Why would people use it today in their house to extract gold? Not Chemists for sure. google: " youtube cyanide to extract gold"
It's also uniquely suited to remove certain kinds of deposits. Cyanide chemistry is pretty complicated and interesting. If it weren't so deadly dangerous, and if buying it didn't raise so very many eyebrows, I'd certainly keep it on hand. Trivia: hydrogen sulfide, the toner's friend and vegetarian's nemesis, is nearly as toxic as hydrogen cyanide. The difference is that hydrogen sulfide, um, announces its approach a great deal more aggressively than cyanide does -- long before it reaches dangerous concentrations, every conscious and mobile person will have run away screaming.
The reverse of the medal (pegasus) reminds me of the obverse of the Pan-Pac quarter eagle with a hippocampus. Neat design. I normally don't like medals for no justifiable reason. This one is very, very attractive.