Remaining incredibly desirable to this day, it was glittering gold nuggets such as these that struck so many Americans and people from around the world with "gold fever" during the course of the 19th century. The discovery of gold in the American West was one of many factors that drove people into the perils of the wild frontier, leading to the settlement of western regions such as California, and the establishment of towns such as San Francisco. Though there were certainly many that headed west and struck it rich panning or digging for gold, there were far more who failed, and plenty that lost their lives to the dangers of the frontier. San Francisco played a pivotal roll in the California gold rush, transforming rapidly from a quiet California town into a boomtown full of prospectors flooding into its port in search of nuggets just like these, permanently transforming it into a regional hub. Per the consignor, the nuggets in the grouping are from California. They have an approximate gross weight of three ounces. Sizes range from 1 1/4 inches wide to 1/5th inch wide. Exact purity unknown. Provenance: The Greg Lampe Collection