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Gold Rush! and Mining the Miners

By: Graham Iddon


August 30, 2016
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Gold Rush! Involves not just one but a number of gold rushes in BC and internationally (but not the Klondike).



Mining the Miners deals with a small facet of only one gold rush, the Klondike. But it’s a pretty interesting facet!


When we sat down to discuss the subject of our next exhibition to be hosted by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH), there were two topics tabled: money in the Red River Settlement of Manitoba and the Klondike gold rush. As the CMH would be hosting Gold Rush! El Dorado in British Columbia (a Royal BC Museum exhibition) this summer, it was a short discussion. Mining the Miners is our third temporary exhibition at the CMH (we reopen in 2017) and it is indeed about the Klondike gold rush. It’s always nice to be able to dovetail our exhibits with those of our host.


The real thing. A near-pure gold ingot from the Royal Canadian Mint. At a rough estimate: 30 cm long and 20 kilograms.



All the basic tools for a 19th century gold miner: spade, picks, pan and a rocker box to separate gold from gravel and sand.


Gold Rush! has the practical aspects of frontier prospecting and mining covered, providing background material for the stuff that really tickles our fancy: banking and the economy! The Dawson economy? That sounds like a real snore, but it’s actually an extraordinary story full of the same sort of crazy anecdotes and outrageous statistics that sprout like mushrooms out of any gold rush. We called our new exhibition Mining the Miners. But let’s get back to Gold Rush!

Interpreting the harsh experiences and primitive technologies of the gold rush prospectors would be enough for any big exhibition. Fortunately, the Royal BC Museum also chose to look at the collateral effects of a gold rush—for better and for worse. At the core of this exhibition is the powerful notion that the various BC gold rushes were as responsible for shaping the Canadian West as the railway was, perhaps more. Also central to the exhibition is the ancient and powerful effect that gold has on the human mind, an effect that builds economies and nations while devastating cultures and landscapes. There isn’t a lot of happy history associated with gold—it tends not to bring out the best in people­—but it’s fascinating history.


Stage coach used on the Cariboo Road through the Fraser River Valley.



Surveying equipment (c.1855) used by British Royal Engineers to help build the Cariboo Road from Yale to Barkerville, BC.


As the prospectors stampeded for the gold fields, close on their heels was a whole host of frontier opportunists. Roads needed to be surveyed, transport provided, supplies delivered, infrastructure built, political frameworks put in place and eventually, every aspect of a functioning community conjured up out of the woods and creeks—at least temporarily. Vice, virtue and taxes all quickly appeared in unequal measures.

In the gold pans in front of the case are the buttons to open the building facades.

And this is where Mining the Miners picks up the story. We expanded our initial storyline from a tale of the frontier banks to the crazy economics of a remote boomtown; of trying to live and prosper in a place where the most modest of needs had to be hauled in over hundreds of kilometres of trails and lakes and down the Yukon River into a punishingly harsh environment. It was an economy driven by greed and opportunism where the middleman triumphed and the vast majority of miners lost.


The Opera House on the right still stands today in Dawson and is now named the Grand Palace Theatre.



The Bank of British North America was later bought out by the Bank of Montreal.


For this exhibition, we wanted a fun visual catch and our exhibition designer had a great idea: build a diorama of Klondike building facades that open up to reveal our text panels. And we did. Four facades, all modeled after real Dawson buildings, were built to house our panels. Arranged as if on a street, the buildings open at the touch of a button. Detailed right down to the wood grain, signage and roof shingles, they are very compelling.


At the touch of a button, motors concealed beneath the “street” open the facades, revealing the text.


What fun the model makers must have had building details like the balcony and window frames for the Opera House.



Yes, the Dawson branch of this bank really was in a log building.


In the front of the display case is a selection of artifacts that are unique to the Klondike gold rush. Bank notes stamped with “Yukon” share the case with tokens for dance halls, saloons and cigar stores—currency from a place where small change didn’t exist and a broom could cost you an ounce of gold. And yes, we do have gold. Drop by for a look after (or before) seeing Gold Rush! El Dorado in British Columbia. You’ll find Mining the Miners on the lower level, next to the Canadian Stamp Collection.


Bank notes shipped to the Klondike gold rush were stamped with “Yukon” or “Dawson” to identify them.



Small change was scarce in the Klondike so businesses made their own.


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Content type(s): Blog posts

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The Museum Blog

September 12, 2023

A checkup on cheques

By: David Bergeron


Photo, a tabletop with several printed paper forms and hand-written documents plus a bank card.  
With the continuing rise of e-transfers and electronic payments, people have been predicting the death of the humble cheque for decades. But it hasn’t happened yet.
Content type(s): Blog posts
July 31, 2023

The Scenes of Canada series $100 bill

By: Graham Iddon


Few of us ever get a chance to see a Scenes of Canada $100 bill. Which is a pity, because it is an example of great bank note design with even greater imagery by a master engraver.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): History
July 13, 2023

Caring for your bank notes

By: Graham Iddon


Collecting paper money seems simple enough. But, paper is delicate stuff and demands a gentle touch.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Arts
May 3, 2023

Teaching math using money

By: Jonathan Jerome


From skip counting to making change, working with money is a great way for students to practice math skills.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, Financial literacy, Math Grade level(s): Early childhood / Kindergarten, Grade 01, Grade 02
April 4, 2023

Caring for your coins

By: Graham Iddon


Coin collecting can be a fun and fascinating hobby. But there are a few things you should know to keep your collection safe and in good condition. Because coins aren’t as robust as you might imagine.
Content type(s): Blog posts
March 22, 2023

Security is in the bank note

By: Graham Iddon


Collage, photo of wild west street, old bank notes, old counterfeiting brochure.
Security printing is a game of anticipating and responding to criminal threats. Counterfeiting is a game of anticipating and responding to bank note design. This cat and mouse relationship affects every aspect of a bank note.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, Financial literacy Grade level(s): Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
February 2, 2023

Teaching art with currency

By: Adam Young


From design to final product, bank notes and coins can be used to explore and teach art, media and process.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Arts, Education Grade level(s): Grade 05, Grade 06, Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
January 20, 2023

New Acquisitions—2022 Edition

By: David Bergeron, Krista Broeckx


It’s a new year—the perfect time to look back at some notable artifacts the Museum added to the National Currency collection from 2022. Each object has a unique story to tell about Canada’s monetary and economic history.
Content type(s): Blog posts
December 6, 2022

Money: it’s a question of trust

By: Graham Iddon


Photo collage, parking meter, old bank notes and an early bank card.
The dollars and cents we use wouldn’t be worth anything to anybody if we didn’t have confidence in it. No matter if it’s gold or digits on a hard drive, public trust is the secret ingredient in a successful currency.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy

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