This thread was necro-bumped from back in March of 2005...
I believe that at that time, acorns were a rare harvest, gathered from shrubs in T3 zones. At some point in the late Spring or early Summer, they upped the ratio to bring the item into line with the other items. They should now be easy to find in TS or Nek Forest. (I have stacks of them!)
As far as the recipe to make golden acorns, visit one of the ladies standing just inside the Oricle Tower on the hill near the Oricle griff tower in Antonica. She will send you in search of a location seen in her "vision". Reward is tha recipe for Golden Acorns, (recipe is level 10 and so can be made by anyone).
Hope this clears things up a bit.