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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 57, 31 July 1862, Page 6 (Supplement)

Cohomaxdel Gold Sale. —On Saturday List, about 18 lbs. weight of gold in quartz was offered for sale by public auction by Mr. Stamms Jones, in his mart, Burnswick Buildings. Great excitement prevailed to obtain sight of the gold—the same which had been on show for the'two previous days —and the auctioneer invited the public to repair to the large Music hall above, which in a few minutes was densely crowded. The first piece offered for sale was the “Welcome Nugget,” weighing 9 lbs. 15 ozs.; for this, the only bid was that of Mr. S. Cochrane, at £l5O, and it was accordingly knocked down to that gentleman. Lot No. 2, aline specimen of 25 ozs., was knocked down to the same party. No. 3,7 i ozs., was bought by Captain Harrison for £9 ss. For Nos. 4,5, and 6, there were no offers. No. 7,2 ozs., was knocked down to Mr. Lewis James for £4 ss. No. 8,3 J ozs., for £6, was bought by Mr. Macready. A very handsome specimen weighing 32 ounces —the one found by a digger named Mahon —was bought by Mr. Jones for £3O. Although the attendance at this sale was large, the bidding was by no means spirited. Few, if any could form other than a mere approximate guess at the actual value of the gold which the specimens contained, and apparently they were bought more as specimens than as a matter of business. The bond fide sale of so much Coromandel gold, and the knowledge that this is but a mere fraction of the amount which has been found, but which remains in the hands of its discoverers, had given a new stimulus to the gold fever. Yesterday we observed more than one small craft passing down the harbour for Coromandel, apparently crowded with passengers. —Neio Zealander , July 16.