The specimen of notable for the size, beauty, composition, without repairs or damage, perched on remains of quartz matrix.
Natural Gold, in pure crystalline form is rarer than almost all other types; most gold comes from vast mining of disseminated deposits that produce no specimens of crystallized gold. Gold Nuggets, so famous in recent memory, and lore, are actually also rare on earth and carry with them the drama and thrill of treasure hunting. Crystallized Gold, however, is orders of magnitude more rare - and only occurs at a very few places on Earth. Crystals of Gold formed hundreds of millions of years ago in events of huge kinetic violence, heat, and pressure, as today's mountains were forming during continental collisions. This specimen of the Californian Gold formed at during the geological creation of California itself, between Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous (circa 160 to 66 million years ago).
Superb natural Crystallized Golds command the respect and admiration of collectors, and those in public museums inspire awe. This piece comes from one of the greatest mines on earth for crystals of Gold; it was found in the 1980s and, by 2000, it was firmly ensconced as a core specimen in the Collection of Marc Weill. It has since 2006 been in a private collection.
Supported on custom lucite base.
5¹⁄₂ x 4²⁄₃ x ¹⁄₂ in. (14.5 x 11.4 x 1.2 cm.)
341 g.

ex Collection Marc Weill,
Private collection acquired from the above, 2006.

Highlights Of Marc Weill's Mineral Collection, Forbes 20 November 2006, https://www.forbes.com/2006/11/17/mineral-weill-collection-forbeslife-collect-cz_ms_1120rocks_slide.html
The Marc P Weill, Collection of Fine Minerals, Supplement to the Mineralogical Record January-February 2008, p.6 & 24.