Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 62

The Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

Territorial Gold Coins

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 2396		1853 $20 United States Assay Office of Gold San Francisco. ANACS graded Details of AU-50 Net EF40. 884 Thous. Damaged. Well struck with residual luster around the legends and within devices. It is never common to find a Territorial coin struck with exactitude by the dies. This is such a coin. According to the Dr. Donald Kagin reference on this private California gold rush issue, "While the government's response to the need for an adequate coinage was slow and never satisfactory, two institutions were established (the State Assay Office of California and the United States Assay Office) that did provide an unconventional and partly successful attempt to supply a frontier area with an acceptable quantity of an "official" circulating medium. "The private coinage proscription was not enforced by the public or government because the State Assay Office failed to mint enough ingots for the local demand. Ironically, an institution that was designed to replace the need for private gold minting actually preserved it (i.e., Moffat & Co.'s undebased coins from the first period continued in circulation) and in fact stimulated its resurgence (i.e., the second period of private gold coinage)." Some have argued the Assay Office was a branch mint of the United States. There is considerable support for the belief that the U. S. Assay Office should be regarded as a provisional branch United States mint. The Act of September 30, 1850, provided for the establishment of an assay office under the supervision of the United States assayer, "Who shall cause the stamp of the United States. to be affixed to each bar or ingot of gold." The assayer was directly responsible to the Secretary of the Treasury, an even higher authority than the Director of the Mint to whom the Superintendents of the Philadelphia, Dahlonega, and Charlotte mints were responsible. In addition, Humbert used the same form for his monthly reports to the mint director in Philadelphia as did the other branch mint superintendents; these are preserved at the National Archives. In effect, the United States Assay Office seems to qualify at least as a Provisional Mint of the United States Government as it operated in many ways as the four United States Mints did. Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $9,775
Lot 2397		(1834-37) Christopher Bechtler, 5 DOLLARS CAROLINA, 140 gr. 20 carats. Plain edge. . Breen-7750. Period after RUTHERFORD. NGC graded MS-61. Lovely golden toning with nice mirror surfaces. The Bechtler coinage extended over a period of 20 years and was successful in every respect. It received the implied consent of the United States government and at the same time was widely accepted in the channels of commerce in many districts in North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia (West Virginia had not yet been carved away from the state of Virginia at the time these were current). Based upon the recorded coinage of $2,241,850.50 from the period 1831-1840 plus additional specimens made in the next decade, it is probable that close to a million coins, if not more, were struck bearing the Bechtler imprint. Their prevalence in circulation at one time was attested to by one of Rutherfordton County's older citizens who during the early 20th century told researcher Clarence Griffin that he was 16 years old before he ever saw any coins other than those minted by Bechtler. Sleek mellow gold with pale olive and orange highlights. Devoid of marks of consequence and a joy to behold as such. If we had to select a mark to trace provenance, the only candidate would be a short nick in the field below 1(40) of the weight. Struck in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, from gold taken during our nation's first "gold rush;" Rutherford County, North Carolina and the surrounding regions (including nearby Georgia) were the source of most of our nation's gold from about 1790 to 1840 or so. Struck from carefully made dies, both sides are well detailed. Few examples of this scarce $5 denomination have been graded Mint State by NGC. A grand opportunity for those interested in early private gold issues. Pop 6; 1 finer in 62 (PCGS # 10091) . Estimated Value $18,000 - 20,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $17,250
Lot 2398		Christopher Bechtler, 5 DOLLARS GEORGIA, RUTHERF., 128 gr. 22 carats. . Breen-7760, RUTHERF: spelling. PCGS graded EF-45. Attractive golden toning. A solid strike in all regards. The smooth surfaces are gleam with varying gold to greenish gold hues, the legends are clear-cut, and the eye appeal is exactly what one hopes to find on a distinguished Territorial piece such as this Bechtler $5. There were no Federal branch mints in North Carolina or Georgia until 1838, and the Bechtler minting firm, which began operations in 1830-1, served an important role in the South. The government in D.C. did not disturb the Bechtlers, but allowed the private mint to carry on in full operation until the 1850s. There were occasions where mention of it was made in the Annual Report of the Director of the Mint. Pop 3; 9 finer, 3 in 50, 1 in 53, 4 in 55, 1 in 61 (PCGS # 10109) . Estimated Value $7,000 - 8,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $8,913
Lot 2399		August Bechtler, 5 DOLLARS CAROLINA, 128 gr. 22 carats. . Breen-7765. PCGS graded AU-50. Housed in an Old Green Holder. Small reverse mark above the A in Carolina. Golden toning with reflective surfaces. Minted after the GEORGIA pieces, the CAROLINA GOLD was struck 1842-46 in three formats, 128 G, 134 G, and 141 G, with all three being rare to extremely rare. Perhaps as few as a dozen to 15 exist in all of Breen-7765. (In 1988, at the time the Breen encyclopedia was published, Breen estimated that only 8 of the 128 G variety were extant!) Pop 3; 6 finer, 4 in 53, 1 in 55, 1 in 61 (PCGS # 10043) . Estimated Value $8,000 - 9,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $13,225
Lot 2400		1849 Moffat & Co. (San Francisco) TEN D. NGC graded XF Details, repaired. In place of the usual LIBERTY on the coronet, this privately minted issue has the company's name inscribed in raised letters: MOFFAT & CO. Similar design overall to the Federal $10 gold issues of the period. Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $5,750
Lot 2401		1851 U.S. Assay Office $50 "slug", 880 THOUS. Reeded edge. PCGS graded VF-35. Plenty of luster remains on this attractive Humbert "slug" and a good case can be made for a full Extremely Fioe grade. A heavy-weight contender for your numismatic dollars. Broad, rolling fields and distinctive eagle-with-shield motif produces a cunning recipe to tempt buyers of this historic Gold Rush episode $50 slug. There are a few of the usual corner bumps commonly found on the issue. Noted, too, are a few contact marks in the relatively soft 880-fine metal. In the days when hard-money was King, the metallic gold was alloyed with about 10% copper for hardening to improve wearability in circulation. The Assay Office's slugs, for instance, were made in three fineness levels.900 Fine (or 90% gold, 10% alloy).887 Fine and .880 Fine depending upon the quality of the deposited bullion as well as the availability of copper and "parting acids" used to refine the gold. While the government's response to the need for an adequate coinage at the beginning of the California Gold Rush in 1848-49 was slow and never satisfactory, two institutions were established (the State Assay Office of California and the United States Assay Office) that did provide an unconventional and partly successful attempt to supply a frontier area with an acceptable quantity of an "official" circulating medium. The U.S. Assay Office would produce what became the highest denomination U.S. gold coin to circulate -- octagonal-shaped $50 gold coin-ingots, often referred to as "slugs." (PCGS # 10211) . Estimated Value $30,000 - 35,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 2402		1852 Moffat & Co. (San Francisco) TEN D. Close date. NGC graded AU Details, tooled, improperly cleaned. Although the forementioned problems, the detail is excellent and this rare Territorial issue still has plenty of appeal. Well worth our conservative estimate. Estimated Value $4,000 - 5,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,300
Lot 2403		1852 Moffat & Co. (San Francisco) TEN DOLS. 2 over 1. PCGS graded VF-30. Attractively toned and problem-free for the grade. Balanced wear and some light field abrasions consistent with VF30 quailty, this is the most popularly collected Gold Rush private issue, and affordable to mainline collectors on a tight budget (PCGS # 10190) . Estimated Value $3,500 - 4,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $5,175
Lot 2404		1853 Moffat & Co. $20 Gold Eagle. NGC graded AU Details, mount removed, harshly cleaned. Actually, quite pleasing and not nearly as bad as the NGC description might suggest, we see clear detail at the coronet (which is inscribed MOFFAT & CO), nearly complete hair waves, rims without problems, and nice detail on the eagle and rays above. Light golden color. While not the first private coining establishment, Moffat & Co. was by far the most important in the first period of California private gold minting. It enjoyed the highest reputation of all the coining companies, affirmed by the Federal Government when it asked the two surviving members of the firm to initiate the United States Branch Mint in San Francisco. Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $8,280
Lot 2405		1852 Wass, Molitor & Co. (San Francisco) $5 Gold. Large head. NGC graded AU Details, damaged. We note a dig on the rim near 6 o'clock and scattered scratches about, still easily worth our estimate. Large and small head varieties are known of the 1852 $5 Wass, Molitor issue. The Large head variety has a pointed bust. The company struck $5, $10, $20 and $50 coins. In 1852 they produced a ten-dollar piece similar in design to the five-dollar denomination. Estimated Value $5,000 - 6,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $10,925
Lot 2406		1852 Wass, Molitor & Co. (San Francisco) $10 Gold. Large head. Wide Date. NGC graded Unc Details, repaired, altered surface. Count Samuel C. Wass and Agoston P. Molitor were Hungarian compatriots during their native country's war for independence. Both had acquired considerable practical knowledge of mining at the School of Mines of Germany, and they had subsequently worked the mines in Hungary before they were exiled by the Austrians. Wass emigrated to California in October 1850; Molitor in 1851. As early as April 1851, great inconvenience was experienced in the financial community of San Francisco. No private mints were operating, and the United States Assay Office was issuing only the cumbersome $50 slugs, which were discounted up to 5 percent when making change. At the same time, the city merchants had been appealing to the United States Assay Office to issue smaller denominations, but Moffat's requests for such authority were rejected. Wass, Molitor stepped in to fill the need. Evidently the reverse dies for the 1852 $10 gold were obtained from Dubosq & Co. as they appear to be identical. Moffat & Co., operating for the United States Assay Office, also coined issues in 1852. These issues filled the monetary needs of the area for some time as no Wass, Molitor & Co. coins were struck bearing 1853 or 1854 dates. Estimated Value $3,500 - 4,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $5,750
Lot 2407		1855 Kellogg & Co. (San Francisco) $50 Gold. (2001) "Restrike". PCGS graded Proof 67 Deep Cameo. Struck in 2001 from the S.S. Central America's recovered Kellog & Co. gold bars. Actually struck off the original dies, not from the transfer dies which carry the 2001 date and day of issue. Only 7 coins struck, this being the seventh example. First time ever offered to the public either at auction or privately. The PCGS holder has the gold foil tag that further differentiates this issue. Concerning the original $50 Kellogg coins, no mintage records are known for this issue. Numismatists believe perhaps 20-25 coins were struck, all as Proof presentation pieces. Three were retained by the minter, John Glover Kellogg at the time of issue. Many prominent collectors acquired examples of the Proof Kellogg Fifty Dollar gold pieces from the same dies that struck this remarkable Proof restrike. They include Virgil Brand, Andrew Zabriskie, George Earle, and John Beck among others. Some numismatists justifiably refer to this issue as the "King of Territorial Gold." Estimated Value $25,000-UP. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $34,500
Lot 2408		1849 Oregon Exchange Co. (Oregon) $5 Gold "Beaver". NGC graded AU-55. A decent strike for this great rarity with faded rose color overtones. During the generations before the California Gold Rush, the inhabitants of the Willamette Valley, Oregon, like those of the entire Pacific Northwest, managed to survive on a barter economy. The primary media of exchange, in addition to a meager supply of foreign silver and gold coins, were beaver pelts and wheat; the latter became legal tender by act of the Provisional Government of 1843. By the spring of 1848, the area's population had grown to 13,000, its largest settlement being Oregon City, population 800. On Aug. 9, 1848, gold dust from California arrived aboard the brig Henry, and within two months an estimated two-thirds of the Territory's male population had left for the California mining district, where they founded Hangtown (later called Placerville). By mid-January 1849, some $400,000 in gold dust reached Oregon, with the usual results: perpetual disputes over its weight and fineness, the necessity of weighing and testing, and petitions by the residents for a local mint. The Oregon Exchange Company stepped up to the plate as the first private mint producer in the region; the mint's output comprised 6,000 $5 pieces, along with 2,850 of the $10 gold. The present example shows light rub and strike softness on the beaver and log, along with assorted small scuffs and surface nicks characteristic of the soft, unalloyed gold. A bit of softness is also visible around OREGON and the N of NATIVE. Much luster remains, we might add, and the surfaces tend to be otherwise very appealing. Concerning the unusual lettering along the obverse rim, the Oregon Exchange Company consisted of several prominent residents of the area: Kilborn, Magruder, Taylor, Abernethy, Willson, Rector (Gill) Campbell, and Smith. Their initials K. M. T. A. W. R. G. S. on the five dollar gold pieces, which also depict a beaver on a log with two laurel sprigs (bordering the date). The initials T.O. (rather than O.T., for Oregon Territory) are above the date. The five dollar contains the reverse legend OREGON EXCHANGE COMPANY around the periphery, with 130 G. / NATIVE GOLD. / 5 D. in the center. Pop 2; 1 in AU-58; 1 in MS-61; 1 in MS-62. Historic note: All the "Beaver Money" coins were made from unalloyed California gold without attempt at assay or standardization, explains the Breen encyclopedia. "To make up for any possible deficiencies in fineness, the partners set the coins' weight at well above federal standards. Philadelphia Mint assays valued them at $5.50 and $11; California bankers, at $4 and $8, doubtless to make profit on melting, and contributing to their rarity. Coinage operations ended about Sept. 1, 1849, when both crucibles broke, following less than six months' use. By 1850, California gold coins were becoming available to supplement the Beavers, and the emergency which had led to the latter was over. "Both denominations are unusually soft, commonly with nicks, dents, scratches, and planchet chips or flakes; they also vary greatly in color." Estimated Value $65,000 - 75,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $71,875
Lot 2409		2009 Humbert Commemorative 2.5 Oz. Troy 999.9 Thous. Fine Certified Pure California Gold NGC graded Gem Proof UCAM. Reproduction of a $50 Octagonal Humbert Slug. On the original Octagonal Humbert $50 slugs, the fineness varied from 880 to 887 and 900 according to the bullion deposited. This was indicated on the scroll above the eagle (in this 2009 Commemorative piece, the finess is "four nines" as the bullion traders say, or almost pure 24 karat gold.9999 Fine). Estimated Value $3,700 - 4,000. The Dr. Hesselgesser Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 2410		2009 Humbert Commemorative 2.5 Oz. Troy 999.9 Thous. Fine Certified Pure California Gold NGC graded Gem Proof UCAM. Reproduction of a $50 Octagonal Humbert Slug. Humbert and the U.S. Assay Office would produce what became the highest denomination U.S. gold coin to circulate -- octagonal-shaped $50 gold coin-ingots, often referred to as "slugs." On the original pieces the reverse design appears as a series of concentric circles in the center, surrounded by either overlapping lines or swirls that create a diamond effect (as on the lettered edge pieces), or a series of wavy, concentric circles (found on the reeded edge slugs). 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. This Humber Commemorative Ingot uses a similar technique for the background, with the inscription on a rectangular tablet in the center denoting the year, the weight, and the fineness. Estimated Value $3,700 - 4,000. The Dr. Hesselgesser Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold