Andyy 1,057 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 So there I was walking through another wash on another hot day. Jeez it is getting hot out there! Anyhow, I find a small feeder wash and work my way fighting the brush hoping not to need to test my snake guards. Soon this feeder has splits into two yet I notice one has a small dry washer pile. Kind of old (no fines), and was either mildly flattened by time or by another nugget shooter. I think to myself, this is my sign and I begin down this wash methodically hunting slowly. I'm not too excited yet as I have been in plenty of gullies with dry wash piles and no gold. Not 5 minutes goes by and I get a target (wee woo). You know the signal, on the GPX it's kind of muffled and that gets me a little excited. I notice gold gives a duller muffled sound sometimes. I dig down and start to see the red dirt. Once out of the hole, I recover my target ... a boot tack!!! I am not happy. That little bugger ate my gold! So I kept looking. Some more rusted metal, two more boot tacks and then Wham!! (woo wee) hmmm... I've dug a lot of trash on inverted signals and have yet to find any gold on this signal. But I dig anyways. Again I'm hitting red clay about 13 inches before I get it out. Now usually when I get the target reduced down in my scoop, I'll challenge myself to pick it out. I'm looking for that muddy little sucker that's all caked with mud. Of course I am guessing the little ones first, but slowly as I rule these out, I am left with this other chunk bumped to the side. I grab it and immediately know what I picked up. I screamed over to my prospecting buddy to show him the chunk of gold. He was as blown away as me. This nugget is my biggest yet at .8oz. A little later I am still in shock and I'm doing what Doc always suggests. Sit down and ask the gold where it came from. Well I don't know. I'm looking at the quartz float, I'm looking at contact zones. This sucker could have come from anywhere. As I'm over thinking the whole thing I look over and ask my buddy "hey, where and the heck do you think this thing came from ... the hillside? I want to find his family." He turns and looks at me and pauses, and says "I think it came from Jesus". I just laughed. I think he's right. So this is my Jesus Gold Link to post Share on other sites
Matt S 20 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 That is an awesome piece of gold and I am jealous. Congratulations! Sent from heaven indeed Link to post Share on other sites
adam 3,120 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Very handsome nugget !! Thats a friggin clunker Well done Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,666 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Dang Andyy that is a sweet nugget. Good job. Link to post Share on other sites
Tortuga 138 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 That looks huge next to the quarter. Looks like it should be atleast an ounce but must be flat or have a quartz center. I have a few like that. Really nice nugget. Link to post Share on other sites
LukeJ 2,077 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Now see that !! Perserverence pays !! Right on Andy... That's one heck of a nugget Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle Ron 1,486 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Beautiful, Andy Y... That's a really nice piece!! WTG! Cheers, Unc Link to post Share on other sites
Old Tom 1,083 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 That piece looks like it came from shale or a quartz dike in that wash. Keep looking further north for where you think there is a formation crossing the wash. It's not too much further up Andy. Old Tom Link to post Share on other sites
mn90403 963 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 WTG Nice nugget. Link to post Share on other sites
TomH 2,757 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Wow! Ill second that it came from Jesus! Thats a HUGE nugget. CONGRATS!Tom H. Link to post Share on other sites
boulder dash 1,239 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Omg!! Crazy awesome!! Link to post Share on other sites
Alwaysdirty 914 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Holy crap Andyy!! Amazing!! Link to post Share on other sites
Hoser John 1,240 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Great story and a fantastic find for sure. I like'm all rough and gnarly like yours . Without moving water action that big a nugget should not be far from home and it's relatives also. Time to hit that area HARD...tons a au 2 u 2-John Link to post Share on other sites
Andyy 1,057 Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Thank you all for the comments! Luck definitely had a part in this find. Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time looking for its relatives. It definitely motivates me to dig it all. Link to post Share on other sites
Tortuga 138 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Check out the section in Chris Ralph's book about the source of large nuggets. Because most gold in quartz is just tiny flecks, he theorizes that large nuggets may "grow" on their own within shale deposits, kinda like crystals. There's a possibility they just don't fall out of a quartz vein weighing an ounce+ and erode down to a sizable nugget. Especially if they haven't done much traveling at all. Link to post Share on other sites
Andyy 1,057 Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Interesting Tortuga. I will have to pull that book out again. Every time I open it I understand a little better about what he was saying. First time I opened it my eyes glazed over. Just a lot to absorb. Kinda like when I tell my wife how my day at work went. Zones her out every time As for this gold, it is not flat at all and *is* very heavy. I knew it was at least close to an ounce. But if you look closely, there are micro bits of quartz poking through a couple areas. So I do believe there is a small bit of quartz contained within. Either way, I love it all the same. Link to post Share on other sites
Swampstomper Al 1,336 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Seriously nice find there, Andyy.. Love/hate with the inverted signal, yeah..? Same as you'd dig a zip-zipyou have to dig an inverted.. You hold the proof of why in your hand..Swamp Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C... 696 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Great Find for sure looks like Vulture gold Mike C... Link to post Share on other sites
spa in nv 45 Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 "Seek and you shall find." Love the Jesus gold.Nice shootin Andyy!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Au Seeker 3,106 Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Awesome chunk of gold, maybe you should call it the JC nugget! Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,666 Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Truly a sweet nugget. Link to post Share on other sites
Lanny in AB 429 Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 That's a great nugget! And, thanks for the background that went with the hunt, interesting.All the best,Lanny Link to post Share on other sites
microsniper 187 Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Whoa nice honker! congrats! Link to post Share on other sites
Nugget Shooter 4,611 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Very very nice find, congrats! Link to post Share on other sites
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