From the Bronze Age to modern times, gold has been a very valuable metal, from an indication of its owner’s status to the monetary value of the metal. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people are professional gold miners.
Throughout human history, many gold nuggets of various sizes have been found: from tiny grains of sand barely visible to the naked eye to whole stones weighing no less than a grown man. IFLScience describes the biggest of them all.
Focus.Technologies own telegraph channel. Subscribe to not miss the latest and most interesting news from the world of science!
The world’s largest gold nugget was found on February 5, 1869, in Victoria, Australia. Two Cornish miners, John Deson and Richard Oates, discovered the nugget while searching. The ingot weighed 72 kilograms and was 61 centimeters long.
The two men took the bullion to the town of Dunolly to be weighed at the London Charter Bank. Unfortunately, the nugget was so large that it couldn’t fit on the scale and shattered before it could be photographed. Copies were made from drawings made at the time. The two men took just under £10,000, and the ingot was broken and melted into gold nuggets. If found today, such a nugget is likely to be worth around £2m.
Among other giant nugget news, Pepita Kanaa ranks first as the largest gold nugget still in existence. This chunky nugget weighs 60 pounds. The work, which was found by Julio de Deus Filho in Brazil in 1983, is now exhibited in the Golden Chamber of the Treasury Museum of the Central Bank of Brazil.
The development of technology plays an important role in the discovery of large gold deposits, especially in the case of the Hand of Faith. Found by Kevin Hillier in 1980, this large nugget has earned the title of the largest piece of gold ever found with a metal detector.
Although also found in Australia, this extraordinary nugget is now on display at a Las Vegas casino after selling for over $1 million. It is said to contain 875 ounces of gold.
The troy ounce was used to weigh gold before the introduction of the metric system and was used to weigh precious metals and gemstones in jewelry. One ounce is equal to 31.1 grams. This differs from the more familiar avoirdupois system, where 1 ounce is usually equal to 28.5 grams. Gold sold today may be quoted at the price per ounce, but these usually refer to troy ounces.
Previously Focus He mentioned a 500-year-old pendant found in England with a metal detector.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.