1853 Gold Half Dollar - BG-435, Arms of California
Strike Type
Coin Details
Auction Record
- Price realized
- $23,000
- Sold
- Grade
- MS63
- Auction house
- Bowers & Merena
Description
The 1853 round gold half dollar BG-435 is a California fractional gold piece of Breen and Gillio's first period and the only one of the series with the arms of California. Breen and Gillio's first period (1852 to 1857 in their second edition, 1852 to 1856 in the first) holds the gold pieces that San Francisco jewelers made while the city was short of small change, and a New York Times dispatch of May 1853 reported dollar and half-dollar gold pieces as a new local issue. The obverse shows the arms of California and the reverse an eagle with a shield; a CoinWeek article notes that the type is first recorded in 1878 and that some researchers doubt it was made as early as 1853. Catalogue number: BG-435. PCGS number 10471.
Rarity Notes
R-L5 (Greysheet)
Cross References
BG-435
External References
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