Gold nuggets and ingot highlight Kagin’s auction

By Paul Gilkes

Published: Sep 5, 2018, 6 AM

Gold nuggets feature prominently among the lots offered by Kagin’s in the firm’s Sept. 21 sale in Santa Clara, California.

Original images courtesy of Kagin’s.

A highlighted lot in the sale is an 85.35-ounce gold assay ingot recovered from the 1857 wreckage of the SS Central America.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

Gold nugget from Australia weighs 1.82 troy ounces.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

A prospecting journey in California produced this 3-ounce gold nugget.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

The Round Mountain Mine in Nye County, Nevada, yielded this 3.95-ounce crystalline gold nugget.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

Gold nugget was discovered in the Round Mountain Mine in Nye County, Nevada.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

Gold nugget also from the Round Mountain Mine in Nye County, Nevada, differs in color from the other nugget found in the same mine, indicating a higher silver content.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

Small quartz deposits can be found contained in this 1.14-ounce gold nugget from Papua New Guinea.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

The Kellogg & Humbert gold assay ingot is valued in the six figures just for its precious metals content.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

Mormon 1849 gold $2.50 coin struck by the Deseret Assay Office in Utah is graded About Uncirculated 58 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.

Image courtesy of Kagin’s.

Gold nuggets from around the world, a gold assay ingot from the SS Central America and Mormon gold coins highlight Kagin’s Sept. 21 auction held in conjunction with the Santa Clara Coin Expo in Santa Clara, California.

The gold nugget lots include a 3.02-ounce nugget from California measuring 55 millimeters by 35 millimeters by 18 millimeters.

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An Australian gold nugget measuring 48 millimeters by 35 millimeters by 6 millimeters weighs 1.82 troy ounces.

There is a 1.14-ounce nugget from Papua New Guinea measuring 39 millimeters by 24 millimeters by 12 millimeters.

Three nuggets from the Round Mountain Mine in Nye County, Nevada, are offered in two separate lots. A single nugget lot contains a piece weighing 3.95 troy ounces and measuring 76.2 millimeters by 73.025 millimeters by 12.7 millimeters. The second lot contains two nuggets totaling 1.89 troy ounces in weight. The nuggets exhibit different coloration, illustrating differing concentrations of silver in the gold.

Gold ingot

The face of the gold ingot from San Francisco assayers Kellogg & Humbert, with serial No. 826 at top, shows KELLOGG / & / HUMBERT / ASSAYERS within a rectangle below the serial number. Below the assayers mark are the inscription 85.35 OZ. / .896 FINE / $1580.85. A fineness test cut shows at the lower right corner on the face but is much more obvious at the lower left on the reverse face. The back face carries the serial number 826 at top, but is otherwise plain.

The $1,580.85 was the value of the gold in the ingot at the time of its manufacture.

Mormon gold $2.50 coin

Among the Mormon gold coins offered is an 1849 Deseret Assay Office $2.50 coin, Kagin 1 as attributed in Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States by Donald H. Kagin. It is graded and encapsulated About Uncirculated 58 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. The coin is among those authorized by Brigham Young and the Mormon Church in Utah and struck by the newly formed Deseret Mint.

The obverse exhibits clasped hands, date 1849 below with the abbreviation G.S.L.C.P.G. (Great Salt Lake City Pure Gold) and TWO. AND. HALF. DO. around. The reverse features a bishop’s miter with all-seeing eye of Jehovah at center, HOLINESS TO THE LORD around. The edge is plain.

The opening session featuring the highlights comprises 387 lots. A 22.9 percent buyer’s fee will be added to the closing hammer price of each lot won, with a 2.9 percent discount for payment in cash or cash equivalent.

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