Large nugget

dasabighole · Nov 26, 2013

Found this looking for arrowheads. I found an indian site in Ga between Atlanta and Macon in 89. I picked up a few arrowheads, pottery shards and this small heavy rock all covered in red clay. When I got home I put the finds in a zip lock bag and made a notation on paper where found and put paper in bag with finds. It got put out in the shed. around 99 I was going through these bags and picking out the good arrowhesds for display. The roof leaked and the bag got torn, I took this clump of red clay inside and cleaned it with a toothbrush. NAW!! THIS CANT BE!! Well is it? This was found before I started metal detecting. And the paper got wet and I could never locate the site where found. From above Jackson county somewhere. Still makes me sick. THE QUESTION IS - Is this gold? it came from below the gold belt. Did the indians have it? Was there more?

KevinInColorado · Nov 26, 2013

Is it heavy compared to a piece of copper or iron the same size? Try pressing on one of those striations on that side, if you can make a mark with a steel blade rather than having it flake or crumble, that's a good sign too. You can also rub it on the back of a ceramic tile to see if it makes a gold mark or black (black is bad news of course). Finally, most jewelers will do an acid test for free. It does look to be gold so fingers crossed for you!!

NHBandit · Nov 26, 2013

Why are your pictures titles "ebay" ?

huntsman53 · Nov 26, 2013

NHBandit said:
Why are your pictures titles "ebay" ?

It is possible that the O.P. took and titled pictures so that when he has confirmation of the find being a Gold Nugget, he will list it on eBay! I have done the same thing in the past with thoughts of selling something on eBay but then never got around to it for one reason or another.

Frank

huntsman53 · Nov 26, 2013

From the pics, I think you have a winner! Also, yes the Indians had Gold and there is probably more at the site where it was found! The Cherokee Indians mined, kept and traded Gold with other tribes, probably some Spanish and some White settlers. There is supposedly a hidden cache of Cherokee Indian Gold somewhere in Northern Georgia in a cave. Although I do not know of much Gold prospecting being done South of Atlanta, there are several rivers that flow from the Gold Belt area through Atlanta and Gold has been found in several of these. Therefore, it is possible that during heavy rain/flood events, some of the Gold that made it's way to the Atlanta area, may have washed further downstream and ended up close to the site you found it!

Frank

Goldwasher · Nov 26, 2013

Looks like gold and a nice piece at that so don't experiment with it too much. Don't cut off any or squeeze her with pliers.... You are in a gold producing state. You should be able to locate a Jeweler or local prospector who would confirm that it is a nice "Jaw Jaw " nug, She looks like the real deal to me. How much does it weigh.....I just looked at your full size pics...and I am gonna tell you 90% sure that Is a Nugget. You can still see the clay and some nice rosey pink quartz. Nice natural lump with nice weathering...do not scrape or streak test it you could knock some value off. The striations to me look like they happened during formation, not erosion, Wish the pics weren't so brassy.. that's where my 10% of not sure comes from.....if that's gold I bet its at least what 2.5 to 3.5grams maybe more

?? comparing it to your finger. You found near a gold bearing area. I think if the Indians had it, it would have been clean already :dontknow:

...Maybe you found it near its source...Maybe the Indians were there to make tools and get gold too..either way nice closet re-find if its a nugget.. :headbang:

.keep us posted :icon_thumleft:

huntsman53 · Nov 26, 2013

If your plans are to sell the Nugget, then I would advise removing the remaining Red Clay from the crevices in the Nugget. This will not only show the true beauty of the Nugget but also give the true weight of the Nugget since the offending Red Clay will be gone from the specimen! A long soak in hot, soapy water and light cleaning with a tooth brush might work. You might have to resort to the use of an acid to remove some stubborn buildups of Clay and staining but seek advice on the best and safest acids to use. Some acids are very dangerous and cleaning with it must be done outdoors, you still may have to wear a mask and desposing of the acids may be a EPA nightmare.

Frank

Potts · Nov 26, 2013

NHBandit said:
Why are your pictures titles "ebay" ?

Most likely when he uploaded the photo to the computer from his camera that's the directory it went into.

Hangtowndiggins · Nov 26, 2013

Cool story, looks like a sweet sweet lunker to me! I'm no expert but put it in a pan with some water swirl it around and see what it does, well hope it's a chicken dinner for ya, were there's some there's more, detect the same area if you can

dasabighole · Nov 26, 2013

Wow!! Thanks for the interest. I am still sick that the site is lost. I spent several weeks driving and looking but just could not find it. Back then I mostly hunted arrowheads. I lived in Macon and worked in Atlanta and would leave Sun. morning and drive the river roads to Atlanta hunting clear cuts. I worked 4 10s and would leave out Fri. Am and hunt my way back home. As to the pics saying ebay, I am wut dey kawl kumprutor illegitament and they just go to that file. I sold some WW2 paper items there and created a file for them. I took it to a jewler years ago and he wanted to rub it on file and acid test it. NAW!! I like it fine as it is. I will put it to soak in some Dawn tonight , hit it with a toofes brush in de mawnin. I have found a few small ones dredging but they were all smooth from rolling around in the river. This one appears to be the way it grew. Will get weight.