added plus as it was 83 degrees while we were there. A great trip, and a great time.

Gold Question of the Week for Feb. 7, 2007

Hooked On Gold's QUESTION OF THE WEEK: February 7, 2007.

How much of the "Mother Lode" is said to be still in the ground?

ANSWER: As many of you found out, this is another of those questions that has many answers. Sources report anywhere from 74% to 95% of the "Mother Lode" is still in the ground.

Hooked on Gold Question for Jan. 31, 2007.

Jan. 31, 2007 Question of the Week: What percentage of gold found in Alaska was within 25 miles of Fairbanks?

ANSWER: 37 % of the gold found in Alaska was within 25 miles of Fairbanks.