It’s finally happened. A little over a week ago, the price of raw gold eclipsed $3,000 an ounce and, for now, has stayed there. The precious metal has flirted with this level in the past. It’s actually risen even further. Last Thursday, in just one day, gold climbed $43 and surpassed $3,100.
There’s no way James Marshall could have imagined any of this. He was the man in Coloma, California who, in 1848, spotted a gleaming nugget in the south fork of the American River. A lowly sawmill operator at Sutter’s Mill, Marshall found the gold in the wooden sluice he had built for Sutter.
At the time, the population of the city of San Francisco was around 1,000. By the spring of 1848, after the gold strike was announced, it’s said San Francisco became a “ghost town” when everyone from average citizens to ship captains abandoned their jobs and headed to Coloma. Later, San Francisco’s population soared as prospectors from around the world flocked to the region....
At that time, gold was valued at barely $20 per ounce. Since the late-1700s, gold half-ounce “Eagle” coins had been the standard in the US. Once the massive California gold strike took place, new “Double Eagle” $20 gold coins began being struck weighing just under one-ounce.
Those coins, and equally hefty silver dollars – also weighing a bit under one-ounce – became staples of the Old West. Most coins were struck in Philadelphia though the rarest and most valuable of either denomination were made in Carson City, Nevada from 1870 to 1893.
When I was in college in the late-1970s, a peculiar kid had ordered gold panning equipment by mail. At that time, the price of gold was barely $170 per ounce. This student was convinced he would “hit the mother lode.” No such luck. But, he tried.
With gold now topping the $3,000 mark, and with retirees in abundance, many are following that kid’s lead and venturing to the California gold fields and streams to “strike it rich.” Even 177 years after the big gold rush, California leads the nation in gold production and discovery.
Incidentally, When James Marshall made his big discovery, California was a territory of Mexico. We had been embroiled in the Mexican/American War. The week Marshall made his find, with no knowledge of his discovery, Mexico ceded control of California to the US. Ooops.
There may be a downside to the soaring price of gold. People could be tempted to cash in items just for their gold value. That’s fine unless the pieces happen to be coins with a rare date or mintmark, or jewelry crafted by a famous maker. Those could be worth far more than just gold. It would be tragic if any such rarities were melted down only for their gold content value.
Anyone with dreams of gold may have an alternate opportunity for major riches. In January 1909, the British ship R.M.S. Republic sank 20 or so miles off the coast of Nantucket Island in New England. It had collided with the S.S. Florida. The Republic was owned by the White Star line and was a sister ship to the doomed Titanic.
Aboard the Republic was a king’s ransom in gold including $25 million in Tsarist gold and $800,000 in US Navy gold. But wait. That valuation was when gold was barely $25 an ounce. Today, that shipment, lying 280 feet under the surface off Nantucket, would be worth billions of dollars.
Recently, a limited partnership was created by the group Lords Of Fortune, legal owners of the sunken wreck. To help finance the cost to recover the gold thought to be aboard the ship, Lords Of Fortune is offering limited partnership shares. Investors who participate will divide 50 percent of the first $400 million in treasure followed by 20 percent after that pro rata to their initial investment.
Such ventures are way outside of my wheelhouse. I have no clue as to the prospects for or veracity of the venture. In fairness, the only items recovered so far from the wreck of the Republic are some wine bottles, a few plates and a toilet. But, hope springs eternal. Oh, there’s one other issue. A minimum investment of one million dollars is required. Yikes.
For armchair speculators and gold seekers, it may be a 21st century way to experience a taste of James Marshall and Sutters Mill. Anyone interested or merely curious, can obtain more information online at: https://LordsOfFortune.com/reference/LoFNewsletter03-2025.pdf.
For more collecting stories and advice, log on to: http://prexford.com/.