Research guides

Where to Find Gold: A Records-First Guide to Gold Prospecting: Where gold is found, how placer and lode gold differ, how to read mining records and geology, and where prospecting is legal. A research-first guide.

Mining Claims: How to Check Them Before You Prospect: What a mining claim is, how to find out if ground is claimed, how to read a legal description, and what you can and cannot do near a claim.

Silver Mining History: Researching Old Silver Camps: How silver was mined in the American West, how to research old silver camps and ghost towns, and what you may legally collect or detect there today.

Gems and Lost Jewels: Where to Look and How to Research: Where gemstones occur, how rockhounding rules work on public land, and how to research stories of lost jewels from the records.

Meteorite Hunting: Strewn Fields and the Rules: How meteorite strewn fields form, how hunters search them with detectors and magnets, and the collecting rules that apply on public and private land.

Lost Mines: Separating Legend From Record: Why lost mine stories spread, how to trace them to the earliest source, and what records can confirm or rule out a lost mine.

Robbery Loot: How to Research Where It Went: How to research old stagecoach, train and payroll robberies: contemporary newspapers, court files, escape routes and whether the loot was ever recovered.

Old Maps for Treasure and History Research: Which historic maps help treasure and history research, what each shows, and how to combine them with LiDAR and satellite imagery.

Archaeology, Artifacts and the Law: What US law says about artifacts and treasure on federal, state, tribal and private land, and how to hunt history responsibly.