Virginia gold is beautiful in character and very pure.
Here's some of the gold I've recovered since 2007.


This is the largest nugget I have found in Virginia. It weighs 6.60 grams, or 102 grains. This was found in October 2008. It was lying in a large crack in bedrock and was covered by 6" of clay.

Here is a close up shot of the same nugget. You can see the character of the nugget and the pieces of quartz still lodged within the gold.

Here's a neat picture of the nugget against a backdrop of snow.

Left: This really neat 6.09 gram clunker was pulled from a narrow crack in bedrock after it refused to budge from its ancient home. This nugget was only buried in about 12" of loose overburden in the middle of the creek channel, and in an area that I know was worked by many over the years. At 94 grains, this is one of the largest nuggest I've been fortunate enough to find in Virginia.

Right: Other pickers and nuggets recoverd on the same day. The total weight from this day was 152 grains. The total cleanup photo is below. Look for the red-stained nugget.

This beautiful nugget weighs in at 5.98 grams. This was found in December 2009 on a day that never got above 15 degrees. This nugget was found lying on top of a layer of hard packed clay that was serving as false bedrock. Another 2.2 gram nugget was found in the same area the next weekend.


This 2.2 gram nugget shows the beautiful and bright luster of Virginia gold. Most of the gold that I've found in Virginia is rough and crystaline. Very few rounded or worn pieces have been recovered, so this gold has not moved very far from sources.
I call this nugget the "War Hammer". It weighs 1.8 grams and has a couple neat quartz inclusions. This was found in only 10" of overburden in an area that was supposedly already "worked over hard". No such thing...


Nuggets and Pickers from Virginia rivers and streams

Below are some photos of nuggets and large pickers.


Clean up photos
Here are some photos of clean up pans after a day, or in some cases, a weekend of working in the rivers and streams in Virginia.


Pans of Gold
Don't let the below pictures fool you! Prospecting for gold is hard work, and it's taken a hundreds of prospecting trips to build my collection. Some days are good, others are not as good. The best part about prospecting is that you never know what you will find, but you will always have a good time doing it. Is there any better hobby?

Additional photos of gold I've recovered from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Oregon, and California.



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