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3. Take friends, more eyeballs are always better than two.
4. Get the right kind of tools, it's much easier on the hands!
5. Kick back, relax, and REALLY take in the beauty of what is around you.
My Best Places to Find Cash and Treasure
1. Arkansas Crystal Mines in Jesseville and Mt. Ida, AR
2. Since I can't get out much right now, eBay has some great finds for cabs and rough.
3. Usually in the bottom of my dresser drawers!
4. This is reserved for my next outing which may not be for a long while. UPDATE...The time is coming, the remodeling although challenging is getting closer to being completed and I'll be out there soon!
5. In the storage room, closets and unexpected places while I've been working on the house. Found a whole collection of miniature ceramic, majolica,
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More about me... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How I first got into treasure hunting...looking for crystals as a child.
My treasure hunting obsession(s): So far I've only had the opportunity to dig for crystals, but hope to someday make a trip around the country searching for different gemstones.
My most exciting find: a large (14" x 10") multi-point crystal found in Coleman Mines in Jesseville, AR about 20 years ago. Other than that, I have had to search online for my exciting finds, in fact this site was an exciting find. I recently purchased some beautiful agates and rather large boulder opals that will look great in jewelry.
I'm presently hunting for...time to go treasure hunting!
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I hope you don't mind me posting my finds in the midst of your fabulous hunts and terrific finds. I promise, I'd rather be "out there" rockin' with the rest of you!
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Mt. Redoubt Video that I compiled from AVO web images can be found HERE.
MY FINDS
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Description of treasure: A Crystal I found in early to mid 90's. My best find to date.
Where I found it: Coleman Crystal Mines
How I found it: Sat on a mountain of red clay. Saw a large point sticking out of the ground about 1 inch and dug with a small garden tool for hours... yes hours, I wasn't very well equipped and had taken a group of 4 children to hunt for crystals.
Appraisal information: I have no idea.
. Below: Same Crystal as in photo above, different angle and light. This has not been soaked in oxcylic acid for cleaning, only sprayed off. I was afraid of loosing some of the many smaller points that appear. Where I found it: Coleman Crystal Mine, reported to be in Hot Springs, AR but actually located closer to Jesseville, AR north past Hot Springs Village on Hwy. 7
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Opals & custom creations for something unique.
This stone was purchased from Peter Brusaschi (or Brusacci)** of www.opalmine.com and made into a custom pendant. The colors are just fabulous. I named this stone opal sky, and had him turn the stone the direction shown because (to me) it looked like a Japanese painting with mountains and the sparkling sky above.
It is a Boulder Opal and according to Peter, referred to as a Picture Stone. Peter said that they were quite popular in Australia.
The photo above was posted on Peter's site, www.opalmine.com and I rotated it to show him the way that I would like the stone set. I've received permission from Peter to post this photo and invited him to join the site. You may find him under Petren.
**Peter's email has his name spelled Brusaschi and the site has Brusacci, but they are one and the same. :)
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This is the finished pendant from the stone above. A custom setting in 14k White Gold, the workmanship is beautiful. Sorry for the quality of the photo, I took it with my cell phone. When I have a better photo I will post it.
Please visit Peter's site and if you find anything that you can't pass up, please tell him Terry sent you.
. This next picture is of a Koroit Boulder Opal that I was lucky enough to find on eBay.
It is around 33 carats and has beautiful veins of blue opal running through it. I simply added a gold bail and wear it on my omega chain.
My Personal Creations
I am a crafter and seem to dabble in a little bit of everything. My latest obsession has been making jewelry.
Beading These are just a couple of the items that I have made with various gemstone beads.
The beading in this necklace is onyx and coral. The pendant is a hand-crafted and handpainted glass pendant made by a very good friend who runs an eBay store. I'll be happy to direct you to her if you are interested.
Precious Metal Clay
I've just recently (November) started working with PMC (Precious Metal Clay), these were my first two creations.
The pendant below was created with PMC from a mold and added to a custom beaded necklace. The one on the right is an original piece that I designed. I am hoping to start adding some gemstones to my creations soon. But first I have to learn how to cut them! (Dreaming).
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Great Opals and other stones that I've found on eBay
This photo is as close to the actual size of the pendant as I could get. The back is open and exposes the natural ironstone backing. It appraised at my local jewelers by a certified gemologist for 10 times the amount that I paid for it. I also found a ring that matched it so closely that you would have thought they were made together, it is shown on the right. I have not had the ring appraised yet.
The next item is a sunstone that I purchased after watching Cash & Treasures in the first season.
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. PLUSH_MINES was the seller of the stone below, I am unable to locate them on eBay now unfortunately so they probably had to change their name to something less like the actual mine. The uncut stone is approximately 27 carats. The photo* is from the original seller. .. . . . . . .
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The next photo is a shot of three boulder opals that I was lucky enough to find as loose stones, they do not have the green flash like the stone in the pendant above. They are a nice size and will make a beautiful set of earrings and a pendant or ring.
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* PHOTOS - Although I own these items, the photos (marked with a single asterick) were taken by the sellers as noted. Permission has been requested from these sellers and only one photo is pending. Once permission has been received the asterick will be removed. Photos may have to be removed if they do not approve of me posting them here. All other photos have been taken by me with either my cell phone or camera, that is why they aren't so great! . To insure that there is no question regarding the property rights of the photos permissions and dates received are shown below:
~ January 24 - Received permission from Peter at OpalMine (.) com ~ January 25 - Received permission from Heidi at tellmewhereonearth (.) com ~ January 25 - Received permission from KingsmanOpal ~ January 25 - Received permission from Sally at SalsOpals (trueblueopals) ~ January 27 - Received permission from brightopals ~ February 19 - Received permission from Paivi at sedonadtone ~ February 19 - Received permission from Ward and Carol at autumnpuddy
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Just a very cool video to fill a little space This is a time lapse found on YouTube
More Opal Finds
This one is a real beauty and is approximately this size. This was from seller: trueblueopals - SalsOpals.
This is one of my favorite pendants - this one is shown larger than actual size to show the beautiful colors. This was purchased from seller: whereonearth on eBay. KingsmanOpal is another good seller and these two sellers are where I got the items on the left as well.
The antique ring below does have a small chip, but it is barely visible, the colors in the opal are fabulous. The ring has areas on the corners that
you can see in green and blue and there is cutwork that is just stunning. I guess you have figured out by now that I am a complete opal freak!
The solid black opal below is a recent purchase from bright opals.
Although very small it is a beautiful stone.
The blue fish above is a solid boulder opal carving, the back view shows the natural ironstone backing. Photo was provided courtesy of seller "autumnpuddy" who I purchased this beauty from.
The following lovely little owl was purchased from seller "sedonastone" on eBay. The colors are fabulous in this doublet. Opal carvings are often made from a piece of suitable opal that is "left over" from cutting a larger specimen to create a piece that will be set in jewelry.
The photo at the bottom shows a different view of the same owl that is to the right, but displays how changing the position of the piece will reflect the multitude of colors that an opal can display.
I'll take the left overs most any day, wouldn't you?
Rough Gems
Emerald Rough - this is supposed to be from Brazil. The photo doesn't really reflect the color well, but there are a few pieces that I think are possibilities.
This Opal Rough was purchased from James Dumar. It is ready and waiting for someone to cut and cab, one of those things that is on my "To-Do" list of things I hope to learn.
This is just a sampling of some of the pieces from above, you can really see the fire in these in the right light. The two larger pieces are a little smaller than a golf ball. In this photo, the lighter piece is actually the one with the most potential, there are green, yellow and orange flashes appearing through the area where the potch has been rubbed away.
More to come...I'm going to be taking photos of other stones and opal jewelry that I have been lucky enough to come across. I recently purchased some nice agate stones that I have made into pendants. Although I've had to find most of these online, they are still treasures to me...and I truly did "hunt" for them. :) Enjoy!
Where to find it:
I've listed some of my favorite sellers from eBay as I post my finds.
kingsmanopal - great opal jewelry - my best items have come from here. whereonearth - a mixed bag of items, opals in the mix. angelstone8 - black ridge opal black_opal_gems - black opals and more mylegacy-treasures - nice black opals jamesdumar - opal rough trueblueopals - nice loose opals siriusblack23 - koroit and other boulder opals genow40 - crystal prisms micheytoo - findings bellazanobeads - beads and findings sedonastone - various gemstones polished and ready for making jewelry. autumnpuddy - various items, this was where I got the carved opal fish
http://www.delarue-opals.com/roughboulderopals.html - rough opal for those of you that know how to cut it, or would like to give it a try. I don't know how (yet) but have purchased rough from various places just to get a look at what the rough specimens look like and someday learn to cut opal!
TREASURE MAP - a Google Map submitted by one of their users. Thanks to Bill for helping me create a page to post it. The funniest part of this map is that the individual also listed some of their favorite restaurants admist some great places to dig and hunt for treasure!
PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED TO SCROLL TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THIS SECTION. If your are viewing on a high resolution monitor, this won't be an issue for you. My Latest Additions
Benitoite and Neptunite
Photos Courtesy of Seller, Lynxa, on eBay
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The four photos above are Benitoite, the one to the left is Neptunite, often found on the host rock with Benitoite, if you look carefully, you will see the difference in the crystal structure. Benitoite is pyramidal in shape while neptunite is prismatic.
Benitoite - Cut Stone Photos Courtesy of Seller, gabesgems on eBay Stone was cut by Scott Forrest of www.wfsgems.com
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Amethyst _____________ Photo courtesy of Lynxa on eBay.
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Amethyst from Uruguay _____________ Photo courtesy of Matthew from Arrowhead Mine in Arkansas. Also on eBay under 'arrowheadmine'.
Canary Wavelight from Arkansas _________ Photo courtesy of Matthew from Arrowhead Mine in Arkansas. Also on eBay under 'arrowheadmine'.
. Benitoite - Cut Stone Photos Courtesy of Seller, keanchuan on eBay
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. Benitoite Specimens Photos Courtesy of Seller, Gabe Schreiner, of gabesgems.
Benitoite that looks like this doesn't just happen naturally. The natrolite (the white snowy looking part of the specimen) can sometimes completely cover a Benitoite or Neptunite crystal so it must be etched away with acid. When searching for Benitoite, the use of a short wave UV light will help to identify where benitoite is hidden.
Two other specimens are shown below.
Picture Jasper / Amazonite Pendants
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The top two pendants are Intarsia Pendants. They are made from Oregon Picture Jasper / Amazonite (aka Owyhee Jasper), then framed in black Jasper. The photo on the left is a carved Rainbow Flourite. Each one of these items is much more beautiful in person! On the bottom row (left) is a carved Sodalite pendant that is approximately 1 inch wide by 2 inches tall, so it will make an impressive pendant. . The photo below is a Lapis & Chrysocolla pendant, the origin of this stone is Mexico.
The above items were purchased from eBay seller waly-beads. The photos above were provided by Queenne of Waly Beads.
Wulfenite & Mimitite Specimen The mineral speciment below was purchased from eBay seller topazminer_mineral_and_fossils The photos belo are courtesy of topaz miner_mineral_and_fossils.
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This was so cool looking that I just had to have it. It was mined from: Mina la Ojuele¸ Mapimi¸ Durango¸ Mexico
The Greatest Treasures of All
My Family
Top Left: My Grandson
Top Right: The Grandkids
Left: Me holding my grandson just after he was born.
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I have one daughter who has a blended family, the little red-head in the middle of the top-right photo was her first child and is pictured with her 'inherited' siblings, and the top-left is her son born on Thanksgiving (what a blessing).
I love them all as my own grandchildren and am looking forward to someday spending more time with them! .
. My Moss Agate Ring that I received from my Grandmother over 40 years ago..
My Favorite Tunes and Latest Posts
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I am also a collector of music and have well over 1000 CD's in all genres as well as almost as many karoke CD's. It really depends on my mood. I've added the players here so that anyone that isn't into the 'What's Rockin' Player on the page by the same name can enjoy something a little less heavy, but still with variety. If we ever get together, I'll be glad to bring my karaoke CD's so we can all laugh and have a good time after dark (or at least those of us that aren't looking for flourescent rocks can!).
"Enjoying your vids and musical selections. Your PP (profile pg) continues to get bigger & better....................Aman"
Thanks! I need to make some updates to the music players. Some of the songs that were working earlier in the year aren't working anymore, but I'm glad you like it. I love any kind of music.
Terry
out of found this valuable.
Do you find this valuable?
This is the finished pendant from the stone above. A custom setting in 14k White Gold, the workmanship is beautiful. Sorry for the quality of the photo, I took it with my cell phone. When I have a better photo I will post it.
It is around 33 carats and has beautiful veins of blue opal running through it. I simply added a gold bail and wear it on my omega chain.
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oses the natural ironstone backing. It ap
praised at my local jewelers by a certified gemologist for 10 times the amount that I paid for it. I also found a ring that matched it so closely that you would have thought they were made together, it is shown on the right. I have not had the ring appraised yet. 
s the seller of the stone below, I am unable to locate them on eBay now unfortunately so they probably had to change their name to something less like the actual mine. The uncut stone is approximately 27 carats. The photo* is from the original seller. 
wn larger than actual size to show the beautiful colors. This was purchased from seller: whereonearth on eBay. KingsmanOpal is another good seller and these two sellers are where I got the items on the left as well.
The colors are fabulous in this doublet. Opal carvings are often made from a piece of suitable opal that is "left over" from cutting a larger specimen to create a piece that will be set in jewelry. 
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