Number Eight Ring by Dan SimplicioThe Number eight turquoise mine is in the Lynn mining district in Eureka County, Nevada. The mine is considered depleted and has not produced turquoise for a number of years, although much is still available through collections and other holdings. Earl Buffington and Lawrence Springer filed the first formal claim on the property in 1929. Not long after that time the mine began going though a number of owners which included; Ted Johnson, Doc Wilson, Myron Clark, Lee Hand, the Edgar brother and Dowell Ward. All are important names in Nevada’s turquoise mining history. In 1950 the Edgars with a bulldozer began looking for copper. What they did uncover was a deposit of some of the finest spider web turquoise ever found in Nevada. The pocket produced more than 1,600 pounds of the very highest-grade turquoise, a discovery that is still being talked about today.
The color of Number eight turquoise varies from light blue, blue with shades of green to beautiful dark blue. It is found with a black, golden, red or brown matrix. With the black and red spider webbing being the most valued. Besides its beautiful turquoise, Number 8 has also been known for the large nuggets the mine produced. One nodule of high-grade turquoise that was sold to C.G. Wallace weighed more than nine pounds. Another uncovered was one of the largest turquoise nodules ever found. On June 23, 1954, T.G. Edgar, J.M. Edgar and Marvin Symes discovered a specimen that weighed 150 pounds. It was of good color and hardness and classified as gem quality.
Today Number eight turquoise is one of the most valuable stones that can be collected and one of the most beautiful that can be used in jewelry. High-grade Number 8 turquoise is by far some of the finest turquoise to ever have come out of Nevada.