1849 Cincinnati Mining & Trading Gold Eagle

Coin Details

Auction Record

$431,250 XF 05-01-2004 Stack's

Description

The 1849 Cincinnati Mining & Trading Company Ten Dollar gold piece is the higher denomination issue from this Ohio-organized Gold Rush enterprise. The Cincinnati Mining & Trading Company was established by a consortium of Ohio businessmen and prospectors who made the arduous overland journey to California in 1849, joining tens of thousands of other forty-niners in pursuit of fortune. Upon reaching the goldfields, the company found that raw gold dust, while plentiful, was impractical for commerce without conversion to coined money. To address this need, the company produced gold coins in both five and ten dollar denominations using California placer gold. The ten dollar piece, or eagle, was a particularly useful denomination given the inflated economy of Gold Rush California, where a simple meal might cost several dollars and basic tools commanded prices many times their eastern value. The coin features rudimentary designs executed by an undocumented engraver working with limited tools and materials, giving these pieces a raw, frontier character that distinguishes them from the more refined products of established mints. The Cincinnati Mining & Trading Company ten dollar pieces were struck in very small quantities during what was a brief period of operation. The company's coining activities ceased once more reliable sources of coined money became available or when the firm's mining operations proved unprofitable. These eagles represent a tangible connection to the desperate need for circulating medium in the earliest days of California's transition from Mexican territory to American state.

Rarity Notes

Among the greatest rarities of the entire California territorial gold series. Unique or limited to two or three known specimens. Any genuine example commands extraordinary premiums at auction and represents a landmark acquisition for serious territorial gold collectors.

Cross References

PCGS #10128; NGC ID 31117; Kagin K-2 (Ten Dollar); Breen 7815; Adams-Woodin 2