"Roger Shoaf" wrote in message
...

"Steve B" wrote in message
news

A lot of gold that comes in placer deposits ( visible chunks like the
nuggets you see in a stream) can be formed into solid shapes, but the
impurities in it make it less valuable than pure gold. Placer runs
around
70%. So, a one ounce placer nugget is only 70% gold. Pure gold is
nearly
impossible to refine, that being 1,000 fine. Also called 24k. So a
little
math will tell you 14k is 14/24ths gold. Chemical testing can give you a
1-1,000 rating.


Yet nuggets can bring prices higher than bullion if the end use is gold
nugget jewelry, so the melt value of the nuggets is not often the best
market to sell them.


That is absolutely the truth. Nuggets tend to be worth far more than the
gold they contain. Anything above a troy ounce is usually in demand as a
specimen. Small nuggets may or may not be worth more. I processed
anything that came in that was small.

Harold