The Highland Centennial Nugget
The Highland Centennial Nugget is one of the finest gold nuggets ever found in Montana. This spectacular chunk of gold was found by Howard and Mark Stratton and weighs 27.495 troy ounces. They discovered it while placer mining south of Butte, Montana in the Highland mountains.
While there have been other nuggets of this size that have been found over the years, one of the most exciting things about the Highland Centennial nugget is that it was found relatively recently, in 1989. That is something that the modern day gold prospector can really get excited about; some folks think that all the big nuggets were found long ago by the early day prospectors. The fact is, this wonderful nugget was unearthed just a mere 20 years ago, and other big gold nuggets like this still await discovery!
The nugget is the 7th largest known gold nugget ever recovered in Montana, and probably the largest discovered in the past 80 years. It has an interesting disc shape and is large enough to cover a man's opened hand.
Gold Mining Locations in Montana
The nugget was donated to the Mineral Museum on the campus of Montana Tech in Butte, and the public is welcome to come view it. The museum also houses over 1300 mineral specimens from Montana as well as other localities around the world. It is open year round and free to the public, so be sure to check it out if you are ever in the area.
While there have been other nuggets of this size that have been found over the years, one of the most exciting things about the Highland Centennial nugget is that it was found relatively recently, in 1989. That is something that the modern day gold prospector can really get excited about; some folks think that all the big nuggets were found long ago by the early day prospectors. The fact is, this wonderful nugget was unearthed just a mere 20 years ago, and other big gold nuggets like this still await discovery!
The nugget is the 7th largest known gold nugget ever recovered in Montana, and probably the largest discovered in the past 80 years. It has an interesting disc shape and is large enough to cover a man's opened hand.
Gold Mining Locations in Montana
The nugget was donated to the Mineral Museum on the campus of Montana Tech in Butte, and the public is welcome to come view it. The museum also houses over 1300 mineral specimens from Montana as well as other localities around the world. It is open year round and free to the public, so be sure to check it out if you are ever in the area.
Highly Recommended Prospecting Books on Amazon:
The Gold Prospector's Field Guide:
A Modern Miner's Handbook for Successfully Finding Gold
Metal Detecting Gold Nuggets:
The Essential Guide to Finding Gold with a Metal Detector