1830 Templeton Reid Two-and-a-Half Dollar Gold Piece

Coin Details

Auction Record

$480,000 • MS61 • 01-2020 • Kagin's FUN Auction

Description

The 1830 Templeton Reid Two-and-a-Half Dollar Gold Piece (Kagin K-1) is the smallest denomination struck by Templeton Reid at his private mint in Gainesville, Georgia during the summer of 1830. This quarter eagle features "GEORGIA GOLD" surrounded by stars on the obverse, with "TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY" and "TEMPLETON REID / ASSAYER" on the reverse. Reid established what is considered the first private mint under the United States Constitution, operating from July through October 1830 during the Georgia Gold Rush that began after Benjamin Parks' gold discovery near Gainesville in the late 1820s. As a blacksmith, jeweler, watchmaker, gunsmith, and silversmith in Milledgeville, Georgia, Reid had the technical skills to produce dies and strike coins from native Georgia gold. The K-1 quarter eagles were struck from gold of approximately .942 fineness, significantly higher than the .917 federal standard, as confirmed by Philadelphia Mint testing in 1842. Despite this superior purity, Reid's mint ceased operations after an anonymous critic writing as "No Assayer" in the Georgia Journal publicly questioned his assaying abilities. Only an estimated 100 quarter eagles were produced, with approximately five to seven examples known to survive today, making this among the rarest issues in American territorial gold coinage.

Rarity Notes

Approximately 5-7 known specimens from an estimated original mintage of ~100 pieces. One of the rarest denominations in American territorial gold coinage.

Cross References

Kagin K-1; PCGS #10320; NGC #31002