Gold
Charles Nahl and Frederick A. Wenderoth, Miners in the Sierras, 1851–1852
As a one-time prospector, Charles Nahl knew gold mining. Miners protected their claim from interlopers, as evidenced by the cabin built next to the open-pit deposit.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Fred Heilbron Collection
The news in 1848 of James Marshall’s discovery of gold at Sutter’s mill in California changed the wealth and reach of the nation. Farmers dropped their plows, sailors abandoned ship, and Chinese and others sailed across the oceans to seek their fortunes in mines and streams. These lands were often left devastated. Plentiful gold was minted into coins, made into jewelry, and financed the growth and statehood of California.
Snuff box, about 1860
Both slave and free African Americans participated in the gold rush as laborers and gold washers.
Gold scale, made by Chen Shengtai in Guangdong Province, China, mid-1800s
The lure of gold brought people from across the ocean, including thousands of Chinese laborers who brought their own weights and scales with them.
Gregg & Norris $5 coin, 1849
Miners needed to turn their gold dust, nuggets, and flakes into usable money. Privately minted coins answered that need.
California Miner’s Bank $10 coin, 1849
San Francisco Mint double eagle, 1855
In 1850 the federal government opened a mint in San Francisco. Near the gold fields, it controlled production and provided coinage that met a national need.
Wass, Molitor and Company $50 slug, 1851
This private company made impressively weighty fifty-dollar slugs. They contained more than a quarter troy pound of pure gold.
Fractional gold coin, 1850s
Private companies also produced coinage on a smaller scale, and in lesser values, such as the fractional coins with a value of 25 and 50 cents.
Gold nugget case, 1864
During the Civil War, San Francisco citizens sent Abraham Lincoln a gold nugget accompanied by a letter wishing him success in ending the war.
Many participated in gold fever by purchasing inexpensive gold jewelry. Just before the gold rush, Englishman Thomas Lowe brought knowledge of gold plating to the American jewelry industry.
William Shew, daguerreotype views of San Francisco Harbor during the gold rush, 1852
