The Shasta courier., 1864-04-30
SHASTA COURIER
Facts About Gold. =


lev; sometimes copper and iron. Some me-
tallurgists hold that gold occasionally occurs
as snipheret.- It is known to occur In sew
er..i other mineral combinations. Aminerai
sometimes known as f" graphic gold, occurs
in Transylyania, in narrow veins which ira
verse porphyry. The name is due to the Pc
culiar arran cement of its crystals, which re-
sembles antimony. This is highly valua-
bic ore of about the following average COM
position :-TeIlurium 60, gold 80, silver 10,
equal 100. Precipitated with the above ore
is also another mineral known as aurotellu-
rite. of a whitish brass color, composition
about as follows: Tellurium II, gold %, sill
yer ii, lead IA. equal 100. Amineral known
as " gold amalgam" has also been found in
the platinum region of Columbia, South
America, composed as follows Mercury
$40, gold 3o.40, silver 4.2l, equal 100.
This metal occurs in small white grains,
about the size of pea, easily crumbling.
Native gold occurs in beautiful arborescent
shapes, and sometimes in beautiful crystals
and filiform shapes. The nuggets and scales
of placer gold are always worn and usually
fiattened into scale like form. With regard
to its native purity, out OF 5l assays recorded
by Dana, of gold from nearly every portion
of the glo e, the lowest was 60OS; the high
est 9S &c. Among the curiosities OF gold,
F. Ager has described crystal OF gold OBJ
tanned in this State, octahedral IN form. OF
the extraordinary size OF FIVE sixteerths OF an
inch The crystal is cayernous, the faces
concave about the center
CRYSTALS of gold seldom occur in an insoa-
ted form; but when found shoul be careful
" preserved as cabinet specimens, for which
purpose their value is much greater than
No hav ut off go
a beautiful specimen of fat filiform gold ta-
ken out of quartz mine in Teolumne coun-
ty. Quite a aquantity several ounces) was
taken from Il crevice intermixed with clay.
After the clay was washed away, the gold,
under a glass, presented the appearance of a
tangled mass of ribbon shaped fbers, contin-
nous in length, and almost as thin as gold
leaf.
Next to iron, gold is the most widely diffus
ed metal on the surface of the globe 1t occurs
in nearly every geological formation. 1t is
nineteen times heavier than water, and Is the
heaviest of all known metals with the excep-
tion of platinum. Previous to the mineral
discoveries in California and Australia, the
chief part of the gold which found its way
into use was derived from the Russian mines
Gold is the first metal spoken of in the Bible.
The earliest mention of it is in Genesis Ii.
IL, where it is alluded to as being found in
the land of Havilah, where the Euphrates
and Tigris unite The sacred writer men
tions this fact in immediate connection with
his description Of the Garden of Eden; he
moreover says that - the gold Of that land is
good"
The entire quantity of gold which has been
taken out of the earth, to the present time, is
set down at nine thousand millions of dollars.
The quantity still remaining is estimated at
three millions, which welded into a solid mass,
might be contained in cube of eleven feet.
We condense the following additional facts
from the Merchants Magazine:-
The relative value of gold to silver, in the
days of the patriarch Abraham, was one to
eight; at the period B. c. 1000, it was one
to twelve B. G. 500, it was one TO thirteen !;
at the commencement of the Christian Era,
it was one to nine A. d. 500. it was one to
eighteen \. d. HOO, it was one to eight ;
a. D. 400, it was one to eleven; A. d.
1913, it was one to thirteen a. d. 100, it
was one to fifteen and a half; which latter
ratio, with but slight variation, it has main
tanned to the present day.
Gold was considered bullion in Palestine
for long period after silver had been current
as money The first mention of gold money
in the Bible is in David IS reign, (B C. l0j6. J
when that king is said to have bought the
threshng floor of Ornan for six hundred she
kels of gold by weight. In the earlier peri
cd Of Grecian history the quantity of the pre-
cious metals increased but slowly, the circu
lating medium did not increase in proportion
with the quantity of bullion. Ia the days of
early Greece, the precious metals existed in
great abundance in the Levant. Cabul and
Little Thi5et { B. c. 500) were abundant in
gold. 1t seems to be we'll ascertained fact
that it was obtained near the surface'so that
countries which formerly yielded the metal in
great abundance are now entirely destitute OF
it. Croesus b. C. 560) coined the golden
stater which contained one hundred and thr-
ty-three grains pure metal. Darius coined
ddricS, containing one hundred and twenty
four grains of pure gold. which were prefer
red, for several ages, throughout the East for
their fneness. Daries are supp sed to be
mentioned in the latter books of the Old Tes-
lament under the name of drdRs. Very few
specimens of the daric have come down to us :
their scarcity may be accounted for by the
fact that after the conquest of Persia they
were melted down, ander the type of Alexan-
der. Gold coin was by no means plenty in
Greece, until Philip of Macedon had put the
mines of Thrace in full operation. about b.
c. 500. Gold was also obtained by the Greeks
from Asia Minor, India, Arabia, Armenia.
Colchis, and Troas. There are only about a
dozen Greek gold coins in existence, three of
which are in the British Museum, two are
staters. About B. c. 207, gold coins were
first struck at Rome, and denominated dHrei,
four specimens of which are in the institution
before alluded to.
\ cubic inch of gold is worth at SlS.9 .9S rel
ounce, one hundred and forty-six dollars; a
cutie foot, two hundred and eighty eight dol
lars; cubic yard, six millions eight hundred
and eleven thousand seven hundred and sew
enty-six dollars.
Tue annual product of gold at various pc
riods has been estimated as follows -
A. D. l4............ $500. .0O(
500 .... 10000
1000 SO.00t
1492. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 100,00l
1900. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. $500. 00t
100 ..................-......... 6.000.00(
1900. i. 600. .00(
lS43............... 81 900, ,00t
lS4S Observation-Disclosures &c, ,000. .00t
1851 .l39. 600. .00(
leOo .-.--...-....-0u, ,uop.uul
The amonnt of gold in existence at variou:
periods is estimated to be as follows =
A. d. l4-...-....... .........-.. S421 .0O0.O0C
oOU,.... ..................... IUo.oVo.oOt
1000 lD ono ON