A massive nugget of kauri gum has been sold for $16,000 in what is believed to be a world record.
The 9.9kg lump of resin went up for sale at Cordy's auction in Auckland yesterday with a reserve of $1500.
But a tenacious bidding war pushed the price skywards before the hammer finally came down at $16,000.
"It would have to be a world record," auctioneer Andrew Grigg said.
It was collected by the anonymous seller's Scottish grandfather who worked as a limber in the kauri logging industry around the 1890s.
During his job of removing top branches before the giant native trees were felled, the worker reportedly found the huge piece.
Kauri gum forms when resin exudes from cracks in tree bark and hardens by exposure to air.
Pieces collect in the axils of branches and in the debris at the base of the tree. The colour of the gum ranges from pale yellow to reddish-brown and even black.
Mr Grigg said two other large naturally bled nuggets have been kept by family.
By Kurt Bayer of APNZ
