August 7, 2018
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A man discovers Britain's largest ever gold nugget in a Scottish river
A golf hunter has discovered Britain's largest ever nugget - which is as wide as a golf ball and estimated to be worth upwards of £50,000. The precious metal collector found the 85.7g lump while lying face down in a Scottish river for hours using a snorkel. Named the Douglas Nugget, it claimed to be the biggest gold nugget to have been unearthed in British waters for 500 years.
In 2016 a larger 97g nugget was found off Anglesey but experts concluded it was actually from Australia and went down when a ship sank in the Irish Sea.
The father who found it, who has asked not to be named, ran from the water clutching his gold and shouting 'bingo'. He said: 'I was following a crack in the bedrock and found around 2g in fine gold. This then led to a pocket, where I uncovered the nugget. I called over my friend to have a look and we both assumed it to be around 5-7g in weight. It wasn't until I removed it that we realised just how big it was. I took off my glove and picked it up, jumped out of the water and screamed, 'Bingo!' to my friend. We were both stunned and couldn't believe it. I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime.'
The owner is currently unsure what to do with his nugget, but keeping it in a safety deposit box in the meantime - but there is a danger the Crown Estate could claim the cash if sold.
Gold expert Leon Kirk, from Gold Panning Supplies UK, said: 'This is a very exciting and unprecedented find. But the nugget's rarity means it is very hard to put a price on it. I would say it is worth at least £50,000 but, as it's rarer than a Aston Martin or a Faberge egg, a billionaire could easily come along and pay a lot more for it. Historically, it is off the Richter scale.'
The Douglas Nugget, which weighs 85.7g, is believed to share a similar diameter to that of a 1.6 is golf ball. It was discovered two years ago by a British father but he has kept it a secret until now. The man - in his 40s - wishes to remain anonymous due to the magnitude of his find.
The nugget was discovered in a mystery river in Scotland and its exact whereabouts is being kept under wraps.
Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk
