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glorycloud

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Messages
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Location
Georgia
I watched this eBay sale on a big gold nugget and found it fascinating.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GOLD-NUGGET-Alaskan-96-4-GRAMS-Natural-Placer-3-1-T-Oz-Slate-Creek-High-Purity-/383083746233?_trkparms=ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140725133649%26meid%3Dbaf2a42bffe041b59e9b6077acbc4a41%26pid%3D100276%26itm%3D383083746233%26pg%3D2060778&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=%252BI94Lw6m8myB7zW0wHbQBXVQqB8%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=NC

I assume that the value is for a collector or for art? Surely, there isn't anywhere
near 3.1 Troy ounces of gold in that rock / nugget?

Anyway, I am just wanting to learn a little more about this area of collecting / investing. 8)
 
It's a very nice "specimen". It's similar to folks who collect vintage computer ICs. The gold value is secondary. The price is based on rarity, aesthetics, need to fill an empty place in one's collection, etc. A nice mineral specimen can fetch many, many times the value of any elements it may contain.

Dave
 
That's pretty much what I thought. Kinda makes it hard to know how to
value them or make offers on them when buying "specimens" like this one
as they will always be worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Unlike
what we do when we buy scrap gold / computers in whatever form we choose
to buy it in to stockpile / resell / process / refine or simply look at. 8)
 
It’s the same principle really it takes study and experience to be able to judge its value or perceived value, I’d think a really pretty matrix with very little gold but aesthetically pleasing could well fetch more than the same amount of gold in nugget with little other minerals attached, go to a few mineral specimen meetings and see how they value items.
 
The same rules of gold value don't always apply to gold found in nature. Old gold coins are often worth more than the gold content due to their numismatic value. Its similar with gold as it is found in nature rather a specimen or a large nugget. Example a 6 ounce nugget is worth more than 6 ounces of tiny flakes.

A specimen buyer is not looking to extract the gold.
 
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