A lucky Australian explorer struck gold recently when his metal detector led him to a massive 87-ounce gold nugget buried just six inches beneath the surface near the famous gold mining town of Wedderburn in Central Victoria.
Mick Brown, a 42-year-old from Kerang, Australia, sees the “Fair Dinkum” nugget as more than just its $102,000 price tag. To him, this precious find holds sentimental value that goes beyond its metal content. With optimism and enthusiasm, Mick believes that the nugget will appeal to the right collector and fetch double its estimated worth on the market.
Sometimes, you might hear folks saying, “A stunning piece of gold is worth twice its weight in gold,” he told The Age.
Brown is feeling pretty hopeful about the worth of his nugget. He believes it has some unique features and charm that make it valuable. In a cool turn of events, a huge 97-ounce gold nugget was found last October in Northern California’s famous Gold Rush Country using a metal detector. This nugget was later sold for a jaw-dropping $400,000 to a mystery buyer. Gold hunters like to give special names to their big finds, and Brown is joining in on the fun by calling his nugget “Fair Dinkum,” which is an Aussie slang term that means “genuine.”
Brown revealed to The Age that many people react with amazement when they hold the nugget, often exclaiming, “Wow, this thing is huge!” The lucky Australian gives credit to his wife for convincing him to go out on the day he found the nugget. Brown shared with The Age that he was feeling irritated as he was two weeks into his attempt to quit smoking. Following his wife’s advice, he chose to drive 64 miles south to Wedderburn, a location where he had previously hunted for gold.
Brown expressed his surprise at how his metal detector responded to the discovery of a sizable gold nugget buried underground. He referred to it as a moment that caught him off guard, sending a jolt of astonishment when the device suddenly beeped.
After digging down just six inches, he felt the horn-like projections of the “True Blue” nugget and pulled it out of the ground. At first, he thought it was copper, but soon realized it was pure gold. To celebrate his find, he cracked open a beer and raised a toast to his luck.
Rather than revealing the exact location of his discovery to prevent a gold rush, Brown proudly displayed the “True Blue” nugget. He couldn’t fathom keeping such a treasure hidden and took pleasure in the excitement it brought to others.
With the money earned from selling the nugget, Brown plans to purchase a home spa for his wife and daughters. Despite his success, he remains eager to find an even bigger nugget in the future, perhaps stumbling upon a hefty 10-kilo treasure.
Although the “True Blue” nugget is sizeable, it doesn’t quite measure up to the renowned 256-ounce “Pride of Australia” nugget unearthed near Mosquito Gully in 1981. The Australian outback continues to yield impressive discoveries like these, inspiring hopeful prospectors like Brown to keep searching for their own slice of the gold rush dream.
