Any gold nugget collector/buyers/sellers out there?

pcgscacgold

I have had an urge to collect a few gold nuggets (from some of you that have posted photos here). Coins are neat but you can't handle them when they are slabbed. I figure a gold nugget would be something that could be handled without lowering its value. I guess I could buy a $5 or $10 circulated gold coin instead but a nugget seemed different than the coins I already have.

I have been researching things for a while now but thought why not ask "The Brain" that is here on CU. Are there things to watch for or avoid (looked at Goldbay and Nuggets by Grant to start)? Common mark up (I understand they need to make money or they could just melt them). Size that works the best (#8, #6 or just go for 5-10 gram pieces)?

I know, just buy gold Buffalos and get pure 24K gold, but there too I would not want to handle those and they would sit in slabs. I am not talking about buying 10 oz of nuggets or funding my retirement with these. Sometimes it is just fun to have something out of the ordinary.

If you have sold nuggets, how far back of melt do dealers offer or do people avoid them all together?

Thanks.

alexerca

I used to buy and sell nuggets years ago! I think I paid 85% of spot for them but I bought them directly from a miner. I believe they were somewhere in the gram and a half range. These nuggets were 92 to 98 % pure. I live in idaho so that was fairly easy for me to do. When ebay took all of the profit out I quit. In fact I quit using ebay for selling anything then!

pcgscacgold

@alexerca said:
I used to buy and sell nuggets years ago! I think I paid 85% of spot for them but I bought them directly from a miner. I believe they were somewhere in the gram and a half range. These nuggets were 92 to 98 % pure. I live in idaho so that was fairly easy for me to do. When ebay took all of the profit out I quit. In fact I quit using ebay for selling anything then!

Thanks for the information. Currently places seem to want about 10-15% over spot so the prices you were paying were really good. The gram and a half seem like a good size. As they get bigger they get expensive.

Did you keep any as a collection or did you get rid of all of them and move on?

alexerca

Didn't keep any and moved on. I probably could still get them but not worth my time to look into it unless you wanted like several ounces and I don't think you do. One of the miners I know used to trade nuggets to one of the big smelter for gold buffaloes when they first came out! I know a coin dealer in Missoula that used to sell some from time to time but I don't know if he ships!

rte592

They always look bigger in the picture
Gold nugget prices retail in that size range (1-5 gram) are running just about the same as a .999 bar with assay card.
Call gold bay and for a price check on the size of nugget your looking for.
On the goldbay website they will add gold to a paydirt bag, so you should get a better price buying from the source and should be able to pick your size.

pcgscacgold

@rte592 said:
They always look bigger in the picture
Gold nugget prices retail in that size range (1-5 gram) are running just about the same as a .999 bar with assay card.
Call gold bay and for a price check on the size of nugget your looking for.
On the goldbay website they will add gold to a paydirt bag, so you should get a better price buying from the source and should be able to pick your size.

Thanks @rte592
I will give them a call. I agree about the pictures. They all look too big to carry. I am thinking I will wait until after the Holiday's. With many at 115-118% of spot it seems a bit rich (since they say they are 82-86% pure). I did think of getting the smallest paydirt bag and add up to 1oz. One video online showed a guy pick 1.3 grams of the 1.5 grams guaranteed without panning. He bought a 100% ROI bag.

rte592

You could always find some land in a gold bering district that isn't claimed up.

There are easier ways to gather gold though.

crito_is_baaack

I wanted to get into panning for gold when I was living in Colorado. Apparently it's even in the river that flows through downtown Denver. They say look for a bend in the river with black sand (I guess that's oxidized silver) and pan the back side, where the heavier sediments fall out of the flow. That was the plan! Never got around to it though...

rte592

@crito_is_baaack said:
I wanted to get into panning for gold when I was living in Colorado. Apparently it's even in the river that flows through downtown Denver. They say look for a bend in the river with black sand (I guess that's oxidized silver) and pan the back side, where the heavier sediments fall out of the flow. That was the plan! Never got around to it though...

Inside bend of rivers where the material slows down...the gold is supposed to drop out because it is heavy like the black sand.
( not silver)
The black sand is more of an iron stone...some magnetic some not.

ricko

When I lived out west, I used to pan for gold and did some MD'ing for gold as well. Between the two efforts, I found lots of gold dust, but only two good nuggets... I think one is five grams and the other is six grams.... would have to recheck that though... been a long time, though I still have the two. Thought about selling them, since I live where there is no gold in the wild here. Might do that... Cheers, RickO

pcgscacgold

So far it looks like the only people with gold nuggets mined them or got them straight from the miner. That info is helpful. Maybe they are more of a hassle to obtain and hold then it is worth.

USMC_6115

I bought mine back in 2001-2002 for about $275 or so on Ebay.. Claimed to be an Australian nugget. She's 26 grams and heavy for the size. I have no idea of purity. I forget the seller, but they were highly regarded back then. Good luck with your search...

pcgscacgold

@massscrew said:
I bought mine back in 2001-2002 for about $275 or so on Ebay.. Claimed to be an Australian nugget. She's 26 grams and heavy for the size. I have no idea of purity. I forget the seller, but they were highly regarded back then. Good luck with your search...

Thanks. Those were the days to buy.