1849 Mormon Ten Dollar - Copper, Uniface Restrike

Coin Details

Auction Record

$15,600 09-24-2018 Kagin's

Description

This uniface copper restrike preserves the die of the 1849 Mormon ten-dollar gold piece, one of the most historically significant private coinages in American numismatics. The original Mormon gold coins were struck at the Deseret Mint in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, under the direction of Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After leading his followers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Young established a self-sufficient community that included its own monetary system. The Deseret Mint operated primarily in 1849-1860, producing gold coins in $2.50, $5, $10, and $20 denominations using California gold brought back by members of the Mormon Battalion. The obverse of the ten-dollar piece features a bishop's mitre (or three-pointed crown) with the all-seeing eye of Jehovah above, the clasped hands of fellowship below, and the inscription "HOLINESS TO THE LORD." The reverse displays an eagle with "DESERET ASSAY OFFICE PURE GOLD" and the denomination "TEN DOLLARS." This uniface restrike was produced later from the original dies in copper for numismatic purposes. The term "uniface" indicates only one die was used, capturing either the obverse or reverse in isolation. Restrikes of Mormon gold dies are important because the original gold coins are legendary rarities — the 1849 ten-dollar piece is known in only a handful of genuine specimens, and any impression from the original dies carries immense historical significance as an artifact of the Mormon pioneers' remarkable self-reliance on the western frontier.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. Copper uniface restrikes from the original Mormon gold dies are known in very few specimens; the original 1849 $10 gold coins themselves are among the greatest rarities in American territorial coinage.

Cross References

Mormon gold coinage; Deseret Mint, Salt Lake City