This impressive large gold specimen has been on display in the Academy for ages, and was one of three golds in the hall showcase that featured gemstones, and arced up from the ground floor to the dinosaur hall. It is an old specimen with brilliant luster and sharp crystallization characteristic of old mines of the Grass Valley district, though one cannot say which mine it might have been from, though from the style it appears to have been mined prior to WWII and perhaps much further back than that as the museum wasn't active in recent years. I have had large golds to offer, some more weighty than this one. However, THIS piece offers a huge visual bang for the buck because it is elongated and flat, all crystallized, so you don't pay for volumetric gold weight and mass that is not face-forward on display. The biological-looking growth of the tendrils atop really makes it special, for me. Moreover, I could not find one of this caliber and size today, without paying at least this much for it, even if I did find such a piece. You simply cannot get such a large, fine, display-quality gold specimen for the price from modern mining!