Historic Gold- James W. Marshal

In recognition of the Fourth of July holiday, the Cash4Gold blog embarks on its latest Historic Gold segment by remembering one of the most important gold finds in the history of the U.S.

The significance of carpenter James W. Marshal’s first gold find was unparalleled in terms of California’s history. Marshal’s discovery set the stage for the events that turned California into an official state, when his catalyst find created the California gold rush, sending in hundreds of thousands of people to the settlement, resulting in its culture and creation as a state.

Marshal was employed to build a sawmill in the California area by Joan Sutter for the use of lumber production. The construction of the mill was done in Coloma beside the American river. On the morning of January 24, Marshal was examining a channel that ran below the Sutter sawmill and discovered flecks of a shiny material in the channel’s bed. He scooped up only a handful of these flecks and in doing so discovered the first gold of the California Gold Rush.

Photo: The actual river channel where Marshal discovered gold as seen today.

Source and photos: http://www.coloma.com/gold/marshall-park.php

Hopes for a "Modern Day" Gold Rush

In our last post, we talked about the most profitable gold rush in all of history, The Australian Gold Rush of 1851. But now, after the recent discovery of a $460,000 gold nugget in Nevada County, California, there are hopes for a newer “modern day” gold rush.

The trigger of new attention to the Nevada County was this gold nugget pictured above, weighing in at 8.2 pounds, it was sold for the 460k at a Sacramento auction. Reports say that the man who discovered the gold (who keeps anonymity to his name) did so using only a metal detector, and in his own backyard.

Since the discovery of the 460k gold nugget, more gold has been found in the old gold harvesting valley of Nevada County, and geologists as well as prospectors are convinced that there is still more gold to be found.

"And there's no question, obviously, that there's still gold out there in those hills," said Don Edgeman, the owner of a nearby store.’- http://www.wdam.com/story/14512726/geologist-search-for-gold-after-460k-nugget-was-found

With the value of gold continuing to rise and even reaching its highest record breaking price ever in recent weeks, what does the future hold for gold?