HIGHLAND BLING!
Doughnut-shaped gold nugget found in river is declared largest in the UK – and worth £80,000
It was found at the bottom of a Scottish river and looks like a small misshapen doughnut.
But experts have now declared the find to be the largest gold nugget in Britain – worth £80,000.
the anonymous treasure hunter who found it was ‘gold sniping’ when he plucked it from the water.
the discovery, which was made in May, has only just been disclosed.
Both the finder and owner of the land where the nugget was discovered have asked to remain anonymous.
the 22-carat treasure, weighing 4.3oz, (121.9g), was found in two pieces which slot together perfectly, earning it the name the ‘Reunion Nugget’.
the larger 3.1oz part was discovered first, followed ten minutes later by the second piece, about 1ft away.
Experts believe the distinctive doughnut shape could be the result of a hole made by a Neolithic farmer’s tool.
the nugget was found by a gold hunter using the ‘sniping’ method, which is when the prospector wears a dry suit, facemask and snorkel and lies face down to scan the river bed.
A hand tool is then used to extract any gold found.
the Reunion Nugget’s finder has approached Lee Palmer, author of the guide Gold Occurrences in the UK.
Mr Palmer, 50, said: ‘the man just threw the bigger piece in his bucket with the rest of his stuff – he knew it was big but didn’t realise how big.
‘He found the second nugget and chucked that in his bucket too.
‘It wasn’t until a couple of days later that he had a look at them and realised how big they were and that they fitted together.
‘the hole in the middle could have been caused by a strike off a rock or glacier.’ He added: ‘One mineralogist thought it looked like an entry and exit hole that could have been made with a Neolithic antler pick, which were used by farmers in the Iron Age.’ Mr Palmer is hoping that the Reunion Nugget will be purchased by the National Museum of Scotland or the Natural History Museum
– although legally it may have to be handed over to the Crown Estate.
He said that the division of the nugget into two pieces should not affect its value.
Mr Palmer said: ‘It’s like an exact jigsaw – there’s no disputing it. Even if you took the largest individual piece, it is still the biggest one in the UK.
‘Add together the second piece and the story behind it and you’ve got something amazing.’
the previous record find – the Douglas Nugget, weighing just over 3oz – was discovered in 2016, also in a Scottish river.
Scotland is home to sizeable gold and silver deposits, which have been panned by amateur prospectors for centuries.