What's The Biggest Golden Sun Baker You've Ever Found?

[Gerry in Idaho]

My brother just shared me a few photos of his 1st GPX-5000 nugget for 2018 and it is a dandy at 17.5 grams

It was deep too and no other detectors found it.  How is this for depth??? A Sun Baker with part of it exposed.  There is even a little plant flower with 1 leaf that was growing in the mud of a crevice in the nugget.  I can't wait to see the video.

Yes there are still a few nuggets out there near the surface.

What is the biggest gold you have ever found on the surface?  I'd love to see and hear about them.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Wow, that's going to be a beauty when cleaned up! Congratulations to your brother, and thanks for posting Gerry.

[mn90403]

Gerry,

Thanks for the posting.

I found a sunbaker while I was searching for meteorites in Franconia in April of 2012.  As I recall it this was just my 3rd gold nugget.  I was using my GPX 5000 with the 8" coil and I was 'beach detecting' a wash.  When I say 'beach detecting' I mean I was swinging much faster than most people.  I didn't know it at the time.  I had gotten my 5000 in 2010 and been on a few nugget hunting trips but it took me a year to find my first nugget in The Dale.

I can remember very clearly my walking through this wash (in an area less than a mile from the main camp for the meteorite hunters) and hearing a signal.  There are still bullets around and other trash of course but when I looked down I said, "I think I know what this is!"  I did not have a camera with me and I didn't know exactly where the car was so I carefully pulled the nugget out and carried it with me to get my camera.  When I returned (with some difficulty) I replaced the nugget and took the picture.  I took several more but they are all blurry.  This is the best in situ picture I have.  The other picture was taken near where I parked.

The specimen weighs 3.5 ounces and there is 1.5 ounces of gold in it.  This is both from my calculation and that of a gold expert at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in 2013.

Mitchel

 

 

[Norvic]

Back 20 years plus found this beauty. Was detecting a small dry gully, had got a few small pieces up at head of, when the detector signaled a "horseshoe", "biscuit tin" no way could it be gold as I swung at top of a small about 1m high dry waterfall. On looking over the side I could see this piece of smooth quartz-gold jammed in amongst the other rocks. I posted this and few others back a few years here but as this is my biggest sunbaker here it is again. 

 

[IDdesertman]

Wow.. just wow. 

[mn90403]

That is impressive Norvic.  I had not seen that picture.  Did you keep her?

[Nuggetmaster]

lol not big by any means but WAS a sun baker. worked my butt off for a couple days only to find a few pounds of trash, I tossed my detector down out of frustration and noticed it right there next to the gpx.lol. at least it got me laughing and to quit complaining.hahaha

[Chris Ben]

This was a sunbaker on top of a hill 10.8 grams. In the Johnnie district in NV.

Chris

[Norvic]

5 hours ago, mn90403 said:

That is impressive Norvic.  I had not seen that picture.  Did you keep her?

Nah, had it with an agent for a bit, waste of time only "tyre kickers" looking for a bargain. Into the dolly pot and smelted ended up yielding  42.314 ozs gold, 4.442 ozs silver. Was just solid with a bit of quartz smeared on outside.

IDd, was a big unbelievable Wow, in fringe country that historically has no alluvials and only microscopic gold in quartz,   I had only just started the day and was going to camp out a few days, rushed home pronto to show the Missus.

[Hobo]

Back around 1988 found a 1/2  oz. One with desert varnish on it, don't know long it takes desert varnish to form but I think  its a long time..