My latest vid plus item update

**GaryS** · 27-07-2012, 03:30 AM

A few of you may have seen my latest vid- "Return to the Ruins" ,now on MLOTV.

http://www.minelabowners.com/forum/v...php?tubeid=553

Just thought I might give you an update on an item I found,as below-

Scratching my head as to who to contact in an effort to find out more about this brooch/badge ,I eventually e-mailed the Ballarat Mining Exchange and Goldshop.
The owner replied that he thought it was originally gold plated and feels it is probably costume jewellery from the early 1900's.
He collects anything to do with Ballarat goldmining history and is keen to purchase this item from me to display in his shop with other items. So that's where it will probably end up. Much better to have it displayed and appreciated by others than to just sit here unseen by anyone.
The Ballarat Mining Exchange is a fantastic place to see gold nuggets and jewellery made from nuggets ,mostly found by detectorists.

Firstly, this video wouldn't upload to Youtube. Eventually I found that if I changed from Internet Explorer browser to Firefox,it uploaded with no problems.
Thought this info might be useful to anyone with upload problems.
Also, I tried to upload directly to MLOTV,but recieved an e-mail to say my video was rejected.

I'm not sure what's happening,but a while ago I read on these pages that Gary is handing over to Gordon after the end of July,so I was wondering who to contact in the future to sort out any MLOTV and other technical issues. Some clarification about this would be helpful.

Thanks, Gary S.

**GaryS** · 29-07-2012, 07:11 AM

I'm glad some of you enjoyed the vid and I really appreciate the positive comments on MLOTV.
Also thanks to Robsue and others who left comments on Youtube.
Now, I just need to keep searching for similar detecting sites.

**dave9** · 29-07-2012, 08:39 AM

Thank's for the vid Gary,some nice find's you have there.Well done and thank's again.

**Jeff Brown** · 29-07-2012, 04:25 PM

Nice story Gary (you old German)

Good to see it finds a worthy home!

**Captainpugwash** · 29-07-2012, 06:07 PM

Great video Gary, some decent finds there. I noticed that the condition of the tokens and coins wasnt to good, do you have issues with soil conditions where you live.

**GaryS** · 30-07-2012, 11:25 AM

Hi Captain,
Yes,on this site all the Tokens I found were in very poor condition. I guess due to a reaction between the heavy clay soils we have here,and the metals used in the Tokens.
Really unfortunate, because I'd rather find these old Tokens more than regular coins on the older sites ( old for us anyhow).
Some of the rarer types are quite valuable in good condition.

**JohnnyR** · 07-08-2012, 02:19 PM

Hi Gary, just saw your brooch! I have one very similar made from brass. These were actually known as digger's (or miners) brooches and were usually made of gold. They were actually quite a fashion during the goldrush days! Also, though they might not seem particularly feminine by todays standards, they were often worn by women of the era (in fact I have seen reference to them being given as wedding gifts from the groom to the bridesmades). I have included a photo of mine, together with one of the 'finished versions' - so I'm not sure if ours were just prototypes, incomplete, fakes, or just eroded!
picture1.jpg diggers brooch 2sm.jpg

**GaryS** · 08-08-2012, 11:21 AM

Thanks for that JohnnyR. Those brooches do look similar to what I found. Great to get some more info about it.

**GaryS** · 07-09-2012, 05:25 AM

Just thought I would give you all a quick update.
A while ago I had to go to Melbourne via Ballarat and dropped the Miners Brooch off at the Ballarat Mining Exchange.
When I visited,the owner,Cordell was not there. So I handed the Brooch to the lady behind the counter,who said she would pass it on to Cordell.
Also unfortunately,my visit occured at exactly the same time as a bus load of Asian tourists,so I wasn't able to fully check out all the beautiful gold jewellery and nuggets on display.
A few days later,I got a very appreciative e-mail from Cordell thanking me greatly for the Brooch and saying it is now on display at the Mining Exchange.

Ballarat Mining Exchange.

A few of the many gold nuggets for sale at the Mining Exchange. All nuggets were found by detectorists.
I was told that a steady stream of nuggets was coming in all the time.
If any of you get the chance to visit Ballarat,the Mining Exchange is well worth checking out.

As I have yet to check out a CTX3030,I phoned the Ballarat Minelab dealer,E.E. Day & Sons, before I left for Melbourne,enquiring if they had one there for me to look at. They said that they did and I was welcome to try it out in a nearby park if I wanted. However,due to time constraints and an uninterested family,this didn't work out for me. Perhaps another time. Thanks,Gary S.