Hoser John said:
MUST agree with all of the above as a gold coin back in the day represented a HUGE amount of labor and were a treasured possession not hauled around in your pocket to be lost. John
If you've ever read old legal documents, surrounding large purchases, you'll see a trend: Like for downpayment on purchase of real estate property, you'll often read something like: "$300 down payment in gold coins".
In 1880, a miner's wage for a month might have been $20 + room and board. So for him to have lost a $20 gold, would be like you or I loosing $2k or whatever. So I have a theory that, just like now, when we all get paid, we tend to carry some bills in our wallet, and change in our pocket (their equivalent to a few pennies, nickels, dimes, a half, etc...). Yet we do NOT tend to carry an entire week's paycheck in liquid form. Instead, we put that in the bank, break it down, and carry smaller portions of it. And only unless we're getting ready to make a large purchase (a used car where someone wants cash) only THEN do we carry $1k around.
This is a simplistic theory/explanation, of course. Because other cultural factors have skewed things (besides mere inflation). For example we have credit cards, ATM, check-writing, etc..... And also: If $5 were a week's pay, and that was in the form of a single coin, then it's entirely possible to be carrying it (just as you'd carry your paycheck from work to the bank).
I've found the most gold coins to be a travel locations. Like stage stops or emigrant camp/stop spots. Because go figure: When you got ready to up and move permanently, you were going to carry your wealth with you. And if cargo space/weight was at a minimum (for cross-country), would you rather carry 500 large cents , or a single $5 gold ?
However, I've also found them at old town demolition sites, country/mountain resort/picnic sites, and after beach storms (which would be another form of picnic usage I suppose). 2 of mine also came from an area that had military stationed in the late 1840s to mid 1850s. But it's hard to say, as other usages of the spot were going on as well.