CTTC 2026 Open Hunt Token Prizes Arriving. Hunt Sponsors Needed!

 

A CKG Metal Detecting Finds & Tools Pouch has arrived. It will be one of the nice token prizes given away at our CTTC Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt. Your business can become a 2026 CTTC Hunt Sponsor with a $35 Sponsorship Donation to cover the cost of this great prize.

Get your Early Bird Hunt Entries in the mail today!  

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

centraltexastreasureclub@gmail.com 

 

 

Brownwood Library's Kids Summer Reading Program - CTTC Presentation This Morning

 This morning's Brownwood Public Library's Kids Summer Reading Program after our Central Texas Treasure Club gave two programs for about 50 kids. The young ones were very well-behaved, attentive, and curious. Their generation represents the future of our hobby! In good hands. 

p.s. - Get your Early Bird Entries for our Central Texas Treasure Club's 2026 Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt in the mail today!

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

Excellent Central Texas Treasure Club Meeting Last Night!

 We had a great Central Texas Treasure Club monthly meeting last night!  We had 24 in attendance - 23 Members and 1 Visitor.  We had a very nice variety of Members' finds from the past month entered into our Finds of the Month Contest (shown below), we gave away a bunch of nice door prizes and my young helper Abram won the Special Projects Raffle for a valuable Brilliant Uncirculated 1922 Peace Silver Dollar.  Congratulations, Abram and all of last night's prize winners!  

We also really got the ball rolling for our big October 10th Open Hunt.  Some Early Bird Hunt Entries and Gold Coin Raffle tickets were turned in.  This month, Members will be getting out and selling Raffle tickets and recruiting CTTC Hunt Sponsors and we urge everyone who wants to participate in our 2026 CTTC Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt to get your Early Bird Entry forms and fees in the mail.  This year, the Early Bird Entry fee is still only $25 but must be turned in or postmarked BY September 26th or the fee goes up to $40 for late entrants.

We also made arrangements for Members who are able to help out with next week's Brownwood Community Library's Kids Summer Reading Program where our Club will give two programs, the first one for younger kids and the second for older kids. about Treasure Hunting & Metal Detecting.  Anywhere from 150 to 250 young people are expected to attend the July 16th event!  

We have a lot of fun activities coming up so now's a great time to join and support our Club.  Memberships: $20 for Individuals for full year, or $25 for Family Membership for a full year.  

Thank you,

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

Coming Soon - CTTC Video & Photo Presentation by Longtime Treasure Hunter Robert Lee Rigdon!

 

Coming Soon! I contacted my friend Robert Lee Rigdon, who has 49 years of metal detecting/treasure hunting experience, several months ago and asked if he would be kind enough to give a presentation for our Central Texas Treasure Club. He was considering it but realized that the long drive from his home to Brownwood was not feasible so he put together a fascinating video program for our Club and visitors to enjoy! I watched it last night and it's great! Bob also sent a lot of photos on jump drive to include with his presentation. Everyone interested in metal detecting, bottle-digging, dump digging, and treasure hunting will benefit greatly from watching this video/photo presentation.

Our Club has a lot of activities lined up for this next 4 weeks, Speed-Gold Panning Workshop(s), our regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 7th, then two programs for the Brownwood Public Library's Summer Reading Program for kids about Metal Detecting/Treasure Hunting on July 16th, registering Early Bird Entrants for our CTTC 2026 Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt on October 10th, selling Gold Coin Raffle tickets to fund seeded silver coins for the Hunt, and recruiting CTTC Hunt Sponsors in order to purchase some great token prizes.

But Robert's program is so good that I'll be working on finding a good location and date to play it so that as many treasure hunting enthusiasts as possible will be able to enjoy it sometime in July!  Stay tuned for updates.

Happy Hunting!

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

 

CTTC 2026 Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt - Flyers

 "Thank You!" to our Central Texas Treasure Club's Co-Huntmasters Joshua Furry and Caiden Tyler for creating and preparing these 3 flyers for our October 10th CTTC 2026 Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt in Brownwood! If you need a printable copy of our Hunt Registration form, you can find it in our Central Texas Treasure Club's Facebook page Files section or on our Featured Post at the top of our Facebook page. Get your Early Bird Entries in the mail today!

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

 

2026 CTTC Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt - Brownwood, Saturday, October 10th!

 Here's what many of you have been waiting for! Our 2026 Central Texas Treasure Club Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt coming on Saturday, October 10, 2026!  Get your printable copy of this year's Flyer/Registration Form in our Club's Facebook group's Files section.  If you don't use Facebook, email your request for the printable copy to centraltexastreasureclub@gmail.com . Early Bird Entries still only $25 so get your fee and form in the mail today!

Hope to see you on October 10th in Brownwood!

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

 

Most people don't realize that the Spaniards had a big presence and influence right here in what is now Brown County and in rural central Texas. That's why all treasure hunters in this area or any area need to have some knowledge of carvings and symbols that may lead you to some very old and rewarding lost treasure caches. Here are a couple that you should keep in mind when out with your metal detector or just out exploring. The first is a check mark. The second are drill holes. I don't recall ever finding a check mark in this area but I have found numerous drill holes in Brown and surrounding counties. An important fact to remember is that very little was known about the Knights of the Golden Circle when this book was published. Now, however, we know that many treasure signs used by the Spanish and by the ancient Knights Templar were also used by the KGC. These tips are from "Follow the Signs: A Treasure Hunter's Handbook", an excellent book written by Dayne Chastain (1977). We have a copy of this book in our Central Texas Treasure Club Library that may be checked out by dues-paid Members, for 1 month, at our monthly meetings or by picking them up at my home by appointment.

Page 57 - "When you find a check mark, it indicates you should follow the direction of the long side of the mark."

Page 59 - "A drill hole is a Spanish mark. At least, we have always found that the drill holes we have located throughout the countryside of a five state area have always been related to Spanish markings, and more than likely Spanish treasure or gold...

If you find one drill hole, you can find every drill hole in a five state area because one will lead you to another."