It definitely takes a different type of personality to do gold mining for a living. Imagine what kind of people you would run into in 1849 and in the 1898 Klondike.
One thing to think about: We FReepers are always discussing money issues - inflation, investments, the stock market, whether to buy/sell gold and silver, the stability/instability of the US dollar, etc. Have you notice these gold miners work like trojans to recover gold, then when they find it, they can’t wait to exchange it for dollars. Wonder if they keep a stash of gold in reserve?
I know several gold miners from this area. They range from a guy and his donkey(literally) to some brothers that run a very successful operation placer mining. Every one of them is somewhat quirky - I suspect it is because they spend lot’s of time away from people or they just like it that way. They all have “flash” stashes for show and tell. While it is taboo to ask a miner how much gold he has stashed I am certain that they all have some. Plus skimming is a time honored tradition in gold mining.
When gold jumped to $800 many cashed out; when it hit $1200 a few more did so and so on. I keep a few choice nuggets for show and tell for relatives, never to be shown to anyone outside the family. Ultimately around here you have to pay most bills with dollars. It is different in Dawson and Nome for example.