Man Discovers Dirty-Looking Rock, Doesn’t Realize It’s Worth Almost $200,000
An Australian man struck gold by finding a 10-pound gold nugget worth more than $190,000.
The anonymous prospector found the nugget in a worked-over area in Central Victoria’s Golden Triangle, Mashable reported. He initially found a nine ounce tennis ball-shaped gold nugget about two feet deep.
The prospector returned the following day to see if there was more gold to be discovered, according to a statement from Minelab, a metal detector manufacturer.
“About 12 inches below the ground, I could just barely make out the top of something,” the prospector said in the statement. “As I began to scrape away the clay and dig deeper, I really couldn’t believe my eyes — this wasn’t an old piece of steel in front of me.
“I had just unearthed a colossal gold nugget — a once in a lifetime find! I was in total disbelief as I didn’t think nuggets of this size were still around.”
The prospector named the gold nugget “Friday’s Joy.” He is currently keeping the treasure in a bank vault, but said he was hiding it in his oven the night after he discovered it.
“It’s like catching a big fish and not knowing what to do with it!” the prospector said. “Where do we put it? I washed it in water, covered it in aluminum foil and kept it in my oven on the first night.”
The nugget is reportedly worth more than $190,710. The prospector said he plans on purchasing a van with the money and traveling throughout Australia.