The Hand of Faith is a nugget of fine-quality gold that was found by Kevin Hillier using a metal detector near Kingower, Victoria, Australia on 26 September 1980. Weighing 875 troy ounces (27.21 kg, or 72 troy pounds and 11 troy ounces), the gold nugget was only 12 inches below the surface, resting in a vertical position. The announcement of the discovery occurred at a press conference, attended by the Premier of Victoria Dick Hamer, in Melbourne on 8 October 1980. Kovac's Gems & Minerals were appointed agents for the sale of the huge nugget, by the gold nugget finder, Kevin Hillier. It was sold to the Golden Nugget Las Vegas, a casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is currently on public display there.
It was initially incorrectly stated as weighing only 720 ozt, but after correction, the new calculation was 874.82 ozt. This explains why some publications continue to give an incorrect weight. It is still regarded as the largest modern nugget found by a metal detector, anywhere in the world. Dimensions are 47 cm × 20 cm × 9 cm. The sale price was supposedly around $US1m.
The nugget was the second largest nugget found in Australia during the 20th century. There were numerous nuggets found during the Victorian gold rush era, commencing in the 1850s, that were far larger.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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