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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;davidh, post: 472815, member: 15062&quot;]Although the market for gold is kind of iffy right now, I found in the past (a year or so ago) that local dealers had accumulations of low grade common gold coins that they were happy to let go at spot price because they weren&#039;t &quot;collectable&quot;.&nbsp; It was either that or wholesale them out to a melter.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, I doubt that there ever was a cowboy or prospector who walked into a saloon and dropped a double eagle on the bar for a drink.&nbsp; A single $20 gold coin just wasn&#039;t something that the average cowboy carried around for any reason.&nbsp; In fact, it&#039;s unlikely that many cowboys ever saw a gold coin, let alone held or possessed one.&nbsp; A more likely everyday unit of currency was the half dollar.&nbsp; What you see in movies is <u>total fiction</u>.</p><p><br /></p><p>from <i>Fine Art of the West</i>, by B. Price:</p><blockquote><p>Cowboy wages were meager; during the heyday of the open range in the 1870s and 1880s, they earned only $25 to $30 per month on average, with top hands receiving as much as $45 or $50. A serviceable rig, consisting of a saddle and bridle, hat, boots, spurs, side arms, and bedding, typically cost three months wages, fancier outfits proportionally more. Siringo estimated that a set of utilitarian gear fetched $82, horse included, in the 1870s. Within a decade the price of a typical outfit had risen to between $125 and $200. More elaborate equipage, for those few with the means to acquire it, might fetch $500 or more.</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>And a new Colt .45 cost $16, plus a couple of dollars for a box of ammunition.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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