England's largest gold nugget was struck by luck

A gold nugget weighing 64.8 grams has been found in the hills of Shropshire, England. It's the biggest find of its kind in the UK, but the story behind the find is interesting. Richard Brock discovered the object using broken equipment.

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England's largest gold nugget

The estimated value of the gold bar is about US$38,000, almost R$190,000. It was discovered during an expedition organized by a group of treasure hunters in May last year.

What makes the discovery all the more interesting is that Richard Brock came late to the event. He says he traveled three-and-a-half hours to participate in the search, but arrived more than an hour late and was sure he missed an opportunity.

Also, he realized that his detector was not working. So, he had to resort to an old and defective machine.

Despite this, it only took him a few minutes to make the brilliant discovery of the phenomenon, nicknamed the “Hero's Nugget”.

Everyone there had this upgraded kit and I came with three old machines and one of them didn't work. It goes to show that no matter what equipment you use, it makes all the difference if you walk around where you find it and be aware of things hidden on the ground.

Richard Brock

The Guardian reports that the largest gold nugget ever found on British soil weighs 54 grams. Information from Scientific alert.

Search for precious metals

• Amateur hunters have been active for decades, driven by the hope of finding valuable treasures or historical artifacts.
• For example, in 1989, a man prospected for gold in the Sonoran Desert on the border between Mexico and the United States.
• One day he discovered what became known as the “Boot of Cortes”, the largest gold nugget ever discovered in the Western Hemisphere.
• In the form of a boot, it weighed more than 26 kilograms of solid gold.
• Advances in technology have further fueled this interest, with metal detectors and other devices becoming more sophisticated, as well as GPS-assisted applications for tracking routes and marking finds.
• The most expensive metal detector costs US$15,000 (about R$75,000), but basic models are available for a few hundred dollars.