Top 7 Largest Gold Nuggets Ever Found

Gold, a precious metal that has captivated humans for thousands of years, is often found in small flakes or thin veins within rocks. However, on rare occasions, nature surprises us with remarkable formations known as gold nuggets.

These are naturally occurring pieces of native gold that have been weathered out of an original lode. Nuggets often show signs of abrasive polishing by stream action and sometimes still contain quartz or other lode matrix material inclusions.

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The allure of these nuggets lies not only in their intrinsic value but also in the stories of their discovery. Here we would like to share with you the top 7 largest gold nuggets ever found.

7. The Heron (31.4 kg)

The Heron Nugget is a significant piece of gold mining history. It was discovered in 1855 at Golden Gully in the Mount Alexander goldfield, located in Victoria, Australia. A group of inexperienced miners, who had been given a supposedly empty claim, made the discovery on their second day of digging.

The nugget they unearthed weighed a substantial 1,008 ounces (approximately 31.4 kg or 69.1 lb). The nugget was named after a well-liked gold commissioner, Mr. Heron. At the time of its discovery, the Heron Nugget was one of the largest nuggets in the world.

6. The Golden Eagle (35.3 kg)

Credit: WA Museum Boola Bardip; photograph by Rebecca Hackett

The Golden Eagle nugget is a remarkable piece of history, discovered in Western Australia in January 1931. This nugget, named for its bird-like resemblance, is the largest gold nugget ever found in the region.

The discovery was made by a 17-year-old named Jim Larcombe, who was prospecting with his father near Larkinville, a location near Widgiemooltha. The nugget weighed a staggering 35.3 kilograms (approximately 77 pounds).

The Larcombes sold the nugget to the State Government for £5,438 which would have been worth millions today. A cast replica of the nugget can be viewed at the Western Australian School of Mines’ Mineral Museum in Kalgoorlie.

5. Lady Hotham (36 kg)

The “Lady Hotham” nugget is a significant gold nugget discovered in the Ballarat goldfields in Australia. This nugget is the third-largest gold nugget ever found in Australia. The discovery was made in September 1854 by a group of nine miners.

The nugget was named after the wife of the then Governor of Victoria, Sir Charles Hotham, who was visiting the area at the time of the discovery. The “Lady Hotham” nugget weighed a whopping 36 kilograms(80 pounds).

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Today, the “Lady Hotham” nugget serves as a symbol of the golden era of the Australian gold rush and a testament to the potential that still exists in the world of mining.

4. Monumental Nugget (49.5 kg)

Replica, Credit: MSN

The “Monumental Nugget” is a significant gold nugget discovered in Sierra Buttes, California. This nugget is the largest ever found in Sierra County. The discovery was made in 1869 at the Sierra Buttes Mine property by 5 prospectors.

The nugget weighed a substantial 49.5 kg(around 106 pounds). According to Carroll Hayes, whose family purchased the Sierra Buttes Mine in 1904, miners on their way to work at the mine saw a portion of the nugget on the trail after rain had washed away the dirt covering it.

Today, you can see a carefully crafted, life-size replica of the “Monumental Nugget” on display at the Kentucky Mine Museum.

3. Canaã Nugget (60.8 kg)

The “Pepita Canaã” nugget, also known as the Canaã nugget, is the largest gold nugget ever found in Brazil. This extraordinary nugget was discovered in 1983 by a miner named Júlio de Deus Filho in the Serra Pelada, or ‘Naked Mountain’, a gold mining region in the state of Pará, Brazil.

The Canaã nugget has a gross weight of 60.82 kilograms(equivalent to 134 pounds). The nugget was purchased by the Banco Central do Brazil in 1984. Today, it is on display in the “Gold Room” of the central bank’s money museum (Museu de Valores do Banco Central) in Brazil’s federal capital, Brasília.

Other golden nuggets found in this mine weigh an astonishing 46.85kg(103 pounds) and 43.34 kg(95 pounds) respectively.

2. Welcome Nugget (69 kg)

Credit: Sovereign Hill

The “Welcome Nugget” is a significant piece of history, known as the second-largest gold nugget ever discovered. This impressive nugget was unearthed on June 9, 1858, by a group of twenty-two Cornish miners at the Red Hill Mining Company site at Bakery Hill, located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

Weighing a substantial 2,217 troy ounces 16 pennyweight (approximately 68.98 kg), the nugget was found in the roof of a tunnel about 55 meters underground. The nugget was assayed by William Birkmyre of the Port Phillip Gold Company and was named by the finder, Richard Jeffery.

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The nugget was sold for £10,500 and was eventually purchased by London’s Royal Mint, where it was melted down and turned into gold sovereigns. Today, replicas of the “Welcome Nugget” can be seen in various museums, including the Mineralogical Museum at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

1. Welcome Stranger (78 kg)

Replica, Credit: BBC

The “Welcome Stranger” is renowned as the largest alluvial gold nugget ever discovered. This extraordinary find was made by two Cornish miners, John Deason and Richard Oates, on February 5, 1869. The nugget was found just below the surface, near the base of a tree on a slope leading to what was then known as Bulldog Gully.

The nugget had a gross weight of 109.59 kilograms (3,523.5 oz) (241 lb 10 oz). After trimming, its gross weight was 78 kilograms (2,520 oz) (210 lbs). It was so large that there were no scales capable of weighing it, so it was broken into three pieces on an anvil by a local blacksmith.

Deason, Oates, and a few friends took the nugget to the London Chartered Bank of Australia, in Dunolly, which advanced them £9,000. They were finally paid an estimated £9,381 for their nugget, which became known as the "Welcome Stranger". Based on the February 2024 gold prices, this would be worth roughly US$5.1 million.

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