This one-hour documentary, “Gold Rush Money,” is narrated by distinguished Oscar-winning actor, Charlton Heston, and is beautifully produced with numismatic expert interviews and dramatic reenactments.

Charlton Heston takes you back in time to the California Gold Rush, a time woven in the fabric of our nation and defines the very spirit of our great land. This fascinating documentary explains how the Gold Rush of 1849 created a rogue economy that played out through scenes of chaos, murder, bank runs, and debauchery.

Tales of the expansion of the Wild West and Gold in such abundance making it possible to mint $20 gold double eagles, manufacture of small and large monetary gold bars or ingots like those recovered from the shipwreck of the SS Central America, or “Ship of Gold”. It focuses on the assayers who set the stage for a new money standard at the dawn of the industrial revolution. Leading scholars, museums, libraries, and historical societies provided information and loaned illustrations for the Gold Rush Money documentary. This historical account of the Gold Rush comes alive with period reenactments and insightful interviews from numismatic experts and historians, including;

  • Q David Bowers; president of Bowers and Merena Galleries;
  • Harold P. (“Andy”) Anderson; Wells Fargo & Company Chief Historian
  • Dr. Robert J. Chandler; Wells Fargo Bank History Department’s Senior Research Historian
  • Robert (“Bob”) Evans; Chief Scientist and Curator of discovered the SS Central America
  • Dr. Lynne Pierson Doti; Early California Expert
Charlton Heston, who has appeared in 130 movies in his prominent 60 year career, stated: “I am glad to have been a part of this important project that represents a piece of America’s history.”