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Lot 8185
Large and Impressive Gold Nugget—“Golden Beauty”
3 December 2006, 11:00 PST
Los AngelesUS$150,000 - US$200,000
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Find your local specialistLarge and Impressive Gold Nugget—“Golden Beauty”
near Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
This extremely large gold nugget was discovered in 1979 in the heart of Australia’s rich gold fields nearly 600 kilometers east of Perth. It has a very rugged appearance and a character-filled irregular outline with some molten edges. It is defined by a strong, reddish patina—evidence of the iron-rich clays of Western Australia from whence it originated. Fully three-dimensional and capable of being viewed from all sides, the specimen is able to stand on its own when placed on its side. There are minute hints of limonite in some crevices and a small assay test mark visible on the reverse side.
This is a tremendous display piece of great beauty and significant weight—ranking it among the top nuggets ever discovered in Australia—and it is remarkable that it is still in existence.
When the nugget was found, it was reported in the West Australian, Perth’s daily paper as follows: “The biggest gold nugget in nearly 50 years has been dug up near Kalgoorlie. It was found by a metropolitan butcher Mr. John Aggiss and his wife Frances in the past month. The finders showed the 145 ozt nugget to the newspaper and television representatives yesterday. Mr. Aggiss said that his wife found the nugget with a metal detector while prospecting in the Kalgoorlie area. A small part of it was sticking out of the ground. But most was about 8 cm below the surface and had to be dug out. The couple had a daughter in Kalgoorlie and had spent holidays prospecting there during the past few years. This was their first gold find. The Aggiss’s nugget, which they have called “Golden Beauty,” is the biggest since the 1135 ozt “Golden Eagle” nugget was found in 1931 at Larkinville, south-west of Kalgoorlie." Weighing approximately 145.26 ozt (4518.3 grams, 12.10 troy pounds) and measuring 7 ¼ x 4 ¾ x 2 ¼ in
This extremely large gold nugget was discovered in 1979 in the heart of Australia’s rich gold fields nearly 600 kilometers east of Perth. It has a very rugged appearance and a character-filled irregular outline with some molten edges. It is defined by a strong, reddish patina—evidence of the iron-rich clays of Western Australia from whence it originated. Fully three-dimensional and capable of being viewed from all sides, the specimen is able to stand on its own when placed on its side. There are minute hints of limonite in some crevices and a small assay test mark visible on the reverse side.
This is a tremendous display piece of great beauty and significant weight—ranking it among the top nuggets ever discovered in Australia—and it is remarkable that it is still in existence.
When the nugget was found, it was reported in the West Australian, Perth’s daily paper as follows: “The biggest gold nugget in nearly 50 years has been dug up near Kalgoorlie. It was found by a metropolitan butcher Mr. John Aggiss and his wife Frances in the past month. The finders showed the 145 ozt nugget to the newspaper and television representatives yesterday. Mr. Aggiss said that his wife found the nugget with a metal detector while prospecting in the Kalgoorlie area. A small part of it was sticking out of the ground. But most was about 8 cm below the surface and had to be dug out. The couple had a daughter in Kalgoorlie and had spent holidays prospecting there during the past few years. This was their first gold find. The Aggiss’s nugget, which they have called “Golden Beauty,” is the biggest since the 1135 ozt “Golden Eagle” nugget was found in 1931 at Larkinville, south-west of Kalgoorlie." Weighing approximately 145.26 ozt (4518.3 grams, 12.10 troy pounds) and measuring 7 ¼ x 4 ¾ x 2 ¼ in
Footnotes
Accompanied by a photocopy of a letter to Mrs. F. Aggiss by the Department of Mines, Perth, Western Australia, dated 28 December 1979 regarding “Golden Beauty” and a photocopy of the article regarding the nugget which appeared in The West Australian, Saturday, December 8, 1979.