1853 Gold Dollar - BG-604, Eagle

Coin Details

Auction Record

$82,800 MS63 07-25-2005 American Numismatic Rarities

Description

The 1853 California Fractional Gold Dollar (BG-604) is a round gold piece measuring approximately 15 to 16 millimeters in diameter — comparable in size to a modern cent. Produced during the early California Gold Rush era, this diminutive coin served as genuine small-denomination money in San Francisco and the surrounding mining regions, where the scarcity of federal small coinage created strong demand for locally produced gold pieces. This variety features an eagle design — a motif that appears on a select number of California fractional gold pieces and distinguishes them from the far more common Liberty Head types. The eagle obverse lends these coins a more formal, governmental appearance despite their private manufacture. The remarkably diminutive size is one of the distinctive hallmarks of California fractional gold coinage, making these among the smallest coins ever struck for genuine commerce and adding a novelty that has long attracted collectors. Among the smallest coins produced for genuine circulation in American history, California fractional gold pieces from this era reflect the inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit of Gold Rush-era San Francisco. Multiple jewelers and coiners competed to supply the market with these tiny coins, each using their own die designs and gold alloys. The resulting variety of types, as cataloged in the Breen-Gillio reference, provides a rich field for numismatic study and has sustained collector interest for well over a century.

Rarity Notes

Scarce to rare. First-period California fractional gold coins survive in smaller numbers than their Period Two counterparts, reflecting lower original mintages and the attrition of circulation.

Cross References

BG-604; Breen-Gillio catalog; PCGS #10520; NGC #501604; California Fractional Gold Dollar; Round; Period One (1852–1858); Eagle type