Gold nugget worth £50,000 is washed up on Anglesey
- On 11/05/2016
- In Treasure Hunting / Recoveries
- 0 comments
From Wales Online
A man was left stunned after he uncovered the heaviest golden nugget found in the UK in more than 200 years, worth an incredible £50,000.
Vincent Thurkettle found the piece of gold, weighing 97.12g, off the coast of Anglesey , and it is believed to be part of a £120m haul that went down with the Royal Charter steam clipper, that became shipwrecked off Porth Alerth in Dulas Bay in 1859.
He said he spotted it in a crevice off the sea bed, and is almost twice as heavy as the UK’s second biggest nugget, found in Cornwall in 1808, which weighed 59g. He said: “I was absolutely stunned when I first saw the nugget. The sun was out so the gold was gleaming and because it was under water it was magnified, so it looked huge.
“I was really only expecting to find gold dust so I couldn’t believe it when I realised it was a huge nugget, it was a magical moment.” Having heard the news, excited treasure hunters are now making beelines to the beach after Vincent, 60, made the discovery.
Before making the find on the island, Vincent spent seven summers on Anglesey looking, taking six weeks out of his summer to search for gold dust.
He brings along his family and friends to help, and uncovered the most recent nugget while shallow diving a few metres from the shore, and around 40 metres from the scene of the shipwreck of the Royal Charter - a ship that was carrying gold from Australia.
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