Australian gold rushes 5000 ounces (57 kg). In January 1851, before Hargraves' find of gold in February 1851 at Ophir near Orange in New South Wales which started the first Australian gold rush, George Hermann Bruhn had left Melbourne to explore the mineral resources of the countryside of Victoria. On his trek Bruhn found, on a date unknown, indications of gold in quartz about 2 miles (3 km) from Edward Stone Parker's station at Franklinford (between Castlemaine and Daylesford). After leaving Parker's station Bruhn arrived at Donald Cameron's station at Clunes in April 1851. Cameron showed Bruhn samples of the gold that had
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