The Yuba River placer deposits are known for gold nuggets, which formed somewhere else and washed down into the river valley ages ago. They are generally rolled and shapeless. This is a rather special piece, that is NOT a nugget at all, but somehow survived the process of moving from one rock deposit into another over tens of millions of years! It is an elongated crystal, a wire, straight and dramatic, with clear terminations at both ends. It is rounded from natural movement, but nevertheless still retains its amazing shape. Gold wires of this size, actually elongated crystals, are among the rarest finds of gold. While known from some other locations, such as Colorado or Venezuela, this style, especially in a 3-cm-tall crystal, is literally unheard of from California. It is an aberration in gold specimens, that we would never have expected to see. It is elongated and thin, so it does not weigh much (7.65 cts), and yet it has a large visual impact for the shape and pure color. Properly vertical, it is a small miniature when mounted, although it can fit into a thumbnail box if laid caddy-corner, and angled.