By Ben Marks — Call it beginner's luck, but a four-year-old kid found a 16th-century gold pendant the other day. It was his first time using a metal detector. The religious locket is decorated with images of the Virgin Mary and the five wounds of Christ. If it is sold, the boy will split the proceeds (its value is estimated at 2.5-million pounds) with the landowner. Not bad for a day's work!

U.S. Gold Coins: Holding the California Gold Rush in the Palm of Your Hand

By Ben Marks — The double eagle is really a result of the California Gold Rush. Prior to the California Gold Rush, the biggest gold discoveries were relatively small strikes in Georgia and North Carolina. That led to new U.S. Mints in Dahlonega and Charlotte, and they struck smaller denomination gold. But in California, the amount of gold being found was so spectacular that in the beginning, people didn’t even believe it. When gold was first discovered in California, there wasn’t this immediate...