Gold’s history dates back to about 3100 BC, but that would be boring, so let’s stop and think about how it must have been discovered. I owned three hotels in little Silverton Colorado, which was a mining town. Silverton was sort of ‘discovered’ in 1868 by Charles Baker, who probably discovered gold the way that most pioneers and explorers happened upon it, and that is by ‘panning’ a stream bed. By doing this, tiny little grains of pure gold can be found, and actually still can be found in some places. The ‘49ers’ found it that way in California, Colorado and Alaska, and probably in 3100 BC they also found it that way. In Baker’s case, while he did discover gold by panning, he also found rich silver veins, just begging for the pick and shovel. It was fall, and he left for the winter, but Silverton had gotten off to a start, and other Colorado ghost towns, in the main now abandoned, became rich beyond most imaginings, for a brief time anyway.
Homer, in “The Odyssey” and “Iliad,” said that gold was the “Glory of the immortals and a sign of wealth among ordinary humans.” Genesis 2:12 speaks of the, “Land of Havilah where the gold is good.” Humans have always thought of gold as related to gods and rulers in all civilizations. Gold was always used to fashion shrines, idols, plates, cups vases and of course jewelry, for the upper classes. Gold has been accepted as true value the world over and throughout history, before it was considered as ‘money.’ The reason it has always been ‘valuable,’ is because it is the most beautiful of all metals, and is immune to rust or decay. Gold salvaged after being under an ocean for hundreds of years, is as bright and shiny as if it were recently mined.
Gold mining, as it occurred in Silverton until about 20 years ago, and is still mined other places, comes out of the ground in a rock, hopefully with visible specks of gold imbedded in it, which is very rare now, and if found, it is known as “high grade.” If there are no visible particles of gold, the rock must be ground up almost as fine as face powder, so it can be treated with chemicals and other processes, to verify the ore’s content, which is usually graded as “ounces per ton of ore.” This is known as an ‘assay.’ Silverton and other mining towns always had an assay office. After the ore has been determined to have gold, silver, and other minerals in it, the ore goes to a mill, where it is finely ground, centrifuged, and treated with chemicals, which separates the gold from silver and other minerals such as copper, lead, and zinc. Gold comes out of the mill, in what is known as ‘sponge.’ It then has to go to a smelter, where it is further refined and turned into useable gold. This is a far cry and far more expensive than finding little bits of gold in a stream. Gold requires discovery of a mine, (exploration) plus mining, milling, and smelting, are necessary before one gets gold that can be used commercially. These procedures are further reasons for gold’s cost to produce and value, in addition to its sheer beauty.
Gold was first used as actual ‘money,’ in the time of Croesus, the last king of Lydia, at about 700 B.C. This early money was merely lumps of gold, usually 63% gold and 27% silver, then known as ‘electrum,’ which had been stamped as authentic, and soon had been established as having a firm value, which could be used as a trading device. Gold was money in ancient Greece, who mined gold by 550 B.C. Plato and Aristotle, both wrote about gold as being beautiful and valuable. The Romans also mined gold extensively throughout their empire, and advanced the science of gold mining considerably. In primitive American mining, miners used the pick, shovel and dynamite, after they thought they had a claim, and had it registered and recorded at the county seat. “Claim jumping,” became common everywhere, and ‘he says you says’ had to be settled by local law enforcement or court, further adding to the cost of gold. The hilarious, “North To Alaska,” with John Wayne, is one of my favorites, and illustrates ‘claim jumping.’ Many mines were so inaccessible that ‘tram lines’ were built. These were long cable lines with large buckets attached to them, electrically powered, which carried food, water, fuel and miners to a mine, and carried the ore back to the mill, and miners ‘after a shift.’. If you want to see what a tram line looked like and worked, be sure to see Jimmy Stewart in “Night Passage,” from 1951, the end of which takes place in a Silverton Mill, which is still in existence, but since mining has ceased, it is open only for tours, and very interesting. It was operable then, and mining was in full tilt.
Silverton’s initial mining, was silver in the main, and was initially called “Baker’s Park,” after its discoverer. In the Rocky Mountains, a “Park,” is a high, level place. The story goes that Silverton didn’t have any gold, but it had “silver by the ton,” therefore it became called “Silverton.” I doubt that story’s authenticity, but having had hotels and associating with the mining profession; mining and miners were great. Miners, ‘worked hard, fought hard, played hard, and drank hard,’ and having tended bar occasionally in my Grand Imperial Hotel, it was an experience I will never forget. Do remember Homer’s quote that gold, “Is a sign of wealth among ordinary humans,” which is why we are in business, and have been since 1977. All paper currencies have gone to zero, and gold and silver have been real, beautiful, value and money for literally hundreds and thousands of years. Don Stott 1-888-786-8822