The largest gold nugget ever found in Alaska is named the Alaska Centennial Nugget. It weighs a whopping 294.10 troy ounces, and was found near the town of Ruby, Alaska in 1998.
Miners have been looking for gold in Alaska for more than 100 years now, and some spectacular nuggets have been found. Of all the gold found in Alaska, the Centennial Nugget in Alaska is the most spectacular of all the discoveries made here.
The nugget was discovered by Barry Clay, who was doing some placer mining and pushing dirt with a bulldozer, and unearthed this seminal discovery and instantly made history. It was determined Clay had, indeed, found THE largest Gold nugget EVER discovered in Alaska, which is often said to be the second-largest nugget ever found in the Western Hemisphere – behind the famous “Boot of Cortez” originating from Mexico.
While the Ruby Mining District is known for producing large nuggets, the Alaska Centennial, which was aptly named as it was found on the 100th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush, is definitely the largest. While rather large for an evaluation with Specific Gravity testing, there was an XRF analysis performed on the massive rock. The Gold on the exterior surface of the rock tested to an average purity of 87.59 percent, which is equivalent to a rating of 21 Karat, with 24 Karat being pure Gold. The actual Gold in this superlative example is extremely high quality.
This is one true museum-quality specimen that deserves to be on permanent display for the treasure it is. The nugget measures 6.69 x 5.70 x 4.33 x inches (17.00 x 14.50 x 11.00 cm), weighs 9.14 kilograms (294.10 ounces).
