Once in a Lifetime Find

[frank]

Well heres a 2 and a half ounce nugget I detected this past weekend in Arizona.
Surely doesn't happen very often.

 

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[mickk]

What a great find, thats a beauty, a real keeper.

 

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[CMDiamonddawg]

Fantastic could it happen twice in a lifetime in AZ that would be wonderful Virginia City , Nv has a store where they buy and sell specimens of natural gold , awesome rocks are on display Congrats , it's up top

 

[goldentruth]

Great find! I was at the Northern California's "Olde West Gun & Jewlery store. The lady clerk told me about 15 years ago a guy brought in a Gold & Quartz rounded chunk which was as big as a fist! The dude found it in a creek called "Clear Creek in the old Gold minning town of French Gulch California (Where I live now.) The guy said it was in top of rocks in the creek and was smooth and rounded. The store gave the guy $10,000 at that time. (Just think about how much money that would bring now!) I have spent time around a lot of "Tailings" and I have no idea how many people have picked around there but I still have hope to get a good find soon.
I know many think it just happens to a few but I know it takes time & effort of what you put into it.
Good luck to you, may you find double, save you trouble friend.

 

[steelheadwill]

Very Nice Specimen
Congrats on Your Find and Banner

 

[Gary Drayton]

Fantastic find, congrats sir.

 

[Deepdiger60]

Great find and size , Congrats on the Banner i would find away to attach a gold chain and wear that around my neck just the way it is . Keep finding Jim

 

[N.J.THer]

Awesome find...congrats.

I've never panned or detected for nuggets but will one day.

NJ

 

[CanadianTrout]

Well heres a 2 and a half ounce nugget I detected this past weekend in Arizona.
Surely doesn't happen very often.

So casual. LOL I woulda passed out...

 

[MRBeyer]

Oh yeah. I definitely vote banner on this one. Dream find for most of us I am sure.

 

[Clay Slayer]

Just curious, how much of the 2 1/2 ounces do you think is gold and how much is quartz? I guess it's impossible to know unless you melted it down. Looks too cool to do that!

 

[Red_desert]

WTG!!!! That sure is a nice nugget!

 

[Steve in PA]

Just curious, how much of the 2 1/2 ounces do you think is gold and how much is quartz? I guess it's impossible to know unless you melted it down. Looks too cool to do that!

I was wondering the same thing. It may be worth more as a specimen than the gold content alone. Great find & congrats on the banner

 

[frank]

Just curious, how much of the 2 1/2 ounces do you think is gold and how much is quartz? I guess it's impossible to know unless you melted it down. Looks too cool to do that!

Clayslayer, ya don't have to break it up or melt it down to get the weight of gold versus the quartz rock
I will be doing a specific gravity test on it soon when I do I'll post the results

Thanks for all the good words I appreciate it.
Detecting or " Electronic Prospecting " is truly the toughest form of hunting/prospecting for gold.

 

[Red_desert]

Just curious, how much of the 2 1/2 ounces do you think is gold and how much is quartz? I guess it's impossible to know unless you melted it down. Looks too cool to do that!

I was wondering the same thing. It may be worth more as a specimen than the gold content alone. Great find & congrats on the banner

Gold specimens are going for a higher price, than what the actual value of gold content in them brings.

 

[Seabiscuit]

You won't find that hunting in the park. Thats a nice one for sure.

 

[kuger]

Just curious, how much of the 2 1/2 ounces do you think is gold and how much is quartz? I guess it's impossible to know unless you melted it down. Looks too cool to do that!

I was wondering the same thing. It may be worth more as a specimen than the gold content alone. Great find & congrats on the banner

Gold specimens are going for a higher price, than what the actual value of gold content in them brings.

..maybe back when gold was $500 an ounce....not much specimen gold being bought right now.You know of anybody that is....I have em from 5 oz-24 oz,I want double spot for

 

[Red_desert]

Just curious, how much of the 2 1/2 ounces do you think is gold and how much is quartz? I guess it's impossible to know unless you melted it down. Looks too cool to do that!

I was wondering the same thing. It may be worth more as a specimen than the gold content alone. Great find & congrats on the banner

Gold specimens are going for a higher price, than what the actual value of gold content in them brings.

..maybe back when gold was $500 an ounce....not much specimen gold being bought right now.You know of anybody that is....I have em from 5 oz-24 oz,I want double spot for

There had been a few people recently selling specimen gold on ebay, one was huge with a high gold content. On the nugget/prospecting forums, ebay seems to be the recommended place for selling gold right now.

 

[TheRockDoc]

Wow, what an amazing find. I am curious though as to a little bit of the story behind this find, as in most cases, hearing the story about the find is as exciting as seeing a picture of the find. Not to mention the fact that you already made banner (well deserved), but banner clearly states that there needs to be a story behind the find. (not trying to call u out in any way) Just really want to hear the story behind this once in a lifetime find, and Im sure Im not alone in my opinion here today...

Thanks, and congrats.

 

[frank]

No problem Rockdoc, but 1st let me say I have no clue what "Banner" means ??


I damm near didn't make it down there for the gathering. I guess somebody "upstairs" saw a way for it to happen.
I loaded up the truck at 3:30 A.M. Sat morning an took off, it was drizzeling rain an by the time I hit the 40 interstate south of Kingman I was going thru a mix of heavy rain and snow.
Slowed down to about 40-45 and had to dim the lights to see.
I considered twice about turning around an going home, thinking what am I getting into
Something kept me going foward instead of turning around.
I was thinking about seeing all the guys again and I just love that atmosphere of a group of Gold Hunters at camp swappin lies at the fire at night.
And commin back to camp each day an seeing what all was found.
Ain't nothin like it, wish I was 20 again and could look foward to another 40 or 50 years of doin it.

Anywho, it went like this,
I started off covering side hills and some flat benches above the washes, that lasted awhile then the horrible temptation to get down into the wash came !!
Just knowing what would be ahead of me in the wash I was hesitant.
I've had a summer filled with diggin holes to China in washes for the ultimate piece of trash.
Started hittin signals thru some big rocks so that involved diggin around them to form a depression to turn then over into cause they were too big to just lift.
After doing that a few times and having it turn out to be the rock I got the drift of the hot rocks there an what they looked like.
Backed OFF on the power of the 3500 a bit to alleviate that syndrome an continued on with a few pieces of trash dug.


Then I hit an
Interesting signal at first, after moving 3 good sized rocks from digging the hole the signal turned to aawww f#$% another large trash piece
(overload) at about 7-8 inches down. Then I kept digging I was using the Ol Minelab Turdy-5-hundred with a 16" NF SL mono (love that analog) and even though
I cut a good sized hole I couldn't be quite sure exactly where the signal was from with the large diameter coil on.
So I called up the hill from where I was for Glenn and Mike to come down Glenn had a 5000 with the new 6x8 NF coil on it so that was perfect for getting
a direction on the dig.
Once I got that I started digging deeper in that direction at about 12-14 inches I started taking big scoopfulls 1 at a time out and waving it over
Glenns coil
waiting for him to say signal or not. Then 1 scoop had the target and I dumped some into 1 hand and it was still in the scoop,
then I picked out this good sized rock out of the scoop and just before I waved it over his coil I looked at him an said Tell me you don't have a signal anymore thats what he said NO SIGNAL !!


WOWSA WOWSA, in my brain I knew I had something good then in my left hand a dirty rock that gave an overload, brushed it once with the other hand an saw a glint of color, thats all it took popped that baby in my big mouth and it came out a muddy hunk of gold an quartz.
Then the dancin started ,... I looked like the ol timer in Bogarts "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" jumpin an praisin Mother Earth !!!!
Then I filled the hole went back to camp where Bunk was and said go get a new set of underwear I got somethin to show ya.
After that our "long distance bartender" Shep showed up with the "Cabo Wabo" the rest is history.
But I'm still recuperating
I'm callin it the Vampire Nugget because thats what it looked like a set of vampire dentures

 

[The Patriot]

LoL that't what i thought when i seen it on the banner. Congrats