A Southland man who discovered a huge gold nugget while snorkelling in the Arrow River last month has sold the precious metal for $15,000 on auction website eBay.
The auction, which closed at 4am yesterday morning, attracted 36 bids from 12 potential buyers from New Zealand, Australia and the United States since being listed on Valentine's Day, The Southland Times reports today.
Hobby prospector Henry Geerlings, who found the 8.87 troy ounce, or 275g nugget, said he got out of bed at 3am to watch the final hour of the auction unfold.
"That's not bad eh?" he said of the sale of the nugget, which was thought to be the biggest discovered in the Arrowtown area for decades.
He said he had exchanged brief "bleary-eyed" emails with the Central Otago-based buyer of the nugget at the conclusion of the auction.
He said he believed the buyer man wished to remain anonymous.
- NZPA
Arrowtown gold nugget sells for $15,000
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