Is the original poster making reference to the 1849 California Gold Rush? There were other gold discoveries in the 19th Century. One Internet article mentions more than 750,000 pounds of gold in the California "Days of Forty Nine."

This would be over 12,000,000 ounces, and at $1328.00 per ounce, would be worth $15,936,000,000 dollars. This could, in modern terms, purchase a Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier.

A cubic meter of gold weighs in at about 42,460 pounds, so this is at, or over, 17.66 cubic meters of gold.

These figures are approximate.