18-ounce gold nugget unearthed in California
- Published: Sep 7, 2016, 9 AM

It may not be 145 ounces, but it’s still quite a find.
A Modesto, Calif., man discovered an 18-ounce gold nugget in a river about 60 miles outside of Stockton, Calif., last week, according to San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX. Oscar Espinoza reported the find to a friend on the afternoon of Aug. 30.
With gold valued at around $1,345 per ounce, that could mean the nugget has a spot-prie value of around $24,210. One would think, as a chunk of gold pulled right out of the ground, it could carry value well beyond simply its weight.
The find comes only a couple of weeks after it was reported that a 145-ounce nugget was unearthed in Australia.
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That nugget, found by an Australian man who has spent his weekends the past 10 years prospecting for gold with a metal detector, is valued at about $190,282.
Here's the full news segment on the California nugget from KPIX:
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