The history of the Number 8 turquoise mine is quite interesting. According to the sources , the mine was first discovered by a barber from Carlin, Nevada in 1925, but he did not mine it. It was rediscovered by Earl Buffington and Lawrence Springer in 1929, who filed the first claim and started producing turquoise . They sold the mine to Ted Johnson in 1930, who mined it for four years and then sold it to Doc Wilson in 1935. Wilson did not work the mine and the claim lapsed. Myron Clark relocated the claim and sold it to Lee Hand, who later sold it to the Edgar brothers in 1944. The Edgar brothers expanded the operations and found some of the finest spider web turquoise ever found in Nevada, including a 150-pound nodule that was one of the largest ever uncovered . The mine closed in 1976 and was later mined for gold. The Number 8 turquoise is now very rare and valuable .

Dowell Ward was the last owner of the Number 8 turquoise mine before it closed in 1976 . He had a stockpile of the turquoise that he set aside for later sorting and selling . He mined some of the finest turquoises ever found, including some with spider web matrix and powder blue color . His reserve is considered a collector's item and once it is gone, there will be no more Number 8 turquoise on the market .