1849 Oregon Exchange Company Five Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$336,000 MS62 08-11-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1849 Oregon Exchange Company Five Dollar gold piece is one of the most significant and historically important issues among all American territorial gold coinage. The Oregon Exchange Company was organized in Oregon City, the territorial capital, in February 1849 by a group of prominent citizens seeking to address the acute currency shortage plaguing the Pacific Northwest. Eight men served as the company's principals: William Kilborne, Theophilus Magruder, James Taylor, George Abernethy, William Willson, William Rector, John Campbell, and Noyes Smith. The obverse of the five-dollar piece features an American beaver — the animal that had driven the Pacific Northwest's fur trade economy for decades — surrounded by the inscription "OREGON EXCHANGE COMPANY." The reverse displays the denomination "5 D." within a wreath, with "T.O." (Territory of Oregon) and the date 1849. The beaver design was engraved by Hamilton Campbell and Victor Wallace, local craftsmen without formal die-cutting experience, giving the coins a characteristically rough and frontier appearance. The Oregon Exchange Company operated a private mint in Oregon City during 1849, striking both five-dollar and ten-dollar gold pieces from native gold dust. The coins were intentionally struck to contain slightly more than their face value in gold, ensuring public acceptance. Approximately 6,000 five-dollar pieces were produced before the mint closed operations later in 1849 as federal coinage began reaching the region.

Rarity Notes

Very rare. Estimated 40-60 surviving examples across all grades. Most known pieces show moderate to heavy circulation consistent with active use as money in the Oregon Territory. Mint State examples are exceptionally rare, with approximately 3-5 known. Among the most desirable of all territorial gold issues.