The worship of gold is an obsession shared by most of history's advanced civilizations. But in the European mentality it is something that goes beyond obsession. From the Spanish Conquistadores to the California 49ers to the modern myth that investment in gold is some sort of protection for one's wealth gold has a magical, mystical, and supernatural meaning in our civilization. Its utilitarian value is comparatively low and its traditional color is somewhat mellowing. There is no obvious rational explanation for the hold it has on the mind of civilized man.
      The California Gold Rush of 1849 is the most notable of the many gold rushes which have helped shape the United States. By a remarkable coincidence, the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 23, 1848 and the ensuing flood of prospectors into California coincided with the social upheavals of 1848-49 in Europe. (The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848) It was the heartiest, strongest, most adventurous, and mentally strongest people from Europe and the eastern US that flowed into California during this period. The descendants of these 49ers have made the state of California and San Francisco in particular a place of health, freedom , adventure, and an imaginative try anything once anything goes mentality down through the 150 years since 1849.