Don Kagin proudly displayed a 98.6 ounce golden nugget at the Chronicle studio in San Francisco, California on Friday, January 14, 2011. Along with his business partner Fred Holabird, they announced plans to auction off the impressive nugget in Sacramento on Wednesday, March 16, 2011. The discovery was initially hailed as the most remarkable gold nugget find in the Sierra Nevada in years, only to later be revealed as a clever imitation – not fake gold, but nonetheless a surprising turn of events.
The discovery of a large gold nugget dubbed “The Washington Nugget” in the foothills of Australia was not as authentic as claimed by the amateur gold-hunter who unearthed it on his land. This 8.2-pound nugget was sold for $460,000, sparking interest from gold enthusiasts worldwide.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the nugget was actually from Australia and not from Nevada County as initially believed. The discovery was linked to an Australian prospector who found a similar nugget named “The Orange Roughie” near Melbourne in 1987.
Coin dealer Don Kagin and mining geologist Fred Holabird auctioned the nugget for the amateur gold-hunter, but it was later discovered that the nugget was not genuinely from the claimed location. The buyer was reimbursed, and the nugget was sold to a secondary bidder for a lower price.
Though there were no fraud charges pressed, confidentiality agreements prevented further details from being disclosed. Two smaller nuggets found on the same property were confirmed to be genuine, so no additional arrangements were needed for them.
The Orange Roughie, previously sold for $50,000, ended up in the hands of the amateur gold-hunter, creating a mystery as to how it reached him. Despite these findings, the case was concluded satisfactorily, and no legal actions were taken. Kagin and Holabird are no longer representing the amateur gold-hunter in selling his gold-rich property.
