Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 53

Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

Territorial Gold Coins

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1470		1851 U.S. Assay Office $50 "slug", 887 THOUS. Reeded edge. NGC graded Humbert EF-45. An desirable, if somewhat abraded example with light yellow-golden color partial effacement (through wear and otherwise) of the lower legend on the obverse. Three of the four digits in the date are clear; there is an injury to the surface through the date. This piece, as a "common" Type with 887 THOUS fineness on the scroll, has the familiar Target reverse. The design appears as a series of concentric circles in the center, surrounded by a series of crossing wavy, concentric circles. These concentric circular lines are known to mechanics as "engine turning,", the design is similar to the web-like engraving in the vignettes on paper money or on watchcases. Pop 11 (PCGS # 10214) . Gold rush anecdote: Bumper-to-bumper highway congestion isn't just a modern phenomena. Rush hour traffic on the Oregon-California trail during 1849 and well into the 1850s was just as bad --probably worse. The image of a lone wagon on the endless prairie is largely myth; it's more accurate to imagine a moving city. Many reported seeing wagons all the way to the horizon day after day bringing miners or their families to the region to get rich in the California gold fields. Not every 49er used the Oregon -California Trail. There were other routes to gold country -- one came perilously close to Antarctica! Those who did not want to endure a four month trek across the continent, traveled to California by ship. Trouble was, there was no direct water route to the west coast. So a ship leaving an East Coast city had to travel all the way to the tip of South America -- skirting the edge of the the Antarctic continent -- before heading north to California. It was a difficult trip that sometimes took a complete year. Estimated Value $25,000 - 27,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1471		1852 U.S. Assay Office $10 Gold, 884 THOUS. NGC graded AU-58. Nice untoned example. A high degree of luster distinguishes the satiny, albeit somewhat granular golden surfaces from others of the date which are less frosty even though in technically similar grade. Collectors familiar with the series will recognize this difference at once. The 884 THOUS type of Assay Office $10 is traditionally been ascribed to the "scarce" or "rare" category, and for obvious reasons. Once the U.S. Mint in San Francisco opened for coining in 1854, almost the entire earlier production of Assay Office coins, along with Humbert's territorials, were recoined into federal coinage. A wonderful opportunity for the specialist in this series to acquire a high grade specimen. Pop 24; 41 finer; 6 in 60; 23 in 61; 9 in 62; 3 in 64. (PCGS # 10001) . Estimated Value $8,000 - 8,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $7,475
Lot 1472		1855 Wass, Molitor & Co. (San Francisco) $50 Gold. NGC graded AU-53. A very pleasing example of this huge massive "Slug" with far fewer rim bumps than usually seen. Some scattered marks in the unprotected fields, one near the nose and below the chin, neither of which are too serious and all is commensurate with the grade given. Easily worth our conservative estimate. An historic and nicely preserved $50 gold piece whose rare beauty comes with fully defined design features plus a strict limitation on surface marks. What's more, the rims are choicer than average for this often bunged-about Type, wherein use in circulation tended to damage the soft rim areas. While the octagonal fifties from the Assay Office get much of the news coverage in the American numismatic press, that is only because they are seen ten times as often as a Wass $50 piece. The firm of Wass, Molitor & Company was comprised of Samuel Wass and Agoston Molitor, who operated their well-respected private mint in the Bay area from 1852. Their first deliveries consisted of five- and ten-dollar gold pieces for local use. They ceased minting when the San Francisco Mint opened in 1854, but resumed with production of the famous $50 denomination round gold coins in 1855. This was at a time when the federal facility was obliged to close from time to time for lack of proper parting acids to refine gold dust with the requisite copper alloy. The fifty dollar Wass, Molitor pieces filled the void at this critical time. Reports are the Wass Molitor coinage had one of the highest intrinsic values of any of the private issues in California. Many were subsequently melted. Pop 4; 14 finer. Estimated Value $50,000 - 55,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $51,750
Lot 1473		1854 Kellogg & Co. (San Francisco) $20 Gold. NGC graded MS-61. Well struck with light gold toning. Fully pulsating with lovely vivid color, the surfaces are free of bothersome striking incompleteness. Struck with exactitude by the dies. This is seen in the outstanding hair waves on Liberty, a full coronet (inscribed KELLOGG & CO.), and simply bold detail on the eagle and rays above. A few of the obverse stars are flat, that is all. One of the handsomer appearing Territorial issues. When the U.S. Assay Office of Gold ceased operation, John Glover Kellogg and his partner G.F. Richter, earlier an assayer with the U.S. Assay Office of Gold, opened the Kellogg & Richter firm, doing business as Kellogg & Co. In January 1854 numerous leading banks petitioned Kellogg & Richter, pleading with them to produce gold coins until the new Mint opened. Kellogg & Co. began coining private-issue twenty dollar gold pieces in February of that year. These resembled the federal design. Kellogg claimed that his firm could issue $20,000 worth per day. Most were later withdrawn from circulation and melted at the nearby San Francisco Mint when it opened for operations. Pop 12; 4 finer; 2 in 62; 1 in 63; 1 in 66. Estimated Value $14,000 - 15,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $12,650
Lot 1474		1855 Kellogg & Co. (San Francisco) $20 Gold. NGC graded MS-60. Untoned. Light marks. Both sides of this attractive, fully lustrous light gold piece show the expected surface abrasions for the grade, but all seem to be small, there are no annoying deep contact marks. Always in strong collector demand. The reverse design has an eagle and shield motif similar to the standard U.S. mint-issue $20 gold pieces of the day, with blank scrolls at either side of the shield. The right claw grasps three arrows, the shield showing nearly complete vertical and horizontal stripes and lines. The most prolific issuer in the gold rush years in California was the United States Assay Office operated by Augustus Humbert as assayer. Eventually, a branch of the U.S. Mint opened in San Francisco, and began operations in 1854. In that year, a limited coinage began, although the earliest San Francisco Mint coinage was sporadic due to lack of parting acids to make standard 90% alloy gold planchets. A shortage of circulating coins developed due to this in the boom-time conditions of San Francisco and the adjoning communities. Area merchants asked Kellogg to produce gold coinage to satisfy this demand, and the firm struck large numbers of $20 pieces, under the name of Kellogg & Co. Only a few have been certified in Mint condition: Pop 5; 6 finer; 4 in 61; 2 in 62. (PCGS # 8914) . Estimated Value $15,000 - 16,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $12,650