I was able to locate and watch the "Gunsmoke" episode "Treasure of John Walking Fox".
After watching a DVD of the episode, I discovered that my Lost Dutchman Mine coin does not
match the prop coin shown in the episode, the episode coin is apparently copied from a
California Gold Discovery Centennial medal made in 1948.
At home, I looked the coin up on the Internet and found one similar story, which claimed that
the medals were made for "Gunsmoke" fans or octagonal collectors.
The "Lost Dutchman Mine" is not mentioned in the episode, it is a famous "lost mine"
supposed located in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, Arizona.
I posted more about the coin, the show, and the episode on my website under "Coins on Television".
John Walking Fox (Leonard Nimoy)
This was Leonard Nimoy's last guest television appearance before his long run as "Mr. Spock" on "Star Trek".
Only the obverse of the coin prop is shown during the episode.
The reverse appears to be blank.
Closeup of the coin prop used in the episode
The coin has a figure of a miner '49er and the legend:
THE DAYS OF OLD / THE DAYS OF GOLD / THE DAYS OF FORTY NINE / CALIFORNIA
The film prop coin is not like the Lost Dutchman Mine medal, it appears to be based on a
California Gold Discovery Centennial medal made in 1948.
One such medal sold at the Goldberg Coins and Collectibles 2008 Auction for $216.
(So-Called Dollars Auction 47 Lot 4346, May 25-27, 2008)
http://images.goldbergauctions.com/php/lot_auc.php?site=1&sale=47&lot=4346&lang=1
The medal legend "the days of old, the days of gold" is from an old song of the California Gold Rush.
In the "Gunsmoke" episode, Marshall Dillon asks John Walking Fox where he got the two coins he spent.
John replies:
"Suppose I were to say I found them on the prairie, just the two of them".
"Or that they were given to me by an elder of the tribe, as talismans to ward off evil".
Who made the item I bought?
