# NICE! 100 Troy ounce nugget sold..



## AuMINIMayhem (Mar 17, 2011)

There's a video in the article of it... yeee haw!!! Wish I could find something like that!

http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/03/17/california.nugget.auction/index.html?hpt=T2




(CNN) -- Gold is always worth its weight in, well, itself. Sometimes, it's worth even more.

A gold nugget, weighing 100 troy ounces, sold at auction in Sacremento for $400,000 Wednesday night. 

"We valued it at around $200,000," said Amy Baker, auction manager for Holabird-Kagin American. "There were 6 to 7 people bidding on it, most of them anonymously. It went to an anonymous (phone) bidder."

Baker said the auction house may be able to release more information on the winning bidder Thursday.

Security is important when you're dealing with a large hunk of precious metal.

"The new owner, I'm not sure when it will exactly be delivered to him," Baker said. "That's confidential."

On Wednesday, gold closed at $1,396.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, making the nearly 7-pound nugget worth about $140,000, if it were melted down.

But since the nugget, found last year in Nevada County, California, is believed to be the largest one left from the state's gold rush, it has special value. An estimated 500,000 people traveled to California between 1848 and 1864 in search of instant wealth.

"It's the last one we know left in existence," Baker said. "There have been larger ones over the years, but they have been melted down."

The nugget will be on display this weekend at the Sacramento Convention Center, she said.

The California Natural Resources Agency says the largest nugget ever mined in the state was found in 1854 and weighed 195 pounds.


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## Irons (Mar 17, 2011)

Now, that was a stiff premium. :mrgreen:


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## AuMINIMayhem (Mar 17, 2011)

Irons said:


> Now, that was a stiff premium. :mrgreen:




If I had a nickel for every time I've said _*that*_.. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Ocean (Mar 18, 2011)

One thing keeps bugging me about that article. I've read it numerous times in different publications.

"This is the last one left over from the Gold Rush."

WHAT? How the HELL do they know what is still lying around in the Earth out there?! :evil:


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## AuMINIMayhem (Mar 18, 2011)

I think they're saying it's the last one of the large nuggets found during the Gold Rush in California, meaning it has "historical significance" as it wasn't melted down like all the others found during that time period. At least, that's how I read it. 8)

It says it was found last year... but.... I don't think they meant it was found in a stream, under a rock, in a sluice box, etc. I think they meant it was probably found stowed away in a footlocker, safe, cracker jack box, etc. by some decendant or what-have you of the person who found it way back when. After re-reading the article I could see where there'd be some confusion over the facts... I wonder if it has old assays or papers or something along those lines to go with it in order to validate when it was actually found and by whom. I would think that would seriously jack up the value of an already impressive piece. 8)


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## parrothead (Mar 18, 2011)

The article that I read on it said that it was found when a guy was grading a road(driveway) on his property.

Scratch that, I found another article that said he was swinging a pick when he found it and 2 other nuggets. He may now be selling his property as well.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/17/BARD1ID82A.DTL


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## Palladium (Oct 24, 2014)

http://youtu.be/-Q8e9Mid3Dk?t=58s


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## joekbit (Nov 14, 2014)

Palladium said:


> http://youtu.be/-Q8e9Mid3Dk?t=58s


That was a wow video. Imagine the amount of time it took for that nugget to get that large. Even more food for thought, How large was it before the water erosion stopped?


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