1851 State of California Twenty Dollar - Silver

Coin Details

Description

This is a silver striking of the 1851 State of California twenty-dollar pattern. A set of patterns dated 1851 reads SAN FRANCISCO STATE OF CALIFORNIA. The twenty- and ten-dollar pieces pair a Liberty head with the arms of California, a seated woman gazing through the Golden Gate, a bear beside her and a miner in the distance; the five and two-and-a-half-dollar pieces have a Liberty head and a wreath with the value. Adams knew them in silver, copper and white metal, and pointed out that the 1851 date rules out the story that they were struck at the San Francisco Mint, which opened in 1854.