- [Narrator] From pearls to gold nuggets, and even billion year old meteorites, nature is full of intriguing items that can instantly make you a fortune. Countless people have devoted their lives to trying to find these sorts of items, while others have simply
stumbled upon them by accident. Let's explore some of the
most valuable treasures people found in nature and
see how you can do the same. (bright music) - Amazing! - [Narrator] Queensland Sapphire, in 2018, a man from Queensland, Australia found a 141 carat Sapphire while walking along, kicking pebbles. Queensland has the largest Sapphire fields in the southern hemisphere, including the one the man was
wandering through at the time. So granted, his chances
were slightly improved. Regardless, experts estimate that that little stone found
on a casual afternoon could fetch at least $23,000 should it's finder choose to sell it. If sapphires pique your interest, they're typically found along the bedrock of areas that were rivers
millions of years ago, which once carried the gems
from their volcanic birthplaces. The Australian sapphire fields contain unusually high concentrations of the gems, but Montana, USA is also
known for its reserves. Choosing a spot, digging
down to the bedrock and outward in tunnels is the way to go if you're seeking the biggest gems. It isn't easy. You'll need some expensive equipment and a stake in official claim, but it could make you a fortune. For a more casual experience, small sapphires can also be found in riverbeds of Sapphire rich regions by pan-filtering the gravel. Like many gems, a sapphire's price varies from 20 bucks to thousands of dollars, depending on size, shape, and color, but it's certainly worth a try. Golden nuggets, a family
from Victoria, Australia literally struck gold in 2019 when their daughter
accidentally kicked a nugget while walking on the outskirts of town. Her father's heart skipped
a beat seconds later when he heard "Uh, dad, is this gold?" The unbelievable chance
discovery, weighing 21 ounces, could fetch them upwards
of $25,000 if they sell it. As amazing as that is,
it's nothing compared to the most valuable gold nugget ever found. This was yet another
Australian find in 1869 when John Deason and Richard Oates discovered a massive 240 pound nugget. The lucky men were paid
£9,400 for the nugget, but adjusted for inflation, and considering the higher
value of gold nowadays, the nugget would've fetched 3.4
million if discovered today. But where can you find gold? Well, there are two kinds. Primary gold is found
embedded deep within bedrock. Reaching it usually involves hugely expensive locating
and mining techniques, so you're probably better off
searching for secondary gold, which is carried along waterways that run through
gold-rich rock formations. This is often deposited as nuggets or particles along river beds, particularly along fault lines, and can be panned and collected. Often, the naturally heavy gold particles gather around protruding rocks in rivers, as well as in sandy banks and river bends alongside the foothills of mountains. As for locations, South
Africa, the U.S., and Australia have the highest concentrations scattered widely throughout the land. Although if you're somehow
able to trawl the ocean floor, that's where most of the
gold on earth is found. High purity gold flakes typically
fetch around $50 per gram while whole nuggets
fetch considerably more. So keep your eyes peeled,
happy prospecting. Lizzie the Lizard, for
centuries fossils have provided humans incredible
insight into Earth's history, and for a lucky few, fossils have provided a handsome fortune too. In 1988, fossil Hunter Stan Wood unearthed the fossilized remains of one of the earliest relatives
of amphibians and reptiles in a limestone quarry in
West Lothian, Scotland. Dating back 338 million years, the fossil became known
as Lizzie the Lizard, and eventually found a new home at the National Museum of Scotland. The sale made Mr. Wood a cool $250,000. While not every fossil will
fetch you quite this much, it's certainly worth
keeping your eyes open for anything that looks a little scaly next time you're in rocky surroundings. Small, common fossils may
fetch from five to $10 while larger, rarer, and
more complete specimens can range from the hundreds
to the millions of dollars. Almost all fossils are
found in sedentary rocks like sandstone, limestone, and shale, most commonly in places that were once or still are rivers or sea beds. To identify a fossil,
look for grain surfaces and lots of small holes which indicate bone and blood vessels. Be careful when removing a fossil, as there may be other parts that were once connected
to it in the area nearby. The more of the creature you can find, the more valuable it is. Use geological maps to seek out rocks from the Triassic, Jurassic,
or Cretaceous periods if dinosaurs are what you're seeking, and grab a hammer and
chisel and get digging. Fukang meteorite, this one ton meteorite was discovered in 2000 by a hiker traveling near the mountains
of Fukang in China. Since then, it's been
divided up into chunks, some of which can
actually be found on eBay. Amazingly, the Fukang
meteorite is estimated to be four and a half billion years old, around the same age as the Earth itself. When cut into chunks,
the translucent crystals, which give the meteorite
it's ethereal glow, can be seen clearly thanks
to the mineral olivine found within the meteorite. Being composed of equal
parts iron and silicates, the Fukang meteorite belongs to an incredibly rare
subgroup called pallasites, making it incredibly valuable. At an estimated value of $2 million, the main 900 pound mass
of the Fukang meteorite is the most expensive
space rock in the world. To find your own meteorites,
large, barren expanses with minimal amounts of
rocks are your best bet. The emptiness of dry lake
beds, deserts, and icy regions make it considerably
easier to spot a meteorite, and if its impact was big enough,
the crater surrounding it. Meteorites can be extremely profitable, with high quality samples fetching from $300 to $1,000 per gram. So if you have the patience, why not begin your hunt
for that space dollar? Planggenstock treasure, in 1993, mountain explorer Paul Von Kanel discovered a collection
of fluoride crystals in a small crevice in the Planggenstock
Mountains of the Swiss Alps. Convinced there were more
crystals to be found, he excavated for another
decade with a companion until they discovered two
tons of fluoride crystals beaming back against their torchlight. In 2010, the National
History Museum of Bern acquired the stash from the lucky pair for an undisclosed price, but considering five grams
of fluoride can fetch $50, and the price of crystals increases almost exponentially with
large, complete specimens, the two ton hoard could've
been worth over $20 million. And if you'd like to
uncover a hoard of your own, fluoride is a reasonably common mineral and occurs in all colors in
a wide range of environments. The largest deposits are found in South Africa, Mexico, and China, often within fault lines in bedrock, as well as abandoned
quarries, mines, and caves. Be extremely careful
if you go seeking them. Although if you do, you could stumble across something extremely valuable. Truffles, in 2007, Rocco the dog led his owner, Luciano Savini, to a three pound Italian
white truffle in Pisa, Italy. It was the largest white
truffle found in over 50 years, and fetched 330 grand at auction. While this certainly was a rare find, Italian white truffles regularly
fetch thousands per pound. So hit the woods, preferably with a trained truffle-seeking pooch. Truffles are most commonly found throughout the forests of Western Europe, particularly in Italy and France, but the Pacific Northwest is another hotspot if you're stateside. Stick to regions where the soil is moist, 10 to 14 hours after heavy rainfall during the relevant season for the types of truffles you're seeking. As truffles attach
themselves to tree roots, search for darkened patches of soil around the roots of
beech, fir, and oak trees. White truffles regularly fetch
as much as $168 per ounce, while more common black truffles go for around $95 per ounce. While it's possible to find them alone, a dog will sniff out truffles
much faster than you can. Just remember to buy that good boy a nice kennel with your
newly earned fortune. Divine diamonds, when people think of valuable treasures found in nature, diamonds are often the first
thing that comes to mind. It's a fair association,
because if you were to find just one of these gems
of notable size or color, you'd probably be set for life. The pink star, for example, is a 59 carat or 11.8 gram vivid pink diamond and is among the most
expensive ever sold at auction. De Deers Mining Company from South Africa discovered the diamond in 1999, and in 2017, the diamond was
sold for over $70 million. But the queen of England currently owns what's thought to be the most valuable diamond in the
world, the Koh-i-noor. While the crown jewels don't
tend to go up for sale, if they did, experts estimate Koh-i-noor would fetch over $1 billion. If you want an ultra
valuable diamond of your own, you could set up a South
African mining company and stock up on high-tech
x-ray scanning equipment, but if that's understandably
not an option, searching and panning along
existing and ancient shorelines is probably your best bet. The ideal locations are
places that are known to be home to kimberlites,
the ancient rocks that contain diamonds forced up from the
depths of Earth's crust. Meteorite craters are pretty
good places to check too, as impacts of these kind deliver enough energy and heat to form diamonds. But because diamonds
are so incredibly rare, you're best off looking in areas where they've previously been discovered, like known sites in South
Africa, Canada, or Australia. Like most gems, diamond values
vary depending on quality, all the way from $2,000 to
$16,000 per carat once cut. Hopefully luck is on your side. Whale vomit, most people
wouldn't be too pleased if they came across 180
pounds of animal puke, but when three fishermen pulled
up 176 pounds of whale vomit in Oman in 2011, they were overjoyed. Turns out, sperm whale
vomit, or ambergris, is a highly sought after substance. Sperm whales produce the substance to help digest tough
food like squid beaks, and it's usually ejected
through the mouth or rear. Ambergris is only
produced by sperm whales, and only 1% of sperm whales produce it, making it very difficult,
and hence costly, to source. It's used in expensive fragrances as it makes the scents last longer, though Ambergris's rarity limits this to the most luxurious perfumes of all. Even with that considered,
it's pretty jaw dropping that the 180 pounds lump
those fishermen found sold for two and a half million dollars. Ambergris can appear
randomly on most beaches that skirt the Atlantic ocean, but training a dog to sniff that stuff out can increase your chances of finding it. On the off chance you find something that resembles the substance, you can test it by poking it
with a red hot safety pin. If the substance melts like
wax into a black residue and gives off a musky aroma,
it's likely ambergris, And if there's a squid beak wedged in it, you're probably onto a winner. Usually the paler the
ambergris, the higher its value, and high quality chunks often fetch between 30,000 to 44,000 per kilogram. Not bad for a bit of puke, huh? Preposterously pricey pearls. Although lots of imitation
pearls exist today, the most valuable pearls are found inside mollusks in the wild. Natural pearls occur when an irritant, often a parasite, enters
the flesh of a mollusk. As a defense, the irritant
is slowly encapsulated in layers of calcium carbonate, forming a striking iridescent pearl. People make handsome livings
searching for pearls, like YouTuber Qi Liying who, after many a successful pearl hunt, happened upon a striking rare blue pearl. With the right buyer, that single pearl could fetch as much as $30,000. Still, that's nowhere near the most valuable pearl ever found. The legendary Pearl of
Puerto was discovered by a man from Palawan in the Philippines when his boat's anchor
snagged upon a giant clam. After swimming down to displace it, he retrieved the enormous
pearl inside the clam and continued with his life as normal. For a decade he slept with the
74 pound pearl under his bed, and only when he moved house did he decide it might
be time to get it valued. When he did, he was dumbfounded. Not only had he been sleeping on the largest pearl in the known world, it was worth over $130 million. If you'd like to find the
world's next biggest pearl, scuba suit up and scour coral reefs along the South Pacific and Indian Ocean floor for giant clams. For regular sized but
still valuable pearls, head to the beach at low tide and look for oysters and similar mollusks under rocks and rock
pools, and underwater. The older and larger the mollusk, the more likely it is to contain pearls. A pearl's value is determined by its size, color, shape, and surface quality, but on average, prices
for attractive wild pearls range from $300 to an impressive $1,500. That being said, opening a
mollusk and harvesting pearls often kills the creature, so
make sure you're well-informed and not wasteful if you take this up. You could alternatively farm
pearls using cultured oysters, though cultured pearls, fetch less money and the process takes years. Like most of the valuable
finds I've covered, finding a pearl, and a great one at that, can be a matter of luck, but a good amount of
knowledge and preparation can certainly turn the odds in your favor. Have you ever found
any incredibly valuable natural items like these yourself? Let me know in the comment section below. Thanks for watching. (gentle music)
