Skip to main content
Collections Menu
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Gold Nugget Paperweight
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Gold Nugget Paperweight

Artifact IDMO 1943.119.8
Object Type Paperweight
Maker
Date1942
Mediummetal (gold, brass), wood, fabric
Dimensionsoverall H 3/4 in x Diam 5 3/8 in (1.9 cm x 13.7 cm )
Physical DescriptionA desk piece featuring a gold nugget uncovered in Nicaragua. The nugget sits unattached on a round wooden piece, lined with blue fabric, in which a cavity has been created for the nugget to sit in. An engraved inscription on the half circle brass plaque attached above the nugget reads: UNA PEPITA / DE ORO NICARAGUENSE / OBSEQUIADA POR EL / PRESIDENTE GRAL A. SOMOZA / A SU QUERIDO AMIGO / FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, / PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS / 1942.
Historical NoteGeneral Anastasio Somoza, President of the Republic of Nicaragua, presented Franklin Roosevelt with this gold nugget desk piece on June 10, 1942.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDeposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt on November 6, 1942. It was donated as a bequest of FDR to the Library in 1947.
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesGift Items and Commemorative Artifacts (National Archives Identifier 782690)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view
Related Links