GOLD NUGGETS

GOLD NUGGETS: A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate the nuggets and they are mined by placer mining. If you like gold nuggets you should consider buying gold, it is easy to buy gold especially with services like http://goldmoney.com/?gmrefcode=freedom Other people may be interested in buying gold bars and taking possession of the bars and keeping them in a safe in their home or office, no matter where you hold your gold you should make certain you have adequate insurance on the gold you own, that's why we suggest insured gold.

The largest gold nugget ever found was the Welcome Stranger, found in Victoria, Australia in 1867. It weighed over 2,300 ounces. The largest gold nugget in existence is the Hand of Faith, found by Kevin Hillier in Victoria in 1980 using a metal detector.

Large Gold/Quartz Specimens Found in Alaska

Gold most commonly comes from quartz veins. Quartz is a very common, glass-like mineral, and gold is often deposited as chunks and specks enclosed within the quartz. As the quartz is crushed or decomposed by erosion processes, the gold is released to become the nuggets and flakes of gold found by miners. Sometimes large pieces of these quartz veins are found with gold still enclosed... a future nugget waiting to be released! These are not gold nuggets but are usually referred to as gold/quartz specimens. There is no official definition but our unofficial definition is that the item in question has to look like it is mostly gold by a pretty good margin. At least 75% of the exposed surface should be gold, not rock. In other words, is it a rock with gold in it, or gold with rock in it?

Alaska's Largest Gold Nuggets - The Top 20

	#1 The Alaska Centennial Nugget - 294.10 Troy Ounces The largest gold nugget ever found in Alaska. It was found near Ruby, Alaska in 1998 by miner Barry Clay as he operated his bulldozer. The nugget rolled off the pile of dirt ahead of the bulldozer blade. This nugget was sold and the current location is unknown. Photo Copyright 2001 by Marshall Ronne, Jr.
	#2 The Anvil Nugget - 182 Troy Ounces This nugget was found on Anvil Creek near Nome, Alaska in 1903 by the Pioneer Mining Company. For almost 100 years it stood as the largest nugget found in Alaska, until the nugget above was found in 1998. The status of this nugget is unknown. Colorized from original b&w photo by Dobbs
Photo not yet available	#3 Gold Nugget - 146 Troy Ounces Found on the Hammond River near Wiseman, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
Photo not yet available	#4 Gold Nugget - 137 Troy Ounces Found on the Hammond River near Wiseman, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
	#5 The Ganes Nugget - 122 Troy Ounces Found on Ganes Creek near McGrath, Alaska in 1985 by Warren Magnuson's son Lloyd Magnuson while commercial mining. This nugget is now owned by the Wiltz family.
Photo not yet available	#6 Gold Nugget - 107 Troy Ounces Found on Anvil Creek near Nome, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
Photo not yet available	#7 Gold Nugget - 97 Troy Ounces Found on Anvil Creek near Nome, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
Photo not yet available	#8 Gold Nugget - 95 Troy Ounces Found on Anvil Creek near Nome, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
	#9 The Heart of Gold - 92 Troy Ounces Found on Glacier Creek near Kantishna, Alaska in August 1984 by Mic Martinek. This nugget is still owned by Mr. Martinek and resides in a bank vault.
Photo not yet available	#10 Gold Nugget - 84 Troy Ounces Found on Anvil Creek near Nome, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
Photo not yet available	#11 Gold Nugget - 81 Troy Ounces Found on Fairbanks Creek near Tolovana, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
Photo not yet available	#12 Gold Nugget - 73 Troy Ounces Found on Dome Creek near Tolovana, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
	#13 Prospector's Dream - 62.5 Troy Ounces According to Dollie Magnuson Nelson, daughter of Warren Magnuson, this nugget was found on Ganes Creek near McGrath, Alaska in 1985 by Warren Magnuson and his son Ben. The nugget was found while mining on a bench deposit. It's name is "Prospectors Dream" and that season, the nugget and 1 troy ounce of gold was all that was found. Dollie believes the Smithsonian owns it now. It was found in the same area as - #5 The Ganes Nugget.
Photo not yet available	#14 Gold Nugget - 61 Troy Ounces Found on the Hammond River near Wiseman, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
	#15 The Jack Wade Nugget - 56.75 Troy Ounces Found on Wade Creek near Chicken, Alaska in August 1983 by the Jack Wade Gold Company. This nugget is still owned by the Jack Wade Gold Company.
Photo not yet available	#16 Gold Nugget - 56 Troy Ounces Found on Dome Creek near Tolovana, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
Photo not yet available	#17 Gold Nugget - 55 Troy Ounces Found on the Hammond River near Wiseman, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
Photo not yet available	#18 Gold Nugget - 52 Troy Ounces Found on Lucky Gulch, a tributary of Valdez Creek, near Denali, Alaska. The status of this nugget is unknown.
	#19 Gold Nugget - 46 Troy Ounces Found on Long Creek near Ruby, Alaska. This nearly solid gold nugget is currently on display in the Wells Fargo Bank at Helena, Montana.
	#20 The Silverado Nugget - 42 Troy Ounces Found on Mary's Bench (Nolan Creek) near Wiseman, Alaska in 1994 by Silverado Gold Mines Ltd. This nugget was sold to a collector in 2000 for $50,000.00, according to Garry Anselmo, head of Silverado Gold Mines Ltd. The nugget is now in Spain.

Coin: A small piece of metal, usually flat and circular, authorized by a government for use as money. Metal money considered as a whole. Many early coins were made of Gold or Silver, before industrial and commercialization of Coinage, people used gold nuggets as coinage, gold nuggets are considered special and have even more value than gold flakes or gold bullion.

THE AUSTRALIAN GOLD NUGGET

The Australian Gold Nugget is a gold bullion coin minted by the Perth Mint. The coins have been minted in denominations of 1/20 oz, 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, 1 oz, 2 oz, 10 oz, and 1 kg of 24 carat gold. They have legal tender status in Australia and are one of few legal tender bullion gold coins to change their design every year, another being the Chinese Gold Panda. This and their limited annual mintage may, unlike for many other bullion coins, raise their numismatic value over the value of gold used.

The Gold Nugget series was introduced in 1986 by the Gold Corporation, a company wholly owned by the government of Western Australia. This issue of coins had two unique features: a "two-tone" frosted design effect, and individual hard plastic encapsulation of each coin. These features were unusual for a standard bullion coin and gave the Nugget a unique market niche.

From 1986 to 1989, the reverse of these coins pictured various Australian gold nuggets. With the 1989 proof edition, the design was changed to feature different Kangaroos, a more world-recognized symbol of Australia. The coins are today sometimes referred to as "gold kangaroos".

In 1991, 2 oz, 10 oz, and 1 kilo sizes were introduced. These were created with the intention of using economies of scale to keep premiums low, and are some of the largest gold coins ever minted. In 1992, the face values on these large coins were lowered to keep them proportional to the 1 oz coin. The reverse of these coins does not change annually like the lower denominations; the same "red kangaroo" design is used every year.

The Australian Gold Nugget coins should not be mistaken for The Australian Lunar Gold Bullion coins. Both coins are minted by Perth Mint and have 9999 purity, but Lunar coins have image of different animals from Chinese calendar instead of kangaroo.

Specifications
1/20 troy oz coin
Diameter: 14.10 mm
Thickness: 1.40 mm
Weight: 0.0500 troy oz (1.5552 g)
Face value: $5
1/10 troy oz coin
Diameter: 16.10 mm
Thickness: 1.30 mm
Weight: 0.1000 troy oz (3.1103 g)
Face value: $15
1/4 troy oz coin
Diameter: 20.10 mm
Thickness: 1.80 mm
Weight: 0.2500 troy oz (7.7758 g)
Face value: $25
1/2 troy oz coin
Diameter: 25.10 mm
Thickness: 2.20 mm
Weight: 0.5001 troy oz (15.5515 g)
Face value: $50
1 troy oz coin
Diameter: 32.10 mm
Thickness: 2.65 mm
Weight: 1.0001 troy oz (31.1030 g)
Face value: $100
2 troy oz coin
Diameter: 40.40 mm
Thickness: 3.35 mm
Weight: 2.0002 troy oz (62.2132 g)
Face value: $500 (1991)
$200 (1992- )
10 troy oz coin
Diameter: 59.70 mm
Thickness: 7.65 mm
Weight: 10.0010 troy oz (311.0659 g)
Face value: $2500 (1991)
$1000 (1992- )
1 kilo coin
Diameter: 74.50 mm
Thickness: 15.80 mm
Weight: 32.1540 troy oz (1000.1000 g)
Face value: $10,000 (1991)
$3000 (1992- )