1849 Pacific Company Ten Dollar - Reeded Edge

Coin Details

Description

The 1849 Pacific Company ten-dollar piece with reeded edge is a variant of the Pacific Company eagle distinguished by its edge treatment. Reeded edges, the fine vertical grooves around the coin's circumference, served both as an anti-counterfeiting measure and as a way to prevent clipping of gold from the edge. The presence of reeding on this Pacific Company issue indicates a degree of technical sophistication that somewhat contradicts the generally crude impression given by the firm's designs. The distinction between reeded and plain edge variants is significant for Pacific Company attribution, as edge treatment represents a deliberate choice in the minting process requiring a separate collar die. Different edge types within the same denomination can indicate different production runs, different die pairings, or different periods of manufacture. This ten-dollar piece carries the standard Pacific Company eagle design with the issuer identification and denomination. The reeded edge variant is tracked as a distinct collectible within the broader Pacific Company series, with collectors seeking to assemble complete sets of edge varieties for each denomination.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. The reeded edge variant of the Pacific Company eagle is one of the scarcest pieces in the series.

Cross References

Kagin reference series. Pacific Company $10, reeded edge variant.