Commodity money Commodity money Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects that have value in themselves (intrinsic value) as well as value in their use as money. Examples of commodities that have been used as mediums of exchange include gold, silver, copper, salt, peppercorns, tea, large stones (such as Rai stones), decorated belts, shells, alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, silk, candy, nails, cocoa beans, cowries and barley. These items were sometimes used in a metric of perceived value in conjunction to one another, in various commodity valuation or price system economies.
Aurum, Nevada locally as "Doughburg." On February 11, 1884, an avalanche occurred in Silver Canyon, above the boarding house of the Sadie L Mine. Three people were killed. Two of the victims, H. W. Mickel, and Wallace McCrimmon, were buried at Aurum. The other victim, John Fox, was taken into Cherry Creek for burial. Over the following decades, the community experienced multiple periods of boom and bust. During booms, the community's population rapidly swelled to hundreds of people. However, during busts, miners left, businesses closed, and the population rapidly dwindled. During one of these "busts", the population dropped to only one inhabitant