Golden Legends Tales of Buried Treasure

Japanese and Chinese coins can have square holes in the center. Stacks of Japanese coin bundles were recently found in Japan. Lying on straw woven mats, these coins have square holes in the middle indicating where a string bound them together. Archaeologists in Maebashi, a city approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Tokyo, have discovered an enormous cache of about 100,000 coins. This significant find occurred during excavations ahead of the construction of a factory, as reported by The Asahi Shimbun. So far, only 334 coins have been examined. The oldest among them originates from China, dating back to 175 B.C., while the most recent is from A.D. 1265. The hoard comprises 1,060 bundles, each containing roughly 100 coins. The oldest coin bears the Chinese inscription "Banliang," which translates to "half ounce" and was commonly used in China about 2,200 years ago, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Ethan Segal, an associate pr...

A modern dry washer much easier to use than mine. This article unveils the workings of a dry washer, an invention so simple yet brilliant that even the average reader can appreciate its ingenuity. The dry washer, reminiscent of a medieval or renaissance machine, could even be mistaken for a device of torture! The Hopper Box At the top of the machine is a hopper box, covered with a 1/4-inch screen through which dirt is thrown. Each shovelful is "classified" into material free of rocks or pebbles larger than a quarter inch. Weeds and organic matter are also filtered out. I always examine the rocks that fall off after each shovel full to ensure I haven't missed a colossal gold nugget. Despite classifying tons of material over the years, I've yet to find such a nugget, though I still dream about it! Many people use metal detectors to scan the rocks that pile up in front of the machine, adding real meaning to the phrase "gold is precious." There is a sheet metal ...