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These Aussie gems are generally either brown or green and can be tricky to distinguish from one another unless they are still in their raw, intact form (or near enough to it). Here we have a fragment of common Carltonine pulled out of the creek.
A large piece of Carltonine, freshly pulled from the creek.
Carltonine is an inexpensive gem, a complete set of six generally only fetches around $21.50 AUD and this is only if they are pure and unshattered. Carltonine in its raw form is easily recognised and is one of Australia's most common river gems:
Carltonine in its raw form.
Another commonly found gem is Cascadeline, the green gemstone in the image below.
Cascadeline is often green in colour and can be found in creeks throughout the Victorian Goldfields
Cascadeline, like many of these gems, is typically found downstream from camping and recreation areas. This gem comes in multiple varieties but when pure and unbroken it commonly looks something like this:
Cascadeline in its pure form.
Australian river gems range widely in value. One of the rarest and most expensive is known as the Crownite Ambassadoraz, a dark and impressive gemstone.
A beautiful and rare Crownite Ambassadoraz specimen.
Crownite Ambassadoraz is extremely rare to find while out prospecting. One piece, if pure and intact, can fetch a whopping $95.99 AUD. Here is the Crownite Ambassadoraz in its raw form:
Crownite Ambassadoraz in its raw, intact form.
You must be careful while out prospecting in creeks, as these gems only gain their smooth appearance after many years in the water. The less time they spend in the water the sharper they will be, so watch your step!
Watch you don't step on one of these gems in the creek, they can be very sharp when fresh from the source.
Current market price for various Australian river gems (single specimen, pure and intact)
- Boagsot $4.89
- Carltonine $4.09
- Cascadeline $3.89
- Cooperstone $4.69
- Crownite $4.89
- Crownite Ambassadoraz $95.99
- Hahnrock $3.59
- Jamesquirezide $4.99
- Smoky Fostersite $3.59
- Tooheys Agate $4.09
As you can see, there is not much money to be made in the collection of these gems. You're better off investing your time in rum. Or gold. Probably gold.
Fossicking guidelines for Australian river gems
There are currently no restrictions on where/how many of these Australian river gems can be fossicked, but it is strongly recommended that you do collect any that you find. Do not return them to the creeks for although the water has worn them into pretty little treasures, they have no natural business being there and have only found their way into Australia's waterways through careless human activity.
Prospectors in general do a fantastic job of cleaning up the bushland and waterways of the Victorian Goldfields. Any rubbish detected is usually taken and binned to avoid the trouble of detecting and digging for it all over again at a later date.
Now, if you are actually seeking real information about prospecting in the Victorian Goldfields (rather than this beer bottle nonsense), check out some of these resources:
- Gold prospecting in the Victorian Goldfields
- Directory of gold prospecting and gold history resources on Goldfields Guide
- Places to go gold prospecting in the Victorian Goldfields
- Historical gold maps of the Victorian Goldfields
- Gold bearing creeks and rivers in Victoria
- Gold prospecting maps for Victoria's State and National Parks
- Researching gold prospecting and history - online resources
- YouTube channels from the Victorian Goldfields
- Gold shops, gold tours and detector hire
- Dangers of mine shafts in the Victorian Goldfields
Cheers!
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