Updated 6th edition with new sites & museums!
Learn Where & How to Dig, Pan and Mine Your Own Gems & Minerals
NORTHEAST
Connecticut • Delaware • District of Columbia • Indiana • Illinois • Maine
Massachusetts • Maryland • Michigan • New Hampshire • New Jersey
New York • Ohio • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • Vermont • Wisconsin
Whether you're digging for the first time or are an experienced rockhound or "prospector," with a simple rock hammer and a little luck, you too can strike it rich ... or at the very least, have fun trying.
This guide offers you easy-to-use information on the ins and outs of "fee dig" mining, complete with locations, costs, tips on technique, entertaining legends and important information on everything from safety kits to the location of the nearest restrooms.
Included are resources for use in identifying your finds, exploring the lapidary arts, and further pursuing an exciting―and possibly profitable―hobby.
- Equipment and Clothing: What you need and where to find it (or how to make it yourself).
- Mining Techniques: Step-by-step instructions on panning for gold, sluicing for gems and other methods.
- Gem and Mineral Sites: Directions and maps, hours, fees and equipment needed. Also includes info on guide services, local camping facilities and more.
- Museums and Mine Tours: Where to visit commercial and historical mines, as well as museums with exhibits of gems and minerals (for help in learning what to look for).
- Special Events and Tourist Information: Listings of regional events involving gems and minerals, and sources of general travel and tourism information for every state.
- Other Features: Where to find your birthstone, your anniversary stone or your zodiac stone; Index by State; Index by Gem/Mineral; U.S. State Gems & Minerals Chart; and more!
The Treasure Hunter's Gem & Mineral Guides to the U.S.A. in 4 regional volumes:
Northeast ISBN: 978-0-9970145-0-1
Northwest ISBN: 978-0-9904152-8-2
Southeast ISBN: 978-0-9970145-1-8
Southwest ISBN: 978-0-9904152-9-9
Kathy J. Rygle combins her scientific training with a hobbyist's passion. A lifelong rockhound, she has shared this hobby―begun with their parents―with Stephen F. Pedersen and their children, and has traveled to many "fee dig" sites, museums and mine tours across the United States.
Stephen F. Pedersencombines his scientific training with a hobbyist's passion. A lifelong rockhound, Pedersen has shared this hobby―begun with his parents―with Kathy J. Rygle and their children, and has traveled to many "fee dig" sites, museums and mine tours across the United States.
Antoinette Matlins, PG, FGA, is an internationally respected gem and jewelry expert, author and lecturer. With over 1 million copies of her seven books in print in nine languages, she is the most widely read author in the world on the subject of jewelry and gems. Honored with the international Accredited Gemologists Association's highest award for excellence in gemology, Ms. Matlins’ books are widely used throughout the world by consumers and professionals in the gem and jewelry field. Her books include Jewelry & Gems: The Buying Guide (over 400,000 copies now in print―the only book of its kind ever offered by Consumer Reports); Colored Gemstones: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide; The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide; Gem Identification Made Easy; Engagement & Wedding Rings: The Definitive Buying Guide for People in Love; and Jewelry & Gems at Auction: The Definitive Guide to Buying & Selling at the Auction House & on Internet Auction Sites (all GemStone Press).
Former gemology editor of National Jeweler magazine, her articles and comments on buying and selling gems and jewelry and on gem investment have appeared in many national and international consumer and trade publications. She is also the author of the "Gemstones" chapter in the Encyclopedia of Investments, second edition.
Ms. Matlins has gained wide recognition as a dedicated consumer advocate, and continues to spearhead the Accredited Gemologists Association’s nationwide campaign against gemstone investment telemarketing scams and other types of consumer misrepresentation. A popular media guest, she has been seen on ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, educating consumers about gems and jewelry and exposing fraud.
In addition to her educational work, Ms. Matlins is retained by clients worldwide to seek fine, rare or unusual gems and jewels for acquisition.
