An Australian TV star and gold digger has shown off one of the world’s rarest gold nuggets before pocketing thousands of dollars.
Tyler Mahoney, who hosts the Discovery Channel show Gold Rush, bought the “once-in-a-lifetime find” from a gold prospector who unearthed the nugget in Clermont in Queensland’s Central Highlands.
The 22g Inca nugget, as it is known, is a hopper crystal (a pyramid-shaped crystal) in near-mint condition that later sold for a phenomenal $15,000.
The West Australian was speechless at the beauty of the nugget, which she said was 92 percent pure.
“I have one of the rarest gold nuggets in the world in my hands. I will never get my hands on something like that again, and I’m a gold digger. I do this for a living,” Mahoney told her 22,000 followers on TikTok.
“When I saw a photo of this, my jaw dropped.
“This is crazy. It’s one of the rarest types of gold nuggets in the world. It’s called an Inca nugget.”
“It was found in Queensland by a local prospector and is a near perfect hopper crystal.”
However, when the Australian contacted her, it was not all over: he faced another prospector in a bidding war, which he won.
The 22g Inca nugget (pictured) is a hopper crystal, a pyramid-shaped crystal, in near-mint condition that later sold for a phenomenal $15,000.
Mahoney did not reveal how much she paid for it, but said: “If I had found something like that myself, I would never have gotten over it.”
‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime find, a collector’s edition gem.’
Mahoney told his followers that most gold nuggets are rubbed smooth as they travel through waterways, making this uniquely shaped nugget such a prized rarity.
“This doesn’t happen in nature, these perfect straight lines, this almost perfect rectangle,” he explained.
“Shapes like that don’t occur in nature and that’s what makes them so rare.”
Tyler Mahoney (pictured), who hosts the Discovery Channel show Gold Rush, bought the “once-in-a-lifetime find” after a Queensland prospector discovered it.
Tyler Mahoney auctioned off the 22-gram Inca nugget, which sold for $15,000
Although he loved owning and displaying the gold nugget, he decided to put it up for auction, giving people around the world the chance to own the special piece.
It sold for a whopping $15,000 (after an initial bid of $8,500), which Mahoney revealed in response to a question about its value on social media.
However, he did not reveal how much he originally paid the Queensland search engine for it.
The spectators were impressed and stunned by the precious nugget.
“I’ve never seen a form of gold like this,” one commented.
Another added: “It’s absolutely incredible! I’ve never seen anything like it!”