Gold Prospecting, Treasure Hunting, Mining, Relic Hunting, and Metal Detecting in New Hampshire

Granite State

GOLD

Gold was first discovered in New Hampshire in 1844 in quartz conglomerate during geologic surveys. A gold strike near Lisbon on the Ammonoosuc River in 1864, though, spiked the first real interest and several small mines opened.

Placer Deposits

A placer deposit is a concentration of a natural material that has accumulated in unconsolidated sediments of a stream bed, beach, or residual deposit. Gold derived by weathering or other process from lode deposits is likely to accumulate in placer deposits because of its weight and resistance to corrosion. In addition, its characteristically sun-yellow color makes it easily and quickly recognizable even in very small quantities.

The gold pan or miner's pan is a shallow sheet-iron vessel with sloping sides and flat bottom used to wash gold-bearing gravel or other material containing heavy minerals. The process of washing material in a pan, referred to as "panning," is the simplest, most commonly used, and least expensive method for a prospector to separate gold from the silt, sand, and gravel of the stream deposits. It is a tedious, back-breaking job and only with practice does one become proficient in the operation. Thankfully, technology finally caught up with our gold fever and brought us metal detectors!

Gold bearing conglomerates appear frequently as a result of this state's glacial deposition history. Gold is found in several forms: Nuggets, flakes, and flour; gold in quartz (especially along the Connecticut River and its tributaties); and gold chemically bonded with sulfide minerals in pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsneopyrite, chalcopyrite, and galena.

The best places to prospect seem to be the Ammonoosuc River below Bath and the Wild Ammonoosuc River between Benton and Swiftwater. Gold has also been found in Tunnel Brook near Benton; Notch Brook near Lincoln; and the following waterways in Northern Coos County: Indian Stream (glacial deposition), Perry Stream, Dead Diamond, and Swift Diamond Rivers. Here's a consolidated list:

Carroll County - Ellis River near Jackson. Swift River near Conway.
Cheshire County - Ashuelot River near Surry. Gulf Stream near Chesterfield.
Coos County - Indian Stream and Perry Stream, near Pittsburg. Dead diamond and Swift Diamond Rivers, north of Errol. Clear Stream, between Errol and Dixsville.
Grafton County - Ammonoosuc and Wild Ammonoosuc Rivers. Baker River, near Marren. Beebe River. Gale River, near Franconia. The Mad, West Branch and Upper Mad Rivers, near Waterville VBalleey. Notch Brook and the Salmon River, near Lincoln. Salmon Hole Brook, near Lisbon. Tunnel Brook, near Benton.
Sullivan County - Bloods Brook, near Sullivan. The Cold River, near Acworth. Willow Brook, near Plainfield.

As always, ask for permission before detecting / panning on private property. You must obtain a permit for dredging from the environmental office.

GEMS

A garnet deposit is located near North Wilmont in Merrimack County, where small alrnandite crystals are found in a biotite, quartz, and albite feldspar matrix. The crystals range up to about 19 mm in diameter but average only 6 to 10 mm in diameter.

Large pieces of facet-grade, green transparent fluorite, as fine as any found anywhere in the United States is mined from deposits in Cheshire County. Gem-quality herderite and phenakite also are recovered from deposits in the State.

RELICS, COINS, & JEWELRY

New Hampshire has a rich history of early settlements and battlefields - the perfect combination for an energetic relic hunter! Here's a few more ideas to get you started:

Schools and College Campuses
Parks / Playgrounds / Picnic Areas
Foundations, Wells, and Cellar Holes of Old Churches or Houses
Downtown Construction Sites
Swimming Holes, Beaches, and Natural Springs
Camp Grounds, Boy Scout Camps, WPA Camps, and Mining Camps
Sports Facilities
Ghost Towns
Rodeo Arenas, Riding Stables, and Race Tracks
Old Fair and Carnival Locations
Old Town Dumpsites

LOST TREASURE

As in other areas of the US, there are several tales of lost treasure in New Hampshire concerning caches buried for safety. In many of these stories, people either died or forgot where they buried the stash. Contributing factors include:

1. Federal laws making possession of gold illegal in the early 1900s

2. Distrust of banks during the Great Depression.

In Dublin, a treasure buried in the 1940s has never been found
Governor John Wentworth is said by some to have buried $25,000 in coins and silverware near Portsmouth, presumably before fleeing to the north during the parlous times of the Revolutionary War. It is known that Wentworth was a man of considerable wealth. Separately, the site of his summer home on the shore of the body of water that today bears his name, Lake Wentworth, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, has been a prime archaeological focal point for many years, various small British coins and numerous artifacts have been located there, and today a small local association supports its heritage.
The lower reaches of the Piscataqua River, which empties into the Atlantic at Portsmouth, are said to be where Samuel Bellamy cached some supplies and possibly coins.

These excerpts are a sampling from American Coin Treasures and Hoards