1853 Moffat & Co. Gold Double Eagle
Strike Type
Coin Details
Auction Record
- Price realized
- $90,000
- Sold
- Grade
- MS62
- Auction house
- Heritage Auctions
Description
This is the 1853 Moffat & Co. twenty-dollar gold piece. John L. Moffat, a New York assayer, sailed for California in February 1849 with machinery to assay gold dust and give it a stamped value. Moffat & Co. issued rectangular gold ingots and, in 1849 and 1850, five- and ten-dollar pieces that closely follow the federal designs, with MOFFAT & CO. on the coronet and S.M.V. CALIFORNIA GOLD around the eagle. The coins were quoted at par in San Francisco. The firm stopped its own coinage when it took the U.S. Assay Office contract early in 1851, struck a ten-dollar piece in 1852 at the request of local businessmen and a twenty-dollar piece in 1853. It closely copies the federal double eagle with MOFFAT & CO. on the coronet, a beaded border and a reeded edge, and the Alta California of July 26, 1853 praised its workmanship. Adams calls it the last coin with the Moffat & Co. stamp. Catalogue number: K-19. PCGS number 10255.
Cross References
K-19
External References
Error Varieties
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