His sallow index finger touched the lone piece, then raised again to hover above the sheen of pale African gold.

West African gold is not as high grade as gold from South Africa.

Jackson also had returned with a missing link monster named N'Gina as well as African gold.

Conquest of territory in Africa also meant that the Portuguese could use African gold to finance travel along this new trade route.

That a man should refuse £17,000 for a bit of African gold worth £100 or so, struck him as miraculous.

"Good healthy South African gold for this weak in- valid, the escudo?"

Although not yet on view, they will complement the museum's collection of African gold and art of sub-Saharan Africa.

"We also find a lot of selling in electric utility stocks and some buying in the South African golds."

A miner holds a bar of South African gold: the country may export less of the precious metal in future, driving up global prices.

West African gold is a scarce commodity in the marketplace - at auctions and at dealers' shops.