Family Reportedly Finds Gold Nugget Worth $35K While Walking Dog Named ‘Lucky’
Most people who celebrated on Mother’s Day chose a time-honored way to show the moms in their lives that they love them: breakfast in bed, going out for lunch, or completing all the chores.
Few celebrated to the tune of $35,000 — but that’s the unexpected way one family from Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, is saying they marked the holiday.
It all began when dad, kids and the dog allegedly decided to go out for a stroll that morning. The dog’s name is “Lucky,” which has many people chuckling based on what happened next — but there was far more than luck at work here.
“It was Mother’s Day morning and we decided to go for a walk,” the father, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Bendigo Advertiser. “Mum actually stayed at home so me, my two daughters and Lucky were just walking along.”
As they walked, his daughter apparently saw something that caught her eye. According to the dad, she “pretty much kicked” a rock that gleamed a promising golden color.
“She then goes – dad, is this gold?” he recalled. “I said, I think it might be.”
It wouldn’t be unheard of — Bendigo is well-known as a former gold mining town, and though the rush started in the 19th century, people have continued to find the precious metal scattered around.
“Around nine billion dollars worth of gold was found in Bendigo, making it the second highest producing gold field in Australia after Kalgoorlie, and seventh richest field in the world,” the Bendigo Tourism website states.
“Historic and elaborate bank buildings line the main streets, with gold smelter chimneys an ever-present reminder of the riches from the gold fields.”
The unnamed dad even claimed to have dabbled in searching for gold, saying that he’d “done a little bit of prospecting in the past.”
“I’ve dug a couple of holes and never found anything but it’s not something I usually do,” he added.
The next step for the family was to figure out how much their potential gold nugget weighed, and how much cash that translated to.
“We couldn’t find anywhere to properly weigh it,” he continued. “We ended up taking it to the IGA and weighing it up there at the supermarket. They weren’t too happy that we were weighing it at the deli there.”
Dad reported the nugget came in at 20 ounces and that experts confirmed it could be worth something like $35,000.
“To sell it as a nugget whole, it’s probably worth a little bit more than that,” he explained. “We’ve come on some tough times so it’s really good because we’ve been struggling financially. It couldn’t be better timing really.”
Despite the providential timing on the find, they’ve encountered a new problem: How do you store and protect such a possession?
“I haven’t been sleeping very well and we think it’s best just to sell it,” the dad said.
The family said they plan to scout the surrounding area where they found the nugget for more pieces. Whether or not they uncover more treasures, this was a Mother’s Day that they won’t soon forget!
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