Australian gold rushes Australian gold rushes During the Australian gold rushes, significant numbers of workers (both from other areas within Australia and from overseas) relocated to areas in which gold had been discovered. A number of gold finds occurred in Australia prior to 1851, but only the gold found from 1851 onwards created gold rushes. This is mainly because, prior to 1851, the colonial government of New South Wales (Victoria did not become a separate colony until 1 July 1851) had suppressed news of gold finds which it believed would reduce the workforce and destabilise the economy. After the California Gold Rush began
1851 $50 Humbert 1851 $50 Humbert The 1851 Humbert $50 gold ingot was an ingot produced by Moffat and Company, under the direction of Augustus Humbert (U.S. Assayer of the treasury) This "coin" while technically an ingot, was still used and unofficially considered currency. It was also the largest ingot produced during the California Gold Rush, weighing almost 2.5 oz. During the gold rush of 1849, the US Treasury department hired private companies to mint coins before they could properly set up a mint. The U.S. Treasury was much more practical and would often mint coins near the location of the precious metals