The gold collection housed at the Carson Nugget in Carson City, Nevada was one of the two largest on display in the United States. It had been billed as the "world's rarest gold collection," and consisted of 170 specimens of gold in crystalline and nugget form with a combined weight of more than 300 ounces. The collection was originally put on display in the 1950's, when the casino opened.
The bulk of the collection was assembled in the 1930's by a California collector named John Ghririoso. It was purchased by Richard Graves for display at the Nevada casino and hotel called the Carson Nugget. When the casino was purchased by Howard and Hop Adams in 1957, the new owners continued to display and enhance the collection. Now, however, it will be going to a new home.
The collection, which has been valued at prices up to five million, was put on sale due to dwindling public interest. It simply has not been drawing the visitors that it once did. The current strength of the gold market made it an excellent time to reconsider the casino’s ownership, since the collection isn’t actually vital to its operations. The owners put the collection up for auction, setting the minimum bid at $1.1 million dollars.
The actual auction drew attention from more than 50 bidders. Their number was made up of public and private collectors, institutions, and dealers. It’s likely that the collection ended up with a collector, or perhaps and institution, but we don’t know for sure since the actual amount of the sale as well as the buyer’s identity is protected by a confidentiality agreement. Nor do we know at this time what the future of the celebrated collection might be. What we do know is that it is extremely valuable and unique, as these high quality specimens are no longer mined. Truly a once in a lifetime investment for one successful buyer.
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