Jackpot: Amateur prospector finds huge gold nugget in California

A California man looking for gold came up big after finding a huge nugget in a creek near Jamestown.

Oscar Espinoza of Modesto pulled the large gold nugget close to Woods Creek, although he did not say exactly where he made the find. Now, he's looking for a buyer.

"It looks to me like a chunk of cheese," Espinoza said. "A chunk of money."

According to KFSN, the nugget weighs 17.97 ounces (559 grams) and could be worth about $70,000.

New York times is waiting to interview with me!

Posted by Oscar Espinoza on Thursday, September 8, 2016

"A thick T-bone steak: 5 inches long, 1 ½-inch thick by 4 inches wide," Bryant Shock, co-owner of Gold Prospecting Adventure in Jamestown, told KCRA.

Oscar's friend Charlie Morgan, who is an owner of the Jamestown Hotel, found out about the lucky discovery earlier this month.

"He had a grin from ear to ear," Morgan told KCRA. "He was in heaven."

When he first saw it, Morgan said, "Oh my God."

"I thought, 'That's a lucky guy,'" he said.

Morgan is keeping the nugget until someone buys it.

"He felt more secure with it being put away," Morgan told KPIX. "The safe isn't actually here, so nobody knows where it is."

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