1856 Gold Dollar - BG-512

Coin Details

Auction Record

$13,800 MS65 07-25-2005 American Numismatic Rarities

Description

The 1856 California Fractional Gold Dollar (BG-512) is an octagonal 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. Like the majority of California fractional gold pieces, this coin bears a Liberty Head portrait on its obverse, executed in the miniaturized style necessitated by the tiny planchet. The reverse presents the denomination value and date, typically encircled by a laurel or oak wreath. The octagonal format of this piece departs from the conventional circular planchet shape familiar from regular federal coinage, creating a distinctive eight-sided coin at a dramatically reduced scale. 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. As a Period One issue, this variety was struck for genuine commerce during the Gold Rush era, and fewer specimens have survived compared to the more plentiful Period Two souvenir pieces.

Cross References

BG-512; Breen-Gillio catalog; PCGS #10489; NGC #501512; California Fractional Gold Dollar; Octagonal; Period One (1852–1858)