What would you do if you found a 34.48-carat diamond in the creek when your horseshoe went a little off target and landed in the water? This is precisely what happened in Peterstown, West Virginia in 1928 when 10-year-old Punch Jones was playing horseshoes with his father Grover Cleveland Jones one afternoon.
They were in a vacant lot near their home in the tiny town in Monroe County. (Peterstown is still tiny and has a population of about 650.)
Wikipedia/Idawriter
Punch must have popped down into the creek to retrieve the horseshoe and that’s when he saw a shiny gemstone and picked it up.
Flickr/Ryan Hallock
Thinking it was a type of quartz at best, Punch hung onto the stone for several years. As the story goes, at one point it ended up in a drawer and at another it sat on the windowsill for quite a long time.
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Then, one of Punch’s 18 brothers and sisters took a class in geology at nearby Virginia Tech. He learned about the so-called “scratch test” for diamonds… and then the Jones’ discovered they had been living with a 34.48-carot diamond in their possession for more than 10 years.
Flickr/Diamonds R’Unique (The above uncut diamond is for illustration purposes only. It is 1/20 the size of the Jones Diamond.)
The discovery of the Jones Diamond in the creek below this bridge in Peterstown is the largest alluvial diamond ever discovered in the U.S.
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If you’re wondering what an alluvial diamond is; it’s simply a diamond that was eroded and carried naturally to its discovery point (as by way of a glacier), as opposed to being found via traditional diamond mining.
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Wondering where it is today? So is everyone! For many years the Jones Diamond sat at the Smithsonian, until a family member recovered it and took it out and reportedly took it on tour at state fairs and such. And then, in 1984, it was sold at auction. No actual amount was published, but there are rumors an agent for someone in Asia purchased the Jones 34.48-carat diamond for a mere 64,000 dollars. Its whereabouts at this point are completely unknown
Google Maps
Wikipedia/Idawriter
Flickr/Ryan Hallock
waymarking.com/Thorny1
Flickr/Diamonds R’Unique
(The above uncut diamond is for illustration purposes only. It is 1/20 the size of the Jones Diamond.)
Google Maps
Did you know there are diamonds in West Virginia? Want to pan for your own rare find in the same spot where Punch Jones discovered the Jones Diamond in 1928? Use the map above and this Google link to find your way to Peterstown and look for the bridge in the above photos to begin your search!
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