On the last day of a two week motorcycle trip, which included several days at the Tacoma NIA National Show in 1984, I stopped in Virginia City Nevada to check out the tourist stuff.

In one souvenir shop I stuck my head in the door for a quick survey for any insulators that might be hiding. On the bottom shelf of one section of the shop were about 30 mixed aqua and clear railroad type common insulators. Rather than dismiss them on first glance I dashed in for a quick look.

Among the many common pieces was one that clearly didn't belong. The CD 123 EC & M in this photo was covered in a dirty haze and it was kind of dark in the shop but I could still tell it was green! Being only about three years into the hobby, I knew that an aqua was worth 45-50.00 and greens starting at a couple of hundred. The price on the piece was $5.00 which was based, in part, on the fact that there was a thumb sized flake on one side of the skirt. I told my companion at the time that "I think I'm going to wet my pants!" due to the excitement of the discovery. I was told to be quiet or the proprietor might hear me.

As I approached the cashier to pay, he explained that he had just dug the piece in a privy in Virginia City about two weeks earlier. He wasn't sure how to price it so he slapped a $5 sticker on it which I cheerfully paid, damage notwithstanding.

Once outside, I was able to hold the piece up to the sun and discovered that it was full of micro bubbles and olive green swirls. At home I cleaned the piece thoroughly and placed it in a position of prominence in my collection where it resided for about 28 years before being consigned to auction where it sold for something north of $10k.

Moral of the story, to find a diamond you may have to dig through a lot of dirt.

(This story is being posted now in response to an ICON post about what approach to take when one encounters "common" insulators in shops, flea markets, etc.)