33.66 cts Number 8 Turquoise Cabochon (#017)
Natural Number 8 Turquoise Cabachons
33.66 cts.
1/4" tall x 1 1/8" wide x 7/8" deep
$420.00
Located in the Lynn mining district (no. 19, pl. 1 ) in northern Eureka
County, Nevada, the Number 8 mine is on the west side of the Tuscarora
Range in the NW 1/4 sec. 4, T. 35 N., R. 50 E., 18 to 19 miles north -
northeast of Dunphy. Host rocks for the Number 8 deposit consist of
intensely altered quartz monzonite, shale, and thinly bedded black
chert, which are complexly folded, faulted, and much altered. Turquoise
is concentrated along quartz veins in the intrusive rock and along
faults in the sedimentary rocks. The turquoise is mainly in a nodular
form, but only about ten percent has been rated as good quality gem
material. Of the ten claims in a 20-acre area, the Number 8 claimed by
the Blue Star Company in Lander County is considered the finest example
of the gold-webbed turquoise. The mine was depleted in 1961.
Approximately 5,000 pounds were mined between 1929 and 1933. Almost all
the turquoise produced is of the spiderweb-type, with the matrix
varying from golden brown to black. The colors grade from very light
blue to very dark blue, some with interesting hints of green. Number 8
turquoise of gem quality is considered to be very collectible.
The
number 8 mine was presumably discovered about 1925 by a barber from
Carlin whose name has been forgotten; he made no attempt to mine the
property. The mine was rediscovered by Earl Buffington and Lawrence
Springer in 1929. They filed formal claim to the property and proceeded
to mine turquoise in serious fashion, producing about 1,800 pounds of
good stone the first year. In 1930 Ted Johnson bought Buffington's
interest and during the next four years produced about 5,000 pounds of
commercial stone. In 1935 Doc Wilson bought the number 8 mine from
Johnson but did nothing with the property and the claim lapsed. Myron
Clark relocated the claim and, after working it for awhile, sold it to
Lee Hand. Hand operated the mine for a short time, but dissatisfied
with the quality of the stone, sold it to the five Edgar brothers who
now own it. The Edgars extended operations and produced a considerable
amount of fair-to-good turquoise.
In 1950, as most of the
visible turquoise had been taken from the workings, the Edgars hired a
contractor with bulldozer equipment to remove overburden from another
part of the claim. A deposit of copper had been found on the property,
and the Edgars thought they might mine copper if they did not find more
turquoise. The bulldozer, after digging a pit about eight feet deep and
80 feet long, uncovered a deposit of some of the finest spider-web
turquoise ever found in Nevada. The deposit was mostly in nodules, some
of gigantic size. One nodule, perhaps the largest, weighed more than
nine pounds. It was sold to C. G. Wallace, of Zuni, New Mexico, for
$1,600.
The discovery proved to be a rather large-pocket and
produced more than 1,600 pounds of the very highest grade turquoise
before being worked out. Spurred by this find, the Edgars further
explored the property, without finding any more spider-web turquoise of
notable quantity. Other turquoise was discovered, however, of good
commercial grade, sufficient to keep the mine in operation.
One
of the largest pieces of turquoise and matrix in the modern world,
perhaps the largest nodule ever uncovered, was discovered at the Number
8 mine on June 23, 1954, by T. G. Edgar, J. M. Edgar, and Marvin Symes.
This specimen was 33 inches long, 18.5 inches wide, and seven inches
thick. Cleaned and polished it weighed 150 pounds. The nodule was of
excellent texture, good color and hardness, and ranked with any
turquoise of good commercial grade.
