26.4.2012 The largest gold nugget in Britain

Ten years ago, then 60-year-old Vincent Thurkettle discovered a gold nugget about the size of a small hen's egg on the seabed near Moelfre. It probably came from a Royal Charter ship that sank in a hurricane in 1859.

The nugget weighed a whopping 97 grams and Thurkettle was really excited about the find. "I was absolutely amazed when I first saw the nugget," Thurkettle revealed how he felt when he found the gold.

He pulled the gold out of the water in 2012, but it wasn't until four years later that he revealed the details of the discovery, with more gold being heavily prospected in the area in question. The nugget was almost twice as heavy as the second largest in Britain, which was found in Cornwall in 1808. It weighed a "mere" 59 grams.

Treasure hunters spent 150 years trying to find traces of the lost gold, which was shipwrecked on 26 October 1859 on its way to Liverpool. Specifically, it was the Royal Charter, which was wrecked on 26 October 1859 off Porth Alerth beach in Dulas Bay on the north-east coast of Anglesey. It was powered by a coal-fired steam engine and had a large sail area.

Thurkettle searched the coastline for seven years before being rewarded for his efforts, uncovering the nugget during a shallow dive about five metres from shore and about forty metres from the wreck.

"I was expecting to find gold dust at most, so I couldn't believe it when I realised I had found a chunk of gold. It was a magical moment," said

His first thought was that he had actually only seen similar nuggets in a museum. "At first I didn't want to touch it, just enjoy the special moment and imprint in my memory how beautiful it looked. It was stuck in a crevice. Lying where nature had hidden him, he reminded me of a Faberge egg. When I picked it up, it was surprisingly heavy," said the happy finder.

Because the nugget was found near a sunken ship, Thurkettle had to report the find to the wreck manager. The nugget became the property of the Crown. The gold was hidden under lock and key until it was exposed.

"It broke my heart to have to part with the nugget, but on the other hand I think it's important that it ends up in a museum for everyone to see," the finder said.

Sources: www.bbc.com