How much gold, arriving in San Francisco, triggered the gold rush? Was it 2 tons, 1 ton or 500 pounds?

Question

jagatuba · Answer

This is a difficult question to answer. It is uncontested that James Marshall was the person that discovered gold in California, but how much gold he discovered by the time of triggering is unclear. According to Eye Witness to History, a shop keeper named Sam Brannan started showing of a bottle filled with gold dust around San Francisco thus proving rumors that gold had been discovered in the river by Marshall and this is what triggered the stampede for gold ( http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/californiagoldrush.htm). So, by this account the amount was much, much less than 500 pounds.

anonymous · Answer

No it is not 500 pounds, it was 2 tons, I guessed it and got it correct.  So here we are learning from each other. Thanks for responding.