A nugget The Daily Morning Astorian, May 29, 1884:

• … A jar of gold sand (is) now on exhibition among other curiosities at Capt. J. G. Hustler‘s office. It comes from Grays Harbor … Nowhere, as yet, has been found the man who can successfully separate the metal from the dross.

Note: Capt. Hustler (pictured), a former bar pilot and prominent Astoria businessman, is buried at Ocean View Cemetery. 

There were, and still are, placer gold deposits in the beach sand in Grays Harbor County, Washington, right near the surface, according to Gold Rush Nuggets.

However, with the invention of new types of mining gear, filtering out the gold (and platinum) flecks from the sand is quite doable. Along with a lot of patience, of course.

And, The Diggings says the Point Brown Placer, in Ocean Shores, Washington, is an “important mining site within the Grays Harbor County Beach Sands Area.” The ore consists mostly of “gold, zircon and olivine.” Who knew?