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"It may be just a tiny gold bead - 4 mm (1/8 inch) in diameter - but it is an enormous discovery for Bulgarian archaeologists who say they have found Europe's - and probably the world's - oldest gold artifact. The bead, found at a pre-historic settlement in southern Bulgaria, dates back to 4,500-4,600 B.C., the archaeologists say, making it some 200 years older than jewelry from a Copper Age necropolis in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna, the oldest processed gold previously unearthed, in 1972." Read full article at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-archaeology-gold-idUSKCN10L0YQ

As posted on the Minelab Facebook page on June 21st....

"Three amateur archaeologists recently found the largest Viking gold hoard ever discovered in Denmark. At 900 grams (1.948 pounds), the hoard consists of seven beautifully worked bracelets, six of gold and one of silver. The silver piece weighs about 90 grams." http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/amateurs-find-largest-ever-viking-gold-hoard-denmark-006118 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/09/12/gold-diggers-buried-treasure-shows-vikings-hoarded-precious-metals/657229001/

G'day, Further to the thread at There is a Facebook page just put up with more information about the finding of The Hand nugget. I could not see any reference made in any of the newspaper articles, from the time, about the Garret model it was found with ... might be some reference made later on. https://www.facebook.com/handoffaith/ Regards, Rob (RKC)

These are from Brazil. Some very nice gold with some serious specimen value, but not any more........... And you thought only Arab Africans did this to their gold. If anyone speaks Portuguese, perhaps you can tell us what is said and written.

"Gemologists in Sri Lanka claim that the largest blue star sapphire yet has been discovered in a mine in the country. The gemology institute in the capital Colombo has certified that the gem weighs 1404.49 carats and say they have not certified anything larger. The gem is valued at at least $100m and the current owner estimates that it could sell for up to $175m at auction." Rest of the story at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35226276

Re: Norm Tyers big nuggett ozgold 041 on Fri Jan 01, 2016 11:39 am mark garrett wrote:if you new Norm he was and still is a good man My two boys and me visited him just weeks before he pasted away im so glad he let me talk about his find and video it for his family . this video is a a bit long but it is history . Nancy has a dvd I gave them . Here is a video of great interest for those looking for large gold nuggets! (Dingo Qld)

7 minutes: 10 greatest metal detector finds - awesome! Babes not included.

Cartagena (Colombia) (AFP) - Colombia says it has found the shipwreck of a storied Spanish galleon laden with gold, silver and precious stones, three centuries after it was sunk by the British in the Caribbean. "This is the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity," President Juan Manuel Santos declared on Saturday. The San Jose was sunk in June 1708 near the Islas del Rosario, off Colombia's Caribbean coast, during combat with British ships attempting to take its cargo, as part of the War of Spanish Succession. The galleon was the main ship in a treasure fleet carrying gold, silver and other valuable items from Spain's American colonies to King Philip V. Only a handful of the ship's crew of 600 survived when the San Jose sank. The loot is estimated to be worth around $2 billion, its value having dropped significantly due to the falling price of silver, according to US-based company Sea Search Armada. Full story at http://news.yahoo.com/colombia-finds-treasure-galleon-ending-300-mystery-230419797.html

A hoard of over 5,000 Anglo Saxon coins found in a Buckinghamshire village is the largest discovered since the Treasure Act was introduced in the UK. The coins are in spectacularly good condition, as they were wrapped in a sheet of lead prior to burial. Check out the many great photos at http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-31361054 The coins were found by a 60 year old gentleman participating in a metal detector rally. According to the article at http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/13931371.display/ he was receiving interference from another club member and so wandered off in an odd direction with his XP DEUS, only to locate this fabulous find. The value is estimated at over a million pounds placing it easily over a million dollars. I would say his DEUS paid for itself!! And just goes to show, because many people would turn their nose up at an organized club hunt, that in Europe you just never know what thousands of years of history has left in the ground at almost any location. Other finds recorded this year include eight Bronze Age gold bracelets, 19 Viking silver objects including ingots and fragments of arm rings and a Bronze Age gold neck ornament.

"Lucara Diamond Corp. said it recovered a gigantic 1,111-carat, gem-quality diamond from its Karowe mine in Botswana this week. To put that in perspective, it is believed to be the second-largest gem-quality stone ever found. The only one known to be bigger is the legendary Cullinan diamond, which was recovered in South Africa in 1905 and weighed 3,106.75 carats." Full story at http://business.financialpost.com/news/mining/canadian-miner-lucara-uncovers-1111-carat-diamond-believed-to-be-second-largest-ever-found

From Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DetectoresDeMetalesMasterDetector/videos/915348648547946/

Some one has just written a post about a 51 ozt / 1.6 kg nugget they have found and to top it off they found another 86.4 grams in the bottom of the Hole,, Now that is A Life changer, https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14038

I just saw this Article of a 25 ozt Nugget, Looks like the Golden Goose has laid another egg. http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/09/23/4318151.htm

As per the title: https://www.facebook.com/107730522623314/photos/pb.107730522623314.-2207520000.1442909281./1010613769001647/?type=1&source=54&refid=17 Reported to have been found on his lease about 1m deep. Nice find Ashley.

Gigantor nugget...check it!

Picture of a nugget sent to me by a good friend, he swears it's real. He didn't find it but it was supposedly found in the Kalgoorlie region around twelve months ago. No details on the weight, depth etc.

Looking through your Amazing finds, the Ganes Ck one and this one from appearances could have come from the same area. However this ones from OZ I found about same time as The Ugly Nugget Was prospecting new country what I call fringe country, got a few small pieces at head of small creek than down about 100m got a massive signal at dry waterfall of about 2 metres high, creek about 2.5 metres wide. Halfway down that waterfall I could see gold exposed, and probably been exposed for 100`s of years the above piece. It tipped the scales at 1.72 kg, crushed to give 42.314 ounces gold 4.442 ounces of silver after refining. From there down this small creek was a jewellery shop, all signals the heavy stuff not a piece of iron in creek. Creeks length about 300 metres max, then runs into a larger creek. Never named it because it had no real shape, much like your Ugly Nugget Steve. Perhaps this story and photo could be added to Amazing finds.

There has been another big nugget find in Australia - by an 81 year old grandmother! 18.85 ounces. http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/03/25/07/16/victorian-grandma-finds-gold-nugget There was the 87 oz find recently http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/711-87-ounce-gold-nugget-found-in-victoria-australia/ And the 6 pound nugget from California http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/367-monster-multi-pounder-nugget-found-in-northern-california/ Every one of these large nuggets could have been found with just about any decent metal detector made. They were all quite shallow. The largest nugget ever found with a metal detector, the Hand of Faith, was found decades ago with a VLF. In fact, most all of the largest nuggets found with metal detectors were found decades ago with VLF detectors. This reveals a basic reality. Yes, there are large nuggets at depth, but for various reasons in desert terrain the largest gold is often found very shallow. In the 1800s when they found new gold locations nuggets were literally just sitting around waiting to be picked up. So while it is true new technology is producing more gold at depth, when it comes to chasing those really big monster nuggets, a surprising number being found even today are simply ones that have been missed by everyone up until now. To find one, you do not need a super detector, you need to put your coil over ground that has not yet ever seen a coil. Those expecting lots of large nuggets to appear from ground pounded by others for decades just because a new detector gets a few more inches are likely to be disappointed. It is going to happen, just not near as often as people expect.

The following is a press release issued by Minelab: Lisle, Ill., March 2, 2015 – Minelab, the world leader in providing metal detecting technologies for consumer, humanitarian demining and military needs, today announced that Australian gold prospector Michael Brown has uncovered an astonishing 87-ounce solid gold nugget during a prospecting expedition in Inglewood, a town located in the state of Victoria, Australia. Discovered in six inches of ground with a state-of-the-art Minelab detector, Brown’s find is estimated to be worth over $130,000 AUD based on Australia’s current gold price per ounce. “I’m still in absolute shock about finding a gold nugget of this magnitude! As a professional gold prospector, this find is a monumental accomplishment in my career,” said Brown. “I’ve been using Minelab detectors for years and the investment has more than paid off.” “We build our products with the goal of changing people’s fortunes,” said Gary Schafer, General Manager of Worldwide Consumer Markets at Minelab. “We are so pleased that our detector was an essential part of Michael’s incredible find.” Minelab is an Australian-built business based in Torrensville, South Australia, with regional headquarters in Cork, Ireland, and Chicago, U.S., specializing in advanced electronic technologies since 1985. To learn more about Minelab, visit minelab.com

Take that Australia, and found by eyeballing it even! Life just got better for this herdsman http://www.ecns.cn/2015/02-06/153910.shtml

Nice photos at http://golddetecting.4umer.net/t20751-large-nugget-found-at-inglewood Supposedly about 6" deep. There are still monsters out there you can find with anything if you can just get over them. And are smart enough to dig the giant "obviously junk" target!

Sometimes a video is all you need. I know this video may seem long and many of you will not want to watch a 16 minute video. But this is one you WILL want to watch. (Sorry, it is not all gold nuggets but hopefully you will forgive me) Watch in full screen for the full effect! Enjoy!! I know I sure did!!

An Australian gold nugget weighing 117 Troy ounces recently sold for $292,000. Proving again Aussie gold does not fetch the prices of the rarer large US nuggets. The recent 75 ounce Butte Nugget found in California sold for about $400,000. The Destiny Nugget has been on display at the Sovereign Hill Gold Museum in Ballarat and was found by three men with a metal detector. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-06/destiny-gold-nugget-goes-under-the-hammer-auction/5870670

A 65 ounce gold nugget and 72 ounce gold specimen were recently found near Bendigo, Australia by a prospector with a metal detector. I particularly like the 72 ounce specimen, a fine piece with a nice contrast between quartz and thick gold seams. Great story and more photos at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2801160/return-gold-rush-young-dad-strikes-gold-finding-two-large-nuggets-worth-two-thousand-dollars.html The photos in the article are clearly meant to be shared so here are a couple of them. The 72 Ounce Specimen The 65 Ounce Gold Nugget