rockin'robin
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An Australian man stumbled across a bit of buried treasure while walking around a familiar spot.
Mick Brown, 42, said he decided leave his house with his metal detector after his wife told him to get some air. Brown gave up smoking a few weeks ago, and his wife told him to leave the house temporarily because he was getting grumpy.
Brown walked near Wedderburn, Victoria, a place where he has prospected in the past. As he moved the detector around the area, the machine started to screech loudly.
At first, Brown thought he had found a "big molten blob of copper."
Instead, lying about six inches below the surface was a massive piece of gold.
“I thought, ‘Bugger me, it is, it’s bloody gold!’” Brown said. “I just dug it up, 87 ounces of the good stuff.”
In 2013, a different Australian man found a 12-pound gold nugget in Ballarat. The 12-pound nugget was estimated to worth about $500,000.
Brown said he was inspired by the nugget's appearance when he named the large piece of precious metal.
“It took a while to name it, but everyone that looked at it was like “fair dinkum,” you know, so that’s what we called it, the fair dinkum nugget.”
While some estimate the nugget to sell for about $100,000, Brown said he thinks it is worth over $200,000.
Brown, a seasoned prospector, said he thinks the nugget might be worth more than the $141,000 estimation price because it has "good grooves and moves."
"Sometimes they do say gold is worth twice its weight in gold if it's a really nice looking nugget," he said.
After he finally sells the piece, Brown said he plans to take his wife and daughters to a special dinner, pay off his tax debt and bus his children a spa bath.
Brown said he hopes his find encourages other people to try prospecting, at least as a hobby.
"There's more to life than sitting on your (bottom) and watching TV," he said.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/australian-man-digs-massive-nugget-gold
Mick Brown, 42, said he decided leave his house with his metal detector after his wife told him to get some air. Brown gave up smoking a few weeks ago, and his wife told him to leave the house temporarily because he was getting grumpy.
Brown walked near Wedderburn, Victoria, a place where he has prospected in the past. As he moved the detector around the area, the machine started to screech loudly.
At first, Brown thought he had found a "big molten blob of copper."
Instead, lying about six inches below the surface was a massive piece of gold.
“I thought, ‘Bugger me, it is, it’s bloody gold!’” Brown said. “I just dug it up, 87 ounces of the good stuff.”
In 2013, a different Australian man found a 12-pound gold nugget in Ballarat. The 12-pound nugget was estimated to worth about $500,000.
Brown said he was inspired by the nugget's appearance when he named the large piece of precious metal.
“It took a while to name it, but everyone that looked at it was like “fair dinkum,” you know, so that’s what we called it, the fair dinkum nugget.”
While some estimate the nugget to sell for about $100,000, Brown said he thinks it is worth over $200,000.
Brown, a seasoned prospector, said he thinks the nugget might be worth more than the $141,000 estimation price because it has "good grooves and moves."
"Sometimes they do say gold is worth twice its weight in gold if it's a really nice looking nugget," he said.
After he finally sells the piece, Brown said he plans to take his wife and daughters to a special dinner, pay off his tax debt and bus his children a spa bath.
Brown said he hopes his find encourages other people to try prospecting, at least as a hobby.
"There's more to life than sitting on your (bottom) and watching TV," he said.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/australian-man-digs-massive-nugget-gold
