20 Old Timey Photos From When Gold Was King
Carly Tennes
Published
08/05/2024
in
wow
Long before the modern era, one defined by class division, wealth disparities, and crypto-disasters where the rare nuevo-riche could — and did — lose everything in a market crash that wiped out trillions of dollars in investor capital, there used to be another way to get rich quickly: Literally striking gold.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, gold rushes took the globe by storm, with countless miners rushing to hotspots like California, Alaska, and Idaho for a shot at making it big.
From mine construction to sifters sifting, here are 20 platinum gold rush photos snapped before a market crash could wipe out your crypto winnings.
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1. “'Wives wanted' - Klondike gold rush, 1901.”
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2. “Felix Pedro aka Felice Pedroni, the Italian who found gold in Alaska in 1902 and started the Fairbanks Gold Rush.”
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3. “Three prospectors pose for a photograph next to their water-powered arrastra (mill) during the Colorado Gold Rush, circa 1861.”
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4. “Klondike gold rush prospectors at the summit of Chilkoot Pass, 1890s.”
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5. “Skookum Jim Mason, the First Nations man whose gold discovery in the Klondike began a gold rush, 1896.”
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6. “My great, great, great, great, great grandfather Samuel Phillips during the CA gold rush of the 1850's. Eventually bought a ranch with the gold he found.”
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7. “Three California Rangers from 1853.”
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8. “Prospectors during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush in 1859.”
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9. “My grandfather mining in Alaska. 1910’s.”
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10. A miner pans for gold, date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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11. An ore cart stationed in Columbia, California, date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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12. A hoisting wheel in Columbia, California, date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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13. Miners pose alongside their equipment. Date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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14. Miners sift for gold. Date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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15. A miner poses alongside a rocker box in Columbia, California, date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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16. Miners pose alongside their tools. Date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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17. The construction of the Columbia, California mines, date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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18. A miner searches for gold. Date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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19. A miner sifts for gold in what appears to be a river. Date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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20. A miner uses a rocker box. Date unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.
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