Gold Prospecting, Treasure Hunting, Mining, Relic Hunting, and Metal Detecting in Texas

Lone Star State

GEMS

Some of the best agate, jasper, chert, and petrified wood (particularly petrified palm wood) found in the nation comes from Texas. Blue banded, moss, and red and black plume agates are found near Alpine in Brewster County. Similar agates are found in Jeff Davis, Hidalgo, Hudspeth, Presidio, Reeves, San Patrico, and Starr Counties. Petrified wood can be found in Amarillo, Bastrop, Brazo, Comal, Duval, Fayette, Gonzales, Lavaca, and Uvalde Counties, with fine-quality palm wood coming from Live Oak and Webb Counties. Good-quality chert can be found in limestone formations in McCulloch, Moore, and San Saba Counties. The material from Moore County also is called Alibates flint and was used by prehistoric and modern-day Indians to make weapons and tools. The quarry from which the Indians obtained their flint is now Alibates State Park.

RELICS, COINS, & JEWELRY

Texas 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 Texas 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.

Gold bars were lost in Paisano Pass near the Brewster-Presidio county line, Brewster County.
Notorious Texas outlaw Sam Bass spent time in the 1870s robbing stagecoaches including several near Deadwood in the Dakota Territory. Seeking other opportunities, Bass and his sidekick Joel Collins went to Big Springs, Nebraska, and there held up the Union Pacific Railroad, escaping with a payroll of 3,000 freshly-minted 1877 $20 gold pieces in a trunk. Although $25,000 worth of coins and jewelry (this would have been 1,250 $20 gold coins if the jewelry had been minimal) was recovered, Collins and Bass died without revealing where the rest of the loot was. It is said that Bass had hidden his part in Cove Hollow about 30 miles from Denton, Texas, where, who knows, it may still be today.
A lost cache of $20 gold coins in Palo Duro Canyon, Armstrong County, will certainly yield surprises if found.

These excerpts are a sampling from American Coin Treasures and Hoards