$50 was, however - despite being a potential check-total for a sit-down lunch for two these days - in those days, the 1880's when a beer was 5¢ and included a free lunch buffet - a hell of a lot of money and not a sum everyday people would be likely to be carrying around.
Regarding that photo of the Beverly Hillbillies: "Hillbillies" are generally considered to be from the Ozarks [Southern sympathizers but no oil] or Appalachia [Northern sympathizers and lots of oil.] Given those facts, the photo showing them holding a Confederate flag seems a bit out of place.
Neat story but not something I wrote, as I never handed a gold coin to a friend/classmate. If that had happened, I'm sure I would have written about it, however. Mike Thorne