I got these little and now treasured pieces from a fellow rockhound and miner in Mariposa County. I was writing an article on Mariposite at the time and the two of us fell into a deep discussion of gold at his rock shop.

I later sent him a gold example of mine and he in turn sent me this from his collection. He found these at the Diltz Mine in Mariposa County, collecting them by permission in 1995. If you look closely you’ll see what might be called a chevron pattern; gold exists in many forms.

The pieces are so small, and consequently so hard to photograph, that I commissioned Ethan Beckwell of Timewell, Illinois, to produce this image. Total width is a scant  1.5 mm. Ethan routinely photographs grains of sand and you can see his work on Facebook. Instagram: 1of1snowflakes

Click on this link for a larger picture or click on the image below.