Make sure you watch to the very end! A few chances to win/find/buy the coins!! Links all below! BOOK Amazon: www.amazon.com/Ghost-Town-Living-Purpose-Chasing/dp/0593578449/ Barnes & Noble (Signed Copies!): bit.ly/3QrzoYb BooksAMillion: bit.ly/3tNaUks BookShop.Org: bit.ly/3rZb5bN COINS FREE - enter to win one of the silver coins (and a free night at the American Hotel) here: kingsumo.com/g/wl3sio/win-a-cerro-gordo-silver-coin-1-night-at-the-american-hotel Buy one of the coins to help support the town here: store.cerrogordomines.com/products/silver-cerro-gordo-store-coin-hotel-certificate store.cerrogordomines.com/products/copper-silver-gordo-store-coin-numbered-to-25
Woot! Definitely fingers crossed for winning a coin! Thanks for giving us the chance! (Wish I could be cool and buy one to support the town, but presently life isn’t helping out my wallet much.) Very excited to listen to the audiobook though!!! Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I started watching you from your first video. I really like watching videos on abandoned places and mine tunnel exploration, so I came across your first video and I hoped you’d keep making more, and I’m so very glad you did! ❤️
Hey Brent! Not sure you will ever see this but I would be honored to make display cases for the coins! I run a commercial woodshop and have loved watching the progress over the last couple years. Thank you for the amazing content and the encouragement as you go!
Thankyou for helping Brent out so much you have more than helped to preserve some amazing history and I'm really hoping to see you in another video with Brent.
i appreciate that you didnt stop at simply exclaiming about finding old silver from the town then jumping back into the process of making your own but you intentionally reflected on the hard and depraved history of debt bondage. That is a testament to the quality of your content. IMO.
My aunt and uncle lived in a "company town" - one of the PNW logging towns. After working and living there for some 40 years, the logging company went out of business and they were left with nothing but a couple suitcases of clothes and an old used car. I should note that even without the explicit issuance of "company scrip", the company still got it's hooks into the employees up until the concern went bankrupt... in 1984. A couple years after I graduated high school and entered the military, so it really wasn't all that long ago, too - not like the Civil War era that Cerro Gordo started up in...
That sort of debit slavery was very much a thing in mountains of Appalachia and the Smokie. It is also one of the reasons that Southern people still hate Yankees so much.
@@harpintn I guess being enslaved in turn after generations of enslaving others stings. More cynical person might say that slavery was abolished in US just to make it universal capitalist slavery instead.
Hard to believe it's been four years. It is crazy how I watched the first video with all the snow.bring from canada and 12 ft. Snow drift is a normal experience. You have become a different person. You are this mountain. You are the strengths, calmness, and showing the beauty. Thank you
I bought your book for my Kindle and CANNOT wait to start reading it! Thank you for everything you do. I truly love your channel and have been watching since you started it. Visiting Cerro Gordo is on my Bucket List. 🥰
This made me realize why the hills around Cerro Gordo have no trees. They were cut down for fire wood. With that in mind have you ever thought of a rewilding project to introduce trees nack around town? There's a channel called "Mossy Earth" that does this very thing. They may know people who would be willing to help, if you ever choose to try. And Im sure you could get a weekend event where people can help spread seedlings.
BINGO its imperative if you ask me just from a curiosity stand point , theres a guy doing just that in the deserts around earth , he is turning deserts lush and green again through planting indiginous vegitation and rejuvinating the eco system.
My wife and myself have watched from the beginning. We are so proud of what you have done. Being from Colorado, we hope to someday soon visit your "ghost town". Thank you for sharing your joy and love. We wish you only the best and success in your quest.
This taught me so much about how metal is mined and refined. I am a silver coin collector so i always wondered where those tokens came from and what they were for. Thank you. I would love to have some of those tokens i find the history of them and how u made them and that they can be ises to teach this history awesome.
Very special coins indeed. The silver because of all the hard work you and the other put into them, and the copper ones simply because of where the copper came from - they literally are a part of the old hotel - in my book that makes them extra special. Such a wonderful idea to salvage some of the old burned wiring like that.
I just purchased a coin. I am honestly very excited to be able to come out and stay at the hotel, when it’s finished. What an amazing adventure. I’ve been able to live vicariously through you all, through this awesome adventure you’re having. I’ve always dreamt of doing this exact same thing, since I was a kid. I can’t wait to come up and experience the entire area.
wallstreet scammer, the second its finished youll set on fire again to gain more sympathy and support, spend your own money that you try so hard to hide @@GhostTownLiving
It’s really beautiful how much love you have not only for cerro gordo but for your subscribers as well. You respond to more people in a single video, than a lot of influencers that have the same subscriber count do, in a month. It’s an honor and a privilege to have been with you since the beginning. The silver came out beautiful, what a dream life, truly a dream life. I envy you Brent. See you next time 😇✌️✌️
Insane the amount of work those old timers had to go through.. just for that shiny stuff.. been watching since the beginning awesome watching the town come back to life with just a vision and hard work. Great job!.
16:58 That right there is the moment of moments for you. A true prospector having a little oopsie and discovering as you go. 4 years culminating to a moment of creation and exploration. Thanks for so many great videos and adventures, dude.
Definitely a lot of work to make silver coinage, especially when you mine the metal too. I think it’s important for everybody to understand how much work went into production of gold and silver back in the day I don’t think people really understand how much work really went into it. wow great work as usual your videos are outstanding. Thank you so much.
I pre-ordered your book on audible and I am very much looking forward to giving it a listen next week! It feels mad to me that I found your videos whilst locked down in 2020 and now you are a bonafide mountain man!
thanks for all the videos you put out I love what you are doing with the mine I was once a under ground nickle and gold miner in Western Australia I love watching you go under ground brings back memories of my days as a miner
Wait, what? I didn't know there was galena available for preorders. Back in February I forwarded my receipt for preordering 5 copies to the book@cerrogordomines address and haven't gotten a response back :( I was intrigued by the idea of getting a page of the manuscript just to have something tangible FROM Cerro Gordo. I hope he's just suffering from success and has a mountain of orders to get to first.
Maybe you drop Brent an email about your situation. Good luck. His email address should be in the ABOUT section on the home page of this channel.@@pstuart17
Wow those went fast! Well at least I have my copy of the book coming can't wait to read it! Really great video. My G gradfater was a miner in Randsburg in the late 1890s and I have heard many stories from my grand mother about growing up in a mining town and this video really showed the hard work and conditions the miners had to deal with to pull out just that small amount of silver. Incredible. Thanks.
I have been here since the very first video and I am so proud of you and your hardships and hard work. You never gave up even under duress of fires, water shortages, and just everyday living.
So beyond belief, a great adventure shared with all of us!!! Please keep up your amazing efforts, work, and dedication to your historic mission to preserve this town!
It's amazing what you have done with that town. It's amazing that you have brought app gold and silver out of the Mand now it's even more amazing that you are made old-fashioned coins. From the old mine it is all just amazing. There's not another word for it the whole video was amazing great job keep it up. My blessing to you and may God bless you AZ well
The sound of silver coins clinking together is a very unique sound. It doesn't sound like any other type of metal. When you hear it, you can pretty much tell right away that you have silver.
It's as heavy as lead too, which is a pretty easy way to tell true silver. Lead just makes a dull thud sound when clanged together, compared to how silver sings.
Woke up at 5am on a trip to Tokyo and found this was playing. Long time follower. Congrats on finally minting your coins. Native Californian now living in Seattle. Spent a lot of time in the Sierras and drove past on the 395 many many times. I hope to get up there to Cerro Gordo sometime. All the best Brent. Thanks for the amazing stories.
@@GhostTownLiving So happy to get a reply! On my next trip up to the Mammoth area where I have an uncle (no idea when that will be) I will definitely make time for that visit. I have such strong connection to the Owens Valley having spent so many years of my youth (55 now) backpacking and camping there. I envy your journey and admire your joyous spirit. You are a light in what can seem like an increasingly dark world. Stay safe and healthy. I hope to visit or contribute to a project there someday.
As an avid viewer of your show from stumbling upon your first upload, hoping you and your truck would survive the snow to seeing you mint your own coins is truly an inspiration! Anything is doable if we just set our minds to it! Dreams are truly obtainable! ❤❤
Im a novice coin collector and thoroughly enjoyed the educational part on how coins used to be made. Your videos have given me a lot more appreciation for how coins were minted from beginning to the end
You can also crush the galena into a fine powder and treat it with nitric acid to recover silver nitrate in solution and precipitate it as silver chloride, it's a more chemical way of obtaining it and we use it in small mining processes and the big advantage is that you get 99.9 purity silver after melting the precipitate.
You load 16 tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store Talking about the company stored at the beginning reminded me of this tune by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Lovely to see you now creating the once forgotten about Cerro Gordo currency. Seeing your journey so far has been mesmerizing, you've even come into contact with many many other youtubers i've followed for awhile and it's been awesome to see the cross overs. Can't wait to see what is next.
Brett, you have given us four years of memories to carry around, and now a coin too ! I can no longer do what I once loved to do, but I sure love creating new memories through your camera lens. Thank you for doing this for me and for everyone.
Wow, I can only keep up to date with so much youtube content, so when I watched this and realized I missed out on the coin drawing and to buy a coin I was bummed! You have 1.8M subscribers, please make more coins for us to buy!
I received my piece of Galena today in the mail!! Thank you! I have been looking forward to getting it since I pre ordered last year and can't wait to read the book. The galena is so shiny! You don't realize how shiny it is until you actually see it in person. Can only imagine how it looks in the mine when you see a whole wall of this stuff. Loved the video - how on earth did they figure out all that chemistry to refine silver 1,000s of years ago? Must have been a lot of trial and error!
@@joshrobertson8189 Not to mention the humans that found and learned to use copper along with the later discovery of fire, probably helped a little bit...lol
my wife and I have watched you and your adventures since day 1. You have worked your butt off over the last 4 plus years to really do something cool with cerro gordo. I am 75 and all busted up, so there is no way I could go through the adventure that you are. Thanks for letting us come along with you with all of your fun doings. I am going to get your book because it sounds like a great read. Good luck to you on all you are doing up there as we will keep watching. Thanks for the great adventure. Mike and Joy
Well that mini explosion was exciting. Hey that shop overhang not for nothing. For many months you have been building up your shop for cutting rocks etc. It will still be a good spot for what you want. Rolling doors might be nice. The coins are beautiful.
I recently seen a hater vid. And i must say... regardless of how you got the town.... or if you have investors or was the fire nefarious or not. yada yada..b.s...! . myself, i salute you! You got a plan, and You are doing what you want. Is that not the American dream.!? Keep up the positivity and the up beat vids! I learned alot about this mine because of you. And seen a place in history no one would have ever shown me! Thank you, i would love to try living out there and be part of the historical helping to re build this town.
This is an amazing place! It is so cool to have friends helped you achieve your goals, with this entire ghost town. I have no doubt in your abilities to make that little minning town, an amazing place to be! I love the entire concept!
@@GhostTownLivingyup, that was the first place my mind went. Work hard all day and owe more than you made. And some want to go back to those days even now! Blows my mind. Miners and loggers were the worst because of the remote work places with one employer, but also many other industries.
Long time listener first time caller. Love love love everything about this channel!!! The clip that has me climbing out from under my rock is when you had a cold zinc flare up and I am glad you appear moments later unscathed…. But dude to appear on camera with an almost still smoldering and clearly singed beard moments after was truly heroic. Heroic in a Deadpool kinda way. Love you man. Be careful out there.
I remember finding your channel when it was small and starting out. I am so glad you're booming now. I saw a guy living a life I dreamed of.. I love silver/gold. I love the old west, wooden towns, cold winters, warm summers, and getting away from the cities. So far, I can only live my dream life vicariously through your channel, and I am so grateful you're here, bud.. I don't think some successful youtubers realize how much they help the average joe.. Work 40 or more hours at a job you hate, for less and less money, get home sore and tired, try to eat something and put your feet up and watch tv/youtube.. That little bit of happiness at the end of the night is all some of us have. Thanks bro.
I appreciate you giving us the history behind the silver coin! My 7 year old and I watched this video in one sitting. Now he wants to go find your book with the silver coin in it 😄
Looks like we’re going back to California. You can’t just say “here’s a coin, buy one and stay at the hotel” and not expect me to immediately buy one. This is going to be an AH MAZING excuse to take a vacation. At some point. Some day. Happy book release week!
It’s definitely strange how this project has affected me. It’s not even mine! But hey, do things you enjoy, participate in them with people. That’s where the fun part comes from. What is life without experiences? I’m looking forward to having this one! All the best.
everybody was trying to make money from home, this man actually did it. amazing to watch since the pandemic and see your progress. congrats on any and all success, you've earned it!
“🎶 I haul 16 tons, and what do I get? Another day older and deeper in debt! If you see St Peter tell him I can’t go…cuz I owe my soul to the company store.” Am I the only one with this stuck in my head now?😂
Did you know currency isn’t legally money? They are all “promises to pay” in the future, and technically all nations/societies are now using a type of company scrip from the ‘Private’ central bank companies….ever since they decoupled the mineral/gold value they’ve enslaved us all. To see this chap breaking free from the slavery (if you know what I mean) is wonderful. 💕
@@trappedinroom1014 Buy a dictionary and learn to use it. Currency is money by definition regardless of how it is 'backed'. 'Money' is any medium of exchange that is commonly agreed upon.
Great video , as always. I have been to Cerro Gordo countless times before you purchased it. I love the history of Calif. Gold and Silver rush indeed. Born and raised in SoCal. The passion that you have is addictive for sure. I will buy one of your books very soon...Keep your passion going my friend...
Yeah, I just received your book today. I really like the page design for the named chapters. Looking forward for a good reading, as I enjoy your videos.
Get a sturdy bucket/box and rope and then drag the bucket up and down the ramp next to the ladder. Uhm, you're expected to dig ore, not read and play card games during your 12 hour shift. For the front of your shop, put some doors on hinges attached to the top so you can then lift them up, put posts under each corner and thus not only keep out the elements when they're closed, but give you awnings which provide you with extra shaded workspace. The Romans also used drop presses for their coins. Score yourself a smaller electric furnace with a removable crucible - that'll allow for cleaner pours into the mold, also, get that mold heated up before pouring, not just to avoid potential cracking of the graphite, but also to allow the silver to cool without all of those bubbles and imperfections you got. All said, good video and good haul - I pour coins myself but did enjoy seeing you stamp them out.
@@daleretired1457 Me or the content creator? I played basketball, not football in high school and never coached - I only did the video because I collect and pour coins myself - no clue on the creator as this was the first time I've watched one of his vids.
Awesome channel! I love the history and that coin is super awesome! I would love to go down into the mine! So dang great that you own that place! So blessed. Not because of the mine/money, but so great due to the history snd beautiful area! Maybe hang a pulley or two and rope to let the bucket up and down. Maybe put a small Bluetooth motor to the rope. Thanks again for the amazing content!
With every one of your videos posted to this channel I'm impressed even more. I like the stories you tell, and the process you're going through to improve this camp (the mine). I've listened to all of the videos at least once, and I've watched and listened to several (many) of them more than once. I like what you're planning to do to the water situation for drinking and general support for the town, but I just wish that there was something you could do to the road condition that will last longer than each major rainstorm. You once mentioned putting in a water catching system. That sounds like a good improvement for all the non-drinking needs of the town.
Going up and down construction ladders all the time in the power industry we use a bucket and rope. You can buy a cheap 100’ 200’ line from harbor freight that has a clasp on one end. Clasp the bucket handle and lower or raise the bucket. Keeps you from falling by trying to fight a bucket going up or down those ladders.
Now that is what i call a treasure hunt.Bestest ever actually.I will never have the chance to search for it, But big love to the lucky person that finds it.xxxx
Another saga not (yet) put into a video is the production of the dies for punching and pressing the coins. I have seen video of the modern process, which involves sculpting an enlarged (about 8 inches diameter) version of each side of the coin, reducing it with a 3-d pantagraph, and finally milling the die out of tool steel, which is then hardened and polished into the press tools as shown here. Yours were apparently engraved at final scale; a monumental task. I'm about 50 years past being able to live, let alone walk around at over 8000 feet, so I will not be visiting. Thank you for the whole series of videos, which have made it possible for me to enjoy the town and its mines.
Fun fact - if they made $3-4 / day, the money used to be $1.40 for an oz of silver (pre 1964 Constitutional), at current price of silver, they made around $60-70 $/day to mine the silver, which again, was literally money back then.
🎯 and in 1964 the min wage was 5 silver quarters which is equivalent to $29 an hour in todays price. 1964 is the last year we had real silver in our coinage like it states in the US constitution Article 1 Section 10 Clause 1. Paper money is illegal for the ones who dont know 😉
I'm sorry. I don't think I understand. The black and white photo that you showed us was supposedly taken in 2041? The photo has the name "forbes" on the bottom right. For people that don't know, Forbes is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917 and owned by Hong Kong-based investment group. I just want to know the story behind that photo, please.
I love your videos and what you are creating in Cerro Gordo. It’s amazing to see all you are doing and how well you honor those people that worked so hard back in the day! 😊
I have know idea how often you are planning extractions from the mine but a simple solution for the bucket might be to have rope at the top with a hook on the end. Drop it down fill the bucket and climb back up then hoist the bucket up with the rope.
wow... such an amazing video. Loved how you went through the entire process of mining to coin making. I've always been fascinated by old ghost towns back when I was a young Devil Dog in the Marines stationed in CA.
I love watching your videos and have been watching from the beginning. What an adventure you have before you and I love how much you embrace the whole process.....12 hour days and all!!
Make sure you watch to the very end! A few chances to win/find/buy the coins!! Links all below!
BOOK
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Ghost-Town-Living-Purpose-Chasing/dp/0593578449/
Barnes & Noble (Signed Copies!): bit.ly/3QrzoYb
BooksAMillion: bit.ly/3tNaUks
BookShop.Org: bit.ly/3rZb5bN
COINS
FREE - enter to win one of the silver coins (and a free night at the American Hotel) here: kingsumo.com/g/wl3sio/win-a-cerro-gordo-silver-coin-1-night-at-the-american-hotel
Buy one of the coins to help support the town here:
store.cerrogordomines.com/products/silver-cerro-gordo-store-coin-hotel-certificate
store.cerrogordomines.com/products/copper-silver-gordo-store-coin-numbered-to-25
Woot! Definitely fingers crossed for winning a coin! Thanks for giving us the chance! (Wish I could be cool and buy one to support the town, but presently life isn’t helping out my wallet much.) Very excited to listen to the audiobook though!!! Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I started watching you from your first video. I really like watching videos on abandoned places and mine tunnel exploration, so I came across your first video and I hoped you’d keep making more, and I’m so very glad you did! ❤️
what is the air quality down there would it be a good idea to pump fresh air down there
We preordered the book. Dream trip to meet you see the site. All the best.
What about the copper coins?... What's ur plan with them?
Hey Brent! Not sure you will ever see this but I would be honored to make display cases for the coins! I run a commercial woodshop and have loved watching the progress over the last couple years. Thank you for the amazing content and the encouragement as you go!
Thanks for having me out, It was a great experience! Just published my side of the video if anyone is interested!
Thanks for coming out! Couldn't have come close to doing it without you
This was awesome vid thanks for fixing up the coin press for the ghost town
Thankyou for helping Brent out so much you have more than helped to preserve some amazing history and I'm really hoping to see you in another video with Brent.
I didn't know so much was involved in making silver coinage. That was a surprise To me.
You brought expert knowledge and experience to the table .💪💪👊
Bravo, Nick and crew! You made it all happen up on the Fat Hill. Kudos to y'all--paying it forward, in more ways than this! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
i appreciate that you didnt stop at simply exclaiming about finding old silver from the town then jumping back into the process of making your own but you intentionally reflected on the hard and depraved history of debt bondage. That is a testament to the quality of your content. IMO.
My aunt and uncle lived in a "company town" - one of the PNW logging towns. After working and living there for some 40 years, the logging company went out of business and they were left with nothing but a couple suitcases of clothes and an old used car. I should note that even without the explicit issuance of "company scrip", the company still got it's hooks into the employees up until the concern went bankrupt... in 1984. A couple years after I graduated high school and entered the military, so it really wasn't all that long ago, too - not like the Civil War era that Cerro Gordo started up in...
That sort of debit slavery was very much a thing in mountains of Appalachia and the Smokie. It is also one of the reasons that Southern people still hate Yankees so much.
Debt bondsge is the truth not benefits of specializsd labor and cream
@@MrJest2 The things people had to do to survive under capitalism is honestly so depressing. There were so many unnecessary deaths from the coal mines
@@harpintn I guess being enslaved in turn after generations of enslaving others stings. More cynical person might say that slavery was abolished in US just to make it universal capitalist slavery instead.
Hard to believe it's been four years. It is crazy how I watched the first video with all the snow.bring from canada and 12 ft. Snow drift is a normal experience. You have become a different person. You are this mountain. You are the strengths, calmness, and showing the beauty. Thank you
Oh wow. Thank you so much. That is very kind. I feel like a different person. Definitely more capable. I appreciate the note!
🙌🏼 Continued Blessings ❤ Bret.
Live long & Live Strong. 🙏🏼🙌🏼🌺🍃
Right said! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻They don't get any more authentic than Brent Underwood!
I remember when he needed a pair of boots.
What a wonderfully nice thing to say!
You’re keeping history alive & living the dream. Keep up the good work.
I bought your book for my Kindle and CANNOT wait to start reading it! Thank you for everything you do. I truly love your channel and have been watching since you started it. Visiting Cerro Gordo is on my Bucket List. 🥰
This made me realize why the hills around Cerro Gordo have no trees. They were cut down for fire wood. With that in mind have you ever thought of a rewilding project to introduce trees nack around town?
There's a channel called "Mossy Earth" that does this very thing. They may know people who would be willing to help, if you ever choose to try. And Im sure you could get a weekend event where people can help spread seedlings.
Correct! I’d love to introduce more trees. It’s a big goal for this year. I’ll have to check out that channel!
That would be very cool. It would help with a bunch, habitat and it would help keep the area cool with some shade
Aye! I love "Mossy Earth" I can't wait to get some land of my own to develop. That team is such an inspiration!
BINGO its imperative if you ask me just from a curiosity stand point , theres a guy doing just that in the deserts around earth , he is turning deserts lush and green again through planting indiginous vegitation and rejuvinating the eco system.
@@GhostTownLiving The Cerro Gordo Forest !
Shows how hard the job was up there, from mining to silver 🥈. Well done.
Definitely! It was a rough life at Cerro Gordo in the 1800s.
My wife and myself have watched from the beginning. We are so proud of what you have done. Being from Colorado, we hope to someday soon visit your "ghost town". Thank you for sharing your joy and love. We wish you only the best and success in your quest.
This taught me so much about how metal is mined and refined. I am a silver coin collector so i always wondered where those tokens came from and what they were for. Thank you. I would love to have some of those tokens i find the history of them and how u made them and that they can be ises to teach this history awesome.
Very special coins indeed. The silver because of all the hard work you and the other put into them, and the copper ones simply because of where the copper came from - they literally are a part of the old hotel - in my book that makes them extra special. Such a wonderful idea to salvage some of the old burned wiring like that.
I love the sound of the silver coins, it is like glitter but in sound.
I just purchased a coin. I am honestly very excited to be able to come out and stay at the hotel, when it’s finished. What an amazing adventure. I’ve been able to live vicariously through you all, through this awesome adventure you’re having. I’ve always dreamt of doing this exact same thing, since I was a kid. I can’t wait to come up and experience the entire area.
Wow! Thank you so much for that! The support means everything. I can't wait for you to experience it as well.
I’ll be at the off road games. Hopefully I’ll be able to see you and speak with you there, more about the mine. Thanks!
How much were the coins? I can’t see now that they are sold out. I hope they help the hotel rebuilding.
wallstreet scammer, the second its finished youll set on fire again to gain more sympathy and support, spend your own money that you try so hard to hide
@@GhostTownLiving
@@travelingnyx$150
It’s really beautiful how much love you have not only for cerro gordo but for your subscribers as well.
You respond to more people in a single video, than a lot of influencers that have the same subscriber count do, in a month.
It’s an honor and a privilege to have been with you since the beginning.
The silver came out beautiful, what a dream life, truly a dream life.
I envy you Brent.
See you next time 😇✌️✌️
Thank you very much! I really appreciate my time here and everyone that watches which makes it all possible. I love hearing messages like this 🙏
What an amazing process!! Thank you for sharing the adventure!!
We have been watching your channel since you started and I gotta say this IS THE BEST EPISODE EVER!!! Great job!
Insane the amount of work those old timers had to go through.. just for that shiny stuff.. been watching since the beginning awesome watching the town come back to life with just a vision and hard work. Great job!.
16:58 That right there is the moment of moments for you. A true prospector having a little oopsie and discovering as you go. 4 years culminating to a moment of creation and exploration. Thanks for so many great videos and adventures, dude.
Definitely a lot of work to make silver coinage, especially when you mine the metal too. I think it’s important for everybody to understand how much work went into production of gold and silver back in the day I don’t think people really understand how much work really went into it. wow great work as usual your videos are outstanding. Thank you so much.
I pre-ordered your book on audible and I am very much looking forward to giving it a listen next week!
It feels mad to me that I found your videos whilst locked down in 2020 and now you are a bonafide mountain man!
thanks for all the videos you put out I love what you are doing with the mine I was once a under ground nickle and gold miner in Western Australia I love watching you go under ground brings back memories of my days as a miner
I got my bit of Cerro Gordo Galena yesterday for pre-ordering your book! Thank you Brent.
Awesome!! Thank you so much for the support! That piece came from the same area you saw in this video.
Wait, what? I didn't know there was galena available for preorders. Back in February I forwarded my receipt for preordering 5 copies to the book@cerrogordomines address and haven't gotten a response back :(
I was intrigued by the idea of getting a page of the manuscript just to have something tangible FROM Cerro Gordo. I hope he's just suffering from success and has a mountain of orders to get to first.
Maybe you drop Brent an email about your situation. Good luck. His email address should be in the ABOUT section on the home page of this channel.@@pstuart17
Wow those went fast! Well at least I have my copy of the book coming can't wait to read it! Really great video. My G gradfater was a miner in Randsburg in the late 1890s and I have heard many stories from my grand mother about growing up in a mining town and this video really showed the hard work and conditions the miners had to deal with to pull out just that small amount of silver. Incredible. Thanks.
Congratulations on finishing the Off Road games on Thursday. I enjoyed watching you tackle the obstacles.
I have been here since the very first video and I am so proud of you and your hardships and hard work. You never gave up even under duress of fires, water shortages, and just everyday living.
And the cats and goats
Don’t forget to also say that you narrated the Audiobook!!! It’s on Audible and I’m so excited to hear it in your own voice!❤
Very true! I narrated the audiobook inside the mine!
@@GhostTownLiving whaaattt??? Omg! I didn’t even realize that second part! I can’t wait to listen to it!!!
I pre-ordered mine! ❤❤❤
So beyond belief, a great adventure shared with all of us!!!
Please keep up your amazing efforts, work, and dedication to your historic mission to preserve this town!
Thank you! I appreciate you checking out the video!
Such great story-telling. Very much looking forward to receiving your book!
It's amazing what you have done with that town. It's amazing that you have brought app gold and silver out of the Mand now it's even more amazing that you are made old-fashioned coins. From the old mine it is all just amazing. There's not another word for it the whole video was amazing great job keep it up. My blessing to you and may God bless you AZ well
The sound of silver coins clinking together is a very unique sound. It doesn't sound like any other type of metal. When you hear it, you can pretty much tell right away that you have silver.
It's as heavy as lead too, which is a pretty easy way to tell true silver. Lead just makes a dull thud sound when clanged together, compared to how silver sings.
thanks for sharing your adventure. I am 72 years old and sure wish I was able to join you there. very interesting part of history.
Woke up at 5am on a trip to Tokyo and found this was playing. Long time follower. Congrats on finally minting your coins. Native Californian now living in Seattle. Spent a lot of time in the Sierras and drove past on the 395 many many times. I hope to get up there to Cerro Gordo sometime. All the best Brent. Thanks for the amazing stories.
Oh awesome! Thank you! Glad you could check it out even over there. Next time you're on 395 you should stop by.
@@GhostTownLiving So happy to get a reply! On my next trip up to the Mammoth area where I have an uncle (no idea when that will be) I will definitely make time for that visit. I have such strong connection to the Owens Valley having spent so many years of my youth (55 now) backpacking and camping there. I envy your journey and admire your joyous spirit. You are a light in what can seem like an increasingly dark world. Stay safe and healthy. I hope to visit or contribute to a project there someday.
As an avid viewer of your show from stumbling upon your first upload, hoping you and your truck would survive the snow to seeing you mint your own coins is truly an inspiration! Anything is doable if we just set our minds to it! Dreams are truly obtainable! ❤❤
Im a novice coin collector and thoroughly enjoyed the educational part on how coins used to be made. Your videos have given me a lot more appreciation for how coins were minted from beginning to the end
You can also crush the galena into a fine powder and treat it with nitric acid to recover silver nitrate in solution and precipitate it as silver chloride, it's a more chemical way of obtaining it and we use it in small mining processes and the big advantage is that you get 99.9 purity silver after melting the precipitate.
This was seriously fun to watch from beginning to end. Keep up the great work!
You load 16 tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
Talking about the company stored at the beginning reminded me of this tune by Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Lovely to see you now creating the once forgotten about Cerro Gordo currency. Seeing your journey so far has been mesmerizing, you've even come into contact with many many other youtubers i've followed for awhile and it's been awesome to see the cross overs. Can't wait to see what is next.
I also thought of that song right away, how funny
@@repairdude7972me too lol
Brett, you have given us four years of memories to carry around, and now a coin too ! I can no longer do what I once loved to do, but I sure love creating new memories through your camera lens. Thank you for doing this for me and for everyone.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate notes like that. Thanks for watching!
Wow, I can only keep up to date with so much youtube content, so when I watched this and realized I missed out on the coin drawing and to buy a coin I was bummed! You have 1.8M subscribers, please make more coins for us to buy!
Those coins are worth way more than just their weight in precious metal. Awesome preservation!! Bravo!
I received my piece of Galena today in the mail!! Thank you! I have been looking forward to getting it since I pre ordered last year and can't wait to read the book. The galena is so shiny! You don't realize how shiny it is until you actually see it in person. Can only imagine how it looks in the mine when you see a whole wall of this stuff. Loved the video - how on earth did they figure out all that chemistry to refine silver 1,000s of years ago? Must have been a lot of trial and error!
The fallen angels taught mankind how to work metal.
@@joshrobertson8189...why not God..Don't give the fallen Angels Gods glory
@@joshrobertson8189 Not to mention the humans that found and learned to use copper along with the later discovery of fire, probably helped a little bit...lol
@@Marinesniprxhow did using fire teach them chemical separation? Not all metals can be refined using fire alone
@@MarinesniprxI mean trial and error is a good explanation I suppose, but where'd they even know where to begin.
my wife and I have watched you and your adventures since day 1. You have worked your butt off over the last 4 plus years to really do something cool
with cerro gordo. I am 75 and all busted up, so there is no way I could go through the adventure that you are. Thanks for letting us come along with
you with all of your fun doings. I am going to get your book because it sounds like a great read. Good luck to you on all you are doing up there as we will
keep watching. Thanks for the great adventure.
Mike and Joy
Well that mini explosion was exciting. Hey that shop overhang not for nothing. For many months you have been building up your shop for cutting rocks etc. It will still be a good spot for what you want. Rolling doors might be nice. The coins are beautiful.
True! I'll have to get some rolling doors on there.
I recently seen a hater vid. And i must say... regardless of how you got the town.... or if you have investors or was the fire nefarious or not. yada yada..b.s...! . myself, i salute you! You got a plan, and You are doing what you want. Is that not the American dream.!? Keep up the positivity and the up beat vids! I learned alot about this mine because of you. And seen a place in history no one would have ever shown me! Thank you, i would love to try living out there and be part of the historical helping to re build this town.
This is an amazing place! It is so cool to have friends helped you achieve your goals, with this entire ghost town. I have no doubt in your abilities to make that little minning town, an amazing place to be! I love the entire concept!
I was lucky enough to get a Cerro Gordo silver necklace and now I get to have a silver coin. Super excited!
Amazing! Thank you so much for that support! I don't even have one of the necklaces haha (I lost my 1). Those are collector's items!
how much did each of the coins sell for? it doenst show the price any more, thanks :)
"Sixteen Tons" now playing in my mind.
I owe my soul to the company store
@@GhostTownLivingyup, that was the first place my mind went. Work hard all day and owe more than you made. And some want to go back to those days even now! Blows my mind. Miners and loggers were the worst because of the remote work places with one employer, but also many other industries.
wtf tf. Already sold out?! This is awesome, I'm glad this is being funded :)
Your story telling and narration is so good. Love the person behind the brilliant idea!
Long time listener first time caller. Love love love everything about this channel!!! The clip that has me climbing out from under my rock is when you had a cold zinc flare up and I am glad you appear moments later unscathed…. But dude to appear on camera with an almost still smoldering and clearly singed beard moments after was truly heroic. Heroic in a Deadpool kinda way. Love you man. Be careful out there.
Wow, what a story. From start to finish, and Nick was very kind to do this one.
You are a true story teller sir.
Thank you for the last four years of sharing your Cerro Gordo adventure.
Thank you for the support!
Beautiful silver, wow! & SO interesting to see the entire process!!!
Thank you! Cheers!
As a new numismatist that's loved every second of it I LOVE this video! You are incredible.
I remember finding your channel when it was small and starting out. I am so glad you're booming now. I saw a guy living a life I dreamed of.. I love silver/gold. I love the old west, wooden towns, cold winters, warm summers, and getting away from the cities.
So far, I can only live my dream life vicariously through your channel, and I am so grateful you're here, bud.. I don't think some successful youtubers realize how much they help the average joe.. Work 40 or more hours at a job you hate, for less and less money, get home sore and tired, try to eat something and put your feet up and watch tv/youtube.. That little bit of happiness at the end of the night is all some of us have. Thanks bro.
I appreciate you giving us the history behind the silver coin! My 7 year old and I watched this video in one sitting. Now he wants to go find your book with the silver coin in it 😄
The Phobia Mine…….too narrow for me.
Something about watching your channel is just so peaceful .. been watching for few years now and will continue for as long as i can !
Pretty awesome coins. Love the update. The hotel looks like it's boarded up and ready for work. Thanks for sharing.
Love watching all your videos! Keep up the good work Brent!❤
@CharlieRuyung what does soap carving have to do with literally anything going on here
Thank you! Will do!
This is by far one of the coolest coin making videos I have ever seen. Amazing job guys, kudos!
You guys are so awsome. Bringing back history that you can hold in your hand as a finished product. Thank you for keeping the history ALIVE.
Mining was a horrible, dirty business, so unhealthy. Your mining and reproducing the original silver coins is a true labor of love! KUDOS! 👏👏👏
is
Strip mining is definitely easier.
So was everything I presume?
Looks like we’re going back to California. You can’t just say “here’s a coin, buy one and stay at the hotel” and not expect me to immediately buy one. This is going to be an AH MAZING excuse to take a vacation. At some point. Some day. Happy book release week!
Wow! Thank you Kelly! That is so so kind. I appreciate all the support over the years!
It’s definitely strange how this project has affected me. It’s not even mine! But hey, do things you enjoy, participate in them with people. That’s where the fun part comes from. What is life without experiences? I’m looking forward to having this one! All the best.
everybody was trying to make money from home, this man actually did it. amazing to watch since the pandemic and see your progress. congrats on any and all success, you've earned it!
“🎶 I haul 16 tons, and what do I get? Another day older and deeper in debt! If you see St Peter tell him I can’t go…cuz I owe my soul to the company store.” Am I the only one with this stuck in my head now?😂
That was coal, but the very same idea.
Did you know currency isn’t legally money? They are all “promises to pay” in the future, and technically all nations/societies are now using a type of company scrip from the ‘Private’ central bank companies….ever since they decoupled the mineral/gold value they’ve enslaved us all. To see this chap breaking free from the slavery (if you know what I mean) is wonderful. 💕
@@trappedinroom1014 Buy a dictionary and learn to use it.
Currency is money by definition regardless of how it is 'backed'.
'Money' is any medium of exchange that is commonly agreed upon.
@@trappedinroom1014 You are wrong.
'Money' is any medium if exchange that is commonly agreed upon.
Trappedinroom is wrong:
'Money' is any medium of exchange that is commonly agreed upon.
Federal Reserve Notes are legal tender.
Great video , as always. I have been to Cerro Gordo countless times before you purchased it. I love the history of Calif. Gold and Silver rush indeed. Born and raised in SoCal. The passion that you have is addictive for sure. I will buy one of your books very soon...Keep your passion going my friend...
Thank you! I'll keep it going. Hope you make it back up here sometime.
@@GhostTownLiving I will, God willing, I'd like to meet you...
all the energy it took and cost to make that silver shows how hard it is to mine and how undervalued it is on purpose by economics
I absolutely love how you go about everything you are doing there. Love your videos. The history, the info you provide is priceless.
Yeah, I just received your book today. I really like the page design for the named chapters. Looking forward for a good reading, as I enjoy your videos.
OMG, I don't know if that explosion scared you but it did me and I'm just watching the video
Get a sturdy bucket/box and rope and then drag the bucket up and down the ramp next to the ladder.
Uhm, you're expected to dig ore, not read and play card games during your 12 hour shift.
For the front of your shop, put some doors on hinges attached to the top so you can then lift them up, put posts under each corner and thus not only keep out the elements when they're closed, but give you awnings which provide you with extra shaded workspace.
The Romans also used drop presses for their coins.
Score yourself a smaller electric furnace with a removable crucible - that'll allow for cleaner pours into the mold, also, get that mold heated up before pouring, not just to avoid potential cracking of the graphite, but also to allow the silver to cool without all of those bubbles and imperfections you got.
All said, good video and good haul - I pour coins myself but did enjoy seeing you stamp them out.
Who is this guy? Sounds like my football coach in high school.
@@daleretired1457 Me or the content creator?
I played basketball, not football in high school and never coached - I only did the video because I collect and pour coins myself - no clue on the creator as this was the first time I've watched one of his vids.
Stick a winch at the first level.
@@kevinmulligan9055 Definitely work smarter, not harder.
Excellent once again, nature is beautiful.
Thank you! Beautiful nature indeed!
Awesome channel! I love the history and that coin is super awesome! I would love to go down into the mine! So dang great that you own that place! So blessed. Not because of the mine/money, but so great due to the history snd beautiful area!
Maybe hang a pulley or two and rope to let the bucket up and down. Maybe put a small Bluetooth motor to the rope.
Thanks again for the amazing content!
With every one of your videos posted to this channel I'm impressed even more. I like the stories you tell, and the process you're going through to improve this camp (the mine). I've listened to all of the videos at least once, and I've watched and listened to several (many) of them more than once.
I like what you're planning to do to the water situation for drinking and general support for the town, but I just wish that there was something you could do to the road condition that will last longer than each major rainstorm. You once mentioned putting in a water catching system. That sounds like a good improvement for all the non-drinking needs of the town.
We appreciate everything you do
I appreciate the support and kind words!
@@GhostTownLiving we have 6 kids who love mining . I'd love to bring them out
How did that coleman lantern glass survived that drop?? HOW???
Hope everybody’s having a good day that sounds old
Hope you're having a good day too!
Going up and down construction ladders all the time in the power industry we use a bucket and rope. You can buy a cheap 100’ 200’ line from harbor freight that has a clasp on one end. Clasp the bucket handle and lower or raise the bucket. Keeps you from falling by trying to fight a bucket going up or down those ladders.
BRET is the most authentic beautiful explorer.. Always a pleasure learning how he gets to all this History. Bret? You are a great writer.
I explore mines vicariously through these vids, cuz theres NO WAY my chicken a** is getting into one IRL!🤭
haha, it somehow is less sketchy when down there then when reviewing the videos...maybe
You made bits. You know, a quarter is two bits. Well your coin is one bit.
That was a long way down but at least it was the bucket
and not you take care and have a safe week.🇺🇲🤠🙌🇺🇲
Thanks! It was the quick way down haha
@@GhostTownLivingThat bucket said it couldn't wait to get down down there 😅
Now that is what i call a treasure hunt.Bestest ever actually.I will never have the chance to search for it, But big love to the lucky person that finds it.xxxx
Another saga not (yet) put into a video is the production of the dies for punching and pressing the coins. I have seen video of the modern process, which involves sculpting an enlarged (about 8 inches diameter) version of each side of the coin, reducing it with a 3-d pantagraph, and finally milling the die out of tool steel, which is then hardened and polished into the press tools as shown here. Yours were apparently engraved at final scale; a monumental task. I'm about 50 years past being able to live, let alone walk around at over 8000 feet, so I will not be visiting. Thank you for the whole series of videos, which have made it possible for me to enjoy the town and its mines.
Fun fact - if they made $3-4 / day, the money used to be $1.40 for an oz of silver (pre 1964 Constitutional), at current price of silver, they made around $60-70 $/day to mine the silver, which again, was literally money back then.
It still is (and always has been) literally money, whereas the US Dollar is merely a form of currency.
🎯 and in 1964 the min wage was 5 silver quarters which is equivalent to $29 an hour in todays price. 1964 is the last year we had real silver in our coinage like it states in the US constitution Article 1 Section 10 Clause 1. Paper money is illegal for the ones who dont know 😉
@@Gold_Silver.They always get around that by saying that no "state" shall print paper money, but the Fed said I'm not a state, now am I? 😂
I love this!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
it triggers me soo much that u dindt just put a rope on the buckt and pulled it up, but anyways great video
Incredible, after 4 years you're still making amazing new discoveries.
I like your idea of recreating a glimpse of how things were in the past of Cerro Gordo.
I'm sorry. I don't think I understand. The black and white photo that you showed us was supposedly taken in 2041? The photo has the name "forbes" on the bottom right. For people that don't know, Forbes is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917 and owned by Hong Kong-based investment group. I just want to know the story behind that photo, please.
I love your videos and what you are creating in Cerro Gordo. It’s amazing to see all you are doing and how well you honor those people that worked so hard back in the day! 😊
Wow! Absolutely loved every single part of this video! Would be awesome to have one but the effort you put in the video is enough for me thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Hey Brent , It came in the mail today! (your book) I just wanted to thank you for all you do! :)
The personality shines through and keeps viewers coming back.
I have know idea how often you are planning extractions from the mine but a simple solution for the bucket might be to have rope at the top with a hook on the end. Drop it down fill the bucket and climb back up then hoist the bucket up with the rope.
wow... such an amazing video. Loved how you went through the entire process of mining to coin making. I've always been fascinated by old ghost towns back when I was a young Devil Dog in the Marines stationed in CA.
Absolutely an amazing journey you are on. Love what you are doing!
I have to say, you amaze me! I think it awesome to see someone take so much interest in history/mining and how things work! Good job!
You're magic, Brent! True inspiration. Keep on.
I love watching your videos and have been watching from the beginning. What an adventure you have before you and I love how much you embrace the whole process.....12 hour days and all!!