Christmas is the season of giving and lately, throughout the world, people have been more generous than ever. We have all passed the humble volunteers ringing a bell with a kettle in front of a department store and perhaps you were in the giving spirit and generously donated a few dollars. Some people, who remain anonymous, have been giving more — in the form of gold.

According to the Calgary Herald, a gold coin valued at $1200 was found in their Salvation Army kettle during processing of the day’s donations. Spokeswoman, Pam Goodyear, added that it, “is a wonderful surprise and a great donation”.

In Torrington, Connecticut an 1881 $5 Gold Eagle was anonymously dropped into a Salvation Army bucket and was discovered later when the automatic change counting machine routinely rejected it.

According to WGAL8 News in York, Pennsylvania, another good Samaritan dropped a gold South African Krugerrand wrapped in a $1 bill into the red kettle. The coin is valued at over $1200.

This series of gold coin donations is happening all over the country and there is almost too many instances to list. Is this an act of good faith by the world’s patrons or is this a publicity stunt created by the Salvation Army to encourage more donations? The folks over at MuseumOfHoaxes.com seem to think it may be a stunt, but even if it is I think everyone agrees that it is for a good cause and brings in more donations.

David Booth, a chief game warden at Blair Drummond Safari Park, made the discovery of a lifetime five days after receiving his first metal detector. The 35-year-old Stirlingshire, Scotland native practiced using his new detector for a few hours in the kitchen and garden before heading out to a location where he had secured the land-owner’s permission.

Walking to the rear of his Jeep, Mr. Booth began swinging his detector on his way towards a field. The sound of a target rang out and what he unearthed is being heralded as one of Scotland’s most significant discoveries of Iron Age metalwork. Four gold neckbands, also referred to as torcs, came from the hole he dug and are thought to date between 300BC and 100BC.

Scotland law requires treasures to be reported to the Treasure Trove Unit at the National Museum of Scotland. The crown can claim any archaeological objects discovered and the finder retains no ownership rights. However, it is expected that Mr. Booth may still receive a reward for the discovery.

Moral of the story: You don’t have to be a professional treasure hunter with years of experience to find the good stuff. It’s possible to make the discovery of a lifetime within only seven steps of field experience.

At one time considered the most sought after gold legend in the world, the Lost Adams Diggings seem to have faded into history. It is known by many names such as Lost Adams Gold Canyon, Sno-Ta-Hay, Zigzag Canyon, and the Lost Cabin Mine and claims to be a rich untouched source of gold. According to Wikipedia:

In 1864, a teamster named Adams (no sources disclose his first name) and some prospectors in Gila Bend, Arizona were approached by a Mexican Indian named Gotch Ear, who offered to show them a canyon filled with gold only 10 days ride away. The miners accepted and together they rode to find the gold. They crossed a road on the way which Gotch Ear said would lead back to Fort Wingate, and that they should remember it so they could go back that way for supplies when needed. They soon arrived at a canyon with a blind entrance. At the bottom of a Z-shaped narrow canyon trail they found a creek rich with gold.

The men paid Gotch Ear and began panning for gold. However, a force of Apaches, led by a chief named Nana, confronted the miners. Nana allowed them to mine the creek, provided they did not venture up past the waterfall. The miners obeyed at first, but eventually several miners began mining near the waterfall and discovered two rich veins of gold. The diggings were very rich, with some gold nuggets described as being the size of hens’ eggs.

The miners stored their gold under a stone in the hearth of the cabin they built near the creek. One miner, a German, kept his gold separate. He soon collected all the gold he wanted and left the camp.

Some of the miners were sent to Fort Wingate for more supplies. When this group did not return after eight days, Adams and a man named Davidson rode out to investigate. From the top of the Z-shaped trail, they found five dead men and three dead horses, all that was left of the party that had set out for the fort. Adams and Davidson then returned to their cabin by the creek and found that the Apaches had returned, set fire to their cabin and killed the remaining miners. Adams and Davidson narrowly escaped and walked twelve days through the desert until they stumbled on an army patrol, which took them to the nearest fort. Davidson died there. It was 10 years until Adams overcame his fear and returned to New Mexico to look for the diggings. Adams spent the rest of his life trying to relocate the hidden canyon.

I stumbled across an interesting website by man named Ron Jensen who claimed to have found the exact location of the Lost Adams Diggings in 2001. His last entry on his site says he plans to go back out there in Spring 2002 to begin recovering gold but there was no further update listed.  It’s  a very interesting read to say the least with pictures and research that makes it sound pretty legit. Read his full story at: http://www.lostadams.com/