"The quest, the challenge, and the adventure.
And every once in a while we find some treasure."
WC Jameson
Treasure hunting is an art, a science and an adrenalin rush all rolled into one and nobody does it better that the best selling treasure author in the United States. WC Jameson has been a professional treasure hunter for over 50 years.Jameson is the creator of the “Buried Treasures of America” series. His success and fame as a professional treasure hunter has led to appearances on television’s Unsolved Mysteries, the Travel Channel, the Discovery Channel, Nightline, and National Public Radio.
“What W.C. Jameson has done in real life makes National Treasure and other features pale in comparison. It is the stuff that dreams–and nightmares and sometimes fortunes are made of…”
~ Max McCoy
“What W.C. Jameson has done in real life makes National Treasure and other features pale in comparison. It is the stuff that dreams–and nightmares and sometimes fortunes are made of…”
~ Max McCoy
An Interview with W.C. Jameson
It is clear from your memoir Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses and Deadly Confrontations that you have always been fascinated with gold. Tell me more about that.
I’d have to go back to my first brush with it when as an eleven-year-old, I accompanied some men who pulled one hundred gold bars from a cave. Even though I was very young at the time and not schooled in anything of that nature, it was such a thrill to hold those gold bars. It was a thrill that I have never gotten over. I’ve always been fascinated with the role of gold in the history of mankind, in coinage, statues, idols, and all the other manifestations throughout culture. Gold has been important to all cultures since the beginning of time. How can that not be interesting?
How did you first learn about gold prospecting and/or gold panning?
I learned about gold prospecting by reading about it in adventure novels about miners and prospectors and the Gold Rush and the settlement of the West. Panning for gold is what brought thousands and thousands of people to the West in the 1850s and onward. Then, when I was old enough to conduct my own expeditions I traveled to various places for the express purpose of panning for gold. I was in my twenties before I had any hands-on experience with hunting for gold in the natural world.
Where are some of the areas where you have prospected or panned for gold, and have you been successful?
Around the area of Leadville, Colorado, and a number of locations in southwestern New Mexico. Always on my own. I generally combined it with a backpacking trip. I studied geology maps and got leads from other people about potential sites for panning. I hiked into remote locations and set up camp and panned until I ran out of food. I had some moderate success. I was pretty excited about doing this for about 3-4 years, but I became much more interested in searching for lost or buried caches. Gold panning, quite frankly, was a lot of hard work. While I enjoyed every minute, it was tedious and time-consuming. I prospected often but only in the sense of looking for seams and veins of gold. I never had much success with that.
What’s the most you ever found panning?
When I was panning gold was going for $32.00 an ounce. The most I ever brought back from any single trip was about $200. I knew people, jewelry makers, who bought gold and I took the small nuggets I found to them and they paid me outright. I didn’t worry much about the amount of money I got. Mostly I used gold panning as an excuse to get outside and do some hiking and get out into the environment and snoop around.
What is the difference between a gold prospector and a treasure hunter?
A treasure hunter, if he does it right, is involved in some intensive historical research and expedition planning. A treasure hunter is not going after the ore, but after the ingots or coins that were hidden or lost by cultures generations ago, sometimes centuries ago. A prospector is someone who searches for the precious metals in the environment in their natural state. A good prospector needs patience, good planning, and plenty of experience. The most successful prospectors and gold panners that I know are mostly self-taught. There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. Like on the job training. The more you do it the better you get at it, just like anything else.
Talk about metal detectors.
Metal detectors have an important place in the treasure-hunting arena. I know people who make a good living with their metal detectors—meaning that they have researched and found the best equipment and they have explored ways to be successful in this particular field. I have used metal detectors over the years and have enjoyed experimenting with the various kinds to see which ones operate best for the type of things I’m searching for. I try to keep up with the advances in metal detecting technology and I’m always curious about new innovations in the equipment.
In the book Timepiece by Richard Paul Evans the main character is quoted as saying: “…it is easier to pan gold from a purse than a river.” Any comment on that life perspective?
I’d say that’s true. Too often to reach a location at a river to pan gold involves travel, walking, carrying equipment, camping gear, etc… What is the adventure in panning gold from a purse? It might be easier. But where is the quest? I’d much rather be outside on the hunt than in a shop or a store or a warehouse or even a mine. But that’s me. In the end I’m after the quest.
It is clear from your memoir Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses and Deadly Confrontations that you have always been fascinated with gold. Tell me more about that.
I’d have to go back to my first brush with it when as an eleven-year-old, I accompanied some men who pulled one hundred gold bars from a cave. Even though I was very young at the time and not schooled in anything of that nature, it was such a thrill to hold those gold bars. It was a thrill that I have never gotten over. I’ve always been fascinated with the role of gold in the history of mankind, in coinage, statues, idols, and all the other manifestations throughout culture. Gold has been important to all cultures since the beginning of time. How can that not be interesting?
How did you first learn about gold prospecting and/or gold panning?
I learned about gold prospecting by reading about it in adventure novels about miners and prospectors and the Gold Rush and the settlement of the West. Panning for gold is what brought thousands and thousands of people to the West in the 1850s and onward. Then, when I was old enough to conduct my own expeditions I traveled to various places for the express purpose of panning for gold. I was in my twenties before I had any hands-on experience with hunting for gold in the natural world.
Where are some of the areas where you have prospected or panned for gold, and have you been successful?
Around the area of Leadville, Colorado, and a number of locations in southwestern New Mexico. Always on my own. I generally combined it with a backpacking trip. I studied geology maps and got leads from other people about potential sites for panning. I hiked into remote locations and set up camp and panned until I ran out of food. I had some moderate success. I was pretty excited about doing this for about 3-4 years, but I became much more interested in searching for lost or buried caches. Gold panning, quite frankly, was a lot of hard work. While I enjoyed every minute, it was tedious and time-consuming. I prospected often but only in the sense of looking for seams and veins of gold. I never had much success with that.
What’s the most you ever found panning?
When I was panning gold was going for $32.00 an ounce. The most I ever brought back from any single trip was about $200. I knew people, jewelry makers, who bought gold and I took the small nuggets I found to them and they paid me outright. I didn’t worry much about the amount of money I got. Mostly I used gold panning as an excuse to get outside and do some hiking and get out into the environment and snoop around.
What is the difference between a gold prospector and a treasure hunter?
A treasure hunter, if he does it right, is involved in some intensive historical research and expedition planning. A treasure hunter is not going after the ore, but after the ingots or coins that were hidden or lost by cultures generations ago, sometimes centuries ago. A prospector is someone who searches for the precious metals in the environment in their natural state. A good prospector needs patience, good planning, and plenty of experience. The most successful prospectors and gold panners that I know are mostly self-taught. There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. Like on the job training. The more you do it the better you get at it, just like anything else.
Talk about metal detectors.
Metal detectors have an important place in the treasure-hunting arena. I know people who make a good living with their metal detectors—meaning that they have researched and found the best equipment and they have explored ways to be successful in this particular field. I have used metal detectors over the years and have enjoyed experimenting with the various kinds to see which ones operate best for the type of things I’m searching for. I try to keep up with the advances in metal detecting technology and I’m always curious about new innovations in the equipment.
In the book Timepiece by Richard Paul Evans the main character is quoted as saying: “…it is easier to pan gold from a purse than a river.” Any comment on that life perspective?
I’d say that’s true. Too often to reach a location at a river to pan gold involves travel, walking, carrying equipment, camping gear, etc… What is the adventure in panning gold from a purse? It might be easier. But where is the quest? I’d much rather be outside on the hunt than in a shop or a store or a warehouse or even a mine. But that’s me. In the end I’m after the quest.