H77.153.6

Miner's shovel. Description: Steel blade with squared raised sides and backboard, steel handle bracing, heavy wood handle with crescent hand hold, stamping on bracing reads "IXL---Reed Best Steel" Condition: Fair, metal pitted and rusted, wood split on handle. 92 cm. Remarks: Used to shovel stream bed bottom mud into rocker. California Mother lode locale. (Norm Wilson 10/7/96) Old handle - "D" shape made of one piece of wood; blade riveted to yoke is sign that it is an old shovel. Probably used for clean up on plates in a mill. Old shovels for stream work were often angled between blade and arm; newer ones were made more like spades. Nice piece. (Ray Hillman, 4/97) Probably used around a mill to clean out a concentrator, i.e. the gold sulpherites and water after the concentrator has shaken off the lighter weight material. The wet nature of the ore might explain the steep sides and back.

Used: mining | Gold mining | Placer mining