The World in his Pocket: the diverse coins used in the California Gold Rush

Summary

During the California Gold Rush, hopeful Argonauts from all over the world descended on California, bringing whatever coinage they had with them. Merchants of the time were adept at accommodating the new arrivals. Whereas the silver reales of Spanish America had long been a mainstay of the economy on the East Coast of America, now many other forms of coinage made their appearance. Silver and gold were the accepted forms of currency because with the runaway inflation copper coins were of inadequate value to be useful, although some have been found, possibly retained as keepsakes. This paper will focus on archaeological collections found in Monterey and Sacramento, the other source for numismatic collections for this presentation. In addition to the archaeological finds, some intriguing contemporary historical comments on the diversity of coins found in most people’s pockets will be presented.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Numismatic Archaeology of North America - Contributions, Progress, and Prospects   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 137