The largest block of natural gold ever found in Alaska will be auctioned in Texas in December and is expected to fetch more than $700,000.

In the summer of 1896, more than 100,000 prospectors descended on northwestern Canada after gold was found near the Klondike River. About 100 years later, in 1998, a miner named Barry Clay unearthed a giant block of gold larger than a softball while moving dirt along the coast with his bulldozer.Swift Creek Mine.

It is said that Clay buried the block of gold next to a tree while thinking about what to do with it before it was brought to the city, eventually selling it to a direct consignor.

(Courtesy of Heritage Auctions/HA.com)

Today, that nugget of gold is called the Centennial Nugget. With a whopping weight of 20 pounds (about 9.07 kg), it is the largest block of gold ever discovered in Alaska, according to Heritage Auctions (an American multinational auction house headquartered in Dallas, Texas).

“It’s a piece of historical significance,” said Craig Kissick, director of nature and science at Heritage Auctions. The mere fact that it is the largest crystal ever found in the state of Alaska.

On December 8, this historic nugget will be auctioned by Heritage Auctions in Dallas, along with a host of other high-end gold specimens, including several rare, crystalline gold pieces.

(Courtesy of Heritage Auctions/HA.com)

“A gold specimen that is so rare has never before been offered at auction,” said Mr. Kissick said . “It is unlikely that a gold specimen of this width and caliber will be seen again.”

Bidding for the Centennial Nugget will start at $675,000, with an estimated value of $800,000 to $1.2 million, Mr. Kissick said.

According to Mr. Kissick is gold found in nugget form, rarer than molten gold, and the historical significance of Centennial is unparalleled.

“The majority of gold that is mined is refined,” said Mr. Kissick added. “A one-ounce block of natural gold is even rarer than a five-carat diamond.”

(Courtesy of Heritage Auctions/HA.com)

Among the other truly beautiful and “magical” specimens offered at the auction is a piece of crystallized gold from the famous Eagle’s Nest Mine in California – with a beautiful leaf pattern that looks like ” A Frozen Geyser of Gold” and expected to fetch $200,000. or more.

“The structure or atomic arrangement of gold crystals of this size has never been studied before,” said University of Miami mineralogist John Rakovan.

Another piece of crystallized gold leaf featured in the auction exhibits a “striking crystal shape” and once belonged to the legendary Mexican mineral collector Dr. Miguel Romero belongs. Its estimated value is $150,000 or more.

Many other large gold pieces will also be introduced at the auction.

(Courtesy of Heritage Auctions/HA.com)