Nuggets! Worth collecting?

Big nug found in Ballarat, Victoria (Oz) in the news last week... ~176 ozt at 90-94% purity gives an intrinsic value ~USD$ 266,904 - 278,766. at 1/18/2013 POG

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/1241013/gold-nugget-found-near-ballarat/?cs=62
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/17/gold-nugget-australia-ballarat-found_n_2496663.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57564728/12-pound-gold-nugget-found-in-austrailia/

As few years ago, I was wondering if PM specimen were better value than coin. Anyone here collect both? Recommend a (mineral.) collectors' site for specimen traders in Au/Ag/Pt?

 

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I like them both and I try to find Nuggets that are over one OZ but those seem to always carry a premium. Ore specimens that are slathered in visible gold are really hard to come by and can be multiples of spot. You really have to like them to step up and stackers seem to always try to pay close to melt as possible, but that gets a little boring to a true gold bug. There is currently a viable and brisk market in the rock world for these type of pieces, but there isn't much respect here on this coin forum. I'm glad I found some nice pieces before the gold world blew up and all the cable shows started running.

 

I saw a bunch of nuggets in a shop here in Maine recently. There are some nice ones to see in the Maine State Museum also. I don't have any, but I guess the largest silver nugget ever found was in Aspen, Colorado, so now we know why the real estate is so expensive there.

 

I think that most real estate for sell in most western states do not include underground mineral rights. That is why the Comstock mine company has tunnels beneath most of the Virginia City area.

 

Darn. I guess I'll forget that Aspen place then. The Comstock lode was a major silver find and changed the market. I think it was one of the big reasons to mint lots of silver dollars, wasn't it?

 

I collect Mc-Nuggets...but I haven't been able to solve the verdigris problem. :scratch:

 

Nuggets are a lot harder to sell then regular bullion. I would just stick with the .999.

 

Nuggets are fun, but anyone buying them needs a scale and to know the purity. I like your basic gold and silver coins for collecting. I also like bars, but just small ones from recognized makers. It's fun to see the nuggets and imagine someone pulling them out of the ground. I really don't like the way they get gold nowadays, so I like the idea that some of the old stuff came out as nuggets.

 

How long did yours last without the verdigris? Mine are at 5 years and not one shade of green.

 

Yes - the liquidity issue. Bullion trades like money at the LCS, pawns, bazaars (abroad), banks (in many many countries) etc.

Unless you are networked into a large community of traders (for whatever commodity/collectible) that's a likely deal-breaker. Specimen PMs would have a fairly small and perhaps dicey market, I'm afraid.. otoh, I'm not sure geological specimina are much worse than most collectible art, to trade. Additional challenges and complexities worry me about the investment potential (and extra work monitoring.)

Still, a few beauts: http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/gold_specimen/Natural_gold2.htm

 

This is true here in Montana. If you want the mineral rights to a property, especially those which are outside of city limits, then you have to file for them seperately. You also have to actively work the land if you have claimed the mineral rights. You can't simply sit on a claim so nobody else can have it. I think it varies by the size of the claim, but years back when my uncle was into gold panning, every summer we'd go out and spend a day panning at some claim or another of his so he could meet the required number of hours invested in each claim to keep them.

 

I have a few smaller ones:




and




I think they are worth collecting.

In fact I recently picked up another one.

Beautiful to think that this is how they came out of the ground.

 

I classify nuggets similar to collecting mineral specimens. You will always pay more for it than melt, sometimes much more, but its a hobby in its own right.

If someone wants gold for the sake of gold, I would say just buy bullion.

 

All mentioned can be investments , IF the person has or takes time to learn the background needed to make an investment decision. Bullion coins, and the needed knowledge of plated, fakes, % gold, etc. ; Mineral Specimens are more similar to rare coins, jewelry, and fine art, in that the real factor(s) determining value may be difficult to determine. Mineral specimens can be faked or manufactured. Quartz can be 'artificially grown' around gold strands to make an outstanding appearing specimen. Gold can be melted, crystallized, into desirable formation, or melted and shaped with airguns into natural appearing nuggets. Geologists can usually determine fakes. Gemstones up to 2 ct. diamonds can be artificially manufactured. A blue or red diamond 30 years ago was an auction highlight. Now 3 companies can grow them in almost any color. But they also can be recognized with knowledge, training, and proper equipment. I can buy a nice 2 carat faceted untreated ruby for $20,000 , or a similar eye appearing one for $20 ( except it is filled with lead glass to make the internal cracks appear clear.

Stick with what you have knowledge~ coins, comic books, stamps, rare books, autographs, and you have the bst chance for success. IMO.

 

A sample I personally collected myself, from the Hollinger Mine, Timmins, Ontario. I see this as way more valuable as a geological specimen, than any kind of bullion value.

 

beautiful specimen

 

Although you may have to actually be a miner to appreciate the value/rarity of a natural piece, I have yet to visit a coin shop or coin show where natural gold wasn't offered and there is usually someone around (not out to lunch, ha ha) that understands how it is traded. If you bring any gold into a dealing situation, most likely someone will want to buy it.

Its simple guys....
A small piece (under 25 grams IMO) that is unattractive or "globby" will most likely trade at its melt value which is 80% purity on average.

A piece that is larger and has an interesting shape or texture will usually bring spot plus 5-20% depending on what kind of deal can be struck.

Crystaline gold specimens or pieces 3-5+ Oz can be be much north of that on rarity alone and these "super" nugget pieces sell at levels that don't really apply to most of us and are displayed at casinos or museums.

Worked over or improved pieces are mostly easy to identify but still sell for the 80%.

Now tell me how this is all that much different that buying and selling coins.
Matt

 

No one says its harder, just a different field of expertise. You say, "worked over or improved pieces are mostly easy to identify", easy for whom? A newbie?

To me its just like any collectible field. Most people here are scared of buying uncertified ancients or Chinese cash coins, I am not. I believe I have the expertise most others here are missing for these fields, just like you have the expertise for gold nuggets, something most of the rest of us here, including myself, do not possess.

That is what Jim was getting to in his post.

Chris

 

Sure, it's hard for me to muster the universal interest in everything that may be found in a coin shop.
But....
I try to be abreast of how things work in that environment. Not just say "there's nothing good there" and dismiss because I'm too lazy to find out. With nuggets, the hard sell argument doesn't hold up, it's like saying eagles are a quicker flip than sterling spoons, but they both bring exactly what they are worth at any given point and the front end purchase should reflect that. Nuggets aren't even close to the deep end of the learning curve pool, if you desire one that's all it takes.

 

I just had a thought cross my mind that I figure I'd run across you guys that know minerals as well as coins:

What are your thoughts on people putting nuggets into jewelry? Especially if it damages the nugget the way people typically damage coins when placing them into jewelry? i.e. Welding, drilling, etc.