In December 2021, Heritage Auctions auctioned a 294.1‑ounce gold nugget that had been discovered in 1998 by placer miner Barry Clay, fetching $750,000 from an online bidder.
Clay was pushing earth with a bulldozer near Swift Creek when he spotted an irregular lump that, upon scrutiny, revealed a gold‑laden quartz core.
The nugget weighs 294.1 troy ounces, about 20 pounds; X‑ray fluorescence shows a surface purity of 87.59 %, roughly 21‑karat.
Heritage Auctions listed the specimen as the headline lot in its December 8, 2021 Nature & Science Signature Auction. The winning bid came from an online bidder, and the hammer closed at $750,000, eclipsing the auction’s total sales of $2.35 million.
The sale underscores the market for large, naturally occurring gold specimens, prized by collectors and museums alike. While the buyer remains anonymous, the nugget will likely land in a private collection, adding a gleaming chapter to Alaska’s gold‑mining lore.