This week’s highlight from our Rarities Night Session of our Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo is a lovely 1852 United States Assay Office of Gold $50. Always popular and fascinating for numismatists, these “slugs” or ingots are impressive in both size and heft (weighing nearly 2.5 ounces), and are a tangible link to this historically important era.
Lot 10278 in our Baltimore Rarities Night, is a Kagin-14 variety, which shows the fineness at the federal standard of .900, as opposed to the “normal” .887 standard as were originally produced. This variety is considered to be Rarity-5. It is believed that a couple hundred $50 gold pieces remain in all grades and types, but few can hold a candle to this magnificent specimen. NGC has recorded 46 grading events, the vast majority of those between VF and AU. Only eight coins have been certified at the Mint State level. This example, graded MS-63 by NGC, is satiny and vibrant, and has extremely well preserved surfaces, along with smooth rims and bold definition. The eye appeal is all that one would expect in the second finest NGC-certified example (only a single MS-64 piece is graded higher).
The history of these pieces is fascinating and many pages have been written about territorial and pioneer gold coins over the years. For further information we highly recommend books by Dave Bowers as well as Dr. Kagin’s 1982 reference, which remains the standard reference on the subject. Using those (and other) sources, our catalogers presented the following history:
“There are few numismatic items more historic or desirable than a $50 octagonal ‘slug’ from the United States Assay Office of Gold. The type serves as a vivid reminder of the tremendous wealth that came out of the hills of Northern California and the success (and failure) of those who headed west to seek their fortunes. The California Gold Rush brought with it great riches, and also gold nuggets and gold dust that could be adulterated and of varying purity. Early private assayers and coiners took up the challenge, but those issues were often found to be underweight or of insufficient purity. One of the earliest assay offices to buck this trend was Moffat & Company formed in 1849 by John L. Moffat and partners Joseph R. Curtis, Philo H. Perry, and Samuel H. Ward. Moffat & Co. produced circulating ingots as well as five dollar gold coins that were widely accepted. The local government petitioned Congress for a branch mint, but instead a United States Assay Office was authorized on September 30, 1850, with authorization to produce ingots in denominations from $50 up to $10,000. New York watch case maker Augustus Humbert was appointed the United States Assayer of Gold at San Francisco and traveled to California soon after. Moffat & Co. had succeeded in obtaining the contract to produce the ingots and Humbert soon joined the firm, bringing with him dies prepared by Charles C. Wright. By the end of January 1851, they were producing the famed octagonal $50 coins. Moffat sold his interest in early 1852, though Curtis, Perry & Ward retained use of the Moffat & Co. name. Soon after, Moffat & Co. dissolved and thus the United States Assay Office of Gold was born. Though not legal tender, the $50 pieces were accepted by Customs Collector T. Butler King, giving them tacit official status. Massive in size and weight, the slugs proved to be quite popular and many older private gold issues ended up at the Assay Office to be turned into the coins.
“The 1852 $50 pieces were made in three varieties, Kagin 11, 13, and 14. The Kagin 11 pieces were produced under Augustus Humbert’s name at the .887 fine standard. The Kagin 13 slugs were produced at the same .887 standard, but under the Assay Office of Gold imprimatur. The specimen offered here is Kagin 14, a variety created out of necessity when an unexpected piece of legislation, passed in August 1852, prohibited customs payments from being made in anything less than the .900 federal standard. As all previous Assay Office coins were in .880 to .887 fine gold, this act served to severely limit the circulation of those pieces. Curtis, Perry and Ward began producing slugs at the federal standard in January and February 1853, about 23,800 pieces all told. They proved to be immensely successful and remained in use until the San Francisco Mint finally commenced operations in earnest at which time most of these huge coins ended up in the melting pot.”
The opportunity to acquire a Mint State U.S. Assay Office of Gold $50 is about as rare as the coins themselves, and should not be taken lightly. Whether you are a serious student of California gold, or collect the finest and the rarest issues, be sure to look at this wonderful numismatic treasure during our lot viewing sessions, either in Irvine, New York, or Baltimore. If you wish to have one of our numismatists review the coin for you and assist in a bidding strategy, do not hesitate to contact us. If you are a collector of private and territorial gold, and would like to consign some duplicates or other coins that do not fit your cabinet anymore, our consignment directors are a phone call or email away. Did you know that over the years, Stack’s Bowers has offered some of the finest cabinets of territorial and private gold ever assembled, including our sales of the Archangel Collection (November 2006), the Samuel J. Berngard Collection (July 2008), and the Rajj Collection (August 2011)? As we look forward to the 2015 auction schedule, there are several dynamic sales to consign to, including our New York Americana Sale in January, our Portland ANA National Money Show in March, and our March Baltimore Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo, which already includes the Kendall Foundation Collection, a wonderful group of colonial, confederation, 1792 pattern, and Confederate States coinage. If you are interested in consigning, your coins would be welcome additions to one of our auctions. Whether buying or selling, our staff of numismatic experts looks forward to working with you!
