1850 Mormon Five Dollar - Copper, Uniface Restrike

Coin Details

Auction Record

$7,638 MS63 09-07-2016 Heritage Auctions

Description

This uniface copper restrike was produced from the dies of the 1850 Mormon five-dollar gold piece, the second year of half eagle production at the Deseret Mint in Salt Lake City. By 1850, the Mormon coinage operation had matured somewhat from its inaugural year, and production continued to serve the monetary needs of the growing community of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley. The 1850 Mormon half eagle maintained the same distinctive design vocabulary as the 1849 issues — the clasped hands, the all-seeing eye, and the "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" motto that made Mormon coins immediately recognizable and imbued them with the religious authority of Brigham Young's leadership. The Deseret Mint's second year of operation coincided with continued influxes of California gold brought by Mormon settlers, providing raw material for coinage. However, like many territorial gold coins, the Mormon pieces were periodically scrutinized for their actual gold content, and assays sometimes revealed that they contained slightly less gold than their face value, a controversy that affected their acceptance outside the Mormon community. This copper restrike from the original 1850 dies was produced later for numismatic purposes, providing collectors with an affordable impression of dies that in gold represent some of America's most important territorial coins. The uniface format reveals the die work with particular clarity, unobscured by the competing impression of a second die.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. Copper uniface restrikes of 1850 Mormon half eagle dies are known in very few specimens; the original gold coins are significant territorial rarities.

Cross References

Mormon gold coinage; Deseret Mint, Salt Lake City