Gold (Leaf Variety)

Red Ledge Mine, Sierra County, California, USA

5 x 4 x 2.4 cm (1.97 x 1.57 x .94 inches). 38 grams.

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2025/natural-history-2/gold-leaf-variety

This elegant example of leaf gold originates from the Red Ledge Mine, nestled within the Washington Mining District (also referred to historically as the Omega District) in Nevada County, California. Among the great gold-producing localities of the world, the Red Ledge stands alone in its ability to produce leaf gold of extraordinary size, form, and frequency—eclipsing all other known sources by orders of magnitude. While a handful of notable specimens have emerged from other sources, no other locality has produced a sustained number of crystallized leaf golds at the scale and quality of Red Ledge.

This specimen, formerly part of the Kirby Sieber Collection, represents a particular passion for Sieber, who spent over six decades collecting, with a deep specialization in crystallized golds. Of all the leaf-form pieces in his collection, this example stood out as a personal favorite for its distinctive form and exquisite surface brilliance.

The specimen displays thin, natural gold plates in a flattened, lustrous arrangement, with the faintly textured surface and softly curled margins that define true leaf crystallization. Its buttery yellow tone, brilliant reflectivity,and fully intact structure underscore both its rarity and its visual sophistication.

The Red Ledge Mine is geologically positioned within the Motherlode Belt, a corridor of gold-rich quartz veins formed during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (160–140 Ma), along the tectonically active Melones Fault Zone. These veins were emplaced into metamorphosed oceanic and volcanic strata—some of which date back to the Late Paleozoic (~275 Ma)—and served as conduits for hydrothermal fluids that deposited gold in open lode cavities. It is within these voids that crystallized leaf golds like this formed, occasionally growing without matrix and preserving a near-complete, undisturbed surface.

With its combination of provenance, crystallographic integrity, and aesthetic appeal, this specimen embodies both the historical richness of its source and the mineralogical singularity of Red Ledge leaf gold.