|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
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!
GOLD09-05 - Gold - P.O.R. 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.
GOLD09-19 - Gold (spinel-twinned) - AUS$ 38707 Mockingbird Mine, Whitlock, Mariposa Co., California miniature, 4.0 x 3.7 x 3.3 cm
This is, to me, a shockingly unique specimen featuring the largest , well-crystallized 3-dimensional spinel twin gold on matrix that I have ever seen for sale. This is NOT a flattenned crystalline gold as with Eagles Nest material and it is not a typical octohedral crystal or cluster of such as some Mockingbird material occurs. Rather, this is a SINGLE thick , euhedral CRYSTAL, fully 3.5 cm tip to tip, just so nicely perched on a well-trimmed matrix (prepped out by a VERY clever and risk-taking preparator to whom kudos is due!).This crystal has a natural patina as the enclosing quartz was removed with physical means instead of the less elegant but easier method of hydrofluoric acid. It is complete all around and is EQUALLY fine from the other side - it displays either way. If I have not yet conveyed how impressed I am, let me try more bluntly: I LOVE THIS ROCK! I loved it the moment I saw it in late 2005. I sold it shortly thereafter to a collector whom has now started to cull and slim down his collection, and I leapt at the chance to exchange it back. At the time I first had it, I could not reveal the source from whom I had obtained it; but now I can say it is from the personal collection of the late Bill Forrest: a longtime California collector, gold-miner, and co-owner of the Benitoite mine during much of its modern heyday. To me, this specimen screams out from a case in a manner far more impactful and unique than any number of larger golds I have seen for sale. The size of the crystal, and its sharp twinning, make it important. The brilliant lustre and aesthetic perch on matrix make it collectible to the connosseur. Photo on green background , by Joe Budd.
GOLD09-21 - Gold - The Providence Nugget - AUS$ 66354 SOLD Gladstone, Northern Queensland, Australia cabinet, 14 x 11.3 x 1.8 cm
This is a CRYSTALLIZED gold from Australia, a land where usually only rounded nuggets are found. The crystals are flattenned along one axis, and elongated, resulting in a lot of visual size impact per the weight/mass. This kind of surface area to mass ratio in a gold specimen we refer to as "pancake" in style because it gives you so much of the mass on the display face. This makes them more appealing as specimens, to most folks. In this size, especially, a crystallized specimen is extremely rare. It is 1100 grams in mass, of nearly pure gold mixed with minor amounts of quartz included (but still an estimated 1075 grams of gold is present). However, more than the size and the crystallographic rarity, there is yet another factor to consider. This was found in Queensland, not the richer, more common goldfields of Victoria in southern Australia. For the Northern Australian fields, this far outranks nearly everything else known to have been recovered (at least in modern times, where noted). Given the trustworthy source (one of Australia's leading field collectors), I regard this as having additional interest value. Per the collector, well-known Aussie gold-prospector and gold-detection equipment proprietor Jack Lange (SHOWN holding his find) : "The Providence nugget was found by me near Gladstone QLD at the start of the 2004 olympics. The Goldfield is situated under the town's suburbs. I got it on the fringes of the suburb. It was the only nugget within 300 metres, buried under only 45 cm of soil. The amazing find was featured in 2005 on the cover of our Australian Gold, Gem, and Treasure Magazine. Crystalline nuggets of this size (1100.3 grams) are almost unheard of in modern times!" Note that Jack is a very tall guy with large hands, so the photo showing the gold in his hand, after first cleaning, appears smaller than it would be in most folk's hands.
GOLD09-22 - Gold - crystallized nugget - AUS$ 55295 SOLD Wychitella, north of Wedderburn, Central Victoria, Australia cabinet, 11.1 x 8 x 3.8 cm
This is a CRYSTALLIZED gold nugget from Australia, a land where usually only rounded nuggets are found. I have seen MANY Aussie nuggets over the several decades I have dealt in such things, but out of all of them perhaps this is the most interesting to my tastes, in a large size and high-weight class. It is 850 grams (about 30 troy ounces), and over 4 inches tall. It is a nugget, with all the heft and visual impact you would expect,; but it is also strangely organic and alive-looking to me. It is a complex cluster of random rounded nugget gold intermixed with the occasional offshoot of crystalline gold - especially around the top of the specimen where you can clearly see a large, hoppered octohedral crystal sticking straight up. This is a very robust, 3-dimensional crystal, and it "makes the piece" , so to speak. The color is a unique brassy hue, characteristic of Wedderburn material I am told. This came into the US first through a prominent collector who had bought it from well known gold dealer Anthony Fraser, in the early 2000's. I have now owned it twice, happily able to exchange it back about a year ago. I have not raised the price with regard to the intrinsic weight value of the specimen, compared to the old price plus a bit of reasonable appreciation I paid to get it back. In other words, if you value the weight content highly, this piece has it. But as a specimen, it does stand on its own merits at a multiple of spot that used to be 3-4X and is now not even 2X spot.
GOLD09-20 - Gold (Large spinel-twinned crystal) - AUS$ 47554 SOLD Majuba Placers, Pershing County, Nevada miniature, 3.8 x 1.8 x 1.8 ex. Scott Kleine
An impressive spinel-twinned gold crystal of VERY LARGE size, for any locality. All the more impressive then, from the Majuba Placers where generally only small crystals are found. This is a piece that must rank among th ebest to come out of the deposits, and is considered by Nevada collectors I know to be one of the best golds from the state. Aside from its huge size and locality value, it happens to just be darned good by any standard - it is sharp, bright, complexly crystallized, a floater, and complete all around. It has superb patina with no sign of rounding or weathering. This was in the collection of Scott Kleine, a well-known Nevada collector and author. It has been featured in the recent opus on Nevada minerals, Minerals of Nevada; and also in the Rocks & Minerals GOLD issue and on the Las Vegas mineral shows promotions. We are proud to offer what I feel is a historic rarity for the US or gold collector. Photos by Jeffrey Scovil
GOLD09-01 - Gold with large octohedral cast - AUS$ 8294 SOLD 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 - AUS$ 2212 SOLD 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 - AUS$ 4092 SOLD 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 - AUS$ 1327 SOLD 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.
GOLD09-06 - Gold - AUS$ 2654 SOLD 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 - AUS$ 3871 SOLD 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 - AUS$ 2212 SOLD 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 - AUS$ 1051 SOLD 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 - AUS$ 3097 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 - AUS$ 8626 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!
All Content and Design ©1996-2010 The ArkenstoneBy-species Galleries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
