Photo: ClaudioDivizia/Depositphotos

Less and less people are using cash these days, preferring quick contactless digital payment. If you still have a load of $1 dollar bills in your wallet, though, you might have done yourself a favor. In 2014 and 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) made a mistake that means there are 6.3 million $1 bills in circulation that might actually be worth a fortune.

Every piece of currency printed has a unique serial number. Even if there is an error and the bill doesn't go into circulation, its replacement will have a star at the end of its serial number. These unique numbers help track stolen money and stop counterfeit money from being circulated. In 2014, the BEP asked its Washington, D.C., facility to print a run of dollar bills with the serial numbers B00000001* – B00250000* and B03200001* – B09600000*. A clerical error led to the Fort Worth facility printing those same serial numbers in 2016. Apparently, no one caught the error until after they had entered circulation. In fact, the mix-up was only admitted to after a Freedom of Information Act request when a numismatic collector noticed something was off in BEP's public records.

Currency misprints happen, but usually those errors have to do with what are essentially paper jams or misalignment of the design. The double printing of the serial numbers has never happened on this scale and is attracting collectors. If you manage to have a single bill of the misprints, you might be able to fetch up to $400. Or you can hold on to your bill and start searching for its partner. Matched pairs have sold together for almost $10,000. There are unverified reports of another pair being sold for $25,000, and some collectors think pairs might get as much as $150,000.

To check if you have any from the double serial printings, look for the following:

• Series date that reads “Series 2013.” The series date can be found on the right side of the George Washington photograph.
• The “B” Federal Reserve Seal above the serial number.
• The serial number features a star and sits somewhere between “B00000001★ – B00250000★” or “B03200001★ – B09600000★“

There have been 115 matched pairs, which still leaves over three million left to account for. Besides scouring eBay and auction sites, one private citizen has started up a database to keep track of everything related to 2013B misprints. Better start uncrumpling your dollars now.

Over 3 million pairs of $1 bills were mistakenly printed with the exact same serial number, and now they are worth a fortune.

Photo: STILLFX/Depositphotos

h/t: [NBCLA]

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The march of world history, “Adams' Synchronological Chart of Universal History” by Sebastian C. Adams and published by Colby & Co. Publishers, NY, 1881. (Photo: David Rumsey Map Collection)

World history is ultimately one long story, a timeline of events rising and swelling, marching along in each country and community around the globe. But exactly how this story is told can vary based on one's contemporary perspective. For Sebastian C. Adams, this perspective was that of a white, 19th-century Christian man who wore many hats over his lifetime. A minister, writer, schoolteacher, clerk, and politician over the years, he created a 22-foot-long timeline full of the twisted, colorful histories that the author viewed as part of his Chronological Chart of Ancient, Modern and Biblical History.

These histories, illustrated by John Alsop Paine, start at the Biblical beginning with Adam and Eve. Their descendants spin out in spindly strands from their parents, traveling down the timeline with their remarkable ages noted. Stone age tools appear, as do the busts of ancient philosophers. The Stone Age becomes the Iron Age, and Assyrian lamassu rise from the sands.

The full 22-foot timeline. (Photo: David Rumsey Map Collection)

The ancient world evolves and develops into civilization before our very eyes, as we then follow the trajectories of Greece, Egypt, and Babylon. The Roman Empire is enshrined in purple, before the rainbow hues of many European countries form stringy veins stretching many more feet into modernity. Terminating in 1883, the timeline finishes with portraits of the American presidents and European sovereigns, as well as a list of “eminent men not elsewhere mentioned on the chart.”

The scroll, being designed by an educator and minister, is both an innovative teaching tool and a reflection of its time. It is heavily Eurocentric, with these countries taking up a majority of the map and a Christian cosmology defining its beginning. The lands of the Near East feature heavily in this Biblical beginning, and they are capably illustrated by Paine, who taught in Istanbul and pursued archeological digs in the region.

The map was printed several times, and various copies are extant, including a copy at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. That copy is presented on a scroll so that the unwieldy timeline can be easily perused. Other booklet formats were also used, and the timeline was popular in schools. While not used today, it is a fascinating insight into one historical perspective on the eras that came before.

Luckily, Adams' timeline can still be examined closely thanks to a zoomable version available online at the David Rumsey Map Collection.

This 22-foot scroll visually depicts world history as described by educator and minister Sebastian C. Adams in 1881.

Further moments of note. (Photo: David Rumsey Map Collection)

It moves from the Biblical creation story…

Adam and Eve at the beginning. (Photo: David Rumsey Map Collection)

…through the development of ancient civilizations.

Assyrian lamassu. (Photo: David Rumsey Map Collection)

And it even shows technological developments.

Ancient implements. (Photo: David Rumsey Map Collection)

World inventions and events. (Photo: David Rumsey Map Collection)

The visual timeline, which is largely Eurocentric, traces the individual development of countries up through the 19th century.

Countries depicted separately. (Photo: David Rumsey Map Collection)

h/t: [Open Culture, National Museum of American History]

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READ: 22-Foot-Long Scroll From 19th Century Features Timeline of Perceived World History Up to That Point

Photo: Nuncius 39, 1 (2024)

An 11th-century astrolabe inscribed with Arabic, Hebrew, and Western numbers shows a strong collaboration between different religions and cultures. In a new report, Dr. Federica Gigante of the University of Cambridge discusses this scientific instrument, which she discovered thanks to a photo uploaded to a museum in Verona, Italy.

Dr. Gigante, an expert on Islamic astrolabes, contacted the museum, which didn't know much about the astrolabe and thought it could be a fake. When she had the chance to examine it in person, she knew that she had something special on her hands. “When I visited the museum and studied the astrolabe up close,” she shares, “I noticed that not only was it covered in beautifully engraved Arabic inscriptions but that I could see faint inscriptions in Hebrew.”

Astrolabes were incredibly important in history, allowing people to make astronomical measurements and navigate successfully. They can tell local time, help set up a calendar, provide positioning in latitude, as well as many other functions. This particular astrolabe appears to have had multiple owners, with Hebrew and Latin added to the instrument over time. After examining the style of the engraving and the arrangement of scales on the back of the astrolabe, Dr. Gigante determined that it is Andalusian. Specifically, she traced it to Al–Andalus, the Muslim-ruled area of Spain, and the instruments that were created there in the 11th century. Due to the inscriptions, she believes that it was made in Toledo. At the time, the city was a cradle of culture for Muslims, Jews, and Christians, so it seems quite appropriate that the astrolabe be manufactured there.

The instrument has several interesting features, including the inscription of Muslim prayer lines and names. Placed at specific times, these features demonstrate how the astrolabe also helped users track when to recite their daily prayers. There is also a second plate with common North African latitudes that suggests the astrolabe was used in Morocco or Egypt at one point.

The Hebrew inscriptions, which were added by more than one hand, give evidence of the astrolabe exchanging hands. “These Hebrew additions and translations suggest that at a certain point, the object left Spain or North Africa and circulated amongst the Jewish diaspora community in Italy, where Arabic was not understood, and Hebrew was used instead,” explains Gigante. Verona had a substantial Jewish community in the 12th century, and it appears that it made its way there. Eventually, it landed in the collection of Veronese nobleman Ludovico Moscardo before passing into the Miniscalchi family through marriage. This is how it ended up in Verona's Fondazione Museo Miniscalchi-Erizzo, which preserves the family's collection.

Now that its significance has been revealed, it's become a treasured part of the collection for its history and what it represents. Dr. Gigante says, “This isn’t just an incredibly rare object. It’s a powerful record of scientific exchange between Arabs, Jews, and Christians over hundreds of years.”

A researcher from the University of Cambridge discovered a fascinating astrolabe in a Verona museum's collection.

Photo: Nuncius 39, 1 (2024)

Dating to the 11th century, the scientific instrument has inscriptions in Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin.

Photo: Nuncius 39, 1 (2024)

“This isn’t just an incredibly rare object. It’s a powerful record of scientific exchange between Arabs, Jews, and Christians over hundreds of years.”

Photo: Nuncius 39, 1 (2024)

h/t: [Good News Network]

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READ: Scholar Discovers 11th-Century Astrolabe With Inscriptions in Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin

Photo: ©SC, INAH, BNAH.

When studying history, academics use ancient documents as the key to understanding and putting together the puzzle of different cultures. An example of such documents are the codices of San Andrés Tetepilco, three pictographic documents related to Mexican history between the 16th and 17 centuries, which was a key period of transition from the Aztec empire to the Viceroyalty of New Spain. After several years of work, the Mexican government has finally recovered these priceless records.

Mexico has a large collection of codices, 200 of which are held in the National Library of Anthropology and History (BNAH). The name of these pieces derives from the Latin word codex, which refers to manuscript text or imagery depicting and documenting the cultural production of the great Mesoamerican civilizations (a region that includes central and southern Mexico, as well as parts of Central America), such as the Aztec, Mayan, Zapotec, and Olmec.

The codices of San Andrés Tetepilco are particularly important as their content is mixed; unlike most Precolumbian documents, these feature indigenous paintings and texts in Spanish or Nahuatl but are written with the European alphabet. To assess their condition, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) ran some tests on the codices, which revealed that they were made on amate (bark) paper on which a layer of plaster, cochineal lacquer, and red, blue, black, and ochre yellow inks made from plants and charcoal were applied.

The first codice retells the foundation of San Andrés Tetepilco, a town that today has been absorbed by Mexico City's sprawl but has kept the same name for centuries. The second and most damaged list shows the assets of the San Andrés Tetepilco church. The third, which is regarded as the most important, is described by INAH as a “formal narration of Tenochtitlan’s history through four main themes: the city’s founding in the 14th century; records of pre-Hispanic tlatoque lords; the Spanish conquistadors’ arrival in 1519; and the viceroyalty period until 1611.”

The codices have belonged to a family, who wishes to remain anonymous, based in the Coyoacán borough of Mexico City for generations. It wasn't until 15 years ago that academics got to see them for the first time via a computer monitor. After years of research and negotiation, the Mexican government paid 9.5 million pesos (roughly $500,000) to the family that owned these historical manuscripts.

For now, the codices will undergo conservation processes before being stored in BNAH’s codex collection, a precious reservoir that has been part of UNESCO's Memory of the World Register since 1997.

After several years of work, the Mexican government has finally recovered the codices of San Andrés Tetepilco.

Image: ©SC, INAH, BNAH.

These three pictographic documents retell the history of Mexico between the 16th and 17 centuries, a key period of transition from the Aztec empire to the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Image: ©SC, INAH, BNAH.

h/t: [El País]

All images via the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

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Map by Johannes Vingboons, circa 1650. (Photo: Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

California is known for many things. San Francisco cablecars, Hollywood celebrities, and the rolling vineyards of Napa Valley are among its iconic symbols. The state figures large in American culture at home and abroad, but it was once somewhat of a mystery to European explorers. In fact, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, a strange piece of misinformation appeared on maps throughout Europe. Cartographers showed California as an island.

This misconception came about in the earliest days of European exploration along the west coast of the continent. Much about the coastline was unknown to these newcomers; however, the idea of California as an island is typically attributed to Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo, a novelist who wrote Las Sergas de Esplandián or The Adventures of Esplandián. The book, published in 1510, featured an island named “California” inhabited by Black women and ruled by a queen. While a work of fiction, many believe it inspired the Spanish explorers in the region to name the “island” they discovered, which is now the Baja California Peninsula.

On early 16th-century maps, California was, therefore, drawn as an island. Depicted with colorful designs, the Gulf of California became a channel. Rather than terminating shortly beneath the modern border of what is now the United States and Mexico, it entirely cleaved off the “island” of California.

While some cartographers did get it right geographically, this was not the norm. Many European cartographers produced their maps by copying others, so California frequently appeared as an island throughout the following two centuries. Eventually, 18th-century explorers and cartographers finally corrected this European misinterpretation on a wider scale.

Father Eusebio Kino voyaged in California between 1698 and 1701 before drawing his own map, A Passage by Land to California. In it, he illustrated the peninsula separated from the mainland by what he called “the sea of California,” which terminated in the Colorado River.

While California's time as an island existed only in the minds of Europeans, rather like a cartographic rumor, it makes for some fascinating moments in map history.

Europeans who came to the Americas and mapped it in the 16th and 17th centuries depicted California as an island on their maps.

“Amerique Septentrionale,” map by Nicolas Sanson, 1650. (Photo: UTA Libraries Cartographic Connections via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

The misconception seems to date back to a 16th-century novel by Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo, which described what is now the state as an island.

Detail of a 17th-century world map by Pieter van der Aa. (Photo: Stanford Libraries, PDM 1.0 DEED)

Detail of a 17th-century map by Pierre Duval (Photo: Stanford Libraries, PDM 1.0 DEED)

h/t: [Moss and Fog, Stanford Libraries]

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The opening of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, with a portrait of the author: Lansdowne MS 851, f. 2r

Geoffrey Chaucer's compelling work earned him the title of “father of English literature,” and his influence can still be felt over six centuries after his passing. His most famous book, The Canterbury Tales, was published around 1400, meaning its earliest incarnations weren't easily accessible for readers and academics around the world—until now. Recently, the British Library announced that they've completed the digitization of all of their pre-1600 manuscripts containing Chaucer’s works.

The new archive features 25,000 images from more than 60 items related to Chaucer's works and life, all carefully photographed and uploaded. “We have digitized not only complete copies of Chaucer’s poems, but also unique survivals, including fragmentary texts found in Middle English anthologies or inscribed in printed editions and incunabula (books printed before 1501),” writes the institution.

As for The Canterbury Tales, the archive boasts at least 23 editions. “In addition to the surviving manuscripts of The Canterbury Tales, the British Library also houses some of the earliest printed versions of Chaucer’s poem,” they write. “These include rare copies of the 1476 and 1483 editions of the text made by William Caxton (d. c. 1491), the 1491/1492 edition by Richard Pynson (d. c. 1529), and the 1498 edition printed by Wynkyn de Worde (d. c. 1534).” Calum Cockburn, the British Library’s curator of medieval manuscripts, highlights a version with a portrait of Chaucer himself. “That is a really wonderful detail because there aren’t that many surviving portraits of him,” he tells The Guardian.

Medieval manuscripts of Chaucer's other notable works are also available. The archive features an edition of The Legend of Good Women, one of Chaucer’s four poetic dream visions, with printed and handwritten versions of the text side-by-side; translations of The Romance of the Rose and The Consolation of Philosophy; and the epic Troilus and Criseyde, which would go on to inspire William Shakespeare some 200 years later.

“Whether you are experienced scholars of Chaucer’s life and poetry, who know his words off by heart, or only just learning of his collected works for the first time, we hope you enjoy exploring the pages of these digitized manuscripts and engaging with the writing of one of the foundational figures in the history of English literature,” writes the British Library.

You can start browsing the entire Chaucer archive with the help of this PDF index. To learn more, visit the British Library's website.

The British Library announced that it has completed the digitization of all pre-1600 manuscripts containing Geoffrey Chaucer’s works.

A 16th-century portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer, holding a rosary and stylus: Add MS 5141, f. 1r

The new archive features 25,000 images from more than 60 items related to Chaucer's works and life in the British Library's collection.

The opening of Chaucer’s Legend of Good Women, showing printed and handwritten versions of the text side-by-side: Add MS 9832, ff. 3v-4r

“We have digitized not only complete copies of Chaucer’s poems, but also unique survivals, including fragmentary texts found in Middle English anthologies or inscribed in printed editions and incunabula,” writes the institution.

A woodcut of the pilgrims from William Caxton’s 1483 edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales: G.11586, f. 20 c4

“In addition to the surviving manuscripts of The Canterbury Tales, the British Library also houses some of the earliest printed versions of Chaucer’s poem.”

The opening of ‘The Knight’s Tale’, from Thomas Speght’s 1598 edition of the collected works of Geoffrey Chaucer: Add MS 42518, f. 29r

The opening of Walter Stevins’ revised edition of Chaucer’s ‘Treatise on the Astrolabe’: Sloane MS 261, f. 1*r

The British Library: Website | Facebook | Instagram
h/t: [Open Culture]

All images via the British Library.

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READ: 25,000 Images of Medieval Geoffrey Chaucer Manuscripts Are Now Online

It's easy to look at photos of people who lived in the past and assume that they were stern and serious. This is greatly due to the time-consuming photography techniques of the 19th century, which meant that they often had to sit in the same position for several minutes as the photo developed. However, vintage videos—which were often taken candidly and without a large time commitment on the part of the people they featured—shed new light on what life looked like over a century ago.

Recently, a YouTube channel called Lost in Time has revisited footage taken by the famous Lumière brothers in 1896, colorized it, and combined it into one video. The 17-minute video features footage from famous cities such as New York City, Paris, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Moscow, and Kyoto. Thanks to the channel, this footage—and the people in it—has been given new life.

One of the highlights of the video is a joyous snowball fight between adults somewhere in France. Even when a man riding by on his bicycle gets knocked off by a stray snowball, he briefly joins in the fun. Everyone is beaming as they pelt each other with fresh snow. Another clip from Lyon, France, captures an exciting potato sack race down a road in the village. A different memorable moment occurs in Barcelona as a deck worker pauses on a ramp to strike a pose for the camera. His coworker nudges him from behind, encouraging him up the ramp, even as the man continues to extend his arms and look at the camera.

Though all of the people in these videos are presumably no longer with us, the footage serves as a reminder that we really aren't that far removed from our ancestors. No matter what era we live in, we have always been mesmerized by video cameras—and photobombing.

Lost in Time: YouTube | Patreon
h/t: [Open Culture]

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Photo: Vkraskouski/ Depositphotos

When it comes to currency, what you see is usually what you get. So a $1 bill is worth $1, a $5 bill is worth $5, and so on. However, in the case of the rare $2 bill, the worth of the banknote rises with lower circulation. In fact, $2 bills from the 19th century have fetched exponentially more, as collectors will pay up to $4,500, according to auction houses such as U.S. Currency Auctions and Heritage Auctions. In 2013, Heritage Auctions sold a 1928 $2 bill for $88,000. Recently, the sale of a $2 bill for $4,000 through Heritage Auctions went viral. As a result, the $2 notes have gotten a boost in popularity.

Every iteration of American currency has featured a $2 denomination. The $2 Continental bill was first printed nine days before the country was officially founded. Then the first United States notes, or legal tender notes, were printed in 1862 to raise money for the Civil War. Two-dollar bills remained unpopular for most of their history, only getting a boost during World War II. In fear of Axis powers using Mexico as a place to sell American dollars stolen in Europe, Mexico and the United States banned U.S. money from crossing the border. However, since there was such a large population crossing the border and interchangeably using pesos and dollars, the nations did not ban $2 bills. Their lack of historical use meant it was unlikely for them to have been found in European loot, but were handy for those who were frequently exchanging dollars for pesos.

By 1966, the $2 bill had returned to its original place as the least used paper denomination and the treasury announced they had stopped printing. On account of this, people to this day think the $2 bill is either still not in print or even out of circulation completely. However, in order to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, the treasury started printing $2 bills again.

The bill has featured Thomas Jefferson since 1928, having previously featured other figures such as Alexander Hamilton. On the back, Jefferson’s home Monticello was featured until printing was paused in 1966. Since 1976 they have featured John Trumbull’s famous painting aptly entitled Declaration of Independence.

No matter the imagery, $2 bills have always circulated in the United States. While we tend to overlook them, it’s noteworthy that they have played an important role in three of the most pivotal American war efforts. Keep your eye out for the bills and you may make yourself a tidy sum, or at least have bus fare home.

From 1928 to 1966, $2 bills featured Monticello on the back.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Now, since 1976, you can see John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

h/t: [NBCLA]

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READ: Your $2 Bill Might Actually Be Worth Thousands of Dollars

Dolia in Ostia Antica, Italy (Photo: AlMare via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

The inhabitants of the ancient world routinely drank alcoholic beverages, as they were often safer than potentially polluted water. The ancient Romans were no different, as wine was a central part of their culture. By all estimates, they also drank a lot of it. Recently, archaeologists have been able to determine what their wine tasted like, allowing us to sense the flavor of the past.

According to a study published in Antiquity, Roman wine tasted somewhat spicy and smelled like “toasted bread, apples, roasted walnuts, and curry.” It typically had a unique orange tint in addition to its unique flavor, but the color of the wine could vary from white to golden to black, depending on the grapes used.

“By using the techniques we describe in our paper, the Romans were able to make much better, more tasty, and much more stable wines than is commonly assumed,” shared lead author and archeologist Dimitri Van Limbergen.

Traditionally, Roman wine was stored in dolia, large clay vessels that were partially buried in the ground. According to the researchers, this practice led to the spicy flavor of the wine, as the pH and temperature were well controlled as it aged.  Dolia were common in everyday Roman homes and are similar to vessels called qvevri, which are still used in traditional winemaking in Georgia.

This is a far cry from the stainless steel tanks that wine is often brewed in today, and researchers believe that the unique Roman choice of storage contributed to the wine's unique characteristics.

A recent study revealed that ancient Roman wine had a somewhat spicy flavor and smelled like “toasted bread, apples, roasted walnuts, and curry.”

Photo: efesenko/Depositphotos

Romans fermented and stored their wine vessels called dolia, which are similar to earthenware pots still used in traditional winemaking in Georgia.

Qvevri being buried in a winery in Georgia. (Photo: Levan Gokadze via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)

h/t: [Smithsonian Magazine]

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Replica of Welcome Stranger Nugget (Photo: Rodney Start / Museums Victoria, CC BY 4.0 DEED)

John Deason was the son of a fisherman. Much like his future business partner Richard Oates, a fellow tin miner, he was not seen to be destined for future greatness. Yet in 1851, an Australian Gold Rush that started in New South Wales changed both of their fates. Hundreds of thousands of prospectors immigrated to the country hoping to be among the lucky ones to discover gold. Deason left for the Down Under in 1853, and a year later Oates joined him.

While the men found small gold nuggets here and there, they were struggling to get by and relied on their small farms to fund their prospecting operation. Reportedly, the men didn’t have enough credit to even get a sack of flour the week prior to their big break. After 15 years of toiling, Deason broke his pick on what was to become known as the “Welcome Stranger” nugget. At a whopping net weight of 192 pounds 11.5 ounces, the gold behemoth was encased in quartz and found tangled in the roots of a tree. The men decided to wait until nighttime to uncover the entirety of the nugget and then threw a party for their friends to reveal their history-making find.

With these very friends acting as a bodyguard, the men took their nugget to the nearby town of Dunolly. They attracted a crowd to the London Chartered Bank, requiring a constable to be called. However, the Welcome Stranger was too big to fit on the bank’s scale. Before a photograph could be taken, the nugget was broken apart to be weighed. It took five hours to get small enough pieces.

The nugget drew comparison to the previously largest found “Welcome Nugget,” from over a decade earlier in Ballarat, Victoria. The Welcome Stranger was larger by 6 pounds, and was purer gold. While Deason and Oates generously gave bits of the nugget to their friends, eager to have a piece of history, they earned over £9,400 ($11,863). That would be equivalent to a little over £1.3 million (roughly $1.64 million) today. However, a similar amount of gold would fetch around £3 million ($3.8 million) today.

The nugget was melted and sent to England by the end of February 1869, and Deason and Oates went back to work their land as if little had changed. The local paper Dunolly & Bet Bet Shire Express noted on a visit after their discovery how little changed the men were and started, “We are glad that the monster has fallen to the lot of such steady and industrious men.” Deason and his family stayed in the area, with descendants still residing in what is a quiet agricultural area today. While Oates returned to his homeland for some time, finding a wife and starting a family, he later returned to Australia.

It’s unclear whether the men’s lives changed drastically after their newfound wealth; however, the Welcome Stranger continues to hold the public’s historical imagination. In the 1980s, Australia released pure gold bullion coins, with the largest denomination depicting the Welcome Stranger. Despite no photographs existing, several replicas have been made. In 2019, the prospectors' descendants gathered to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the precious discovery.

Even today, tourists looking for adventure can head to Victoria to dig for gold. No one has yet managed to find a nugget of gold larger than the “Welcome Stranger” in Australia or anywhere else. The largest fully intact nugget still in existence is the “Pepita Canaa,” weighing 134 pounds. Julio de Deus Filho found the piece in Brazil in 1983. The Museu de Valores do Banco Central do Brasil has it on display. If you want to check out an Australian nugget of gold, the “Hand of Faith,” discovered in 1980 by a metal detector, is fittingly on display at the Gold Nugget Casino in Las Vegas. At only 60 pounds, though, it is just over a third of Oates and Deason’s mammoth.

One hundred fifty-five years ago, two humble miners, John Deason and Richard Oates, discovered the largest gold nugget ever that was the size of an adult man.

Miners and their wives posing with the finders of the nugget, Richard Oates, John Deason, and his wife. (Photo: William Parker via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Before a proper photograph could be taken, the “Welcome Stranger” nugget was melted down, leaving only drawings to base replicas upon.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

h/t: [IFL Science]

This article has been edited and updated.

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