1849 Pacific Company Gold Eagle

Coin Details

Auction Record

$132,000 AU50 06-01-1984 Bowers & Merena

Description

The 1849 Pacific Company gold eagle is the ten-dollar denomination from this enigmatic California Gold Rush minter, representing the largest confirmed gold denomination in the Pacific Company series. The eagle denomination required a substantial quantity of gold per coin, roughly half an ounce, making it a significant commitment of precious metal for a small private minting operation. The coin features the Pacific Company identification and TEN D. denomination in a design consistent with the firm's characteristically crude style. The large diameter of the ten-dollar piece actually provided more space for the die sinker to work, and some specialists note that the eagle denomination shows slightly better proportioned design elements than the smaller Pacific Company pieces. As the largest gold denomination, the Pacific Company eagle would have served primarily for larger commercial transactions in the freewheeling economy of 1849 San Francisco, where gold dust was the primary medium of exchange and coined money of any kind commanded a premium. The survival rate for Pacific Company eagles is extremely low. The combination of limited original mintage, the tendency for large gold coins to be eventually melted when federal coinage became available, and the passage of nearly two centuries has reduced the known population to a mere handful of specimens.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. Fewer than 5 genuine gold examples confirmed. The $10 denomination may be the scarcest in the Pacific Company gold series.

Cross References

Kagin reference series. Pacific Company $10 gold eagle.