The Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa is estimated to have contained 40% of all gold mined during recorded history. At the time, it was estimated that a third of all unmined gold in the world still resided in the the basin. Many years of mining have brought that gold to the surface, but the deposits beneath the ancient sea bed still easily qualify as one of the largest finds in human history. The north tip of the basin starts in the city of Johannesburg and runs southwest for what appears to be hundreds of miles. Sources have speculated that the gold was more than three billion years old, which also qualifies the deposits as some of the oldest in the world.

Gold finds also refer to individual pieces of gold or nuggets that are found. In 1869 in Australia, a nugget that was named the Welcome Stranger was discovered just below the ground’s surface. The nugget measured nearly 2,300 troy ounces, or just over 70 kilograms. For convenience, and to protect against such a large nugget being stolen, the Welcome Stranger was broken down into smaller gold pieces. The largest gold nugget in existence today is thought to be the Hand of Faith, on display at the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Hand of Faith measures less than 1,000 troy ounces, or nearly 62 pounds, but still qualifies as a massive single piece of gold and one of the largest that will ever be on display to the public [see also 10 Gold Miners That Pay a Dividend].

Another popular category of gold finds consists of gold that has already been mined and turned into coins, jewelry or related goods meant for human use. In 2009 in Staffordshire, England, a prospector with a metal detector uncovered an estimated 1,500 gold artifacts and pieces. The estimated total weighed five kilograms, which pales in comparison to some of the largest nuggets found, such as those above, but represents a staggering find by most other measures. This find also lent great insight into “Anglo-Saxon England,” as explained by a historian that was interviewed at the time of the find.

Gold will always be popular because of its rarity and uses. The largest gold finds have made the initial discoverers considerable wealth, and future prospectors are fast on the trail for the next big finds in human history.

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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.