Britain’s largest-ever gold nugget discovered in Scottish river

Prospector found precious metal worth £50,000 while lying face down in water sifting through riverbed

(Paul Jacobs)

One of Britain’s largest-ever gold nuggets has been found lying in a Scottish stream by an amateur prospector.

Weighing almost 85.7g, it is thought to be one of the most valuable of its kind found in the UK during more than 500 years of gold hunting. It has been called the "Douglas Nugget".

It was discovered using a process known as “sniping”, in which a prospector lies face-down in the water using a snorkel for air while sifting along the riverbed.

Leon Kirk, an expert from Gold Panning Supplies UK, said the nugget could be worth as much as £50,000, although it was difficult to accurately value.

“The nugget's rarity means it is very hard to put a price on it,” he said. “I would say it is worth at least £50,000 but, as it's rarer than an Aston Martin or a Faberge egg, a billionaire could easily come along and pay a lot more for it. Historically, it is off the Richter scale.”

The British man who found the nugget made the discovery two years ago, but has only now come forward with his story, under the condition of anonymity.

The exact location of his discovery is also being kept secret in a bit to prevent a gold rush in Scotland.

Speaking of the moment he found the nugget for the first time, the man, who is in his 40s, said he did not realise at first how big it was.

“I took off my glove and picked it up, jumped out of the water and screamed, 'Bingo!' to my friend,” he said. “We were both stunned and couldn't believe it. I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime.”

The owner is currently undecided on what to do with the giant piece of gold and is keeping it in a safety deposit box.

It may have to eventually be handed over to the Crown Estate, which could be classed as “Mines Royal”, a law which means most pieces of gold and silver discovered in the UK belong to the Crown.

In 2016, a 97g nugget thought to have come from a 150-year-old shipwreck, was discovered by gold prospector Vincent Thurkettle off the coast of Angelsey in Wales.

However, the gold itself did not originate in Britain.

Before that, the record for the UK's largest gold find had been held for more than a century by a 59g nugget found in Cornwall in 1808.