re: "I preferred to get mine right out of the rock. LOL Very pretty in that state.."
My brother and I would sometimes pan the North Fork of the American River. In fact, he and I once built a sluice box and used it up there with some success. We found our largest piece the first time we used it. It's a little thing... probably worth $10 at the time, and maybe $30 today... but it's heavy enough that your finger can sense the weight - so we consider it a nugget!

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months