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GOLD!
A new update of Gold in both nuggets and crystal forms,
from classic locations in Australia, Alaska, and California
A note about gold bullion pricing: Please note that bullion or market "spot" gold is priced in troy ounces, approx 31 grams per ounce; and not in "normal" ounces of 28 grams. When ounces are given here, they are in troy ounce. However, that being said, specimens are more unique items, have additional collectible value and rarity value; and so they are seldom valued at "spot" (or even on a consistent multiple of spot pricing). Admittedly there is sometimes in some cases a rough correlation in larger nuggets which have so much intrinsic weight value, especially Australian pieces. There, I might pay 1.2 to 2X-spot for a fine nugget that stands out from the crowd, from a miner who values them based on spot (even as I see and value other qualities as I make a selection). Lastly, I do not believe that a rise in fair "specimen value" need fully track the recent, and very rapid, rise in bullion value. To be fair, and since I bought these specimens over the past several years, mostly direct from source or from old collections, I have not revised their specimen values upwards simply because the intrinsic weight value has gone up so much (so that leaves a bit of value to gain on the table, I hope!). Nevertheless, all specimens in this offering are "hefty" golds with a high intrinsic value by any standard!
US$
€ EURO
¥ YEN
£ POUND
CAN$
AUS$
(click on a page number to go to that page:)
page 1 / 2 - 22 specimens selected - next - bottom - back to the Galleries
GOLD09-01 - Gold with large octohedral cast - $ 7500
Lake Carey, Western Australia, Australia
miniature, 3.8 x 3.5 x 2.4 cm
ex. John Barlow
I have seen a LOT of Aussie golds over the years and among them there are few I treasure more than specimens which show these strange, large crystallized casts, very rarely found amidst the common "nuggets". This is an unusual locality from which not much specimen gold is produced, and this specimen was in the F John Barlow collection (sold off in 1998). He was a notorious gold nut, with hundreds of specimens from worldwide localities, each aiming for a unique quality or feature. It has a huge octohedron measuring 2 cm across! This piece now is actually a thick cast of gold over an earlier (one wonders, brief?!) generation of the ancient octohedral gold crystal once at its core. Somehow, during the specimen's formation or a later remelting sequence, the form of the original octo was preserved as a hollow cast here. Nevertheless, the specimen is surprisingly hefty at 77 grams and is very robust. I find it particularly interesting to see the 2 cm octohedron perched NEXT TO a ropey, elongated, "tortured" outgrowth, making for a nice contrast.
GOLD09-02 - Gold - $ 2000
Alaska
thumbnail, 2.4 x 1.8 x 1.5 cm
I was shocked at the heft of this beautiful, brassy nugget, coming in at 44 grams in mass. It is a VERY bright, natural crystallized nugget, with complex but rounded faces all around. We think it clearly shows that it was once a large solid crystal, with a litle sidecar, and then was naturally rounded in a streambed. It is, again, shockingly hefty for what seemed a little nugget, and it really impresses when held for that reason as well as visually. Purchased from an old prospector who found this in Alaska in the 1970s.
GOLD09-03 - Gold - $ 3700
Kuskokwim Mts, Yukon-Koyukuk Borough, Alaska
small cabinet, 6.6 x 2.0 x 1.1 cm
This is one of the most attractive Alaska nuggets of any size, we have seen in recent years. It is a very elongated, elegant specimen that is complete all around. It has a fine lustre and bright color to it, with little of the crackling you often see in larger Alaska pieces. Purchased from an old collection sold at Tucson in 2005, this has been with me since. Hefty, at 77 grams
GOLD09-04 - Gold - $ 1200
Sonora, Mexico
miniature, 3.4 x 2.2 x 0.4 cm
ex. Miguel Romero
This is a flat, pancake-like gold from Mexico, where we see few specimen nuggets come to light despite its other mineral riches. Note the intricate crystallization on the surface! It was formerly in the collection of the late Dr. Miguel Romero, and was on loan display to the University of Arizona for about 10 years in their main showcases. I purchased this collection in 2008, and held this nugget back. Romero's label (and the Museum's) denotes the locality as Mexico. I am told it is probably from Sonora, but in all honesty any detailed records are lost and so the locality can only be said for certain to be Mexican in origin (as befitting his collection, which wsa the best of Mexico!). Because it is a pancake in shape, you get a lot of surface volume for the price! It LOOKS like it should mass about three times its 12 grams, when put on a shelf for display. Comes with Museum label.
GOLD09-05 - Gold - $ 44500
La Gran Sabana, near Santa Elana, Bolivar State, Venezuela
miniature, 3.4 x 2.6 x 1.8 cm
ex. Dr. Eugene Meieran
These sharp, complex gold crystals showing complex hoppered crystallization, have become a modern classic that stand among the great gold specimens of all time. Very few specimens like these giants have been found at other locales (most notably Alta Floresta in Brazil a few years ago) , not for the combination of size and sharpness both. This particular, large crystal is a superb example, complete all around, with particularly equant "fins" radiating out from the middle axis. It is a full miniature and until recently was in the noted collection of Gene Meieran of Phoenix, AZ. I obtained it from him in exchange in Tucson of 2007. Gene is himself a gold specialist, and so the fact that this was one of his several examples from here adds a bit of confidence to my estimation of its quality. I feel confident knowing that he had so much more opportunity, context, and knowledge base than I, as a serious gold collector, when he picked this specimen. He was able to examine these and purchase several of the finest when they were coming out in the mid 1990s (mostly), in part through his friend, dealer Wayne Thompson. This particular specimen was long in the Meieran collection and in fact was exhibited in a well-known combination exhibition of native elements (gold, silver, platinum, copper) that was on view at the Tucson show some years ago. Today, such specimens are hard to come by on the open market. I have handled and seen several, ranging into the 100k range, quickly appear and sell through the normal mineral market. A few examples from this find were valued at 300-500k and placed in public auction through a Coin-specialist auction house around 2007 - and sold quite well. So, in context of the ones I have seen sell both privately and publicly, I feel this is a very fine quality miniature, important enough to command a higher price, that is offered at a fair price respecting the fair exchange in which I obtained it from the collector who owned it.
GOLD09-06 - Gold - $ 2400
Alaska
thumbnail, 2.4 x 1.9 x 1.3 cm
This is a superb, very dramatic and 3-dimensional crystal cluster, rare from Alaska! It has a brightness to it, and a robust , slightly rounded crystal shape, really unlike any California material when seen in person. The crystals are fat and curvy, spiralling up like an upside down rams horn from the base, to a slightly hoppered termination composed of multiple crystals around a central cavity. It is a VERY IMPRESSIVE thumbnail specimen, quite unusual from the norm. I purchased this at a show, from an old prospector who found this in Alaska in the 1970s. 23 grams
GOLD09-07 - Gold - $ 3500
Grass Valley District, Nevada Co., California
miniature, 4.2 x 3.6 x 1.8 cm
This is a large, very complex MATRIX nugget with lots of interesting indentations and outgrowths, clustered like a windblown tree upon a bit of brown matrix inside. It is a very hefty piece. This came out of an old collection of gold, sold at Tucson in 2005, that had many old California specimens. It was said to be from the Grass Valley district, collected in the 1960s or earlier, and I was later told by a gold expert that in style this does indeed correspond to the Grass Valley area in habit and matrix. 67 grams
GOLD09-08 - Gold - $ 2000
Wychitella, north of Wedderburn, Central Victoria, Australia
thumbnail, 3.2 x 1.6 x 1.2 cm
A superb, complete-all-around, and very 3-dimensional CRYSTALLIZED nugget. Such are rare from Australia, and this is a great large-thumbnail-sized example featuring a 1 cm octohedral crystal atop its perch, like a "torch". Mass is 25 grams or about 5/6 troy ounce...pretty hefty for a little guy! Wedderburn golds have a very distinctive look to them, a little more brassy in color and with generally robust crystallized nuggets
GOLD09-09 - Gold - $ 950
near Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
miniature, 3.1 x 2.6 x 0.8 cm
This is a bright, shiny nugget with some remnant crysatllization or quartz contact patterning, as it has an interestingly rough surface with minute detailing. 20 grams
GOLD09-10 - Gold - $ 2800 SOLD
Victoria Gold Mine, Montacute, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Australia
miniature, 4.9 x 3.1 x 2.2 cm
A dramatic specimen of thick, wide vein gold in the shape of a swan perched atop matrix! The color and luster is very bright and with a brassy patina free from harsh chemical cleaning. It has an unusual look and comes from an unusual locality, according to my source in Australia from whom I bought it (Rob Sielecki, may years ago). The gold sits very attractively on just the right amount of matrix and is really 3-dimensional. Overall, especially for the price range, a superb miniature and quite a rare matrix specimen in that the gold is on the rock as opposed to intertwined with it as usual. 51 grams, of which most of that is gold - so you could figure reasonably there is at approx. a 40 gram bullion value here. I had this on the site in the 1990s, sold it, and got it back in a trade exchange recently. NOTE: According to Dr. Allan Pring at the South Australian Musuem, "this specimen is from the first gold mine in Australia and material from the mine is not represented in our collection"
GOLD09-11 - Gold - $ 7800 SOLD
near Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
small cabinet, 6.4 x 4.9 x 3.0 cm
This is an aesthetic, 3-dimensional cluster of gold that shows clear crystalline form , though swirled and rounded into this boot-like shape. 170 grams or approximately 5 troy ounces, this is a very displayable and impressive nugget that is not just the typical flat boring pancake from this famous goldfield!
GOLD09-12 - Gold - $ 5000 SOLD
near Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
small cabinet, 5.6 x 4.4 x 2.5 cm
A very elaborate, 3-dimensional cluster of gold that shows complex and minute crystallization patterns, and is overall hackly in texture. 130 grams or approximately 4.25 troy ounces, this is a very displayable and impressive nugget that is not just the typical flat boring pancake from this famous goldfield!
GOLD09-13 - Gold - $ 5500 SOLD
near Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
small cabinet, 5.6 x 3.0 x 2.7 cm
This is a very dense (surprisingly hefty!), 3-dimensional cluster of gold that shows complex and minute crystallization patterns, and is overall robust but not hackly in texture. 140 grams or approximately 4.5 troy ounces, this is a very displayable and impressive nugget that is not just the typical flat boring pancake from this famous goldfield! (NOTE THE OLD PRICE I HAVE ON IT EQUATES TO BULLION PRICE IN TODAY'S MARKET)
GOLD09-14 - Gold - $ 2250 SOLD
Mother Lode District, Tuolumne County, California
miniature, 3.6 x 3.1 x 1.5 cm
A hackly , complex mass of slender, elongated crystals perched on limonitic matrix, this is a VERY hefty piece for the size. It masses 58 grams and is nearly solid gold. In the midst of the unusual nest of slender crystals smothering the matrix is one single larger crystal 1.2 cm, of unusual habit. It looks like a twisted bar, in appearance. Unusual, old material from the classic Motherlode District !
GOLD09-15 - Gold - $ 11500
Yuba River, Nevada Co., California
small cabinet, 8.3 x 2.8 x 2.3 cm
This is a GORGEOUS nugget of approximately 6 ounces, that come sfrom the historic Yuba River placers area. It was mined and kept in a family collection since the 1950s or 1960s, I was told by my source, who sold that particular family collection. It has a bright, brassy patina, really interesting and curvaceous form, and a lot of surface volume for the weight so that it look simpressive on a shelf or in the hand. Mass is 182 grams. For this locality, it is outstanding; but its good on its own aesthetic merits as well.
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(click on a page number to go to that page:)
page 1 / 2 - 22 specimens selected - next - top - back to the Galleries
Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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