Staggering pay day for Gold Rush star Tyler Mahoney after selling ‘once in a lifetime’ find
An Australian television star and prospector has shown off one of the world’s rarest gold nuggets before pocketing thousands of dollars for it.
Tyler Mahoney, who hosts the Discovery Channel show Gold Rush, bought the “once in a lifetime find” from a prospector who unearthed the nugget in Clermont in Queensland’s Central Highlands.
The 22-gram Inca lump, as it is called, is a hopper crystal β a crystal in the shape of a pyramid β in near-perfect condition and later sold for a phenomenal $15,000.
The West Australian woman was left speechless by the beauty of the nugget, which she claimed was 92 percent pure.
“I’m holding one of the rarest gold nuggets in the world. I’ll never hold anything like that in my hands again, and I’m a gold digger. I do this for a living,” Mahoney told her 22,000 TikTok followers.
‘When I saw a picture of this, my jaw dropped.
“This is insane. It’s one of the rarest types of gold nuggets in the world. It’s called the Inca Nugget.”
‘It was found in Queensland by a local prospector, and it is a near perfect hopper crystal.’
When the Queenslander contacted her, it was not yet certain that she would get it. She had to enter into a bidding war with another prospector, which she won.
The 22-gram Inca lump (pictured) is a hopper crystal – a crystal in the shape of a pyramid – in near-perfect condition that later sold for the phenomenal sum of $15,000
Mahoney didn’t say how much she paid for it, but said, “If I had found something like that on my own, I never would have gotten over it.
‘This is a unique find, a true collector’s item.’
Mahoney told her followers that most gold nuggets become slippery as they travel through waterways, making this uniquely shaped nugget such a prized rarity.
βThese kinds of things just don’t exist in nature, those perfect straight lines, those almost perfect rectangles,β she explained.
‘Such forms do not occur in nature and that makes them so rare.’
Tyler Mahoney (pictured), who hosts the Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush show, bought the “once-in-a-lifetime find” after a prospector in Queensland discovered it
Tyler Mahoney auctioned the 22-gram Inca lump, which sold for $15,000
Although she loved owning and showing off the nugget, she decided to auction it off, giving everyone around the world the chance to own this special piece.
It fetched a staggering $15,000, after a starting bid of $8,500, Mahoney revealed in response to a question about its value on social media.
However, she did not disclose how much she originally paid the Queensland gold prospector for it.
The awed spectators were impressed by the precious lump.
βI’ve never seen such a golden shape,β someone said.
Another added: ‘That is truly amazing!! I have never seen anything like it!’