Gold nuggets never sell for much of a premium over their gold value, and a dealers will consider themselves lucky if they can buy nuggets for spot value and sell them at a 50% mark up. But even the most jaded collector will find themselves appreciative when they heft a nugget weighing several pounds in their hand. Mineral collectors are usually not all that interested in alluvial gold unless the nuggets are of an interesting or attractive shape. Mindat lists more than 18 (2009) thousand localities for gold and probably the majority of them are for alluvial flakes and nuggets and there are probably at least as many more that are not listed or yet undiscovered. Alluvial gold found in gravel or in rocks that were at one time alluvial before their consolidation probably counts for about 75% of all gold produced. A few gravels produce larger flakes than others, and sometimes it is found in nuggets of considerable size, some many pounds each. Gold is commonly found in tiny flakes in some alluvial gravels. It drew the conquistadors to the New World and again changed the course of history. Some think that it was the gold from Africa, brought to Europe from Mali and Bekino Faso in Africa by Arab traders that remonetized the economy of Europe and made the Renaissance possible. It occurs sparingly in most places and where it does occur in modest abundance, men have moved heaven and earth to go to those places and their pursuit of it has changed the course of history. It has been used as a store of value in bars and coins and jewelry since the dawn of civilization. Of all the native metals found on earth, Gold is probably been the most universally sought after, valued and cherished.
Ground Hog Mine, Battle Mountain, Gilman District, Eagle Co., Colorado, USA ~12cm wide