7.8 Troy Ounce Gold Nugget 18k-20k, a small Clunker too

[Ant]

Hi you all i normally don't my finds but to me this is significant so I wanted to share.

My conclusion is that I found a crystalline gold nugget that has a coating of iron oxide, and a natural copper nugget.

I posted the story in the "What Is It" room.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/forum.php

At first when this came out of the ground I thought it was a gold ring that was melted in a extremely hot house or building fire.
It came out of the ground like you see in the first set of pictures. Then when I got home scrubbed it with a toothbrush, ammonia, and dish washing liquid. I am very familiar with gold characteristics and knew right off that it was gold. It was heavy like gold and I saw the glint of gold in spots and assumed that it became contaminated in the fire.

I never find much brass in this area but every now and then I do, mostly iron, aluminum, cooper and lead. It was down inside a bed of charcoal. I also this copper nugget that was within 6' of the gold nugget. came from the site burn.

This site has a rich gold history and tons of gold ore was loaded and shipped through here. Is it possible that it fell from a wagon or pack animal because I wouldn't expect to find both so close to each other.

The first set of pictures is how i came out of the ground. The second set of pictures is how it looked after cleaning it with baking soda, ammonia, dish washing liquid, and a 40 second scrubbing with a medium toothbrush (yep I counted that out).

Then in the second set of pictures I t scrubbed it with the toothbrush and Brasso Brass cleaner and that had no effect, no tarnish transfer to the white cotton cloth that I used either (it isn't brass but I knew that).

The third set of pictures show the gold nugget after I soaked it in ketchup for about 30 minutes. Then I vigorously scrubbed it for about a minute with a hog bristle brush.

After all these years this is be my first detected gold nugget and it came in its crystalline form with a coating of iron oxide. The gold is actually soft enough bend with the fingernail on my pinkie finger where I have the pointer.

The last set of pictures is of the copper nugget:

 

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[Ant]

This is the second set of pictures:

 

[Ant]

THis is the third set of pictures:

 

[Ant]

And the arrow pointing to the spot on the gold nugget that I tested with my fingernail, and the copper nugget:

 

[Ant]

 

[ramjet2187]

Wow! Awesome find! I wonder how many would have tossed these as "junk"...

 

[ecmjamsit]

I wonder if it was gold dust or small nuggets stored in a brass rifle shell? That would explain the discoloration. The brass will melt before the gold. Nice find!

 

[Skippy SH13]

Cool find! A simple acid test will tell... if a gold nugget, it should probably score above 22K.

 

[winslow]

Rough gold nuggets around here are usually stained with manganese unless found in or near a creek. Try soaking in white vinegar for a few days. Then gently use a soft toothbrush. You should be able to see that full beauty of just gold. Nice find!

 

[against the wind]

Cool find

 

[Ant]

Hi ramjet2187, the first thing that I noticed when I had it in my hand was the weight, and then the way that it felt in my hand (gold is so heavy that it flops around, it doesn't roll around). That made me take a closer look. I notice the glint of gold on some of the sharp edges and peaks. Then I knew that it was gold, but I thought it was a ring that was melted in a fire. I'm a gold prospector but my gold has been from drywashing and detected jewelry, thanks.

Hi ecmjamsit, I'm sure it wasn't in a shell, it is a naturally occurring gold nugget. The nugget may be from the same area as Peglegs lost nuggets, here's a link to the story, and thanks for reply:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/lost-peg-leg-mine/24756-pegleg-s-black-gold-nuggets.html

Hi Skippy SH13, my test kit is kaput, I have one on order and should be here soon, I'll post the results in this thread, thanks.

Hi Winslow. Yeah I know iron oxide is rust and is red to brownish Winslow, thanks for checking me and the advice. I just couldn't recall the coating as manganese but knew about it. I have it in the vinegar now, will post after pictures, thanks.

Thanks against the wind, good luck...

 

[winslow]

Mix some salt in with the white vinegar ... forgot to mention that. Maybe 2 teaspoons based on the picture. Mix it up and every once in a while swirl it around and admire your find again.

 

[Ant]

It like your formula has melted off most of the mangenee. And I can see better where I though that it may have broken away from another piece . I couldn't wait and gave it a quick scrub with a toothbrush, still needs the 2 days but look at what I have now:

 

[Ant]

My shark head nugget, ...

 

[stefen]

I like the fact that you stayed with the cleaning processes and came to a final result...

 

[Bumpstick]

I like your find. I found a nugget that looked like another goose turd when I first unearthed it.
I used to toss the hot rocks when out coin shooting a park. Until I found a meteorite.
Now I take them home and let them clean up in the weather on the window ledges.
My nugget find you just knew it was something by holding it in your hand. I quit taking before and after picks. Seems to jinx my clean ups'
Link to my nugget. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting-gold/480852-wisconsin-nugget.html

 

[winslow]

It's looking good! Your patience is paying off. Thanks for the updated pictures.

 

[Ant]

My test kit came today and it trns out to be less pure than I thought, it passes the 10k and 14k acid test but failed the 18k test, but I'm still happy. So it turns out to be between 14k and 18k:

 

[Ant]

After running a few more test on a semple the nugget is mixed with copper. The sample that I took is the bent tab that I could bend with my pinky finger, I pointed that out with an arrow in a previous thread. I ran the sample through 18k acid and 22k, you can see what is left. I'm still cool with that and there may be more.

 

[Ant]

This is the 22k acid washin.