1855 Fifty Dollar Die Trial - Kellogg & Co., Copper

Coin Details

Auction Record

$71,500 MS63 10-01-1997 David Akers

Description

This copper die trial preserves the dies of Kellogg & Company's fifty-dollar gold piece — one of the most spectacular and famous coins in all of American numismatics. The Kellogg $50 "slug" (so named because of its substantial weight) was the largest denomination gold coin ever produced by a private coiner in California, weighing approximately 83.6 grams of gold in its production version. Only a tiny number of gold specimens are known to survive, making the Kellogg fifty-dollar piece one of the most valuable and sought-after coins in the world. The obverse features a large Liberty Head portrait surrounded by "KELLOGG & CO." and "SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA," while the reverse displays a magnificent heraldic eagle with "FIFTY DOLLS." below. The dies were engraved by Albert Kuner, whose work on the Kellogg coinage is considered among the finest produced by any private California coiner. This copper die trial served the essential function of verifying these complex, large-diameter dies before striking in gold — a critical step given the enormous value of each gold planchet consumed. The $50 denomination itself was extraordinary: while the federal government had considered but rejected a fifty-dollar coin (the famous Half Union patterns of 1877), private California coiners like Kellogg, Augustus Humbert, and Wass, Molitor & Co. actually produced them for commercial use. Copper die trials of the Kellogg $50 are among the rarest artifacts in American territorial numismatics, representing the preparatory phase of a coinage so valuable and so rare that every surviving piece is considered a national treasure.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare, unique. Copper die trials of the Kellogg fifty-dollar piece are essentially unheard of in commerce; the gold originals are among the most valuable American coins, with individual specimens selling for millions of dollars at auction.

Cross References

Kellogg & Co.; Albert Kuner (die engraver); California Gold Rush territorial coinage